Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2002. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
San Francisco Chronicle - Monday, December 2, 2002
Jim Doyle, Chronicle Staff Writer
Nearly 200 people gathered at the National AIDS Memorial Grove -- a 7-acre refuge in Golden Gate Park -- on Sunday afternoon to honor the lives of those touched, and in so many cases shattered, by the AIDS virus. It was a tribute to victims, caregivers, those who search for a cure and those who fight to survive.
And they celebrated their achievement in establishing the memorial grove, the country's only national AIDS memorial. The public event in San Francisco coincided with World AIDS Day.
"We all have some grief and pain around this loss from AIDS, and coming together on a day like this provides some camaraderie and support that everyone in the trenches needs," said Gary Pike, co-chair of the National AIDS Memorial Grove.
The memorial grove, the result of a public-private partnership, includes Monterey pines and cypress trees, hiking trails, a dry creekbed, a scenic overlook and benches.
Small pines, maples and ferns have been planted in remembrance of AIDS victims. An etched granite landing lists many local AIDS victims and prominent donors to the memorial grove. Families and individuals have held memorial services at the grove. A remote spot called the Circle of Peace was envisioned as a place where no names would be listed.
Those attending the occasion included longtime supporters of the grove, staffers and volunteers from AIDS service organizations, politicians, and those who have lost friends and family to AIDS.
"Hope dares to look life in the eye, whether it's with grief or loss," Rev. G. Penny Nixon of the Metropolitan Community Church told the crowd. "Choose to feed hope in the midst of despair."
F. Vic Galvan, a volunteer who has led more than 1,000 tours of visitors through the memorial grove during the past nine years, was named the recipient of the fifth Annual Grove Award for HIV-AIDS community service.
Singer Jaqui Naylor and the San Francisco School for the Arts Choir performed a stirring new song written for World AIDS Day, titled "I Remember You."
A San Francisco woman, who wanted to remain anonymous, said that she came to the event because two of her best friends from college had contracted the AIDS virus and died in 1989 and 1995. She has since given donations to the memorial grove and, along with hundreds of other volunteers, helped to maintain it.
"We get so numb to it, but there are still people dying," said Rick Pavich, executive director of the National AIDS Memorial Grove. "The virus is still spreading in this country and every corner of the globe. We need to bring it to the forefront."
Alice Russell-Shapiro, one of five co-founders of the grove in the late 1980s, said that it was envisioned as a living tribute, a place to be rejuvenated, "a place where people could come and grieve without stigma."
"We were all losing our friends and, in some cases, family," she said. "The mid- to late-'80s was a crescendo of deaths. Thank goodness it's tapered off."
Still, those who attended the tribute were mindful that the virus is continuing to take a significant toll in the United States and overseas, especially among teenagers and young adults.
San Francisco Supervisor Tom Ammiano told the crowd: "All those people on whose deathbeds we sat, said: 'Don't forget us. Don't forget us.' "
E-mail Jim Doyle at jdoyle@sfchronicle.com.
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