Wordless Wednesday

Mt Carmel Cemetery Hillside, IL

I spent Friday evening scouring Mt Carmel Cemetery in Hillside, Illinois for the final resting place of a few notorious Chicago Gangsters. I will post about them hopefully by the end of the week. I thought that I would put up of the few odd surnames we came across.

Sorry this one is a bit blurry, still wanted to post. For the name is Sandman. One last visit before he began his eternal sleep.

Enough said the name is Porn and it was engraved on both sides of the stone.

They will never be Tardy again.

Tombstone Tuesday

This picture was taken at Mission San Francisco De Asis. Obviously it is of Don Francisco De Haro who was the first alcalde of San Francisco. Wiki has an excellent article on the alcalde. There is not much left as far as burial and I can only assume that buildings surrounding the mission have covered much of the graveyard. I can say that within the walls is a beautiful church and of course a ton of history. It was founded in 1772 by Father Francisco Palou and is located at 3321 16th Street San Francisco, CA 94114. Click for directions

GYR Carnival Favorite Photo

I figure it was only fitting that my submission of my favorite photo to the Graveyard Rabbits Carnival come from my favorite cemetery. This is the marker of Daniel and Mary Martin located in the Mountain View Cemetery in Oakland, CA. It was taken on my first trip to this cemetery and also marks the day I fell in love with the cemetery itself. I have taken thousands of pictures of various cemeteries and every time I come across this picture I get a smile on my face. The berries on the bush are only there a certain time of the year. This photo was taken in December of 2008. I went back at the beginning of July 2009 only to find the bush had been cut back and that another photo like this would not be possible.

Restoration Project at St. Catherine of Siena Cemetery

When I first visited this cemetery a few months ago I was disappointed to find out that the gates were closed and I could not gain access. The cemetery initially had the appearance of neglect which could partly be attributed to my disappointment and lack of access. I decided I would email the St. Catherine of Siena Parish which is associated with the cemetery. I would like to take this time to apologize publicly to the parish for the accusatory tone I took with my initial email where I stated that I saw the cemetery in a state of disrepair and dilapidation. I was quickly corrected by Deacon Albert Dizon who has been a wonderful help in my research despite my initial accusations. So in light of the information provided by Deacon Albert I decided I would visit the cemetery again and correct my errors in judgement. On my second visit I was glad to see people hard at work clearing dead branches and brush from the cemetery grounds. This is just one of a few measures the parish has taken to assist with the upkeep of the cemetery grounds. They have also hired a number of goats and sheep to assist with weed abatement and it was even covered in the Oakland Tribune. They are currently working E’Clampus Vitas to repair markers as well as organizing volunteer clean up days open to people of all ages to assist with clean up and maintenance of the cemetery grounds. This is a beautiful cemetery which has unfortunately experienced some vandalism no doubt from people with little or no regard for the deceased. I hope to fully explore soon and has a rich history of pioneers, beautiful architecture and that old world feel that attracts me to most of these places. It is said that Don Juan Salvio Pacheco co-founder of Concord is buried here as well as Sam (Simon) Rodia who designed and built the famous Watts Towers in Los Angeles to name a couple. The cemetery gates remain closed, however, access is available anytime by borrowing a key from the Martinez Police Department or from St. Catherine parish office at 1125 Ferry St. between 8:30am and 5pm - Monday to Friday, except holidays. The St. Catherine of Siena Parish itself also shares a rich history in our area and in 1999 their 125th Anniversary. This cemetery is a must visit for any cemetery enthusiast or just anyone wanting to take themselves back to a time long ago. I applaud the efforts of the parish and hope to be able to contribute personally to their restoration project. Again I would like to thank Deacon Albert Dizon for his time and effort contributed to this article. Without his assistance this article would have been nothing more than speculation. So thank you Deacon Albert for providing the facts on this project.

Aha...word verification problem

So I was wondering why nobody has said anything on the blog for my last few posts. Cheryl brought to my attention that the word verification wasn't showing. I'm not sure if any of you are having the same problem. I had to set up a test account to see if it was just Cheryl or if it was everyone. It appears it must have been everyone. So anyway it's fixed and word verification has been turned off. I welcome all comments and appreciate any feedback I can get on this stuff. I'd like to know that I'm not the only one reading it...lol. Take care everyone...

Freaky Friday

I have several pictures with either the heads fully missing or partially missing. I'm told it's because it's really difficult to find a piece of stone that isn't flawed. I'm sure a lot of it has to do with vandalism as well.