San Bernardino’s storied past came to life Saturday morning as volunteers re-created scenes for attendees of the first annual Pioneer Memorial Cemetery Tour. Despite the scorching sun, roughly 60 people participated in the Oct. 3 event and helped raise $1,800 in donations for future improvements.
Youth and community volunteers staged scenes at five monuments throughout the cemetery, portraying moments connected to the pioneers buried there. The tour also served as a fundraiser for restoration work at the roughly 175-year-old cemetery, according to event coordinator Jenon Anderson-Reise.
Among the families highlighted was the Ralphs family, whose history in Southern California began with English immigrant Richard Ralphs. According to the event program, Ralphs arrived in California with Mormon pioneers in 1851 and settled in San Bernardino, where he established the region’s first brick factory. He later acquired a large ranch. His son, George Albert Ralphs, later entered the grocery business in Los Angeles. Eventually, George and his brother Walter opened Ralphs Bros. Grocers in 1873…