Chicago Tribune (CT) - SATURDAY, October 12, 1996 Edition: NORTH SPORTS FINAL Section: NEWS Page: 3 Word Count: 841
Brad Hahn, Washington Bureau.

"I'm keeping very busy because I won't let my emotions get a hold of me at this point," said Pavlik, whose contribution to the quilt recalls his partner of nine years, James Linduska, who died in 1993. "It's very important for me that I see Jim's quilt and know he's part of a living quilt forever."

Pavlik's contribution to the quilt includes pictures of his partner and a lapel pin designed by Linduska's sister-in-law.

It is one of 40,000 panels that make up the quilt, which is on display through Sunday on the National Mall.

The quilt, which represents only a fraction of the Americans who have died from AIDS, has doubled since its last complete display in 1992.

It stretches a mile from near the Washington Monument to the foot of the Capitol.

As of June, 343,000 Americans had died of AIDS, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The quilt is an attempt to put faces on the death statistics associated with the disease and to raise awareness, says its sponsor, the NAMES project. The San Francisco-based national group displays the quilt and raises funds for AIDS service organizations.

"When people see it, in such magnitude, even the most stoic are moved," said Pavlik, who has AIDS and is among 1,300 volunteers from the Midwest to work on the project. More than 10,000 volunteers are needed to unfold the quilt and work with the estimated 750,000 visitors expected this year.

Individual 3-by-6-foot panels are connected to form larger blocks of the quilt, which now would cover about 22 football fields and which marks the lives of 70,000 victims.

Though portions of it have continued to appear around the nation, the entire quilt is being displayed for only the fifth time in nine years. When first shown in 1987, it consisted of 1,900 panels and covered just a bit more than a football field.

"This could be the last one," acknowledged Scott Williams, communications coordinator for the NAMES Project. "We're running out of places in urban America to display the entire quilt."

In fact, as volunteers began ceremoniously unfolding portions of the quilt Friday morning, the display spilled over the formal boundaries of the Mall.

Beyond space limitations, there are logistical nightmares involved in organizing the $1 million event.

Panels, laid between more than 23 miles of fabric walkway, are assigned a number and location where they must be placed each morning during the 3-day event. Two thousand volunteers will read the names of the dead throughout the weekend.

Among the "little things" involved in the displaying the quilt: 25,000 packets of tissues for visitors, 3 miles of black duct tape, 60,000 safety pins and 36,000 tent pegs.

Among the volunteers unfolding fabric Friday was Joe Murnan, a former resident of Kewanee, Ill., whose best friend died from AIDS. He planned to view the quilt with his friend's parents.

"You focus on the process and the numbers and whatever," said Murnan, now a resident of Washington. "But the closer you get, why you're doing this and who you're doing it for comes back."

Supporters hope the display will pay off by increasing AIDS awareness and sending a pre-Election Day message to politicians that the disease can't be ignored. In fiscal year 1996, the federal government spent $1.4 billion on AIDS research, and increased the funding 6.7 percent this year to $1.6 billion.

"There's so many issues people worry about, the economy and everything else, it's easy for AIDS to get lost in the shuffle," said Steve Austin, a NAMES Project volunteer from Detroit. "By doing this here, in the front yard of the nation, I think it will really shake people and say this is a big deal."

Several AIDS-fighting organizations are sponsoring events such as a concert, a rally and vigil. Among the celebrities and personalities expected to appear for one or more of the events are Elizabeth Taylor, Judith Light, Cher, Martina Navratilova and Newt Gingrich's sister, Candace.

Ideally, by the end of the weekend, everyone from politicians to children will be reminded of the importance of finding a cure for the disease, said Chicago resident Deb Hurm, who traveled with her husband Martin to volunteer.

"I got tired of meeting people who lost loved ones and meeting people who are HIV positive," said Hurm. "I'd rather make a statement now and be a part of trying to enlighten people than do something after the fact."

CAPTION: PHOTO: Pat Grasser (left) comforts Sharon Cashin, both of Marquette, Mich., near the AIDS quilt Friday. Cashin's son, Patrick, died of the disease. Knight-Ridder/Tribune photo. PHOTO: AIDS memorial: Bearing 70,000 names of deceased AIDS victims, a quilt covers the National Mall from the Capitol to the Washington Monument. Knight-Ridder/Tribune photo. (North Sports Final edition, News section, page 1.)

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