As dusk fell, locals gathered, drawn to the SOPAC circle by John Lee's jazz and the glimmer of candles. Sunday's candlelight vigil was the culmination of a day's events planned to mark the tenth anniversary of Sept. 11, 2001. A photo slideshow of the event is here, courtesy of Patrick Hilaire. Sunday's evening service began with music by John Lee, Greg Gisbert, Yotam and Even Sherman. Danielle Heggs, Share Pine and Kristen Dziuba, and Minister Steve Hill, Chad Montague, and Kasoundra Clemons from St. James AME Church with Danielle Heggs also performed (see the video). Local clergy including …
The South Orange Fire Department honored the firefighters and the other victims who lost their lives during the attacks on September 11, 2001. Fire Chief Jeffrey Markey led the department in a Last Call for their fallen brothers. The Last Call featured a "5 and 3," three sets of five caps. Afterwards, Chief Markey and Village President Alex Torpey addressed the crowd.
As the attacks occurred on September 11, 2001, everyone ran for their lives. People fled New York City in droves, wanting to get away from the carnage, hoping to soon be safe in their homes and with their families. However, there were a select few men and women who did the exact opposite. These people kissed their loved ones goodbye and went towards the fury, passing hundreds of thousands going in the opposite direction. When the planes hit the towers on that day, a call went out for any available ambulance rigs to come help with the fallout. Naturally, the South Orange Rescue Squad …
A glooming peace this morning with it brings; The sun, for sorrow, will not show his head Go hence, to have more talk of these sad things; Some shall be pardon'd, and some punished Romeo and Juliet, Act V, Scene 3, 305-308 On this gray-skied Sunday, South Orange marked the tenth anniversary of Sept. 11, 2001 in many ways. Ceremonies dotted the day, while bells and sirens tolled in time with memorable moments. Houses of worship threw open their doors to offer music, prayers and solace. At the same time, in vivid reminders that life goes on, the fields around Floods Hill were filled with teams …
For Fateen Ziyad, Newark fire director, the 9/11 attacks cut both ways.Firefighters like himself died in the smoldering wreckage of the World Trade Center 10 years ago. And as a Muslim, Ziyad felt he was under attack by people who conflated his religion with the horrific acts done by extremists.He said he didn't feel like he got the cold shoulder from firefighters within the department who know and respect him. But he encountered questions like, "How could you be part of that?" from outsiders, he said.For Newark Muslims like Ziyad, who have been interviewed for this article, their experiences…
With the tenth anniversary of the attacks on 9/11 upon us, often overlooked is the generation of kids who have grown up in a post-9/11 world. Among the homes and offices that tuned to the attacks were classrooms of kids who watched the attacks as they happened, many unsure of what was happening. “I was in class, Ms. Reardon’s seventh grade English class in South Orange Middle (School), and an announcement came over the PA to have all the classrooms turn on the televisions,” said 22-year-old Derek Mattheiss. “We started watching some early coverage of it and then another PA announcement came…
As part of the Village commemoration of Sept. 11, bells and sirens will sound on Sunday morning. Each siren will sound at a particular time, marking an event from Sept. 11, 2001. The schedule is as follows: 8:46am - First Bell: Flight 11 crashes into WTC 1 9:02am - Second Bell: Flight 175 crashes into WTC 2 9:37am - Third Bell: Flight 77 crashes into Pentagon 9:59am - Fourth Bell: WTC 2 begins to collapse 10:03am - Fifth Bell: UA Flight 93 crashes, Somerset County, Pennsylvania 10:28am - Sixth Bell: WTC 1 begins to collapse
The birth of a first child is “a defining moment,” says Lisa Fellen-Saurborn. Her son Ryan was born ten years ago, and she recalls the days leading up to his birth vividly. Due on Sept. 4, Ryan was late and Lisa was eager to meet her first child. Her husband was at a meeting at Windows on the World that day, but there was no need to call him home. Lisa didn’t feel the first twinges of labor until nearly a week later. Shortly after dropping her husband off at his office in Manhattan on Sept. 10, she called and told him to take the next train to Maplewood. Lisa thought Ryan would arrive that …
Nearly 10 years to the day, hundreds gathered on the northeast waterfront of Liberty State Park in Jersey City Saturday afternoon to pause for a moment of silence in remembrance of the 2,977 people who died in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. That moment was part of an hour-long ceremony to unveil a new memorial titled “Empty Sky” that names the 746 New Jersey residents killed on that clear September morning. Unlike the hours and days following 9/11 when the New York City airways were eerily quiet and the Twin Towers in pieces, the sky above lower Manhattan on Saturday seemed anything …
The South Orange Public Library and South Orange Village, in partnership with SOPAC and Seton Hall University are working together to create 10 special events throughout the Village in order to commemorate, 10 years later, the events and effects of September 11, 2001. There will be opportunities for reflection and discussion, individual thoughts and the solace of community, for memories and moving forward together. The Village of South Orange, Seton Hall University, the South Orange Performing Arts Center, and the South Orange Public Library have created opportunities and places for …
Classes were well underway on that beautiful Tuesday morning. At Gould School in North Caldwell, where I then taught Language Arts, the halls were filled with children’s chatter. The kids still wore summer sandals and shorts, as they stood outside the school library waiting to choose books for the coming week. As a bell rang, I dismissed a group of students and waved at MaryAnne Dietrich, the school librarian. Another teacher came to use my classroom, so I went into the hall to make copies. I saw the band teacher going the same direction, I paused and greeted her. “Let me first check my …
It’s hard to believe that ten years of our lives have passed since that crisp and clear Tuesday morning in September of 2001. Back then my wife and I lived in the West Village and were expecting our first daughter (who starts fourth grade at South Mountain Elementary on Tuesday). Now, our South Orange-based event company is proud to be producing a public event in lower Manhattan to recognize the anniversary and allow people to re-capture the feeling of community that enveloped New York ten years ago. I recently found an email I sent out to a group of family and friends on Thursday, …
During the summer, Patch began collecting readers' photos of the World Trade Center, a growing gallery in tribute to the Twin Towers. As the tenth anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks draws near, we'll be remembering New Jersey residents who died that clear September morning. But we also wanted to pay tribute to the towers—iconic symbols of hope and prosperity—when they stood tall and proud, dominating the New York City skyline. We asked and you delivered, sending in more than a hundred photos statewide that represent your favorite memories: the shimmering skyline at nightfall, the view…
On September 11, 2001, Mike and Evelyn Benfante of Verona got a call from their son who was working in the World Trade Center. He said he was walking down a smokey stairwell, after “some kind of an explosion,” and was leading others down. Assisted by a colleague, he was also carrying a woman in a wheelchair, with 68 floors to go. After he hung up from his father, he pushed on as the firefighters were walking up toward the flames. While his family watched on television, both towers collapsed. They finally and miraculously heard from their son, almost two hours later. The tragedy, escape and …
