Families of children who died too young embraced underneath the base of the Edgartown Lighthouse on Saturday afternoon for the annual Ceremony of Remembrance.
More than 100 people gathered around the light, placing flowers and seashells around the bricks engraved with the names of the lost children. Hosted by the Martha's Vineyard Museum, this year's ceremony marks the 24th year of the event, and museum executive director Heather Seger said the lighthouse gives the children's loved ones a beacon of hope.
"The welcome is an open-hearted welcome, recognizing this is probably a place where you never wanted to be, but also hoping that you feel embraced by the community around you," Ms. Seger said.
The memorial was started by Rick Harrington in 2001 after he lost his son in an automobile accident. Thirty-eight new names joined the memorial this year, bringing the total to 1,131 names surrounding the lighthouse.
Mr. Harrington thanked families for gathering in honor of their children.
"It's wonderful to hear from all of you who say to me how much healing this has provided them," Mr. Harrington told the crowd.
The parents and sister of Frank Rodenbaugh, who died in March at the age of two, placed flowers around his brick.
"We think about him everyday," said Matt Rodenbaugh, Frank's father, while surrounded by friends and family. "But to know the community also remembers him means a lot."
Frank died suddenly after being left by his babysitter in an SUV, police investigating the case have said. Mr. Rodenbaugh and his wife want to help prevent other tragedies by raising awareness.
"We want to do anything we can to... avoid something like this again," Mr. Rodenbaugh said.
Jody Cukier has been visiting her daughter's brick for 14 years. She read a poem she'd written titled "The Poetry of Pebbles" for the crowd.
Ms. Cukier witnessed her only child, Julia Cukier Siegler, die in a hit-and-run crash in Los Angeles while crossing the street to board her school bus in 2010. Since, Ms. Cukier has worked in street safety advocacy and helped found the Families for Safe Streets group in Manhattan.
"My life had to be rewritten because somebody wrote that chapter without my permission," she said. "I had to figure out how to proceed and it took a long time. It's still occurring."
Ms. Cukier said coming to the lighthouse helps her feel connected to Julia. They would visit the Island together most summers.
She said spending time in nature helps her recognize the beauty in life, and she makes art from seashells in her free time.
Ms. Cukier placed pieces of conk shell with loving messages written in Sharpie around Julia's brick. While standing beside it, she heard a loud crunch and saw one of the shells she placed had been stepped on and cracked.
"In some ways, that represents how things get blown apart when you lose your child, and how [on] that shell, there was still beauty to be found on the pieces that remain," Ms. Cukier said.