Funeral home billboards grim reminder to teens

A hard-hitting billboard campaign by a local funeral home is turning heads in Fond du Lac.

The advertisements are meant to send a message to teens, said Pete Zacherl of Zacherl Funeral Home.

“Basically I am just tired of burying these young people,” Zacherl said. The heroin epidemic, along with other drug overdose deaths, teen suicides and traffic fatalities involving youth are taking their toll on families in the community, and on funeral directors.

One billboard located on Pioneer Road near Mercury Marine shows a hearse with the message, “Side effect of heroin: your vehicle changes. Be aware. Speak up. We can wait.”

Another billboard along South Main Street targets prom-goers. It shows a casket adorned with a beautiful spray of red roses, and reads, “You don’t want to be ordering these flowers for prom. Be safe. We can wait.”

Three billboards have been placed in the city of Fond du Lac and one is located along Highway 41. Zacherl funeral director Dawn Nelson has a background in marketing and said the campaign is causing a stir.

“We wanted the community to know that we care,” Nelson said. “These young people are the children of friends and family, and we know their grandparents and great-grandparents.”

Nationwide, funeral directors are speaking up about the growing numbers of "unnatural deaths," said Steven R. Kemp, a member of the board of directors at the National Funeral Directors Association.

"It’s frightening and it's sad and we have to deal with the families and classmates and friends of the deceased, and it's happening far too often," said Kemp, whose practice is in Detroit. "Many of us are reaching out with these types of community service announcements."

Nelson said she showed the ads to her 16-year-old daughter to get her opinion.

“She said, ‘Woah, Mom. It really stops you and makes you think,’” Nelson said.

Woods Floral in Fond du Lac created the floral casket spray for free for the photo shoot. Owner Dave Buechel said he thinks the billboards send a powerful message.

“It’s extremely important to protect our kids in the community. I went through those years with my kids. You always worry,” Buechel said.

The billboards will remain up through the end of this month.

"We wanted to get people talking about the senseless deaths of young people, and people are talking," Nelson said.

Reach Sharon Roznik at sroznik@fdlreporter.com or 920-907-7936; on Twitter: @sharonroznik.