Exactly. I don't bill myself as an expert on early 20th-century burial practices in America, but I'm willing the hazard the default expectation was "ground" ra

Exactly. I don't bill myself as an expert on early 20th-century burial practices in America, but I'm willing the hazard the default expectation was "ground" rather than "use to make a book cover." Ergo, it seems in keeping with the deceased's likely wishes to properly bury their remains.