Effort underway Brockport Fire Department members will mark a day of solemn reflection on September 11, the anniversary of the New York City World Trade Center disaster. Their fifth annual silent vigil, "Never Forget," will honor those lost 9/11/01. "The memory of what happened on 9/11 never really fades," Public Information Officer for the Brockport Fire Department Chris Martin said. "I think every person was affected in some way by what happened on that day." Ceremonies will be held on September 11 at 8 a.m., noon and 7:30 p.m. The monument is located at the corner of Main Street and Park Avenue in Brockport. As in the past, Martin said there are a large number of volunteers that will be standing vigil during the 12-hour ceremony. "We don't even have to put a call out or encourage people - they just show up. Service people from other departments and towns have even 'adopted' the Firemen's Monument and they will come stand vigil in the honor guard." Martin said that last year, two uniformed Marines drove by, saw the monument and the vigil and asked if they could participate in the honor guard. "They went up and took a shift and paid their respects," Martin said. Fire Chief Larry Vaughan said when they first planned the 9/11 ceremony, they had no idea how many people from the community would come out. "The outpouring of support to create and maintain the monument and keep the memory of September 11 alive has been unimaginable," Vaughan said. This year could be the final year that the wooden monument is in place. "The wooden figures have suffered in the weather. Even though our winters haven't been too severe, each season they are out exposed to the elements and then they are in the constant sun all year and the white oak from which they were built has taken a beating," Martin said. "Richard Kron (the designer and builder of the monument) comes every year and fixes the cracks caused by exposure to the elements. They need to be replaced with a more durable material." The replacement of the monument was talked about prior to the death of Scotty Warthman in 2003. "We had talked to Dick and his daughter about putting plans in motion to pursue the bronzing of the monument," Martin said. Kron has fashioned new figures that will be used for molds to create the new monument. "We are looking at having bronze casts made of the original monument and placing that outside," Martin said. "The original figures will be moved into the Fireman's Museum for permanent display." The plan, Martin said, is to remove them shortly after September 11, send them to New Jersey and have the new bronze figures in place before Memorial Day. The fire department has been accepting donations to defray the cost of the bronzing. At the 9/11 ceremony, the department will be selling limited edition commemorative coins featuring the Firefighter's Memorial Monument on one side and the fire department patch on the other. The coins will be a one-time offering available at the monument on September 11 for a minimum donation of $5 as part of the fundraising efforts for the bronzing of the figures. The oval of bricks surrounding the monument and more memorial bricks are available for purchase as well, Martin said. "The oval of bricks is nearly full but there are still a couple of thousand available on the ramp area," he said. "Our intention was to never run out of bricks for anyone who wanted to have one engraved as a memorial." Memorial bricks can be purchased for $100 and donations for the replacement of the memorial can be made by contacting the Brockport Fire Department Monument Fund, P.O. Box 254, Brockport, NY 14420. September 3, 2006 |
