CRESTLINE – A community event on September 11 will commemorate the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on our country and honor those who lost their lives in the tragedy that forever changed the world.
It’s being called the Memorial Walk.
The village of Crestline and the Galion-Crestline Area Chamber of Commerce have teamed up to plan the event, which will begin at exactly 9:11 a.m. that Saturday. The goal? Have 2,977 participants walk 2,977 steps through the village – the number of people who died in the attacks.
“Honestly, it’s a whole community coming together, coming together as one to remember a tragic event in our history,” said Miranda Jones, chamber executive director. “Businesses and organizations are asking what they can do to help. I think that’s the same camaraderie we felt back on 9/11.”
Registration will begin at 7:30 a.m. inside the Hub at Village Square, 311 N. Seltzer St., followed by opening ceremonies at 9:00. At 9:11 a.m., walkers will step off down Seltzer Street to Cross Street, then down Thoman Street to Main Street and back to Seltzer, Jones said.
The route, she said, will continue past the Hub and down to the War Memorial at the corner of Union and Seltzer Streets near Village Hall, where a remembrance ceremony will take place at 10:00 a.m. A flyover by the 179th Airlift Wing in Mansfield is also planned.
Those attending, Jones said, will also have the opportunity to write on a memorial banner where they were on September 11, 2001, when they first heard that a terrorist plane had crashed into the World Trade Center in New York City, with subsequent attacks in Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania.
Registration is free, and everyone registered will automatically be entered in a raffle drawing for the chance to win one of two “waving” American flags custom-made by Andrew Rush of Rush Woodworking in Bucyrus. Raffle winners will be announced at 10 a.m. on the day of the event.
Jones said Crawford County students are also being encouraged to participate by entering a coloring contest for students in kindergarten through fifth grade. Middle school and high school students can enter an essay contest with the theme “How Did 9/11 Change the World?”
Coloring contest winners will be invited to ride in an emergency vehicle during the Memorial Walk, Jones said. For the essay competition, she said, a winner will be chosen from each school, with the overall winner having the opportunity to read their essay during the remembrance ceremony.
She said the event is also designed to bring together first responders, medical professionals, community members from Crawford County, and the entire area to remember an important day in our country’s history.
“We have had wonderful feedback so far,” Jones said. “People since the moment we announced it in August have asked, ‘What can we do to help with the event?’ There’s a lot of moving pieces with it, but we have so many that want to be a part of it. I think it’ll be a wonderful day.”