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Skeletons in our Backyards:

Human remains found along the Alameda Corridor

Monday, August 17th, 7PM

People have been dying in the Los Angeles area for thousands of years, and the majority of them are buried in the very ground we walk on. Here in the Crescenta Valley we know that our founder Benjamin Briggs is buried somewhere on Briggs Terrace, one of our early pioneers reported attending three burials somewhere in La Canada, and when the 210 Freeway was being built construction crews unearthed an ancient headstone between Rosemont and La Crescenta Avenues. Every time we dig a hole in our gardens, we stand a chance of digging up a former resident. But what happens when we do?

We'll hear firsthand from someone who's had to deal with that. CV resident Elaine Sylvestro is the environmental manager for the company that constructed the Alameda Corridor, a huge trench that carries train traffic below ground between the port and Los Angeles. Several Native-American skeletons were exhumed accidentally during construction, and Elaine will describe the documentation and reburial process that took place. The process is a fascinating look into LA's history, and a testimony to the dignity only recently being afforded to Indian remains. It also provides an insight into what may lie just below the surface in our own backyards.


Archeologists excavate a find on a road construction project.



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