Wakes /Funerals 45

winter storms intervene. In the evening the rosary was prayed by all present, the leader kneeling at the coffin with the family members nearby. The priest usually came to direct the prayers at least one of the evenings. Others, however, were at ease leading the rosary and litany since that combined prayer was common in most parish homes daily. It was indeed an effective prayer form for wakes, with people in different rooms kneeling and responding in unison. Funerals were always held in the forenoon since permission for afternoon or evening Masses came only in the late 50s. The morning of the funeral it was customary

to again pray the rosary before the coffin was closed.

The sole undertaker for our area in the 30s, 40s and 503 was Norman Gillis and later his son, Risdon, of Eldon. In those years it was quite an exception to have a funeral director from Charlottetown. When wheeling was possible Gillis used a simple motor hearse which had been neatly built up from a half-ton Ford truck. In winter the remains were usually transported to the church by common sleigh. A horse-drawn hearse, adaptable for runners or wheels, was used for many years too before being permanently stored in the parish barn. As soon as the funeral procession was spotted from the church gallery, the bell began to toll as a silent tribute to the deceased and a chill reminder of death. I cannot recall anything quite as gripping as the toll of that funeral bell. A motor funeral procession travelled at very slow speed even when there were miles to cover and out of respect all on-coming traffic would always stop until the hearse had passed.

The coffin and people were met at the front door of the church by the priest robed in a heavy black and ankle-length COpe which was also used at the grave. Up front in the church the coffin was covered with a somber black pall which reached almost to the floor at all points. On each side of the coffin were Placed three black candlesticks lighted and standing guard during Mass. The priest’s vestments for the funeral Mass were also deep black in color. There were no flowers and no homily or preaching at funerals since this latter practice came in only during the 60s.

The funeral or requiem Mass had a quality all its own with an abundance of singing which our choir over the years rendered reasonably well, in Latin of course, and often without the aid of organ accompaniment. When well done, the sung parts of this Mass were at times plaintive, soothing and spine tingling. It is Impossible to forget the poignancy of such parts as the “Requiem