Locals tense following terrorist attacks

HOWARD COUNTY - It is a small world. 

That saying was reinforced right after the Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2001 attacks in New York City, Arlington, Va. and western Pennsylvania. 

The attacks affected residents in and around Howard County, and several individuals from the area had loved ones  with first hand knowledge of the aftermath.

Twenty years ago, there were impromptu church services held. People were afraid there would be a shortage of fuel, so gas stations had lines nine cars or more deep waiting to fill up.

Phone lines were tied up locally and nationally as family members and friends called to make sure those close to them were safe.

On Friday, Sept. 14, the nation observed a time of remembrance and silence. According to the Sept. 20, 2001 Lime Springs Herald, “In Lime Springs, the whistle blew for a minute at 12:29 p.m. It was a mournful sound.”

A blood drive in Cresco harvested the most donations they ever had, and they had to turn away 90 others.

Cresco City Council observed a moment of silence before its Monday night meeting.

 

Experiences shared 

with local readers in 2001

[Another example of how important local newspapers are to a community can be proven in the 9/11/2001 aftermath. The Sept. 19, 2001 Times Plain Dealer and Sept. 20, 2001 Lime Springs Herald and later issues talked with readers and shared some experiences of locals affected by the attacks.]

• Joe Trouten of Lime Springs was picking up a delivery across the river in New Jersey when the two planes hit the Twin Towers, one mile away.

He saw police, fire, ambulance and unmarked dark-windowed cars racing down the streets.

“When I walked out of my first pick-up, the first building had just come down. I didn’t hear or feel anything, but I saw the smoke.” His main concern was getting his orders picked up and leaving the area. On the way home, he saw a lot of limousine traffic.

Trouten got hold of his wife, Heidi, fairly early, who said she kept thinking how often Joe had delivered to the World Trade Center.

[Sept. 20, 2001 Lime Springs Herald}

• Randy and Carmen Assmus were concerned about their son, Patrick, who was stationed at Damneck Naval Base at Virginia Beach, Va. He had been told not to say anything.

Carmen was also worried about her brother, Mike Wesseling, who was a little closer to the action. He drove a bus for the Pentagon, mostly dignitaries. He was just a half-mile away when the commercial plane hit the Pentagon.

Carmen said, “He spent the day helping to remove debris and standing around feeling helpless.”

Randy’s cousin’s son had just quit his job at the Trade Center. His parents were in New York City that day helping him move.

• Gordy and Pat Koehler had just attended a niece’s wedding in Texas and were scheduled to fly out of Waco on Tuesday at 10:50 a.m. They were lucky. They just spent a couple extra days at a relative’s house before getting a flight on Friday.

• Jerome and Norma Hruska and four other family members were vacationing in Germany when they learned of the attacks. 

Jerome described how nice people were. “The people were wonderful. They were more than hospitable. They offered us sympathy for what had happened.” 

When they arrived at their destination, they found a cross in the middle of the square. It was filled with red roses, and locals were lighting candles.

The reason for the trip was to take part in Octoberfest and listen to the music. A waiter told them, “In sympathy, we will not play any music for one week,” from Sept. 11-17.

• Lori Anderson, whose parents lived in Riceville at the time, was three minutes and one flight away from being on one of the planes that flew into one of the Towers.

The daughter of Sue and Darrell Anderson lived in Boulder, Colo. and worked out of the Denver United Airlines terminal 20 years ago. 

On that fateful day, Lori  had flown into Boston and was supposed to be on the Los Angeles flight when she was bumped. 

She was booked on the next plane, which was heading to Denver. After the hijackings, her plane was sent to Detroit, where she stayed for two days.

She recently reminisced over the past 20 years.

“I got lucky that day. I was put on the next plane, headed for Denver. I was in the middle seat, as a passenger, although I was still on duty. I saw the lead flight attendant talk to another attendant. It seemed odd. I went to the bathroom and learned we were going to be making an emergency landing.

“The first rumor I heard was that a small commuter plane had hit another. When we landed in Detroit, we learned the truth . . . that two separate planes had been flown into the Twin Towers.”

When Anderson was on duty, she always turned off her phone. That day, when she turned her phone on, she had several messages from her mother, along with about 20 from others . . . “Some I hadn’t heard from in years. My mom then called everyone and let them know I was okay.”

 Anderson was scheduled to go back to work three days after the attacks. She wasn’t ready, so she took some vacation time. She feels that the anxiety she felt after 9/11 caused her to fail to see the warning signs of a bad releationship.

Of being assigned to a different plane, she feels she was meant to survive. She has an 18-year-old daughter, who the doctors feel was conceived on Sept. 11 or 12  a few years after the attacks. “It’s ironic,” she observed.

She reminds readers that security is still strict. “People complain, but it is vital. Even the flight crews had to be wanded after the attacks, which hadn’t been done before.

One thing people may not remember is United Airlines had 26,000 flight attendants 20 years ago. After that, employees took a 36% pay cut. “We were back to 1990 wages,” Anderson said.

“I have not been a flight attendant since 2011. I now work with disabled individuals.”

• Two more stories [Sharon/Carol Hoverman and Steve Lorenzo] from 2001 are more in depth and in separate articles.