Evening star., 1936-11-08
MISSIONS REFLECT
i OLD-T|ME G[OR|ES.
Intimately Linked With Cali.
fornia's Past, They Sue
cumb to Years.

SAN DIEGO, November The
story of CALIFORNIA; s old missions forms
an epic inseparably linked with Cali
fornia's early history. These ancient
Bhrines-21 in all-strung along the
coast from San Diego north to Solano,
at intervals representing days jour-
ney on foot. and known as Father
Serra,s Rosary" were each once a
center Of activity, the headquarters at
= which, during the days Of their pros
perity, 10000 Indians carried on the
work of the countryside. But the forces
of nature and the greed Of man-flood.
fire, storm, earthquake, conquest and
misrule-combined in the decades that
followed to undo the work to which
Father Junipero Sierra and his band
Of followers devoted their lives, and
today only the remnants still stand as
mute witnesses Of the grandeur that
Is past.
The earliest of the missions is the
eouthernmost one, that of San Diego,
founded In 1859, but few miles from
the border. The walls still stand but
are crumbling, and where masses were
once said, sheep are now herded.
Next to San Diego stands the mis-
sion which furnished the title for the
novel THE Bridge of San Luis Rey"
Trees and fountains once ornamented
its interior court. but a Byzantine pull
pit and three wooden statues are the
only decorations left today.
May Rent Room at Mission.
An entrance fee passes the tourist
Through the gateway of the modern
lence surrounding San Juan Cap
istrano, and path leads to the statue
of Fra Junipero Sierra erected to COM
memorate the 20lst anniversary of his
birth. Parts of the mission are still
habitable and services are held in one
Of its small chapels left standing after
the earthquake of 1912 killed 80 wor-
shippers during the Feast of the In
,maculate Conception. priest acts
as caretaker. and tourists to whom
ancient traditions hold more appeal
than modern conveniences, may rent a
room there for the night.
If the traveller arrives at San
Gabriel, in the suburbs of Los An
geles, at the right time of the year,
he may witness the mission play given
annually, portraying the life and
labors of the beloved fra.
OF San Buenaventure, destroyed by
fire, and rebuilt only to be leveled
by earthquake, there remains but the
chapel, and this is now SO engulfed
and surrounded by the town of Ven-
tura that but for the mission bell on
the highway the tourist would pass
1t by unnoticed.
Lore of Lightning.
Best known of all is Santa Bar
bara, Queen of the Missions" Tour
lists are shown through the sections
open TO the public by priest who
explains that bolt of lightning from
blue sky halted the executioner who
was about to behead Barbara for
having embraced the Catholic faith,
in commemoration of which timely
intervention. the mission received its
name. The inner courtyard and gar
dens were used for private quarters
OF the priests and were closed to the
public. The victim of two earth
quakes-the latter in 1925-Santa
Barbara stands more strongly built
and beautiful than ever, the only one
OF the missions in which services have
been conducted without a break for
nearly two centuries. and within her
walls young Franciscan students of
today prepare themselves to be the
padres of tomorrow.
Debris of Treasure Hunts.
La Purisima Conception, the most
desolate ruin of them all, presents a
pathetic picture-stairs gone, roof
fallen in, and inside the broken altar
rail, a heap of earth and rubbish
thrown up by seekers after buried
treasure.
At San Jose de Guadalupe a part
OF the monastery is all that remains.
About San Francisco Bay are
grouped the missions Dolores, Santa
Clara. San Juan de Guadalupe, San
Rafael and Soledad, the last link in
the chain. founded in 1924.
And here ends the sojourn into the
land of yesterday, but the beauties OF
nature. the scenic route between white
capped mountains and white-capped
waves, the cloudless blue sky over
head, and the fragrant breezes of
California day scenting the air-these
are things Of today and tomorrow.