lagunabeachindy . com SEPTEMBER 2 , 2022 15
Hellewell
PAGE 12
to tend their graves . During the Civil War , President Abraham Lincoln encouraged mining in the West . The fortunes made in California ’ s ’ 49 Gold Rush , Pike ’ s Peak ’ 58 rush , and Nevada ’ s ’ 59 Comstock Lode silver rush suggested a way to help fund the war . When a wandering prospector found a rock with high silver content , the Tintic Mining District was formed and Eureka was born . The stamping mills that once ran around the clock are silent now and the buildings along the main street are falling down , but Eureka was once a busy business center . J . C . Penney built his second store here .
No one we spoke to in Eureka knew why or when , but long ago the cemetery , once in the center of town , was moved a couple of miles away . They must have had big plans for downtown Eureka . This was before the 1918 Spanish Flu Pandemic because the current cemetery has a section without headstones — at the height of the pandemic , victims were buried in a mass grave . Other early graves were marked by wooden monuments later lost to a brush fire . Record keeping was hit and miss . The bottom line is it ’ s best not to dig in the older sections — you might disturb someone ’ s rest .
You get a fresh perspective in Eureka ’ s cemetery . The view across the Great Basin to distant mountains brings a broadening scale and a sense of one ’ s insignificance . Time slows to a crawl . Excepting the winding road , has the view changed over the eons ? The tombstones add their silent facts : a name , the date of birth and death , a statement of relationship — mother , father , son or daughter . Sometimes there is a favorite scripture , or the summation of a life . For a mother who died at just 37 , the assuring epitaph : “ She did the best she could .”
The tombstones , taken together , tell a story — in the end , it ’ s family that matters . A grandfather I never knew was a hard-rock miner in Eureka . He had been a promising student but at sixteen went down into the mines to support the family after his father ’ s death . He died at 32 of the miner ’ s disease , pneumonia . My mother was two years old at her father ’ s death so she never knew him . Though she lived a century longer , not knowing her father remained a sadness in her life .
Cemetery plots are a bargain in Eureka , $ 200 for residents , $ 450 for non-residents . Though you can buy a single grave site , nearly all the cemetery is divided into 16-foot by 16-foot family-sized plots hosting up to eight graves . It bears repeating — when all is said and done , it ’ s family that matters . There ’ s meaning in that .
Skip fell in love with Laguna on a ‘ 50s surfing trip . He ’ s a student of Laguna history and the author of “ Loving Laguna : A Local ’ s Guide to Laguna Beach ”. Email : skip @ lovinglaguna . com
Street Beat EXCERPTS FROM POLICE LOGS
Thursday , Aug . 25
Dui . An 18-year-old Ontario man was arrested on suspicion of DUI and drugs . He was held on a $ 2,500 bail .
Obstruction , battery . Joanna Kakkavas , 46 , of East York , Ontario , Canada was arrested on suspicion of misdemeanor obstruction , resisting arrest and battery . She was held on a $ 10,000 bail .
Trespassing , Bench warrant . Shannon Marie Kirwan , 45 , was arrested on suspicion of misdemeanor trespassing and misdemeanor bench warrant .
Concealed weapon . Jason Michael Adams , 48 , of Laguna Beach was arrested on suspicion of misdemeanor concealed dirk or dagger . He was held without bail .
Bench warrant . Reece Ben Hasson , 72 , of Orange was arrested on suspicion of misdemeanor
Bench warrant . He was held at $ 500 bail .
DUI . A 60-year-old Laguna Beach woman was arrested on suspicion of misdemeanor DUI . Her bail was set at $ 2,500 .
Friday , Aug . 26 Parole violation . Anthony Martinez ,
32 , of Garden State was arrested on suspicion of felony parole violation . He was held without bail .
Drug possession . Intent to sell marijuana . Angel Manzo , 19 , of Santa Ana was arrested on suspicion of possession of marijuana , transport and sell a controlled substance , sell marijuana . His bail was set at $ 1000 .
Saturday , Aug . 27
Forgery , DUI . Adam John Roldan , 19 , of Ladera was arrested on suspicion of felony possession of drivers license with commit to forge bail and misdemeanor DUI . His bail was set at $ 2,500 .
Petty theft , Assault with deadly weapon . Wesley Tyler Smith , 39 , of Laguna Beach was arrested on suspicion of misdemeanor petty theft , battery on person and felony assault with a deadly weapon . His bail was set at $ 26,000 .
Misdemeanor . Jorja Ann Wyatt , 30 , was arrested on suspicion of misdemeanor charge . Her bail was set at $ 40,000 .
STREET BEAT , page 16