A fifteen-year-old high school cheerleader is killed while driving on a dangerous curve one afternoon. By that night; her classmates have erected a roadside cross decorated with silk flowers; not as a grim warning; but as a loving memorial.In this study of roadside crosses; the first of its kind; Holly Everett presents the history of these unique commemoratives and their relationship to contemporary memorial culture. The meaning of these markers is presented in the words of grieving parents; high school students; public officials; and private individuals whom the author interviewed during her fieldwork in Texas.Everett documents over thirty-five memorial sites with twenty-five photographs representing the wide range of creativity. Examining the complex interplay of politics; culture; and belief; she emphasizes the importance of religious expression in everyday life and analyzes responses to death that this tradition. Roadside crosses are a meeting place for communication; remembrance; and reflection; embodying on-going relationships between the living and the dead. They are a bridge between personal and communal painmdash;and one of the oldest forms of memorial culture.Scholars in folklore; American studies; cultural geography; cultural/social history; and material culture studies will be especially interested in this study.
#3795155 in eBooks 2013-08-23 2013-08-23File Name: B00ESD2GTS
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. So it was a disappointment. Other than thatBy C. E. GorsHaving family that was born and raised in that town; 100 years ago.. I looked forward to reading about my father; grandfathers part of the history.. only to read it and find out there is no mention of our family at all. Not grandfather; uncles; and etc..who were businessmen from the 1910s and to 1980s. So it was a disappointment. Other than that.. it arrived in a timely manner.