Perhaps this week we should turn to history – or at least some interesting tidbits that are loosely related to the past.

Luckily, there are always those who fight for the right ways for the past to be remembered. I read with admiration about the Portland woman who insists that the stories of the Oregon Trail are not whitewashed, in the truest sense of the word….

The Long Journey to Reveal the Oregon Trail’s Racist History

The photographs most closely related to the pioneers were taken at the Lone Fir Pioneer Cemetery in Portland. Established in 1855, it is a beautiful spot in the SE quadrant of the city, with some magnificent trees, lovingly maintained, a peaceful oasis.

 

Which does not exclude some typical PDX quirkiness, as witnessed this Saturday afternoon. Some folks were doing a dress rehearsal for historical ghost tours to be given at Halloween and were kind enough to pose for a spontaneous group shot when I asked.

Others just practiced their acrobatics, hopefully amusing the dead as much as the living.

The cemetery has old graves scattered throughout, some mausoleums for the well-to-do,

and a section for the Russians who arrived in the last 50 years and who have a very different approach to honoring their departed.

 

There is a section devoted to firefighters who gave their lives on duty – made me shiver thinking about California, where 1000s of inmate are now fighting the fire, for $1 per hour, many of them female. I have written about them before. https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-inmates-fighting-californias-deadly-fires

But back to history: I am still moved by the markers that acknowledge role, not name, in a devoted fashion.

 

 

(Your guess is at good as mine)

And here are the details, including the names of the couple who donated the land: the Stephens.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lone_Fir_Cemetery

May they all rest in peace, ignoring a world which seems to have abandoned the concept.