Flip 20--River View Cemetery

 

9/12/11   Monday   1:00 PM

Location: River View Cemetery

Yesterday I happened to come across a painstakingly-made, wooden-bound scrapbook belonging to Leona "Johnnie" Hollett, past president of one of the local chapters of the Rebekahs, a women's auxiliary to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. The book consisted of page after page of news clippings, photographs, handwritten letters, postcards, posters, keys, pageant programs and all sorts of other memorabilia.

I had immediately contacted the local IOOF chapter and was told that this was something that they would very much like to have back. I made arrangements to drop the book off at the Odd Fellows' hall on SE Holgate, but before I dropped it off, I realized this week's flip happened to encompass a corner of the River View Cemetery marked on the map as "IOOF Cem". The coincidence was striking, since I had not previously had any connection to this fraternal order, whose origins date  to 18th century England.

The cemetery is located on a hill north of Lake Oswego overlooking the east side of the Willamette. Given its name, it is likely that one could at one time see the river from the hillside, but the cemetery's trees have matured and now block sight lines to the river.

 

This is one of the most well-maintained graveyards I've ever seen, outside of Arlington National Cemetery. It's like a high-end golf course in its level of manicure. There is no question of everlasting life here, with the millions it must cost annually to water, prune and mow.

There's a very fresh grave surrounded by flowers.

I follow signs to the cemetery office so that I can ask about the IOOF section and Leona Hollett. On my way there, I see the graves of several famous Portlanders: Henry Weinhard, Harvey Scott, Capt. John Couch, to name a few. Like the leafy neighborhood that surrounds it, this cemetery is one of Portland's most exclusive.

The Hoffman family plot has a unique headstone reflecting the renown construction company that bears its name.

At the cemetery offices, a kind, matronly woman searches the records for Leona Hollett's name  but can't find it. She explains that the IOOF section of the cemetery exists in name only; while there are some members of the order buried there, they are mixed in with the rest of the population. She hands me a photocopied map and gives me directions to the section.

Walking uphill, I consider the thousands of gravestones stretching out in all directions, ranging from simple, flat plaques to towering obelisks, intricately carved stone tree trunks and imposing family crypts. Among the famous names, so many unknowns, but no less important than those recognizable, each life part of the glue that holds the world together. 

 

The graves are so numerous they become anonymous, highlighting the unremarkable nature of death, despite our individual terror of it. I read the stones and imagine the people they represented, each one a unique story, most now probably forgotten. The only remnant of us that exists after our deaths is in the memories of those we knew. Eventually, those memories die, too.

I find the IOOF section. The woman at the office was correct--there is very little to indicate that the people buried there were members of the Odd Fellows.

In fact, the only gravestone I can find with the indicative three-ringed "FLT"--Friendship, Love and Truth, the Odd Fellows motto--belongs to a man named Miles R. Hallett. Strangely enough, it is a similar name to the one I'm searching for, Hollett. He is buried next to his son, Lyle Luther Hallett, who, intriguingly, died a mere three days after his father, at age forty-two. I wonder about this. A bizarre coincidence? A common accident?

Googling Miles R. Hallett's name, I discover that he was a named party in a 1945 maritime lawsuit concerning a collision on the Columbia River that involved a tug--the Lyle H. (!)--that Mr. Hallett was piloting. A summary of that case may be found here.

Giving up my search for Leona Hollett, I leave the cemetery, noting the many walkers, joggers and cyclists who use the grounds as a through-way. There are even marked bike path symbols on the asphalt to keep them moving in the right direction. A family walks by with dogs and babies. There is life among the dead.

* After this was originally published, my mom found the following information on Leona Hollett in an IOOF newsletter online:

Leona (Johnnie) Hollett

11/19/1915 ~ 7/10/2010
Rebekah Assembly President 1972~1973
Johnnie was born in Weston. She came to Oregon as a small child, crossing the Snake river in a covered wagon. On August 26, 1938 she married George Hollett. They had two children, James and Sylvia. George and James preceded her in death. In May of 1934 she joined Rose City Rebekah Lodge No. 170. She was President of the Rebekah Assembly in 1972-1973, her Sessions were held in Tillamook. She was co-chairman with George for the Odd Fellows World Eye Bank and Visual Research Program for the State of Oregon.

Motto: Do For Others

Scripture: “Above all things have fervent Charity and Forgiveness among ourselves.” 1 Peter 4:8
Symbol: The Key
Flower: Western Sun Yellow Rose and Wild Ivy
Colors: Gold and Moss Green
Songs: “Join Hands in Friendship”, “Smiles”, “Only a Rose”, “My Cathedral”~Hymn
Fraternal Projects: Home Festival, Educational Loan Fund, Endowment Fund, Eye Bank
Project For Home: Movie Equipment for the Residents