Voices from beyond graves
By Kristopher Hanson
Daily Forty-Niner
Under willow and palm trees, surrounded
by active oil drills and busy streets on the Signal Hill-Long Beach border,
two historical cemeteries serve as the final resting place for thousands
of area residents.
The plot of land is complete with a turn-of-the-century
crypt and hand-carved tombstones weathered from years of exposure.
Side-by-side, Long Beach Municipal and
Sunnyside cemeteries contain many locally famous names, including Willmore,
Stearns and Wardlow.
History runs deep here, and the roughly
75 people who turned out for a Halloween weekend tour got the dirt on those
buried in the 2,000-plus plots.
'We give these tours to raise funds for
the society," said Julie Bartolotto, executive director of the Historical
Society of Long Beach and a Cal State Long Beach graduate.
"This year's turnout is much better than
last year's."
Portrayed by society members, those buried
in the cemeteries greeted visitors as they wandered about the grounds between
designated plots.
Dressed in costume, they gave the story
of the deceased while displaying old photographs and relics to the curious
onlookers.
Roaming through the cemetery illustrated
the depth of Long Beach history and its former citizens. Many tombstones
listed birthdates in the mid-19th century.
The Civil War veterans section of the cemetary
has tombstones completed with Union flags, swords and musket rifles.
Another section holds the grave of William
Willmore, who founded Willmore City on what is now Long Beach.
After a series of unfortunate business
dealings, Willmore died penniless and without family in 1901.
The Stearns, another group of early Long
Beach settlers whose name is attached to an East Long Beach street, are
buried on the westside of Municipal, with numerous plots still awaiting
living members.
The Wardlow's, who made their fortunes
in the farming business, rest peacefully.
The trail that once dead-ended at their
farm, now serves as a major east-west route through Long Beach.
The cemeteries hold the remains of victims
who perished during 1917 and 1918, when a terrible influenza outbreak struck
the country.
Many of the tombstones are sunken and crooked,
from a time when Signal Hill oil companies employed unscrupulous tactics
in an attempt to extract the black gold resting with the bodies.
"The oil companies tried to buy the land,
but were denied by the owners...so they drilled in sideways (underneath
the cemetery)," said Kaye Briegel, a Cal State Long Beach professor and
historical society member who greeted visitors.
Like the oil companies who drilled long
ago, not all the cityís citizens are concerned about the well-being of
the cemeteries.
This summer, vandals rampaged through Sunnyside,
knocking over stones and leaving the place trashed.
Volunteers helped clean up, but the cemetery
remains dilapidated due to a lack of funds.
"We give a portion of the money raised
here today back to Sunnyside (for maintenance of the grounds)," Bartolotto
said.
Maintained and funded by the city parks
and recreation department, Municipal remains open to the public all year
round.
Both cemeteries are located at the corner
of Willow Street and Orange Avenue. |
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