Im sure that on every Sept. 11 for the rest of my life, I will remember where I was, what I was doing, and how I felt on the day terror attacks changed our nation and the world forever.
I was in the newsroom of The Register-Mail newspaper in Galesburg, Ill., on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001. I had only been the editor there for about two months. I still was getting to know the people I worked with and the community I lived in. My family still was living in Freeport.
We were well into our morning production schedule of that days newspaper when an advertising representative walked up the stairs to the newsroom to tell me that her husband had just called, and told her that a plane had crashed into the World Trade Center. She thought I would want to know. We didnt have a television in the newsroom.
At that time, approaching 8 a.m., the Associated Press was reporting that it was a small plane that had crashed into the north tower of the WTCs Twin Towers. We decided to hold a spot for the story in that days paper, but werent sure whether it would be on Page One or Page Two.
In the meantime, we found in the building an old black and white TV with, I swear, rabbit ears for an antennae. In a conference room just next to the newsroom we watched through onscreen snow reports of a second plane smashing into the south tower. This one was, no doubt, a passenger jet. There was no question that this was an act of terrorism.
In my first real test as an editor at the Register-Mail, I made my news editor mad by taking away page one from him. I was scrapping everything wed done and reworking the page to include as much news as possible about the attacks in the two-plus hours we had left before the days edition needed to be completed. We stuck with our usual deadline.
Because I was so immersed in getting the paper done, I didnt watch a lot of the live coverage that morning. I remember watching one of the towers fall, but I dont remember being moved to tears by it like I should have been. It might have been shock. It might have been the job I knew I had to do.
We completed the paper that day, just a few minutes late, then immediately got to work planning local angles for the next days newspaper and expanding the number of pages in the next days edition. As if any number of pages could accommodate the enormity of the news that was happening.
Everyone in the newsroom worked almost nonstop that day. I dont think the weight of was occurring really hit me until late that afternoon when I stepped outside to see Air Force One flying over Galesburg. The sky was a clear blue, and absent of jet streams. All aircraft had been grounded earlier in the day. But there was Air Force One, with an escort, on its way from Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska to Washington. The scene was surreal, and sent a chill up my spine.
I went home for supper before heading back into the office. It was the first time all day Id really had the time to sit for an extended period and watch the national news coverage. With no family around, in a new community, I felt about as alone as I ever had. About that time, lawmakers from both parties stood on the Capitol steps and sang God Bless America. I wept.
And the feeling in my gut then is the same feeling I get today as coverage of the 9/11 anniversary events plays on the television in the office of The Monroe Times. On every Sept. 11, Im sure Ill remember that advertising rep, the fuzzy little black and white TV, the single formation of planes in a clear blue sky, and God Bless America.
What do you remember?
I was in the newsroom of The Register-Mail newspaper in Galesburg, Ill., on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001. I had only been the editor there for about two months. I still was getting to know the people I worked with and the community I lived in. My family still was living in Freeport.
We were well into our morning production schedule of that days newspaper when an advertising representative walked up the stairs to the newsroom to tell me that her husband had just called, and told her that a plane had crashed into the World Trade Center. She thought I would want to know. We didnt have a television in the newsroom.
At that time, approaching 8 a.m., the Associated Press was reporting that it was a small plane that had crashed into the north tower of the WTCs Twin Towers. We decided to hold a spot for the story in that days paper, but werent sure whether it would be on Page One or Page Two.
In the meantime, we found in the building an old black and white TV with, I swear, rabbit ears for an antennae. In a conference room just next to the newsroom we watched through onscreen snow reports of a second plane smashing into the south tower. This one was, no doubt, a passenger jet. There was no question that this was an act of terrorism.
In my first real test as an editor at the Register-Mail, I made my news editor mad by taking away page one from him. I was scrapping everything wed done and reworking the page to include as much news as possible about the attacks in the two-plus hours we had left before the days edition needed to be completed. We stuck with our usual deadline.
Because I was so immersed in getting the paper done, I didnt watch a lot of the live coverage that morning. I remember watching one of the towers fall, but I dont remember being moved to tears by it like I should have been. It might have been shock. It might have been the job I knew I had to do.
We completed the paper that day, just a few minutes late, then immediately got to work planning local angles for the next days newspaper and expanding the number of pages in the next days edition. As if any number of pages could accommodate the enormity of the news that was happening.
Everyone in the newsroom worked almost nonstop that day. I dont think the weight of was occurring really hit me until late that afternoon when I stepped outside to see Air Force One flying over Galesburg. The sky was a clear blue, and absent of jet streams. All aircraft had been grounded earlier in the day. But there was Air Force One, with an escort, on its way from Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska to Washington. The scene was surreal, and sent a chill up my spine.
I went home for supper before heading back into the office. It was the first time all day Id really had the time to sit for an extended period and watch the national news coverage. With no family around, in a new community, I felt about as alone as I ever had. About that time, lawmakers from both parties stood on the Capitol steps and sang God Bless America. I wept.
And the feeling in my gut then is the same feeling I get today as coverage of the 9/11 anniversary events plays on the television in the office of The Monroe Times. On every Sept. 11, Im sure Ill remember that advertising rep, the fuzzy little black and white TV, the single formation of planes in a clear blue sky, and God Bless America.
What do you remember?
