A Century of Stone

Egner Monument Company has been a staple in the region for a long time, with its roots tracing back to roughly 1918. The business has moved through different families over the decades, eventually being purchased by the current owners in 1974. Today, the company sources its granite from across the globe, bringing in true black stones from Africa, India, and China while getting pink granite from North Carolina. They focus exclusively on granite because other materials like marble tend to deteriorate much faster over time. Whether they are sourcing stones from Georgia or Minnesota, the team handles the engraving and design work in house to ensure every monument is handled with care.

“I’ve always heard the best investments involve death and water because you need both of those things.”

From Bigfoot to Beer Cans

One of the most surprising aspects of the modern monument industry is just how custom a headstone can be. The team at Egner can engrave almost anything a family requests, including ears of corn, bottles of liquor, or even a can of beer. There is even a famous local stone on Tam’s Mountain that features a middle finger and a blunt acronym. To achieve these looks, they use a combination of traditional sandblasting and modern laser etching. If a mistake is ever made on a stone, they can even recycle it by shaving off a layer of the face and repolishing it for a new design. This allows them to create truly unique tributes that reflect the personality of the person being remembered.

“We can put your face on it. Kitty cat. We could even put Bigfoot on there.”

Tales from the Trenches

Setting these monuments is no easy task, as a single stone can weigh anywhere from 200 to 700 pounds. Boogie, who has been with the company for about 36 years, spends his days traveling to cemeteries within a 60 mile radius to set these heavy slabs. Sometimes the job requires standing in a freshly dug grave to add a death date to an existing family stone. While the work involves death every day, the crew finds cemeteries to be peaceful places rather than creepy ones. They even have a sense of humor about the industry, jokingly suggesting taglines like, “if you die, we supply,” or the classic, “if you burn, I’ve got your urn”.

“It don’t make any difference. 50 years from now we’ll all be dead.”

Curious to hear more about ghost stories, the “changing tent” for cemetery privacy, or why one woman pre-designed a monument for her dog? You won’t want to miss the full conversation in the original video!