Download July – September 2019 Newsletter

Trip to Lockport NY
Are you ready to head underground? On Thursday August 8th we are leaving Humenik Funeral Chapel at 6:30AM. We will travel to Lockport NY, our first stop is Lockport Locks and Erie Canal Cruises. We will start our day with Lockport Locks famous 3 entrée lunch buffet at 11AM. On the menu is fresh leaf lettuce and baby spinach garden salad, carved roast beef, carved roast turkey, and deli-style corned beef. Along with mashed potatoes with gravy, a pasta station with marinara sauce on the side, their signature maple- glazed carrots, apple and cranberry sauces, breadsticks and the chef’s choice of dessert. After lunch we will board the cruise and travel through the Erie canal which includes “locking through.” After a 2 hour cruise we will be on our way to Lockport Cave and Underground Boat Ride. NOTE there will be 1 hour of walking and 3 flights of stairs involved in the cave and boat ride. This guided walking tour starts out with a journey underground into the 65oF cave. On this tour you will see stalactites, flow stone, and other artifacts left behind from the men who built this tunnel. The next part of this tour is a one of a kind experience. We will board Americas longest underground boat tour. We will see artifacts left behind by the miners on the Canal from over a century ago. Visitors have said they have been awe struck on this peaceful but eerie boat tour as the boat glides through the abandoned tunnel and lifeless waters. The only illumination in the boat tour area of the cave are the small sporadically placed lights. The tunnel is 2100 feet and was all carved from solid rock. This tunnel was vital as it supplied water to three major industries. This tunnel was an invention from Birdsill Holly. After we return to the surface will still have one more stop on this trip. We will board the bus and travel to the Presque Isle Downs & Casino! Are you ready to test your luck? With over 1,500 slot machines and many tables to play you are sure to bring home a jackpot of your own. Did you win on our last trip to Presque Isle Downs & Casino? Why not win again? Once we depart the casino we will arrive back at Humenik Funeral Chapel at 10:30 PM. Don’t wait this trip is sure to fill up fast, reserve your seat now and don’t miss this amazing trip. Total cost for this trip will be $112.00 per person. This includes lunch, 2 hour boat tour, 1 hour cave tour and transportation.

Seneca NY Wine Tour
Pack your bags, were heading back to the State of New York. This trip will be leaving Humenik Funeral Chapel on September 16 at 9:30AM. Boarding begins at 9 AM. Our first stop on this 4 day 3 night trip is Lawrence Park Dinor. This nostalgic 1948 Silk City Diner is on the National Historic Registry. Lawrence Park Dinor ranks 5/5 on Trip Advisor and #1 of 336 restaurants in Erie in the National Registry. Our group will enjoy an assortment of sandwiches, Tuna Salad, Hamburger, Cheeseburger, Grilled Smoked Ham & Cheese or turkey ham & cheese combo. A choice of side, French fries, cup of chicken noodle soup, cottage cheese, or coleslaw. Dessert will include homemade apple crisp or ice cream. Beverages include coffee, tea, iced tea or soda. Stop #2 is the Seneca-Iroquois Museum. This 1 hour break will give us a chance to stretch our legs and learn about the Native Indians of the area who continue to live on these lands today. Our third stop is one everyone is sure to love. We’re heading to the Seneca Allegany Casino for the night. Feel free to play the tables all night. Evening dinner and morning breakfast will be on your own. The casino has many restaurants and café’s to choose from. We will depart the casino and be on our way to Americana Vineyard located on the west side of Cayuga Lake for a wine tasting. Following the Americana Vineyard, our group will travel to the award-winning Ithaca Commons located on the south side of Cayuga Lake. This section of Ithaca is a four- block pedestrian-only section of downtown Ithaca. The streets are filled with many unique stores, restaurants, street vendors, and street performers. You will be able to explore the area at your own pace. Lunch is on your own. Departing Ithaca, we will travel to Watkins Glen Harbor Hotel located on the south side of Seneca Lake, checking in for the next 2 nights. Day 3 starts with a guided tour of the Corning Museum of Glass. The Corning Museum of Glass is dedicated to the art, history, and science of glass. Their collection of more than 50,000 glass objects, some more than 3,500 years old, is a must see when traveling to the area. After a quick lunch at Woodhouse Stadium Grill (on your own), we are on our way to Lakewood Vineyards for a tasting in the cellar room (tasting included), followed by a stop at Pompous Ass Winery where you can sit back have a good laugh and enjoy 6 tastings of their pun filled wine (tasting included). Day 4, we are traveling to the Granger Homestead and Carriage Museum located on the North end of Canandaigua Lake, followed by lunch at Eric’s Office Restaurant (on your own). Before making our way to home, we have the option to stop at the crowd favorite Presque Isle Downs and Casino located in Erie PA for 2 hours and dinner (on your own). If you are ready for 4 days of sight seeing, shopping, and wine this trip is for you. Sign up today to reserve your seat. This trip is limited to 35 passengers. Total cost for this trip per person starts at $840/20-24 travelers, $775/25-29 travelers, $730/30-35 travelers based on DOUBLE occupancy. Meals included are lunch on day 1, breakfast on days 3&4, 3 night hotel stay to include baggage handling (2 bag max), 3 museums, 3 wine tastings, drivers gratuity. When making arrangements for rooms at Watkins Glenn Harbor Hotel, the remaining rooms available were booked. Some of those rooms are overlooking the lake (upcharge of $35.00 per night). Some of those rooms have balconies (additional 35.00 upcharge per night). The remaining rooms have a Village View. All prices quoted are based on the Village View Room. For those who are seriously interested in this trip, a $500.00 deposit (refundable if we don’t have 20 travelers) will be required, balance due by August 31, 2019. After receiving your deposit, a detailed itinerary will be mailed to our travelers.

Be an Informed Consumer
Over the years, the Federal Trade Commission has been placing heavy regulations on the funeral industry. It began roughly 30 years ago with the promulgation of the “Funeral Rule,” which was rightly designed to protect consumers with full transparency on pricing so you can be assured you “get what you paid for.” Unfortunately, this leaves the funeral home in a precarious position. When a family comes in, to be compliant with the letter of the law, we must provide our General Price List, Casket Price List, and Outer Burial Container Price List before we can even talk to the consumer about funeral arrangements or enter the arrangement room. We feel this to be a rather cold “welcome” to our facility. So please bear with us as we comply with these ever more strict regulations. That’s part one.

Part two: Pre-planned and Pre-paid funerals. When an individual comes in and makes selections of funeral services and merchandise with or without signatures, that document is nothing more than a price quote based on the GPL of the day if no financial transactions are made. Some Pre-paid funerals have an important caveat that often is forgotten during the interim from when the arrangements were made and the death occurs. That is when a funeral is fully funded, guaranteed, and irrevocable, ONLY the services and merchandise dollar amounts are guaranteed not to increase, e.g. Visitation charges and casket charges. A third section called Cash Advances; items such as death certificates, flowers, church gratuities and catering are not guaranteed, but are subject to the prices of the day. Understand that not all prepaid funerals are always guaranteed.

This quickly becomes a point of contention between the family and the funeral director. “Everything is paid for!” is the usual response. We hate to sound like politicians, but the answer is yes and no. The prices for Services and Merchandise are guaranteed. Cash Advances are not. That’s the bad news! The GOOD NEWS is that pre-planning and pre-funding can indeed save you a lot of money, and remove a heavy burden from your remaining family members. We understand that money is tight these days, but the sooner you fund the funeral, the greater the future savings will be. Obviously, a healthy 30 year old has other things on his or her mind than death. But if you’re retired, or doing some financial planning for your future, a pre-planned pre-funded funeral is the way to go. So many families come to see us when a death has occurred and don’t have the first idea of how they’re going to pay for the funeral with which they want to remember their loved one’s life. Depending on your age, just a few dollars a day on a 10 year plan (with early payoff discounts), will provide the funeral you want, for a price you can afford.

Part three is Medicaid spend downs. To qualify for Medicaid in case of the need for a nursing home stay, there are several asset restrictions, both in the present moment and the past 5 years. A pre-funded funeral is a perfectly legal way to set aside money for your final expenses (a funeral), that cannot be taken away from you by Medicaid. There are other restrictions as well, but for the purpose of this article the message is, if there’s a nursing home anywhere on your radar YOU NEED TO CALL THE FUNERAL HOME BEFORE YOU CALL AND APPLY FOR MEDICAID. Once you’ve applied for Medicaid it’s too late. That money is gone like a 9th inning home run over the left field wall. So be informed, we’re here to serve you and to make life a little easier for your loved ones as well. We’d be glad to answer any questions you have. We’re just a phone call away at 216-265-8700 or an email at: humenikfunerals@roadrunner.com.