Today is the 24th Anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. While it's easy to recall the violence and tragedy that occurred that day, it's also as important to remember how it brought people together. What happened in Romeo after 9/11 is no exception.
On the front page of the September 19, 2001 issue of The Romeo Observer, staff writer Larry Sobczak wrote about how the village reacted to the national tragedy in an article entitled, "Romeo and area respond with patriotic fervor." In it, he described how the residents responded with "more fundraisers, collection drives, religious services, and prayer vigils than can be reported."
One example of how the people came together was when several citizens gathered items like money and supplies at the Kmart on Van Dyke Road south of 31 Mile Road to help out emergency workers on the front lines in the Eastern United States. This photo taken for that edition by Jerry Mattson shows adults and children packing up things to be put in the Rei Korten truck.
Cris Brewer, who helped organize the collection drive, said this about the event, "We've had a wonderful turnout of both volunteers and people that are donating."
According to Sobczak, the effort ultimately collected "42,200 pounds of items such as water, dust masks and rain coats for emergency workers and $18,000 in donations to the Salvation Army."
Another person who helped organize the drive was Marcia Schmidt, and she added, "I want the people to know that the truck is on its way to Mount Vernon, N.Y., to a Salvation Army drop-off in coordination with the Red Cross. This is not going to just sit somewhere."
An interesting thing to note is that the Kmart in Washington Township is, as of now, a Salvation Army.
It's powerful to know in times like 9/11 that people set aside their differences and worked together towards a common goal.
To learn more about Romeo's community efforts after the 9/11 attacks, you can contact the Romeo Community Archives at rca@romemodistrictlibrary.org or call (586) 690-4890. If you want to search for articles on that topic, you can find the Romeo newspapers on the Suburban Library Cooperative's Local History Digital Collection website.
Images and sources courtesy of the Romeo Community Archives; Melvin E. and Joan D. Bleich Collection, The Romeo Observer, September 19, 2001, p.1-A and p.12-A