My Take: Forgiving is not forgetting
Near the dunes just south of Macatawa Bay, there is a quiet place called Sanctuary Woods.
If you stroll far enough through the peaceful beechwood forest and cross a small stream, you will find a metal bench where you can rest and reflect on the sanctuary’s stillness.
If you pause long enough, you might notice a small plaque on the back of the bench: In Loving Memory of Carol Gee 1949-1961.
And if you have time, you might wonder who she was and why her life was so short.
In many ways, it’s still a mystery.
It’s also a part of Holland’s history most would rather forget.
But to forget would be to render Carol’s brief life meaningless, which it wasn’t. Instead, it’s a tragic reminder of how easily what’s most precious can be lost in an instant with the pull of a trigger. And how little has changed in America in all these years.
It was a chilly spring day, April 29, 1961, when 11-year-old Carol and her best friend Margaret Chambers, 12, set out to do one of their favorite things — pick wildflowers in the dunes across the street from where they lived.
When they didn’t return home later that afternoon, their parents sensed something was wrong. When they couldn’t find the girls anywhere, police began a frantic search.
The search party grew to include dogs, helicopters and dozens of people from the community until the girls' bodies were finally discovered deep in the dunes, beneath a pile of leaves.
They had been shot multiple times.
The killer — a 16-year-old Boy Scout who lived in their neighborhood — was caught a short time later in another state and claimed the shooting was an accident. But he was convicted of murder and incarcerated a few years before being released.
Still unanswered is why?
Searching for answers on the anniversary of Carol’s death 63 years later is an exercise in futility. There are few court documents that haven’t been destroyed, and most of the officials who investigated the case are deceased.
There are historical records in the MSU Libraries Digital Repository where you can listen to radio broadcasters dramatically recounting what came to be called 1961’s “Story of the Year” in Michigan.
While they provide a chilling account of court proceedings, they shed little light on what really happened or why.
And so you might wonder why should we care now about something that happened so long ago and might best be forgotten?
The answer is that certain people can never forget. One of them is my wife, who is Carol’s sister.
She was only 10 years old when Carol died, but old enough to remember everything.
Carol’s death still haunts us. Whenever we hear about a missing child, or another school shooting, the terrible memories reignite.
Whenever our daughters left the house to play outside, or to go on a date, the fear of what might happen crept into the back of our minds.
Our daughters now have their own daughters and a son. They are all safe and sound. They know little of what happened to Carol and Margaret, because it’s something we don’t talk about.
Occasionally my wife and I go for walks in Sanctuary Woods, usually when no one is around. We enjoy the peaceful quiet of the dunes.
We remember Carol and the special person she was, and think about what she might have become if she had lived longer. We wonder whether she would still love wildflowers.
We try to forgive. We try to forget.
— Bill Dalton is a former reporter and editor at The Kansas City Star and several Michigan newspapers, including The Grand Rapids Press and The Ann Arbor News.
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: My Take: Forgiving is not forgetting
