Roadside Crosses and Memorial Complexes in Texas

Folklore, April, 2000 by Holly Everett

As with the Lamay family, however, the Werchans view Heather's burial site as the primary locus of memorialisation. Heather is buried in a non-denominational, historic cemetery on the outskirts of the city. The older section, its worn stone and granite markers dating back to the 1870s, is readily distinguishable from the newer, larger section with the flat, inset stones more typical of modern "memorial parks." The cemetery grounds border pastureland, and visitors share the pastoral settings with horses, Texas longhorns and occasionally, wild deer. The Werchans felt the site to be particularly appropriate because of Heather's love of the outdoors.

James noted that, although the regulations for the new section of the cemetery are similar to those in force at the cemetery where Heather Lamay is buried, the Werchans, and other visitors, generally disregard them. He said:

   Yeah, that's part of the new section that you're not supposed to have that,
   also, out there. But we do it anyway. And we're not the only ones. We've
   got the vase, of course, that's in the headstone. You know other people
   have left, my sister left a cat laying down, one of these concrete-cast
   cats. And we've got an angel that's standing up, it's made out of concrete,
   and so we, you know, people leave vases with flowers in it and things like
   that and animals. You know, we maintain it good ourselves, you know, we
   take care of it, we don't let it grow up. So, we feel that, I mean
   it's--even though the rules and requirements say that you're not supposed
   to, our feeling, and most of the other people's feelings too, it's that as
   long as it's kept nice that, you know, hey, you know, it's our loved one
   here.

When I visited Heather's grave site in December 1997, the headstone was flanked by potted poinsettias, fresh carnations, a Christmas wreath and several angel figurines (Fig. 4). Indeed, regardless of any stated policy, the markers in this section were adorned with tributes and remembrances of all kinds, including framed photographs, key chains, coins, stuffed animals and miniature flags. Many of the trees bore holiday decorations and wind chimes.

[Figure 4 ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Thus, as demonstrated by the memorial complexes maintained by Sara Solter, Heather Lamay and Heather Werchan's families, relatives and friends of automobile accident victims in Austin may extend traditional memorialisation practices, such as holding a funeral, marking the burial site with a headstone and other remembrances and visiting the cemetery on certain anniversaries, to include the construction and maintenance of a memorial at the place of fatal injury or death. While Sara's mother erected a roadside cross as a direct, political statement supported by the efforts of an international organisation (MADD), the Lamays and the Werchans assumed a great deal of responsibility for memorials originally constructed by others, a pattern that runs through several of my informants' experiences.