A fifteen-year-old high school cheerleader is killed while driving on a dangerous curve one afternoon. By that night, her classmates have erected a roadside cross decorated with silk flowers, not as a grim warning, but as a loving memorial. In this study of roadside crosses, the first of its kind, Holly Everett presents the history of these unique commemoratives and their relationship to contemporary memorial culture. The meaning of these markers is presented in the words of grieving parents, high school students, public officials, and private individuals whom the author interviewed during her fieldwork in Texas. Everett documents over thirty-five memorial sites with twenty-five photographs representing the wide range of creativity. Examining the complex interplay of politics, culture, and belief, she emphasizes the importance of religious expression in everyday life and analyzes responses to death that this tradition. Roadside crosses are a meeting place for communication, remembrance, and reflection, embodying on-going relationships between the living and the dead. They are a bridge between personal and communal pain–and one of the oldest forms of memorial culture. Scholars in folklore, American studies, cultural geography, cultural/social history, and material culture studies will be especially interested in this study.

Photograph of the Edmund and Emily Miller House, in Austin, Texas.

Photograph of the Edmund and Emily Miller House, in Austin, Texas.

Photograph of the Edmund and Emily Miller House, in Austin, Texas.

Photograph of the Scarbrough Building, in Austin, Texas.

Photograph of the Edmund and Emily Miller House, in Austin, Texas.

Photograph of the Edmund and Emily Miller House, in Austin, Texas.

Photograph of the Edmund and Emily Miller House, in Austin, Texas.

Photograph of the Scarbrough Building, in Austin, Texas.

Photograph of the Scarbrough Building, in Austin, Texas.

Photograph of the Scarbrough Building, in Austin, Texas.

Photograph of the Scarbrough Building, in Austin, Texas.

Photograph of the Edmund and Emily Miller House, in Austin, Texas.

Photograph of the Edmund and Emily Miller House, in Austin, Texas.

Photograph of the Edmund and Emily Miller House, in Austin, Texas.

Letter from Texas State Senator Leticia Van de Putte to Eleanor Brown thanking Brown for her service during WWII as well as her attendance at a recent ceremony in Austin honoring women and their accomplishments.

The Jacob Fontaine Religious Museum at the new location, 1195 Comal St. In the 1880s this was a one-room school house.

Photograph of four individuals at the Mexic-Arte Museum's annual Día de los Muertos parade. Two individuals, one of whom is a child, wear skull masks. The remaining patrons are adult males. A parade procession can be seen in the background. The photograph was taken at dusk in downtown Austin, Texas.

Photograph of an altar at the Mexic-Arte Museum's annual Día de los Muertos parade. The altar has multiple tiers covered in lace and white satin. Angel embellishments are attached to the fabric. Photographs and candles are arranged on the tiers.

Photograph of an altar to Alfredo Zalee at the Mexic-Arte Museum's annual Día de los Muertos parade. The altar is covered in blue cloth. A lighter blue headstone is situated on top of the altar. Flowers and ribbons are arranged in front of the headstone. A card reads: "Alfredo Zalce Artist Muralist Mexico 2003."

Photograph of a banner at the Mexic-Arte Museum's annual Día de los Muertos parade. The banner reads "2004. Día de los Muertos. Mexic-ArteMuseum.org" and is decorated with yellow and green streamers.

Photograph of Senator Gonzalo Barrientos at the Mexic-Arte Museum's annual Día de los Muertos parade. Barrientos, right, stands near a collection of community altars. Two young children and a teenager stand near him.

Photograph of a young girl making a mask at the Mexic-Arte Museum's annual Día de los Muertos celebration. The girl uses a stamp to decorate the mask. Patrons stand in the background. The photograph was taken in downtown Austin, Texas.

Photograph of a young boy wearing a mask at the Mexic-Arte Museum's annual Día de los Muertos celebration. The mask is hand decorated. The boy wears a red and green tie dye shirt.