• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

The Inside Press

Magazines serving the communities of Northern Westchester

  • Home
  • Advertise
    • Advertise in One or All of our Magazines
    • Advertising Payment Form
  • Print Subscription
  • Digital Subscription
    • Subscribe
    • Subscriber Login
  • Contact Us

remember

A Reflection on 9/11 and the Gratitude that Fills Me

October 22, 2017 by The Inside Press

The 9/11 ceremony at Gedney Park was well attended
PHOTO BY STACEY PFEFFER

By Rev. Dr. Martha R. Jacobs

As I was walking up the path towards the 9/11 commemoration in Gedney Park this year, I mused to myself that this was the fourth year I was participating. I remembered the first time I arrived for the ceremony. I had been at the First Congregational Church (FCC) for about three weeks, had been asked to participate (I guess because I was “new” to the community), and when I got out of my car, not knowing anyone and not even knowing where to go, there was Robin Stout, one of my congregants and a Town Board member, seemingly waiting to greet me. He took me up the hill and introduced me to just about everyone involved. At the time, I didn’t remember their names, and had no clue that I would be getting so involved in this community. I was so grateful for Robin’s presence with me.

I had been a volunteer chaplain at Ground Zero for several months following the events of that awful morning, had spoken at several conferences in the years following about my work at Ground Zero and my time as President of the New York Disaster Interfaith Services. But I was now in a new community that, for the most part, had no idea of my history and connection to 9/11. Being asked to participate in that ceremony meant more to me than most people realized. I was so grateful to have been asked.

Local Boy Scouts salute the flag at the 9/11 ceremony
PHOTO BY STACEY PFEFFER
And, now, four years later, I am still being asked to participate.

I knew where I was going and was greeted by so many people, both first responders and members of the wider community and it filled my heart with gratitude. I remain thankful for the opportunity to pause every year to remember those who gave their lives, those who lost their lives and those who continue to struggle with health issues as a result of coming to the rescue of those who were trapped and those who died, as they sought to find the remains of those who died, so that families could have proper burials. And, I pause to remember those police and firefighters and construction workers with whom I sat and talked, and listened to, and cried with and prayed for. And I remember those with whom I walked to the cross that had been found among the rubble of the buildings, that had been placed on a piece of cement for those workers who needed to see a symbol of hope and grace amidst the immense devastation and loss of human life. At the time, there was no explanation as to what happened and why it happened. I will never forget the sounds, the smells and the sights of walking into the wreckage and seeing that metal cross, which also helped me to find the courage to be there with these brave men and women.

My life has been forever changed, forever scarred and forever filled with gratitude for those who put their own lives on the line in order to try to make a difference for those whose loved ones died on that tragic morning. It changed our lives and theirs forever.

Being a part of FCC has changed me forever as well. So has being a part of this community whether through offering prayers at community events at the pagoda, during the Memorial Day commemoration, working with the school district on ensuring the safety of our children, or talking with people at Community Day. I am filled with gratitude that God has called me to serve this community at such a time as this.

Rev. Dr. Martha R. Jacobs is the Senior Minister at the First Congregational Church in Chappaqua.

Filed Under: Et Cetera Tagged With: 9/11, fallen firefighters, First Responders, Gratitude, remember, Rev. Dr. Martha Jacobs, soldier, soldiers

9/11 Flag of Remembrance Finds a Home

October 21, 2017 by Ronni Diamondstein

9/11 Memorial & Museum installation team working with the piece in the museum
PHOTO BY JIN LEE

Overwhelmed by the unfathomable loss of September 11, 2001, Mindy Kombert began to sketch boxes to represent each life lost. The sketch became a blueprint for the Flag of Remembrance that has found a permanent home at the 9/11 Memorial & Museum in New York City, where it is currently on exhibit. The 20-foot-by-27-foot masterpiece created by Kombert and Sherry Kronenfeld, both Chappaqua residents was a labor of love that gave these women a way to process the events of that fateful day.

“I really felt the need, being a visual person, to visualize the scale of the loss,” says Kombert, a multi-talented artist. She had 12 pages and went to Kronenfeld with her first sketch. “I wanted to learn all about them and what had brought them all together on that day.”

Since the two women had been working together at a local design firm before they started this project, Kronenfeld knew it would be seamless. “Mindy and I have perfectly matched–that is, complementary– skills and talents, so our roles easily fell into place. She came up with the concept and handled the visuals, the graphics, the materials–ink and fabric, etc., and I did more of the organization and the communication.”

Installation at Chappaqua Library in 2004
PHOTO BY JONATHAN C. HYMAN

They suspended their business and formed a committee that grew into a not-for-profit. “It was very difficult initially, we met at my kitchen table,” says Kombert. “We had no idea what it would cost. “They found an anonymous donor to fund the project and received donations of materials and printing services.

Close-ups of the flag
PHOTO BY JONATHAN C. HYMAN

“I took the skills I had, quilting and graphic design, and it evolved into a monument two stories high,” says Kombert. Kronenfeld did the press releases, the media outreach, the contacts and relationships with companies. She contacted all the World Trade Center companies who lost large numbers of employees and the city agencies (FDNY, NYPD, etc.) who lost first responders–to make sure as many people as possible knew about the project.

For ten years I photographed memorials and artwork–large and small–across the country made in response to the 9/11 attacks. The Flag of Remembrance is one of only a handful of objects or artworks I consider to be truly remarkable. Staggering in its scale, detail, and craftsmanship, this flag speaks powerfully to the zeal, compassion, and need to memorialize and speak publicly that was evident across the culture in the aftermath of the attacks. Though generically resembling an American flag, I stood before it the day it was hung the first time, humbled by its ability to be both deeply personal and speak viscerally about our nation’s grief. Indeed, it is a monument unto itself. – JONATHAN C. HYMAN

CNN correspondent Jeanne Moos caught wind of the project and highlighted it in one of her segments on 9/11 victims. Following that special, Kombert and Kronenfeld set up an 800 number to provide a convenient and quick way for people to contact them if they had any questions about the Flag or to send in photos for inclusion. However it also turned out to be a way for family members to tell them about the person they lost. “I had one woman, a widow, who called me several times just to talk about her daughter, who was living with her at the time of the attacks. She talked about what a wonderful daughter she was, how dedicated to her mother and to her job, and how much she was going to miss her,” says Kronenfeld. “In this and many other cases, it seemed to be therapeutic for the family members to talk, for them to communicate everything they could about the special person they had lost. Others were just as heart-wrenching, including several who asked if instead of one close-up photo–as we had indicated was optimum–they could have two in a photo, because they had lost two or more family members.”

The Flag of Remembrance on display at the 9/11 Memorial & Museum PHOTO BY JIN LEE

The Flag was made by transferring victims’ photographs to individual pieces of fabric. The blue field with white stars was dedicated to uniformed first responders while the stripes of white and red were reserved for civilians. Each victim’s name and age were included. An image of a memorial candle accounted for those whom photographs were unavailable.

Close-ups of the flag
PHOTO BY JONATHAN C. HYMAN

Deeded to the Museum in 2007, the Flag is now part of the museum’s permanent collection. Kombert kept it folded under her bed in Chappaqua for many years until it was transferred to the Museum’s conservation facility to ready it for the Museum. The Flag will hang for one year and then fall into a rotation schedule with other large works in the collection. “My hope is that it will be loaned or travel,” says Kombert. In addition to its debut at the Chappaqua Library in 2004, the red, white and blue muted-toned flag has been on display at the Kensico Dam memorial The Rising, the Liberty Plaza Marriott, John Jay College of Criminal Justice and the Doral Arrowwood Westchester.

“The project itself was gratifying, as we felt all along that we were doing everything we could to pay tribute and forever remember the victims of 9/11,” says Kronenfeld.

“The Flag is a reminder of the scale of the loss we suffered,” says Kombert. “I am so happy that it is where it belongs.”

For more information, please visit www.911memorial.org.

Filed Under: Armonk Cover Stories Tagged With: 9/11, 9/11 Flag of Remembrance, 9/11 Memorial, Flag, photos, remember

Carefree in Paris

December 2, 2015 by The Inside Press

By Grace Bennett

Paris is personal for me. It holds some special memories. It’s where my ex-husband and I spent our honeymoon. But that’s not my subject here. Summer of ‘77…I’m 17 ½  following a freshman year at Boston University and accompanying my parents to Frankfurt, Germany, for a Nazi war trial. My dad was called to testify against a low to mid-level Nazi commandant who oversaw his barracks in Auschwitz. He asked if I would write about it for the employee newspaper at Yeshiva University in Washington Heights where he worked as a maintenance supervisor. (I did.)
grace in paris

We stayed a couple days, didn’t tour…it was strictly business. The day in court, Mr. Schmidt roamed freely and even approached my father casually. “Hello, Jacob,” he said before court officiated, clearly recognizing my dad, using his name!, as if they had once shot a game of pool together.

My dad acknowledged him with a hello back. I asked my dad how he could even look at him; he said simply, “he wasn’t the worst of them.” For my part, I concentrated on aiming daggers his way through my eyes, but I’m not sure he saw.

From Frankfurt, we chose Paris to visit before our final destination of Tel Aviv; it was the one place in Europe that my mom, in particular, had dreamed of seeing as a teenager growing up post war in Poland, having survived after her immediate family escaped from Warsaw to Russia. My mom’s family was sent back to then Communist-turned Poland. Even after all they had been through, they had to wait years for visas to Israel, where she eventually met my dad.

So Paris was where we stopped to unwind following the time in Frankfurt…and we experienced the usual…a clear view of the Eiffel Tower, crepes and finer eats, a walk along the River Siene, a visit to the Louvre.

It was more than the City of Lights for us for a short time, It was a place to put the trial behind us, to let our hair down, laugh a little. Thoughts of the awful events of decades earlier were suspended and then shelved as we picked up souvenirs, sipped café au lait, and tried so hard to simply be “normal” tourists to Paris.

I think we succeeded despite all our baggage. There we were, two Holocaust survivors and their kid, in Paris, safe and carefree…as Paris is meant to be, as Paris should always be.

Do enjoy our entire Winter 2015 edition! The theme was “Express Yourself, “ as I did here in the aftermath of the tragic events in Paris. Together with our wonderful contributors, I tried to fill this issue with a variety of meaningful civic, artistic and personal “expressions;” they run the gamut, so see what resonates most with you! Wishing you and yours a very happy holiday season.

The Magic of Frosty!

By the time you read this, you will likely have enjoyed one of Armonk’s most anticipated family fun days of the year: “Frosty Day!” Our online coverage and story by Stacey Pfeffer of the 2015 Frosty Day parade and activities can be viewed at www.theinsidepress! but these wonderful 2014 pictures from the president of Friends of Frosty, Robby Morris, highlighted all the fun Armonk residents can always anticipate.

Frosty at School

Frosty Day

Frosty Day2

Filed Under: Armonk Just Between Us Tagged With: Inside Armonk (Dec 2015), paris, remember

Primary Sidebar

Recent Posts

  • New Castle Fire District No. 1 Announces Bond Referendum to be Held April 25
  • Don’t Resist JUST DESSERTS at the Chappaqua Performing Arts Center April 28-30
  • When There’s A Dog in Your Life
  • The View from Inside
  • Meet The Inside Press Contributing Team!
  • The Surprising Facts about Heart Attacks in Women

Please Visit

Chappaqua School Foundation
White Plains Hospital
William Raveis – Armonk
William Raveis – Chappaqua
Chappaqua Children’s Book Festival
Houlihan Lawrence – Chappaqua
Houlihan Lawrence – Armonk
Houlihan Lawrence – Briarcliff
Westchester Table Tennis
Compass: Miller-Goldenberg Team
Armonk Tennis Club
Raveis: Stacey Sporn
Compass: Natalia Wixom
The Tea Experience
World Cup Gymnastics
Pleasantville Community Synagogue
Mathenasium
King Street Creatives
Eye Designs of Armonk
Arbonne: Jill Kay
Compass: Yona Stougo

Follow our Social Media

The Inside Press

Our Latest Issues

For a full reading of our current edition, or to obtain a copy or subscription, please contact us.

Inside Chappaqua Inside Armonk Inside Pleasantville

Join Our Mailing List


Search Inside Press

Links

  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • Digital Subscription
  • Print Subscription

Footer

Support The Inside Press

Advertising

Print Subscription

Digital Subscription

Categories

Archives

Subscribe

Did you know you can subscribe anytime to our print editions?

Voluntary subscriptions are most welcome, if you've moved outside the area, or a subscription is a great present idea for an elderly parent, for a neighbor who is moving or for your graduating high school student or any college student who may enjoy keeping up with hometown stories.

Subscribe Today

Copyright © 2023 The Inside Press, Inc. · Log in