On Feb. 7, Evart high school student Dylan Shaw fell through the ice on the Muskegon River.
Last month, search crews were able to recover his body.
As a way to remember Dylan, the community presented his family and Evart High School with a special memorial: two benches with the dates and Dylan’s signature on them.
Jessica Kolenda, Principal of Evart High School, said, “I stumbled across Dylan’s signature and I just sat there and took it in that this was a piece of him.”
Kolenda remembers the last conversation she had with Dylan in her office two days before he fell into the ice.
“We knew that he was gone, but all of us, everybody here, the staff here the students here, myself, we hoped and prayed that his family would get the closure that they needed,” Kolenda said.
When the news broke about Dylan’s tragic accident, Mark Ovares knew he had to do something.
Mark owns Top Dog Carpentry in Sears, Michigan. He said making benches for the family and school was the right thing to do.
Ovares said, “The community was great, nobody took a second breath when I asked for help and told them what I was doing. Everyone just jumped right in… no questions asked. Yes, we’ll do it.”
Businesses from all around Evart came together and gave their time and supplies to make the benches.
The signature, Ovares said, was the perfect piece.
“Anybody can put block letter together, but to put his name on his bench in his memorial was, it was perfect,” he says.
Two benches were made, one for the Shaw family and another for Evart High School. Now, the bench at the high school sits in front of the entrance so that students and staff can go into school having a little piece of Dylan.
Principal Kolenda said, “For some I’ve seen some students sit out here and take a moment. I’ve seen others sit and laugh.”
A third bench is now in the process of being made. It will be auctioned at the Evart Fireworks on July 3. The third one will not have the dates and signature, but the proceeds will go to Dylan’s family.
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