By clare MARie celano
Staff Writer
JERRY WOLKOWITZ Michele Prouty, a teacher at the Freehold Intermediate School, speaks about her students’ effort to design a 9/11 monument which was dedicated in Freehold Borough on Sept. 11.
FREEHOLD — The tragedy of the past met hope for the future as the borough dedicated a special monument to honor those who lost their lives on Sept. 11, 2001.
Surrounded by an audience of Borough Council members, Board of Education members, representatives from the police department, fire department and EMS officials, as well as supportive residents, the monument was unveiled by teacher Michele Prouty and her students on the grounds of the municipal building on Main Street on Sept. 11.
Prouty and her seventh-grade students at the Freehold Intermediate School, Park Avenue, created and designed the granite memorial and council members approved the project. Peaceable Kingdoms, a Long Branch-based monument company, translated the students’ wooden model into a granite memorial which will stand for years to come.
The memorial stands as a tribute to those who lost their lives in the attack of a year ago and to honor the surviving members of the families they left behind. It will also provide the students of the 2002 seventh-grade class with a touching memory of having "made a difference."
The students initially wrote to Mayor Michael Wilson to discuss their idea for a memorial. The mayor met with the students and the council picked up on the idea.
A couple of months later the students could see their plan taking tangible form.
Surrounded by a crowd of more than 200 residents, Wilson opened the dedication ceremony by stating that "we are here to commemorate not only the anniversary of one of our most tragic moments in American history, but to also celebrate our renewed spirit of liberty."
Wilson expressed the council’s gratitude to the Freehold Intermediate School students, who designed the monument which was about to be unveiled.
He told the crowd that observing the installation of the monument allowed time to reflect on how the monument represents the "triumphs of our past and the promise of our future."
He continued, "The base of the monument recognizes the earth onto which Flight 93 tragically crashed in that open field in Shanksville, Pa. The heroic actions taken by those brave citizens on the flight no doubt saved our nation from further harm. This base represents the free land in which we live and to which others wish to live.
"The next level is an exact replica of the Pentagon, the headquarters of our military that has been called to action to defend our freedom. The final level of the monument represents the World Trade Center. These towers symbolize the pillars of strength that serve as the basis of our existence. It is a reminder of the free trade that joined people and nations from all over the world. However, they will always remind us of the selflessness of so many who fearlessly made the supreme sacrifice to save so many. Their efforts captured the spirit of the American dream that places country above self," the mayor said.
Wilson said he knew that all the borough’s residents would be commemorating the event in their own way. He added that "our resolve must remain focused in removing evil from mankind so that as a free society we may live without fear."
Prouty’s speech was emotional. With a strained voice, she told the audience that her feelings were "getting the better of her" on this occasion, something she’s not accustomed to when speaking in public.
But this speech was different.
She thanked her students, their parents, the mayor and council, the school board and school administrators, the police department, the fire department and everyone connected to the project as well as everyone who came to support it at the unveiling.
"This project was born out of great tragedy, emotion and hope," Prouty said. "The class of 2002 will stand out in my heart forever."
"I look upon these students with great pride; they taught me many things last year," Prouty said. "But the greatest lesson is the one they taught me: that our youth are the spirit of America. These children taught me compassion and humanity."
Prouty told the audience that she remembered looking at what was once the New York skyline, asking herself, "What has this world become?" She then added that, "The world had come to a new beginning. We endured a tragedy and these young people will be able to take the reins and lead us into a safer direction. They are the future of this country."
Representatives from the borough fire and police departments laid wreaths and flowers at the base of the monument as the ceremony came to a close. Neil Winkler, 16, of Freehold Township, a student at Freehold Borough High School, played a solemn taps on the trumpet as the crowd prepared to disperse.