#Viroqua stone lettering

[mrkoppa]

8 August 2024 | Kingston Cemetery, Sauk County, Wisconsin

Lovely rural cemetery with many fine examples of mid-20th century hand stencil cutting and sandblastmanship.

[mrkoppa]

05 Oct 2023 | Buffalo City Cemetery, Buffalo County, WI

[mrkoppa]

11 October 2022 | Resurrection Cemetery, Madison; Dane County, Wisconsin

Cleaned the 80 year-old Italian marble Lombardino monument today. Quite the sculpture. I’m no monument historian, but I can only assume something like this was sculpted by hand. Amazing to me. And I have no idea if monuments like this are still made today by marble sculptors in Italy, but there must still be people in this world who can do this, right? And that, too, is amazing to me.

[mrkoppa]

10 October 2022 | Oak Hill Cemetery, Black Earth, Dane County, Wisconsin

Last job of the day, at a cemetery where there is not one monument on level ground, and this one happened to be high on the hill, perpendicular to the slope. With a pretty substantial hosta patch right in front of it. Thanks. Request was to add the final date (2022) for Delores, and against my personal feelings about the matter, also add month and day to all 4 dates. This isn’t too terribly difficult to lay out, but you will notice the serifs on the existing letters and numerals are pointy, so here I am again showing off how I take the time to modify them manually on the stencil, because the stencil-press-stamped characters have stubby serifs. It was a bit challenging on the 3/4” characters, with a twisted spine and gravity pulling me down the hill, but in the end it’s just another job well done that no one besides you will ever appreciate.

[mrkoppa]

6 May 2022 | St. Hedwig’s Catholic Church, Thorp, Wisconsin

[mrkoppa]

07 Oct 2022 | Boscobel Cemetery, Grant County, Wisconsin

First time I’ve seen a trophy as grave decoration, and pleased to see it was for taking 3rd place in Hillsboro (two counties away) in 1989. Nice job, Mr. Grimesey.

[mrkoppa]

23 Sept 2022 | Evergreen Cemetery, Prairie du Chien, Grant County, Wisconsin

Not sure if it will be funny or sad when future intelligence tries to understand why there is an abundance of plastic waste in our burial grounds.

[mrkoppa]

24 May 2022 | Oaks Cemetery, CTY Trunk G, Sauk County, Wisconsin

Small metal markers like this one are placed by funeral homes at graves when no stone marker exists. I have always assumed their function is temporary. Impressed that lawn mowers of Oaks Cemetery have respected the placement of this one for 60 years.

[mrkoppa]

24 May 2022 | St. Anthony’s Catholic Cemetery, Cazenovia, Richland County, Wisconsin

11 years working in the cemeteries and I never took the time to get a close look at this crucifixion scene until today. Glad I did.

[mrkoppa]

9 May 2022 | St. Peter’s Cemetery, Reedsburg, Wisconsin

[mrkoppa]

5 August 2021 | Resurrection Cemetery, Madison, Dane County, WI

Challenged to match unusual calligraphic lettering for an added name and dates on the back of one of the interesting asymmetric monuments at the Catholic cemetery in Madison.

Carbon rubbings of existing lettering transferred to rubber stencil, then cut by hand with trusty pen knife, and sandblasted to a deep V.

[mrkoppa]

11 June 2021 | Union Hill Cemetery, Crawford County, Wi

Arrived at this lovely bench to add the final date and found a riot of mutilated plastic lemons and flowers about the grave. Please take this as a reminder to tell friends or family who may have recently lost a loved one or regularly decorate graves to refrain from purchasing plastic flowers to memorialize the dearly departed. It is the opposite of respect. Consider buying freshly cut flowers from a florist instead, and let them fade and decompose. Please.

[mrkoppa]

19 October 2021 | Hardies Creek Lutheran Church (& cemetery), Trempeleau County, Wisconsin

[mrkoppa]

30 October 2021 | Mount Olivet Cemetery, Janesville, Rock County, Wisconsin

Statue and stone for Margaret and William Castle, and other aging statuary.

[mrkoppa]

31 August 2020 | Radisson Madison, Dane County, Wisconsin

On the road with Viroqua Stone Lettering, a hotel room desk collage. I think we have a winner.

[mrkoppa]