On a crisp morning reminiscent of Sept. 11, 2001, communities around the region gathered Saturday to remember and honor those lost on the 20th anniversary of 9/11.
Towns across Franklin County honored the sacrifices of first responders and preached the importance of caring for one another as the pain of Sept. 11, 2001 still stings today.
The Orange Fire Department hosted a ceremony led by Police Department Administrative Assistant Brenda Anderson and firefighter John Smith at Station 2 beginning at 8:30 a.m. Displays with photos and stories from the tragedy were set up and videos were available for viewing. Smith rang a bell to mark when the planes hit the Twin Towers and when the towers fell.
Anderson spoke to the crowd about the shock she experienced the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, which she spent at the police academy.
“It was a tough morning 20 years ago, on a day much like this,” Anderson said. “I was in a room full of chiefs of police. … No one knew what to do.”
She spoke of the fear in the hours and days after. Every time a plane flew low to the ground, she thought it was happening all over again.
“Our sense of security was shaken to the core,” she said. “We’re still affected by 9/11 every day.”
After she spoke, Anderson said the terrors of that day are almost indescribable.
“It’s hard to put it into words,” she said as the crowd shared their stories with one another. “It’s a day that changed all of us forever.”
Anderson, who has worked as a dispatcher for the Orange Police Department, recalled the “incredible” courage of first responders that day, who still went into the buildings to rescue people despite very low survival odds.
“They did their job anyway,” Anderson said. “That kind of bravery is rare … for people to put other people first.”
She said it’s important to mark this date, especially considering the young adults of this generation were too young or not even alive to witness the events.
“(To realize) how deep the feelings went,” Anderson said. “There’re whole generations that weren’t around. It’s hard for (them) to realize what life was like before. … Every generation has their own tragic time, but hopefully nothing like this ever happens again.”
New Salem Fire Lt. Cameron Dunbar spoke to the crowd about an impromptu vigil in town and the community bonding that formed as a result of the attacks.
“Everything we do relates to 9/11. … It’s never been more evident,” Dunbar said. “There’s lots of injuries that haven’t healed.”
He spoke about the “inherent risk” of being a first responder and the shared pain that comes when they die.
“I hope we never lose sight,” he said, “of the sacrifices these folks made.”
Petersham Police Chief Dana Cooley Jr. and state Rep. Susannah Whipps, I-Athol, also spoke about the loss and tragedy of that day.
“There’s a brotherhood and sisterhood,” Whipps said, “that people who don’t wear your uniforms don’t understand.”
Aside from Orange, both formal ceremonies and personal endeavors across the county marked the 20th anniversary of 9/11. Churches ceremoniously rang their bells, some ringing 20 times — once for every year since the tragedy — and others ringing to follow the timeline of 9/11’s events. Turners Falls Fire Capt. Luke Hartnett opted to run more than 10 miles in his firefighting gear, while firefighter Will Ingram completed 343 burpees (a form of squat thrust), representing every firefighter who was killed.
The Greenfield Police and Fire departments and the Mayor’s Office held a ceremony at the Greenfield Fire Station at 10 a.m. Speakers took turns at a podium in front of the 9/11 memorial, with a piece of steel from one of the Twin Towers on display in front of them.
Deputy Police Chief William Gordon recounted the horrors he saw that day, but he said the most important thing to remember is all the good that came from it.
“It’s what I choose to remember that defines it,” Gordon told the crowd. “I choose to remember the cloudless, blue sky that day. I will never forget how the community responded. … I choose to remember the American flags on almost every house, the sense of patriotism that was everywhere with everyone.”
Gordon shared a story about someone he caught committing a minor crime who apologized for inconveniencing him during such a chaotic time.
Fire Chief Robert Strahan invited Greenfield Community Television (GCTV) employee Philippe Simon and Greenfield Health Director Jennifer Hoffman to share their experiences of being in New York City that day.
Simon, who worked as a consultant for Merrill Lynch at the time, remembers the community and first responders banding together and taking care of one another. He said he “hoped the world would start to listen to one another” after the attacks and added it’s important to remember how the community came together so quickly in a crisis.
“Remember that day and the way we felt about one another,” he said. “Let’s do that every day.”
Hoffman worked in a hospital that day and recalled an announcement to prepare every stretcher available and move it outside. She said it took her 12 hours to get home that day and she remembers scenes on the news of people begging for any sign of their loved ones.
Among the carnage, however, she said she remembered the hugs from random strangers on the street and the hope it gave her.
“Even if you were alone,” Hoffman said fighting back tears, “you weren’t alone.”
Mayor Roxann Wedegartner said it is “extraordinarily important” to remember the events of 9/11 and it was a “wonderful” ceremony.
“Each one of these individuals feels it,” Wedegartner said after the ceremony. “The addition of Philippe and Jennifer was quite special.”
Wedegartner reflected on the power of these ceremonies and how they can provide perspective to the events.
“It gives an opportunity to pause … and to practice kindness and understanding,” Wedegartner said. “It gives us time to stop and think about the world as a whole and not as shattered parts.”
Gordon said the ceremony provided a chance for him to share his experiences of the day, especially with those who may be too young to remember what happened.
“To share these memories like our grandparents did with Pearl Harbor,” Gordon said afterward. “To never forget is important.”
He said he remembers sitting in the dispatch room with the dot matrix printer — which received missing persons reports from around the Northeast — being so backlogged it buzzed non-stop for weeks after the attacks, a sound that “still haunts” him.
He added the tragedy inspired the Greenfield Police Department to sew American flags onto their uniforms and spread patriotism — to the point where some people accidentally flew their flag upside down, which is a signal of distress.
“People that didn’t know how to properly display a flag were flying a flag,” Gordon said. “We were getting calls (for well-being checks).”
The piece of steel Greenfield received from the towers will be displayed in the new fire station when it is complete. Gordon said most pieces were sent to museums and Greenfield was fortunate enough to receive the very last one available.
“We were the last community to get a piece of steel,” he said. “We’re very honored to get that.”
Chris Larabee can be reached at clarabee@recorder.com or 413-930-4081.