WEST WARWICK -- A group planning a memorial for the victims of The Station nightclub will remove 104 crosses erected as a makeshift memorial where the nightclub once stood on Cowesett Avenue, in anticipation of Hurricane Isabel.
The hurricane is expected to hit land between North Carolina and New Jersey tomorrow or early Friday, bringing strong winds and rain. For the Providence area, the National Weather Service in Taunton says there is a chance of showers tomorrow night, and there could be heavy rain on Friday.
A member of The Station Fire Memorial Foundation videotaped the site yesterday, to create a record that will be used when crosses for the 100 victims of the Feb. 20 fire are restored on Sunday and Monday, said the group's president, Thomas Cahir. Cahir is an editorial assistant at The Providence Journal.
"Our greatest concern is that something might blow away onto the car lot next door and do some damage," said Cahir, who said his group was prompted to take action because no one is "taking responsibility for the site."
Cahir said he and several volunteers will begin removing the crosses at 6 p.m. today, and will continue until they are finished. The crosses and related personal items will be bagged and tagged, before Cahir takes them to his home in Cranston, where they will be stored until the weather clears.
"We will take very good care of the place," Cahir said. "Whoever wants to be there can help. The more people we have, the better."
By yesterday afternoon, word had already spread to some of the survivors and family members that the crosses would be temporarily removed.
Robert Feeney said he lost his fiancée, Donna Mitchell, in the fire. He drove to the site to remove photographs and necklaces that were draped upon her cross.
"They can take the cross," said Robert Feeney. "I just want the personal stuff."
Feeney said he plans to return to West Warwick on Saturday, to restore the items to his fiancée's cross.
"I have already had stuff lost to the weather," Feeney said. "I would rather take it now and bring it back."
So, too, would Mark Hyer, who removed his brother Eric's cross. Hyer said that people should come to remove their own things because "putting it in a truck is too impersonal."
Both Feeney and Hyer want a permanent memorial erected at the site.
"There shouldn't be anything but a memorial here," said Feeney. "I would like to see the crosses here until something permanent is built. It is a place of remembrance."
Andrew C. Helman can be reached by telephone at 277-7361, or by e-mail at ahelman@projo.com.
