30 TIMES • MARCH 5 - mARCH 11, 2015 Historic links at Middle Village crematory by Anthony Giudice [email protected] @a_giudicereport The Fresh Pond Crematorium & U.S. Columbarium Co. has been helping families cope with the death of their loved ones since 1884. Starting out as only a crematory, the Fresh Pond Crematory, located at 61-40 Mount Olivet Cres. in Middle Village, only performed cremations for the public. In 1894 they found out that the families they were helping would want a service for their deceased relatives, so they built a chapel and a columbarium. The word ‘columbarium’ comes from the Latin word columba, meaning ‘dove.’ Doves build nests in box-like openings in walls, known as niches, so a building that contains niche spaces is called a columbarium. At U.S. Columbarium Co., the cremated remains are placed in various types of niche spaces recessed into the walls of the building. As time went on the columbarium grew, adding new sections onto the building in 1898, in 1904 there was an entire new building constructed next door, in 1910 a new chapel was built. In 1929 another addition to the building was added which enclosed the original building with more niches and offices, and the building has remained the same since that time. The columbarium contains over 16,000 niches with over 40,000 cremated remains within them. The entire facility sits on less than one acre of land, making it an environmentally friendly use of land. The crematorium and chapel services cater to all cultures and belief systems from Christian, Catholic, Jewish, Hindu, Buddist, Japanese, and many more. They embrace the needs and customs of the grieving families to make sure they have a comforting experience in their time of sadness. A service over the remains is offered before the remains are committed to the niche, making this process no different than the memorialization during a burial ceremony. The niches that the cremated remains will be placed in can be customized by the families, with specialized urns, etchings into the glass of the niches and they are allowed to leave photographs and trinkets in the niche with the urn to memorialize the memory of their loved ones. Throughout the halls of the Fresh Pond Crematory & U.S. Columbarium Co. are beautifully decorated stain glass windows, statues and columns. There are special sections of niches such as the Hall of Serenity, the Hall of Flowers and a place for families that have lost an infant. The crematorium has a 9/11 World Trade Center Memorial that holds a statute of a fireman, underneath the statue is an American flag pin representing every American that died that day. There are also flag pins for each country that lost someone in the terrorist attacks as well. The Fresh Pond Crematory & U.S. Columbarium Co. continues to grow and provide families with the respect they need, and deserve, during their time of need. Memorial niches at the Fresh Pond Crematorium in Middle Village. (photo: Anthony Giudice) �������������������������������� �������������������������� ������������������������������������������������������������ �������������������������������������������������������������������������� ���������������������������������������������������������������������������� ������������������������������������������������������������ �������������������������������������������� ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� �������������������������������������������������������������������������� ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� ��������������������������������������
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