EAST PROVIDENCE — It’s a memory that will never fade.
A horrifying moment in her mind’s eye as clear as if it happened yesterday.
But with each passing day and year, with each gesture of kindness and consideration, it hurts just a little bit less.
City resident Julie Grant will never forget the tragic day nearly 40 years ago when two of her three younger brothers, then 10-year-old Steven and seven-year-old Christopher, perished in the surf off of Sabin Point in Riverside. She along with another brother, Bobby, and a family friend survived, doing so with a haunting recollection of what went wrong and what could have been.
Recently, however, as the city revitalized the floating dock at Sabin Point Park, it also refurbished a plaque in the memory of the Grant boys and installed a new memorial bench very close to the actual site of their passing.
To Ms. Grant, those acts were another step in the healing process that likely won’t ever be completed, but was an effort surely appreciated.
“The old sign needed to be replaced,” Ms. Grant said on a warm, sunny Monday morning, Aug. 25, at Sabin Point, three days after the 38th anniversary of Steven and Christopher’s deaths on August 22, 1976.
“I said this year was going to be the year I got it done,” she continued. “It was just sad to see the plaque with their names in such terrible condition. I posted it on Facebook and I couldn’t believe the response. Hundreds and hundreds of people offered their talents or money towards getting it done. It was such a warm feeling having the community reach out in that way.”
A refurbished sign adorned with a symbolic life preserver and the names, birth dates and date of deaths of Steven and Christopher sits at the base of the ramp near the new floating dock. A hundred yards south, near the sand bar where the tragedy occurred, resides the bench. It gives Ms. Grant, her daughter, Mattisen, other family members and friends the chance to visit with Steven and Christopher at any opportunity.
“I come down here all the time,” Ms. Grant said of Sabin Point. “It’s really become a special place for me, a place to heal. It’s not sad. I feel as if they’re here when I come to visit. The grave site is just where their bodies are. This is where they are truly at rest. It’s a place of peace.”
August 22, 1976 was similar to the Monday on which Ms. Grant reflected. It was a beautiful late summer day, hot and sticky, good for a swim. The waters at Sabin Point were ripe for a dip.
Ms. Grant, 11 at the time and the oldest sibling present, her three brothers and a friend were, in her words, “having fun, having a good time splashing and swimming” about.
The tragic events unfurled quickly from that point, Ms. Grant remembering a barge going by and the sand under their feet seemingly “slipping between our toes,” but thinking nothing of it until it was too late. The undertow had taken over. Soon the water once at waste height was over their heads and the children became overwhelmed, panic set it.
Ms. Grant said their male friend, in shock, grabbed hold of her and wouldn’t let go. She could see Steven and Christopher struggling to stay afloat, but she couldn’t break loose to save them. As her brothers disappeared from sight, she finally managed to free herself from the friend’s grasp, eventually getting out of the water, running and screaming for help.
A local resident was able to rescue Bobby, but could not reach Steven or Christopher, whose lifeless bodies were pulled from the bay by their father and a rescue boat.
With each memory, detail retold, a look of agony could be seen in Ms. Grant’s face, heard in a lilt in her voice. In the present tense, though, she returned to the healing process, remembering the joy and love she and her siblings shared and still share to this day.
She said she continues to tell her story, as painful as it is at times, “to bring attention to water safety and for people to be aware of the undertow, know about the tides. Also, never leave children in the water unattended.”
And though they’re “only” memorials to Steven and Christopher, the very fact that the monuments exist, that people still care, is what makes things a bit better, allows Ms. Grant to smile and enjoy life in the moment.
“I’m just very grateful to the community for coming together to make this happen, and that includes the politicians. They were great,” Ms. Grant added. “All the love and well wishes I received during this has been great. I’m very appreciative.”
