Middetown: Honoring its 9/11 Victims

From Middletown Township on 9/11 ... the community that lost 37 of its residents to the attacks on the World Trade Center:

In commemoration of the 10th anniversary of 9/11, Middletown Township is planning a trio of tributes to honor those who lost their lives in the World Trade Center tragedy.

“Thanks to the support from the community, Middletown will honor the 37 residents we lost during the tragedy with a memorial service, and a ,” said Mayor Anthony P. Fiore.

The Township will hold the memorial service on Sunday, September 11, 2011 at 6:30 p.m. at the Middletown World Trade Center Memorial Gardens, next to the Middletown Arts Center and Train Station on Church Street. Among those who have agreed to participate are local religious and government leaders, veterans’ organizations, emergency responders, girl scouts and boy scouts. The service will include a candle lighting ceremony, said Mayor Anthony P. Fiore, who heads the September 11th Memorial Planning Committee.

General parking will be available the main train station lot and the Satellite Lot at Sears, located at the corner of Kings Highway and Route 35. A shuttle bus will transport attendees between Sears and the gardens. The service will be held rain or shine.

Prior to the memorial service a flag display will be installed to honor the 37 residents who died on September 11, 2001.  Flag banners will be posted on telephone poles along Kings Highway, Church Street and Middletown-Lincroft Road.

“The flag display is sponsored by local businesses, organizations and individuals who answered the township’s call to help fund this fitting tribute,” said Mayor Fiore. “The flags will continue to be used after the 10th anniversary of the World Trade Center tragedy as a reminder that Middletown remains vigilant in its support of the War on Terror.”

The cost of each flag banner is $250. Businesses, groups and individuals who sponsor the cost of at least one flag will be recognized in the program materials, on the township website — www.middletownnj.org — and on the township television station. The station is viewable on Comcast Channel 20 and Verizon FiOs Channel 26. Donations are tax-deductible. Call 732-615-2024 for more information.

Meanwhile, the Middletown Arts Center has put out a call to area artists to submit artwork for juried art exhibit honoring 9/11. The exhibit, A Community Connected...to Each Other, to Healing, to Hope will be on display from Aug. 25 through Sept. 25.  An Opening Reception will be held on Thursday, Aug. 25 from 7 to 9 p.m. Call 732-706-4100 or visit www.middletownarts.org for details on how to submit artwork or see the announcement here on Middletown Patch.

About the Gardens

Residents honored at the Gardens are:

Lorraine D. Antigua

Jane S. Beatty

Donna Bernaerts-Kearns

Alfred J. Braca

Ronald M. Breitweiser

Patrick J. Buhse

Stephen J. Cangialosi

Swede Joseph Chevalier

Dolores Marie Costa

Edward Desimone III

Michael Egan

David Ferrugio

Daniel J. Gallagher

John M. Grazioso

Felicia Hamilton

Patrick A. Hoey

Kathleen A. Hunt Casey

Brendan Mark Lang

Roseanne P. Lang

Anna A. Laverty

Michael Patrick McDonnell

Peter T. Milano

Louis J. Minervino

Justin John Molisani, Jr.

James Thomas Murphy

Christopher Newton-Carter

Paul R. Nimbley

Robert Emmett Parks, Jr.

Nicholas P. Pietrunti

John M. Pocher

Beth Ann Quigley

Gregg Reidy

Robert Andrew Spencer

Dick Stadelberger

Kenneth Tietjen

Anthony Ventura

Rodney James Wotton

The Middletown World Trade Center Memorial Gardens are located next to the Middletown Arts Center, 36 Church Street, Middletown, NJ 07748. The memorial features a landscaped walking path with individual memorials for each resident lost, where visitors can reflect about the loss Middletown has suffered. The Gardens are open daily from dawn to dusk. The township holds a remembrance ceremony each year at the Gardens.

The Memorial Gardens were developed by the Middletown WTC Memorial Committee, a non-profit group consisting of family members and interested residents. The group, chaired by former Mayor Patrick W. Parkinson, came together shortly after the tragedy to develop a lasting tribute to 37 residents who were lost as a result of the World Trade Center attacks.

Construction began with a groundbreaking ceremony on September 10, 2002. The Memorial Gardens were opened to the public on September 11, 2003.  Construction of the memorial was made possible largely through donations.

Preparation of the site was completed by a group of local contractors who provided their services at no cost. Middletown companies who donated their services include: Frontier Fence Co., J.H. Reid, JOMAC, K. Hovnanian, Najarian, Pantaleo Electric, Trap Rock Industries, and Stavola Contracting Co.  Stephen Kealy, of Heavy and General Construction Laborers Union No. 472, helped to bring the contractors together. T&M Associates donated design work associated with the project.