At the Wednesday, November 26th East Los Angeles-Montebello Business and Professional Women (BPW) dinner meeting, Frances Chavez, author of OLD MISSION CEMETERY TALES, will talk about her book and about the Savannah Cemetery (also known as the El Monte Cemetery at 9263 Valley Blvd., Rosemead). The dinner meeting will be at the DoubleTree Hotel, 888 Montebello Blvd., Rosemead. Networking is at 4:30 P.M. with the dinner and meeting starting at 5:00 P.M. The meeting is open to the public. Reservations can be made by calling (626) 307-5650 or E-mailing lindalwilson@juno.com.

Chavez was born in Pasadena and is a life-long resident of the San Gabriel Valley. A graduate of California State University, Long Beach, she spent 30 years as a special education teacher. She is an artist and a writer. History and the paranormal are equally interesting to her. Currently she is working on a book that focuses on local historical sites such as the Mission Playhouse in San Gabriel that generate tales of the paranormal.

Chavez will talk about and show slides of the Savannah Cemetery, which has many of the original pioneers of the area. The earliest graves date from 1852 with more than 700 documented burials. Graves of veterans date from the War of 1812 to the Civil War (both Union and Confederate soldiers) to the Indian Wars to World War I and II and to the Korean War. There are also other prominent people buried there. The Savannah Cemetery is California Historical Landmark, Number 1046. She has also written the book OLD MISSION CEMETERY TALES, which is a collection of 1930s ghost stories with a distinctly Latino flavor. The Chavez family members themselves play roles in the tales. She will also discuss other local sites and with Michelle Hewitt will show paranormal photographs.

For more information about BPW or this program, call Linda Wilson at (626) 307-5650.