The dead are never forgotten in Colma, a small town on the San Francisco Peninsula.
Listen to the latest episode of "Bay Current" below.
The town's moniker is "The City of the Silent," but according to Monica Williams, the Director of Cemeteries at Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery, there's a lot to talk about.
She gave KCBS Radio's "Bay Current" a tour of the grounds Thursday morning, which sits on 200 acres of vast greenery and palm trees, and includes an unimaginable number of tombstones and mausoleums throughout the fields.
The venue opened in 1887 because San Francisco cemeteries were filling up. Shortly after, cemeteries in the city were completely eliminated and bodies were relocated to Colma.
"(San Francisco) enacted a law saying the cemeteries could no longer be operational," she told "Bay Current" on Friday. "Archbishop Patrick W. Riordan purchased the acres that we own today, and it was ranch area. People thought he was crazy, who would come all the way down here?"
Despite those doubts, people eventually hopped on trains to visit the small town just outside of the city.
Approximately 380.000 people from different eras are buried at Holy Cross including baseball legend Joe DiMaggio, and San Francisco Chronicle founder Michael Henry de Young.
"It's still an incredibly busy and active cemetery," Williams added.
Tombstones at Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery in Colma.Sydney Fishman/KCBS Radio
The tombstone of KCBS Radio's Don Bastida's grandparents, Emilio Tallerico and Rosalie Mangone-Tallerico-ScaliseSydney Fishman/KCBS Radio
Williams said they conduct cemetery tours throughout the year, and she urged people to come and schedule a visit.
"You could walk through here for years and not get every story. I encourage people to come out not just for Halloween to the cemetery, but come out to remember people and learn their stories," she said.
To speak with Williams and schedule a graveyard tour, contact the cemetery here.
