Sep 24, 2005 10:25 am US/Central
Memorial Honors Those Lost In Wellstone Crash
by Pat Kessler
Eveleth, Minn. (WCCO) ―
It's down to the final touches.
An eagle carved into Ely greenstone -- one of the oldest stones on earth -- will mark the entrance to one of Minnesota's most bitter tragedies.
The stones are part of a new memorial opening this weekend that will honor the lives lost when Sen. Paul Wellstone's plane crashed three years ago.
Judy McLaughlin's son, William, was on board Wellstone's plane that cold day in October when it crashed near Eveleth, Minn.
"Well, William had a great adventure with Paul," McLaughlin said. "They were very close."
Six others died that day, including Wellstone's wife, Sheila, their daughter, Marcia Markuson, staffers Tom Lapic and Mary McEvoy and two pilots.
It was at the height of a very close senate elections. Emotions were intense.
They are emotions that now may be soothed and certainly reflected upon in this peaceful place.
"You can be there by yourself and sit on the granite slabs and listen to the wind through the trees," McLaughlin said.
St. Paul artist Philip Rickey uses different elements of this wilderness to construct the memories of the people who died that day.
"These, in a way, act like a doorway, a gateway to the monument's circle," Rickey said
Rocks hand-picked from the nearby Iron Range mines are now individual monuments, each with its own character.
"This is the stone for Paul and Sheila," Rickey said. "It's the most dramatic with the bright reds, the dark grays and the white."
"This is Mary McEvoy's stone," he said. "You can see how even rough and pulled out of the dirt, I saw these beautiful streaks of purple and orange and blue."
Workers will etch the name of each victim into the partially polished stones of stromatolite and granite. Personal items were buried beneath.
"William's stone is beautiful," McLaughlin said. "They're all beautiful. They're all different but they represent Minnesota."
Another path at the memorial turns into a boardwalk.
A line of steel through the middle of the wooden planks looks to the crash site, only 2,000 feet away. It is expected to rust with time.
"But the iron line will remain sort of this red, rust color, as if it's bleeding," Rickey said. "The bleeding of the material is the heart bleeding for our loss."
Three years ago, as rescue crews were approaching the crash site, eagles were seen soaring above.
The poem at the memorial's entrance said the eagles would "guide their kind friends home."
"I had such a good feeling about it that, yes, I will go back often," McLaughlin said.
The non-profit group Wellstone Action raised funds for the memorial. The dedication will be at 1 p.m. on Sunday.
(© MMV, CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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