Hearses Will Go on Limited-Time Display Near Whittier Museum

MOURNING RITUALS? They're regularly studied by universities, museums, and cultural institutions, the educational organizations that want to understand how the observances of people living in another time, in another place, fully occurred. What mourners did, the clothing they wore, the passages they read, and what rites may have been performed are all taken into consideration at the occasional exhibit or event, informative happenings that give modern-day people a better understanding of the past. And a feature that is very much a part of these rituals? It's the mourning carriage, the conveyance that respectfully transported the casket to its final and forever resting place. We can sometimes find single examples of hearses, both antique and contemporary, in car museums or at auto shows, and coming across a documentary that examines the traditions behind these elegant and elongated vehicles? That sometimes happens, too.

A HEARSE SHOW, though, is a rarer occurrence, but one that you're likely to find in Whittier, at the Whittier Museum & Historical Society as the tenth month nears its final days. The 2021 hearse-centered happening proved to be a big draw, so the museum is bringing it back on Saturday, Oct. 29. The hours? It all begins at 3 o'clock and lasts well into the evening, giving visitors the chance to view these vehicles after the sun has set. That means you'll see a host of mourning carriages, around 30 in all, and a variety of lovely landau bars, the metal flourishes often seen near the rear of a hearse. Entry is free, and the hearses can be found along Philadelphia Street near the museum. There's also a Nightshade Market, which is also free to visit, occurring at the same time.