WAUSAU, WI (WSAU) — Lives lost due to addiction have a new memorial in the Marathon County courthouse.
Aspirus Wausau teamed up with Rise Up of Central Wisconsin to dedicate a memorial at the Marathon County courthouse Wednesday. The artwork features a canvas with butterflies featuring the names, birthdays, and death dates for those who lost their battle with the disease in recent years.
Christy Keele, President of Rise UP Central Wisconsin says a lot of thought and strategy went into commissioning the artwork, with plans to display it for several months. “Each butterfly that’s on the mural today represents a life lost to addition. Either through alcohol, or drugs, or suicide.”
The individual butterflies were painted by family members, who gave each of them a personal touch to represent the person lost. Keele says she saw several tears of sorrow shed as the painting process went on, so she hopes that those who pass by the mural on their way to court stop and think about what addiction can do.
“It’s been placed in between the drug court and the OWI court, it has been embraced by both of those courtrooms and the judges that represent them. It is to be a reminder for those who come that, hopefully, they can see they can become something here on earth, they don’t have to be a butterfly on a mural.”
Keele says plans for the mural came out of several months of discussion with individuals in recovery and artists. “The participants said enough, we’ve lost too many friends and family, we need to memorialize them, have something that’s reminding us of what this terrible addiction is doing to our community.”
Clint Ruesch, a certified recovery coach, says you can tell the butterflies were painted with love just by looking at them. “They are all beautiful, they all have meaning to them and everyone took great care in doing that for their loved one.”
Ruesch says it’s also a reminder of what’s at stake when it comes to recovering from addiction. “Life is important, and their life is important.”
The mural will be constantly changing with butterflies added at any time and is located between the Branch 1 and Branch 2 courtrooms at the Marathon County Courthouse.
