Hello, In follow up to the below posting, I have sent the following letter to the editors of the Pasadena Star News and the San Gabriel Valley Tribune newspapers. I have also notified the State Cemetery and Funeral Bureau in Sacramento. Sue Silver, State Coordinator California Saving Graves ************************************* Begin letter text: Re: Savannah Memorial Park Editor: The El Monte Cemetery Association has quite a dilemma on its hands if it cannot afford to continue to hold, operate or maintain the Savannah Memorial Park in Rosemead. This cemetery is also known as the El Monte Cemetery or at least that is the name the State recorded when it conducted surveys of California cemeteries between 1950 and 1985. It is by all means one of California's historic cemeteries and represents the early exploration and settlement in California, probably before and after the Mexican War. The State's register for this cemetery cites that it was established in 1852, just two years after California attained statehood. I do not know when the El Monte Cemetery Association acquired the cemetery, but they were not incorporated until 1920. California's statutes governing cemeteries provided for the incorporation of Rural Cemetery Associations in 1859 (Repealed 1931). It does appear that the cemetery was in use by the public for some 60+ years before the El Monte Cemetery Association became a legal California cemetery corporation and was duly authorized to own, operate and maintain a cemetery in the state. From these few facts and presumptions, it would be our opinion that the title to the El Monte Cemetery, as it was used by the public previous to the formation of the El Monte Cemetery Association, vested in the PUBLIC through operation of California law (former Political Code section 3105, now substantially embodied as Health and Safety Code section 8126). The public acquired legal title to the cemetery as a result of its continuous and uninterrupted use of the cemetery for five or more years after January 1, 1873. The public's title was and is superior to that of the El Monte Cemetery Association as the law prohibits adverse possession of lands in public title. Even if the above were not accepted as factual, cemetery associations formed under the former Rural Cemetery Association Act are subject to regulation by the Dept. of Consumer Affairs Cemetery and Funeral Bureau. This means that the El Monte Cemetery Association must abide by the laws and regulations of the Health and Safety Code pertaining to Private Cemeteries. The El Monte Cemetery Association cannot by law sell this cemetery to any entity that has not been issued a Certificate of Authority by the Cemetery and Funeral Bureau to operate the cemetery. It cannot sell the land as other than cemetery land unless it removes all human remains from its acreage and petitions the Superior Court of California to remove the land's dedication to cemetery purposes. The situation faced by the El Monte Cemetery Association is not unique in California. Many small cemetery associations have functioned for many years without establishing endowed care funds to provide for the cemeteries when they can no longer generate revenues. As is being contemplated by this Association, those cemeteries are basically abandoned, along with all the many original citizens of our state. California on the whole has a dismal record in its treatment of its cemeteries, both historic and modern. Remove a cemetery and you remove the evidence of all those people and the history their lives represented to the very community the cemetery represents. The history of the community is, in essence, often entirely removed. It is a shame that the Asian peoples who have moved into this community cannot be convinced to respect the cemeteries that existed there before they arrived. Their discomfort with the location of the cemeteries is NOT a criteria reviewed by the Superior Court of California when it approves applications to remove and relocate cemeteries. We believe the dead should be left to rest in peace. We believe the cemeteries of our state's early and historic communities should be left unmolested as their original founders intended. We would be willing to assist any interested persons who would like to help preserve this cemetery so that it may remain where it was established in 1852. Sincerely, Sue Silver, State Coordinator California Saving Graves Email: [email protected] California Website: www.usgennet.org/usa/ca/state/ Worldwide Website: www.savinggraves.org End letter text. (See below for original list posting.) ******************************************* ----- Original Message ----- From: <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Friday, July 30, 2004 9:31 AM Subject: [CALosAngeles] Savannah Memorial Park > > Whittier Daily News > > Grant cemetery landmark status > Thursday, July 29, 2004 - THE Savannah Memorial Park in Rosemead has been > the final resting place of San Gabriel Valley residents for more than 150 > years. And before that, it was an Indian burial ground. > The cemetery on Valley Boulevard was the site where pioneers on the Santa Fe > Trail would bury those who had died on the journey from points east to what's > now Rosemead and El Monte. It has been the scene of a few tragic suicides > and a fatal shootout between police and robbers. It is also the site where > Chinese characters adorn the headstones of two Japanese immigrants, the > first-known use of the writing in a public place outside of Chinatown. > Resting beneath its grassy fields are the founding families of the region, > Civil War veterans and even a veteran of the War of 1812. And the graves are > not limited to the park others are known to be underneath Valley Boulevard and > the the surrounding businesses. > Unfortunately, all that history may be forced to make way for development, as > staff writer Jason Kosareff reported Sunday. > The El Monte Cemetery Association, which owns the graveyard, is saying that > without help, the group will soon be forced to sell the land to developers > salivating over the property. > Of course, the graves would be moved and the relatives notified. But moving > such an old cemetery would mean losing a piece of the Valley's heritage in a > community that frankly, has not done well in preserving historic resources. > Ideally, the association would like to make the cemetery a historic landmark > with the state. However, the group fears it does not have the resources to > pull it off. > That's a call for help that should be heeded. Where are those groups that say > Rosemead needs to maintain its old-town atmosphere? With the ferocity that > some groups are showing to oppose a Wal-Mart, ardent Rosemead residents should > fight for this forgotten treasure. > Perhaps Wal-Mart itself can kick in some bucks? With all its talk about > giving back to the community, here's a chance for the retail behemoth to puts its > money where its mouth is. > As for the Asian businesses who see the Savannah Memorial Park a hindrance to > their patrons, they need to respect the history that made their businesses > possible. > > >