Document text
47 °F Forecast | Road Cams Thursday, October 28, 2004 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Wellness Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People MARKETPLACE Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Classifieds Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend September 29, 2004 Ark Wood Caskets are plain wood with no metal, no animal products such as glue and no plastic or linings in accordance with traditional Jewish beliefs. Mail Tribune / Bob Pennell When Somebody dies ... Simplicity contained in six pieces of wood By PAUL FATTIG Mail Tribune Paul Firnstein didn’t start out in life to become a maker of caskets. "I got into this business because of a need we had here," said Firnstein, 61, of Ashland. "In our local Jewish community, we were being charged outrageous prices for caskets that weren’t really fitting our needs." Jews were paying $2,600 for wooden caskets that weren’t kosher, he said. After doing some research, he and some friends made a couple of plain wooden caskets that were inexpensive and contained no metals, no animal products such as glue, and no plastics or linings. "Next thing you know, we started getting calls from Klamath Falls and Eugene for our caskets," he said. Advertisement That was in 1993. He and a friend started Ark Wood Caskets, which Firnstein now owns. The caskets sell for $599 and are built by Firnstein and an assistant. Their Web site is www.arkwoodcaskets.com . "Now our families can get a $600 casket that is certified by a rabbi to be good for a Jewish burial," he said. "The caskets are designed to go into the ground in a very natural way. "They meet the dust-to-dust requirements in the Bible," he added, noting the pine will disintegrate quickly. "It’s very earth-friendly." The caskets aren’t just for the Jewish community, Firnstein said. "A lot of my business is from different religious groups and others that want the same kind of casket," he said. "Franciscan monasteries back East want a simple pine casket. Many American Indian families and Buddhists or Muslims also want simple caskets that go into the ground in an easy way." Indeed, these are not expensive coffins with a satin bed and pillow, painted pearl white with a sky-blue dove on the side and shiny brass handles all around. They are plain broad boards made of pine or oak. They are shipped in a box of six pieces which fit together like hand in glove in an interlocking dovetail design. No tools are needed. Firnstein said the act of assembling a casket brings loved ones together. "It’s a loving act that starts the healing process," he said. "It brings it all home. They put it together themselves. "It’s a loving symbol of their respect for that person," he added. "They are doing it just to honor that person’s remains." Although he began by making the cabinets by hand, he now uses a computerized router to ensure precise measurements. "When you do a French dovetail from one end to the other — 80 inches long — and you have a tolerance of maybe a 32nd of an inch, you need to be exact," he explained. "You need it to slide smoothly but not stick. And you don’t want it wobbly, either." Firnstein makes 50 to 75 caskets at a time, using the same dimensions. "They have the standard size plot in the cemetery," he said. "You don’t want to get too big or elaborate or it won’t fit." When Firnstein ships the casket, the interlocking pieces are laid flat. "You get six pieces of wood in a box five inches thick," he said. "When you put the pieces together, they have to slide together securely yet easily." Before he began making caskets, Firnstein was a consultant in California, doing radio programming and making commercials. In addition to building caskets, he also works as a hospice caregiver, a job that has given him added perspective on families and funerals. "Most families don’t want to think about funeral issues while a dying loved one is still alive," he said. "But that really is the time to make plans for what will happen. "When that person dies, you are not in shape to be making sound decisions," he said, noting that is when people can be taken advantage of. "There is a lot people can do, but they have to plan ahead. Listen, everybody is going to have a death in their family." But it doesn’t have to cost a fortune, he said. "I think more and more people don’t want fancy caskets," he said. "They don’t want to spend $8,000 or whatever on a cherry casket. That money is much better spent giving it to the person’s favorite charity than putting it in the ground." Firnstein admits his caskets aren’t for every family. In fact, when his elderly mother died and he wanted to bury her in a simple pine box he built with his own hands, other family members differed. "My brother’s daughter, my niece, who was real close to her grandmother, said, ‘Grandma was classier than Paul’s caskets — she deserves something fancier,’ " he said. "So I ended up paying for half of a $2,800 casket." Firnstein didn’t want to create problems within the family over the issue. But when his time comes, Firnstein knows how he wants to go. "I’ll be buried in a simple box," he said. Reach reporter Paul Fattig at 776-4496 or e-mail him at [email protected] Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2004 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Opportunities