LeRoy Pennysaver & News

LE ROY PENNYSAVER & NEWS - SEPTEMBER 12, 2021 by Lynne Belluscio I was on the phone with the florist in Westchester, Pennsylvania trying to make sure they would deliver flowers to my mom. It was her birthday and she always liked a large yellow chrysanthemum. The woman on the other end of the phone said “Do you have your television on?” “No” “Turn it on. A plane just crashed onto the World Trade Center.” And of course, everyone who remembers that day, knows exactly where they were and what they were doing on 9/11. I went back to our files and found the article that I wrote. “Piecing Our Lives Back Together.” The article wasn’t very long because it was a hard article to write. But I mentioned that as I drove into town that day, almost every house was flying the American flag. And if you remember, after a few days, there were lines to donate blood to the Red Cross. People were at a loss to know what to do. There were those who volunteered and went to NewYork City. At the Historical Society we put up an exhibit of the flags in our collection – a twenty star flag that had been hand sewn by Helen and Cordelia Pierson, whose brother, Myron was fighting in the 100th New York Volunteers in the Civil War. “Two sisters, fearing for the life of their beloved brother, stitched this flag when perhaps they thought there was nothing else they could do for the cause.” Becky Partise, who was working at the Historical Society at that time helped put together the exhibit which also included a flag that was 20 foot by 12. We were able to sew a sleeve across the top and hang it on electrical conduit. The exhibit also included an oil painting by Anna Samson, a student at InghamUniversity and a very intricate silk embroidered piece with flags and an eagle. Several years later, when a group of us from LeRoy were in Washington, DC to commemorate the donation of the Henry Clay painting to the U.S. Senate, we were at a dinner in the ante chamber of the Senate, with a gathering of United States Senators. We had no sooner received our food, when Senator Leahy from Vermont came over to us and said he would take us to the floor of the Senate - - something the general public is not allowed to do. After a few minutes looking at Henry Clay’s desk and the “candy desk” and experiencing what it was like to work from the floor of the Senate, the Senator invited us to his office right around the corner. He opened the huge windows and we looked upon the Mall. It took our breath away, but then he told us the story of what it was like to be in Washington on 9/11. He was at the Supreme Court building. He heard the boom when the plane hit the Pentagon and his immediate concern was to get back to the Senate building and make contact with his staff. They began evacuating their offices. But later that evening they returned and gathered on the east steps of the Capital, Representatives, Senators - Democrats and Republicans and they broke into an impromptu singing of “God Bless America.” Senator Leahy also told of the decision to reassemble in the Senate Chamber, amid concerns of additional attacks of terrorism. Our memories instill in us many different things. And for those of us who remember 9/11, we should pause and take a moment to reflect, why we should fly the American flag on this day, and share with those who do not remember, that we should never allow anger to tarnish our freedom and the freedom of others. Twenty Years Ago