January 19, 2005 doesn’t seem like long ago to Rebecca Liu. It was on that day, while Liu stood watching, that an archaeological dig on Multnomah County property adjacent to and formerly a part of Lone Fir Cemetery in southeast Portland uncovered the bones that she was sure were buried there. Liu was sure because she had discovered, in the basement of the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association (CCBA) building, record books that described burials of early Chinese immigrants on that property.

In keeping with traditional cultural practice, many of the burials were temporary, only until families could arrange to have the remains returned to China to rest with their ancestors. But the records indicated that not all the Chinese immigrants buried there had been disinterred.

"I will never forget that day," Liu, a member of the history committee of the CCBA and now chair of the Lone Fir Cemetery Foundation board, says. "I had tears in my eyes. I’m still emotional when I talk about it."

Emotions tend to run high around Lone Fir, but "the only time there’s sorrow there, is when people are being buried," says Frank Schafer, chair of the board of Friends of Lone Fir Cemetery. "There’s more life than death there."

Among the 560 trees of 71 species that grace Lone Fir’s 30 acres is the original lone fir for which the cemetery, founded in 1855, was named. Roses brought in covered wagons by pioneer women grow on the property and 90 species of birds live there. Just over a year ago, a pair of bald eagles visited the cemetery for two days.

The oldest and largest of Portland’s 14 pioneer cemeteries, and the only one on the National Register of Historic Places, Lone Fir was recently named one of the world’s top 10 cemeteries by National Geographic. And it’s only going to get better.

In 2007, Multnomah County transferred the property that has come to be known as Block 14 (from old maps of Lone Fir Cemetery, which contain block, lot, and grave designations) to Metro, which manages Lone Fir and Portland’s other pioneer cemeteries. Metro hired Lango Hansen Landscape Architects and convened the Lone Fir Cemetery Work Group to design a memorial garden to be built on Block 14.

In the course of research for the project, information from old articles in The Oregonian indicated that patients of Dr. James Hawthorne, the innovative and compassionate founder of Portland’s first mental health hospital, might also be buried adjacent to Block 14, and the design completed in 2008 honors Dr. Hawthorne and his patients as well as early Chinese immigrants.

"The thing that was surprising to me during the design of the memorial was the amount of information that everyone brought to the table during the work group sessions, both in terms of historical research and cultural significance," says Jane Hansen of Lango Hansen. "The way the story of Block 14 has unfolded has been an amazing process that continues to become richer and more meaningful as time goes on."

Marcus Lee is chair of the history committee of the CCBA and a member of the Lone Fir Cemetery Foundation, which received its nonprofit designation at the end of March of this year and can now begin work raising funds for the memorial garden, which is expected to cost between two and three million dollars.

"Everything we’ve been doing for the last few years has been leading up to actively looking for funds," Lee says. He has a keen interest in researching family history, which he believes "takes in not only your immediate and extended family, but your neighborhood and community," and a passion for the history of Chinese immigrants in the Pacific Northwest.

"Those buried in Block 14 were the pioneering Chinese immigrants, in the sense that they were the first," Lee continued. They didn’t leave home because they were going on vacation. "They left to escape war, famine, and persecution, to make a better life. We owe a debt of gratitude to these people for what they endured and achieved. Immigration is still a struggle, but it’s not the kind of struggle the first immigrants had."

Block 14 was a catalyst for creating the Lone Fir Cemetery Foundation, which strives to provide an opportunity for stakeholders to make long-term investments in the future of Lone Fir Cemetery, according to Mary Faulkner, a founding member of the foundation.

"Our initiatives will be intentional and inclusive. We are seeking the most effective and efficient way to honor the dead, preserve their final resting place, and support the cultural renaissance that is occurring at Lone Fir," explains Faulkner. "We have witnessed this beloved cemetery becoming an important destination and inspiration for multigenerational families, schools, faith-based organizations, senior groups, artists, historians, naturalists, tourists, and neighbors. The work we are doing today is part of a journey that started in the 1850s and will hopefully continue long after we are all gone."

Mike Westby of Westby Associates, the firm engaged to help the Lone Fir Cemetery Foundation form a vision and a strategic plan, says, "There is an opportunity here to be a model for how cemeteries are used by the community, as green spaces, sacred spaces, places to tell the story of our past. This is the story of a forgotten piece of Portland history, and the opportunity to turn it into something we can honor. Block 14 is just the starting point."

"The contributions of Dr. Hawthorne and the early Chinese still shape our lives today," says Metro Councillor Barbara Roberts. "Lone Fir Cemetery is a special sacred place that sets the tone and reverence needed to honor and tell the stories of those forgotten."

Rachel Fox, manager of Metro’s Pioneer Cemeteries Program, describes Metro’s cemeteries as "a reflection of the story of the west, in a sense they are community family albums." Lone Fir Cemetery’s family album is enriched by contributions from the early Chinese and the efforts of Dr. Hawthorne, says Fox. "Everyone’s lives have been touched by the work of the early Chinese — from railways, sea walls, and our roads. Today’s mental healthcare has been enriched by the compassion of Dr. Hawthorne. The cemetery provides a landmark of history and Block 14 provides the sacred place for honoring those once forgotten but now found."

To learn more, contact the Lone Fir Cemetery Foundation at (503) 902-4778 or visit <www.lonefirblock14.org>. To make a donation, write to: The Lone Fir Cemetery Foundation, c/o Friends of Lone Fir Cemetery, P.O. Box 14214, Portland, OR 97293. Please note "Block 14" in the memo line.