Page 11 - IAV Digital Magazine #580

iAV - Antelope Valley Digital Magazine
Stoneman Willie: Mummified
Man To Be Buried After 128 Years
On Display In Pennsylvania
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jRoQcP6Pc0g
A mummified man is going to receive a proper burial after being on display at a funeral home in Pennsylvania for 128 years.
Known as Stoneman Willie, the man died in a local jail in 1895, where he suffered from kidney failure after being arrested
for pickpocketing.
He was accidentally mummified by an undertaker who was experimenting with new embalming tech- niques, according to Auman's Funeral Home in
Reading, Pennsylvani a.
Dressed in a suit with
a bow tie, Stoneman Willie is displayed in a coffin with a red sash across his chest. His hair and teeth remain intact, and his skin has taken on a leathery appearance.
Having given a fake name at the time of his arrest, the man's identity remained
unknown for many years and local offi- cials were unable to contact any relatives.
But using historical documents, Stoneman Willie's real name has been identified and will be inscribed at the bot- tom of his tombstone when his body is buried on 7 October.
"We don't refer to him as a mummy. We refer to him as our friend Willie," funeral director Kyle Blankenbiller said.
"He has just been such an icon, such a storied part of not only Reading's past but certainly its pres- ent."
The funeral home had petitioned the state for permission to keep the body instead of burying it to moni- tor the process of the experimental embalming technique.
Ahead of the funeral, local residents filed onto the streets to celebrate Reading's 275th anniversary.
Stoneman Willie's coffin was carried on a motorcycle hearse, as part of a parade for the city.
iAV - Antelope Valley Digital Magazine