Do You think Anyone Bothered to Attend Matthew Morgan's Service?

[Bob_the_Bartender]

Hey gang,

Watching the first year episodes of "Dark Shadows" recently (which are very good, seeing many of the beloved DS characters leading so-called "normal" lives before Mr. B. eventually showed up in town), I wondered if after Matthew Morgan departed this mortal coil, did the Collinses or anyone from town take the time to say au revoir to ol' Matthew?  (A stone-cold-dead Matthew had barely hit the floor of the drawing room in the Old House, when Laura Collins showed up, and it was almost as if Matthew had never existed, imo.)

I mean, Matthew was "hardly" the Andy Hardy or even the Regis Philbin of Collinsport, don't you agree?  Certainly, Vicky Winters and Burke Devlin (not to mention the recently departed and beloved Bill Malloy) had little reason to mourn the surly Matthew's passing.  However, since Matthew had been a loyal employee/servant for the Collins family for many years, maybe a magnanimous Mrs. Stoddard, along with a reluctant Roger, a bored Carolyn, and Matthew's little playmate, David, did attend "Mr. Sunshine's" funeral ceremony?

Previous to working as a handyman at Collinwood, I couldn't remember if Matthew had just worked in the Collins Cannery or had also worked as a fisherman on one of the Collins fishing boats.  If Matthew had been a fisherman (possibly, along with Joe Haskell's late father), perhaps Mrs. Stoddard arranged for Matthew's body to be buried at sea from one of the Collins fishing boats?

I can see it now:  Matthew's tightly-wrapped corpse, being ever-so-gently and ever-so-respectfully lowered into the sea by Ezra Ahearn, Joe Haskell and some of the other longtime fishermen of the Collins Fishing Fleet, as Sheriff Patterson and his deputies discharged a solemn volley of gunshots from their service revolvers in a final tribute to the curmudgeonly, old man of the sea and the cannery.  

And, of course, Mrs. Stoddard, in an almost tristful and pensive manner, would toss a bouquet of flowers into the sea; flowers which Matthew used to so diligently and lovingly cultivate on the grounds surrounding the great house of Collinwood.  

I tell you, Matthew's possible burial at sea might have rivalled the late, unlamented Osama bin Laden's impromptu dumping into the Red Sea for solemnity and dignity.

So long, Matthew.  We hardly knew ye!  

PS Maybe Mrs. Johnson, puffing on one of her Lucky Strikes out there on the fishing boat, shed a tear for poor, old Matthew?

[MagnusTrask]

The whole MM thing is very sad.   Vicki and Liz could have played straight with him, taken him to see the family lawyer, and worked out the best deal for him, if they'd had a bit more nerve and acted on those words they spoke to him, just to escape from him.   MM felt backed into a corner and hated it when he thought he had to kill Vicki, you can tell.. or he wouldn't have delayed it so long.

Sorry if that's a more serious answer than you had in mind, Bob!

[Gerard]

I'm sure at least a few people attended poor Matthew's repast, and it was very typical.  In the funeral parlor room, most of the women sat on the sofas and chairs in the back, quietly talking amongst themselves, their purses on the floor between their feet, while most of the men folk milled about outside smoking.  Following the services, they all adjourned to the KofC hall for the post-funerial luncheon, the table festooned with baking pans filled with cakes and bars, a strip of masking tape on the end of each pan with the donating family's name on it so it can return to its rightful owner.  Mrs. Johnson made her popular chocolate-chip-and-peanut-butter bars.  Afterwords, Liz (who was discretely there, in black, a veil over her face), invited all the men folk to go Matthew's cottage and rifle through his clothing so they can take what they want before the rest would be hauled off to GoodWill or St. Vincent de Paul's.  

Vicki, for obvious reasons, didn't attend the sad occasion.  However, she did ask either Liz or Carolyn to pick up a prayer card for her (and hoped that some of Mrs. Johnson's bars, along with a few other selections from the other pastries, would come back in the pan appropriately labeled "Smith" [you know how people talk]).

Gerard

[michael c]

who knows...

vicki might have attended out of some strange sense of duty and misplaced guilt. liz similarly might have thought it the "right thing to do" under the circumstances. a recognition of matthew's eighteen years of service and a gesture of noblesse oblige. in this vein she might have asked carolyn and david to attend as well. burke might have stood by vicki's side but all roger would have done was raise a glass to the poor soul of that madman.

and as acrimonious as their relationship could be mrs.johnson might have donned her black hat and attended because it's what a "good christian woman" did and lord knows mrs.j. liked to stay in our savior's good graces. also in a nod to the "backstairs" status she shared with matthew.

[Miss_Winthrop]

Liz wouldn't have attended a funeral service if it was held off the estate during this time period.  I don't think she left home until the Laura incident.  Probably with instructions from Liz, Matthew's name wasn't to be mentioned openly around the estate.  He was truly a real sad sack character.  However, I think that due to his great loyalty to the Collins's, Liz may have held a private service on the estate for him.  I think Victoria would have attended mainly out of respect for Mrs Stoddard.

[Lydia]

When I saw the subject of this topic on the home page, I thought, “That’s got to be Bob the Bartender's work.”

I seem to remember that Matthew had a brother who lived in Maine but at some distance from Collinsport.  I'm betting the brother had Matthew buried very, very quietly.  And cheaply.

[Joeytrom]

Yes, Matthew's brother was Walter Morgan, who the police interviewed to see if Matthew went to him when he was on the run.

He probably buried Matthew in the family plot with only himself or, if he had one, his own family present.

[DarkLady]

Seems more likely that Walter buried Matthew--but maybe Elizabeth quietly paid the expenses.

[DarkLady]

Later: I'll bet Elizabeth also footed the bill for a large and ornate marker with an inscription about how Matthew was a "faithful servant" or something.

[Patti Feinberg]

I mean, Matthew was "hardly" the Andy Hardy or even the Regis Philbin of Collinsport, don't you agree?  

Bob...THANK YOU for this snort/chuckle....I needed it  

Patti

[Bob_the_Bartender]

Gerard,

The very thought of Mrs. Johnson supplying all of the "delicious" food for Matthew's repast is terrific!  Wasn't Jason McGuire a "big fan" of Mrs. Johnson's trademark Maine "haute cuisine?"

And, that would have been something to see all of the husky men of Collinsport, sauntering over to the caretaker's cottage to try on some of the late Matthew Morgan's "nifty" threads!  Let's see: Sheriff Patterson, Adam, and, possibly Sandor and Istvan, (if they had discovered Quentin I's Stairway-Through-Time back in 1897), might have formed a line to check-out all of Matthew's snazzy flannel shirts and "slightly-used" long johns.

Lydia,

Yes, I was inspired to post a thread on ol' Matthew's funeral service after recently watching the "beloved" Livia Soprano's funeral service as it was portrayed on "The Sopranos."  (I loved the part when after Tony's meddlesome, younger sister, Janice, suggested that they all sit around the table and exchange loving, heartfelt  stores about Livia, her big, strictly-no-nonsense, New Jersey brother Tony replied, "Just cut out all of that California 'bovine excrement,' will you?")  

Patti,

I'm glad you enjoyed it; as both former VP Richard Cheney and former CNN "Crossfire" host Bill Press are wont to say:

"Laughter is the best medicine."  

Bob

[Miss_Winthrop]

I wonder if Matthew's brother or Liz paid for a suit for burial.  The suit probably came from Brewster's (same store they got David's clothes) Men & Boys store in Collinsport.

[Joeytrom]

A couple of characters could fit into Matthews clothes...

Ezra Hearn (Dolph Sweet),  Too bad they didn't give him a longer role on the show.

What about that guy who looked at the camera after Mitchell Ryan forgot his lines (was he the first Ezra Hearn?), his hair was kind of wild.  If they couldn't get Thayer David to play Ben Stokes, this actor I could see in the role.