San Francisco Chronicle (SF) - THURSDAY, December 1, 1994 Edition: FINAL Section: News Page: A17 Word Count: 866
Catherine Bowman, Chronicle Staff Writer

The mementos come and go. They are left by friends, parents, lovers and other visitors whose lives have been irrevocably changed by the disease.

This morning, on World AIDS Day, a groundbreaking ceremony will be held to formally dedicate the memorial. A nine-ton granite cornerstone will be placed at the main entrance, and various city dignitaries will be on hand to celebrate the event.

The once-dilapidated 15-acre section of the park was not always lavished with such attention. Established in the late 1800s as the De Laveaga Dell, the site deteriorated in recent years as park maintenance funds became scarce.

Three years ago, volunteers who wanted to create a living memorial began cleaning up the swampy area of trees, ferns and meadow at the east end of the park. Word quickly spread, drawing people from all over the country who came to hold private services among the leafy ferns and towering redwoods.

"I call this the healing side of AIDS," said Kerry Enright, executive director of the grove. "For every person who has died of the disease or has AIDS, there's at least one person who loves that person and has been affected."

Plans for the grove were hatched in 1989, when a group of friends, including some landscape architects, decided they wanted to create a garden dedicated to those who had been touched by the disease.

"They wanted it to be based in nature because they thought nature was a very good illustration of the cycles of life and death," Enright said. The carefully tended sanctuary may be the only memorial of its kind in the nation. Each month, volunteers devote a day to pulling weeds, clearing old brush and planting drought-tolerant native plants.

The crews have included people from all walks of life, from brownie troops to senior citizens. Sometimes they write the names of friends and relatives on bay leaves that are sprinkled in the holes where trees are planted.

Some visitors sit alone and soak up the comfort of the trees. One family held a large memorial picnic that included a mariachi band.

Phyllis Gomez, 71, lost a son to AIDS in 1990 and is a regular volunteer. On her hands and knees, she has yanked out stubborn weeds and scattered wildflower seeds in the meadow.

"Each time I go back, it's mi raculous what's happened," said Gomez. "It's a way of exploring my own son's life and what he would have been if he were still alive."

The grove will be maintained and supported by a $2 million private endowment. Grove directors, working with the nonprofit Tides Foundation, have raised more than $500,000 so far, and have signed a 99-year agreement with the Recreation and Park Department with the intent to care for the grove in perpetuity. The dell will keep the De Laveaga name.

"There's so much interest and support for this grove, I see it as being one of the most beautiful sites in the park," said Jon Huttinger, area supervisor for Golden Gate Park. "When you have a fund for materials and supplies and plants, it makes all the difference in the world."

Future plans include a circular stone wall with benches at the main entrance and smaller benches situated throughout the grove.

At the east end, a golden sandstone crescent wall, named the Circle of Friends, will be built among flowering dogwood trees. Contributors to the grove will be able to have a name chiseled on the circle floor.

On the other end of the grove, a 19th century dry streambed will be replanted. In the fern grotto, one of the most popular gathering sites, stone terraces will line the banks to create a small amphitheater for meditation.

Enright believes the area will become a destination similar to the Vietnam Veterans' Memorial in Washington, D.C. She still remembers the day when volunteers noticed that the dirt paths leading into the grove looped at the end, forming the shape of the AIDS ribbon.

"It's a blessed project," she said.

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BC: CHART:

WORLD AIDS TOLL

Since 1981, when doctors first became aware of the epidemic caused by the human immunodeficiency virus, AIDS has spread around the globe.

.

World

HIV infections 22,200,000 AIDS cases 6,842,000 AIDS deaths 6,000,000

.

United States

HIV infections 1,000,000 AIDS cases 401,749 AIDS deaths 243,423

.

California

HIV infections 178,000(x) AIDS cases 76,840 AIDS deaths 48,017

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San Francisco

HIV infections 37,700(y) AIDS cases 18,092 AIDS deaths 11,091

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(x) - Estimates range as high as 223,000 (y) - Estimates range as high as 46,7000

Worldwide estimates as of January 1, 1994; U.S. estimates as of June 1994; state and San Francisco estimates as of September 1994

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Source: Global AIDS Policy Coalition, Harvard University; Centers for Disease Control; California Department of Health Service

CHRONICLE GRAPHIC EC:

CAPTION: PHOTO, CHART: SEE END OF TEXT

Kate Thompson of San Francisco walked in the main grove of De Laveaga Dell in Golden Gate Park/BY PETER DaSILVA/THE CHRONICLE

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