LEWISTON, Maine– Volunteers and city workers on Tuesday removed souvenirs, signs and other items that had collected at the sites of the deadliest shootings in Maine history, reflecting a seasonal change and a new chapter in the area's recovery.
The handwritten signs, cards, bouquets and other items – more than a thousand of them – will be archived, cataloged and prepared for display at a museum in Lewiston.
Part of the process is practical: snowfall makes it necessary to remove the memorials before they are destroyed by the elements or plows. But organizers also say now is the right time as communities continue to heal and grieve after 18 people were killed and 13 injured on Oct. 25.
“We want to make sure the community doesn't forget what happened and how the community came together, so bringing the items together feels like the next phase,” said Rachel Ferrante, executive director of the Maine Museum of Innovation, Learning and Labor , located in a former mill building in Lewiston.
The memorials were heartbreaking and heartwarming: there are dozens of sculptures of hands depicting the American Sign Language symbol for “love,” a nod to four members of the local deaf community who have died, and there are countless signs, notes and hearts, along with votive candles from wakes. Some of the more unusual items include a bowling ball, darts and a miniature cornhole tribute. The victims were shot at a bowling alley and a bar where a cornhole tournament was being held.
The largest item was a stuffed moose now soaked in snow and rain.
The shootings took place days before Halloween, and the removal of items a day after the first snowfall of the season seemed to mark a symbolic change of season.
More than two dozen museum employees, volunteers and city workers removed the memorials from three locations: the bowling alley and bar where the shootings occurred, and a busy street corner that became a makeshift memorial.
“We really wanted to save them before they were buried and more snow fell. And it's important for the community to do that. To ensure that there is some memory of this tragic event,” says Tanja Hollander, a local artist participating in the project.
The community was traumatized by the killings. Due to the large number of dead and injured, almost everyone in the immediate area knew a victim or knew someone who knew one. And the attacks were terrifying, forcing people to take shelter in their homes during the massive manhunt for the killer that ended when he was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
This was followed by the funerals, spread over a number of weeks.
Cataloging memorials has become a common practice. Historians preserved such items after other mass shootings, including the attacks in Columbine and Littleton, Colorado, and the nightclub attack in Orlando, Florida.
The goal of the Maine MILL Museum is to take possession of the items and quickly catalog them, making them accessible to the community.
So many bouquets and pumpkins were placed at the shrines that only some of them will be saved. Some flowers will be dried and some pumpkins will be scanned and 3D printed for display at the museum, Ferrante said. The rest is composted.
City spokesperson Angelynne Amores marveled at the creativity shown in the way the victims were remembered. People from near and far were moved in unique ways, she said.
“There is no one standard for these types of tragedies,” she said. “There are so many different ways people can walk the path to healing.”
There's nothing stopping people from leaving more stuff behind. Ferrante said she expects to remove more items.
“People can do what feels right for them. What we are trying to provide is relief and community healing. People need to heal and grieve in a way that is meaningful to them,” she said.
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