Twenty-Five Years Later, Owego Still Remembers September 11

The Town of Owego, along with Tioga County Emergency Service Personnel, will hold a 9-11 Memorial Service on Friday, September 11, at the Town of Owego 9-11 Memorial in Hickories Park.

It's worth pausing to remember how much September 11 changed this country, and how many communities like Owego still carry that day with them. This year marks 25 years since the attacks, which is hard to believe when you say it out loud. A quarter century has passed, and still most of us can tell you exactly where we were and what we were doing when we first heard the news that morning.

Owego 9-11 Memorial Ceremony Time and Location

Participants and attendees can begin gathering at 8 a.m., with the ceremony starting at 8:30 a.m. at the memorial site in Hickories Park. The park has hosted the town's memorial for years now, giving Owego a permanent place to return to each September rather than a one-time gathering that fades with the calendar.

Owego 9-11 Memorial Honors First Responders and Those We Lost

Town of Owego Supervisor Gary Hellmers said organizers hope for a strong turnout to honor the heroes of that day, along with those who have since passed and those still with us today. That includes the first responders who ran toward danger in New York City, Washington and Pennsylvania, as well as the local firefighters, police officers and EMS personnel who serve Tioga County today and carry forward that same sense of duty.

Get our free mobile app

These local ceremonies matter. They're smaller than the ones you'll see broadcast from lower Manhattan, but they carry the same weight, neighbors standing together in a park to make sure nobody in this community forgets. Twenty-five years is long enough that some of the kids attending Friday's service weren't alive for the attacks themselves, which makes gatherings like this one even more important for passing the memory forward.