By jennifer dome
Staff Writer
VERONICA YANKOWSKI Workers complete a memorial at the Freehold Township municipal complex.
A year has passed. While the nation has worked hard to overcome the devastating blow dealt its people on Sept. 11, 2001, Americans have also had to contemplate just how they will commemorate the infamous date in history and honor its victims.
Leaders at all levels of government have been compelled to seek special ways of recognizing the day’s events, of capturing the importance of the tragedy with a vigil and in many cases a monument dedicated to the thousands of people killed that morning.
Ideas for these memorials range from strong, proud statues of stone to tranquil, beautiful gardens and walkways.
In the communities covered by Greater Media Newspapers, some memorials have already been unveiled, while others are still being designed. These memorials honor people who were lost from that community, emergency service personnel whose lives were sacrificed, or the general population of the United States affected by the tragedy.
FARRAH MAFFAI Families attending a remembrance ceremony at Brookdale Community College were given a piece of the Memoria Project with the names of their loved ones inscribed.
In Monmouth County, the freeholders have elected to make Mount Mitchill Scenic Overlook in Atlantic Highlands the site for a memorial for the more than 140 county residents lost in the terrorist attacks. According to Freeholder Edward J. Stominski, chairman of the memorial committee, the type of memorial has yet to be determined and the cost is still unknown.
"We had no intentions of rushing through to finish by Sept. 11," Stominski said, adding that it should be completed before the second anniversary.
There is one development in place for the memorial, thanks to county Prosecutor John A. Kaye, who was given a piece of steel from the World Trade Center. Stominski said Kaye contacted him and offered the piece to be used in the county memorial.
A number of Monmouth County municipalities — including Holmdel, Keyport, Hazlet, Matawan, Aberdeen, Freehold Borough, Freehold Township, Marlboro and Manalapan — are also working on memorials to remember the tragic day.
ALEXANDER AGOR The question of what to do at Ground Zero — now clean of debris — is a topic of public debate.
Freehold Town-ship’s memorial was dedicated in ceremonies held Sept. 10. The monument was constructed at the municipal complex on a pentagon-shaped base of black granite. From its center, twin towers 9 feet 11 inches in height were constructed out of African black granite. Fifty gold inlaid stars, representing the 50 states, surround the structure.
The site will also include mountain laurel plants to represent the plane crash in Pennsylvania, Deputy Mayor David Salkin has said.
The memorial, expected to cost between $150,000 and $175,000, was being paid for by the township and with contributions from the community.
Middletown has special plans for its own memorial, as the township will incorporate what will be known as the Middletown Memorial Gardens with the future Middletown Arts and Cultural Center. Township Committeeman Ray-mond O’Grady noted that the site itself was fitting since it is near the train station in town.
"It’s probably the last thing they saw [in Middletown] that day," O’Grady said of the residents the township lost.
A committee consisting of victims’ family members and other interested residents has decided that the first phase of the project will be a memorial trail through the gardens near the Arts and Cultural Cen-ter. According to O’Grady, who is the memorial committee’s fund-raising chairman, the walkway will have 36 stations, each dedicated to one of the township’s residents who died on Sept. 11.
"These individuals were keenly entwined in our town," O’Grady said.
The cost of the project will be paid by fund raising and with the $100,000 the Township Committee has allocated. A groundbreaking ceremony was scheduled for this week, and O’Grady said the memorial will be completed by the second anniversary of the attack.
Other components discussed for the memorial gardens include a monument on an island in the pond at the rear of the cultural center. A memorial for emergency service personnel has also been discussed, O’Grady said.
Thus far, however, the walkway and an archway at the entrance are the only definite elements.
"We feel it will be very appropriate and very lasting," O’Grady said.
Cindy Tietjen, who lost her brother, Port Authority Police Officer Kenneth F. Tietjen, at the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, said she got involved with the Middletown Memorial Gardens project because, at the time, her brother’s body had not been recovered from Ground Zero and the memorial offered a place to reflect on his memory.
"I thought of it as a very respectful cemetery," Tietjen said, adding that she is happy that each plaque will be personalized for a victim and his or her family.
She said her family received a letter inviting them to help plan the memorial.
"I wanted to offer input from one particular family, [and] I wanted to show my support for the community," Tietjen said.
She added that she was proud to help with the project by getting a piece of the debris from the World Trade Center to add to the centralized monument planned for the site.
While the question of how to respond to the Sept. 11 tragedy has been difficult to answer, many feel that the memorials planned for the communities closely affected by the tragedy could be one way to aid in the grieving process and to remember the unforgettable events of that day.
"We felt it was really important to do something," Middletown Mayor Patrick Parkinson said.