Lawrence County Museum tree preserves memory of lives lost due to COVID

BEDFORD — A tree is being housed at the Lawrence County Museum of History to preserve the memories of every Lawrence County resident who has lost their life due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The tree is updated weekly with a bell that is tied to a yellow ribbon to reflect the latest week's death toll.

Located in the front window of the museum gallery, the aptly named Yellow Ribbon Memory Tree stands in remembrance of the emotional and economic devastation the pandemic has caused. It has been there since early December.

How the tree came into existence

Museum President Rowena Cross Najafi explained that the idea behind the tree stemmed from conversations she had with Gallery Coordinator Becky Buher. They wanted to find a way to commemorate the lives that have been tragically lost due to the pandemic.

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"Becky came up with this idea," Najafi said. "It was perfect. For every single person we lost, there would be a little bell and a yellow ribbon added to the tree. So one of the things we started to talk about is how to acknowledge and present this time in history, which is really important."

Buher shared some of the details that inspired her idea.

"Tony Orlando and Dawn’s hit song in the 1970s, 'Tie a Yellow Ribbon ‘Round the Ole Oak Tree' kept coming to my mind and so did the 1946 movie, 'It’s a Wonderful Life.' In the movie every time a bell rang, an angel got his wings. Combining those two thoughts, a bell is tied with a bow of yellow ribbon for each Lawrence County person who has died during this historic pandemic."

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Chronicling history as it is happening

Najafi said the Lawrence County Museum of History is poised to continue recording significant moments throughout the course of the pandemic to record the history of the pandemic through a local perspective.

"I'm a historian by nature. I record stuff, this is what we do. It's not just about going back to 1900 and seeing what they did," Najafi said. "This is our time and someday it will be history. That's the point we also want everybody to understand. We are making history for the next generation, and generations after that. So what we record and what we don't record is really, really important. Of course, this period is very well documented nationally and internationally but it's our job to document it locally. So that's what we're doing."

Lawrence County reported 653 cases and two deaths in the latest week. The week before, it had reported 497 cases and nine deaths. In total, the county has seen 10,308 confirmed cases and 221 deaths.

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The memory tree serves as an important reminder of the lives that have been lost due to the disease that causes COVID-19. Each yellow ribbon and bell represents a lost life, someone who was dear to family members and friends, as well as valued members of their community.

"We didn't ever want to look at this pandemic as a pandemic of numbers. It's a pandemic of people," Najafi said. "As that number grows, it becomes harder to find a spot on the tree to put another bell. In a way, that is so much more powerful than just a number. Those people are our people, people we loved and cared about. People who helped us in many ways. We have lost museum volunteers to this and everybody knows somebody who's not here anymore because of this disease."

Najafi said the tree will remain standing as long as COVID-19 is still spreading throughout the county and nation.

The memory tree does not display any names. Instead, a bell and ribbon represent each anonymous individual.

"There are no names because that's for each person to decide for themselves," Najafi said. "I think without the names, the magnitude of the loss is so much more apparent. Every time I go there and I see the numbers grow, even though I can do the same thing on the state website, it's a completely different experience."

The tree serves as an enduring reminder of the difficulties the pandemic has brought throughout the last two years. At the same time, Buher said several citizens have appreciated the display and what it means.

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"It is sort of a reality check on how the COVID-19 virus permanently affects our community," she said. "When people see the tree, it’s rather startling to see the large number of bells and ribbons and realize each one represents a fellow citizen. Several people have told us that they appreciate the memory tree, value what it represents and what has been lost."

Looking forward

The memory tree is currently the only exhibit at the museum dedicated to the ongoing pandemic. However, Buher said there are plans for more COVID-related stories to be documented and shared with the community at some point in the future.

"We would like to gather stories of how the pandemic has affected people — real stories of the precious lives lost, as well as survivors and even people who didn’t get the virus, how it affected their lives," Buher said. "That way, in the future, this destructive virus and the people it affected won’t be unnamed or lost to history. If you have a related local story that you would be willing to share, please write it down and send it to the museum."

The museum's address is 929 15th St. The museum can also be reached at 812-278-8575.

This article originally appeared on The Times-Mail: Lawrence County Museum tree preserves memory of lives lost to COIVD