High Altar of the Mission San Gabriel, founded in 1771.

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Ramona

'Ramona' by H.H. Jackson.Anyone who has lived in Southern California has seen the name "Ramona" on a street sign: Ramona Street, Ramona Place, Ramona Avenue, Ramona Boulevard, Ramona Way, &c. My grandmother's house lies just off of a Ramona Boulevard.

Q. So just who is this Ramona?

A. She is the protagonist in H.H. Jackson's famous novel Ramona: A Story.

This novel was perhaps one of the most influential American novels of the second half of the 19th Century. The story is set just after the American take over of Alta California and chronicles the life of a young Spanish girl who later finds out that she is not Spanish at all, but half Anglo and half Indian. She lives on the rancho of her late foster mother's sister where she falls in love with an Indian man by the name of Alessandro. Ramona and Alessandro elope and go to live with Alessandro's people. From then on the novel reads like a Shakespearean tragedy. I won't give away the plot, but suffice it to say that the novel depicts the mistreatment of the California Indians at the hands of the Americans. As well it tells of the decline and disappearance of the idyllic, rural, Spanish Catholic way of life in old California.

The novel was intentionally writted as a political statement. Mrs. Jackson had become aware of the plight of the American Indians while living in Boston. She wrote her first work A Century of Dishonor, which she sent to every Congressman. This first work gained little notice. While on holiday in Southern California, Mrs. Jackson became acquainted with the plight of the Mission Indians through a Spanish man by the name of Antonio Coronel. Don Antonio, a former mayor of Los Ángeles, was very knowledgable about the Californios (i.e. the Spanish Californians whose ancestors had come to California in the late 18th century) and the Mission Indians.

From Wikipedia:

"Many of the original Mexican land grants had clauses protecting the Indians on the lands they occupied. But when Americans assumed control of the southwest after the Mexican-American War, they ignored Indian claims to these lands, which led to mass dispossessions. In 1852, there were an estimated fifteen thousand Mission Indians in Southern California. But, because of the adverse impact of dispossessions by Americans, by the time of Jackson's visit they numbered less than four thousand.

The stories told by Don Antonio spurred Jackson into action. Her efforts soon came to the attention of the U.S. Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Hiram Price, who recommended she be appointed an Interior Department agent. Jackson's assignment was to visit the Mission Indians and ascertain the location and condition of various bands, and determine what lands, if any, should be purchased for their use. With the help of Indian agent Abbot Kinney, Jackson criss-crossed Southern California and documented the appalling conditions she saw. At one point, she hired a law firm to protect the rights of a family of Saboba Indians facing dispossession of their land at the foot of the San Jacinto Mountains.

During this time, Jackson read an account in a Los Ángeles newspaper about a Cahuilla Indian who had been shot and killed. His wife, it turned out, was named Ramona. On one excursion, Jackson was escorted by wagon to Santa Bárbara and stopped off at Rancho Camulos in the Santa Clara River Valley, where she visited the adobe of the Del Valle family. But the Señora del Valle was not home the day Jackson was there. And at the Mission Santa Bárbara, Jackson made the acquaintance of Father Sánchez, a source of great inspiration.

In 1883, she completed her fifty-six page report, which called for a massive government relief effort ranging from the purchase of new lands for reservations to the establishment of more Indian schools. A bill embodying her recommendations passed the U.S. Senate but died in the House of Representatives.

Jackson, however, was not discouraged by this Congressional rejection. She decided to write a novel that would depict the Indian experience "in a way to move people's hearts." An inspiration for the undertaking, Jackson admitted, was Uncle Tom's Cabin written years earlier by her friend, Harriet Beecher Stowe.

"If I can do one-hundredth part for the Indian that Mrs. Stowe did for the Negro, I will be thankful," she told a friend. Jackson was particularly drawn to the fate of her Indian friends in the Temecula area of Riverside County and decided to use the story of what happened to them in her novel. She began writing the outline for her novel while staying at the Grapevine Inn in San Gabriel, but it wasn't till December 1883 that she actually started to write the novel in her New York hotel room, with an original title of In The Name of the Law, and completed the manuscript in slightly over three months. The result was her classic novel Ramona about a part-Indian orphan raised in Spanish Californio society, and her Indian husband, Alessandro, which was published in November 1884 and achieved almost instant success.

Encouraged by the popularity of her book, Jackson planned to write a children's story on the Indian issue. But less than a year after the publication of Ramona, while she was examining the condition of the California Indians as a special government commissioner, she died of cancer in San Francisco, California."

The novel Ramona was later made into a pageant play beginning in 1925 and is staged in The Ramona Bowl Amphitheater, in the town of Hemet, California. The pageant was originally staged one weekend every year, however it now runs three consecutive weekends. This year marks the pageant's 85th Anniversary. It has run every year since 1925 with the exception of three years during the Second World War. Ramona is the the official "State Play" of California. It is interesting to note that there have been a few famous actresses who have played Ramona in the pageant, the most famous being Raquel Welch in 1959. There are five Ramona movies as well: a 1910 silent version starring Mary Pickford; a 1916 silent version starring Adda Gleason; a 1928 version starring Dolores del Río; 1936 version starring Loretta Young; and a 1946 Spanish version starring Esther Fernández.

This year I took my ahijada (god-daughter) & comadre (the mother of my god-daughter, literally "co-mother") to see Ramona. The play was rather melodramatic at times, and the plot felt a bit rushed, but over all I would highly recommend it to anyone visiting Southern California in late April. The Spanish and Indian dances alone were worth the price of admission. One thing to note is that the play is predominantly in English, but there is a still bit of Spanish spoken in the play. I would recommend brushing up on your Spanish seeing as there were many "inside" jokes. As well, there is also a bit of Latin! The blessings given by "Father Salvierderra" are sung in Latin and there are a few Latin hymns sung throughout. What's not to like about this play!

(Remember to run the "sprite" (mouse pointer) over the photos to get a description. In addition, you can click on these photos to enlarge them.)

On the Riverside Freeway to Hemet. Notice the dry, almost desert-like landscape.

One sees just about everything in California.

¡Bienvenidos! Welcome! The gates to the Ramona Bowl.

Our narrator, Juan Canito.

The stage is set.

The flags of Spain, Mexico, and the California Republic.

Paquito & Margarita.

Father Salvierderra & the Señora Moreno.

The Moreno Hacienda and its Chapel.

The Californios leaving the chapel after Mass.

Kneeling for Father Salvierderra's blessing.

The departure of Fr. Salvierderra and some of the vaqueros.

Waving 'Adiós'.

The Indian village at Temecula.

Californio vaqueros.

The protagonistas--Ramona & Alessandro.

Decorating for a fiesta.

The Señora Moreno presides over the fiesta.

The most important people at a fiesta--the musicians.

Dancing.

¡Bailamos!

Ramona waiting to run off with Alessandro.

Ramona being received into the tribe after her wedding at the Mission San Diego.

Indian dancing at Alessandro & Ramona's wedding celebration.

More dancing.

More dancing.

Indian ring dancer. This guy was amazing! He could twirl and dance with seven rings simultaneously.

'All the world's a stage...' or rather 'All the hill's a stage...'

The coming of the Americanos.

Don Felipe Moreno deciding to leave California for Méjico.

The Moreno household departs for Méjico.

'La música' was part of every facet of a Californio's life.

Our narrator exhorts the audience to remember this story, the old Spanish way of life, and what later happened to the Indians when the Americans came.

The cast comes out: The padre from the Mission San Diego, Father Salvierderra, Marda, and Margarita.

The entire cast takes a bow.

Me with my 'ahijada' and 'comadre'.

The San Jacinto (St. Hyacinth) Mountains as seen from the Ramona Bowl.

Vaya con Dios. Go with God.

Monday, May 12, 2008

The City of San Gabriel

Mission Playhouse Plaza.The town of San Gabriel was one of the first townships in the county of Los Ángeles after the American occupation and take over. The entire town was originally part of the Mission San Gabriel landgrant given by the Spanish crown to the mission. The land was then held in trust for the Indians by the Friars Minor. When the missions were secularized by the government of a newly independent Mexico much of their land was divided among the Spanish ranchos, as well new ranchos were formed from these mission lands. The rancho lands were divided up even further when the Americnas came. The City of San Gabriel was eventually incorporated as a general law city on April 24, 1913 with a population of 1,500. At present the population is around 40,000. Among the most notable sites in the town are the Mission San Gabriel, the Grapevine Arbor, and the Mission Playhouse.

(Remember to run the "sprite" (mouse pointer) over the photos to get a description.)

San Gabriel City Hall.

I used to work at this restaurant during my summers home from the university.

The most notable historical site in San Gabriel is the Mission San Gabriel. However, there are two other structures, just down the street from the mission, that merit attention. The first is the Grapevine Arbor. This structure houses the country's oldest living grapevine, which was planted in 1861. The site is also notable as the "Birthplace of Ramona". The Grapevine Inn that once stood alongside the arbor was where H.H. Jackson began writing her famous novel about the California Indians.

The Grapevine Arbor. 'Birthplace of Ramona'.

The oldest living grapevine in the country.

'This barrel, built prior to 1900, has the capacity of 1000 gallons and is typical of the kind used in the wine making industry of San Gabriel's past.'

Colonnade of the Grapevine Room--the former site of the Grapevine Inn, 'Birthplace of Ramona'.

The Mission Playhouse, as seen from the Grapevine Arbor.

The gate from the Grapevine Arbor to the Mission Playhouse.

Hanging bottlebrush tree.

The other structure is the Mission Playhouse, which was built in 1927 by John Steven McGroarty for his famous Mission Play that told the story of the founding of the California Missions by the Franciscan Friars. The play ran for 3,198 performances until 1932. Apparently the effects of the Great Depression helped to kill attendence. To-day the Mission Playhouse is used by the City of San Gabriel as its civic auditorium.

The Mission Playhouse & Plaza.

Detail of the façade.

The main doors.

Light fixture in the patio.

The fountain.

The following four photographs were not taken by me, but are from the San Gabriel Mission Playhouse website. They show the interior of the Mission Playhouse.

The Foyer.

The Theatre.

Light fixtures in the Theatre.

Boxes.

I happened to come home just when the City of San Gabriel was celebrating the 95th anniversary of its incorporation as a city in the County of Los Ángeles. There was a big street fiesta that weekend with lots of good Mexican and Salvadoran food. Papusas anyone?

The opening of the fiesta.

Good food under the stars...

...and good music. Look who showed up. 'What's love got to do, got to do with it?'

Saturday, May 10, 2008

Misión San Gabriel Arcángel de los Temblores

The Mission San GabrielThe Mission San Gabriel was the fourth mission in the chain of California Missions founded by the Friars Minor (Franciscans) and one of the original nine founded by Blessed Junípero Serra. The first Mission San Gabriel was founded on the Feast of the Nativity of the B.V.M. in the year of our Lord 1771 in what are now the Puente Hills. The mission was later moved so as to be closer to water and was then set up on the banks of what is now the Río Hondo (Deep River). [This second site is right near where I grew up.] Due to flooding, however, the mission was moved a second time in 1776 and this is where it was to stay. The Mission San Gabriel soon prospered and became the wealthiest mission due to the abundance of rich, arable soil to be used for farming and the huge pasturelands available for its cattle.

In the year of our Lord 1781, two friars from the mission set out with a land party of soldiers and settlers to help found an asistencia (chapel of the mission) and a small town about ten miles to the west. The asistencia was to be named after the mother church of the Franciscan Order, Our Lady of the Angels, and the town would takes its name from this as El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de Los Ángeles del Río de Porciúncula. (The Spanish refered to the town simply as Santa María de Los Ángeles or Reina de Los Ángeles.) This was to grow into the present-day City of Los Ángeles. Thus Los Ángeles is correctly the "City of the Queen of the Angels". Another asistencia (San Bernardino de Sena Estancia) was founded by friars from the Mission San Gabriel in the year of our Lord 1819, this time 50 miles to the east where cattle could be taken to graze. This estancia , or ranch outpost, never grew very large during the Spanish and Mexican periods. However, it would later grow into the City of San Bernardino after the Americans took much of the surrounding land from the Indians. (The story of this is told in the novel Ramona by Helen Hunt Jackson, but more on that later...)

The year 1812 brought many earthquakes to California. A strong earthquake on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception on the San Andreas Fault (near San Juan Capistrano) triggered a chain reaction of subsequent earthquakes further up the fault line. Several of these happened near Santa María de Los Ángeles and the Mission San Gabriel thus giving the mission the addition of "de los temblores" or "of the earthquakes" to its name. One of these earthquakes was so powerful that it totally destroyed the campanario (bell tower). The Mission San Gabriel fared better than the Mission San Juan Capistrano, however, which was totally destroyed. Many lives were lost due to the crowd for the feast day. The friars rebuilt the campanario at the Mission San Gabriel, but this time as a "bell wall" buttressed against the church.

Mexican Independence brought even great troubles for the California Missions. The Mexican government secularized almost all of the missions, closing their doors. Their lands were divided up and the Mission Indians were sent back to their villages. (Many of the Indians took and hid church furnishings and later restored them during the rennovations of the 1930s.) The friars that chose to remain went to the Mission Santa Bárbara. A very small handful of secular clergy came to run the larger missions, however, and between them and the Friars Minor they were able meet only the most basic spiritual needs of the faithful.

The American take over was equally bad for the missions. Many of the Americans who moved to California had no respect for the churches and their buildings. There was much looting and destruction and many of the missions lay in ruins after a time. Sadly, the missions languished until 1863, when President Abraham Lincoln restored all of the missions to the Roman Catholic Church. In the 1930s, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) and the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) helped to restore nearly all of the California Missions to their former glory. To this day these misions are cherished as an integral part of not only Californian, but American history. As well, they are are a testament to the faith of our ancestors. Vaya con Dios.

(Run the "sprite" (mouse pointer) over the photos to get a description.)

Lands of the Mission San Gabriel. Click to enlarge.

¡Saludos Amigos! Please read this wonderful introduction to the Mission San Gabriel. Click on the image to enlarge.

Mission façade. Oddly, this was not used as the main entrance to the church in the mission days. The most commonly used entrance was an entrance on the Gospel side.

Notice the place where the campanario, or bell tower, used to be at the right.

The High Altar.

Altare Privilegiatum.

The Sacristy.

The oldest image of the Virgin in the U.S.

Sanctuary Lamp.

This Indian painting of the Immaculate Conception adorns the Epistle-side wall of the sanctuary. The Mission San Gabriel is on of the few missions to retain a lot of its original furnishings. Many of these were held in care for many years by local Indian and Spanish families.

Sacring bells.

The pulpit.

Light fixture.

St. Joseph (?) keeping watch over the Gospel-side entrance.

...because by thy Holy Cross, Thou hast redeemed the world.

Pietà.

The Baptistry with copper baptismal font given to the Mission San Gabriel by King Carlos III in 1771. Many people in my family have been baptized from this font.

Baptistry furnishings.

Baptistry ceiling.

Where the bell tower would have been before the earthquakes of 1812. Up until the 1990s, the ruins of the bell tower were still to be seen on the ground. They were cleared away during the structural rennovations made to the church after the Whittier Narrows Quake of 1987 nearly toppled the mission.

The campanario wall that replaced the bell tower.

To the old camposanto.

The old camposanto

Grave in the old camposanto.

Outdoor Stations of the Cross and graves of the Claretian Fathers. (They currently have charge of the mission).

Cross in the old camposanto.

May they rest in peace.

To the Mission Museum & Gardens.

Tiles flanking the entrance.

Tiles flanking the entrance.

Garden fountain.

Garden wall.

Walkway leading to the Mission Museum.

Wine press in the museum.

The story of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

Paintings in the museum.

More paintings.

Divers & sundry items.

Case containing statues and images.

Old photo of the High Altar.

More paintings.

An old Breviary, printed in 1806.

Old church furnishings: Monstrance, Santos (saint statues), et al.

A bed belonging to one of the Friars Minor.

An old organ and some of the vestments worn by Blessed Junípero Serra.

Up close view of one of the chasubles worn by Fr. Serra.

Odds & ends.

A painting of Our Lady of Mercy by one of the Gabrieleño Indians.

Antiphonarium.

Misericordiæ.

Statue of Bl. Junípero Serra in the gardens. The San Gabriel Mountains can be seen in the background.

All that remains of the once lush orchards.

Garden vista.

Some of the oldest trees in the San Gabriel Valley are at the mission.

View of the campanario from the gardens.

Garden walkway.

Christ among the cacti.

The Aqueduct. Click to enlarge text.

Garden vista.

Cannon used to defend the mission from pirates. English pirates were a real threat during the Spanish Colonial period. They would frequently trek inland to raid the towns and the missions.

Historic anchor. Click to enlarge text.

Models of all the California Missions.

Door to the kitchen.

The old mission kitchen.

La Virgencita.

Come sit and pray a little while.

The old sundial.

'Horæ omnes vulnerant, ultima necat' = 'All the hours wound, the last kills.' Notice the mission cattle brand beneath the Latin inscription.

Garden shrine.

Gate leading back to the gift shop.

The first and last thing one sees in the gardens.

View of the Mission from the sesquicentennial park, landscaped in the 1920s. The main Gospel-side entrance to the mission church can be seen to the far right.

The new camposanto (cemetery), built around 1908.

'Blessed are the dead, who die in the Lord.'

A poem in Spanish reminding one to pray for the dead.

Verses from Job in English.

'I am the Resurrection and the Life. Yo soy la Resurrección y la Vida'

May they rest in peace.

The Yorbas. One of the old Spanish families that came over during the Colonial days.

The Rowlands of Rancho La Puente.

In the Cross of Christ I Glory.

Sadly, some of the less sturdy grave markers haven't faired so well due to earthquakes.

In the early days of this cemetery, the vast majority of Catholics in California were of Spanish descent.

The vast majority of the Anglos came later.

In the 1950s the Claretians Fathers (who had had charge of the parish since 1908) built a larger church to accomodate the growing California Catholic population following the Second World War. To-day both the old and the new mission churches are used for the rites of Holy Church.

The walkway leading from the old to the new mission church.

The new mission church.

The Claretian seal on the door.

The story of the mission: the Friars and the Indians

The story of the mission: the Friars and the Spanish.

High Altar.

Blessed Sacrament Altar.

Light fixture.

Stained glass window.

St. Jude Shrine.

Guadalupe Shrine.

Mexican Eagle at the Guadalupe Shrine.

Stained glass window in the choir loft.

The Parish Rectory. This is where all the Claretian Fathers live.

The Convent, where the Dominican Sisters (who run the Mission High School) live.

The Parochial School.

Los Ángeles Coat-of-Arms from I book I purchased at the mission.

The Mission San Gabriel's 'asistencia' at Sta. María de Los Ángeles.

Campanario of the Mission San Gabriel's 'asistencia' at San Bernardino de Sena.

Friday, May 9, 2008

Rancho La Puente

A version of the Temple family coat-of-arms in EnglandI've decided to work chronologically through my photos seeing as this is the easiest way. After Mater Dolorosa Monastery, the next stop was the Workman & Temple Family Homestead Museum. This house museum was once a Mexican land grant to two Anglos who had moved to Alta California from Nuevo Méjico. Guillermo (William) Workman (though he often went by 'Julián' in Spanish) & Juan (John) Rowland had been traders in the Mexican state of Nuevo Méjico before they were booted out due to anti-Anglo sentiment following the annexation of Tejas by the United States, and the expanionist territorial claims of the state of Texas. They eventually made their way to Alta California (Upper California, as opposed to Baja or Lower California) where they converted to Catholicism, married local women, became citizens, and were given a sizable land grant by the governor of the state. The land they were given was called Rancho La Puente (The Ranch of the Bridge). Workman took ownership of a sizable portion of the grant, while Rowland settled with a small tract in the southern part of the land. In reality they were business partners and worked the land together. The first house that Workman and his wife Nicolasa built was very simple, but it was later expanded upon. Workman and his son-in-law Francisco Temple (the descendant of another Anglo immigrant) became very involved in local life, most especially after the American take over. Their fortunes became dependant upon the pastoral life of Mexican and early-American California since most of their money had come from raising cattle and running small vineyards and then selling beef, hides, wine, and brandy to the Americans who had settled up north during the Gold Rush. As well they had gone into the banking business and had financed the new rush of fortune seekers. Sadly, the economic decline following the Gold Rush left Workman and Temple broke. Workman shot himself. Temple, however, was elected Los Ángeles County Treasurer and died in obscurity. The family homestead was passed onto Workman's grandson Francis W. Temple and in turn his brother John H. Temple, under whom the rancho was foreclosed upon by the bank. A small part was still held, however, by the wife of Francisco Temple, Antonia Margarita Workman de Temple in what is now Montebello. This land was called Rancho La Merced. [My mother now lives in this area.] The land passed on to her two youngest sons, Walter and Charles.

In the 1914, Walter Temple's son Thomas discovered what looked like oil in the Puente Hills of Rancho La Merced (in what is now Montebello). A survey team from Standard Oil confirmed this and the Temples came into a sizable sum of money again by leasing the land. Walter managed to buy back his family's old house on Rancho La Puente and then built a much larger house (La Casa Nueva) on the property. However, this second fortune was not to last. Walter made a lot of bad investments and then the Crash of '29 killed off the last of his fortune. The family left Rancho La Puente for the final time in 1931, a few years after the death of Walter's wife, Laura Gonzáalez de Temple. The land was later a military academy, then a hospital, and then was sold to the City of Industry who restored La Casa Nueva and is in the process of restoring the original Workman house. It is now the Workman & Temple Family Homestead Museum. For more information please visit the history pages on the museum website HERE

[N.B. I took quite a few photos of the museum and was told that this was alright so long as they were not for commercial use. Since I do not have any advertisements on my blog, no one is making money off of these photos and I am simply trying to let people know about this wonderful museum. If anyone from the museum reads this, and feels this is a violation of the agreement, please let me know and I will remove them and place them in a personal on-line photo album that people can link to. Thank you.]

Run the "sprite" (mouse pointer) over the photos to get a description.)

The original Workman House on Rancho La Puente

There wasn't much to look at in the interior since it is in the process of restoration

Map of Rancho La Puente. Click on image for an enlargement.

These oil wells in the Puente Hills (in what is now the town of Montebello) helped to spawn the second Temple fortune.

View from the back porch

Hanging bottlebrush tree (among others) on the property

Garden wall around La Casa Nueva

My tour group going up to La Casa Nueva

Arms of Spain over the doorway. The Workmans and Temples had a lot of Spanish blood in the family from the Spanish & Mexican women that the men married.

Doorway light.

An old Spanish custom was to take broken china from the house and to cement it into flagstone.

The key to the front door.

Stained glass window flanking the front door. This one depicts Walter's son Tomás (Thomas).

Stained glass window flanking the front door. This one depicts Walter's daughter Inés (Agnes).

Painting of Don Julián Workman in Foyer.

Cabinet with Temple family portrait in Foyer

Door to the comedor (dining room).

The Breakfast Nook

The comedor decked out for Cinco de Mayo

China cabinet in dining room. N.B. that early California china cabinets didn't have glass doors and were very sturdy due to the risk of earthquakes.

Window treatment in the informal comedor.

Door to Walter Temple's bedroom. Notice the Spanish custom of 'conchas' and horse decorations pressed into the leather on the door.

Walter Temple's room. This is where he retired to after the death of his wife, Laura González de Temple

Being a good Catholic family, there are images of Christ and the Saints everywhere.

Full view of the room.

Inner patio & fountain.

Patio, facing the house.

Patio flowers.

Patio balcony.

Notice the 'viga' with a depiction of the family dog.

Stairs to the balcony.

The Music Room.

Every window in the Music Room had a portrait of one of the family's favorite composers. This one is of Ferenc Liszt.

The Study.

Windows in the Study depict scenes from the Spanish classic 'Don Quijote de La Mancha'.

Scenes from 'Don Quijote de La Mancha'.

Walnuts, an old book, and all the time in the world... sounds like heaven.

Side table and family photographs.

Bookcase in the Study.

Santa Clara on the stairs.

Window depicting the coming of the Temples to Alta California.

Window with Temple family crest at lower right; the Tudor Rose at the upper right emphasizing their English origin; the California arms in the upper left; and the Massachusetts arms in the lower left since the family moved to California from Massachusetts. The oil wells in the center show how the family made their second fortune.

One of the Temple daughters.

The Small Conservatory.

The masterbedroom.

More Saints.

Christ watches over the room.

Yet more Saints.

Window on the main stairwell landing showing the arrival of the Spanish in California.