He Builds Caskets With Special Care
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For Enos Swartzentruber, his rural Long Prairie, Minn., business isn’t just about handcrafting caskets. It’s also a mission to educate and support people going through a difficult time. Based on his Christian faith he refers to the caskets as “to go boxes.” The business name, Living Hope Woodwork, LLC, reflects that.
“One thing I do with every casket as it’s being built is to pray for the soul of the body that will rest in there. My desire is for people to be ready and to know where their box comes from and that it is made in a godly environment. It’s personal.”
A former member of an Amish community in Ohio, Swartzentruber worked with wood growing up - from cutting trees, to sawing lumber, to making furniture and helping build caskets for community members. He still occasionally saws down trees, and loves transforming rough lumber into items that showcase the wood’s natural beauty.
He makes the caskets from pine, oak and cedar cut locally and sawed at his nephew’s sawmill. He makes the caskets, and his wife, Mary, sews the linings. The couple has a showroom on their farm with caskets for people to choose from, but also do custom caskets, sometimes using lumber provided by customers that has a special meaning to them.
Living Hope caskets are priced reasonably: pine $850; oak (and oversized) $1,500; and cedar $1,750. In Minnesota there is no sales tax with direct casket sales. One area funeral home stocks the caskets and a couple other funeral homes offer them to clients. Word-of-mouth advertisement and local radio ads have given Living Hope plenty of local exposure, and Swartzentruber delivers caskets for free up to 50 miles and charges reasonable fees for greater distances. Out-of-state customers have picked up caskets at his shop.
Besides making and selling caskets and urns, Swartzentruber hands out a booklet, Shopping for Funeral Services, available to everyone for free from the Federal Trade Commission. He also has a Funeral Planning Rights link on his website. Having information about funeral planning rights helps remove the fear of the unknown, he notes.
People are welcome to call ahead and schedule a time to see caskets in the show room, Swartzentruber says. Photos are also on the business’ website.
Besides making caskets, Swartzentruber builds custom cabinets and furniture and is a part-time driver. But he finds the most satisfaction in his casket-building.
“I was praying and searching for something to do that was a need for the community. I kept coming back to caskets,” he says.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Enos Swartzentruber, Living Hope Wood Caskets, 19078 Co. Rd. 11, Long Prairie, Minn. 56347 (ph 320 533-0611; www.livinghopewoodcaskets.com; leftylhw@gmail.com).
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He Builds Caskets With Special Care SPECIALTY/SERVICES For Enos Swartzentruber his rural Long Prairie Minn business isn’t just about handcrafting caskets It’s also a mission to educate and support people going through a difficult time Based on his Christian faith he refers to the caskets as “to go boxes ” The business name Living Hope Woodwork LLC reflects that “One thing I do with every casket as it’s being built is to pray for the soul of the body that will rest in there My desire is for people to be ready and to know where their box comes from and that it is made in a godly environment It’s personal ” A former member of an Amish community in Ohio Swartzentruber worked with wood growing up - from cutting trees to sawing lumber to making furniture and helping build caskets for community members He still occasionally saws down trees and loves transforming rough lumber into items that showcase the wood’s natural beauty He makes the caskets from pine oak and cedar cut locally and sawed at his nephew’s sawmill He makes the caskets and his wife Mary sews the linings The couple has a showroom on their farm with caskets for people to choose from but also do custom caskets sometimes using lumber provided by customers that has a special meaning to them Living Hope caskets are priced reasonably: pine $850; oak and oversized $1 500; and cedar $1 750 In Minnesota there is no sales tax with direct casket sales One area funeral home stocks the caskets and a couple other funeral homes offer them to clients Word-of-mouth advertisement and local radio ads have given Living Hope plenty of local exposure and Swartzentruber delivers caskets for free up to 50 miles and charges reasonable fees for greater distances Out-of-state customers have picked up caskets at his shop Besides making and selling caskets and urns Swartzentruber hands out a booklet Shopping for Funeral Services available to everyone for free from the Federal Trade Commission He also has a Funeral Planning Rights link on his website Having information about funeral planning rights helps remove the fear of the unknown he notes People are welcome to call ahead and schedule a time to see caskets in the show room Swartzentruber says Photos are also on the business’ website Besides making caskets Swartzentruber builds custom cabinets and furniture and is a part-time driver But he finds the most satisfaction in his casket-building “I was praying and searching for something to do that was a need for the community I kept coming back to caskets ” he says Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Enos Swartzentruber Living Hope Wood Caskets 19078 Co Rd 11 Long Prairie Minn 56347 ph 320 533-0611; www livinghopewoodcaskets com; leftylhw@gmail com
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