Cemeteries Make Heart and Soul Of Communities

GILROY, CA -- If you're one of these people who thinks real life is scary enough, Gilroy provides a post-Halloween activity that's still alive and kicking after 15 years.

Historian Connie Rogers, the Gilroy Historical Society president, gives a tour through the Old St. Mary's Cemetery each year -- offering plenty to learn and nothing to fear. This one slated for 10 a.m. Nov. 3 focuses more on the community roots than things that go bump in the night. So expect to feel a different kind of spiritual presence.

"This cemetery has a lot of character," said Rogers, who's hosted at least 15 of them in the site located at 7950 Church St.

Gilroy Visitor Center Executive Director Jane Howard agreed the site is a significant part of the town's history.

For one thing, the man who the town is named after is buried there -- John Cameron Gilroy. The native of Scotland arrived in 1814, becoming the first English speaking settler. He married Maria Clara de La Ascencion Ortega, daughter of the family that owned Rancho San Ysidro. Together, they had 17 children. While inheriting a third of Rancho San Ysidro through his wife, Gilroy became a prominent landowner who served for many years as the local mayor and justice of the peace. Locals referred to the cemetery as the "Irish corner" Rogers noted.

In 1865, Old St. Mary's opened its grounds tucked away in an alley became weathered since it was out of sight, out of mind. A fundraising effort net $30,000 over a six-month period to invest in a rod-iron fence that encouraged unscrupulous activity to move along.

Rogers said some years bring out a handful of people on the tour, considered the most popular of all the historic tours. Other years she has led two dozen people through the grounds.

"They are really, really interesting. That's where you can find the community leaders of yesterday," Rogers said. As a historian, her next move involves getting it listed as a Historical Preservation site.

For more information, visit https://visitgilroy.com/event/.

Other notable San Francisco Bay Area cemeteries

The Bay Area certainly has its fair share of cemeteries. The most notable represents an entire village.

• Colma, a small incorporated town in San Mateo County on the peninsula near Daly City was designed as a necropoleis, a large cemetery with elaborate tomb monuments. Its motto: "It's great to be alive and well in Colma." The best view is atop of San Bruno Mountain. In 2006, it was determined the number of dead -- 1.5 million -- outnumbered the live population.

One can visit the massive grounds where famous San Franciscans are buried from Woodlawn and Home of Peace and Hills of Eternity to Holy Cross and Cypress Lawn. The latter is where newspaper baron William Randolph Hearst and baseball legend Lefty O'Doul are buried. Speaking of greats of America's pasttime, Holy Cross holds the distinction of holding Joe DiMaggio as well as gunslinger Wyatt Earp.

Spend Halloween night at the Alhambra Cemetery in Martinez

• The Alhambra Cemetery established in 1851 offers stunning view of the Carquinez Strait as well as a rich history. A tour guide will introduce you to families with names you know and others you don't. You'll learn about local war heroes, personalities, politicians and a creative caretaker. These tours are also set up to enlighten, not frighten. Adults only. Participants are asked to bring a flashlight.
• California’s Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum houses a breathtaking replica of the temple of Amon at Karnak, complete with a row of sphinx-like rams leading to its front steps. The museum’s website claims it is the only Egyptian-style building in the world to house Egyptian artifacts. Even the Egyptian Museum in Cairo is a modern Western-style building.

The Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum has the largest collection of Egyptian artifacts on exhibit west of the Mississippi. Over 4,000 pieces are on display. Among those items – charms, musical instruments, toys, and other everyday items. With the help of Stanford University and Silicon Graphics, among others, the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum made detailed high-resolution scans of a 2,000-year-old mummy without disturbing her wrappings.

• On a more serious note, the origins of the San Francisco National Cemetery date to the mid-1800s when the U.S. Army took control of the Presidio and established a small cemetery west of the Main Post. In 1884, the War Department decided to create a much larger National Cemetery on higher ground overlooking the bay, marking the first time such a facility was designated on the west coast. The cemetery expanded gradually over five decades to the nearly 29 acres it encompasses today.

The cemetery, managed by the U.S Department of Veterans Affairs, welcomes visitors daily from 6 am to 6 pm (office hours are 8 am to 4:40 pm). The stories of those buried here make the site a fascinating and deeply meaningful Presidio destination. From spring through early fall, the National Park Service provides periodic guided tours where you'll learn about Pauline Cushman-Fryer, an actress turned heroic Union Spy; and Pvt. William Thompkins, a Buffalo Soldier who took part in the daring rescue of wounded troops in Cuba. You'll also find the resting place of Major Dana Crissy, the aviation pioneer for whom Crissy Field is named. When tours aren't available, an interactive gravesite locator can be found at the Cemetery Lodge and online, along with a map.

Other notable grounds in the Bay Area include:

• Mountain View Cemetery in Oakland
• Mt. Olivet Cemetery in San Rafael
• Shipwrecks of Point Reyes
• St. Helena Public Cemetery
• Redwood Memorial Gardens in Guerneville
• Dublin Pioneer Cemetery
• Gravesite of author Jack London at the State Park

Trivia note: A graveyard differs from a cemetery in that it adjoins a church.

-Images via Gilroy Historical Society; Kathryn Reed