CAMDEN — Jonathan Carlson, and his neighbor, Clive Brown, spent Sunday, April 12, pulling down the letters that spell HOPE off the side of his Pearl Street barn in Camden. For the past eight years, Hope has been lit each night, in memory of Jonathan’s niece, Emily. But, HOPE will be renewed, just somewhere else.

Jonathan is selling his house, with the closing date of April 17. That is eight years and one day past April 16, 2007, when a deranged shooter killed 32 people and wounded 17 others on the campus of Virginia Polytechnic Institute, in Blacksburg, Virginia.

The first person killed that day was Emily J. Hilscher, a 19-year-old freshman. She was Jonathan’s niece.

He made the sign in her memory, and for the past eight years, Jonathan has been lighting Hope every night, for her and the similar losses of so many other families on that day. 

“Many people know about this sign, and while not everyone knows that it was put there for Emily Jane, I know that quite a few people do,” he said. “I have on many occasions been told by people that the HOPE sign has had a powerful impact on them, or has taken on deeply personal significance.  One man I spoke to on the sidewalk downtown about four years ago, who holds some office in local government, told me how profound the sign had become for him. I recall that his wife was fighting cancer, and that simple word had helped him through. I told him about Emily Jane, as I have whenever I've been asked about the sign, and he was moved to tears. He thanked me and we hugged, having only met five minutes before.”

“I will store HOPE for the time being, but will eventually find a new spot for it,” he said.

Although Jonathan is selling his house, he is remaining a resident of Camden. His mother, Mary — Emily’s grandmother — lives at Quarry Hill.

“The sign will be missed by many around here, including the young woman, Declan's [Jonathan’s son] classmate, who moved into the house directly opposite the sign about five years ago,” he said. “Her name is Hope.”

Reach Editorial Director Lynda Clancy at lyndaclancy@penbaypilot.com; 207-706-6657