My first stop was Evergreen Cemetery in Oakland, founded in 1903. It’s been closed to new interments for quite some time but the crematorium is still operational and I saw markers from 2023 in the scattering garden. I’ve never heard of scattering gardens before but apparently they are common and they really are little garden area areas where you can scatter your loved ones’ ashes. Next to this area was a single grave, one of the most ornate that I have ever seen, of a Tongan woman.
The large building houses the crematorium and apparently also a chapel and mausoleum. There are no markings at the entrance and no door knob. Does that mean you go in and don’t come out? In any event, I didn’t try to go in. They were doing business that day, with an American crematory truck parked out front. On my way out I saw a hearse pull up.
There are some notable graves here. I found the grave of Earl “Fatha” Hines. Was not able to locate the grave of Allen Hoskins who played Farina on the Our Gang TV show, nor the grave of Huey Newton, darn.
The Berkel family plot has a large monument copying a famous statue called the End of the Trail that depicts a native American and his horse both exhausted by their journey. I read that this statue has come to symbolize the genocide of Native Americans. Why a German immigrant would choose this image is a mystery.
There is an area set aside for Jonestown massacre victims. Many of them were buried elsewhere but all of the unclaimed bodies were buried here, many of them children. The gray slabs surrounded by white pebbles are incised with their names. The list of names includes that of Jim Jones. Understandably, there was quite a bit of controversy about whether his name should be included, which delayed the installation of this memorial for over 30 years. Sidebar: I moved to San Francisco in late August 1978. The Jonestown massacre was November 18 and not two weeks later, on November 27, George Moscone and Harvey Milk were murdered by Dan White. It was a surreal intro to the city for me.
Another reason to visit this graveyard is to see the Hell‘s Angels section. All these graves have photos on them, one of which is a mug shot! Instead of saying things like rest in peace, the stones say things like hey, man!
Next I went to the Oakland Mormon Temple. I will always be disappointed that I did not know back in 2019 that the public is allowed to see inside a temple whenever it is newly constructed or renovated which is what happened in 2019. Grr. Whatever you think of Mormonism, you have to admit the architecture is pretty fabulous. This one reminds me a bit of the Wicked Witch’s castle.
I didn’t stay too long at the visitor center for fear of being pursued by eager evangelists. Who knows what to make of these adjoining rooms, one of which has a desert scene and the next is a nursery. What’s up with this painting? Did Jesus have a twin???? The blue video screen had a series of images of life-size missionary figures.
This is an amazing place to watch the sunset from but I was a bit early so I nipped up the road to visit Joaquin Miller’s Abbey. Miller owned many acres of land here and lived in the house for about 30 years from the late 1800s. He was a poet who celebrated the American West but according to Wikipedia he is still known now not so much for his talent but for his gift of self promotion. Did Fremont really see his first view of the bay from the location of this memorial? Who knows! You can’t see it now because of the trees.
I had time to go back to the temple just after sunset and get some more photos. The parking lot was now almost full and people were entering the temple. I went to the roof deck first, which is open to the public daily. It has an amazing view of the bay. On my way down I took advantage of some people entering to sneak a photo showing greeters dressed head to toe in white in front of a giant painting of Jesus.