By Steve Thorpe
Legal News
The threads that came together to create a memorial for Eve August at first seem unlikely and one coincidence in particular is nothing short of amazing.
Even 30 years later, it troubled her brother Lou that nothing marked the place where Eve died and that no gathering had occurred there to honor her.
“As horrific and high-profile as the incident had been, nothing was ever done for a memorial,” he says.
“There was no wreath or plaque or any kind of remembrance at all. It was as though nothing had ever happened there.”
Over the years, Lou had tracked mentions of his sister in print and, eventually, on the Web.
“Occasionally I do an Internet search for my sister’s name,” Lou says. “I saw that the Buhl Bar was planning on naming a drink after Eve. I thought that was fine and I went down to talk to them. Since I was already at the Buhl Building, I went up to the 8th floor. None of this was planned. I knocked on the door of the suite and told them my name was Lou August. The people there immediately made the connection to the incident. Of all the people somehow involved in the tragedy, no one had been back to the office.”
The unplanned visit led to conversations with the principal of the firm, who showed intense interest.
“When I first talked to (law firm principal) David Ottenwess, he didn’t know much about it,” Lou says. “I was able to point out where everything had happened, based on photos I had seen at the time. I ended up bringing my mother back and, after a couple meetings, we all decided that this was something that needed to be done.”
The August family is grateful for everything that Ottenwess and his staff have done to make the memorial happen.
“David Ottenwess has been incredible and has made his facility and staff available for us,” Lou says.
Ottenwess, in turn, heaps praise on a long-time employee who he says has been the field general in assembling the many pieces.
“Bonnie Zaidel, my office manager, has been putting this all together from our end,” he says. “She’s been working with Lou, she’s been working with building management, and has worked tirelessly to make it happen.”
In the biggest coincidence of all in a long story filled with them, good and bad, Ottenwess had, in fact, heard the name Eve August before. As a low-income kid from Flint, he had been able to attend law school because he was a recipient of … the Eve August Scholarship
“I paid my way through law school and worked to help pay for it,” Ottenwess says. “But that (Eve August) scholarship really made an impact on my life. I was very happy to receive it and I’m very grateful for that help.”
“Because I wasn’t living in Michigan when the attack occurred, I didn’t even have a memory of the news accounts. I was so happy to receive the scholarship, but didn’t look at ‘the story behind the story.’”
Ottenwess found himself surprisingly moved by his encounter with Eve’s story and her family.
“When I first met with Lou, it was an emotional moment for both of us and I wasn’t sure at the time why I felt those feelings,” Ottenwess says. “He described his sister and what a great person she was. I told him that I had won the Eve August Scholarship and he was surprised and delighted. I was grateful that (my firm) was in a position to help preserve her memory. It feels like completing a circle.”
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