The Memorial Chapel is a small wooded area that has been set aside as a place for worship and reflection. It is an intimate setting surrounded by trees with views of the Ossipee Mountains. It was originally created with gifts given in memory of alum Louise Tobiason Herbst and has been improved and upgraded over the years with additional memorial gifts. The Chapel is a beautiful spot for private reflection and prayer, and also for conducting various small worship services as part of the family camping and/or children's camp programs. It is located in Calumet's Family Campground in a clearing just off the hiking trail to the Jackman Ridge lookout. The only access to the Chapel is by the gradual, sloped walking trail. Trail maintenance and updates allow our golf carts to transport people with physical challenges to the Chapel.
The Memorial Garden
Years ago, we started a ministry solely for the Calumet community with an eye on meeting the needs of former staff/campers who expressed a desire to have their cremains be incorporated into the earth here at Calumet. The garden is at the Memorial Chapel, just to the side of the altar, and is a place designated and consecrated for disposition of ashes of loved ones. No urns are used. The cremated remains are dispersed and mixed into the soil and mulch surrounding the Garden vegetation in a manner such that they are indistinguishable from the soil matrix. Ashes are non-recoverable and not preserved intact in compliance with New Hampshire statutes. It is important that during conversations with a funeral director it is clearly understood that the ashes are specifically prepared for this type of interment. Interments cannot happen during the colder months of the year. Family members make contact with Calumet staff to make detailed arrangements of interment plans and the Calumet staff prepares the space beforehand. There are quite a number of individuals who are at rest on Jackman Ridge. The Executive Director is available to answer any questions.
During certain times of the year, when the Calumet schedule permits, family members might make arrangements with Calumet's Food Service team to have a light luncheon or some snacks in the Dining Room of the Conference Center or the Micah Room following the interment. The fee is determined after the initial conversation between the family and Calumet.
Memory Book
We are beginning a project to collect brief summaries and one photo of the people who are memorialized at the Memorial Chapel. Calumet Nation, though numbering in the thousands, is still quite an intimate group. In the many years to come, it is the hope that future generations will remember and reflect upon the ones who were part of Calumet Nation in past years. The memorial book will be kept in the Conference Center.
Markers
There is a $300 per person fee which includes all of the costs associated with interment at Calumet (purchase of the granite, engraving the names and dates, marker transport, garden preparation for interment, garden and trail upkeep).
The standard granite markers are 12" square. There are 13 characters per line and Calumet has chosen a standard font and character size. The markers commemorate the lives of loved ones who may or may not have their ashes interred in the Memorial Garden. In many cases, family members make arrangements for a marker which remembers someone who is interred elsewhere, but whose memory is very much alive here at Calumet. For those persons whose ashes are scattered in the Memorial Garden, there is a small cross engraved in the corner of the marker. Calumet arranges for the marker to be engraved and put in place.
Payment
The all-inclusive fee is $300 per person / $600 per couple.
Sometimes, when a surviving spouse is providing information for their loved one’s memorial marker and making payment for this service, we are asked whether Calumet has an option for pre-payment for this service option. The answer is yes. There are a couple of benefits with this option. First, it relieves the surviving family members of that future burden. Second, should Calumet need to increase the fee in the years to come, those who choose to pre-pay will not be responsible for those additional dollars.
Pre-payments will be held in the Memorial Chapel fund with the names of each person/couple who is taking advantage of the pre-payment option.
Memorial Marker Form
Please find the attachment below which provides the information necessary to order the memorial marker. If there are any questions, don’t hesitate to contact Knute.
