The 700 acre Rose Hills Memorial Park in Whittier, California, is joining in on saving water. According to an article in the San Gabriel Valley Tribune, Rose Hills once required 293 million gallons of potable water a year, as much used in several cities. The article further states:
“On Wednesday, the cemetery put an end to irrigating lawns with drinking water. Thanks to a change in state law prompted by the drought, Rose Hills will use 100 percent recycled water on its sprawling grounds and in decorative fountains by the end of the year, saving enough drinking water for 2,000 to 3,000 homes.”
Rose Hills is a pretty cemetery. It was lush and green the last time I visited in 2002. This visit and even pictures are the work of a woman I met while teaching at the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy. Shirley Calton became a good friend and scoped out the burial locations in advance of taking me to the cemetery.
I am happy to see that a way has been found to keep it as green as possible. This article caught my eye because many of my Slaker collateral line relatives are buried there. My Great Grandmother Emma Slaker, wife of James Stuart is my connection to these Slakers. They all began their U.S. life in Wisconsin with later time in Illinois and Minnesota. The Slaker brothers Louis and Fred moved their families to Southern California early in the 20th century.
Read the full August 18th article here.
© 2015, Paula Stuart-Warren. All rights reserved.
My sister-in-law is buried at Rose Hills. The cemetery is huge and I can’t believe the CA lawmakers have just recently changed the law to allow non-potable water to be used. Given the severe drought conditions in the state, I wonder how many other cemeteries there can switch over and save even more water. It seems kind of ridiculous in the first place to require drinking water to water cemetery grass. Thanks for sharing this.