By the Talon Staff
It was a beautiful day.
That’s the one thing everyone remembers: there wasn’t a single cloud in the sky until smoke billowed out from the heart of Manhattan.
In an attempt to remember and honor the many lives lost in the attack on the Twin Towers on September 11, 2001, Sharon High School (SHS) staff offered their memories on this life-changing day.
SHS Dean of Academic Affairs Robert Pomer was working as a teacher in Manhattan. The day sticks clearly in his mind as he remembers the panic and struggles of the people in the school building. The U.S. Army shut down the city. Parents panicked and weren’t able to pick up their kids.
“It was their second day at their school,” he said. “I remember assembling all the students and telling them what had been happening. Most kids were trying to reach home because most of us never had cell phones.”
Similarly, Ms. Sara Siniscalchi also provided a recount of her personal experiences on the day of the attacks and the days following. One of her roommates’ ex-boyfriends was on one of the planes. She described a sense of disbelief. As tears welled up in her eyes, she explained how she thought of the victims, imagining “the sheer panic and terror” that they felt. She explained her experience, describing the next few days as “weird and sad” as she and her roommates didn’t know how to navigate their feelings. The event has left a lasting effect on her life, as she explained that she still thinks about those days after the incident.
One current SHS teacher, Mr. Sean O’Reilly, after processing the horror of the violence, shifted his thoughts to two family members. Working as a teacher in Framingham, he ran out of the classroom to contact his sister working on Capitol Hill, which was a predicted target of the fourth plane that was heading toward Washington D.C. Miraculously, he got through to her on the phone despite millions of calls flooding the phone lines that morning. When describing his words then, he articulated, “I said to her as directly as I could, do not wait there, get out of there now.” Thankfully, a police officer helped her evacuate the building, and the fourth plane never made it to Washington DC, crashing in Pennsylvania. After initial relief, he quickly tried to reach his father, who was working in a Boston skyscraper that could have been vulnerable to another attack. He thankfully learned later that the building was immediately evacuated after the attacks and his father was safe.
Ms. Courtnay Malcolm, AP US History and AP Government teacher, remembered riding her bike in Boston to her work in a public television company on that perfect September morning. She watched on television as the firefighters went into the Twin Towers as they were about to collapse. She was afraid the Hancock Building would be hit next. People didn’t know what was happening, which caused more panic as they didn’t know if there were going to be more attacks or if their families were safe. She explains that it was a terrifying time filled with lots of tense emotions.
“It changed the world,” recalled Mr. James Ragona, a Science coordinator at SHS at the time, when reflecting on the events. Mr. Ragona’s mother was in the Pentagon when the attack happened. Luckily, when one of the planes hit the five-sided United States Department of Defense, she wasn’t present; nevertheless, it didn’t fail to cause Mr. Ragona and his father worry as they waited to hear of her safety for her the entire afternoon.
English teacher Mrs. Lisa Jolicoeur also was working at SHS that day. It just so happened that she had rolled out a TV for her students to watch an educational film when a young boy received a phone call from his dad. He went outside of the room to answer it because apparently, his dad would only call him during school in the case of an emergency. After he reentered the room, his facial expressions alone could tell that something seriously wrong had happened. Mrs. Jolicoeur turned on Channel 4 news and the whole class, including her, watched in horror as the second American Airlines plane flew into the South Tower. She said, “People were jumping out of buildings…”
Mrs. Jolicoeur’s experience watching the catastrophic event that took place that day in New York City has caused her to be more appreciative of others and has made her frequently encourage her students to be appreciative and kind to their classmates and teachers.
Mrs. Phelps, an administrative assistant in the Counseling Office, concentrated on the incredible American unity she observed during the days following the attacks. She vividly remembered how the days following the attacks were full of national pride. “It was an attack on all of us,” she said, emphasizing how even the worst of times can bring people together.
With all these stories, Ms. Jennifer Feldman, a history teacher, spoke about the importance of younger generations learning about this significant mark in history.
Ms. Feldman remembers the day clearly. Starting her first week at UMass-Amherst, it set the tone for an already important turning point in her life.
“Prior to 9/11, there weren’t many times that I felt unsafe in the country,” she said. “9/11 was the first time I really felt unsafe.”
As a history teacher, she is all too familiar with human’s tendency to blame tragedy on specific groups, which she saw after 9/11. She remembers the country’s quick work in blaming the COVID-19 virus on China as evidence of this tendency.
“Everyone has so many different stories, so when you add that all up together that helps you understand what the reality was,” said Ms. Feldman.
