Raven Jake Dawes

The Loretto Chapel 2004

Folks, I've been trying to get a little more organized, gather some of those digital files that have gotten all over the place these past years, and I can assure you that it's been a rich voyage of discovery. For example, I just came upon some pics that we took at the Loretto Chapel in Santa Fe in 2004. Here's the legend:

In 1872, Jean-Baptiste Lamy the Bishop of the Santa Fe Archdiocese, commissioned the building of a convent chapel to be named Our Lady of Light Chapel, which would be in the care of the Sisters of Loretto. The chapel was designed by a French architect, Antoine Mouly, in the Gothic Revival style. Although it was built on a much smaller scale, the chapel bears an obvious resemblance to the Sainte-Chapelle in Paris.

Two mysteries surround the spiral staircase in the Loretto Chapel: the identity of its builder and the physics of its construction.

When the Loretto Chapel was completed in 1878, there was no way to access the choir loft twenty-two feet above. Carpenters were called in to address the problem, but they all concluded access to the loft would have to be via ladder as a staircase would interfere with the interior space of the small Chapel.

Legend says that to find a solution to the seating problem, the Sisters of the Chapel made a novena to St. Joseph, the patron saint of carpenters. On the ninth and final day of prayer, a man appeared at the Chapel with a donkey and a toolbox looking for work. Months later, the elegant circular staircase was completed, and the carpenter disappeared without pay or thanks. After searching for the man (an ad even ran in the local newspaper) and finding no trace of him, some concluded that he was St. Joseph himself, having come in answer to the sisters' prayers.

The stairway's carpenter, whoever he was, built a magnificent structure. The design was innovative for the time and some of the design considerations still perplex experts today.

The staircase has two 360 degree turns and no visible means of support. Also, it is said that the staircase was built without nails—only wooden pegs. Questions also surround the number of stair risers relative to the height of the choir loft and about the types of wood and other materials used in the stairway's construction.

Over the years many have flocked to the Loretto Chapel to see the Miraculous Staircase. The staircase has been the subject of many articles, TV specials, and movies including "Unsolved Mysteries" and the television movie titled "The Staircase."

And here's a possible id on the builder:

The subject of rumor and legend for over a hundred years, the riddle of the carpenter's identity was claimed to have been solved in the late 1990s by Mary Jean Straw Cook, author of Loretto: The Sisters and Their Santa Fe Chapel (2002: Museum of New Mexico Press). The author claims the builder's name was Francois-Jean "Frenchy" Rochas, an expert woodworker who emigrated from France and arrived in Santa Fe around the time the staircase was built, and who may have known or at least met another French contractor who worked on the Chapel. However, at only 43 years of age, Rochas met with a violent death in December 1894. Unidentified attackers had shot him and left him to die alone in his small cottage and he was found dead in 1895. Cook found a January 5, 1895, death notice in The New Mexican which named Rochas as the builder of "the handsome staircase in the Loretto chapel". Frenchman Quintus Monier that told of Francois-Jean Rochas's death at Dog Canyon, near today's Alamogordo.

Now I don't know if Frenchy Rochas was the builder of the staircase or not, maybe it was St. Joseph - but whoever did it was a visionary. I've sure never seen anything like it. It must've looked even better in the days when it was assumed that God would keep the choir safe, negating the need for a handrail. See how one miscreant can ruin it for everybody? Anyway, that last picture is an interpretation of what it might have looked like pre-rail. I just thought those UFOs or Angels or whatever they are made the photo a little more fun.

The Loretto Chapel
207 Old Santa Fe Trail
Santa Fe, NM 87501
(505) 982-0092

Blessing of the Animals Sat April 7

Folks, I was strollin' down Olvera Street just the other day when I saw a banner announcing that the annual Blessing of the Animals is coming up. Right before Easter. So if the critter in your life is a devout Catholic, or just plain bad, you might want to take the opportunity to launch a pre-emptive strike.

Over at the left, you can see that this Wookie is up to something. Now I'm not sure if a Wookie is technically an "animal" or more like another race of hominid, or if space aliens count as animals as far as blessings are concerned, but I do know this: You can't be too careful when it comes to Wookies. Or Bigfeet. Or Bears. Or rattlesnakes. Git 'em all blessed and let God sort 'em out.

Raven Jake and the Rainbow

Nothin' like a summer storm y'all. I'm not sure what happened yesterday, but had you been standin' in my driveway, this is what youd've seen. 'Cept more rainbow. Apparently Bilröst is located somewhere between my head and Asgard, the realm of the gods. 'Course, it only lasts a few minutes, so you gotta enjoy it while you can - kinda like this last summer, which passed way to quickly for my liking.

Down there's the god Heimdallr blowing into Gjallarhorn.

Big Plans for L.A.'s 230th Birthday

Folks, it's L.A.'s 230th and the San Gabriel Mission's 240th this weekend. We got over to the mission last night just in time for the bell ringing, but there is a full-blown fiesta in effect with food and carnival rides and the whole works.

The San Gabriel Historical Association Museum will be open on Saturday, Sept. 3rd. 1:00-4:00. They just received a copy of an oral history of Eulalia Perez de Guillen Marine, and Helen Salazar let us take a sneak peak at it last night. It's a copy of the 1957 typed English translation, and it's in Eulalia's section of the museum. This one's got a little extra info in it, maybe things that other people don't think are as important - a little anecdote about buried treasure, and some funny little songs she sang to Thomas Savage when he interviewed her. If you ask me, that's the best part. Here's the address of the museum - I'm fixing to meet up with some of the Old Spanish Trail Association Rancho Chapter around 1, then headin' out to the mission.
546 W. Broadway, San Gabriel, Ca. 91776, Museum phone (626) 308-3223 

The mission website is down with a virus, but they've got a jam-packed schedule over the weekend. I'm hoping to catch the blessing of the kids and animals at 1:45. If y'all have a particularly cute llama or offspring, or just one that's in dire need of being blessed, you ought to haul it on down there today. The mission staff is very accommodating and can handle a blessing in English, Spanish and Vietnamese, and they've got support staff that can bless in Chinese, if that's the language your Pekingese understands the best. They even have a super-tall priest, if you're bringin' a giraffe. (Sadly, that ain't me - this year. But it's on my list)

I heard that there's a Tongva tour of the mission grounds at 2, and John Fantz, docent extrordinare, is telling a mission story at 5. So there's something for everybody. After 5 we've got to clear out, 'cause Capt. Tim Ream is heading back up to Oregon and we'll need to swing by Lucky Baldwin's to see him off. There's a bunch of stuff goin' on in the Pueblo too, if that's where you'd rather celebrate. Come by and say "hi!"  - I'm wearin' my red Scully gambler shirt, so you can't miss me!

Feelin' Loki, Punk?

I'm tryin' to get a little more organized with some of my old-timey photos that I never got a chance to post. Case in point: this one from a few years back. Just now stumbled upon it. I was actually playing "The Wizard" in a movie for a friend's son, Morgan Culp. Course lookin' back on it, it looks like I've got some unresolved Loki issues. And if that's the case, amigos, you'd better get ready for Ragnarök!

LA's Turning 230 on Sept 4

Sunday, Sept. 4 is going to be LA's big 230. Well, no I ain't picked out my outfit yet, but it's bound to be pretty Raven-Jakey, as usual.

I was down at Olvera St. last week to meet up with some of the Spainish Trail people, then headed over to Our Lady; it happened to be Ascension Day and the church was packed.

I'll be honest, I just wanted to check out how Joseph Chapman's ol' church was doing (close to perfect, actually) and wasn't aware of the subtleties of the Catholic Calendar. I have to say that being partly raised that way myself, I would've paid more attention in Sunday School if it had featured drumming and Aztec Dancers like the service we caught. 'Course maybe that's just for Ascension Day.

Now that got me thinkin' on the original settlers. The Tongva, of course, had a village right there, Yang-na, which is undoubtedly why the Spanish pegged it as a viable location. But how about those folks that they got to make that hard, dangerous trip for the "privilege" of subsistence farming some place else? I grabbed this off the LA City website.

Original Settlers (Pobladores) of El Pueblo de la Reina de Los Angeles, 1781

Recorded Family Head	Age	Race	Birthplace	Name, Age & Race of Spouse	Children***
Manuel Camero*	30	Mulatto	Nayarit	Maria Tomasa (24, Mulatta)	None
Jose Fernando de Velasco y Lara	50	Spaniard	Spain	Maria Antonia Campos (23, Indian)	3
Antonio Mesa	38	Black	Sinaloa	Ana Gertrudis (27, Mulatta)	2
Jose Cesario Moreno*	22	Mulatto	Sinaloa	Maria Guadalupe Gertrudis Perez (19, Mulatta)	None
Jose Antonio Navarro	42	Mestizo	Sinaloa	Maria Regina Dorotea Glorea de Soto (47, Mulatta)	3
Luis Manuel Quintero	55	Black	Jalisco	Maria Petra Rubio (40, Mulatta)	5
Pablo Rodriguez	25	Indian	Sinaloa	Maria Rosalia Noriega (26, Indian)	1
Alejandro Rosas*	19	Indian	Sinaloa	Juana Rodriguez (20, Indian)	None
Jose Antonio Basilio Rosas	67	Indian	Durango	Maria Manuela Calixtra Hernandez (43, Mulatta)	6
Jose Maria Vanegas**	28	Indian	Jalisco	Maria Bonifacia Maxima Aguilar (20, Indian)	1
Antonio Clemente Felix Villavicencio	30	Spaniard	Chihuahua	Maria de los Santos Flores (26, Indian)	1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

*Married just prior to leaving for the new pueblo because new settlers were required to heads of families.
**Vanegas was appointed to be the first alcalde (mayor).
***Children at the time of the settlement of the Pueblo. Some of these settlers went on to have other children.

A twelfth settler, Antonio Miranda Rodriguez, a 50-year-old Filipino, and his 11 year-old daughter were also slated to settle in the new pueblo. They set out with the rest of the pobladores in early 1781 enroute to their new home. While in Baja California, however, they were among those who fell ill to smallpox and remained there for an extended time to recuperate. When they finally arrived in Alta California (the present-day State of California), it was discovered that Miranda Rodriguez was a skilled gunsmith. He was subsequently reassigned to the Santa Barbara Presidio in 1782 to be an armorer.

Maria Guadalupe Gertrudis Perez, wife of Jose Moreno, was the last surviving original settler. She died in 1860, having lived almost 100 years.
Her granddaughter, Catalina Moreno, married Don Andres Pico, brother of Pio Pico and Mexican military commander at the Battle of San Pascual.

 Whatever Happened to the Original Settlers?

Antonio Clemente Felix Villavicencio - Moved to Santa Barbara in 1797. Died there in 1802.
Jose de Velasco y Lara- Received permission to move to Ventura in 1782 to establish the Mission San Buenaventura and later to Santa Barbara to establish the presidio. Died in Nayarit on an unfortunate return trip to Mexico in 1783*.
Luis Quintero- Received permission along with Jose de Velasco y Lara to move to Ventura in 1782 to establish the Mission San Buenaventura and later to Santa Barbara to establish the presidio. He may have wished to be near his three daughters who had married soldiers stationed at the presidio in Santa
Barbara. Died in Santa Barbara in 1810.
Antonio Mesa - Apparently became disillusioned with the hardships in Alta California and received permission to return to Sonora, Mexico in 1782.
Jose Antonio Navarro- Sent to San Jose in 1790 and later to the Presidio in San Francisco. Buried at the Mission Dolores in San Francisco in 1793.
Pablo Rodriguez - Moved to San Diego in 1796 then to San Juan Capistrano. Buried at the Mission San Juan Capistrano in 1816.
Jose Vanegas- Remained in Los Angeles for 20 years during which he served as its first alcalde (mayor). Upon the death of his wife in 1801, moved to San Diego and the Mission San Luis Rey.
Manuel Camero- Remained in Los Angeles. Served as a Los Angeles regidor (councilman). Died here in 1819.
Jose Moreno- Remained in Los Angeles. Served as a Los Angeles regidor. Buried at Mission San Gabriel in 1806.
Alejandro Rosas- Remained in Los Angeles. He and his wife died here only a month apart in December 1788 and January 1789.
Jose Antonio Rosas- Remained in Los Angeles. Buried at the Mission San Gabriel in 1809.

• Jose de Velasco y Lara was ordered back to Mexico by the authorities when he confessed to Father Junipero Serra that his first wife, whom he had maintained had died, might actually still be alive. He was already remarried with children. He unfortunately never returned to see his second wife and children in Santa Barbara, having died not long after returning to Nayarit.

In short, their lives sucked. Brutal and short and most of them couldn't wait to move someplace else. Vanegas did alright by himself, in a regional way, but none of these other folks went on to found great dynasties and receive absurdly huge land grants. Still, Los Angeles persevered.

There are around 250 descendants in an organization called Los Pobladores, who are planning a huge 'do on Sept 3 with a special mass and everything. Rosary starts at La Iglesia de Nuestra Señora la Reina de Los Angeles at 4:30, Marian parade, bagpipes, Spanish costumes, Knights of Columbus: the works.

It's also pretty common (at least some years) to make that final walk from the San Gabriel Mission to the Plaza in commemoration of the journey's last nine miles - takes about three hours, 'cause this ain't a fun run and speed ain't a factor. My plantar fasciitis says "no" to the walk, but maybe I'll roll through in a wheelchair or do a special car caravan or something. Anyone down for a Pobladores stroll & roll with Raven Jake?

Bring out your dead

Still tryin' to figure out where Michael White ended up and here's another clue - an article on the KCET blog. Now to see if the Old Calvary Cemetery is still around...

Ah bad news - Calvary Cemetery is now underneath Cathedral High and Michael White probably is too. I like to think about him and the Picos cheering on the Phantoms at all their home games... Hare's some more info:  Bring out your dead.

In 1844, a new cemetery was set aside by the "Illustrious Council of Los Angeles" on Buena Vista Street (now North Broadway) at the southwest corner of Bishop's Road. Plans were drawn up and Bishop Francisco Garcia Diego y Moreno authorized the local priest to bless the 12 acre site "as soon as it is properly fenced in." The new burial ground was blessed on November 3, 1844 by Father Thomas Estenaga, and formally consecrated twenty-two years later by Bishop Thaddeus Amat under the title of Calvary Cemetery. "Old" Calvary Cemetery served the City of Angels for the next six decades, until city expansion called for a second relocation. "New Calvary Cemetery" was established in 1896 on Whittier Boulevard just east of downtown Los Angeles. Now simply referred to as "Calvary", it continues to serve the community and is considered among the most prominent cemeteries in Los Angeles. ~ Archdiocese of Los Angeles: History of Catholic Cemeteries in Los Angeles

(Old Calvary Cemetery) opened on Nov. 3, 1844, and, for the next five decades, became the final resting place for pioneer families whose names make up a "Who's Who" of Los Angeles history: Pico, Boyle, Bell, Chapman, Dominguez, Bandini and Downey, among them. Between 1844 and the end of the 19th century, when the cemetery was shut down and those buried there were moved to a new Calvary Cemetery on Whittier Boulevard east of Downtown, as many as 10,000 of the city's early residents were laid to rest there. As early as 1860, however, the cemetery was criticized as being too small. An article in the Los Angeles Star that year called it "sadly overcrowded" and noted its "crumbling walls." In 1886, cemetery officials stopped accepting new burials, but no move was made at that time to move the bodies that were already there. Bishop Francis Mora, recognizing the cemetery's limitations, had purchased 52 acres at the eastern edge of the city in 1895. Boyle Heights property owners objected to the idea of a graveyard in the area, claiming it would depreciate their property. As a result, the new graveyard was constructed even farther east, outside city limits. ~ Downtown News: The Former Downtown Dead Zone

Michael White's Funeral Card

This post has got me a little choked up too. Our girl Judy over at the San Marino Historical Society invited us over to check out a new box of old stuff donated  by Michael White researcher Dorothy Ross. Judy Carter is an aces archivist who has fully supported the restoration of the adobe from the get-go. Dorothy is a terrific researcher and there are some undiscovered gems in her collection, but this one took the cake: a photocopy of Michael White's funeral card. Let me tell you why.

Besides the sentimental value of such an item, there are some unanswered questions. Jane and I walked every row in the San Gabriel Cemetery, and none of "our" Whites are buried there. (of course we checked the burial register too!) At least some of "our" Whites are in the San Gabriel Mission cemetery, but the records from 1850 to 1910 are missing in action. So where could we find Michael White, who supposedly died broke and somewhere in L.A? Smart money's on Nuestra Señora Reina de los Angeles, Our Lady Queen of Angels down on Olvera St. It's the Church he probably helped Joseph Chapman build. Nice. Like going home after a long journey.

Here's what the card says:

Don Miguel White
QEPD

Natural de Inglaterra, falleció en esta ciudad el Sabado 28 de Febrero a la una de la mañana á la cedad de 84 años y 14 dias.

Sus funerales tendrán lugar el Domingo 1 de Marzo partiendo el cortejo  funebre de la residencia de Don Juan Castillon No. 146 Calle Aliso a las 3 de la tarde para la Iglesia de Ntr. Sra. De Los Angeles.

Suplicamos a Ud  nos acompane en este acto de caridad cristiana.

Maria G. de White, Viuda

Hijas:
Juana W. de Courtney
Zaragoza W. de Alvarado
Francisca W. de Heslop
Jane W. de Capdevielle
Ester W. de Castillon

Hijos
Santiago White
Jose Miguel White

Los Angeles, Febrero 28 de 1885

___________________________________________

And for my non-Spanish-speaking amigos, here's what it means:

Don Miguel White
RIP

A native of England died in this city on Saturday, February 28 at one o'clock in the morning at the age of 84 years and 14 days.

His funeral will take place on Sunday March 1, the funeral procession will start from the residence of Don Juan Castillon, No. 146 Maple Street, at 3 pm for the Church of Our Lady Queen of Angels. We beseech you join us in this act of Christian charity.

Maria G. White, Widow

Daughters:
Joan W. Courtney
Zaragoza W. Alvarado
Frances W.  Heslop
Jane W.  Capdevielle
Esther W. Castillon

Sons:
James White
Jose Miguel White

Los Angeles, February 28, 1885

Murder and Mayhem at the Mission

Folks, I don't get invited to stuff half often enough. That's a hint y'all. Christine Fredrickson over at the San Gabriel Mission invited us to see Paul Spitzzeri (below) of the Homestead Museum give a talk on "Murder and Mayhem at the San Gabriel Mission." Well, it  was great, and he dragged out all the usual suspects, lined 'em up, shot 'em and went back for more.

He's also a Michael White fan, and anyone who's down with Miguel Blanco is down with me. The San Gabriel Mission is sponsoring "Museum Days" on the first Saturday of the month, so maybe I will be  getting out more after all. Now after all the talkin' was done (Veronica Guttierez-Sermino spoke on the subject of Spanish-Native wills in New Spain c. 1595), it was time for lunch (sponsored by the Johnathan Heritage Foundation) and I got a great surprise. Great lunch too - thanks to the folks at the Del Mar cafe -  but the ladies we sat with, Helen and Tina Salazar, are Dona Eulalia relatives and we had a wonderful family chat with nopales and homemade tortillas. Is there a better way to spend the afternoon? Nah, I don't think so either. Here I am with Helen and Tina Salazar who, by the way, went to a family reunion this summer - I'm on a not-secret-at-all mission to get all the Michael White relatives together again - so if that's you, say it loud and say it proud!