LAKE TWP. – On the morning of August 11, a friend of Dan and Polly Moss was taking a walk through Quail Hollow Park when she was met with a horrific sight.
“When I saw it, it was shocking and upsetting,” Polly Moss said. “And such a violation, my God, it brought everything back to me, Mallory’s death and my disbelief; who does something like that? When we showed the pictures, people were devastated. We had people calling us in tears.”
Someone intentionally damaged the memorial erected by the Moss family for their deceased daughter. Mallory Moss, 24, died in a car accident in Columbus in May 2022.
It was the first in a series of mysterious acts of vandalism against the monument in the 280-acre public park just outside Hartville.
Her parents cannot understand the reason for this.
“She had no enemy in the world,” Dan Moss said of his only daughter.
The damage continued this week when someone cut down a dogwood tree that was part of the monument.
The Mallory Moss Memorial in Quail Hollow
In May 2023, the Moss family purchased a memorial park bench from Stark Parks and had a tree planted next to it to honor the first anniversary of Mallory’s death. The family placed potted plants and placed colorfully painted rocks with positive and encouraging messages from family and friends.
“I teach classes at the Y and a few other places,” Polly Moss said. “People I barely know say, ‘I didn’t know that was your daughter’s tree. I bring my grandchildren here all the time,’ or ‘I come here and have coffee in the morning because it’s so peaceful,’ and that’s all we wanted.”
The trigger for the unrest and the associated theft of the potted plants may have been a message on a stone.
“A black friend of Mallory asked us to lay a stone in her name that said ‘BLM’ (Black Lives Matter),” recalls Polly Moss.
Shortly afterwards, the place was covered in MAGA graffiti. The BLM stone was thrown into the nearby forest.
“Our son Keegan came out and cleaned it up,” Polly Moss said. “The next morning, the very next morning, I was walking the dogs because I didn’t have class that day, and I came to the tree – it was probably 7:15 in the morning – and they had painted ‘Jesus is Lord’ and more MAGA bricks on it. So I went home, came back out and cleaned it up again, and then I left this note, which I thought was a nice note.”
It read:
“My family purchased and decorated this tree and bench through Stark Parks to honor our daughter Mallory who passed away in 2022. We maintain it with the stones and flowers so that people will want to come here, sit and relax and maybe even think of her. It would be nice if you would just respect this and stop painting the tree and destroying the display. This is not meant to be a political or religious statement, but rather a place for others to enjoy. Please give us that peace as we continue to mourn and honor Mallory. Please just come by and leave everything as it is!“
Moss said she returned two days later and found a reply card and a pile of dog poop.
“Dear Liberal: This is not a cemetery. It is not our fault that Mallory is dead. The devil comes as an angel of light. You can hope as much as you want. It is too late for them. It is time to be reconciled to the Lord. Leave us alone.”
The Moss family, who live in the Randolph area, cleaned up the monument again, but when they returned two days later, the tree was gone.
Moss contacted Hartville police and learned that the park is under the jurisdiction of Stark Parks rangers, who she said were friendly and helpful.
“Stark Parks is aware of the situation and is currently investigating,” said Stark Parks Director Dan Moeglin. “If you have any information regarding the incident, please contact Stark Parks rangers at 330-353-2377.”
Dad: Mallory was “funny, loving and kind”
Mallory Moss, a graduate of Waterloo High in Atwater, earned a communications degree from Wittenberg University in 2020 and a master’s degree in strategic communications and social media from Bowling Green State University in 2022. After graduating from Wittenberg, she moved to Columbus and worked for Versiti Blood Donation and Stanley Black & Decker.
“She was very athletic,” her father said. “She was just funny, loving and kind and always thought of others. Compassionate. She always cared for the downtrodden. She cared for the people who were down or depressed. She looked for them. I don’t know how she did it, but she found them and did what she could to help them.”
Polly Moss said her daughter loved music.
“Her friends called her ‘The Dancing Queen,’ no matter what was going on,” she said. “There are funny videos of her standing on a table and dancing. She was definitely having fun. She had a sense of adventure and loved visiting big cities and traveling.”
Polly Moss said a video Mallory’s former college roommate Alyssa Stout recently made about the incidents went viral on TikTok.
“She said she got thousands of responses to that from all over the place,” Moss said. “From people who said they were liberals, conservatives, Republicans, Democrats, whatever.”
Patty Lovell blames the toxic social and political climate for the destruction of her niece’s monument.
“Why is this happening now, after it’s been here for over a year?” she asked. “They’re trying to make this a political issue. If you don’t want to get upset, don’t read the stones. Go home. Be nice.”
Polly Moss said the vandalism had exactly the effect the perpetrator may have intended.
“Mallory is dear to our hearts,” she said. “And that’s why people all over the world are horrified. They’re sending us their love. They’re offering to buy trees, paint rocks and send them to us. And no matter how much hate you have in your heart, that’s the good in people that goes around. Now if I wanted to dig a little deeper, I would say, ‘Thank you. That’s the love I get from people all over the world.'”
Her husband agrees.
“I would tell the person I’m really sorry for how bad they must be. They have some anger issues. That’s not the Christianity I know after going to church for 66 years. Just feeling that kind of hatred and fear over rocks; painted rocks lying under a tree. (They) must have had a really poor life.”
Reach Charita at 330-580-8313 or [email protected]. On Twitter: @cgoshayREP.
