About Us
The funeral industry began its existence in Bridgetown in the early 1900's. One of the first pioneers was James B. Reed who owned James B. Reed Furniture Factory. The factory operated on the site of the present day curling rink. The Reeds were casket makers and eventually upgraded their business to include a funeral parlor. After the death of James B. Reed, his son, William, continued to operate the business until 1929.
During this same time, Henry B. Hicks also founded Bridgetown Funeral Services. Mr. Hicks received his Funeral Director/Embalmers license in 1913 from the Massachusetts College of Embalming. Hicks & Sons, owned by Henry B. Hicks and Edward A Hicks,was a well respected and highly regarded woodworking mill where they built their own caskets until the 1950’s when they started purchasing the caskets from other casket manufacturers.
When Mr. Hicks died in 1951, the company was left to his partner, Edward and his sons, W. Allan Hicks and Henry D. Hicks, who were assisted by Hedley Hall. A year later, Mr. Allan Hicks died tragically in a boating accident, leaving Hedley Hall in charge to run the company.
Mr. Hall continued on and purchased the business in 1959. At that time he moved the company to his residence on Granville Street. Mr. Hedley Hall died suddenly ten months later of a massive heart attack, leaving his wife, Faye, who was also a licensed funeral director to run the business. Mr. Robert Hall (no relation) assisted her.
Robert Hall, along with his wife Jean, purchased the business in 1967 and the name was changed to Robert L. Hall Funeral Home. At this time an ambulance service also operated under the business. Years later, Robert Hall moved the business to its present day location which is on the corner of Granville Street and Park Lane. Hall purchased Hatfield’s Funeral Service in Granville Ferry which expanded his business to the Annapolis Royal area.
In 1984, the business was sold to the Loewen Group. The Loewen Group closed the Granville Ferry location and moved the operation to the new location in Annapolis Royal, the present day site. In 2003-2004, the Alderwoods Group (previously Loewen Group) decided to sell its Bridgetown and Annapolis Royal locations. Don Kaulbach, who joined the firm in 1984, placed a successful bid and in November 2004, realized his life long dream to become the proud owner. The name changed at this time to Kaulbach Family Funeral Home. The business has returned to being a privately and locally owned company. Over the last seventeen years, both funeral homes have undergone extensive renovations to better serve the families of the surrounding areas.