Windsor High School 9/11 Memorial

On May 21, 2024 our club members, Auralee Eckman and Tom Graywacz tested their strength to get the Windsor High School 9/11 Garden up to snuff.

They initially thought this would be a run-of-the-mill gardening task, but as it turns out, a larger tree was blocking a drain in the large ceramic planter and they had to improvise.

They cleaned out the planter and mounted it on pavers, filled it with soil and Tom, an avid annual planter, worked his magic on the annuals. They also did some general cleanup around the garden, and the school maintenance department cleaned up the rest of the courtyard. It looks lovely, and coincidentally, May 21, 2004, was the day that the memorial was dedicated initially, making the day of its Windsor Garden Club facelift also the twentieth anniversary.

If you are in the area, we recommend checking it out. It is located in the courtyard next to the main office entrance of Windsor High School at 50 Sage Park Road. Pull some weeds if you drop in! Please also be mindful of it being on school grounds.

History of the 9/11 Memorial
The 9/11 Memorial at Windsor High School is a testament to the power of community. It all began when a Special Education teacher at WHS gave her social skills class an assignment to enhance the school and the community. The class, inspired by the spirit of unity and remembrance, decided to create a simple tribute to the victims of September 11.

In true form, when Mr. Lon Pelton learned of this effort, he joined the project collaborated with the students and created two metal sculptures from discarded oil drums. He then cut out the images of the Twin Towers.

Once the sculpture was complete, the students drilled a hole for each person who died in the attack, reading the name of each victim as they drilled. These holes appear above the towers like stars. The memorial is entitled “To Those Who Were,” and beneath the sculpture is a plaque designed by WHS student Patrick Daly (Class of 2004).

During the day, sunlight streams through to cast a shadow of the towers in the ground, and at night, thanks to lights installed by Pelton, light glows through the holes as if the WTC were surrounded by stars.

The large ceramic planter and garden were part of the memorial, but with changes to WHS staff, there was no longer anyone to maintain the garden—that is, until now. The WCG will see to its maintenance for the foreseeable future so that this meaningful fixture of our community remains in its glory.

Information in the history portion of this article was taken from the below:

Windsor Historical Society - Windsor Remembers 9/11: https://windsorhistoricalsociety.org/windsor-remembers-911/

9/11 Living Memorial: Windsor High School 9/11 Memorial: https://voicescenter.org/living-memorial/memorials/windsor-high-school-911-memorial

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