In This Together Cambria, 1889 Jefferson Center for Population Health, and the Tribune-Democrat are partnering to present Lights of Remembrance: A Memorial for Cambria County COVID Victims from 5:30-8:30 on January 19. The memorial, which will be presented at the riverwall beneath the Iron Street side of the Stone Bridge, will consist of one candle luminary for each of the more than 300 people who have died of COVID in Cambria County to date.
“This is a highly visible site, and this memorial will be a tangible way to show how many people we’ve lost in Cambria County alone,” said Ashlee Kiel of In This Together Cambria.
The Stone Bridge will be lighted in red and yellow, the awareness colors for COVID-19, courtesy of the Johnstown Area Heritage Association. The installation is made possible with funding from the 1889 Jefferson Center for Population Health.
“Each of the lights represent someone who had a family, friends, and people who loved them,” Kiel said. “In many cases, their loved ones couldn’t be with them at the time of their passing because of the pandemic – and getting together in large groups for a funeral is also not safe right now.”
The memorial will coincide with the national coronavirus memorial planned in Washington, DC for January 19.
In This Together Cambria is a volunteer group engaged in advocacy, storytelling, and sharing of information to combat the pandemic. So far, the group has presented two virtual forums on COVID in partnership with the Tribune-Democrat and the University of Pittsburgh-Johnstown, and a virtual Words of Comfort worship service. More COVID forums are currently being planned. Recordings of these forums, COVID resources, and much more can be found at www.inthistogethercambria.com.