'we were losing people every day': vancouver aids memorial marks 40 years
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a tree is planted in memory of four people who died of aids in this photo from oct. 21, 1985. holding the tree is michael welsh, who will return to the park on monday for the memorial's 40th anniversary.
bill keay
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vancouver sun
when michael welsh joins others gathering at a small stand of sakura cherry trees in coal harbour next week, he will be thinking of the countless young men lost to aids in the early days of the epidemic in vancouver.
welsh was among a handful of friends, volunteers and family members who quietly gathered to dig four holes in devonian harbour park to plant the saplings in 1985 in memory of four young men who had died: james, ivan, gino and randy.
he still hesitates to say their last names.
“the stigma was so great then, people did not want to be identified. we were very protective of people’s identities,” said welsh.
at the time, no plaque was installed.
“we were worried about vandalism.”
on oct. 20, community members will gather on site to mark the 40th anniversary of those trees, which became the first aids memorial in vancouver. some trees have since died — one was demolished by a beaver — but some have remained, hardy and determined.
welsh was the first support program coordinator for aids vancouver, an organization that emerged in 1983 in response to the emergence of a disease that prompted public hysteria, government apathy and the demonization of his community.
he ran the first 24-hour aids hotline out of his own apartment, arranged counselling, home visits, meals, even funeral services. he also listened to those with the illness—something few were doing. “only a person with aids [could tell us] what was needed.”
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those anonymous cherry trees were a flag representing the courage of those young men. “we were losing people every day. we wanted to see that these people left some kind of mark behind.”
the site in devonian park is the first known aids memorial in metro vancouver, and one of the earliest in north america.
four more cherry trees were added in 1986, but the site remained a secret shared only by those who chose to remember.
forty years later, much has changed.
michael welsh and sarah chown at devonian harbour park, where cherry trees were planted 40 years ago in memory of four people who died of aids.
nick procaylo
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aids vancouver was renamed ribbon community in 2024 to better reflect the evolution of the community navigating hiv risk, said sarah chown, ribbon community’s executive director.
the goal was to stay connected to their origins through the use of the red aids awareness ribbon, but include the services they now provide.
“that includes services for those living with hiv or navigating hiv risk, peer support programs, and a case management for those living with hiv,” said chown. they also offer food security and housing supports.
although aids is an important part of the group’s history, it is no longer always an outcome of hiv, and the name change reflects that reality, said chown.
anti-retroviral therapies first developed in vancouver led to safe and effective hiv treatments. with treatment, those diagnosed with hiv can live as long as those without hiv, and have undetectable viral loads, meaning they cannot transmit the virus to others.
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“we see our role as pulling the past present and future of the hiv response together,” said chown.
that includes honouring those who were lost, said chown, who organized the oct. 20 event.
“we will be there to say, ‘we honour you, we benefited from those of you who showed us how to take care of community members,'” said chown.
chown hopes the grove can be retained and renewed. “there are not enough spaces to honour the weight, the grief, the loss the generation who died.”
welsh, who still has the original spade that dug the holes, found it difficult to visit the trees in the early days. “it was far too painful.”
like so many other survivors, he was living with trauma.
in 2012, when aids vancouver was doing historical work, the story of the cherry trees was rediscovered. in 2018, the site was rededicated with a plaque by the vancouver park board.
earlier this year welsh was interviewed by an activist archivist in new york, who is putting together a history and record of aids memorials around the world.
“i had to look back over 40 years and think what this memorial has meant and what it means now. the trees’ survival is an indication that memorials can work, and do work because they remind us of real people with real stories,” said welsh.
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part of the spiritual aspect of life, welsh believes, is to integrate one’s experience, and understand it. “to stop and ask, ‘what did that mean?’ and ‘what have i learned from it?’ ”
for welsh, oct. 20 will be a day to remember the heroes: young people who helped each other, volunteered for drug trials, spoke out against censure and ridicule, and changed the world even as they were leaving it.
“it was the kind of activism that is needed more than ever today,” said welsh.
“these eight trees are representative of something much bigger, a generational loss of young men. i’ve never wanted to leave these people behind, i’ve wanted to carry forward the memories of people we knew.
“it’s an opportunity to say their names again: james, ivan, gino and randy.”
the public is invited to attend the event which runs from 3:30 to 5 p.m. on oct. 20, at devonian harbour park at 1929 west georgia, and will feature performances, remembrances and refreshments.
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