From:
The Grand Rapids Press
Life and death in Gladstone, up in Michigan's Upper Peninsula
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| The first and largest pet casket company is based here in Michigan. |
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Dear Mom and Dad. We’re having fun in the UP. Sorry to hear about Miss Kitty. I think the one of the left might work.”
Seriously, what exactly would you write on the back of a pet casket postcard?
This week we have a classic that was uncovered by MLive colleague Jonathan Oosting as he prepared to move to the new Lansing Hub.
It was sent in 1991 to former Ann Arbor News Metro Editor Rick Fitzgerald, who must have a soft spot for bad postcards.
The back reads: "
Hoegh Industries, Inc. P.O. Box 311, Gladstone, MI 49837, Manufacturer of pet caskets in 6 sizes and 11 styles.”
Gladstone is up in the Upper Peninsula, near Escanaba. I discovered the company still exists, and dialed away to learn about the bad postcard.
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That must have been from the previous owners,” current boss Randy Carlson explained, wisely distancing himself from what is in the running for the coveted title of best bad postcard ever.
Being a nosy reporter, I just had to know more.
Turns out that Hoegh, which was formed in 1966, was the first pet casket company in the country and is probably still the largest in the United States. He gets orders from every state, and even some other countries.
Carlson explained that the company is a wholesaler, selling pet caskets to pet cemeteries, veterinarians, animal hospitals and some kennels.
The smallest is the No. 10 – because it is 10-inches long – and is suitable as the final home for your beloved hamster or parakeet who has gone on to its heavenly reward.
The biggest box is the No. 52 – you can guess why it’s called that – and is for your formidable Fido.
The big trend, Carlson said, is for caskets to be decorated in camouflage, inside and out.
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That’s for your favorite hunting dog?” I asked.
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That, and really for people who just love the outdoors,” he said.
What might one of these cost? Carlson said he sells wholesale, but believes the caskets retail for between $90 and $450.
That would have to be one amazing hamster. That would have to be for the hamster who discovers the house is on fire, breaks out of his cage, wakes the family and pulls little Bobby to safety with his little teeth.
I had the company’s website on my browser and was stopped dead in my tracks when a certain phrase caught my eye: Tours available, 8:30 a.m. – 3 p.m., Monday-Friday.
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You give tours?” I asked, incredulously.
Keep in mind; I’ll tour just about anything. We’re planning to stop at a missile silo museum in South Dakota on our way to Mount Rushmore. (We’re going to the Mitchell Corn Palace, too. Everybody goes to the Corn Palace.)
But the pet casket company?
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All the time,” Carlson said. “
We get some groups. Usually it’s people passing through. Mostly elderly folks who like to travel. People from all over the country. It’s a good tour.”
I’m sure it is. And I thanked Carlson for being a good sport and answering all my questions.
So, if Detroit is the Motor City because of the auto industry, and if Grand Rapids is the newly crowned Beer City, U.S.A., what does Gladstone get as a nickname?
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