Wisconsin's Weekend Morning News
An Upcoming Event Commemorates the 23rd Anniversary of September 11th
It has been 23 years since those tragic events. The Wisconsin 9/11 Memorial and Education Center are going to hold a remembrance ceremony at one o'clock in Kiwaskam on Wednesday. And joining us is Fuzz Martin. He's from that nonprofit that supports the memorial. And it is interesting, Fuzz, because a lot of young people need to be reminded about what happened that day. Absolutely. Good morning, Libby, and thank you so much for having me on today. And that story, Adam, is-- it rings true, even with my daughter, who's nine years old today, her teachers, actually, some of her first grade teacher, was only 10 when September 11 happened. And so not only teaching today's youth, but those who are teaching our youth is very important to making sure that future generations know what happened on September 11, 2001, and are able to take away the lessons that we learned on that day, and also how the nation came together after September 11. And that's a lot of what you do at the Educational Center, Fuzz. Absolutely. The reason that we built it, it's really to help educate future generations. That's our main mission. Our whole memorial is built with just so much symbolism and opportunities for learning built into it. We also-- my wife is a teacher. She's helped us to develop lesson plans and field trip guides for students that are available on our website for those who do visit the memorial, or for teachers, and home schoolers, and other organizational groups with children who might want to be able to teach third through fifth graders, or sixth-rate graders, or older about September 11 in a way that might better communicate with them at their age level, because it is a hard subject to talk about with younger students. But it is important that we do teach that. And at the center, you do have a steel beam that came from that fallen north tower. And I think it's important to stress how solemn it is to stand in front of that. It really is. It's the-- to just think about where that tower was, where that beam was. I mean, it was in the north tower of the World Trade Center in New York City, and for it to be that 2,000-pound piece of steel, that rusted piece of steel, to be sitting in Kiwosk, Wisconsin, and pointing back directly at ground zero in New York is a very moving piece. And knowing the journey that it took to get that steel here after the cleanup and after it had been sitting in a-- in the port at the New York Port Authority, and we were able to procure it and get it to Wisconsin and to make it the centerpiece of our memorial. Just knowing its journey was very moving and very important. And being there next to it is moving and it is solemn. And speaking of that, this Wednesday at the Remembrance event, you have two individuals who are on the 9/11 disaster rescue and recovery team at ground zero, and they're going to be speaking this year. Yes. Ronaldo Vega and Mike Kenny, they've been to the memorial to our memorial at least a handful of times since it's been built. They were very important in getting our memorial built. They're very close with Gordon Habermann, who is the father of Andrea Habermann, who has killed in the North Tower. She's from Kewasima, from Farmington. She went to Kewasima High School. And they are very so supportive of our memorial and our mission of what we're doing. But yes, Ronaldo was on the 9/11 disaster and recovery team at ground zero. He's also an architect. He was the senior director of design for the National 9/11 Museum and Memorial. He also helped us. We have a really cool piece at our memorial. It's called the survivor tree. And there was a tree inside the plaza at ground zero that was mangled after the buildings had fallen. They were able to take that tree and nurse it back to health. It's a pear tree, a calorie pear tree. And we have a seedling from that tree that's called the survivor tree. And we have now a seedling directly from that tree, a descendant from that tree that's growing in our memorial. And Ronaldo is the one who helped get us that tree and bring it to the memorial, along with Mike Kenney, who was also very important to that part. And he also was a project executive for the New York City Department of Design and Construction. He also helped rescue those as part of Superstorm Sandy. And he's also testified before Congress for those who were affected by all the lung cancer and things that people were receiving after cleanup at ground zero. They're very, very committed to September 11 causes. And they're both characters. And they're going to be great speakers. And I'm really looking forward to hearing them talk on Wednesday at one o'clock. And let's tell everybody where the 9/11 memorial is, in case they haven't visited it before. Sure. The Wisconsin 9/11 Memorial and Education Center is right directly on US Highway 45 in Qaskam. So it is-- the freeway ends US-45 turns into a regular highway in Qaskam. And right there, right in downtown Qaskam, the memorial is right at the corner of US-45 and state highway 28. And you can't miss it. It's beautiful. It's right there. Now, Qaskam is currently under construction. So US-45 is only southbound at the moment. So you will have to go a little bit north of the memorial through the detour and come south to get to the memorial. But it's pretty easy. Yeah. Well, a little bit later on this morning on WTMJ conversations after 11 o'clock, we're going to be talking with Peter Rettler. And he is-- well, you know Peter certainly. And he's done a lot in terms of getting support and also getting kids to be really aware of what happened on 9/11. Yes, absolutely. Pete has been so great as a fundraiser, a staunch supporter of our memorial, and for making sure that people know about the memorial, that they're bringing students to the memorial, and that we're making sure that schools have access to get students to the memorial. Field trips are expensive these days. Schools don't have a lot of money. And Pete has really taken in upon himself to make it his mission to make that access more affordable and easier for schools to get students to the memorial to learn about September 11. And we're extremely grateful for Pete and his son, Jack, and all that they do for the memorial. And we're going to have their story again at 11 o'clock this morning on WTMJ conversations. Fuzz, if anybody wants more information about the Wisconsin 9/11 Memorial and Education Center, where can they go? Certainly, the website is Wisconsin9/11memorial.com. So just spell it all out, Wisconsin9/11memorial.com. And we have all of our resources there. You can find it all. And we really appreciate any feedback. And if anybody has any questions, they can reach out at any time. And Fuzz, it's so important, especially for young people, that they are aware of those events of those days. And for those of us who do have vivid memories of it, it's such a moving memorial to visit. It certainly is. And we built it so that people can come and remember that day. And every time I drive past there, or I'm there swapping out some pamphlets or anything like that, and I see people, they're always moved. And sometimes it brings a tear to my eye, or it gives me goosebumps to see. And just knowing that people are still moved to this day, tells me what we-- all the work that went into this is what was the right thing to do. And it brings me pride and joy that we put what we have into this to make something that was such a tragic day, a learning experience, and a positive peace in our community. Fuzz, thank you so much for all of the volunteers with the Wisconsin9/11 memorial. Do thank you for everything that you've done. And we'll see you then on Wednesday at one o'clock right there in Kiwaskum. Maybe thanks for having me on.