HAWARDEN, Iowa | Ric Porter drove the silver Cadillac in Hawarden past a group of workers digging a utility line. The workers, who had traveled from out-of-state to work in the Sioux County community, stepped from their place at work and removed their helmets, paying their silent respect as Porter slowly drove past, leading a funeral procession from his spot behind the hearse's steering wheel.
"Often times, people will make a sign of the cross with their hand, or their take off their hat," said Porter, who, with his brother, Randy Porter, operates Porter Funeral Homes in Hawarden and nearby Rock Valley, Iowa. "People are very respectful."
It's a little different way to see the road, driving slowly through a community while carrying a member of that town to his or her final resting place. Porter knows the path quite well. He's the son of a funeral home director, the late Alvin Porter, who established the family business in Rock Valley decades ago.
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"There are times when we're asked to drive the funeral coach past a special place for a loved one," he said. "I remember leading funeral procession years ago at Ireton. We went to the elevator and the funeral coach made a circle through the business as the rest of the procession waited."
On the way to a local cemetery from tiny Doon, Iowa, Porter remembered a young driver passing several cars in the procession before she realized she'd driven herself into a position directly behind Porter and the hearse.
"She passed the hearse and kept her eyes straight forward as she passed," he said. "I think she'd finally come to realize where she was."
While there can be rules in big cities for funeral processions, cultural norms are practiced in places like Hawarden, where the 2006 Porter Funeral Homes silver Cadillac isn't adorned with flags or flashing lights.
"Oh, they might have flags or flashing lights in cities where there's more traffic," Porter said. "In Hawarden, we lead the funeral procession and people know to wait respectfully. Our local police department is very good about helping direct traffic if we need it."
In May 2014, Porter idled the hearse as the family of the late Lawrence Ruhland requested that Lawrence's son, Mic Ruhland, of Akron, Iowa, carry his father's body to the cemetery. He did so in a wagon pulled by a tractor that was a family treasure.
"The wagon was perfect for it," Porter said. "So we had no hearse that day."
As Porter grew up in Rock Valley, he quickly learned that the family business had more than a hearse. Alvin Porter, you see, also drove the Rock Valley ambulance unit. That was the case in most small towns up until the mid 1970s.
"Dad had a Chrysler station wagon for an ambulance and he drove it fast," Ric recalled. "He'd cut the back seat out and put a light and a siren on the station wagon."
Porter remembers his father transporting three burn victims at once from an explosion at a grain elevator in Rock Valley in the 1960s. Two men sat in the front seat while a third lay on the cot in the back.
"One of the men up front couldn't lean back on the seat because of the burns," Porter said.
When a body requires moving a greater distance, Porter Funeral Homes uses a van. Doing so allows the driver to make a stop without drawing attention. Porter said it can be difficult to pull up to a stop in a town while driving a hearse.
"I remember coming back once in a hearse and I had a pastor with me," he said. "We came upon a driver whose car was disabled on the side of the highway. We offered the driver a ride, but they declined. I told them we had room in the back."
And while the Cadillac rides comfortably, it can take a little getting used to.
"We had an intern who wasn't quite sure how long the Cadillac was," Porter said. "She ended up back into something at the cemetery."
Porter himself has experienced issues, at times. Mostly, they concern Mother Nature and the condition of roads in area cemeteries.
"I've been stuck a few times at the cemetery," he said. "Some of those roads can be pretty snowy or muddy. I'm always thankful if it happens after the funeral service."
The family often gets a kick out of it regardless.
Porter laughed and showed a sense of humor shared by many. "I've heard things like, 'Oh, Dad got stuck one more time.'"
