Mountain Views News          Saturday, October 17, 2015

5

AROUND SAN GABRIEL VALLEY

Mountain Views-News Saturday, October 17, 2015 

JOIN US FOR AN ENTERTAINING EVENING“Songs & Storiesby The Burgans & Chan”
Wednesday, October 28 • 6:00pm-7:30pmat The Kensington Sierra MadreRSVP via email to SSciurba@KensingtonSL.comor by calling 626-355-5700626-355-5700245 W Sierra Madre Blvd, Sierra Madre, CA 91024www.TheKensingtonSierraMadre.comRCFELicense198601953At first, Dad and Ididn’t see eye to eyeabout movingto The Kensington,
but ever since he did,
we’ve both been thrilledIf you were to ask my Dad before he moved toThe Kensington why he should, he’d have assuredyou that everything was fine—that there was noneed. However, I didn’t see things the same way. Sure,
my Dad had enjoyed a wonderful life with his wife intheir home. But for the last few years, he’d been caringfor her while she was terminally ill. Once she died, hewas lonely and sad living by himself. It broke my heart.
I understood that leaving memories behind would behard, but when The Kensington came to Sierra Madre,
I got excited for both of us. It took some persuasion toget my Dad to move. Finally, he did! Now, he is jokingaround again. New friends and lots to do have madehim incredibly happy. Thanks to The Kensington,
I have my Dad back. 
“What’s Going On?” 

News and Views from Joan Schmidt


FUN LOCAL EVENTS FOR

OCTOBER 24-25

There are some 
great events planned 
for the weekend of 
October 24-25. At 
Santa Anita Park, 
Arcadia, it’s the 
closing weekend 
of the Autumn Meet and there’s great family 
fun. Attend the Pumpkin Patch Festival and 
experience a pumpkin patch unlike any other at 
Santa Anita. You can watch the races while the 
kids enjoy an infield festival packed with jumpers, 
a straw maze and a hugs pumpkin patch. Special 
packages are available on line at santaanita.com/
events.

 If you’re an early bird, you can head over to 
Clocker’s Corner, any morning and see great 
workouts. There also are the delicious breakfasts 
available. Visit www.santaanita.com for more 
info.

 Halloween is coming up and the great 
Homestead Museum , City of Industry, has 
something special planned. Their annual Beyond 
the Grave Tour will be offered Sunday, October 
25. Tours depart every 30 minutes from 1 to 5 pm. 

 American attitudes toward death and 
memorialization changed dramatically from the 
1840’s-1920’s. You can learn about these changes 
as experienced by the Workman and Temple 
families when you tour the historic site and meet 
a few special guests along the way.

 Space on each tour is limited so call ahead. 
Tickets include light refreshments and are $6 
for adults and $4 for children and seniors (55+). 
It’s recommended for ages 9+. The Museum is 
located at 15415 East Don Julian Road, City of 
Industry. For more info call (626) 968-8492 or 
visit homesteadmuseum.org. 

 A few years ago we attended this tour. Viewing 
the beautiful home and its unique furnishings 
would be interesting enough. But the docent 
explained how funeral parlors came about.

 I am sixty-seven, and as a child, my mother 
sometimes called our formal room, the “parlor”, 
but as I got older, it was called a “living room”. 
Sometimes Mom forgot and by habit said, “Parlor” 
and I thought that was weird. Much later when I 
read books with a Victorian setting, the formal 
room was called “parlor” and now I knew why 
Mom had said it.

 My late husband was seven years older than me 
and he explained that his grandparents lived on a 
farm and when his grandfather died, he was laid 
out in the living room. (Parlor) My husband was 
just a young boy and that was scary to him.

 So at some point in time, it was decided to 
have specific places where the deceased could be 
viewed and these were called “Funeral Parlors” 
at first and eventually, “Funeral Homes.” Perhaps 
the connotation of a “Parlor” as a place for the 
deceased to be viewed made people use the term 
“Living Room” for the formal room in their 
homes. If you think this is interesting, please 
consider the tour! You won’t be bored!


Mountain Views News 80 W Sierra Madre Blvd. No. 327 Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024 Office: 626.355.2737 Fax: 626.609.3285 Email: editor@mtnviewsnews.com Website: www.mtnviewsnews.com