Valentines Are in Bloom at Cemetery

Beneath a wall of marble-trimmed graves, on the stone steps of a mortuary, 200 squealing children Tuesday cut, pasted and crayoned messages of love in Forest Lawn Memorial-Park’s annual valentine-making contest.

Braving blustery winds and chilly temperatures, the local children worked feverishly, oblivious to the looming presence of a three-story mausoleum with its rows of brass nameplates. But that was precisely the contest organizers’ goal.

Launched in 1971 as a way to ease children’s fears of cemeteries, the Forest Lawn contest has grown into one of the biggest Valentine’s Day events in the county.

“The whole purpose was to encourage families and children to enjoy the park area so that they don’t think of Forest Lawn as a gruesome place,” said Christine Klima, former director of the Cypress mortuary. “And it was such a hit that we kept it up. It got bigger and bigger every year, and now it’s just teeming with kids.”

Klima said the contest for children ages 2 to 12 began with only 20 participants. On Tuesday, carloads of them arrived for the event.

The children--wearing an array of holiday colors from crimson to Day-Glo pink--created valentines from construction paper, pipe cleaners, crayons, Cupid stickers and lacy, heart-shaped doilies, all supplied by the mortuary.

As the youngsters worked feverishly to complete their projects in the alloted 25 minutes, none appeared to be disturbed by the unusual surroundings. In fact, many of them said they had been to the cemetery before to visit family graves.

“My grandpa is buried here, so I’m used to it,” said Christina Jackson, 11, of Buena Park. “I think it’s a good place. I even gave my valentine to my grandpa last year.”

Parents watched the scene from a nearby stone ledge as the laughing children chased paper decorations scattered by the strong breeze, and took crayons in hand to draw crooked-lined hearts which declared their love for mom and dad.

“The kids just think it’s a pretty place,” said parent Kim White. “It’s no big deal. We have relatives and friends buried here, and we’re going to go to the mausoleums when this is done.”

A maintenance worker silently surveyed the scene as volunteers judged the contest results. In a matter of minutes, the once-spotless stone steps had become covered with paper scraps, dropped doilies, broken crayons and globs of glue.

Contest judge Ray Thomson, director of the Boys & Girls Club of Cypress, praised Forest Lawn Memorial-Park and said children from the club have participated in the contest since it began.

“This is an appropriate endeavor for them because in the crisis of death, there is always a lot of love and close connections, and that’s also what Valentine’s Day is about,” Thomson said.

Darin Drabing, vice president of the Cypress mortuary, said, “It’s a nice way to let children be exposed to a cemetery and to make a somewhat frightening experience become not so terrible.”

White, however, doubted that children were naturally afraid of cemeteries.

“It all depends on how the grown-ups act,” she said. “The attitude of the parents is what can scare their kids.”