It was Friday morning, Dec 30 1994. The next morning, Saturday, would be New Year's Eve, but I was planning to escort at the clinic anyway. Just before lunchtime I was in one of the Harvard libraries (Blue Hill, which no longer exists) looking up some materials; the student running the checkout desk had a radio on (whatever happened to silence in the library?) and we heard the news - a shooting at the clinics.
I went by Preterm in the early afternoon; cars parked outside had bullet holes in them. I met up with NOW folks in Coolidge Corner - they were already planning a vigil that night. I hand-drew a flyer and the Copy Cop next to Repro let me xerox 200 of them for free; we handed them out at the CC intersection quickly and were back to xerox more.
The vigil that night was at a synagogue on Beacon St. It was good to see everyone - a lot of touching each other to check we were still alive.
Next morning, Repro was the only Beacon St clinic open. I was escorting there - I think on my own for a while, then with others. Bill Cotter was there protesting. I asked him to condemn the murders, and he refused, only saying "what about the murders happening here today?" - not admitting the least distinction between ABs and the assassinations.
By early Jan, donations were flooding in. Preterm had one extra problem on top of all the others - the only person who used to run the donor database entry was Leanne. I volunteered to spend an afternoon or two each week doing data entry, sitting at Leanne's desk. The bullet holes in the wall were a bit creepy.
On Jan 22, Roe v Wade day, there was a big rally, organized by a coalition of groups I think, ending with a service in Arlington St Church led by Rev Kim Harvey Crawford; the actress Kathleen Turner also spoke. I recall it as being dominantly organized by PPLM and featuring the family of Shannon, with Leanne much in the background. I remember that a bunch of activists from McGill in Montreal came down to march with us.
Later - maybe Feb or March? - there was a small memorial service at Pine Manor school for Leanne, who was an alumnus, featuring mostly just folks associated with Preterm.
In March, Preterm vacated its ground floor offices at 1842 Beacon, consolidating with the clinical rooms on an upper floor (4th or 5th floor I think?). Leanne's desk was abandoned and the fatal room was presumably redecorated before a new tenant moved in.
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| pic126.jpg Morning after, Dec 31, 1994: Flowers and candles, and police tape | pic127.jpg Morning after | pic128.jpg TV trucks lined Beacon St near PPLM | pic129.jpg The synagogue where our vigil was held |
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| pic130.jpg LN's desk, the day we moved out of the first floor - Mar 95 | pic147.jpg LN's desk | pic148.jpg Bullet holes in the wall | |
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| pic145.jpg Bill Cotter at Repro, Dec 31 1994 | pic146.jpg Bill Cotter at Repro, Dec 31 1994 | ||
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| pic141.jpg Arriving for the Jan 22 rally | pic142.jpg | ||
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| pic131.jpg Jan 22 march and rally | pic132.jpg Arriving at Arlington St Church | pic133.jpg At the church. Worgaftik in Blue coat, woman from Montreal (Kelly?) next to her. | |
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| pic134.jpg Kelly, Susan W, ?, Larry | pic135.jpg Inside the church | ||
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| pic169.jpg JCM, Lil S, Sheila P, Walter K - good to be together after the trauma of the past weeks. | pic170.jpg Marching in the dark | pic171.jpg My old camera wasn't too good at capturing the whole candelight vigil thing | |
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| pic136.jpg At Repro, circa Jan 1995 | pic137.jpg Proto-BCAT: Jeff, Lil S, and Walter. Heavy police presence in these early days after the shootings. | ||
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| pic138.jpg An anti blocks the door as Walter looks on and Lil gets a coffee | pic139.jpg Socialist Worker contingent at pro choice standout | pic140.jpg | |
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| pic143.jpg Protesters outside PPLM, prob. early 1995 | pic144.jpg Gay/Cheryl protesting outside Preterm, dawn, prob. early 1995 | pic427.jpg JCM at PP on Beacon St, soon after joining the PP team from Preterm |