It was a beautiful day at Grand View today, the first regular Sunday opening after the Memorial Day weekend.
A crew of 13 volunteers greeted visitors, did site lookups in the information office, trimmed grass off markers and fulfilled Findagrave.com photo requests. Thank you to Kelly Corrigan from the Glendale News-Press for coming out to speak with our volunteers for a future profile piece; we appreciate your interest in our work!
Seventy cars of visitors, arriving at a steady pace throughout the afternoon, drove onto the property to spend quiet time at the graves of loved ones, washing markers and leaving flowers.
Two of those visitors were brothers Robert and Andy DeSimone, who brought home-grown roses to leave on the grave sites of their father, mother and uncle.
They told me that they've been coming to Grand View since the 1960s, including open visitation days since 2006, and were pleased to see the improved grounds.
Speaking of flowers, please be aware that Emerald Landscape Service cuts the lawn at Grand View every Friday, so flowers left on the ground or flat headstones the Sunday prior will be removed before mowing. Flowers left on the base of upright markers, out of the line of mowing, are not removed.
Because of the heavy volume of flowers from Memorial Day, several volunteers (myself included) helped do pick up on Thursday. Many potted plants were still in good shape so we kept and watered them. They're located along the wall to the north of the Administration Office for any families who would like to claim them.
The best type of flowers to leave are the cut variety, in non-glass containers, because they last about a week.
Also, please remember that glass containers are prohibited, because when they break (and they do) volunteers and grounds crew are apt to be injured. Thank you for your attention to this safety issue.
Glass containers found on the property are not thrown away, rather we place them in the Administration Office to be claimed. Please feel free to pick yours up and take it home.
A lot of the plants went unclaimed today, so we decided to recycle a few of the heartiest baby roses. They were planted in the Wall of Remembrance Rose Garden where they'll live on.
Grand View will again be open next Sunday, June 12th from 12-4 p.m. with gates closing to incoming traffic at 3:45 p.m. sharp.
We welcome everyone who would like to join our volunteer ranks! If you'd like to volunteer your time on any given Sunday, please contact David Baum at (310) 990-3660 for more information.
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