Several pairs of shoes hung in Guelph's west end as a tribute to Evan and Amanda Lodge have been taken and it’s unclear why.
Though “disappointed” by the shoes’ disappearance, the children’s parents, Susan and Greg, would like to think they’re being put to good use.
“I hope that if somebody took those shoes, it’s because they really needed those shoes,” said Susan. “If they did, then I’m happy that they have found a pair of shoes to wear.”
Evan, 12, died in a Jan. 31 collision near Cambridge. His sister Amanda, 10, was critically injured and succumbed to her injuries five days later.
Susan and the youngest Lodge child, Alyssa, 8, survived the crash.
“It’s been tough times, but we’ve been helped by the support of our friends and our community and people around us,” said Susan, who feels the shoes memorial is a “perfect” fit given how much Evan and Amanda enjoyed both running and climbing trees.
“I thought that was such an amazing tribute,” she said. “It captures their spirit so perfectly.”
She looked forward to when the pandemic was over and she’d be able to see their races at school or participate in community races as a family. She said she’d been running more to be able to keep up with them.
“Every time we went for a hike, they would run ahead and find a tree and they’d be up in the tree,” Susan added, noting Evan rigged up a play structure in the tree at their home last summer.
When Mark Rumble first noticed the shoes missing from in front of his house – a “tattered” pair of running shoes and a pair of soccer shoes – he was angry and confused.
“I was very upset. I was going to lash out on Facebook and be one of those unfortunate negative people that you see on those groups,” he said, noting his wife pointed out whomever had taken the shoes may need them. “That actually kind of calmed me down.”
His two sons had been in Scouts with Evan and Amanda.
“We needed to do something for ourselves, to remember them,” he said of why they hung the shoes from a tree – a tribute being done by many people with a connection to the Lodge family.
Inside each shoe, a member of the Rumble family placed a note they wrote to Evan and Amanda.
“Whoever took them would have found the notes inside the shoes,” Rumble said, acknowledging the notes may have become unreadable because of wetness.
He decided to post a message about the missing shoes on Facebook after hearing from a friend that theirs had also disappeared, which brought back some of initial feelings, though he chose his words carefully when the post went up.
“They would be one of the first ones to say that if they needed them, help yourself,” Rumble said of the Lodges. “If they need the shoes, that’s fine.
“Most of the shoes out there, they’re not brand new, they’re not in the greatest of shape.”
Paul Carter lives down the street from the Lodge family and his son had played soccer with Evan and Amanda in the past. They hung a single pair of shoes in “wearable” condition from the tree in their front yard.
“I was home, most likely, at the time they were taken,” he said, noting it was mid-day.
Though “frustrated” they were taken, he wonders if the person or people responsible knew what they meant.
“You can’t assume that people know the meaning behind things like this,” he said. “I think it’s a nice memorial for the kids.”
Whomever made off with the shoes appears to have been selective, Carter said, as some pairs along the street were left hanging in place. Perhaps, he proposes, those who took them were in need of a particular size or sizes.
The Carter family has since hung a second pair of shoes.
“They’re still hanging in a tree, but they’re closer to my front door,” he said, hoping that acts as a deterrent.
