Page 4 - Berg Mortuary - Planning Guide

Around the turn of the century, Ole H. Berg In Ole’s later years, he had more time to devote
traded 18 acres of ground on which he raised to his family and friends as his son, Wyman,
alfalfa (the present upper campus of BYU) for took over more of the work and managed the
32 feet of property at 40 East Center Street. business. In 1914 Ole spent six months in
There he and his son, Wyman, built the first Norway visiting and gathering genealogy. He
mortuary building in the area. It was named was there when World War I broke out.
0.H. Berg and Son Undertaking. The building
consisted of a partial basement, a small chapel, In 1918, the 0.H. Berg and Son mortuary was
an office, and a casket display room. incorporated and Berg Mortuary, Inc. was
established. In this building the embalming
The old “dead wagon”, as it was called, was used room was constructed in the downstairs area, a
to go out on first calls when someone would small chapel was erected in the southeast half
die, or to go to the various hospitals. of the building, and the west one-half of the
front of the building was rented to the Western
Ole and Wyman had a one-seated buggy they Union Company. The back part of the building
would use to go out on a death call. They was used as storage and a display room for
would take their little satchel, and their cooling caskets, etc.
boards and go to wherever the death occurred,
and proceed to take care of the deceased. In On February 25, 1919, at 79 years of age, Ole
those days it amounted to a matter of placing passed away, surrounded by his family. The
them on what was called a cooling board, and funeral was held in the Utah Stake Tabernacle,
then they would be packed in ice. The ice had which was filled to overflowing. The funeral
to be packed all around the body in order to cortege extended from the Tabernacle to the
hold it long enough for the funeral. In later Provo City Cemetery, a distance of two miles.
years the embalming was done in the home An attempt was made to delay the funeral long
where the person died; and still later on, most enough so the Mortuary could have its first
of the people were brought to the mortuary to motorized funeral coach to take him to the
be embalmed. cemetery. However, the railroad car that the
funeral coach was on was delayed and
side tracked. It never did get there on time.

04 | History