WE GATHERED THURSDAY MORNING at the Faribault Fire Hall as the sun beamed bright upon the crowd, as those in uniform stood in reverent respect, as engines idled, as the bell rang, as the American flag was raised and lowered, as heads bowed in prayer.
A short ceremony here marked the 24th anniversary of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on America, an act of violence that initially claimed 2,977 lives. And many others in the years thereafter.
At 7:46 a.m., when the first plane, Flight 11, hit the first World Trade Center, the ceremony in Faribault began. I mostly wandered, watched, framed photos, struggled to hear speakers. But mostly, I heard the silence, felt the heaviness upon hearts, remembered.
On that morning in 2001, I was caring for my 7-year-old son, who wasn’t feeling well, and his friend. I knew nothing of the attack until my husband called from work to inform me. As I scanned the crowd 24 years later, I wondered where all of them were when the unthinkable happened. Some were not yet born. Others, like Faribault’s communications director, was sitting in his seventh grade science class when he got the news. Many of us were just going about our normal day.
When I reflect on that day, I recall how profoundly different the world felt afterwards. The absence of airplanes in the sky following the attacks in New York City and at the Pentagon and then the crash of the fourth plane over a field in Pennsylvania was noticeable. I remember worrying, wondering if the Mall of America in Minnesota would be attacked in a symbolic act of terrorism. Everything felt different. Surreal. Scary.
I remember my son and his friend building two towers from blocks and then crashing toy airplanes into them, sending the blocks toppling into a pile. Child’s play as I watched endless media coverage, unable to turn off the TV.
Time passes. Days, months, years, decades. And here I was, 24 years later, standing outside my local fire hall. Standing with firefighters, law enforcement, EMTs, an insurance agent, the former mayor, city employees, local media, a child, a veteran, an older woman and her dog…ordinary people remembering those lost on that tragic day in American history, 9/11.
TELL ME: What are your memories from September 11, 2001? How did you feel and how do you feel now?
© Copyright 2025 Audrey Kletscher Helbling
Minnesota Prairie Roots 
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