Marion residents share memories of 9-11 years ago
By ROWENA PLETT
Reporter / photographer
Everyone remembers the day a year ago when the world seemed to come to a standstill. People became transfixed by a series of events that could only happen in one's imagination or in a horror movie.
But it was real. Hijacked jetliners smashed into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, causing their collapse. A live picture of the event was broadcast over television.
Shortly after, another hijacked airliner flew into the Pentagon at Washington, D.C., and yet another missed its target, the Capitol, when passengers thwarted the hijackers and brought the plane down in a Pennsylvania field.
All of this happened within a few hours on the morning of September 11, 2001, exactly one year ago.
The effect on Main streets across America was keenly felt. Stores were strangely empty of customers. Business slowed to a crawl as people were glued to their radios and television sets to follow the aftermath of the horrific event.
What was life like in Marion that day?
When workers in the county clerk's office heard the news, they were stunned.
"We were all in shock," said Rose Funk.
They got a radio and turned it on to follow events as they transpired. One of the workers thought she had a cousin who worked in one of the twin towers, so that heightened their concern.
Funk said when she got home, everyone was glued to the television.
Mitch Carlson of Carlsons' IGA said when the news of the first crash came on the radio, everybody was wondering what was going on. The radio was kept on all day, so staff and customers could follow the news. Carlson said business was slow.
Janie Meierhoff was at Duckwall's Store, where she is manager, when one of her associates came in and told her what had happened.
"We just sat and listened for a long time," she said. "Everyone was quiet and didn't say much."
She said people came in the store throughout the day and seemed to just wander around. She said it seemed they wanted to be around others and talk about it. That mood continued for the remainder of the week, she said.
At Marion High School that day, a staff member came into the office and announced what was happening. Principal Ken Arnhold said they went into the library and turned on the television, where they gathered to watch the news unfold.
At first, he said, they thought it was an accident because it was a commercial airliner. But after the second one hit the other tower, terrorism seemed likely. Still, nobody assumed there would be massive loss of life, he said. They figured most people would be evacuated immediately.
The regular class schedule was followed, but the library was packed with students between classes and after lunch. Many students went home over the lunch hour. A few students requested to call parents about relatives living in New York City to find out if they were safe.
"It was a strange feeling in the air that day," Arnhold said. "There was the uncertainty of it all, and it was unbelievable."
Lori Kirkpatrick, a teacher's aide at Marion Elementary School, was in the kindergarten classroom when a mother brought her child and told Kirkpatrick about the crash at the World Trade Center.
"What a horrible accident," she had said. But the mother replied, "No, they think it could be terrorism."
Faculty members were in a meeting in the library, and when it was over, Kirkpatrick went to inform the principal about the news. She immediately turned on the television.
The principal's daughter was in New York, and Kirkpatrick has a nephew who is a commercial airline pilot, so there was a lot of concern.
It was left up to each teacher as to how they handled it with their students. The kindergarten teachers didn't address it, Kirkpatrick said, but some of the older students were allowed to visit the library to see what was going on.
At the Marion County Record office, it was the busiest day of the week as everyone worked to get the newspaper assembled. Employees found it hard to concentrate on their work and found themselves drifting into the editor's office to get a glimpse of what was happening on the television.
Somehow, the work was completed because the paper came out as usual the next day.
Workers at Marion Die and Fixture had their ears glued to the radio all day, trying to listen as they continued to work. At lunch time, they gathered around the television.
Diane Richmond, secretary at MD&F, said she thinks memorial services are good: "It'll be really hard for some people, but it will be good for others to help them get through it. It's something that really happened and impacted the world in a huge way. It needs to be remembered."
Raschelle Brenzikofer at Western Associates agrees. She and her fellow workers got the news in a call from the WA North Carolina office. Brenzikofer said everyone got quiet and was in shock as they hung around several televisions which were brought in.
"There are so many people who lost loved ones who worry that they won't be remembered," Brenzikofer said. "I think it's a wonderful thing to honor them."
Compassionate Friends is a group which has a lot of empathy with those who lost relatives in the 911 incident because they, too, have lost loved ones in tragic ways.
The group met Monday evening in the comfort and security of a private home to commemorate and think of the bereaved from that event.
A special assembly was held this morning, Wednesday, at Marion Elementary School to commemorate the event. Attorney General Carla Stovall Steckline was a special guest and gave an address in honor of emergency personnel, firefighters, and law enforcement officers.
Students and staff were encouraged to wear red, white, and blue. "The Star-Spangled Banner" was sung and the Marion High School Swing Singers performed. Several students presented readings.
September 11, like Dec. 7 and others, will be a date remembered in infamy.
