San Lorenzo Valley residents are restoring a toy box memorial for two young brothers who died in the 1982 Love Creek landslide.
A group of neighbors and community members, led by Ben Lomond resident Julianne Bonnet, created a Facebook group to “rebuild the toy box, restore the sign, and replenish the collection of toys that has long made the memorial a poignant landmark for hikers, cyclists, and longtime valley residents who remember the ’82 slide.”
On Jan. 5, 1982, a large forested hillside, sodden by two days of continuous rainfall, collapsed, destroying a number of homes along Love Creek and killing 10 people, including Trevor and Kelly McCluskey.
The memorial consists of a once-bright red wooden box overflowing with toys and teddy bears. Above the box, a sign reads, “Somewhere in this area lie my two grandsons Trevor, 7, & Kelly, 5. Please do not dump any trash, Grandma Olson.”
Now the wooden panels of the box are broken, and the toys lie on the ground covered with dust, dirt and dead leaves; the sign is slanted, barely standing on its own.
Bonnet told the San Lorenzo Valley Post that the community wants to keep the memory of the McCluskey boys alive and remember the ’82 slide and those who were affected. A design is ready to go, and the volunteers look forward to getting their hands dirty.
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