NORWAY - It may not seem far to some people, but the distance between Norway and Iron Mountain can be a lot when you want to visit a loved one in the cemetery.
For parents who lose an infant, it is devastating and making that trip on a frequent basis is difficult.
Steve Ortman, director and manager of Ortman Funeral Home in Norway, saw families who experienced this loss and decided to look at getting a memorial at Norway Township Cemetery for people living around the Norway area.
"I pursued the idea of a Babyland Memorial at the Norway Cemetery, because the only other one available is in Iron Mountain," Ortman said.
His first step was to approach the Norway Township Board with the idea. "And they agreed by donating land at the cemetery for use. A monument was donated, engraved, and placed out at the cemetery," he added.
When a family loses an infant, Chaplain David Anderson is contacted at Dickinson County Memorial Hospital. Anderson had spearheaded getting this program in place at the hospital. And now there is a memorial available to families that are from the Norway-Vulcan area, Ortman said.
He added that the program is for a family that loses an infant and needs a place to have a burial.
"The Babyland is available to the family, and the hospital coordinates with me at the funeral home. Our funeral home services and cemetery services are at no cost to the family. Chaplain Anderson will have a service for the family at the grave," he said.
The culmination of this effort by Ortman was a special dedication ceremony at the Norway Township Cemetery conducted by Chaplain Anderson.
He noted that the new site at the cemetery was made available through the donations of Ortman Funeral Home, Norway Township, Eleanor Haferkorn, Monumental Sales and Dean Doney.
It's been a busy year for Ortman, who took over the sole ownership of the funeral home in 2004 changing the named to the Miner-Ortman Funeral Home. This year is the 100th year of the business, and to celebrate this milestone, Ortman changed the name to the Ortman Funeral Home.
"The funeral home is only the second business in Norway to achieve this milestone of 100 years of continued business," Ortman said.
The funeral home was established in 1909 by David A. Asp as the D.A. Asp Undertaking Parlor and Furniture establishment. In the late 1930s, his son, D. Carrol Asp joined the firm and it was renamed, D.A. Asp & Co.
In 1945, David's other son, Robert Asp joined the funeral home with his brother, and the business became known as the D.A. Asp Memorial Funeral Home.
In 1978, Melvin Miner joined the funeral home with Robert Asp when Carrol retired. Robert retired in 1981, and Miner continued the business changing the name to Miner Funeral Home in 1983.
In 1994, Ortman joined the firm and when Miner retired in 2004, he purchased the funeral home changing the name to the Miner-Ortman Funeral Home.
The most recent name change, Ortman Funeral Home, occurred this year with the anniversary celebration.
Linda Lobeck's e-mail address is llobeck@ironmountaindailynews.com.