By Dave Sclair
Home of Peace, the Jewish Cemetery at Steilacoom Boulevard and Lakewood Drive, will be one of the four Lakewood cemeteries discussed during the Tuesday program of the Lakewood Historical Society. Held at the Lakewood Library, the program will get underway at 7 pm, is free and open to the public.
A panel of four spokesmen for Lakewood cemeteries will present information about their facilities on Tuesday, October 19 in a Lakewood Historical Society sponsored program at the Lakewood Library. The program will get underway at 7 pm and is open to the public.
According to Sue Scott, program coordinator, the speakers will represent the Old Settlers Cemetery on Washington Boulevard, the Western State Hospital Patient Cemetery located in Fort Steilacoom Park, the Home of Peace Jewish Cemetery at the corner of Lakewood Dr and Steilacoom Boulevard and the Masonic Cemetery, near the intersection of Farwest Drive and Masonic Road in Lakewood.
Speaking about the Old Settlers’ Cemetery will be Mrs. Terri Castro. Deb Freedman, historian and archivist for the Jewish Cemetery, will speak about it while Laurel Lemke will be representing the Western State Hospital Grave Concerns Committee. A representative from Steilacoom Masonic Lodge #2 completes the group of panelists
Scott said the speakers will discuss such varied topics as the history of their burial grounds, unique or interesting aspects of them and, in the case of the Western State Hospital and Old Settlers’ grounds, recent upgrades or improvements.
(Mountain View Cemetery is not included in the current program because it was the subject of a special program of its own a couple years ago.)
Lakewood Historical Society produces a program each month, usually held at the Lakewood Library. Each features a different speaker who covers an aspect of the history of the Lakewood area, according to Becky Huber, president of the Society. In addition to the monthly programs, the Society also maintains a free museum in the historical Lakewood Colonial Center.
The Program is free and open to the public.
