Emmons' Gravestone
Location: Area DD/Lot 154
Date of Placement: after 1964
Decedents: Wesley W. Emmons, Catherine E. (Kichman) Emmons, Wesley E. Emmons, Jr., Ellen (Kehne) Emmons
Monument inducted into the Hall in September 2024 (Class #4)
Location: Area DD/Lot 154
Date of Placement: after 1964
Decedents: Wesley W. Emmons, Catherine E. (Kichman) Emmons, Wesley E. Emmons, Jr., Ellen (Kehne) Emmons
Monument inducted into the Hall in September 2024 (Class #4)
The Emmons headstone in Area DD of Mount Olivet is a classic display of Art Deco design. Art Deco, short for the French Arts décoratifs (lit. 'Decorative Arts'), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in Paris in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920s to early 1930s. Through styling and design of the exterior and interior of anything from large structures to small objects, including how people look (clothing, fashion, and jewelry), Art Deco has influenced bridges, buildings (from skyscrapers to cinemas), ships, ocean liners, trains, cars, trucks, buses, furniture, and everyday objects including radios and vacuum cleaners. As you can see, it has also influenced grave monuments.
Art Deco got its name after the 1925 Exposition internationale des arts décoratifs et industriels modernes (International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts) held in Paris. Art Deco has its origins in bold geometric forms of the Vienna Secession and Cubism. From its outset, it was influenced by the bright colors of Fauvism and of the Ballets Russes, and the exoticized styles of art from China, Japan, India, Persia, ancient Egypt, and Maya.
Art Deco got its name after the 1925 Exposition internationale des arts décoratifs et industriels modernes (International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts) held in Paris. Art Deco has its origins in bold geometric forms of the Vienna Secession and Cubism. From its outset, it was influenced by the bright colors of Fauvism and of the Ballets Russes, and the exoticized styles of art from China, Japan, India, Persia, ancient Egypt, and Maya.
During its heyday, Art Deco represented luxury, glamour, exuberance and faith in social and technological progress. The movement featured rare and expensive materials, such as ebony and ivory, and exquisite craftsmanship. It also introduced new materials such as chrome plating, stainless steel and plastic. In New York, the Empire State Building, Chrysler Building, and other buildings from the 1920s and 1930s are monuments to the style.
In the 1930s, during the Great Depression, Art Deco gradually became more subdued. A sleeker form of the style, called Streamline Moderne, appeared in the 1930s, featuring curving forms and smooth, polished surfaces. Art Deco was a truly international style, but its dominance ended with the beginning of World War II and the rise of the strictly functional and unadorned styles of modern architecture and the International Style of architecture that followed.
In the 1930s, during the Great Depression, Art Deco gradually became more subdued. A sleeker form of the style, called Streamline Moderne, appeared in the 1930s, featuring curving forms and smooth, polished surfaces. Art Deco was a truly international style, but its dominance ended with the beginning of World War II and the rise of the strictly functional and unadorned styles of modern architecture and the International Style of architecture that followed.
Chrysler Building, New York City
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Lobby of the Empire State Building
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The Emmons gravestone was made by Hammaker brothers of Thurmont, and the maker's mark can be found on the side of the monument's base. In his 1966 history of Thurmont, entitled "Gateway to the Mountains," author George Wireman wrote of this firm:
"Hammaker Brothers, Inc., a local firm specializing in memorials of character, was first established in 1 874 by B. Frank Hammaker. In 1884 ownership of the firm was transferred to his brother, Peter N. Hammaker. Upon the death of Peter in 1925, two nephews, Frank E. and Ernest P. Hammaker purchased the business and operated it under the name of Hammaker Brothers. At this time, the business boasted two employees and was indeed a far cry from the present organization, which in recent years has employed as many as twenty-five persons. In 1947 the firm was incorporated and Ernest P. Hammaker became president."
"Hammaker Brothers, Inc., a local firm specializing in memorials of character, was first established in 1 874 by B. Frank Hammaker. In 1884 ownership of the firm was transferred to his brother, Peter N. Hammaker. Upon the death of Peter in 1925, two nephews, Frank E. and Ernest P. Hammaker purchased the business and operated it under the name of Hammaker Brothers. At this time, the business boasted two employees and was indeed a far cry from the present organization, which in recent years has employed as many as twenty-five persons. In 1947 the firm was incorporated and Ernest P. Hammaker became president."
Frederick News Post (Nov 13, 1964)
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Frederick News-Post (April 12, 1977)
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William Wesley Emmons and wife Catherine were the first to be buried in this plot that overlooks Mount Olivet's World war II monument across the lane. Their son Wesley, Jr., a successful silversmith joined them here after his death in 2011. His creative talent probably dictated the design utilized for this monument, likely having a hand in the design itself.
Emmons graduated from the Philadelphia Museum School of Art with a bachelor of fine arts in jewelry and silversmithing in 1954. After working as an apprentice on Jewelers Row for three years, he opened Emmons Jewelers in Philadelphia in 1954. An avid runner beginning in his forties, he was dubbed the “Jogging Jeweler.” During his longtime career, he designed jewelry for Eleanor Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr., Buddy Rich, and J. Robert Oppenheimer. The University of the Arts in Philadelphia exhibited “Wesley Emmons: Retrospective” in 2003. The family lived in the upscale Rittenhouse Square neighborhood of the city.
Most recently, Ellen Kehne Emmons would be laid to rest next to her husband and in-laws following her passing in late 2019. Her life story seems about as "Art Deco-esque" as the fine Emmons family monument that marks the gravesite.
Emmons graduated from the Philadelphia Museum School of Art with a bachelor of fine arts in jewelry and silversmithing in 1954. After working as an apprentice on Jewelers Row for three years, he opened Emmons Jewelers in Philadelphia in 1954. An avid runner beginning in his forties, he was dubbed the “Jogging Jeweler.” During his longtime career, he designed jewelry for Eleanor Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr., Buddy Rich, and J. Robert Oppenheimer. The University of the Arts in Philadelphia exhibited “Wesley Emmons: Retrospective” in 2003. The family lived in the upscale Rittenhouse Square neighborhood of the city.
Most recently, Ellen Kehne Emmons would be laid to rest next to her husband and in-laws following her passing in late 2019. Her life story seems about as "Art Deco-esque" as the fine Emmons family monument that marks the gravesite.
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Wesley W. Emmons, Jr.
Various examples of Emmons' work
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Frederick News Post (Dec 28, 2019)
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William Thomas died in 1917, and his wife died three years later. The three stones stand today quite proudly in Mount Olivet's Area F/Lot 52. They are surrounded, as stated earlier, by several monuments and gravestones of high quality which matched their social standing at the time of their prominence.