On March 21st, 2009 A Perfect Era, sponsored by Evergreen Cemetery Benevolent Society presented the funeral procession and funeral service in honor of General William J. Palmer. In the procession, we included all 3 of his daughters. We felt it was fitting even though it was not historically accurate. In 1909 Marjorie was very ill and was not able to attend her father's funeral. Dorothy, being the devoted sister she was, stayed with Marjorie at Glen Eyrie. Elsie, the eldest daughter, was in fact the only child of his to attend. She was escorted by her husband, Leopold Myers. The original procession had 75 carriages, 20 automobiles, and approx. 3000 mourners on foot.
The day was beautifully sunny and warm for us in this decade. We included a horse drawn hearse, 2 carriages, and 4 cars for the re enactment. It was escorted by 3 police cars. Modern days needs required a more limited assemblage. It went off without a hitch.
We estimate around 300 people came out to see this event. We witnessed people who walked with the procession from Giuseppes to Evergreen. We witnessed drivers in opposite lanes stop, as was customary, until the procession passed. We realized that General Palmer's memory was still alive in the thoughts of the citizen's of Colorado Springs. WOW!
We have to thank Joann Colt of Giuseppes for allowing us to take this event through her restaurant. She is a dedicated historian to this city and always a positive influence! We wish to thank the Gazette newspaper for printing the issue commemorating this man's passing. It took many man hours for them to produce this paper and their willingness to participate was unwavering. We wish to thank our photographers, Jim Baker, Aaron Hartshorn, and Scott Robley for documenting this event in film. We also wish to thank Jane Rodgers for her photos and story entry to Your Hub, and Mike Colletta for his movie that was placed on Youtube.com. Also a thank you goes out to the members of the Pikes Peak Chapter of the Veteran Motor Car Club of America who drove their vintage cars and dressed up for the event.
We wish to thank everyone who came out and took time out of their weekend to attend this. We recieved many positive comments. It was a terrific climax to almost a year of planning. We also would like to commend Will DeBoer, cemetery manager, for leading this planning. Without his input we would not have been able to accomplish this. A huge thank you also goes out to the re enactors that came out to represent the family and friends of Gen. Palmer. Father Marty from St. Stephens did an outstanding job representing the original pastor.
Below are photos taken by Jim Baker from www.theweddingphotographycenter.com