As news of Sen. Edward Kennedy”s death spread, and his life remembered and legacy debated over the coming days, one Columbus business quietly went to work.
The morning after Kennedy”s death on the night of Aug. 25, Columbus Marble Works received an e-mail ordering a monument for Edward Moore Kennedy, to be delivered to Arlington National Cemetery.
“Getting rush orders is not that unusual for us,” said Columbus Marble Works manager Key Blair. “This one just happened to be for a national figure.”
The white marble foot marker, which bears Kennedy”s name and years of birth and death, was completed by 2 p.m. that same afternoon and shipped to Arlington, where it arrived the following day.
All work was done on site at the Marble Works on Highway 45, which holds a government contract to produce monuments for veterans and active duty service members. The company, one of Columbus” oldest, has been in business since 1846.
The marker replaced a small wooden stake, painted white, that had marked Kennedy”s gravesite in the days prior to his funeral on Saturday, Aug. 29. When Arlington reopened for public viewing the next day, the slab of Columbus marble was in place, along with a white oak wood cross at the head of the grave.
Kennedy, 77, who represented Massachusetts in the Senate over four decades and was one of its most liberal Democratic members, rests near his famous brothers, President John F. Kennedy and Sen. Robert Kennedy, on a grassy hill that boasts what is still considered the best view of Washington.
Edward Kennedy”s white wooden cross and marble foot marker are identical to those marking the grave of Robert Kennedy, who died from an assassin”s bullet in 1968. The two graves, 100 feet apart, complete an arc with President Kennedy”s eternal flame at the far point.
The Marble Works” role in the historic moment is one the company takes seriously, Blair said.
“We don”t take what we do lightly. We consider it an honor,” he said. “We are fortunate to have a top-notch team that puts their know-how to work every day making quality monuments that honor the men and women who have served our country.”
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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