As local COVID-19 memorial is unveiled, hundreds gather to remember, honor those who died

May 18—It was a day of sadness, it was a day of joy, it was a chance to look back, it was a moment to gaze forward, it was a time for despair, it was a reason for hope.

More than 400 people gathered under trees and shade structures Tuesday morning as Kevin Russell and his employees at American Fabrication in Bakersfield unveiled a remembrance wall that will bear the names of hundreds of local residents who have succumbed to COVID-19.

Tracy Johnson was there Tuesday. She lost her mother, Judith Polmanteer, to the virus early in the pandemic. And when she learned about Tuesday's event, she felt she had to attend.

"They didn't really know how to handle it," Johnson said of the eldercare facility where her mom lived. "It was terrifying."

Her mother suffered from dementia, and the coronavirus outbreak meant her daughter couldn't help her.

"I couldn't be with her, which was tough — really scary," Johnson said.

Named the Kern County COVID-19 Memorial, the wall is made of three 5-by-10-foot powder-coated metal sections, and is situated front and center beneath an awning at the business on Gilmore Avenue.

The memorial clearly touched a chord in those who attended.

"This is an amazing turnout," said Rachel Parlier, who served as emcee for the event. No one had predicted so many would show up.

Parlier had to fight back tears at times as guests walked up to the microphone to tell their personal stories of loss in their families.

Marta Benavides told the gathering that the pandemic left other heart-breaking casualties besides the more than 1,300 deaths it caused in Kern County. The politics of COVID-19, she said, divided her family in a tragic split after her mother, Ana Tamat, became ill and died.

"My siblings no longer speak to me because of political divisions," she said.

Russell, the owner of American Fabrication, lauded his employees for volunteering to work early mornings, late nights and on weekends to construct the wall. It already includes more than 100 names, but at least 200 more are expected, Russell said.

The crowd at Tuesday's event made for a striking sight in Bakersfield, a conservative city where being asked to wear a mask can sometimes be characterized as a violation of the rights of individuals to be mask-free.

Almost all of the 400-plus who attended wore masks throughout the ceremony.

At one point during the event, double Grammy Award-winning vocalist Gregory Porter, who was raised in Bakersfield, stepped up to the mic.

He spoke fondly of his brother, Lloyd Cornelous Porter, who was just 49 when he passed on May 6, 2020.

"He was a person who brought people together," Porter told the gathering. "I would like to remember him and say his name."

Porter told the crowd, "My business is music." And he made a gift of his music Tuesday by singing his song, "No Love Dying" without accompaniment.

"There will be no love that's dying here," Porter began, his voice gentle yet strong.

"The bird that flew in through my window/Simply lost his way

"He broke his wing, I helped him heal

"And then he flew away."

Reporter Steven Mayer can be reached at 661-395-7353. Follow him on Facebook and on Twitter: @semayerTBC.