SHANKSVILLE — Esther Heymann was overflowing with grief for her stepdaughter. Standing in a blustery snow, overlooking the empty field where Flight 93 had crashed a couple of years earlier, she couldn’t stop crying.
The only other person there was a local man, sitting in his warm car. Every few minutes he’d come out, asking Heymann if she was OK; mostly, he just let her grieve. Alone.
Finally, the man approached her. His wife was making soup at home. She should come and have some, get warm, wait for the snow to stop.
She did, following a man she didn’t know through streets that to him were his neighborhood.
To her, they were the roads leading to her loved one’s cemetery plot.
When the jetliner crashed on Sept. 11, 2001, the people who live here and the relatives of the 40 passengers and crew killed were suddenly and inextricably brought together. That bond will be sealed further today when ground is broken for a national park, a permanent memorial to the victims and a permanent reminder to the locals.
“The families of victims of Flight 93 and the community of Shanksville have really become one community,” said Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, who helped broker agreements between landowners and the government for the memorial land.
The community began immediately after the crash.
Victims’ family members were brought to Seven Springs Mountain Resort and attended to by local Red Cross volunteers. School students held a candlelight vigil on the courthouse steps.
Neighbors comforted neighbors, too. Bob and Phyllis Musser, who live near the crash site just past a thick grove of trees, brought turkey sandwiches and coffee to the first responders. They would later become Flight 93 Ambassadors and talk to visitors.
The Mussers volunteer weekly at the temporary memorial. Bob, 79, greets visitors and Phyllis, 75, shows photos of each victim and the path of the plane.
Mark Miller helped his cousin, Coroner Wallace Miller, in the days and weeks after the crash.
“I think that the people in this community opened their arms,” Mark Miller said.
He owns the Pine Grill in Somerset.
Victims’ relatives often stay at Somerset hotels, and Miller has befriended many who regularly eat at his restaurant. Some are even on his yearly Christmas card list now.
Ken Nacke of Baltimore lost his brother, Louis J. Nacke, 42, of New Hope, Bucks County, in the crash of Flight 93.
“I think I go up there now to see my new family as much as paying respect to the 40,” he said.
“That town has helped me move on.”
Local News
United by Flight 93: Groundbreaking highlights local bonds with victims’ families
- Local News
-
-
Mild winter speeds work: Entertainment venue may be complete by end of May
An unusually mild winter has accelerated construction of a new outdoor entertainment venue in Johnstown.
-
Man jailed on rash of charges
A Patton man is being held on $100,000 bond after police said he threatened to kill a woman, her family and himself unless she talked to him about a protection-from-abuse order.
-
Cambria abolishes 16 jobs
Following through on promises to cut budget costs, the Cambria County commissioners voted Thursday to abolish 16 positions, including nine full-time jobs.
-
Blogging with heart
Anyone else have this issue: The more I know, the more I want to learn.
As I am writing my heart month stories for this week’s packages, I occasionally come across a term or description unfamiliar to me. So I look it up. And then the definition or article has something else that sounds important, so I look that up. -
Wozniak defends his support of drilling bill
State Sen. John Wozniak, D-Westmont, one of only seven Democrats to support the Marcellus Shale legislation adopted this week, said the bill protects the environment and provides help to local communities impacted by the natural gas drilling.
-
Businessman hoping to unseat Wozniak
Tim Houser uses two words – “challenging opportunity” – to describe his goal in this year’s elections.
-
Judge tosses evidence in robbery
A Cambria County prosecutor said he’ll have to drop robbery charges against a Twin Rocks woman after much of his evidence was suppressed by a judge.
-
Shooting defendant pleads to attempted murder
A Philadelphia man pleaded guilty Thursday in county court to attempted murder and theft in a Nov. 18 home invasion in which the homeowner was shot.
-
Garrett man sought in Somerset crime
An arrest warrant has been issued for Samuel McFarland Jr., 33, of Berlin Street in Garrett in connection with Saturday’s robbery of two boys outside Dollar General on East Main Street in Somerset.
-
City man shot during alleged burglary
A Johnstown man was shot during a burglary attempt in Indiana County and then burglarized a home in Armstrong County before he was arrested, authorities said Thursday.
- More Local News Headlines
-
Denver's Largest-Ever Drug Bust Nets Dozens
Marines: No Punishment for Nazi-like Flag
Vets Look to Translate Military Skills Into Jobs
Expert: Removing LA School's Staff 'Appropriate'
Raw Video: School Bus Burst Into Flames
LA School Reopens Amid Sex Abuse Scandal
$25B Settlement Reached Over Foreclosure Abuses
Pentagon: Allow Women Closer to Front Lines
Obama Gives Education Waivers to 10 States
Giffords Aide to Run for Her Seat
LA School in Sex Abuse Scandal Reopens
Winter Slamming North Asia, Parts of Europe
Syrian Forces Renew Bombardment of Homs
States, Banks Reach Foreclosure-abuse Settlement
Raw Video: Italy's Mount Etna Bursts Into Life
Greeks March; Angry Despite Debt Deal
Raw Video: U.S. Pullout Celebration
Raw Video: Annual Empire State Building Run-Up
Man Killed in Courthouse Shootout
Air Force Airlines: Leaders Get Polished Service
