On the border of Bridgewater and Conquerall Bank town limits sits a tree in a grassy opening, covered in teddy bears, a butterfly, and a large sign displaying a name – Karissa.
Since 2008, residents of the surrounding areas have stopped at the tree to place children’s toys and other objects in memory of Karissa Boudreau, a 12-year-old who was murdered over a decade ago by her mother.
The tree has long stood as a memorial for Boudreau’s tragic death, but recently the site has fell victim to another tragedy – Vandalism.
Heather Coolen, who helps maintain the site, said she placed new decorations on the site to bring some colour to the site.
However, when she returned days later, many of the items had either been stolen or destroyed.
“I felt defeated,” she said.
“To try and do good, and for someone to try and take that away from the community, I just don’t get what they got from it.”
The decorations, most of which were donated or bought for fairly cheap, either helped brighten up the area for others to enjoy.
Coolen said she just wanted to add some colour to the area to make it less gloomy and keep the memory of Karissa going.
“To me, it just looked so much nicer when it was open and air-y and was full of things that meant something to her,” she said.
“She wanted to be a vet, so I put a little cat there, and that is really what its about is her memory, really.”
While the vandalism was really demotivating, Coolen said keeping that memory alive is too important to give up on, and invites others to add items as well.
“For the rest of the summer it’s going to be like that,” she said.
“If somebody steals something or destroys something, we’ll just put something back. It doesn’t have to be the same thing, just something that would pertain to her.”
Follow Cody McEachern on Twitter at @CodyInHiFi.
