Day, the Ninth

Something Wicked This Way Comes

My daughter and I are stuck on the side of the road, trying to get across and into the middle of the Massabesic Traffic Circle.

Over the years, I’ve driven around this busy Manchester circle, right on the shore of the lake and near the border of Auburn, many times. I knew there was a flag there. I knew there was a rock memorial there. I just never thought to visit it. And with good reason.

Considering that the memorial that sits in the middle of one of the busiest circles in the state is supposed to be a thoughtful commemoration to the victims of the 9-11 terrorist attack, the location of this particular rock memorial defies reason.

“Daddy, how do we get across,” Little Bean is asking.

“We wait and be patient,” I say.

This is only a four-way intersection, but there’s no dedicated parking at the circle itself. Either you park at one of the businesses around the circle or, like we did, leave the car in an empty lot close by and walk back. There is one crosswalk that leads to the small, grassy area in the middle of the circle, and we are waiting at that crosswalk, but not a single car is stopping for us. Finally, we get a break and run to the other side.

Back in September, 2003, this circle, maybe for the only time in its history, took center stage for a day. Dozens of government officials, including Mayor Bob Baines and NH Gov. Craig Benson rubbed elbows with fire fighter and police personal for a morning of speeches and remembrances. Ten New Hampshire residents had lost their lives on that fateful day.

A contingent of Marines were on hand to lower the flag to half mast and the Manchester Central High School Jazz Choir sang patriotic songs. A fire bell accompanied the unveiling of the monument, a giant granite boulder. Then, alarms at all the fire stations in the city sounded at exactly 9:59 and 10:28 to mark the collapse of the Twin Towers. It was a heck of a ceremony, a moment of party cooperation and an appropriate memorial for the event.

But the location…

There’s a walkway that leads from the crosswalk up past some nice landscaping to the memorial stone, which is fenced in, but unlocked. I open the iron fence and Little Bean is able to step up to the stone.

She spends a moment reading the plaque but doesn’t seem to understand. “What is this for, daddy?”

“Well,” I begin slowly, “not too long ago, there was a terrible attack in a city not far from us and a lot of people died. So, this rock remembers those people.”

A few years ago, we visited the Flight 93 National Memorial and she wasn’t ready to begin processing 9-11. Maybe she’d be more ready now. I have only vague memories of my World War 2 vet dad struggling to talk to me about Pearl Harbor. I have the feeling I basically read about it and learned it on my own.

“Why is it here?” she asks.

“What do you mean?”

“If it happened in another city, why is the rock here?”

“Ah.” I get what she’s asking. “Well, there are memorials just like this one all over the country, in many different places and cities. What happened that day affected the whole country.”

“Ok,” she says, and reaches out to touch the granite.

Later, I discover the reason for the memorial’s location. The memorial rock drive was headed up by Real Pinard, the alderman at the time who lived right around the corner. The rock, flagpole base and installation were donated by Elmer Pease, a wealthy businessman whose company PD Associates was located a stone’s throw away from the rock. It was a local neighborhood effort and newspaper articles of the time highlight the fact that the memorial didn’t cost anything to taxpayers.

“Is there anything else you’d like to know about this,” I ask her.

“No,” she says, but seems suddenly sad. She looks up and notices that we’re only a little way from the shore of the lake. “Can we go to the water?”

And so, we do. We leave the memorial and the terrible traffic behind us and go fish for pebbles on the edge of the lake. The cars continue to circle, the rock grows moss, and my baby edges closer to yet another understanding of the world.  

The Massabesic Circle 9-11 Memorial will be included in our upcoming field guide – “NH Rocks That Rock: Memorial Stones.” For more info on our rocks field guide series, click here: NH Rocks That Rock

If you wish to read about our trip to the Flight 93 National Memorial, click here: Wanted: Incredible Heroes

If you like to learn more about my books, click here: Dan’s Bookstore