BURLINGTON, Wash. (AP) - It’s been 50 years since 4-year-old Marc Beaton fell out of a tree while playing in the yard of his Burlington home, but for his parents, who now live out of state, his memory remains.
On April 7, 1964, Marc Beaton was playing in a tree when his father pulled into the family driveway. Just a few moments later, the elder Beaton looked back to see his son on the ground, not moving. Quickly, he scooped his son into his arms and loaded him into the car to drive him to the hospital.
But before he could get there, the vehicle ran out of gas, and then he had difficulty flagging down another driver who would take him and his son to the hospital. By the time they got there, it was too late.
Marc Beaton died on April 10.
At the request of his parents, the iconic cross on Burlington Hill will be lit this week in his memory, said Ed Tjeerdsma with the Burlington Firefighters Association, the organization responsible for lighting and paying for electricity to light the cross.
“We try to accommodate anyone who calls, especially locally,” Tjeerdsma said.
The cross as Burlington residents know it now has been around since 1965 - the year after Marc Beaton’s death. It replaced a smaller, less well lit cross put on the hill in the 1940s. The younger Beaton had taken a liking to the cross, his father told Tjeersdma.
After hearing Beaton’s story, Tjeerdsma said, he knew there would be no issue with lighting the cross for the little boy.
“It was really touching to me when (the elder Beaton) went back in history,” Tjeerdsma said.
After Marc Beaton’s death, the family decided to donate money to the construction of what is now the current cross, and the community chipped in to help.
“In ’65, that’s what got the whole thing rolling with the cross fund was there was so many people who felt obligated for this little boy,” Tjeerdsma said.
Today, people can call and request the cross be lit for various reasons, including the death of a loved one. The cross is lit two or three times a month, sometimes for several days. All costs, including the $90 to $180 electricity fees, are paid through donations, Tjeerdsma said.
“Burlington’s just one of those towns with tradition,” Tjeerdsma said. “Anyone who’s grown up in town has grown up with the cross and what it’s there for.”
Before the smaller cross that Marc Beaton enjoyed, a smaller star illuminated the top of the hill, Tjeerdsma said. It was a project that was started by what at the time was the Burlington Volunteer Firefighters Association, said Burlington Fire Department Assistant Chief Glen Staheli, and has since become a part of the city’s identity.
“It’s still very much in the hearts and minds of Burlington citizens,” Staheli said.
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Information from: Skagit Valley Herald, https://www.skagitvalleyherald.com
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