Weathered photos hang quietly while baking in the afternoon sun.
A small toy stuffed bear sits with flowers and notes reading, “We miss you” and “We will never forget you” along side hundreds of other small memorials and mementos of the 168 people of lost their lives on April 19, 1995.
Walking past The Fence, a 200-foot stretch of chain link fence on the west side of the Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum, made for an emotional walk Wednesday afternoon.
The Fence, the first to be placed to protect the crime scene of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building after it was bombed on April 19, 1995, is now a place where friends and family members who lost loved ones come to remember those who perished along in downtown Oklahoma City.
The Oklahoma City National Memorial was dedicated on April 19, 2000, the fifth anniversary of the bombing and the Memorial Museum on Presidents’ Day, February 19, 2001.
The Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum is as an affiliate of the National Park System and is owned, operated and maintained by the Oklahoma City National Memorial Foundation.
The Outdoor Symbolic Memorial features the Gates of Time, one reading 9:01, the minute before the blast ripped the building apart, and 9:03, when the recovery began.
Inside the Memorial, a large reflecting pool connects the two gates and represents where Northwest Fifth Street was prior to the blast, south of the reflecting pool is the Field of Empty Chairs on a grassy field in the perimeter of where the Murrah Building once stood.
The Field of Chairs has 168 chairs, one for each life lost in the bombing, and is arranged in nine rows, one for each floor in the Murrah Building and represent which floor each person worked on, was killed on, or was visiting on April 19, 1995.
There are 168 chairs representing those who were killed, including 19 small chairs for the children who were killed. The bronze chairs sit on a glass base with the name of the victims etched on the glass.
The Outdoor Symbolic Memorial also features the Murrah Plaza, Memorial Overlook, Rescuers’ Orchard and The Survivor Tree, an American Elm that sat in the parking lot directly across from the blast.
Standing in the middle of the Outdoor Symbolic Memorial, it was difficult to imagine the scene some 13 years ago through the eyes of those who lived through it and those who will be forever connected to the event.
I have always had the desire to visit Pearl Harbor and the U.S.S. Arizona Memorial with the belief it would be, emotionally, the toughest tourist attraction I have ever visited.
After visiting the Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum, I stand corrected.
2009 Kansas calendar of events
The Crawford County Convention and Visitors Bureau is requesting information for the 2009 Crawford County Calendar of Events to be published in the Kansas Department of Commerce Division of Travel and Tourism annual statewide Calendar of Events listings.
The statewide calendar of events listings are published separate from the Kansas Visitors Guide, but are included as an insert to be distributed along with the Kansas Visitors Guide.
The Division of Travel and Tourism prints 400,000 copies of its Calendar of Events annually and all event listings in the Calendar of Events are free.
Events included in the Calendar of Events are community fairs and festivals such as the Mulberry Homecoming, Frontenac Homecoming, Arma V-J Homecoming, Little Balkans Days Festival, Walnut Festival and Homecoming, Cherokee Homecoming, Arcadia’s Old Settlers Days Festival, McCune Fall Festival and Girard Fall Festival, special celebrations in connection with holidays such as the Hepler Ruritan Fourth of July Rodeo and Celebration, Crawford State Park Fourth of July Celebration, Girard Fourth of July Celebration and Pittsburg’s Fourth of July Celebration as well as annual events such as the Jock’s Nitch Softball Classic, the Southeast Kansas Old Time gas Engine and Tractor Show, the Four-State Farm Show, Crawford County Fair, Festa Italiana and Greenbush Day.
Information on each of these events should include the dates for 2009, contact information and a general description of each event.
The deadline to be included in the 2009 Kansas Calendar of Events is Monday, Sept. 29. To submit event information, please e-mail it to the Crawford County Convention and Visitors Bureau at chull@pittsburgareachamber.com or call 1-800-879-1112.
Upcoming events
The Pittsburg State University football team goes on the road this weekend to St. Joseph, but a long list of activities are scheduled to take place in Crawford County, be sure to get out and about and enjoy these events this weekend and on into next week:
• Saturday, the second annual Celebrating our Military Heritage event will be held at 10 a.m. at Pittsburg State University’s Veterans Memorial Amphitheater. The event will include static military displays, the 312th Army Band and guest speaker Major General James W. Rafferty, Commanding General, 81st Regional Readiness Command. For more information, Jim Gees at (620) 249-1600.
• Saturday, the Frontenac Education Foundation hosts its annual Festa Italiana at 5 p.m. at the Frontenac Sports Complex. Started in 1999 as a small Italian food and heritage festival, Festa has grown to now include food and music from about a dozen nationalities represented in this community. Cooks sell samples of their best ancestral or ethnic recipes, while local musical groups perform. Proceeds go to the Frontenac Education Foundation to be used as scholarships for graduating seniors. A silent auction and bingo games round out the event. For more information call, Paul Hutsey, (620) 249-9997.
• Saturday, the Pittsburg Parks and Recreation Department will conduct its annual Pittsburg Idol competition at 7 p.m. at Memorial Auditorium. Bring your best singing voice and come compete for the honor of being Pittsburg Idol, just like the popular television show. For more information, contact the Pittsburg Parks and Recreation Department at (620) 231-8310.
• Saturday, the Mirza Shriners will host its Elvis-O-Rama featuring Duke Mason at 8 p.m. at the Mirza Shrine Temple, 110 West Fifth Street in Pittsburg. Doors open at 7 p.m., tickets are $10 per person and are available at the Mirza Shrine Temple or at the door. Special guests include the Miami County Cloggers presenting a special shows at 7:45 p.m. and 8:45 p.m. For more information, contact the Mirza Shriners at (620) 231-4180 or log onto www.mirzashriners.com.
• Sunday, the St. Aloysius Historical Society will host its 14th annual Greenbush Day starting at 11 a.m. St. Aloysius Church Historical Site hosts a tribute to the Greenbush history and heritage with events such as a kids fishing derby, pony rides, kiddie tractor pull, hog roast, arts and crafts, music and museum tours. For more information, contact the St. Aloysius Historical Society, Margaret O’Toole (620) 724-8536
• Sunday, the State Line Horse Show Circuit will conduct its monthly show at 1 p.m. at the Double Diamond D Indoor Arena, 521 east McKay in Frontenac. For more information, contact Anita Burgar (620) 724-6682, Dan Duling (620) 724-4678 or log on to www.statelinehsc.com
• Tuesday, the Crawford County Extension Office presents its annual Parents University at 5 p.m. at Memorial Auditorium. Numerous agencies serving families in Crawford County have come together to provide this annual event for parents to come and visit with agencies, discuss educational information with parenting professionals, pick up free parenting information and watch their children be entertained with a plethora of activities. For more information, contact the Anna Mae Brown at the Crawford County Extension Office (620) 724-8233, or contact Memorial Auditorium at (620) 231-7827 or www.memorialauditorium.org.
Craig Hull is the director of the Crawford County Convention and Visitors Bureau. It is the purpose of the Crawford County Convention and Visitors Bureau to promote travel and tourism in Crawford County, Southeast Kansas and the Midwest. He can be reached at chull@pittsburgareachamber.com or at 1-800-879-1112.
OKLAHOMA CITY —
