By By JOHN EBY / Dowagiac Daily News
Dowagiac's solemn Sept. 11 remembrance was as heartfelt as any of the patriotic pageantry which unfolded across the country Monday.
As the sky wept, the observance took place in the entryway of City Hall.
"We're just everyday people," said organizer Corinne Hoyt, "and everyday people were touched," like Avon lady and Council on Aging aerobics instructor Frannie Stites, who accompanied herself on guitar to share "One Woman's Perspective," followed by one verse of "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?" and "America the Beautiful."
"We stand united together in respect and honor, reflecting 9/11 in tribute to the 25,000 rescued individuals … and to all who will never forget the terror of the twin towers," said Hoyt, who also offered "appreciation to our own community for the safety professionals serving diligently every day to sacrifice selfless courage as first responders to meet the need of another's survival. We say thank you, thank you, thank you."
"This evening," Hoyt continued, "revives the history of the past to kindle compassion for our country's future. Each breath we breathe today stirs eternal hope for tomorrow, insuring Sept. 11, 2001, shall never die in vain or ever be forgotten."
"I want to go back a little farther than Sept. 11, 2001," City Clerk James E. Snow said. "Let me go back to Dec. 7, 1941," when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor to plunge the United States into World War II.
"Our family had the old console radio with dry batteries inside, so we couldn't use it like kids today. We only had to use it at special times, and that's when Daddy listened to the news. It was that evening that we learned about the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Another day that everyone in this room can remember, and what you were doing on Nov. 22, 1963," when President John F. Kennedy was slain in Dallas.
"I was in the shop at that time and word got out, 'They shot the President!' We didn't know who 'they' was. The Warren Commission thinks they know who it was (Lee Harvey Oswald). As soon as I got home I turned on the TV and saw them replay and replay what they had. I can remember it as if it was yesterday."
City officials generally share a memory of where they were at Sept. 11, 2001.
"We were on I-94 headed for Battle Creek" for a Michigan Municipal League meeting, Snow said, acknowledging council members in the audience. "Those who had their radios on heard it but, of course, when the Schuurs and the Snows get together, we don't turn the radio on, we (converse). So, we didn't know it until we got to the hotel, where everyone was just standing in front of the TV screen. With anticipation, we wondered what was going on. As in '63, they were replaying and replaying."
Though they likely will never be tested as New York's first responders were, Snow said, "Our Police Department, our Fire Department, our ambulance – I see Brad (Evans) out there, who's been a fireman for so many years – they are here and they come at a time of need. I don't know if you've ever needed the Police Department. As most of you know, I was one. I've been fortunate in my life to never have a fire. My family needed the ambulance service right on Front and Division. It seems like they were immediately there to take Lavada to the hospital. She had the best of care in the world. No, they weren't under the stress of falling buildings, but just as those people literally offered their lives, we have people who will stand the gap in Dowagiac today to do exactly the same thing. I can reflect on that as the future. If I need emergency personnel in the City of Dowagiac, I'm convinced they would be here."
"It wasn't an act of terror, it was an act of cowardice," Snow concluded.
Hoyt read from her own "Reflecting 9/11 Tribute," which will be published in the winter "Poems of the World," an international poetry publication.
"Beacons in everlasting light/red flowing blood survivors/never forgetting white and blue by night."
She explained, "I've had a white light in my window since 2001 and the blue light is for our fallen officers. It's very important to remember, when you see blue lights or white lights, they are for those who have given their lives in the line of duty. They will not be forgotten as long as breath is in our bodies."
"First responders," she continued, "selfless public servants/sacrificial love/soar courageously into eagle tears of fearlessness from above/New York's twin towers are never forgotten yesterday/stir Sept. 11 hearts and minds into a patriotic USA."
She adorned her podium with an American flag, roses and baby's breath to symbolize pride, eternal freedom, hope for all the living and liberty for all who died.
"In light of the five-year anniversary of 9/11, thank you for your service this evening," Third Ward Councilman Leon Laylin said during the council meeting that followed upstairs. "Well-intended and well-accepted."
"I'd like to thank Corinne Hoyt for doing something for the City of Dowagiac," Mayor Pro Tem Wayne Comstock said, "and Frannie for her musical talent … (9/11) must never be forgotten, and it's too bad we have to have days like today to remember. We should remember every day."
"It was a very nice program," agreed Second Ward Councilman Bob Schuur. "Thank you for taking the time. Acts of terrorism always leave me totally dumfounded. I can understand when someone hates someone and wants to shoot them, but to kill people you don't know?"
"I would echo those sentiments," Mayor Donald Lyons told Mrs. Hoyt. "I didn't see anybody else in the community doing it, so kudos to you."