'He'll always be here': Ethan Chapin's friends plant tulips in his memory, name garden 'Ethan's smile'
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MOSCOW, IDAHO: A group of Ethan Chapin's pals planted the first "Ethan's Smile" garden on Wednesday. Chapin was one of four University of Idaho students who died on November 13; his friend Reese Gardner came up with the concept of a memorial tulip garden in his honor.
Gardner and Ethan met while working in the Skagit Valley's productive crops. Gardner recognized right away that Ethan Chapin was unique. Gardner, 18, said, "He was one of the few people that there was nothing bad about him. He was 100% pure. He was honest, just a great person." Although the people planting the tulips knew each other from school, according to Gardner, they actually grew closer as they worked in the tulip fields.
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The first garden is close to the "MV" underneath the southbound Interstate 5 onramp at Kincaid Street. The tulips will blossom in white and yellow. According to Gardner, they will be known as "Ethan's Smile," as reported by Seattle Times. The tragedy defies belief, said Gardner, adding the idea that someone could carry out such a crime is inconceivable.
Two weeks ago, Chapin and three other University of Idaho students were killed inside a home away from campus. Nobody has been named as a suspect so far. On the farm, Andrew Miller, who was Chapin's boss, said, "Tulips are a big part of what it means to grow up in the Skagit Valley and enjoy Skagit Valley, but our youth is our number one export." "We send them all over the world. I think this is a way we can honor that every spring and remember Ethan," as reported by K5 news.
With the aid of Andrew Miller, a co-founder of Tulip Valley Farms, Chapin's friends from both school and the tulip fields gathered to plant the tulips. They will be a live, loving memory of a life cut short before it could completely blossom. "He'll always be here through the tulips," said Gardner. Tulips will also be planted at Ethan's alma school, Mount Vernon High School, and the University of Idaho, as per reports.