Submitted
Those decorating graves at Mt. Allen Cemetery in Hays this Memorial Day will see rows of brightly colored pinwheels in the children’s section.
Members of the Healing Hearts grief support group will hold their annual “Avenue of Pinwheels” ceremony at 7 p.m. Tuesday, May 23, in the cemetery. The public is invited to attend.
Doris Schmidt, a Healing Hearts member who is helping to organize the event, said the observance is for parents who have lost a child, regardless of that child’s age. It is also for others impacted by a child’s death. That can include grandparents, aunts, uncles, siblings, friends, even teachers.
At the ceremony, the pinwheels are available free of charge to all participants. People can place a note on the pinwheel with the child’s name and write a personal message, Schmidt said. At the ceremony, all of the names are read aloud.
Then the pinwheels are hammered into the ground by another Healing Hearts member, Neal Younger. At last year’s ceremony there were around 100 pinwheels, Schmidt said. The pinwheels are placed in two long rows facing each other, thus creating “The Avenue of Pinwheels.”
The ceremony also includes singing and prayers. The event always ends with a balloon release. Participants may also write notes on their balloons before sending them skyward. Schmidt thanked Five-Star Auto and Towing in Hays for providing the helium-filled balloons for this year’s event.
Schmidt emphasized that the individual being honored does not have to be buried at Mt. Allen. Schmidt’s own son, who died at the age of 25, is buried in the Catherine Cemetery.
“This is just a local observance because all of our meetings are in Hays. Hays is centrally located,” Schmidt said.
The Healing Hearts group is part of The Center for Life Experience (CFLE) in Hays, which also has other types of grief support groups. Healing Hearts meets at 6:30 p.m. the second Thursday of the month at the CFLE office, 103C E. 27th St.
Following the ceremony, participants are invited back to CFLE for refreshments. Younger said in case of inclement weather, the observance will be held at 7 p.m. Thursday, May 25.
The pinwheels are left up at Mt. Allen until after Memorial Day. Then members of Healing Arts pick them up. Schmidt said. New pinwheel notes are laminated to protect them from the elements. Any damaged pinwheels are replaced. Then the pinwheels are safely stored until the following year. Individuals who want to keep their child’s pinwheel are welcome to do so.
Those who cannot attend the event are welcome to come to the cemetery any time before Memorial Day and place their own pinwheel, she said.
Healing Hearts began in 2001. In 2006, the group placed a marker in the cemetery’s children’s area and planted a tree. The marker reads: “In memory of our sons and daughters. As parents, we celebrate the lives of our beloved children and hold in our hearts an everlasting love for them.”
Schmidt said that seeing the multi-colored pinwheels spinning in the evening breeze is always an emotional moment for her. Like each participant, she knows that her child’s life was cut short. But the memories remain, she said.
“We cannot share holidays with our child. This is a way to remember and honor them and to pray.”