Family turns yard into somber memorial to those lost to COVID-19
Updated: 9:19 AM PDT May 8, 2021
WITH THE TRIBUTE IN GRAFTON. >> THIS WAS IN MARCH, SO THIS ONE IS PRETTY MUCH FILLED UP REALLY FAST. JOSH: THE SAD PROGRESSION OF THE VIRUS AS IT GREW SO TOO, DID THE DISPLAY OF AMERICAN FLAGS IN THE YARD OF CARRIE AND MIKE LABBE OF GRAFTON. THEIR IDEA BACK IN MARCH OF LAST YEAR WAS TO COMMEMORATE EACH LIFE LOST TO COVID IN MASSACHUSETTS. THEY NEVER EXPECTED THIS. NONE OF US DID. CARRIE: WHERE A LOT OF FAMILIES COULDN’T BE WITH THEIR LOVED ONES AND PEOPLE DIED ALONE. MAYBE IT’S CLOSURE? JOSH: CARRIE TAKES THIS RESPONSIBILITY VERY SERIOUSLY. A FLAG DOWN MUST BE PUT BACK UP. THERE ARE NOW MORE THAN 17,000 OF THEM COVERING THEIR PROPERTY. AND THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE HAVE DROPPED BY TO VISIT. IT HAS TURNED INTO A TIME CONSUMING LABOR OF LOVE AT CONSIDERABLE COST AROUND A DOLLAR A FLAG PLUS THE PRICE OF LUMBER, THIS WALL BUILT TO WITHSTAND THE WIND. BUT FOR NOW, THIS MEMORIAL KEEPS GOING. >> EVERY FLAG REPRESENTS A SOUL THAT WAS LOST AND IT’S JUST GOING TO KEEP GOING UNTIL THE NUMBERS DWINDLED DOWN AND WE FEEL IT’S THE TIME TO STOP. JOSH: AND WITH CONSIDERABLE PROGRESS IN THE FIGHT AGAINST COVID A TIME TO REFLECT ON HOPE FOR THE FUTURE. CARRIE: BETWEEN THE VACCINATIONS AND SOCIAL DISTANCING, ALL THE GUIDELINES, IT LOOKS LIKE EVERYTHING’S TURNING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION NOW. AND LET’S JUST HOPE IT KEEPS GOING THAT WAY. JOSH: AND FINALLY, YET ANOTHER IDEA, HER HUSBAND IS CONSIDERING GIVING A FLAG TO EACH PERSON WHO GETS VACCINATED. THE ADDRES
Family turns yard into somber memorial to those lost to COVID-19
Updated: 9:19 AM PDT May 8, 2021
Last March, Carrie and Mike Labbe decided to commemorate each life lost to COVID-19 in Massachusetts with a flag display in their yard.“Where a lot of families couldn't be with their loved ones and people died alone. Maybe it's closure?” Carrie Labbe said. Fourteen months later, there are now more than 17,000 flags. It has turned into a time-consuming labor of love with a considerable cost — around $1 a flag plus the price of lumber for the racks. And the memorial keeps growing.“Every flag represents a soul that was lost. And it's just going to keep going until the numbers dwindle down and we feel it's the time to stop,” Carrie Labbe said. With considerable progress in the fight against COVID-19, it’s a time to reflect on hope for the future.“Between the vaccinations and social distancing, all the guidelines. It looks like everything's turning in the right direction now. And let's just hope it keeps going that way,” Carrie Labbe said.Mike Labbe is considering giving a flag to each person who gets vaccinated.
GRAFTON, Mass. — Last March, Carrie and Mike Labbe decided to commemorate each life lost to COVID-19 in Massachusetts with a flag display in their yard.
“Where a lot of families couldn't be with their loved ones and people died alone. Maybe it's closure?” Carrie Labbe said.
Fourteen months later, there are now more than 17,000 flags. It has turned into a time-consuming labor of love with a considerable cost — around $1 a flag plus the price of lumber for the racks.
And the memorial keeps growing.
“Every flag represents a soul that was lost. And it's just going to keep going until the numbers dwindle down and we feel it's the time to stop,” Carrie Labbe said.
With considerable progress in the fight against COVID-19, it’s a time to reflect on hope for the future.
“Between the vaccinations and social distancing, all the guidelines. It looks like everything's turning in the right direction now. And let's just hope it keeps going that way,” Carrie Labbe said.
Mike Labbe is considering giving a flag to each person who gets vaccinated.