The Manitoba Home Builders' Association is celebrating 75 years.
Issue link: http://publications.winnipegfreepress.com/i/692961
14 ❖ JUNE 2016 A R R A N G E M E N T S 1801 Notre Dame Ave. 204.633.5053 Toll Free 1-866-755-5401 Email: larsens@mymts.net Experience • Quality • Trust • Craftsmanship & Gran & i & t & e Monuments Markers ww w w w .larsensmemorials.com By Todd Lewys for the Free Press F or many years, those who lost a loved one were often at a loss about what to do with their cremated remains. Tradition dictated that you either put the ashes in an urn and had it interred, or – as per a spouse's or relative's instructions – threw them to the four winds to have them scattered. Those two options ruled until 2009, when the City of Winnipeg's cemeteries branch put a new concept into play within the confines of its three cemeteries (St. Vital, Transcona and Brookside). That concept was a cremation scattering garden, says City of Winnipeg cemeteries administrator Jane Saxby. "We put the first one in St. Vital Cemetery seven years ago," she says. "Right from the start, it was extremely successful because it provided so many different options for interment and memorialization. Cremation scattering gardens in Transcona and Brookside cemeteries followed shortly after due to the popularity of the concept." In a nutshell, cremation scattering gardens are designated areas within cemeteries that offer families the option to scatter the remains of loved ones in a setting defined by peace and beauty. Such is the case in the scattering garden in St. Vital Cemetery, Saxby says. "It's a centre island in the middle of the cemetery that's landscaped, and that's surrounded by beautiful shrubs and flowers. There are paths that you can take to it that are especially helpful in winter, and benches where you can sit down near loved ones and contemplate. We've actually gotten a lot of compliments about the scattering gardens at St. Vital, Transcona and Brookside. Their beauty seems to make it easier for people to cope with the loss of a loved one." Typically, scattering garden areas come equipped with niches – or little granite or stainless steel cubicles – equipped with a shutter and security door. Once remains have been interred into one of the niches, they can CREMATION SCATTERING GARDENS: Creating lasting, positive memories in an oasis of peace and beauty