Comments on: Weekend Outing: Evergreen Cemetery

By: Will (Liam) Keightley

Will (Liam) Keightley — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 05:04:45 +0000

Dwight, thanks for that. I’m mortified that I have an actual photo of your parents’ headstone up on the blog, though, of all the stills I took that day. Say the word and I’ll yank it. I’ve always found cemeteries fascinating and beautiful, and I have the utmost respect for their residents, but that respect, out of necessity, dwells in that tricky territory between somber reflection and wry irreverence. If I can’t do it justice through my words, then the fault, of course, lies squarely with me.

By: babamoto

babamoto — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 04:29:27 +0000

Yah, Will, I’ve cooled down a bit.
I was angry and hurt after seeing a photo of my parents’ headstone plastered across the blogosphere in a post about “outings.” “Unpleasant”? Meh. I was goin’ for sarcastic.
Mom and pops are under the old pine between Iku Tachibana and the Hamai Family. Will, I’m gonna light a stick of incense for you when I go there tomorrow morning.
D Babamoto

By: Annika Barranti

Annika Barranti — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 03:45:07 +0000

Wow, Dwight. You know this isn’t a newspaper, right?

By: Will (Liam) Keightley

Will (Liam) Keightley — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 03:28:22 +0000

Hi, Dwight Thanks for commenting. And thanks for the link. Here it is, again, by the way, repaired. I'm trying to figure out why the tone of your comment is so unpleasant, though. My visit to the cemetery was based on a whim, a response to a brief mention of "Evergreen Cemetery in Los Angeles" on a radio program and a stirring article from the Daily News. I went exploring. I saw some beautiful stuff. I tried to do it justice with some photographs. I'm sorry it didn't please you, but I'm helpless to fix that. Thanks for reading, Dwight. And thanks for reacting. And in response to your sign-off, I think you've nailed it. I am, indeed, more jester than journalist. I've never told anyone different. WK

By: babamoto

babamoto — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 22:20:26 +0000

Los Angeles’ oldest private memorial park, Evergreen Cemetery, founded in 1877, is NOT Los Angeles’ potter’s field (“a public burial place for paupers, unknown persons, and criminals”). The so-called “Los Angeles County Cemetery” (which the bumbling poster Will Keightley admits he even couldn’t find) is a separate, cordoned-off area southeast of Evergreen proper at E. 1st Street and Lorena. Founded in 1890, it is the final resting place for thousand of our county’s unknown and unclaimed dead.

For further information on L.A. County Cemetery, call Craig Harvey, L.A. County Coroner’s chief operations officer at (323) 343-0734.

Google may not be Keightley’s friend but it most certainly is yours. Here’s a start. For a richer perspective on Evergreen’s importance to all Angelenos and especially its immigrant community, go to http://www.schweich.com/geoCALAnEvergreenCmty.html.

My Japanese American grandparents and parents are buried at Evergreen because most of the other cemeteries in the city were segregated and forbade Japanese and other “Asiatic” burials. Evergreen, on the other hand, served the entire community without prejudice.

And, finally, to the memory of “N. Hama”—Rest in peace, sir. Keightley’s more of a jester than journalist.

Dwight Babamoto

By: frazgo

frazgo — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 13:22:38 +0000

What TK said, thanks.

By: Travis Koplow

Travis Koplow — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 05:33:05 +0000

Totally cool. Thanks for sharing the pictures.

By: WILL•I•AM CAMPBELL

WILL•I•AM CAMPBELL — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 04:48:13 +0000

Nothing like biking Evergreen and Rosedale Cemeteries at night.

By: Will (Liam) Keightley

Will (Liam) Keightley — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 04:40:28 +0000

That’s kinda what I was thinking, but I must’ve missed ‘em. There’s a lot of ground to cover. Do you happen to know how far back they go?

By: dhosek

dhosek — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 04:34:39 +0000

It is, I believe on the south end of the cemetery. The mass graves are marked with a simple grass-level marker with the year.