Story & Photos by Scott Schaefer

Welcome to Dia de las Muertes de Burien – The B-Town Blog’s “Day of the Dead” tribute to Burien’s earliest, and sadly, mostly forgotten settlers, who are buried in a place most residents don’t even know exists.

This is the story of the area’s oldest graveyard, a private, historic and rundown place on South 200th called Hillgrove Cemetery.

You won’t find Hillgrove on many maps, because, like its 360 residents, it’s no longer living. It’s private, it’s fenced off, yet once you look at the chain link barrier and barbed wire, it’s obvious that people find ways to get in to do whatever living people do in graveyards full of dead strangers.

We too found our way into Hillgrove recently (how could we not this time of year?), and despite forgetting to wear boots (our Chuck Taylors got soaked but oddly, we didn’t care) yet managing to be very careful and respectful, we took numerous photographs, which we built into a “Sound Slideshow” to a public domain song from 1910, the era when this site was in its heyday.

But before we present our photographic and audio tribute, we’d like to share our personal observations of Hillgrove:

It was a sad place, and not just because it was full of dead bodies – it’s in disrepair, with missing, crooked and broken tombstones, years of neglect and evidence of vandalism.

Historic, old graves with unique stone markers ranging from the earliest burial (at least that we saw) in 1890 to the most recent in 2005. Some tombstones have been restored, while many are clearly without any markings (several we discovered only by stepping into indentations in the grass).

Here’s some info on it courtesy Highline Historical Society Executive Director Cyndi Upthegrove:

Hillgrove Cemetery is owned by the Hillgrove Cemetery Association, comprised of the remaining families that own the property.  I don’t believe anyone famous is buried there, but a large number of local pioneer families are.  It is in disrepair because the people that remain of those families are quite elderly and cannot physically maintain it themselves, and the city of SeaTac and the Port won’t maintain it because it isn’t theirs. SeaTac has occasionally mowed for them and helped to build a retaining wall at the left entrance when the bank slumped one time and remains started spilling out.

From what I understand, there are about 360 souls there. They consist of veterans from both the North and the South from the Civil War, the Spanish American War, both WWI and WWII, Korea and the first Iraq War.  Their extended families are also buried there.

About 12 years ago a teacher at Highline HS teaching at-risk students taught a local history class and they really responded to it.  These were very bright students “at risk” of dropping out.  So she took them over to the cemetery to show it to them and they told her, “We know about this place. We come over here to drink.” Together with her, the Society acquired a grant to pay for her project. So she got them to clean it up as a class project.  They dug up buried headstones, mowed, learned about the people buried there, mapped it and  tended it for a couple of years.  After they had invested so much time and care into it, they wouldn’t let anyone else go in there and mess with it.

The most recent, from 2005.

Then they graduated and moved on, and she quit teaching that class and things kind of reverted to how they were.  We have retained some of the records and the Association has the rest.

Recently a paranormal investigation group contacted me to see if they could go in and look for ghosts.  I referred them to the Association and I think they did some kind of investigation there, but we weren’t given their results. Occasionally a Boy Scout will work there building benches, or mowing and grooming the place as an Eagle Scout project.

We did several bus tours of “The historic sites of Highline” a few years ago and Hillgrove was a stop on the tour.  People found it very interesting. I have always wished that we could engage the various cities and veterans groups to hold their Memorial and Veteran’s Day commemorations there rather than in schools and community centers, but other heads prevail.

I have always wished I had the funding for the Society to take care of the place for the community, but I don’t.

Walking around a decaying graveyard isn’t really creepy, or new to us – in college we used to visit one that was near our house, and this Reporter has always been fascinated with the dead and how the living treat them. Especially Hispanic culture and their “Day of the Dead” festivities, which involve spending the night in graveyards, setting up elaborate altars, offering food, wearing bizarre (and to me, really cool) costumes, and believing that, for one night on Nov. 2nd, their dearly departed dead relatives and loved ones come back and visit with them.

With those sentiments in mind, here’s our “SoundSlideshow” tribute to Hillgrove Cemetery and the historic people who are buried there, may they Rest In Peace:

Click to Play Scott Schaefer’s SoundSlideshow

Just when you thought that the fun with the skeletons and candy were done, today (Sunday, Nov. 1st) is the official start of Dia de las Muertes, an Hispanic celebration also known as “Day of the Dead.”

We here at The B-Town Blog love this celebration so much that we’ll be at Burien’s only known commemoration starting at 3:30pm, at the Interim Art Space on SW 151st just north of the new Town Square – it’s “Night of 1,000 Pumpkins”!

Sadly, this will be the final event held at B/ IAS before the dismantling begins and the space returns to an empty lot Dec. 31st – all the more reason to come up and celebrate one last time.

In case you’re not familiar with Dia de las Muertes, here’s some info from Wikipedia:

The Day of the Dead (El Día de los Muertos or All Souls’ Day) is a holiday celebrated in Mexico and by Latin Americans living in the United States and Canada. The holiday focuses on gatherings of family and friends to pray for and remember friends and family members who have died. The celebration occurs on November 1st and 2nd in connection with the Catholic holiday of All Saints’ Day which occurs on November 1st and All Souls’ Day which occurs on November 2nd. Traditions include building private altars honoring the deceased, using sugar skulls, marigolds, and the favorite foods and beverages of the departed, and visiting graves with these as gifts.

The fun begins today at 3:30pm and goes until dark:

• Bring a carved Pumpkin (or more) with a candle to fill the site with 1,000 lit pumpkins (you can also carve one there)
• Bring something for the community Dia de las Muertes altar (photos of the departed, trinkets, symbols of their lives, etc.)
• Walk through the makeshift cemetery
• Dress up in Day of the Dead costumes/makeup (Calaveras, or skeleton costumes are perfect)
• Pay tribute to your departed loved ones and gather with your neighbor over food, drink and dance
• Celebrate your community, your family and friends one final time at this innovative space
• Face Painting
• Flower Making
• Grand Pumpkin Games
• Sand Painting by artist Amaranta Sandys in the lobby of the Burien Library
• Traditional foods and vendors
• Community created Altars

PERFORMERS:

• 4:30 to 6:30: Trio Lucero del Norte on the B/ IAS Site (Roots Music / Regional Mexican / Folk); 
Trío Lucero del Norte play traditional/regional Mexican music from the Huasteca. Specialists in son huasteco and huapango, they are currently the only local group who play son huasteco with the complete ensemble: violin, jarana and quinta huapanguera. Son huasteco is the zapateado style of Mexican son from the Huasteca region. It formed the basis for many styles of huapango that became popular throughout Greater Mexico. The Huasteca region encompasses the plains region of six states: Hidalgo, Puebla, San Luis Potosí, Querétaro, Veracruz and Tamaulipas.
In addition to sones huastecos and huapangos, Trío Lucero del Norte interpret sones de costumbre for Day of the Dead and Carnaval, sones and cumbias in Náhuatl and Huastecan regional stylings of polkas, canciones rancheras, boleros and cumbias. The three members: Jose Hernández (violin), Modesto Antonio Hernández (quinta huapanguera) and Kim Carter Muñoz (jarana), met when Kim posted an add in the El Paisano, a Mexican Carnicaría/Grocery in White Center.
Kim traveled to Mexico for several years to study son huasteco and sones de costumbre for her graduate studies in Ethnomusicology. After playing with well-known son huasteco musicians in Mexico, including Los Cantores de Pánuco, Soraima y Sus Huastecos, Trio Chicóntepec, Los Caporales de Pánuco and others, she wanted to form her own trío in Seattle.
• 5:30 to 6:30: Los Flacos At the Burien Library; Join with Los Flacos for a musical celebration of El Día de los Muertos. This Latino music group performs a blend of the traditional sounds of Mexico, South America and the Caribbean. Using a variety of instruments, some indigenous to the Americas and others of European and African origin, they create their own renditions of the songs of Latin America. Gather together with friends at the Burien Library to remember and celebrate the lives of those who have died. For More info on Los Flacos.
• 6:30 to 7:30: Pyrosutra on the B/ IAS Site; Pyrosutra is a fire dance collective based out of Seattle, Washington. We combine choreographed bellydance, breakdance and stilt walking with a wide range of professional fire performance techniques and innovative tools.
• 7:30 to 9:30: La Banda Gozona on the B/ IAS Site

Tapetes de Arena or Sand paintings
These “murals” are typically made of sand, sawdust, seeds, flower petals, and pigments. Traditionally, a tapete is made in the home when there is a death in the family. After a period of mourning, the tapete is swept up and entombed with the body of the deceased. Tapetes are also created all over Oaxaca for the Días de los Muertos celebration, and judged along with the ofrendas in the Concursos de Altares de Muertos.

Amaranta Sandys is been collaborating in the making of sandpaintings with Latino artists in Seattle for the last 10 years @ SAM and Tacoma Art Musuem.

We think that if you dig Tim Burton or Danny Elfman, or love Hispanic culture (or even just good ol’ fashioned dead people), you’re sure to enjoy this event (and we can assure you, we’ll be there…).

All pumpkins will be composted through a gift from King County Solid Waste.

A special Dia de los Muertos, or “Day of the Dead” celebration will take place Saturday and Sunday Nov. 1st through 2nd from 10am to 6pm at the Burien Community Center, located at 425 SW 144th Street (map below).

This is a first-time collaboration between Burien Parks, the Highline Historical Society and Para los Ninos, and it should be a fun and interesting time for all, both living and dead.

Everyone is invited to help commemorate their deceased loved ones with “offrendas,” or offerings through alters that include fanciful foods, symbols, photos and even artifacts that honor that person’s life.

According to Mexican legend:

Many people believe that during the Day of the Dead, it is easier for the souls of the departed to visit the living.

People will go to cemeteries to communicate with the souls of the departed, and will build private altars, containing the favorite foods and beverages, and photos and memorabilia, of the departed.

The intent is to encourage visits by the souls, so that the souls will hear the prayers and the comments of the living directed to them.

Celebrations can take a humorous tone, as celebrants remember funny events and anecdotes about the departed.

Here’s an interesting video that shows some of what this fascinating day is all about:

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