A fifteen-year-old high school cheerleader is killed while driving
on a dangerous curve one afternoon. By that night, her classmates
have erected a roadside cross decorated with silk flowers, not as a
grim warning, but as a loving memorial. 
	
   In this study of roadside crosses, the first of its kind, Holly
Everett presents the history of these unique commemoratives and
their relationship to contemporary memorial culture. The meaning
of these markers is presented in the words of grieving parents, high
school students, public officials, and private individuals whom the
author interviewed during her fieldwork in Texas.  Everett
documents more than thirty-five memorial sites with twenty-five
photographs representing the wide range of creativity. Examining
the complex interplay of politics, culture, and belief, she
emphasizes the importance of religious expression in everyday life
and analyzes responses to death that this tradition creates.

    Roadside crosses are a meeting place for communication,
remembrance, and reflection, embodying ongoing relationships
between the living and the dead. They are a bridge between
personal and communal pain—and one of the oldest forms of
memorial culture. Scholars in folklore, American studies, cultural
geography, cultural/social history, and material culture studies will
be especially interested in this study. 

_________________________________________________________

HOLLY EVERETT lived in Texas for twenty-eight years before
moving to Newfoundland, Canada, where she is presently an
assistant professor at Memorial University of Newfoundland. 
Her work on roadside crosses, commitment rings, and classical 
music radio has been published in scholarly journals and 
conference proceeding.


What People Are Saying About This Book:

"Holly Everett's book is a welcome and much-needed addition to
the growing body of work concerning the modern phenomenon of
spontaneous memorialization at the sites of murders, tragedies, and
disasters. Thoroughly researched and beautifully illustrated, the
book will attract both casual readers and serious scholars."—
Sylvia Grider, Department of Anthropology, Texas A&M University