All Saints Shanty Town

I had heard from some kids that there was a cemetery that was kind of hidden off somewhere over behind Hayward High. The only cemetery that I know of anywhere behind Hayward High is Mt. St. Joseph Cemetery, aka All Saints Cemetery off of Second St. on Walpert. I had asked the kids at the time if All Saints was the cemetery they were talking about, but at the time of the conversation, I got the impression that we were talking about two different cemeteries. So yesterday I dragged my ass out of bed, grabbed my camera gear and headed into Hayward on a mission to find this mystery cemetery.

After driving up and down East Ave and Second St., stopping here and there to take a closer look at the surrounding areas around the school, I finally came to the conclusion that it had to be All Saints. Which was a little disappointing, I was hoping to find another cemetery that was off the beaten path and not on any maps. No such luck.

The first time I had gone to All Saints Cemetery, last year on one of my other cemetery excursions, it had seemed to me that All Saints was a cemetery that was always kept locked. Driving by the cemetery from off of Second St. this time, instead of from off of Mission, I was able to notice that there are actually two sets of gates to the cemetery, and found the one set open that I didn't see the first time. I was excited to finally be able to drive in and look around.

(Yea, cemeteries excite me. If you have been paying any attention to this blog, at all, this should not come as a surprise to you. I did however find that there is a word for someone like me. It's called a taphophile. Ha! Look that one up! I myself have just learned over the weekend what that word meant.)

My excitement dissolved as soon as I stepped out of my car and started walking around. Something just didn't feel right about this cemetery. I normally don't get an uneasy feeling while I'm in cemeteries, which is why I don't mind going on my excursions alone. I actually prefer going alone, but this time I didn't feel like being in this cemetery alone. I wasn't going to let that stop me though. I wanted to take a look around, to walk around the perimeter, which I normally don't feel the need to do, but something about this cemetery made me want to do that.

All Saints' drive way is in a U shape, ending at the other gate that is kept locked. The cemetery itself slopes down towards the bottom of the U, it was here that I stopped and parked. (I didn't even grab any of my cameras as I got out of my car. This was definitely not going to be one of those trips this time.) From there the cemetery has another slope that slopes down to a nice size pathway like along the fence. It was down this way that I headed first, where I noticed a slit in the fence big enough for people to come and go with ease though it. I walked to the opening and noticed a little way ahead a baby stroller with a plastic bag attached to it. At this point I'm thinking to myself, "Why in the hell would there be a baby stroller out here, and who in the hell in their right mind would be back here with a baby in the first place?!"

I leaned in a little further forward through the opening in the fence, looking down the path to the right. It was then that I noticed a big red family sized tent that was pitched up. Everything that I saw outside around it led me to conclude that it was definitely being lived in. I didn't see anyone outside it, but I sure in the hell wasn't about to go looking to see if anyone was there. I did wish I had at least brought my digital camera with me though so I could have take pictures. I wanted to look around a little bit more down where I was though, then head back up to my car for the digital. Walking towards the other side of the cemetery along the fence (facing Second St) I noticed two more slits in the fence and more signs of homlessness. On the other side of the fence were two more make shift shanties. I didn't get close enough to see if anyone was in them, hell the fuck no. I did head back up to my car for the digital though. I had to at least take pictures of this.


While I was headed back up to the car I heard another car come into the cemetery. Some man with what looked like 3 kids in the car. They headed up towards the other gate, turned around then drove back out. I think the father spotted the make shift tents along the fence and figured it might not be a good place to have a little family outing. I, however, went to my trunk and got the digital, setting off my car alarm as I did so. It was then that I did see someone come walking over to the fence from where the big red tent was, looking to see who was in the cemetery. This guy ended up keeping an eye on me the whole time I was there. I kept an eye out myself, keeping an eye on him. It was actually quite unnerving knowing I was being watched the whole time I was there. Needless to say, I wasn't able to get back over to where he was to take a picture if the stroller or the tent.

One of the things I quickly noticed about the cemetery was the desecration visible everywhere you looked. Why anyone would go into a cemetery and vandalize it is beyond me. There were a lot of headstones that were knocked over and broken. In one of the trees I saw what looked to be part of a fender or door from a car. Now why in the hell would anyone put a fender/door up in a tree, let alone in a cemetery? I just don't get it.

Fuck was spray painted in blue on one of the trees, along with other verbiage. The same person with the blue spray paint, also spray painted 666 with an upside down cross on the back of one of the tombstones. Over on what was left of another headstone, someone had written all kind of crap with what looked like a blue and black Sharpie.

Seeing all of this just broke my heart.

I would like to go back with my toy 120 Holga camera and get some shots. With the light leaks, I think that cemetery would be perfect for it. I'm not so sure I'd want to go by myself though, which is a first for me. I doubt that any of those people that live on the outside edge of the cemetery would hurt me, but I definitely don't want to take that chance either. I felt uneasy in that cemetery for a reason. This is one time I'm definitely going with my instincts. Better to be safe than sorry.



After I was done at All Saints I headed over to Lone Tree. I'm still not happy with these hands. One of these days I will get a shot that I really like.