"History From The Ground Up" is the tag line for my blog because to me that's what grave hunting is all about. I love collecting Los Angeles cemetery ephemera, including books, photos, postcards, brochures and maps. I use them when I'm out and about to compare the then and now aspect of the property I'm exploring.
California became a state in 1850 and state legislative acts concering cemeteries were not enacted until 1854. According to historian Sue Silver in her article History of California Cemetery Laws at USGenNet:
The first cemetery related law was intended to provide protection of the state's earliest burying grounds, and to ensure that those who would desecrate them in any way, would be severely punished. The 1854 act also provided the first definition of what was considered by the State to be a "public grave-yard." In Section 4 of the 1854 act, any place where six dead bodies had been buried was "declared" to be a "public grave-yard."
By comparison to eastern colonial states and other countries, 160 years isn't quite as ancient as far as history goes. But enough time has gone by, and enough changes have occurred to keep it interesting.
On a recent visit to Forest Lawn Glendale, I brought along a copy of the book 100 Years in the Life of Forest Lawn by Laura Kath, published in 2006 to commemorate the cemetery's centennial. I also brought along my video camera to do a sample Then & Now report to test the waters on adding multi-media to my blog.
Here's my result:
Videotaping and narrating at the same time is obviously not my forte so far, kinda like walking and chewing gum, ha. But I think this gives you an idea of what it's like to stand at the site of a memorial and compare it to a photograph that was taken many years ago and under very different cirumstances.
If you'd like to see other videos of grave hunting with a historical twist, I recommend watching my fellow cemetery enthusiast Josh Perry's YouTube channel at GraveHunterGuy.
When The Runaways film gets its wide theatrical release this weekend, audiences will be seeing a whole lot of Joan Jett (played by Kristen Stewart) and Cherie Currie (played by Dakota Fanning) and comparatively little of the other members of the groundbreaking and aggressive 1970s all teenage-girl rock band.
Why? Well for starters, Joan serves as one of the film's executive producers. Then there's the script, written by the film's director, Floria Sigismondi, which is based on Cherie's Neon Angel: A Memoir of a Runaway. The book was
first published in 1989, geared toward young adults, then revised in 2001 to include grittier, more mature-rated material in 2001.
Lita Ford was initially iffy about it all but eventually came aboard sparingly. Of the half-dozen guitarists who served as bassist throughout the band's nearly four-year run, Jackie Fox -- now Harvard-educated entertainment lawyer Jackie Fuchs -- continues to have legal issues with the project. So the audience ends up watching a litigation-sidestepping fictional character strumming those strings.
And then there is Sandy West, the most egregiously overlooked in the recent media blitz to promote the film.
Sandy, who made the most noise of them all with her incredibly innate, drums-a-blazing percussion skills, remained quiet throughout because she was silenced in 2006 at the age of 47 by lung cancer, one year after her diagnosis. Her remains are buried at Forest Lawn Cypress with her beloved father whom she had lost suddenly to a heart attack 35 years earlier, before she became a star.
Sandy West in "Edgeplay: A Film About The Runaways" (2004)
She's portrayed in a supporting role by Stella Maeve who, like everyone else who isn't Kristen, Dakota or Michael Shannon (who portrays the film's antagonist, manager-from-hell, Kim Fowley) still has, as of the eve of the release, a "coming soon" placeholder in the bio section of the film's official site.
That's show biz.
And yet, Sandy's story is arguably the most poignant and cautionary.
Her grueling battle with cancer and subsequent death came just when it looked like she was on the verge of a major personal comeback, declaring that she was cleaned up and ready to settle down. A comeback hard won after years of trying to keep her music career going, debilitating drug abuse, failed rehab attempts, prison stints and harrowing tales of working for gun-runners and other assorted criminal types.
It was reported that she wrote her memoirs before passing, but they have yet to be published.
Thank goodness Evelyn McDonnell saw fit to give Sandy's story a voice with her excellent article, The Runaways: Wild Thing - How Sandy West Was Lost, in the current edition of LA Weekly. Truly a must-read that includes candid interviews with members of Sandy's family and circle of friends who knew her from just about every angle.
Joan, appearing to promote the film recently on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,
admittedly noted that "it is a movie" based on "factual things" that the band
went through and that there are also "a few embellishments."
One of those embellishments appears to have been glossing over the importance Sandy had as a founding member and the only one to stick it out beside Joan from the beginning to the end of the band's run. Although Joan's feelings of affection for her friend, and grief over her loss, has been openly expressed, Sandy just doesn't share the deserved spotlight in this particular movie.
Joan & Sandy circa 1977 ~ photo by and courtesy of Brad Elterman
Fortunately, Vicki Blue -- another former Runaways bassist, now a successful filmmaker known as a hyphenated version of her real and stage name, Victory Tischler-Blue -- included Sandy in her compelling 2004 documentary Edgeplay: A Film About The Runaways. Ironically, Joan was the lone non-participant in that project.
The film not only chronicles the band, it also "explores the effects of verbal, emotional and psychological
abuse on girls too young to drink, but old enough for sex, drugs and
rock n' roll," according to the production company promotional material.
In the film, Sandy expresses the major driving force that lead her down a post-Runaways troubled path -- tormented anger at why the band broke up with to begin with and the exploitation they endured once they lost control of their original desire to just make rock-n-roll music. Thank you GirlscanRockkk for providing:
Despite the rocky 29-year span between the demise of The Runaways and Sandy's death, her ties to her bandmates, bonds formed during their formative teenage years, were never completely severed and many, including her friendship with Cherie, remained strong.
After her death, the surviving group members held a tribute concert that same year, on December 9, at The Knitting Factory in Hollywood. Musician Lexa Vonn did a nice write up about the event for Crypt Magazine. Dawgy Productions has additional photo coverage on their website.
This past June, Cherie, who is also a talented and accomplished woodcarver, was commissioned byKenny Williams of Kenny's Music Store in Dana Point, Calif. to create a carving in tribute to Sandy. She came up with a mermaid holding an electric guitar carved with a chain saw from Sequoia redwood and an additional shell-encrusted monument embedded with two of Sandy's drumsticks.
Currie & Sandy's Mermaid ~ courtesy of Cherie Currie
So while audiences gather to watch the movie version of The Runaways tale -- you may be one of them -- consider giving pause to remember Sandy West, often referred to as the heartbeat of the group.
As with all notables interred in the 24 O.C. cemeteries he documented, Michael provides Sandy's story, a photo of her memorial marker as well as directions to her grave site.
Sandy is located in the Garden of Protection near the center of the park (see map below, courtesy of Forest Lawn) between the landmark statues of Such is the Kingdom of Heaven and Michelangelo's David. Once you arrive at that section you'll be looking for Block 20, Lot 4324, Space 3.
According to Michael's directions, start at the staircase located at the east end of the garden and walk west a short distance to the lawn. Four rows from the right, locate the grave marker of a gentleman named Norman Spencer. From there, walk eleven markers north and you're at Sandy's final resting place.
Sandy's grave marker ~ photo courtesy of Michael Barry
Forest Lawn can provide you with a detailed sectional map if you
prefer, but please keep in mind that they will not provide you with
directions to any celebrity graves. You might do better asking for a
map to the specific location and give Sandy's dad's name, Enzo Pesavento if asked. His burial location is public information according to their site tool.
However, Micheal's directions should get you there without having to ask for help, which I recommend. While there, please adhere to their visitor's guide rules.
Can't make it to Cypress in person? You can leave a token of appreciation at her memorial page on Findagrave.com.
Rest in peace, Sandy. It's a shame you're not here physically to enjoy some of the much deserved spotlight that the movie is providing for your music, but I have faith you're here with everyone in spirit.
The Runaways performing "Wild Thing" in Japan, 1977, featuring Sandy on drums. Clip courtesy of CherieO:
The story of Baxter Bussey, "The World's Best Therapy Dog" who passed away in October at the incredible age of 19-1/2 years, does not end at a grave site.
The 223-page hardcover book from Sage Press was published this summer and chronicles Baxter's eight years of service, highlighting many of the poignant comfort-giving moments the gentle chow-golden retriever shared with end-of-life patients and their families.
"It's a tear-jerker, yet at the same time readers have told me that it makes them feel good because it's inspirational and comforting," Melissa told me today on the phone from her home in San Diego, where she is dealing with her grief one day at a time.
Promoting the book helps, although it's not the same without Baxter, who appeared at book signings where people would pose for photos with him and ask for his "paw-tograph".
The book is doing well on Amazon during the Christmas shopping season, but there have been retail challenges. Barnes & Noble rejected it for in-store stock *boo-hiss* ("It's considered a hospice niche book," says Melissa) although they will carry the book if customers order it.
"I've sold more copies myself, 3,000, out of my garage and station wagon and at signings," Melissa reported.
I found this surprising for several reason, the least of which because Baxter's basic overarching story coupled with life-and-death lessons in and out of the hospice are (IMHO) far more compelling than say "Marley & Me." Why Hollywood hasn't optioned it is beyond me. Paging Steven Spielberg! Read some excerpts here and judge for yourself. Better yet, buy it here.
I first learned about Baxter in mid-October from my friend, Craig, who posted a video about this incredible dog on his Facebook. "No offense," Craig wrote, "but if the last face I see is this world is Baxter's, I will have left this side of the grass a very happy person."
Here's the video, narrated by Melissa, that prompted me and thousands of other viewers to immediately fall in love with Baxter:
Three days after I saw this video, Baxter was gone.
Having experienced less than 4 minutes of Baxter's therapy dog magic via online technology only 72 hours earlier, I'm not ashamed to say that I wept like a baby when I read his obituary, which was carried by over 175 online newspapers across the country thanks to stories by the Associated Press, AOL Paw Nation and People Pets.
If his passing had that type of affect on me, I wondered how Melissa was dealing with her very personal loss, having lived with and loved Baxter for almost 18 years, adopting him after a friend rescued him from an abusive situation when he was a pup.
Through her Facebook page devoted to Baxter, which I had friended after seeing the video, I discovered a strong woman facing her grief head on, one day at a time, sharing photos and stories about Baxter, answering questions and interacting with his 3,454-and-counting fans.
I had asked Melissa for an interview this week to help get the word out about her book after she mentioned on Facebook how every major national daytime talk show had rejected it and her, even before Baxter passed. Should I name names, Martha, Ellen, Oprah, Regis, Kelly...?
Producers felt that Baxter was "too old" and that people would think his volunteering when he couldn't walk was "criminally abusive." Programs did not want to get "a bad name" by association.
They were not alone in their snap-judgement. The one bad review her book has received on Amazon is from someone who states up front that they did not even read the book, commenting instead on their zero-fact-based opinion of his quality of life.
That ticked me off.
Imagine if Baxter or other therapy dogs had such ignorant thoughts? How many moments of comfort, happiness and love would hundreds of near-death patients have missed out on during his thrice weekly visits? Does one require legs to give of your heart?
I think not. And neither does Melissa, who, for the record, provided Baxter with every medical and creature comfort.
"So many people told me I had to put him to sleep because he couldn't walk," Melissa told me. "I said 'you have to be kidding.' The last year of his life he was the perfect hospice dog because most people he visited couldn't walk either. It was perfect identification between them. He still had something to give," she said.
When he no longer had that something to give, he let Melissa know it was time and she made the decision to put him to sleep. "It was really, really tough to do but it's a gift you give your dog after they give you so many years of themselves," she said.
"Baxter told me he was ready," she continued. "People told me that would happen and I didn't believe them."
In a twist of fate, two days before Melissa and I spoke several friends, and friends of friends, lost pets to old age or cancer, all in the same day. Knowing the pain of such a loss first-hand, it became clear to me that someone somewhere (Baxter himself?) was giving me an important story assignment: addressing the pain and aftermath of a beloved pet's death.
"This time of year is especially difficult to lose a member of the family," Melissa said.
The first thing Melissa did after Baxter died was to write his obituary and post it to his website, and a poem to read at his memorial which was held at San Diego Hospice where they volunteered together. "I was so grateful they wanted to do that. They had received so many calls from people who wanted to gather together and have some sense of closure. It was a standing-room only event," she said.
"Writing put the whole thing into perspective for me," she said. "I don't know how it came out of me so rapidly, but it was a cathartic experience. I'm not saying the poem is great, but it said exactly what I was feeling. To get it down on paper and out of myself gave me a release I needed. I was like a pressure cooker that needed to let off steam," she added.
Recognizing that some people don't have the same proclivity for writing, Melissa suggested that an alternative might be to perform a ritual that brings you comfort, like lighting candles or framing favorite photographs. Pulling out and going through photos and putting the pet's things all together in one place is one idea she offered.
"That's what I did with Baxter's things," she said. "I went out and got a nice chest with leather straps and placed everything inside of it, pictures, his bowls, everything. I think it's an important first step toward letting go and starting over."
Photos are her solace. She shares them online with fans and she has them displayed in her home. This one is her favorite, the last one of them taken together, about 10 hours before he passed away:
"I think he looks more beautiful in that moment than any other moment in his life. I realized he became most perfect at the very end of his life and that's why he had to go. You can't be perfect and be here, you have to go. That's how I see it. He graced me with his perfection and he showed me how I can get there, so to speak, through the deeds I have to do," she explained.
Disconnecting from the world for about a week also helped Melissa. "I didn't use the computer or talk on the phone. I asked friends and family please not to call me. I didn't want to be rude not answering the phone but I needed to be really quiet with myself," she said.
"I'm lucky to live near the ocean," she added. "I went to the ocean and got in the water even though it was cold, and I let the waves hit me. I cried and screamed, that was also very cathartic. Just disconnect and get away from the world, stay focused on your grief and feel it. Cry, because it's okay to be sad. If you don't allow yourself to be sad you can't be happy later."
Connectivity has it's merits, too, says Melissa. The day Baxter was put to sleep, she had a presentation scheduled with 150 middle school children, a commitment she kept. "It was profound and incredibly helpful," she said.
"At the end of ceremony a little boy came up to me. stooped over wearing a backpack and holding a photo. He said 'Ms. Joseph, I just want to tell you that I just had to put my little doggie to sleep and I'm so sad. I understand your pain." Melissa and the youngster have stayed in touch.
"Empathy is so important," she explained. "Most people can't be completely empathetic with me because I was so over the top with Baxter, he was literally my shadow, but nonetheless it does help when people share what has happened to them and their pet. Go ahead and say you understand, and why you understand, because this is what you went through. It gives us all strength. I see how other people are doing, how they got through and I know that I will also get through and get to the other side of the pain."
"Another way I deal with grief is I recognize how lucky I was. Oh my god, I met the most incredible dog on the planet and had him for 17-1/2 years. How many dogs live to be 19-1/2? I have to look at the upside. It's incredible," she said.
Melissa also recommends taking care of yourself physically and emotionally. "I never gave up going to the gym or eating foods that were good for me. Maybe some days I didn't work out as hard or as long, but I stayed focused," she said.
Focusing on the positive and trying to avoid throwing herself pity parties also helped. "Keep your strength up and don't be a victim, thinking that the world should feel sorry for me because I lost my dog. That's b.s. The world should be excited for me because I had this experience. Oh my god, I'm the lucky one," she said.
Melissa intends to continue with her hospice volunteerism. "I'm so ready to go back to it again, but I don't want to do it without a dog. The dog is the magic, people at the end of their life sense that. Naturally, I'm prejudice, but I've had a lot of other people who have experienced Baxter, and they all tell me that something happened in his presence," she recalled. "So I'm really working on trying to connect with the right dog, I'm very committed to doing that."
In recent weeks she has been visiting shelters to find that right dog. "It's so hard," she said with obvious emotion in her voice. "But I know it's the right thing to do and Baxter is with me on this, but doing the right thing isn't always easy."
She came close this week, but the dog ended up not being a good match for her or therapy work, which was disappointing and frustrating. This setback has not deterred her and she's on the hunt once more. "I had a difficult, abusive upbringing so for me I identify with rescue dogs. We do prevail. We have to overcome, we have to be resilient. We have to," she said.
And resilient she is, thanks in large part to the life lessons she learned in her moments with Baxter.
"This situation with Baxter has brought me to a different place in my life. It enabled me to love myself after all these years and I've been working on that for a long time. It enabled me to take care of myself because now I am alone. My husband left and my dog left within the same period and I felt like I would die from loneliness," she shared.
"I was so heartbroken that I thought when I went to sleep I wouldn't wake up, and if something happened they could just cremate me with Baxter and we'll go together," she added. As with when her mother died, she said, she had Baxter cremated and didn't want anything returned. "I don't have a lot of faith in that system, that what I would get back would really be him. I couldn't deal with anything more beyond that, I was at the point of saturation emotionally," she said.
"Today I keep moving forward. I go to the gym at 5:15 every morning and then I take another step and another step after that and that's what got me to where I am today, visiting shelters. The first time I went it was terrible, I ran out. But I keep going back and I will keep going back until I find my little limelight," she said, adding with a laugh that she's ready to "start networking on all fours."
"Gifts come out of misery and pain, especially if your pain isn't filled with self-absorption," Melissa summarized. "It's okay to feel sad, but stay open and realize it's only temporary. Be grateful for what you had, what you have and know that something good will come from it. This I have learned from Baxter. That, and drink a lot of water," she added with a laugh.
"Moments With Baxter" is available at Amazon.com~ gift yourself, the animal lovers and anyone who appreciates good human storytelling in your life with a copy today! All proceeds go to hospice and animal welfare charities. This week donations were made by Melissa to San Diego Hospice and the ASPCA thanks to everyone's purchases. Keep it coming!
Here's an overview of Forest Lawn Glendale from ABC7 News in Los Angeles. It covers the current property lock down, a quick helicopter view of the Holly Terrace and an on-scene interview with our own Mark Masek ~ fellow grave hunter and author of Hollywood Remains To Be Seen.
Farrah's grave snapped at Westwood Memorial Park on July 26, 2009
Last I've heard or seen, the marble marker in the garden plot where Farrah Fawcett was buried remains un-engraved.
I guess that's why, when I saw her best friend of 30 years, Alana Stewart, all over the news today promoting her book about Farrah, less than two months after the Angel's death, my head kind of exploded.
Granted, Alana might not be in charge of getting that task accomplished. And I'm sure she means well. But, all things being equal, the visuals of Farrah's blank slate versus a 288-page book that in essence capitalizes on her death strikes me as beyond tacky and rather cha-ching!-ish.
My Journey With Farrahis billed as a tribute to Farrah and friendship in general. It's based on Stewart's personal diaries kept during Farrah's struggle with cancer: "...what I saw, what I felt, what I was going through with Farrah, and how it was affecting my own life," Stewart writes. Um, okay.
Retailing at $23.99, an undisclosed portion of Stewart's
profits reportedly will go to the Farrah Fawcett Foundation for cancer research.
The 213-page hardcover book was published in 2006 to commemorate the legendary cemetery association's centennial. It includes many modern color photos of Forest Lawn's six Southern California memorial parks, but I found the equally numerous vintage black-and-white images that document the birth of the Glendale mother ship to be the most fascinating.
Illustrations include variations on the park's entrance gate beginning with the stone arch in 1912, the original Hacienda Pump House that dated back to Spanish land grant days, groundskeepers and florists at work, the construction of the Administration building (complete with a Hollywood sign type advertisement on the hills behind it) and Great Mausoleum in the mid-20s, the 1948 fall of the Tower of Legends followed by the subsequent rise of The Hall of Crucifixion-Resurrection that replaced it as well as construction of churches and placement of several well-known sculptures.
Perhaps the one image that touched me the most, on a personal level, was the 1918 photo depicting the newly built Best Family private outdoor mausoleum, one of the first of its kind constructed in what is now commonly referred to by us grave hunters as The Old Section. As the epitaph reads, it contains the remains of a Civil War soldier.
Below is the image, while the modern photos were taken by me in February 2008. This is one of my favorite buildings at Forest Lawn Glendale and it gave me a real sense of history to see what it and the surrounding area looked like when it was brand new. It certainly has stood the test of time so far, and has even received some landscaping upgrades.
The copy of this book that I read today was donated to the Burbank Public Library for circulation by Forest Lawn President & CEO, John H. Llewellyn, the great-nephew of Forest Lawn founder and visionary, Hubert Eaton. I highly recommend checking with your local library to see if they have one to loan, or adding it to your personal collection from sites offering it for sale around the internet. The copy I read was hardcover but there are also less-expensive paperback editions available, too.
My good friend and graving buddy Steve Goldstein (BeneathLosAngeles.com) flagged me on a story coming out of Boston, where a tourist exploring historic Granary Burying Ground stepped on a grave and fell waist-deep into a forgotten staircase leading to an unmarked crypt.
Says Steve, "This is where it all started for me over 40 years ago. I took
(my wife) Jennifer here just this past September to show her around."
By the way, Steve's four decades of grave hunting enthusiasm and dedication to learning about history by traversing cemeteries has recently culminated in his first book, L.A.'s Graveside Companion: Where the V.I.P.s R.I.P.
I've been on countless tours of Los Angeles area cemeteries with Steve, as a friend and as an appreciative "client" when he conducts tours for the Studio for Southern California History. He knows his stuff, and I highly recommend adding his book to your graving collection!
I enjoy spending time exploring cemeteries, reading and photographing headstones of celebrities and civilians alike, and learning about the lives and deaths of these so-called "permanent residents" of the graveyards and mausoleums. This blog chronicles those experiences.
One of the cemeteries I'm most interested in these days is Grand View Memorial Park in Glendale, Calif. I wrote about its legal problems for the LA Daily News' community hub, ValleyNews.com from August 2006 to December 2008, when Valley News ceased operations. In response to reader requests to have one central source of information, I created and continue to maintain Grand View Memorial Park (dot) Info.
"We've gotten a front-row seat to all the twists and turns
taking place at the beleaguered cemetery, Grand View Memorial Park, from an intrepid citizen journalist named Lisa Burks." ~ Jason Kandel, ValleyNews.com Editor, 12/28/2006
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