Hittin' the Bricks with Kathleen
A "brick-wall" DIY genealogy podcast that features your questions and Kathleen Brandt's answers. She wants your stories, questions, and “brick walls”. But be ready to add to your "to-do" list. As Kathleen always says, this is a Do it yourself (DIY) genealogy podcast. “I'll show you where the shovel is, but I'm not digging up your family.”
Maybe, you have no idea where to start searching for an ancestor. Or, perhaps you want to know more about your family folklore. Host Kathleen has 20 years in the industry and is the founder of a3genealogy. She's able to dispense genealogy research advice and encouragement in understandable terms that won't get you lost in genealogy jargon. Along with her husband and co-host, John, she helps you accomplish "do-it-yourself" research goals, learn some history, and have a bit of fun along the way. Light-hearted and full of detailed info, Hittin' the Bricks is your solution for your brick-wall research problems.
Hittin' the Bricks with Kathleen
Honoring Veterans: The Final Salute
How would you feel if your loved one's ashes were left forgotten on a dusty shelf or found on the side of the road? In this episode of Hittin’ the Bricks with Kathleen, we unravel the journey of Lanae Strovers, a dedicated funeral director and trainer, who has found over 300 unclaimed urns. With great compassion and determination, Lanae is committed to giving these forgotten souls dignified burials. Joined by Dennis Allen a retired firefighter, and Cris Nagla, this trio has organized mass burials with overwhelming community support. Dennis and Cris run Avon Cementery of Des Moines, IA.
Lanae has also partnered with the Iowa Veterans Cemetery in Adel, IA. In this episode she shines a light on the powerful ceremonies held to honor unclaimed veterans in Iowa. Host Kathleen Brandt, will be participating in the upcoming Final Salute 27 ceremony Sep 2024. Learn more about this public event at The Final Salute (FB page).
The movie based on a live story can be found on Tubi or Prime Video. Use link below: Chasing the Dead Requiem
Can't make it in person: Feed Event
We invite you to stay connected for more inspiring stories and submit your genealogical questions. Subscribe at linktr.ee/hittinthebricks
Be sure to bookmark linktr.ee/hittinthebricks for your one stop access to Kathleen Brandt, the host of Hittin' the Bricks with Kathleen. And, visit us on YouTube: Off the Wall with Kathleen John and Chewey video recorded specials.
Hittin' the Bricks is produced through the not-for-profit, 501c3 TracingAncestors.org.
Thanks to MyHeritage for their generous support to Hittin' the Bricks with Kathleen! Follow us on social media and subscribe to HTB with Kathleen in order to enter your name in our monthly MyHeritage Complete Package giveaway starting Jan 2024!
Ladies and gentlemen from the depths of flyover country in the heartland of America, the Kansas City on the other side of the mighty Moe, welcome to Hittin' the Bricks with Kathleen, the do-it-yourself genealogy podcast that features your questions and her answers. I am John, your humble hubby host, and we'll be talking to Dennis Allen and Lene Strovers about the final salute project. So let's start Hittin' the Bricks and hey, good morning. We are here on Hittin' the Bricks with Kathleen and we're here with Dennis Allen and Lene Strovers.
Lanae Strovers:I'm Lene Strovers and I live in Monroe and I am a licensed funeral director and embalmer. I've been licensed for a little over 10 years and I hang my license at Hamilton's Funeral Home. More recently, I've switched positions to where I work for the National Funeral Directors Association and I'm their trainer, so I get to go to mortuary schools and funeral homes and conventions and teach funeral directors how to be funeral directors, and so that's been a new adventure for me and I love that. And then, most importantly, is I'm the president of the Final Salute, which is a group that we formulated this last couple of years and that's a group that we find unclaimed cremated remains and ensure that they're laid to rest.
John:That's fantastic. Dennis Allen, I know you're a retired firefighter, yes, and you're heavily involved in the final salute. Yes, but can you tell us a little bit about what bringing you here today?
Dennis Allen:So my part in this was we partnered with and Chris and I we do the genealogy side and Kathleen has taught me genealogy over the years. So that brings me to you guys.
John:You're in the funeral world too. Cemetery we run the cemetery world.
Dennis Allen:Yes, and we've got a lot of spaces that we've donated for the final salute to use for our civilian side burials and we just had 36 infant children. How would we say that, lenay?
Lanae Strovers:There's 35 total. We were able to return one kind of the last minute. They were all infants, except for one two-year-old.
Kathleen:I need to make sure I understand. What does the final salute do and what does it mean that you have civilians, because I thought it was a veteran organization, so maybe someone can touch on that.
Lanae Strovers:I can do that. So let's go back to where Final Salute came from and where it started, because that's really going to be where you're going to understand what our mission is. So, about seven years ago, I had to have a pretty major surgery and was going to have to be in bed rest for three months following that surgery, and I was taking a medical leave of absence from work. But I wanted something to do because I was going to be stuck in a bed for three months, and so I had asked the owners of the funeral home you know their project I can do.
Lanae Strovers:Is there, like you know, envelopes I can stuff? Or you know whatever, just something, something can do? Is there, like you know, envelopes I can stuff? Or you know whatever, just something, something to do I could do from home? And so the owner had given me a list of names. Every person who's in our care has a data sheet, so 300 data sheets, all of the urns that are in our basement that have never been picked up. And I was like holy cow, like I had no idea, and I'd been working there, you know, for years and had no idea we had these 300 urns so.
Lanae Strovers:I just started calling. My sister was supposed to come get mom. I thought she did. I'm so sorry, we'll be right there. Some of it was, you know, we're just not ready, and that's okay too.
Lanae Strovers:Then there was a pretty large group of urns that didn't have anybody. That didn't have anybody Either when they died. We had a guardian who worked with us, or some of them were family members where the person who was in charge of making funeral arrangements for the one person had also died, and I had both of them. And so we're running circles with some of these urns realizing there, just there wasn't anybody to come pick them up, and that's why they had been sitting there, some of them, for years, and so I had thought, you know, we can't just keep them in our basement. We need to do something with these, we need to be respectful. And that's where Chris and Dennis came in, because I needed to find a cemetery that we could bury all of these people, and at that point we had no money, so I was going completely off of donations and Chris and Dennis said yep, let's help you with this.
Lanae Strovers:The very first service we did it was very private, I want to say there was just like five or six people were there and I think it was eight or nine children that we had done a small service for. In the next year we had the civilians. So that's how we categorize it is we have children, we have civilians and then we have veterans. So we were gearing up to do this mass burial of the civilians and I believe that was about 86 people. But we realized in that group that we had a couple of veterans and we felt pretty strongly that they should have a separate service, and so we pulled those three veterans out of that group. We have a beautiful veteran cemetery close to us. It is, it is, it is. It's just stunning. I mean, it really is, and I just felt that's where these veterans go.
Lanae Strovers:So in 2018, we had a service for the veterans and I invited you know, the local VFW and Legion halls, you know, and I really didn't think that many people would show up. I didn't know what to expect and it was unbelievable. We had a couple of hundred people, our governor was there, there, huge turnout by local law enforcement and it just really was kind of a very eye opening experience and realized, okay, what we're doing is really important to the veteran community as well, and then it just kind of snowballed since then. The second year we found more veterans.
Lanae Strovers:Now it's been where they're not just coming from Hamilton, the funeral home that I worked at, but they're being turned into us from the police department because they're being found on the side of the road. We get people that are left in storage units, left in apartment buildings, left in cars, you know, and so other funeral homes are now reaching out to us. So now we're getting kind of from all over the place and every year I always walk away and say, oh, we won't have another service for a long time, and then the next year is bigger than the next year.
John:So I want to roll back there for a second. I can understand storage units and even maybe cars side of the road this is a solid bronze urn.
Lanae Strovers:And so we found out that this, this gentleman, he was on the side of the road because the house that he lived with his sisters. People broke into the house and stole this, thinking, oh, it's probably a jewelry box, where's the money? Well then, when they figured it out like oh, there's a name of dates, they probably put two and two together and figured, oh my gosh, this is somebody's urn. So they threw it out the window and it was in an intersection in Des Moines. So that's how that one worked.
John:I have to use that as a segue because I'm chasing the chasing, the dead, the opening of that that as a segue, because I'm chasing the uh, chasing the dead. The opening of that in that, a Des Moines police officer finding that urn Is that where that comes from?
Lanae Strovers:Yeah, so that's the story behind that, so that's a true story.
John:Oh wow, Yep.
Kathleen:True story, Yep. So let's talk a little bit about the movie. Tell me a little bit about how that movie is tied to the unclaimed. The final salute of the unclaimed veterans.
Dennis Allen:I would say from my perspective of being on both sides of it. I would say that about 90% of it is real. Now we embellished a few little things here and there, but the story is the whole storyline and premise of everything is 100 real and the name of the movie.
Kathleen:Is what again?
Dennis Allen:chasing the dead.
Kathleen:Requiem and how do people access that?
Dennis Allen:I saw it on tubi yes, it's on tubi for free right now it's also on amazon prime so it's about lanaus' journey in life, because she was adopted and how she sought out her parents through genealogy and that, and how it parallels her life as a funeral director, the care that she takes because she was abandoned. These cremations are abandoned and she tries to use the same synopsis her gene, her genealogy research. That's why she wanted us to do genealogy research for these people. So it's, it's the same. They go parallel her life and the final salute okay, I know what you're saying.
Kathleen:We dennis um, can you tell us a little bit more about chris, chris is my other half, ch.
Dennis Allen:Chris keeps me in line, like you keep John in line, but we both fight it. She is a genealogist, along with me, and we both have different strengths in that, and so we play off of each other when we're researching for a family or something. I'll give her ideas, she'll run with it. She'll give me ideas, I'll run with it. We'll jump to Lene because she's done her genealogy and has a concept of it, and Lene will run with it, and then she gets it back to us. So all three of us are doing things, and now we have a couple of volunteers who are helping us as well.
Kathleen:Oh, wonderful. You mentioned that you donate your plots for the civilians and for the babies. What is the name of the cemetery that you all own?
Dennis Allen:We run Avon Cemetery. It's a township cemetery on the southeast side of Des Moines. It's pronounced Avon really, but most people call it Avon. It's about a seven-acre cemetery and we're non-perpetual care so we don't have to collect some of the fees that the city cemetery does, so it makes it nice for us when we bury mass burials.
Kathleen:And then Lene, you mentioned you all can go and use the Veterans Cemetery for the veterans' side. Are you all getting funding from the veteran, some veteran administration, or how is this paid for?
Lanae Strovers:We don't get any money from the Veterans Administration. They do cover the space and the headstone at the cemetery. That is entitlement to every veteran, so it's not just the unclaimed, so any veteran can go there have their space and headstone paid for. We have been very lucky that we have a community that has supported us financially this year. We have five spouses. There are actually five couples, five sets of husbands and wives. The wives are $300 each, so we have to pay that out of pocket. The materials to make the urns, there's the advertising that we do, the print of the programs, just the display stuff. People don't think like, oh yeah, you have to have tables and tablecloths and all of that. So it's a lot that goes into it.
Kathleen:So can you tell me a little bit about your fundraising?
John:I was going to ask if do you work on private donations or?
Lanae Strovers:Yeah, so we're strictly private donations. So we are very lucky because Simon Conway he is a radio show host here and he puts us on the radio all the time he has some very dedicated followers and a lot come from his followers.
John:If somebody wanted to, if somebody's listening to Hitting the Bricks and says you know, that just sounds absolutely wonderful. I have a check for $10 I want to send in. How could they do that?
Lanae Strovers:Yep To go to our Facebook page. It's just the final salute. If you search that, then it comes up. There's kind of our logo is folded hands that have the flag on it.
John:So that's going to be the wwwfacebookcom forward slash, the one that leans forward, and then the final salute no spaces. I saw that your next. It looks like your next piece is September 27th and, kathleen, I think I ran over your.
Kathleen:John, you mentioned the upcoming program on Friday, September 27th, and I'm honored to be a part of it, but I'm hoping that our listeners know what it is. How does this work? What is this final salute?
Lanae Strovers:What we will do is we will have an hour of camaraderie hour and that's where people can come together, they can visit. We have a lot of memorabilia and things on display and that's just kind of a time of visitation and then we'll have like coffee and cookies and then at 11 o'clock is when we have a memorial service and what people sometimes forget is that you are at the funeral for these people and so we tell their stories. So that's where the research comes into play. Is we like to make sure that each one of these people is known for more than just a name, dates and the branch. We want to say you know where they were born, you know if we can find out what they did in their life, if they had hobbies, if they had family, things like that. So we tell their stories.
Lanae Strovers:Every veteran also has three representatives from the community. So each veteran has a flag bearer. We also have an urn bearer which carries the urn, and that's a very humbling role to play because you're carrying that person for the last time. And then each veteran has a flag recipient. So if you go to any military family or military funeral, the family is typically who receives the flag at the end of the service and unfortunately these veterans don't have that family. So that's receives the flag at the end of the service and unfortunately these veterans don't have that family, so that's where the flag recipients step in and receive that flag. Those people are chosen very specifically because we know somebody that is going to take good care of that flag and understand what they're doing.
Lanae Strovers:This year we have 20 veterans total. So we have one Civil War, I believe. We have four World War I, we have multiple World War II, multiple Korean War and multiple Vietnam Wars. This is the first year we actually have all five military branches that are going to be represented. Sometimes we just have one or two, but this year we have all five. So it's not a. It's as long as you've served in the military and you are eligible to be buried in the Iowa veteran cemetery and you have not been picked up by your family or we cannot locate your family, then that is who goes into this.
Dennis Allen:So whenever we do this, we we pick who we think is going to represent that person in a positive way and how it best looks toward the families. Since they can't be there, hopefully we try and get a veteran of their field. So if there's a Coast Guard, we'll look and see if there's a Coast Guard person to receive the flag to bear it or something. We always want somebody from their branch of military to represent them, and this year we have Joseph Chetister, who is a Civil War veteran, and I told Linnea I said the only thing I want is Kathleen to receive this flag. And so she asked me why, and I started going across everything. Well, he was a Southern soldier who fought for the Union. He was a man from Tennessee who moved to Kansas City, where you're from. He still has family down there, if we can locate them, but hopefully they hear your podcast and will speak up. And then also, knowing that you are a big military researcher, everything just fit right in there and it's like I want Kathleen to receive this.
John:And how often do you do these ceremonies?
Lanae Strovers:Well, this year. We've done it every year since 2018. I last buried 14 people and I and Dennis can attest to this. I walked away that that day and said, no way, we're doing a service next year. We'll never have, you know, the veterans to do it, and this year is, by our, our largest service. So every year I think that like, oh, this will probably be it. And then then I put my foot, my mouth, in. You know, we already have the veterans for next year service, uh, where we had to kind of cap it to be able to do it right and to tell their stories, and since then we've had a few more turned into us. So we will do one again next year already.
John:It's an amazing story when you go from bedrest and a discovery in a basement to what you're providing now.
Lanae Strovers:It's kind of mind-blowing, like people you know. When I look back and think of it, I'm like how did we get here?
John:And, as you were just saying, there's obviously such a need for it and I don't think that I would have ever thought that there would be that level of need. I would think the same as you. Well, after you know how many of these unclaimed, but yet still it goes on. So obviously you've tapped into something that is not only appreciated but much needed.
Kathleen:So my last question is are other cemeteries and organizations getting involved like yours? Are you recruiting others to do it in their community?
Dennis Allen:We've gone over to Lincoln, nebraska, and talked to them about what we do in this manner, and they are very interested in trying something similar. We don't know if we want them to join with us or if they just want us to shadow them and get them started in that, because everybody's going to do it differently and every state law is different, so they have to have their own settings. But we want people to reach out to us if you're curious about it and want to do something like this. Lene can do a great job in teaching you what to do and we give them guidance and we hope that helps them.
Lanae Strovers:We'll never say no to helping anybody, and if anybody ever reaches out and says, hey, this is what I've got, I kind of want to do it on my own, but I need some help, 100%. If there's a funeral home that says I got like 10, 15 urns of veterans I don't know what to do with them, can I send them to you? Absolutely, we're never going to say no. It's just about figuring out the right way to help them, to be respectful to the deceased that are in their care.
John:Fantastic. I mean, this is really, really enlightening. I've come to think that Western culture, our culture, is so strange and thinks of death in such a strange way that we ignore it most of the time up until the last couple of months, before all of a sudden people realize, oh, this actually happens, even though it happens to everybody, and so we tend to take a very standoffish approach to it. But what I'm finding is that this is kind of a life affirming. I wouldn't think, coming from a funeral director, that it would be as life-affirming as it seems to be.
Kathleen:I agree with you, John, on that.
Lanae Strovers:It's crazy because as a funeral director, I see so many different cultures, and Americans are terrible at death. We just are. We are not good at it, and we have a lot to learn from some other cultures about respect for our elders, respect for the dead and the process behind that.
John:This has been absolutely wonderful, and we'll get to see you all you both at least, and hopefully Chris too, dennis on September 27th.
Kathleen:Anything you need to plug Linnea or Dennis, or you would like other people to know about you all or the organization, or you would like other people to know about you all or the organization.
Dennis Allen:I just think, as your podcast goes out, just let everybody know they're invited to come and enjoy and it's a humbling experience. Like we said this year, we involved more children because we want to help get them started in the right direction, with the respect of our veterans and our deceased and things like that. So Lene reached out and children made our urns this year.
Kathleen:Yeah, that's fun. What does that mean? That children made your urns this year. Go ahead, Lene.
Lanae Strovers:We had a high school shop class that they do a project every year for veterans and we approached them if they would be willing to do that. I jumped on board and I cannot wait to show you these urns. They are incredibly beautiful, and so some of those kids will be the representatives for a veteran and they will be attending the service as well.
Kathleen:Fantastic. Let me shout out to this high school. And do you want to mention the high schools?
Lanae Strovers:So it's Prairie City Monroe High School, and the shop teacher who has coordinated it all is Tim Crowder, and he has been just incredible.
John:That's really wonderful. And so to our six listeners you heard, Dennis, you can. You can probably all carpool and get in the car and go on up to Des Moines.
Kathleen:Thanks for sharing, Linnea and Dennis, because I learned a lot and if my editor can get this out, my producer can get this out faster than the 26.
John:He's going on vacation here in about 14 minutes? No, he's not.
Dennis Allen:And the biggest thing is, people don't understand how much this ties into genealogy. Your spot Right.
Kathleen:And so I'm really excited about even writing a podcast, I mean writing a blog post about it, so that I can actually tie in. What else can you do? How can you find? How can people find their lost?
Dennis Allen:ones by the the way, you can't start another podcast.
John:No, we just wrapped you. You are both invited back on. We'll talk later and she can ask that question at another time thank you guys, bye, thank you.
John:Well, congratulations, you've made it to the end of another episode. Thanks so much for staying. Thanks to MyHeritage and Legacy Family Tree webinars. Thanks to Chewy Chewbacca Brandt, our part-time deltologist and full-time panopictographist, for his unwavering lack of interest in anything we're doing. The theme song for Hittin' the Bricks was written and performed by Tony Fisknuckle and the Convocation Watch for their next appearance at the Ratskeller behind the Student Union at Spelman College. You can find us wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts. Do you have a genealogical question for Kathleen? Drop us a line at hittinthebricks at gmailcom and let us know.
