Tuesday, September 11, 2018

An Anything But Ordinary Tuesday

By Ruth A. Ringelstetter

Just like the day President Kennedy was shot, if you were old enough to have clear memories, you remember where you were.

September 11, 2001 started like an ordinary Tuesday. I was at work by 7:00 A.M. It wasn’t until coworkers who started at 8:00 began to arrive that I knew something was wrong. Those who had their radios on had heard that a plane had hit the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City. The terrible news was continuous throughout the day and for many days after.


Joann and I have never really talked about that day. We have an agreement that even if we speak about something unpleasant, we’re only allowed a minute or two to kvetch and then we turn our attention to the backroads.

It wasn’t until 2016 that we stumbled on a memorial in Ohio dedicated to 9-11 and including a piece of twisted steel from the Word Trade Center site.


The program of giving 9-11 artifacts to communities began in 2010, after New York City claimed thousands of artifacts. The artifacts were free. They had to be used for a public display and the application had to describe the display so that they could match an artifact to the project. Some pieces of steel were so large that they were cut into smaller pieces, some as small as 6 inches.


The program gave more than 2600 artifacts to 1,585 fire and police departments, schools, museums and other non-profit organizations in every state and 10 other countries. The artifacts were stored at JFK International Airport's Hangar 17. The last artifact left the hangar in the summer of 2016.


After finding our first memorial, I started to research before our trips to make sure we weren’t missing any in our travels.

On the first day of our 2017 trip to Ohio, we visited Rockford, Illinois and their First Responders and 9/11 Memorial.


And just last fall, at the end of September, we made our way to Soldiers Walk Veterans Memorial Park in Arcadia, Wisconsin.


This park had also been on my list to visit for several years. It is 54 acres, and the largest Memorial Park in the United States, outside of Washington D.C.


The park is about 40 minutes north of La Crosse and is free to visit. You can visit their website to find out more.


Whatever you do today, take a few minutes to remember those who perished that day, and those who have died since from illnesses related to their work at the site.



We will never forget,
Ruth

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5 comments:

  1. Still feel the effects of the day! Thank you for sharing something good that came out of the day. :)

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    1. Thank you, Stephanie. If you get a chance, visit Soldiers Walk in Arcadia. It's quite an awe-inspiring park. I'd like to go back there some day because there was just too much to take in all at once.

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  2. As you said, Ruth, I have very vivid memories of what I was doing that morning. I was at work but Vern was at home. Evie called him at home and asked if he had the TV on. He had been working outside so he did not. He turned it on and then called me at work. At the same time, lots of people that I worked with were getting calls from their loved ones too. For us, it was not only a frightening situation but we were living in St Joseph, Missouri at the time and Evie and Angie were back here in Wisconsin. So we were very concerned about what was happening and we were very worried about whether they would remain safe as that morning's events unfolded. While in St Joe, we belonged to an organization called Sertoma (Service to Mankind) and we had a lunch meeting every Tuesday. To start each meeting, we said the Pledge of Allegiance and then we sang America (My Country 'Tis of Thee). At our meeting that day, we didn't just recite and sing the words - we pledged and sang with so much heartfelt meaning and many had tears in their eyes. Following that day, in St. Joe and across the country, Americans were united in finding ways to support and serve our fellow Americans. While we hope that a tragedy like that never occurs again, we also hope that Americans can one day soon unite again to serve others at home and around the world. We will also put Soldiers Walk in Arcadia as a place to visit soon.

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  3. Thanks Phyllis, my memories of that day are vivid, too. I had arrived at work like any other day and took the elevator to the floor I worked on. Someone on the elevator said that a plane had just hit the World Trade Center. I thought they were talking about a small plane hitting the Wisconsin Trade Center on Greenway Blvd in Middleton (since the Middleton airport is nearby). We had employees in that building and I think it was originally known as the World Trade Center. Anyway, soon there were TVs being set up around the building and everyone was standing in front of them in shock. The news people started talking about possible terrorist attacks on buildings in other cities. Here I was working at the headquarters for the World Council of Credit Unions. It seemed like I might be safer at home, so I went home for the afternoon. It was an awful day and for many days after watching the whole thing unfold. I agree with you that it's time for Americans to unite again, not in the face of tragedy, but to demonstrate kindness, dignity, and respect for our fellow Americans and to be of service. This is what will make America great again.

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  4. Joann, I agree, that is really the only thing that will make America great again!

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