Honor Guard stands with artifact from the World Trade Center provided to Stone Harbor.
Members of the Stone Harbor Borough Council were joined by Stone Harbor residents and visitors for a solemn remembrance ceremony on September 11th to honor the victims and the first responders associated with the terrorist attack on the United States 12 years ago. The ceremony was held at the Stone Harbor Point of Peace Park located at 123rd Street and Second Avenue. An artifact acquired from World Trade Center that was acquired by the Borough from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey was on display and will become the centerpiece of the park.The ceremony included prayers for the victims, speakers, and Stone Harbor Elementary School students who created posters in tribute to the United States. Comments were delivered by Councilwoman Joan Kramar, Sister James Dolores of Villa Maria by the Sea, Pastor Glen Schoenberger of Our Savior Lutheran Church, Monsignor William Quinn from St. Paul’s Catholic Church, and local resident Charles Boylan who worked for Marsh McLennan, a company that lost 300 employees during the attack on the World Trade Center. Members of the volunteer Stone Harbor September 11th Committee were also present for the ceremony.
“I was at a meeting and saw the second plane hit the World Trade Center on September 11th”, Boylan said. “Our immediate action was to help families in our company who lost loved ones. Three weeks after the attack, I attended a service at St. Patrick’s Cathedral and 5,000 people were in attendance. New York City Mayor Rudy Guiliani spoke, and it was the most inspirational eulogy I ever heard”.
Boylan continued, “Stone Harbor Mayor Suzanne Walters met Mayor Guiliani two years later, and his comment to the Mayor was ‘Stone Harbor sent people to help New York City, thank you’. This Point of Peace Park will be a special place where folks can appreciate and reflect on events associated with September 11th, and remember the people who perished in New York, Washington, and Shanksville”.
Monsignor Quinn spoke about his personal experience on September 11th, 2001. “People began coming to church asking what they could do. I told them to pray. We look back and saw smoke, dust, and our leaders assuring us that everything would be alright. We will never forget, we can’t forget. Today, we pass on hope to a new generation”.
Stone Harbor Mayor Suzanne Walters was unable to attend the ceremony due to an unchangeable meeting in Trenton regarding a future dredging project in Stone Harbor. Councilwoman Kramar read a letter from the Mayor to the audience. “It is indeed an honor that Stone Harbor was chosen to host this artifact from the World Trade Center”, the letter read. “Stone Harbor sent men to New York to help after the attack. Terrorists thought they brought us down. They brought us together”.
The Borough plans to create a Point of Peace Memorial Park at 123rd Street and Second Avenue. Stone Harbor has applied for funding from the Cape May County Open Space Program to fund the construction of the park. The design for the park was unveiled to the public in September, 2012 at a Stone Harbor Borough Council meeting with continual updates on the project provided during subsequent Council meetings.
