Diane Cervantes-Rosales posted this photo on the fantastic page Corona High Remembers and Lupe Cervantes posted here on this Page. This photo is poignant beyond words, symbolizing the importance of Potters Field to our town. The heartbreaks and love that has been poured out and at the graves of family members has never left the Field. To realize that hundreds were laid to rest and their sites allowed to be treated so disrespectfully is a new low for a town that has destroyed so much of its past. Just as with every other atrocity that has stripped away our heritage, there is not question that sums of money are involved. It is however, one thing to tear down and redevelop building sites, replacing the old with the new, but PLEASE doing this to a cemetery has crossed the line of human dignity. Those responsible feel no shame. There are two crosses lying in the dirt on the west side of Potters Field. I have a photo I took two years ago that show them standing tall. The cemetery operator told me that monuments that fell were left and buried on the site. So, these two, somehow, fell at the same time after standing 70 plus years. There were markers and small monuments throughout Potters Field that could not have fallen, but have nonetheless disappeared. These were in place in photos from the eighties. If a leveler went as deep as the one used on the Field by the cemetery operators, they would have been cleared away and I am confident that is what systematically over a period. Make no mistake, this was more than weed abatement it was graded. There were hundreds of crosses on Potters Field that were placed over the bodies of loved ones. As late as the eighties they were in place. Not a single cross stands today. If you have any photos of Potters Field from any era, please let me know. As I have written before, in my 57 years in Corona, I have never felt more ashamed of my community for allowing this to happen and I do feel culpable. Each of us has a responsibility to restore and recognize the historic and cultural value of this location. What kind of people are we that we redevelop the burial plots of people who could not afford to be buried on top of the hill? Those buried in Potters Field were real people with loved ones, some still living in Corona, people who remember the deceased and attended their burials. They were hard working, dedicated to their families and built this town. Are we going to prove that for a price, we will turn our backs as if they never existed? Has our culture really declined so low that this is acceptable? Judging by the responses I have received, at least some of us do not think this way. We may all need to gather at Sunnyslope to illustrate how serious this is to us. I have contacted Assemblyman Eric Linders office who has told me they are in contact with the state agency that oversees cemeteries. I have not heard anything yet. Other avenues to right this wrong have also been taken. If it is permissible to allow what has happened to the Potters Field, then we are going to have to get serious about evoking change. I am gathering facts everyday and will keep you posted here.
Posted on: Thu, 09 Oct 2014 06:41:06 +0000
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