Mineral Crossing's Mission

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The average cost of a funeral in the U.S. is $3,000 to $8,000.

The average cost of a funeral in the U.S. is $3,000 to $5,000, with the casket being the greatest expense. Mineral Crossing offers six simple styles of hand-crafted casket, none of them garish. The most common rectangular pine or cedar caskets sell for $650. The basic standard size is 79 inches long, 25 inches wide and 16 inches deep. Other types of caskets, from economy to custom-shaped, range from $395 to $1,250. Prices include muslin liner. rope or wooden handles, and delivery in eastern Iowa. Delivery outside Iowa costs $100. The caskets are held together by dowels and glue and contain no metal or nails. For $400 you can get a kit with materials and instructions for building your own casket. However, Mulgrew says this method is best for people who know something about woodworking. And, he says, it's almost as easy for these people to buy the materials themselves.

If you want to team the an of casket-making, whether to make a casket for yourself or a loved one or to start a small business, Mulgrew would be happy to teach you how he does it. He'd like to see a regional casket-maker in every part of the country. Indeed, there may be a market everywhere for a simple handcrafted pine casket.

The casket-making business subsidizes Mulgrew's budding non-profit retreat center on Mineral Crossing's 640 acres where he provides facilities for people to come and spend time in solitude. He has built two hermitages, and hopes eventually to build five, in secluded spots throughout his inviting property. There is no fee to stay in the hermitages, and Mulgrew and his wife provide visitors with homemade bread. Providing people a place for solitude and reflection is not about money. On the contrary, says Mulgrew, "It's the one thing I can do in this world."

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