South Orange Reacts, Remembers 9/11

As clouds broke, the Manhattan skyline was visible from the South Mountain Reservation, where many walkers and runners paused this morning near the 9/11 memorial. The connection to news of Osama bin Laden’s death yesterday was clear; among the flags and daffodils that mark a memory garden, someone placed a copy of today’s newspaper.

“Someone did a good job,” said a resident walking in the Reservation. He nodded at the memorial and the skyline. “They did good.”

 U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr., who represents South Orange, said in a prepared statement, “This is the news the nation has waited for nearly 10 years to hear.”

Pascrell, an original member of the House Homeland Security Committee who travelled to Afghanistan in March to meet with U.S. troops and military leaders, added, “My heart goes out to the families of those who have lost loved ones on Sept. 11, 2001, the firefighters, the police, the EMTs who bravely ran toward the danger. There's no way to bring them back. But we must feel the satisfaction of Bin Laden’s demise. He was a common criminal that did very uncommon things. We owe a huge debt of thanks to our special forces who accomplished so much through this mission. And we will never forget the tragedy of that horrible day, and we will remain vigilant to make sure our nation never endures such an attack again.”

Across South Orange, at Waterlands fields, the playground dedicated to Christopher Faughnan was also visited early today. South Orange resident Faughnan died on September 11, 2001 in the World Trade Center. A 37-year-old trader at Cantor Fitzgerald, Faughnan was married to Cathy Faughnan. Together they had daughters Siena and Juliet, and a son named Liam.

 The family’s handprints mark a memorial that reads, “We remember you Dad, today and always.” By 9 a.m. this morning, a copy of today’s New York Times and a clutch of tulips rested on the memorial.

Village President Douglas Newman recalled the events of 2011. "As someone who personally was at Ground Zero, when it was attacked on Sept. 11, and who bore witness to and never will forget the tragic events of that day, last night's news brought a certain measure of closure for me.  While Osama bin Laden's death unfortunately will not mark an end to terrorism against the U.S. and Americans around the world, I sense that for most Americans and especially for families and friends of Sept. 11 victims and heroes, May 1, 2011 indelibly will mark the end of a painful era without precedent in this country."

Locals seemed eager to learn all they could of events. At Garden State News on Sloan St., there were only a handful of newspapers remaining by morning rush hour, with customers buying multiple copies of each New York paper.

“I’m keeping them for my kids,” said Mary Houghtaling, outside the store. “And it’s a good day so I bought lottery tickets too.”

While residents went about their business this morning, some marked last night’s news quietly. Librarian Nancy Janow dressed in red, white and blue today. She further noted a number of patrons wearing t-shirts in support of the President.  Kevin Q.  Ballenger of Newark today chose a t-shirt with Barack Obama's image and the words, "Yes, we can."