PlaqueMaker Blog

V-J Day, a day in history that marks the end of WWII. V-J Day stands for “Victory Over Japan Day,” the historic moment on August 14, 1945 when Japanese Emperor Hirohito cables the U.S. to surrender, agreeing to the terms of the Potsdam Declaration. August 14, 1945 is also the day photographer Alfred Eisenstaedt snaps one of the most famous war pictures ever taken, published in Life Magazine with the caption, In New York’s Times Square a white-clad girl clutches her purse and skirt as an uninhibited sailor plants his lips squarely on hers. What a moment, right?

“Our beloved Kaasama passed away recently at the age of 15. Kaasama was a Shiba Inu we rescued from a Missouri puppy mill when she was about four years old,” Jeni tells us. “Her name means ‘Lady Mother’ in Japanese, a name that combines her kennel name, ‘Lady,’ and she is the mother of Kobe, our other Shiba dog. Interestingly enough, we also adopted her on Mother’s Day!”

A few years ago, one of Kristen Case‘s good friends was diagnosed with breast cancer. She survived a double mastectomy, chemotherapy and radiation. “She thought she had it beat, but this past year the cancer came back,” Kristen tells us. “She fought really hard, but in July, Barb passed away.” Barb’s husband, her sons and many of her friends were by her side through the good and the bad. “It was one of the hardest things I have ever had to go through with someone.”

the entire community along with teachers, students and athletes took part in a halftime ceremony, naming the school’s stadium in recognition of their longtime teacher and coach,

Memorial Day is a truly American holiday that is observed with parades, memorial dedications and cemetery visits to acknowledge our Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marine Corps and Navy personnel who sacrificed their lives for our country. Memorial Day is also the unofficial start to the summer season, so many Americans celebrate with friends and family at outdoor gatherings, picnics and barbecues. Originally known as Decoration Day, which fell on May 30 in the years following the Civil War, Memorial Day became an official federal holiday in 1971.

“I ordered a granite headstone for my cat DeeDee from PlaqueMaker and was so pleased with the end product. I sent them a picture of her to apply to the stone and it looks so like her and is perfect. It made my heart a little less sad knowing I had a stone by her grave with her picture and engraving so as not to forget the dates, her burial site and how she looked after future years of weather and nature taking a toll on the site. I received the stone quickly and they were wonderful to work with. I highly recommend the PlaqueMaker and plan on using them in the future as needed.”–Schmidt

“I ordered this stone for my son’s memorial garden on Sunday, August 9. The proof arrived in just a few hours and I requested a change,” Debra Riendeau tells us on our Facebook Page. “The changes were made and the stone shipped by Wednesday, August 12. It arrived along with its stand on Monday, August 17.”

This Veterans Day –and especially on December 12- the people of Newington, Connecticut will honor their fallen heroes at the town’s newly refurbished veterans memorial, thanks to the work and dedication of Jacob Sirois.

Remember your cherished pet with a beautiful granite memorial. Your custom design is engraved on a 16″x10″x2″ black granite pet memorial headstone and can include your pet’s name, life dates, a special dedication and a favorite photo or pet clipart.

“We took Mom’s ashes to her homestead and created a circle of life celebration memorial,” Lizabeth tells us. “Thank you for all your patience, support, creativity and sacred art.”

Jennifer Streit loves animals. She and her partner adopt dogs that need a loving home in their older years, and care for them until each is ready to cross the Rainbow Bridge. While looking for a unique way to memorialize their beloved pets, they discover the pet memorials on PlaqueMaker.com.

Remember beloved family members, friends, pets or anyone who has touched your life with a custom memorial made for a tribute stand display. Our memorial plaques and headstones are beautiful dedications to display in gardens, cemeteries, stadiums, parks and other outdoor areas.

When words are not enough, remember a beloved infant who has touched your life with our custom engraved memorial stones. Your personal memory is laser engraved on granite, leaving a permanent message that lasts for years to come.

Choosing an urn for a loved one’s remains is a beautiful way to honor their memory. Not only do aesthetic sensibilities come into play when deciding which type of urn to purchase, consider the practicality. What design, shape and material will commemorate your loved one appropriately and stay true to the intended use?

All over America, public memorials and monuments attract millions of visitors each year, while in private, we establish memorials for loved ones as a way of coping with the grief felt following a death, or as a remembrance of a person, pet or historic event. What does our passion for memorials say about us as a culture and as a nation?

Belinda Lents and her family ordered a memorial stone to honor her stepdaughter with the hope that it would arrive before the first anniversary of her death. “We were amazed at the quality, how quickly it arrived, and the detail that went into taking what we wanted on the stone and turning it into something perfect,” Belinda tells us on Facebook. “Thank you for your amazing team of designers, craftsmen/women, shippers, and customer service.”

A PlaqueMaker customer from the UK, Dann has searched for an economical source for the markers, and finds that PlaqueMaker’s price for a single marker is less than a third what he would have been charged by a local establishment in his country (a little over $200 US versus $750 US). He also discovers PlaqueMaker’s quantity discount on custom products, so when he orders several markers, the price drops even more.

With words and pictures, ceremony and song?