歪歪漫画

Sometimes you just don鈥檛 know what to do.

So you go with what you know.

That鈥檚 what people like Cate Belleveau and Barb Lee Schueppert did in the aftermath of Bemidji鈥檚 2025 blowdown. Cate used her event planning skills and connection to the arts; Schueppert turned to songwriting.

Belleveau has organized 鈥淚n Memoriam 鈥� To the Trees Lost,鈥� a concert of regional musicians and spoken word artists. It will be held on the Beltrami County Courthouse grounds at 7 p.m. on Friday, July 18.

One of the people to take the stage that evening is Schueppert, who wrote and recorded 鈥淓legy for the Lost Trees.鈥� It鈥檚 a song she initially wrote just for herself, but thought 鈥渟ince it made me feel a little better maybe it would make other people feel a little better, too.鈥�

Both women have what they call survivor鈥檚 guilt. Both live north of town and had little or no damage to their property. It was only after they realized the extent of the devastation elsewhere that they decided to act.

鈥淗istorically we've always called upon the troubadours and singers and poets and storytellers to help us celebrate,鈥� Belleveau said. 鈥淏ut sometimes when there's a collective grieving you call upon those folks to pull those emotions together for people who are grieving, and there's definitely a lot of grieving going on in our community right now.鈥�

It鈥檚 not just the loss of a tree, but the memories. After a fallen tree is cut and moved, you might see little tracks where the ground was worn because children had been using a swing that hung from it.

鈥淚f you asked a lot of the folks who lost their trees, they'd probably have some stories they would connect with, why that felt like such a big loss,鈥� Belleveau said. 鈥淚t was connected with their family and their memories.鈥�

That鈥檚 what Barb Lee Schueppert was thinking about after she made her first trip into town following the storm. She wanted to check on the gravesite of her late husband, Rick Lee, at Greenwood Cemetery after winds toppled many of its towering pines. That鈥檚 when she realized the depth of destruction.

鈥淚 was so sad,鈥� she said. 鈥淓ven though nothing happened to me, I was just sad for the town center, the loss of the trees, and that it would never be the same again.鈥�

So the retired educator turned to songwriting, a hobby that she picked up during COVID. She has written more than two dozen songs, and calls many of them therapeutic. She said she sat down and wrote the lyrics for 鈥淓legy for the Lost Trees鈥� in about half an hour.

鈥淚t just flowed because it was just so real,鈥� Barb said. 鈥淚 felt sad, but I felt like I had a place to put that sadness. So it's kind of a release. I think it was because it was meant to be.鈥�

Barb shared an audio recording of the song on social media, and the feedback was overwhelmingly positive. A friend passed it on to Cate Belleveau, who was planning her July 18 event.

Schueppert is not accustomed to sharing her music outside her family and friends, but she agreed to step out of her comfort zone to perform this song at the event.

She will leave the audience with these words:

鈥淏eloved pines,
Sentinels through time,
Symbols of our identity
Embedded in our minds.
We didn鈥檛 know how much we鈥檇 miss you till you were gone.鈥�