Hi Dick - We're fine but it was scary!!! I was watching 20/20 - the kids (Ryan and Melissa) had gone to their room and Steve was asleep in the recliner. I walked through the kitchens during the 10:40 commercial and the whole window in the little kitchen was fire-engine red! Red??? FIRE!!!!!!!!
Steve jumped out of his slumber, the kids heard me before I got to their room and we could not believe what we saw! We went outside, but the wind was so strong I had to go back inside. Steve ran down the hill to wake the neighbors who were sound asleep (they called today to thank him.) Then it was time to prepare to evacuate.
Here are the pictures Melissa took - all within 15 minutes of my first seeing the fire at 10:40 PM and us running outside in that horrendous wind! They say it started at 10:30! You can see this one was much closer and scarier than the last fire a month ago.
Here we go again - we all very calmly gathered our 'stuff' together (I was outwardly 'calm' but inside I was shaking.) We had done this for the first time just a month ago - it's no fun but we were much more organized this time. Steve and Ryan took everything out to the truck and the cars and the keys were in the ignitions. By midnight we were set to go, including having everything ready to evacuate the cats and dogs. I went and changed clothes and our plan was to go to Steve's hangar at Whiteman Airport.
The fire was low and close, the wind so very strong and we have 38 huge eucalyptus trees on our property. The wind could have easily carried embers and lit them like torches. I told Steve that he and Ryan should go and hose down the trees. But I don't think our hoses would reach to 60 feet up and Steve said the wind would make the effort useless.
Steve was relieved when he heard that the staging area was being set up at El Cariso Park which is just down the hill behind us by the golf course. Somehow having the staging area between us and the mountains gave us a false sense of security. The staging area would not help if burning embers flew through the air. Steve went to bed at 1:00 and the kids were going to stay up and keep an eye on things. I noticed their light was off and the living room was closed down - so I turned the TV and lights back on and sat there until about 2:30 AM watching the fire. By then the flames behind us were not as large and I could only see smoldering hot spots here and there. I went to bed only to wake at 5:30 due to the racket of the helicopters and planes that took to the air at the promise of first light.
We turned on the TV and could not believe how far the fire had traveled during the night. The top of the big mountain behind us was ablaze and a few spot fires would be seen here and there but the main fire was to the north and west and moving into Knollwood and Granada Hills. We were all glued to the TV again. I had to miss my Alumnae meeting today because if I drove out, I could not get back home. (Steve had that frustrating experience during the recent fire.) Our friends in Prescott called at 5:45 AM. One of my Alumnae friends called at 6:30 and I told her I would e-mail my presentations to her and she could have someone read them and if any questions they could call me. That worked out well, but all the time I was typing I was worried the power would go off because it was constantly flickering and then surging.
Ryan had left at 6:00 this morning and I'm sure he'll be able to get back home tonight (He's working on a movie and leaves at the crack of dawn and comes home at 10:00 PM.) Steve did go to the shop around 1:00 PM. I was beat and actually lay down on the bed and slept for 2 hours this afternoon.
All our evacuation stuff is still in plastic bins and boxes in the living room - so tomorrow I have to put it all back - again! But anything and everything I grumped about today, Steve came back with, "At least you still have a home." Boy that stopped me in my cranky-tracks! I had nothing to complain about. It all seemed so unimportant in comparison to the loss so many people are suffering.
Well Dick, thanks for asking. I'm sending this to other friends and family. So many called and sent e-mails. Angie even called Zana from Virginia to check on us. Amazing!
Dear Friends and Family - Your e-mails and calls meant a lot to us! We heard from Uncle Warren in Peoria, Illinois and from an old-time friend of my parents who lives in Grass Valley. We truly appreciate your phone calls and e-mails expressing your concerns for our safety and your many offers of help. It was nice talking to all of you who got through and I'm sorry about any missed calls - I was on the portable phone and don't know how to do call-waiting on it. I did get your many e-mails and will respond to each of you individually but not repeat this whole story. Thank you for being there. We are truly blessed with so many good friends.
Thank you, Steve and Gisela
Gisela Von Huene Slonneger VCA 1963
When Sister Regina Palamara came back to California several years ago, one of the first things she wanted to do was to pay her respects at the gravesites of the MSC nuns who had died in the Los Angeles area.
Each nun has a book with the names of the deceased sisters and the dates of their deaths. Every day she opens her book to the day's date, and prays for the sisters listed there, who died on that date. There were 4 or 5 nuns who were missing from the book.
After calling all the local cemeteries, she found that Calvary Cemetery, in East Los Angeles, was the only cemetery where Missionary Sisters were buried. Checking with the cemetery, she found that there were 14 Missionary Sisters buried there. So Sister set out with Gisela Slonneger, Mary Lirhus and Nancy Costantino to see if she could find her missing Sisters who had shared her mission at Villa Cabrini, Burbank and at Regina Coeli Orphanage, Hill Street, Los Angeles. Upon arriving at the cemetery, Sister found the gravesites of 25 nuns, not 14.
The nuns are buried in the old part of the cemetery, among the large tombstones and family mausoleums. There is a large statue of the Sacred Heart standing watch over them. Sister Regina had purchased an armful of roses and she placed one rose on each grave marker.
Sister took a photo of each marker and sent this information to Sister Giuditta, secretary to the Mother General, Sister Lina Colombari, in Rome. Now, all the sisters who died in the Los Angeles area have been accounted for.
As she checked over the headstones, Sister was surprised to see that so many of them had died young. Several of the sisters died in 1918 during which time there had been a flu pandemic which might have been the cause for some of these deaths. Also, some of the graves are double deep, with two names on the grave marker.
Sister was very pleased with the results of her search.
While the group was there, Mary treated them to a view of the inside of her family's mausoleum. The Mausoleum was built by her great grandparents for their son Urban,(her maternal grandpa's brother) They were out hunting (grandpa and Urban) and Urban was cleaning his gun and it went off and shot him in the head. Grandpa put him in the car and raced into town but it was too late. Urban was only 26 years old....The grandfather never got over it and he went to Mass and communion every day for the rest of his life He lived to be 85
The lock to the mausoleum was stuck and wouldn't open. There we were, four old Villa girls lurking in an ancient cemetery and asking one of the grave diggers to WD-40 a lock so Mary could open the family's ancient cob web draped, marble crypt. The carvings in the ancient stone and the inlaid glass and ceramic tiles were beautiful and bespoke the pride artisans of days gone by took to honor their craft. Years of undisturbed cob webs reached out to us from the faint breath of a breeze that had entered their quiet, undisturbed marble sanctuary. It was a timeless and magical moment while Mary wove the stories about the relatives entombed in the crypt.
And then there was that wild ride through the streets of east LA to find Nancy's noted Mexican restaurant, a little hole-in-the-wall. Nancy led the way and it was all Gisela could do to keep up with her. Mother Cabrini must have been watching over them as Nancy stopped traffic to ask directions (ed.- really, it was only one car) BUT after many twists and turns we found it...the quintessential Mexican restaurant of Los Angeles - EL TEPEYAC.
In February, several VCA alums joined with Sr. Therese Merandi and her sister, Margaret Merandi Niewiarowski, in celebrating their mother's 90th birthday at St. Bonaventure's Church in Huntington Beach, CA.
As Linda noted, "Notice that Sr. Therese's halo landed on my head, aided by a strategically placed skylight and Sue Sanfilippo's skillful photography!"
Sister Regina, left, has been a Missionary Sister of the Sacred heart for over 50 years.
Sister teaches religion to the younger children at St. Finbar's Church in Burbank, volunteers in the church's senior outreach program and performs as Mother Cabrini. She often performs before wide-eyed children who have never seen the old habit. "It scares them", she says. "That habit would scare any child".
Sister has been crocheting novelty scarves to raise money for three of the MSC foreign missions. So far she has sent $1000 to each of them.
Her friend, Mary Greer,on the right, has been Sister's right hand by arranging places for sister to sell her scarves. They call their endeavor "Wrapped in Love".
Way to Go, Sister!
Following a nationwide search, one of our own VCA
graduates and active member of the VCAAF has been
appointed President of Don Bosco Technical Institute
in Rosemead, California.
Sherrie is the first lay person and woman selected to this position, formerly held by Salesian priests.
Don Bosco Tech in Rosemead, California, is an all-male high school combining college preparatory and technology education.