EDITOR'S NOTE: Highway memorials are prevalent along the highways of Newfoundland and Labrador. This four-part series aims to tell the stories behind the people some of them represent.
The large rock monument sits between Gander and Grand Falls-Windsor. Unmistakable from the Trans Canada-Highway, the monument pays tribute to Matthew Fagan, a young man from Long Pond killed in a highway industrial accident in summer 2009.
The headstone is on the left, heading west. It describes Fagan as a great son and brother, as well as a hard-working person. Nicknamed "Chew", he was 23 years old when he died.
I often travel for work to various parts of central Newfoundland. It means plenty of hours spent on the Trans-Canada Highway moving between home to where I need to be for an assignment.
Since coming to The Central Voice and in the years since his passing, I've passed Matthew’s memorial more times than I can count.
Every time I passed the monument alongside the white wooden cross with the purple hard hat, I asked myself the same questions.
Who was he? What were his interests and hobbies? Where was he headed?
I wanted to know about Matthew and how he got his nickname; if he preferred the Montreal Canadiens or the Toronto Maple Leafs. Perhaps he’d rather cheer for the Boston Bruins.
I wanted to know about the type of person he was and where he came from. I was listening to the song "Three Wooden Crosses" by Randy Travis, which tells the story of three crosses and the people they represent. It expanded my idea to share.
The highways of Newfoundland and Labrador are home to hundreds of memorials to the victims of accidents.
These memorials are all different. They appear as white crosses, teddy bears, memorial boxes, headstones like Matthew’s, and angels with rock gardens.
Some are tucked away from the highway, while others are visible and receive meticulous care. Whatever their differences, they each serve the same purpose.
They’re there to remind travellers that people lived and died in these places.
They stand as a way for people to remember. To borrow a line from another song, it is said you die twice in this world — once when you pass, and the last time someone mentions your name.
A memorial makes sure the second one never happens.
As long as people ask questions about who a person was, they’re never truly gone.
Nicholas Mercer is a multimedia journalist with the Central Voice. He lives in Grand Falls-Windsor and can be reached at [email protected].
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