Sep 11, 2007 7:00 pm US/Eastern
Local 9/11 Victims Remembered At Bucks Co. Garden
LOWER MAKEFIELD, Pa. (CBS 3) ―
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The Garden of Reflection, with two powerful fountains, signifies life rising out of the footprint of the Twin Towers has a simple purpose; to provide strength and hope to those who visit.
CBS 3
On the sixth anniversary of September 11, hundreds gathered to remember 18 Bucks County natives who were killed in the attacks during a ceremony at the Garden of Reflection in Lower Makefield.
While dedicated on September 30, 2006, the Garden of Reflection marked its first official remembrance ceremony Tuesday to honor the 18 local victims killed on 9/11.
"I lost my husband, William Steiner, and this was the first time that we did not go to New York, to the services there," said Russa Steiner. "I thought it was very pensive, appropriate."
Over 1,000 flowers were placed around the memorial where two "Fountains of Life" help give strength and hope to mourning visitors.
"It's just an honoring for people who were wronged. I think everybody feels that it's so peaceful here that there is no other place that they would rather be," said Ellen Saracini of Lower Makefield.
Ellen's husband, Victor Saracini, was a pilot for United flight 175. He died in the September 11 attacks.
Ellen and her two daughters decided to forego the ceremony in New York in order to attend the event held at the Garden of Reflection.
"I want to remember our happy times. I want to celebrate his life as what I remember it was, not what took him away from us," Ellen said.
Around the Garden of Reflection, handmade notes from children and flowers sit below the names of the local victims which encircle the flowing fountains.
David Biddle, who built the memorial, said the Garden was built for a more personal experience.
"A lot of families that lost their families, actually there were no actual gravesites for them so this acts as an actual place they can go to and spend time and reflect on the past," he said.
Grace Godshalk, who lost her son on September 11, said the memorial has been more than a place to grieve.
"I met some amazing people doing this and we formed a friendship that will never end," she said.
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