Colma

Images of America: California

by Michael Smookler

The official slogan of this quaint and curious town proclaims, "It's great to be alive in Colma " In no other city in the United States would such a slogan have the meaning that it does here. Colma, only 2.25 square miles, has 1,500 living residents but more than a thousand times that in its deceased population. Seventeen cemeteries cover 75 percent of Colma's land. There is, however, more to Colma--formerly named Lawndale--than its cemeteries and monuments. A vibrant community, it boasts a rich history, including agricultural and business history, sports teams, schools, a theatre, and drayage businesses. Together, these components comprise a unique and important town and a critical part of San Mateo County's heritage.

128 pages, Paperback

First published April 4, 2007

Reviews

[Louise Carlson Stowell · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was nice to get some tidbits of knowledge I didn't know about Colma. One of the things I learned was that Molloy's wasn't always Molloy's Tavern. I learned about the pig ranching and the Italian families that grew produce and flowers. The photograph's were excellent. I even found a picture of a building that I remembered when I was growing up in Daly City in the 1960's. I had always thought it looked like a haunted house, but it turns out it was an old hotel. Now I know.

Although I think Michael needed to research the number of dead that were actually left in the former cemeteries in San Francisco. He said that few were left behind in the exhumations and re-internments and that isn't at all true when you read the archeological reports from the recent Legion of Art restoration in the 1990's. Lincoln Park still retains a lot of the Golden Gate Cemetery (aka City Cemetery) dead...not to mention those that are still scatter throughout the entire city of San Francisco. Other than that, great read!

[Loren · Rating 4 out of 5]

The only thing that keeps this book from getting 5 stars is that it isn't longer. I have several books on the cemeteries of Colma, California, so it's nice to have one about the city's history prior to its 17 graveyards. Smookler does a good job of giving a sense of what life was like there, before the living were replaced by the dead.