Children's Memorial site decorated for the holidays

Some elves visited the South Lake Tahoe Children's Memorial tree for the third straight year, leaving behind signs of Christmas with stockings and garland.

The memorial was created 24 years ago when tragedy struct our community when South Tahoe High students Rory Hrbacek, Sandy Haynes, and Casey Wells died in an accident on Pioneer Trail.

Out of this stunning loss came a bright light of remembrance and hope. Sue and Paul Hrbacek began a campaign to establish a place that would memorialize these young lives. The very tree that had been hit became the symbol for the three teenagers taken that night.

The Children’s Memorial Tree has come to rest in a small park area at the corner of Wildwood and Highway 50 and it has since grown to include over two hundred and twenty names of local children who have died.