Tuesday, October 8, 2013

Pre-Halloween Cemetery Tour in Long Beach

Halloween's a big holiday for historical societies, and Long Beach is no exception.

On October 26, 2013 HSLB hosts their annual Cemetery Tour at the Municipal and Sunnyside Cemeteries, 1095 E. Willow.

Here's who you'll meet:

  • Ethel and Charles Haynes. In 1961, Charles became the first African American member of the Long Beach Board of Realtors. Ethel was an elementary school teacher. Together they helped integrate the city. 

  • Brother-sister Thomas and Kathleen Harnett whose parents came here from England in the late 1800's. Thomas owned a milling company; Kathleen a teacher.

  • Yaye Kurayama Takeshita was a "picture bride" married to a man she never met in a foreign land. Her two sons were WWII heroes and son Las Takeshita became a respected Japanese American leader in Long Beach. 

  • Elizabeth and Donald Wallace had Poly in their DNA! Generations of Wallaces were Poly grads. When the civil rights movement brought awareness and desire for change--change which threatened Poly. Liz and Don brought black and white parents together. 

  • William (left) and Betty Seal were born in Long Beach, both teachers, following in the footsteps of their families. Bill helped returning Vietnam vets get into college; Betty worked with Cambodian refugees to help them succeed in their new home town.  

  • Valentine and Maybell Leal were married in Long Beach in 1905. Together they raised three sons, watched friends fight for fair treatment, and Valentine joined Alianza,an early Latino fraternal organization. One son attended UCLA and was a noted language scholar. 

  • Coseboom Family-Clarence, Dora, and their son Walter Coseboom, in 1896, embroiled in the question, "Should Long Beach stay dry?" A rumpus and row ensued. And, what mischief was son Walter up to that night in the city storeroom? 

  • Dora Czerny was an elderly entrepreneur. After marriage and giving birth to ten children (most died) back East, she came to Long Beach alone, worked her way up from housekeeper to bathhouse owner and real estate developer. And then in 1907, she blew the whistle on the murder-by-poison of her best friend.

ALl, this, and a Dia de los Muertos exhibit as well.

Performances run from 9 am to 2:30 pm, and there are guided tours as well, at 9, 10, 11, and noon.

Tickets are $20, though there are discounts for HSLB members and students, and a hot dog lunch is included from 11:30 to 1:30.

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