Are spontaneous memorials a relatively new thing or have I been relatively unaware until recently?  I seem to recall something along these lines with Valentino and perhaps JFK.  Were items from these earlier memorials preserved or is the preservation of these things as well as the volume and what I perceive as increased frequency a recent development?  I know that Oklahoma City was inundated after the bombing, the Columbine shooting generated thousands of items and cost much in-kind support to preserve.
Along these lines, in the Pacific Northwest white crosses have been placed at roadsides where people have been killed in accidents for as long as I can remember.  The first I remember of decorated crosses in a similar situation was on Native American land in Idaho in 1980.  Now there seems to be a widespread practice (at least in the Rocky Mountain west) of heavily decorated roadside crosses.  Is this more wide-spread or is it localized?

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