Entering the Oso Memorial parking lot, a statue of mailboxes marks the spot where a local community once picked up their mail deliveries. League members gathered in front of the new Slide Memorial entry with roses to distribute during our visit to this site ten years after our first tour. A biker from a Harley Motorcycle group snapped our photo for us! Unexpected kindness underway, Snohomish County Park Director Sharon Swan greeted us to give us an overview of the park and point out symbols. She explained that the park’s design and execution reflects ideas gathered from the community by Armenian artist Tsovinar Muradyan. Materials of steel, bronze and stone appear throughout as well as a repetition of butterflies in various elements to symbolize rebirth and resurrection. A stop at the beginning gives a map of the various sections linked with a meandering path.
The first section honors the sense of community that bonded people together to respond after the tragedy. The monument at its center is a bronze pillar that on March 22, 10:37 casts a shadow that points toward the memorial stone which holds the words: “Heart has its own memory and I have forgotten nothing.” -Albert Camus. Upward on the pillars soar 43 butterflies, representing the 43 victims. The next stop increased our geological know-how with panels about the stability of the slope and how it escaped detection at the time. Most importantly, the panels show what can lead to better predictions and safer planning in the future.
The third section honored the first responders – lumber workers, firefighters, emergency personnel, and even trained dogs. A sculpture in the center has bronze boots, helmets, saws, paw prints, and challenge coins. The challenge coins have the insignias of the responding organizations. One statue honors Search and Rescue dogs. Poignant is the survivor tree; each year the 911 committee honors other disaster survivors by sending out two cuttings from a tree that survived the Twin Towers tragedy. One panel relates the story of Amanda and Duke, mother and infant son who survived being buried by the mud. Responders rescued eleven people.
The most poignant section is the family remembrance sector. Curved bronze panels tell the story of the victims in words, quotes, and graphic pictures. The artist sought unique ways to individualize each one to honor the person or persons listed. When possible, she based her design on interviews with surviving family members. Our members placed individual roses for each person. Linda Matthews, an artist herself, created a League sticker with our name and a tree design that contains the words Love, Resilience, Compassion, Love, Flexibility, Understanding, Empathy.
The long path back to the entry offers benches for further reflection. A glance around reveals the wildflowers scattered about the area. One gentleman is planting Crocosmia ‘Lucifer’ bulbs behind each of the curved bronze plates. Through the trees, a space opens that allows sight of the actual slide. Its huge power can still be imagined. Back to the parking lot, a new fence declares this ten year anniversary as one of hope for an incident never to be forgotten. After the tour, our group headed to lunch at the Rhodes River Ranch Restaurant.
To see the full photo album, go here.