WOW

Woodmen of the World was founded in 1890 in Omaha, Nebraska, as a fraternal benefit society that sold life insurance to members. At first the policy included a tombstone. From about 1900 members paid for a rider to get one, and the stones were dropped in the 1920s, so many graves from that time carry the WOW emblem.

The best known style is the treestone, carved to look like a tree stump, sometimes with the words Here rests a Woodman of the World. A WOW stone tells you the person held a policy, and the local camp may have kept records.