249 Names Read at 24th Annual Trinidad Memorial Lighthouse Ceremony

TRINIDAD, CA (KIEM) – 249 names are called at the 24th Annual Trinidad Memorial Lighthouse Ceremony.

Community members gathered at the corner of Edwards and Trinity Streets. To honor those who have been lost or buried at sea, and whose names are engraved on the Memorial Plaques.

When all names were read, a Coast Guard helicopter flew over the crowd while music played. One of the organizers who has helped plan the Memorial Ceremony for the past 24 years, says she recalls some of the people whose names are on the plaques.

“There [are] deaths here from really unfortunate circumstances — one murder of a wonderful man Herman Iverson. Dr. Herman Iverson, some years ago, was a very good friend. There’s a number of young people. One [of] our most recent names sadly is little Sylvia East, only 9-year-old. She drowned at Big Lagoon. She’s our most recent lost at sea name,” said Patricia Fleschner, Historian for the Trinidad Civic Club.