The above illustration by the indestructibly hopeful Jen Lemen commemorated the first anniversary of the 2006 New Year's Day murders of Bryan, Kathryn, Stella and Ruby Harvey. Three years, and the loss is still horribly fresh.
The news trickled out on New Year's Day, and then swept the city on January 2:
Some of my first thoughts this morning, though, were about our mutual friends -- friends of mine who were much, much closer to Kathryn, Bryan and their girls.
Nikole and I went by World of Mirth this afternoon. The store, obviously, was closed. A steady rain was falling, and the sky was a heavy grey. We added our flowers to a growing carpet, and stood quietly for a few moments.
On January 7, almost 1,400 people gathered at the Byrd Theater to remember the Harvey family, and to come together to celebrate and to mourn:
We arrived at the Byrd an hour before the service. The manager announced that they would open the doors at 12:30. WTVR, the local CBS affiliate, was already there. Signs on the doors of the Byrd read: "No media. No cameras."
Nikole, Nancy and I walked down to World of Mirth. Two more large pieces of posterboard were mounted on the storefront for friends and passers-by to write thoughts, express feelings on the loss of this family. There were more flowers, more notes. And there was a computer screen in the window with footage -- one of Bryan's bands, Fat Elvis, playing in the store for a cluster of delighted children. Kathryn and Stella laughing, pointing at the camera. All three of us walked away, shivering and in tears.
Outside the Byrd, a line already had formed. We stood outside of Rostov's Coffee and Tea as the line grew, extending well around the corner past Coppola's Deli. Jason and Marni stopped to chat, then joined us in line. Richard and Elaine arrived. The doors opened.
The concession bar at the Byrd was decorated with candles, draped in color. Posters with photos of the family were mounted by the doors. A microphone stood on stage before the projection screen, and vases of flowers were clustered in the front.
And 11 months after the tragic murders, Richmond remembered the Harvey family on a crisply beautiful autumn day as 160 kids gathered together for the first annual Ruby Harvey Memorial Children's Run.
With that first run, a corner was turned. But the memories will always chase those of us who choose, to paraphrase one of Bryan's own songs, to "remember them well."
