February-Looking out the window here at Mountain View once again…

3 Feb 2022

OMGosh. The magic month of February has arrived. Days are getting longer and longer. Hopefully the days of Masking will soon be getting shorter and shorter.

As you walk along our Mountain View Cemetery, and go left through the Fair Oaks Avenue gate, on the left side, you’ll see Windsong Lane. It’s covered in shade trees and a unique upright grave marker suggests a sweet family story.
The Reverend Sweet and his life travels included being born and raised in Iowa, spending a lifetime of preaching and finding a final resting place here at Mountain View. What happened during those years will remain a mystery. Perhaps a relative or two can help us fill in the blanks.

During those Civil War years with the conflict of the agrarian South and the industrial North and with so much going on in America, we can only imagine his journey.

Reverend Sweets’ upright grave marker is so creative, with unique multiple font styles accented by an unusual artistic flair. Here at Mountain View, there are hundreds of family stories. Most of them, quite sweet.
You never know whom you will run into as you walk the hills and valleys here at Mountain View. It’s always fun when visitors come from out of town, to see our Mountain View cemetery sights. It happened a couple of weeks ago.

It wasn’t the visiting Brothers Karamazov. It was the Brothers Gardino. Vince and Robert. Brothers from New York City. Sort of the Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid of grave researchers.

Once they introduced themselves, they wanted to visit the cremated remains of George ‘Superman’ Reeves located inside our Pasadena Mausoleum. It was smile time and Selfie time.
Come to find out, Vince and Robert are the authors of “Grave Trippers”, an awesome book featuring East Coast photos and location sites of hard-to-find celebrity graves.

Grave marker photographs in their book include everyone from President Kennedy to Miles Davis to America’s Poet Laureate, Robert Frost. Hope to see you guys’ next time you’re in town. Break a leg Guys.

Our cemetery grounds are like a curving loop and looking from our Fair Oaks Avenue gate, as you reach about 11am on the location clock, you’ll find yet another scenic view. It’s Mountain Vineyard bordering Mountain Meadows.
As you look north, you’ll notice the upright markers reach a certain point and then disappear, giving way to an area of flat markers.

Discover the beauty of Mountain Vineyards and Mountain Meadows. Walks and Talks are always welcome.

As everyone knows, the month of February is the month of flowers. And more flowers. Valentine’s Day is February 14th and falls on a Monday. We know we will be busy with flower deliveries as always.

We expect to see Aleah, our local flower artist doing her creative thing. Aleah always greets us and our day with a smile. Even under her stylish mask, we can see and hear her wonderful personality. Whenever she breezes through dropping off her flower creations, our workday brightens up. Always. Happy Valentine’s Day everyone.
The glow of Stained Glass is alive and well inside our Mother Mausoleum on Marengo Avenue. Stained Glass is quite a unique art form. During Springtime, the daily rising and falling of the Sun is quite magical as the changing light outside, causes the stained glass inside, to dance in all her colors.

History. Architecture. Stained Glass. All part of our Mausoleum on Marengo Avenue and here for our Altadena families of yesterday and today to enjoy. Open 7 Days.

Black History month is here. Whether you’re an aspiring writer or just an appreciative reader, there can be no greater tribute than to visit Pasadena City College Alumni Octavia Butler, resting here at Mountain View. The good news: After an epic journey of storytelling ups and downs, Butlers’ ‘Kindred’ is finally in development for FX.

Till we look out the window here at Mountain View once again…

Text and photos by Denny Dormody (FD 3383)
Awesome Research by Oscar 1