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Blog Entry 77 of 80 Grave Concerns: Inside Grand View Memorial Park

News you can use regarding Grand View Memorial Park, Glendale, CA's oldest cemetery, which has been closed for regular business since June 13, 2006, due to legal and financial problems. Lisa Burks also runs the website GrandViewMemorialPark.info.

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Volunteers needed for cemetery opening this Sunday

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Contributed by: Lisa Burks on 5/20/2008

Grand View Memorial Park will be opened to the public over the Memorial Day weekend -on Sunday, May 25, from noon-4 p.m. - and attorneys coordinating the event are seeking volunteers to help ensure the day runs smoothly.

Previous limited visitations that occurred between August 2005 and June 2007 were sponsored by the city of Glendale, which supplied support staff.

Although the Glendale City Council tentatively approved funding for additional openings past that, abatement issues regarding hazards from dried vegetation and dead trees at the cemetery blocked any further action by the city to help open the cemetery.

Grand View remained closed for nine months until clean up was conducted, after which attorneys representing both the cemetery and the families came together to gain court approval to open the grounds to the public this past March 30.

The May 25 opening was also approved by the court, in an order issued by Judge Anthony J. Mohr last week.

Without city staff assistance in March, attorneys relied on about a dozen volunteers to help organize the hundreds of visitors who came to clean graves and pay respects.

At the time, many of the visitors told me this was their first visit to Grand View in many years and that they had trouble finding family plots because they were unfamiliar with the grounds.

While the attorneys and their staff will be on hand to answer specific questions and provide grave location information, David Baum, counsel for the cemetery, tells me that volunteers are needed to fulfill other important functions.

Volunteer assignments will include traffic and parking direction, distribution of informational handouts, enforcement of the ban on smoking and incense burning due to the extreme dryness of the property, and cemetery section assignments to assist visitors find graves or provide emergency assistance in the event of possible personal injuries such as falls in areas where the ground is uneven.

Having attended 99 percent of the openings over the years, I can attest to the value of volunteering at Grand View and would encourage any person or group that is interested in serving their community and fellow citizens to join this effort.

Many times, I've been able to assist mourners by either helping locate a grave, digitally photographing headstones for families who live out of the area or simply providing a listening ear to those who want to express their thoughts and feelings about the ongoing saga.

For myself, and many other volunteers I've met there, it's four to five hours of unparalleled time well spent.

Although a handful volunteers have signed up to date, Baum tells me that many more would be appreciated. No experience is required, just the desire to help make the day a successful one for families and friends of loved ones buried at Grand View.

Those interested in volunteering should call Baum's office at 310-312-9598 and plan to report to the cemetery at 11 a.m. for orientation and assignments.

Grand View Memorial Park is located at 1341 Glenwood Road, Glendale. Click here for a map.

With the recent heat wave, the grounds are very dry, and because running water will not be available on Sunday, volunteers are also encourage to bring containers of water to donate to visitors who many not be aware of the situation for use in grave cleaning and flower and plant hydration.

The National Weather Service forecast for Glendale on Sunday is sunny, with a high of 68°F. Perfect weather to be outside, hope to see you there!

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