With tall, Amish-made wheels, the black hearse sits high, with ornately carved posts supporting glass panels around where the casket is held.
Black curtains draped behind the glass panels frame decorative silver metal designs with “DeMarco and Stone” lettered underneath.
Outside at the DeMarco and Stone funeral parlor on Helderberg Avenue on Friday, two horses hitched to the hearse nuzzled each other while funeral services were held for Anton Culver.
Built in the late 1800s, the hearse was originally a sleigh that was used during the winter months in Michigan to bring the deceased to their final resting place.
The hearse was bought about 15 years ago by Michael DeMarco, the owner of DeMarco and Stone Funeral Home, whose father started the business in 1921.
The hearse was refurbished and wheels were added.
DeMarco said that they have used the hearse for parades as well as funerals.
“We’ve used it for several people, and they’ve appreciated it,” DeMarco said.
It was first used by the funeral home in 1997 at the request of Herbert Ladd, owner of Albany Carriage Service.
He had wanted to be pulled to his cemetery by his favorite pair of horses, Pat and Mike, and the family arranged for the use of DeMarco’s hearse.
“If we can satisfy a family and offer a little peace on their way,” DeMarco said, “a little joy means a lot and makes the journey easier.”
It was also used in 2009 when the remains of a Civil War veteran were moved to the Gerald B.H. Solomon National Cemetery in Saratoga.
When not in use, the hearse is kept in a garage stall that was specifically built for it. Some of the walls are made of glass so people can look at it when it is being stored.
On Friday, the hearse was drawn by Sergeant, a Belgian horse, and Bubba, a Percheron.
Sergeant, with his tan and white colors, and Bubba, dark brown and black, brought the body of Culver to Parkview Cemetery in Schenectady.
Horse owners Daylyn Pettis and Kristal Gessler from Bowman’s Orchard in Clifton Park, who were directing the carriage, knew that navigating the streets of Schenectady would be a bit tricky.
There is a lot of traffic in Schenectady, they said, and they would get a lot of looks because it isn’t too often that horses are seen in Schenectady, much less horses pulling an old-fashioned hearse.
However, as Pettis and Gessler awaited the loading of the casket and departure for the cemetery in black top hats, trim white shirts and black jackets, they knew they had a good team of horses to work with.
Although this was the first time Sergeant and Bubba had worked together, they complemented each other well.
“It’s the first time they’ve been together; it’s scary how well they’re working together,” Pettis said.
Having a horse-drawn carriage bring Culver to the cemetery was a request by the family.
Culver, 80, had always been interested in horses since he was a young boy, his son-in-law, Tim Tietz, said. He used to break horses at a horse farm and continued to love them through adulthood.
“He was into Westerns and horses,” Tietz said.
So, he said, it seemed fitting to his mother-in-law to have the horse-drawn hearse bring Culver’s body past their home in Schenectady and to his final resting place.
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