Classroom

This heritage tour will explore the history of the lumber and funerary industries as they were presented in Alison Bechdel's graphic memoir, Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic. The 1880s gothic revival home where the story takes place serves as a connector between her personal narrative and the histories of these two important industries in Pennsylvania. 

Bruce Bechdel was one of 4 children born of Claude and Dorothy Bechdel. After Claude’s death in 1963, Bruce was put in charge of operating the family business as a third generation mortician. His real passions though were literature, art, and history. Beech Creek itself is a small borough in Clinton County, founded circa 1839. According to World Population Review, Beech Creek is estimated to have a population of roughly 691 residents in 2020 with a 97.81% Caucasian demographic. Besides his brief encounter with Europe, much of Bruce’s life occurred within the limits of the borough. Alison has not chosen to live in Beech Creek like many of her family members, and prefers to settle in urban cities.

Here is the cemetery where Bruce Bechdel, Alison Bechdel’s father, is buried. He was born on April 8, 1936 in Beech Creek and died on July 2, 1980 only a few miles from the family’s home.

Hays-Fearon Cemetery

Moving into the history of the lumber industry, Pennsylvania was a hot zone for natural resources. In 1681 when the region was first settled by colonists, roughly 90% of Pennsylvania was forested. Over the past two centuries, the commonwealth of Pennsylvania has been a world leader in steel production, lumber, coal, and cement and has a strong foothold in agriculture as well. Before railway lines connected the state, waterways were used to move lumber from one location to the next. The work was dangerous and tiring, requiring workers to constantly watch for log jams and risk getting their limbs pinched off or drowning as they hopped from log to log. The heavily forested lands and water tributaries made Clinton County a popular location for the establishment of saw mills. The Delaware Indians, who settled in what is now Beech Creek, referred to the area as “Schauweminsch-Hanne,” meaning beech stream because a large amount of beech trees grew along the banks of the creek. Many of the men who lived in the area were employed as woodsmen, mostly working out of scattered lumber camps. By the end of the 19th century, the lumber boom was in a steep decline all across the state. Alison’s home, built in 1880, was constructed at the very end of the logging industry in Clinton County. By 1882, only 1 of the original 12 saw mills was still in operation.

Bald Eagle Creek is a 52.5 mile cross-cut canal that helped support the lumber industry in that region.

Photo taken by William T. Clarke. Women and children cooling off in creek on a hot day.

Bald Eagle Creek

Grey Towers in Miford, Pennsylvania was the home of Gifford Pinchot, the first head of the United States Forest Service that was established to protect and manage millions of acres of Pennsylvania forestland. He was born in Connecticut in 1865 and had an instant connection with forestry as a young boy. During his educational career, he decided to study forestry in France, and after one year, he returned to the United States with a plethora of knowledge and a burning passion. There, he learned the importance of scientific forestry and the critical role that a government could play in conservation efforts. Through the years, he worked to identify and manage forest sites across the country, and was eventually named chief of the Division of Forestry. He was good friends with Theodore Roosevelt and the pair shared a vision for conservation. In 1900, with the help of his father, Gifford established the first American School of Forestry which was located in Grey Towers for 21 years; Gifford taught there for the first three years. By 1905 the new Forest Service was established and Gifford Pinchot went to great lengths to professionalize the management of national forests. He is regarded as one of the founding fathers of conservation and helped establish the foundations for a guardianship of forests in the United States. After Roosevelt died, President William Taft, who was not a strong supporter of conservation, did not support Gifford's efforts and fired him. However, Gifford continued to pursue conservation efforts and also became involved with politics. He founded the Progressive Party and was elected governor of Pennsylvania twice. Gifford died in 1946. The house was transferred to the U.S. Forest Service in 1963 and opened to the public around that time. "I had no more conception of what it meant to be a forester than the man in the moon....But at least a forester worked in the woods and with the woods - and I loved the woods and everything about them…’’

Grey Towers National Historic Site is a large, French style chateau home that was the home of Gifford Pinchot, the first director of the U.S. Forest Service, which was created in 1906. The home was built in 1886 by Gifford's father, James and designed by architect Richard Morris Hunt. James, who was a successful wallpaper merchant, had a strong interest in forestry and was a member of the American Forestry Association. Gifford likely acquired his interest in forestry from his father. The home is the only National Historic Landmark managed by the U.S. Forest Service; it is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Today, visitors can take one hour tours of the home and hike on the trails surrounding the house.




Grey Towers National Historic Site

Moving onto the history of the funeral industry and its relation to Alsion’s father, it is important to note that undertaking has only been a profession in the United States for a short time. Beginning in the 17th century with William Harvey’s discovery of blood circulation, early embalists experimented with the science of body preservation. Prior to the Civil War, people often died and were cared for in their homes by family and community members. Bodies were cleaned and laid out in people’s parlors for days so that visitors could come and say their final respects. Yes, this was practiced before air conditioners and professional embalming. Grand homes in the United States were also often equipped with a special coffin door that allowed for the easy removal of a body from the house. During the Civil War, contracts were given to embalmers to prepare the bodies of soldiers to be transported back home to their families. By 1867, formaldehyde began being used as the main chemical in the embalming procedure and undertakers have been overtaking the care of our dead ever since.  The memoir's title, Fun Home, is a nickname for a funeral home. In the early days of professional funerary services, many funeral directors worked out of their personal homes because it was cheaper and because death does not respect convenience. Working at home made it easier for directors to handle the odd working hours that they were handed, thus explaining the origins of the word funeral home. This is the site of the Pittsburgh Institute of Mortuary Science. It is one of two locations in Pennsylvania that offers programs in funeral service education and mortuary science. The school was first established in 1839 and was known as the Pittsburgh School of Embalming. Pennsylvania, as with most other states in the country, require some kind of formal education for funeral directors and embalming specialists.

This is the site of the Pittsburgh Institute of Mortuary Science. It is one of two locations in Pennsylvania that offers programs in funeral service education and mortuary science. 

Entries on This Tour

Industrial Themes in Alison Bechdel's Graphic Memoir

Description

Share