end of the season

Strolling through Mt. View Cemetery last week, I spied a number of graves decorated with Christmas trees.  I was both surprised and touched by the gesture.  Families continue to miss those who have died and want to share, as best they can, this season with their loved ones.

holiday reflection

This is part of the annual holiday lights display at Mt. View Cemetery.  Linked to Weekend Reflections.

Skywatch Friday: autumn display

The weather reports keep saying rain, but so far not.  Today the sky is a little cloudier but the autumn leaves are still with us.  We're not exactly Vermont, but colors can be found if you know where to look.  Linked to Skywatch Friday.

Sara Lemmon

More California history found at Mt. View Cemetery.  Linked to Taphophile Tragics.

I am well, Mother

Louisa Kohler was only 5 years old when she died in 1854.  Her parents erected this monument on her grave showing her sleeping on a bed with her faithful dog at her side.  The side of her grave marker is engraved with the above line.  Linked to Taphophile Tragics.

Woodmen of the World

Woodmen of the World was a fraternal organization begun in Nebraska in 1890.  It sought to give financial help to its members primarily through insurance plans.

One of the perks of membership was a free grave marker in the form of a tree stump.  Several can be found in both Mountain View and St. Mary's cemeteries.

 

They typically include branch knots, ferns, a hatchet, and a dove of peace. 

The practice was discontinued sometime in the 1920s due to the expense involved.  The company continues to exist today as an insurance company in Omaha.

Linked to Taphophile Tragics hosted by Sydney Eye.

Ghirardelli at Mt. View Cemetery

Domingo Ghirardelli, the famed chocolatier, came to San Francisco during the Gold Rush years and made his fortune not from panning for gold, but by provisioning miners with cocoa and fruit brought from South America.  Years after his success he built this mausoleum in Mt. View Cemetery.  Angered that a priest did not give his granddaughter last rites, he and his sons stole into St. Mary's Cemetery next door and moved the bodies of family members to the mausoleum.  His final snub of the Church was to put a masonic symbol on the entry.  It is placed between the two wreaths on the lintel.  Read the delightful website Lives of the Dead by Michael Colbruno for a fuller biography of Ghirardelli.

Linking to Taphophile Tragics.

Taphophile Tragics: Fred Korematsu

Fred Korematsu was born in Oakland in 1919.  After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Executive Order 9066 was instituted which orchestrated the removal of all Japanese (including American citizens) to relocation camps in the Southwest deserts.  No due process hearings were held, no trials were held, and no distinction was made between loyal citizens and possible supporters of the Japanese Empire.  The property they left behind was either guarded by faithful friends or often stolen by unscrupulous neighbors.  Fred protested these actions and went into hiding as an act of resistance.  He eventually was caught and sent to Topaz, Utah.  The legality of the internment order was upheld by the United States Supreme Court.  He ultimately returned to Oakland to raise his family.

Korematsu's conviction was overturned in the 1980s after the disclosure of new evidence, challenging the necessity of the Japanese internment, which had been withheld from the courts by the U.S. government during the war.  These documents revealed that the military had lied to the Supreme Court, and that government lawyers had willingly made false arguments.  His adult children were shocked to learn of their father's activism and early legal battles as he never talked about it after the courts upheld his conviction of resisting the internment orders.

In 1998 Korematsu was awarded the Medal of Freedom by President Bill Clinton.  Later in life Korematsu reinvigorated his social activism and advocated for rule of law and the protection of immigrant rights, especially for Muslim citizens post 9/11.  Recently the Smithsonian announced the inclusion of Korematsu's portrait in the museum's collection.

Korematsu died in 2005 and is now buried in Mt. View Cemetery with a large granite rock marking his grave.  The flowers laid at the right side of his tombstone include a note of thanks from an admirer who was inspired by the history of Korematsu's civil rights struggles.  His life work is admired by area progressives, but he remains largely unknown to local citizens.

Linking to Taphophile Tragics.

Taphophile Tragics: shh!

Walking around Mt. View the other day, I spotted this grave marker.  I was attracted by the hearts and musical notes which I haven't seen anywhere else.  Then I noticed Eleanor's heart.  She must have made it very clear that she did NOT want her birth year made public.  The way it was handled is like a wink and a laugh from the grave.  I bet she was a lot of fun at a party.  I found no information on either her or her husband.  For more cemetery wanderings, visit Taphophile Tragics.

Taphophile Tragics: Qingming

This weekend Mt. View Cemetery hosted Qingming, a traditional Chinese festival where families honor their dead and tend their graves.  Many families were at the cemetery cleaning the grave sites and leaving offerings to the ancestors.

I saw family groups lay out food, light incense, and perform ritual bows and prayers.  While I would have liked to photograph these ceremonies, it would have been too intrusive.  Instead, I offer these as witness to the families' devotions.  For more cemetery wanderings, visit Taphophile Tragics, hosted by Julie at Sydney Eye.

Taphophile Tragics: Spring has sprung

As I've mentioned before, Mt. View Cemetery is treated like a public piazza by the local community.  Every day you'll find people jogging, walking their dogs, having picnics, practicing their instruments, and wandering about with their cameras.  The cemetery itself hosts several events across the year.  The Spring event is the Tulip Festival.  Visitors come to admire the thousands of tulips planted each year by the cemetery.  One of the local chapel buildings also hosts floral displays presented by various florists and garden groups.  This event always signals that finer weather is on its way.

For more cemetery wanderings, visit Taphophile Tragics.

Taphophile Tragics: poetry, death and living

Last week I wandered upon a monument in Mt. View Cemetery I had not seen before.  A husband and wife are memorialized with each having written a poem for the other.  Both are quite touching and express such love for each other.  If you enlarge the photos you can read the poems.

 

When I went home, I googled them, and much to my surprise, they are both still alive and quite active in the local poetry community.  This is an example of what the industry calls a "pre-need" monument.  While initially striking me as eccentric, I see the complete practicality of it all.  If you've got the money, why not do it now?  After all, it only will be more expensive later.  And you get to pick the spot yourself.  Not to mention, you express your love and wishes while living.  Something to think about.

Submitted to Taphophile Tragics, where you'll find more cemetery musings.

I'll be out of town for several days, and may not be able to leave comments.  Post provided through auto-posting.

Lux mausoleum

Here's another mausoleum among the many that dot Mt. View Cemetery.  Mr. Lux emigrated from Alsace to New York in 1838.  By 1853 he had migrated to San Francisco where he worked as a butcher.  Within a few years he joined in a partnership and ultimately became a cattle and land baron, said to own 1/7 of California.  Quite a story.  This mausoleum seems modest for someone who was fabulously wealthy.  For a more detailed biography, visit the above link.

And for more cemetery wanderings be sure and visit Julie's Taphophile Tragics.

Neo-Romanesque tombs

More shots from Mt. View Cemetery.  This is a series of family tombs designed by architect Henry Hobson Richardson.  He included elements of Romanesque architecture in his structures.  For some reason, I think of beehives when I see them.  Although they look identical, there are subtle differences between the buildings.  These mausoleums house prominent San Francisco families beginning with scions who died near the turn of the 19th century.  Even for San Franciscans, Oakland's Mt. View Cemetery was THE place to be buried.  More detailed information can be found at Lives of the Dead, which tells the tales behind the tombs.  Linking today to Julie's Taphophile Tragics.

the Edson Adams mausoleum

Edson Adams was one of the founding fathers of Oakland, which was incorporated in 1852.  He came out to California during the Gold Rush and eventually made a fortune in real estate.  The title of "founder" suggests an illustrious career that actually had a seamier side.  He and his partners essentially stole the land from the Peralta family, which owned much of the East Bay through a land grant from the Spanish king.  Of course, the Peraltas (and the king for that matter) had themselves taken the land from the native peoples who lived in the area millennia before the Europeans arrived.  As befitting a prominent citizen, Adams' family mausoleum is built into a hillside at Mt. View Cemetery where succeeding generations of the Adams family are also interred.  For more cemetery wanderings, visit Julie's meme Taphophile Tragics.

guardian angel

This graceful sculpture sits atop the Charles Crocker tomb in Mt. View Cemetery.  It has previously been featured here.  The Crocker name, well known in California, is associated with banking and railroads.  Mt. View Cemetery, established in 1863 and designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, was developed as an ecumenical site that welcomed all races and religions.  It also embodied the Transcendentalist philosophy of man as being of nature rather than being separate from it.  The cemetery was intended to be a natural park and to serve as more than a burial ground.  Today it is very much occupied by the living as well as the dead.  People come to exercise, walk their dogs, attend concerts and holiday celebrations, bird watch, picnic and honor their family members who have gone before.  You frequently hear bagpipes playing as part of funeral ceremonies.

This cemetery has been featured many times in this blog, which makes Julie's new meme a perfect fit.  She has just launched Taphophile Tragics to showcase the historical and artistic aspects of cemeteries that make them fascinating to so many of us.  Stop by to see what's on display.

ABC Wednesday: W is for wrought iron

This is the entry gate to Mt. View Cemetery.  I was pleased that this night photo picked up the the gilt that adorns the gate.  And the silhouettes on the ground.  For more takes on "W" visit Mrs. Nesbitt's meme, ABC Wednesday.  We're close to starting a new round; think about joining us.

waning light

The sun had set when I snapped this.  It wasn't until later that I saw the far cluster of headstones that seemed to be glowing.

Skywatch Friday: heavenly view

This is the view you get once you climb the stairway featured yesterday.  The skies have been clear and the weather chilly.  For more sky views from around the world, visit Skywatch Friday.

stairway to heaven

Walk up these stairs; catch your breath; walk along the upper path; veer to the right.  Voila! A fantastic view of the bay.  Catch your breath again.