9/11 is remembered in Edmonds at new memorial park

EDMONDS — The sculpture is subtle, simple and steel.

The sun on Friday morning shone through the panels of stained glass in the sculpture, washing the image of the American flag over a one-ton beam. It was just as the firefighters envisioned.

The beam, an artifact from the 2001 terrorist attacks on U.S. soil, is the centerpiece of a new 9/11 memorial park in downtown Edmonds. The park officially opened in time for Friday’s ceremony marking 14 years since the World Trade Center towers fell.

“We are here today to display the final resting place of the one-ton beam,” said Dave “Bronco” Erickson, a longtime firefighter who helped organize the memorial effort. The park was designed to be a place of solace, a timeless reminder of sacrifice and loss, he said.

The attack in New York killed 2,753 people, an attack on the Pentagon killed 184 and 40 people died on Flight 93, which crashed into a field in Pennsylvania after passengers fought back against hijackers.

Firefighters have gathered at the same site in Edmonds, near Fire Station 17, every year since “to honor and remember all of those who perished,” Erickson said.

“This artifact serves as a tombstone for each and every one,” he said.

Erickson’s son, Forrest, 10, wrapped his arm around a friend as they looked at the sculpture.

The park isn’t finished. The concrete was barely dry in time. A rubble base will be added, Erickson said.

Fourteen years has been a long time, but also not so long, Mayor Dave Earling said.

“The American spirit is always to figure it out, come back and make a difference,” he said. “We do have a difference here today.”

Coralie Shepherd walked down to the park from her Edmonds home, wearing her red-white-and-blue ball cap.

“This ceremony is very moving and very appropriate and very necessary,” she said.

Roberta Krause’s husband, Bruce, was a local firefighter for 33 years. She brought their three grandchildren to Friday’s event, including 4-year-old Hailey, clutching a tiara.

She remembers her husband being on duty that day in 2001. He called her and said, “Turn the TV on.” Tears still come at the memory of that moment, she said.

“You have to be reminded,” she said.

Norm Collins lost his brother, Daniel, a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps, earlier in 2001. Going through Daniel’s effects after the death, Norm Collins found very little money: just a $1 bill in his wallet. He saved the bill, not sure what to do with it.

Norm and seven siblings grew up in Edmonds. He wrote “Danny Collins’ last dollar” on the bill and gave it to Edmonds firefighters.

They considered it a symbolic donation toward the memorial, Erickson said.

“They still have it,” Collins said. “They promised me they wouldn’t cash it.”

The firefighters had called Collins, now 70 and living in Everett, to make sure he knew he was invited to the ceremony Friday. They remembered his gift.

Edmonds was the town his brother called home.

“It’s just a small pittance, but this is significant to us,” Collins said.

Rikki King: 425-339-3449; rking@heraldnet.com.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

A firefighter stands in silence before a panel bearing the names of L. John Regelbrugge and Kris Regelbrugge during the ten-year remembrance of the Oso landslide on Friday, March 22, 2024, at the Oso Landslide Memorial in Oso, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Flood of emotions’ as Oso Landslide Memorial opens on 10th anniversary

Friends, family and first responders held a moment of silence at 10:37 a.m. at the new 2-acre memorial off Highway 530.

Julie Petersen poses for a photo with images of her sister Christina Jefferds and Jefferds’ grand daughter Sanoah Violet Huestis next to a memorial for Sanoah at her home on March 20, 2024 in Arlington, Washington. Peterson wears her sister’s favorite color and one of her bangles. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
‘It just all came down’: An oral history of the Oso mudslide

Ten years later, The Daily Herald spoke with dozens of people — first responders, family, survivors — touched by the deadliest slide in U.S. history.

Victims of the Oso mudslide on March 22, 2014. (Courtesy photos)
Remembering the 43 lives lost in the Oso mudslide

The slide wiped out a neighborhood along Highway 530 in 2014. “Even though you feel like you’re alone in your grief, you’re really not.”

Director Lucia Schmit, right, and Deputy Director Dara Salmon inside the Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management on Friday, March 8, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
How Oso slide changed local emergency response ‘on virtually every level’

“In a decade, we have just really, really advanced,” through hard-earned lessons applied to the pandemic, floods and opioids.

Ron and Gail Thompson at their home on Monday, March 4, 2024 in Oso, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
In shadow of scarred Oso hillside, mudslide’s wounds still feel fresh

Locals reflected on living with grief and finding meaning in the wake of a catastrophe “nothing like you can ever imagine” in 2014.

Alan Dean, who is accused of the 1993 strangulation murder of 15-year-old Bothell girl Melissa Lee, appears in court during opening statements of his trial on Monday, March 18, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Guilty: Jury convicts Bothell man in long-unsolved 1993 killing

Even after police arrested Alan Dean in 2020, it was unclear if he would stand trial. He was convicted Thursday in the murder of Melissa Lee, 15.

Ariel Garcia, 4, was last seen Wednesday morning in an apartment in the 4800 block of Vesper Dr. (Photo provided by Everett Police)
Everett police searching for missing child, 4

Ariel Garcia was last seen Wednesday at an apartment in the 4800 block of Vesper Drive. The child was missing under “suspicious circumstances.”

The rezoned property, seen here from the Hillside Vista luxury development, is surrounded on two sides by modern neighborhoods Monday, March 25, 2024, in Lake Stevens, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Despite petition, Lake Stevens OKs rezone for new 96-home development

The change faced resistance from some residents, who worried about the effects of more density in the neighborhood.

Rep. Suzan DelBene, left, introduces Xichitl Torres Small, center, Undersecretary for Rural Development with the U.S. Department of Agriculture during a talk at Thomas Family Farms on Monday, April 3, 2023, in Snohomish, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Under new federal program, Washingtonians can file taxes for free

At a press conference Wednesday, U.S. Rep. Suzan DelBene called the Direct File program safe, easy and secure.

Former Snohomish County sheriff’s deputy Jeremie Zeller appears in court for sentencing on multiple counts of misdemeanor theft Wednesday, March 27, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Ex-sheriff’s deputy sentenced to 1 week of jail time for hardware theft

Jeremie Zeller, 47, stole merchandise from Home Depot in south Everett, where he worked overtime as a security guard.

Everett
11 months later, Lake Stevens man charged in fatal Casino Road shooting

Malik Fulson is accused of shooting Joseph Haderlie to death in the parking lot at the Crystal Springs Apartments last April.

T.J. Peters testifies during the murder trial of Alan Dean at the Snohomish County Courthouse on Tuesday, March 26, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Bothell cold case trial now in jury’s hands

In court this week, the ex-boyfriend of Melissa Lee denied any role in her death. The defendant, Alan Dean, didn’t testify.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.