South Orange Village, the Township of Maplewood, and the South Essex Fire Department are joining together for a September 11 community gathering and remembrance service “honor the lives lost, the heroes who answered the call, and all those forever affected by the events of September 11, 2001.”
The service will be at 9:30 a.m. at the Hilton Branch library at 1688 Springfield Avenue in Maplewood. There will be a breakfast following at the South Essex Fire Department at 105 Dunnell Road in Maplewood.
“This Friday, the South Orange and Maplewood community will come together to remember the lives we lost, honor the heroes who ran toward danger to save others, and reflect on the extraordinary resolve of our country and our communities to carry one another through the darkest of times,” South Orange Mayor Sheena Collum said on social media when posting the invitation to the community. “I would love to see a big turnout from our towns. Neighbors standing alongside neighbors, first responders, families, and friends to show that 25 years later, we still remember and always will.”
Maplewood Mayor Vic De Luca also invited the public to the event marking the 25 years since the terror attack. “… We will remember the nearly 3,000 people who died 25 years ago in the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon. We will remember the innocent lives lost and the heroism and sacrifice of the hundreds of fire, police and emergency medical personnel who died that day.”
For commuters and others in Maplewood Village who can’t get to the event, De Luca said, “we invite you to offer a silent memorial at the Maplewood Train Station where we have a plaque and tree in memory of Kirsten Christophe and Douglas Cherry, two Maplewood residents who rode the rails that morning but did not return that night.”
In South Orange, those who can’t get to the event can pause at the memorial for the Village’s three lost three residents — Christopher Faughnan, 37, Christopher Colasanti, 33 (born and raised in South Orange but lived in Hoboken at the time); and Donald Robertson, 35 — near the train station in front of the South Orange Performing Arts center.
