By Dee Longfellow
On Friday, April 5, residents, elected officials and other business and community leaders gathered at Fire House #2 on south York to break ground on a First Responders Memorial sculpture that is currently being constructed by local sculptor Jason Peot to be placed at the site to commemorate the events of 9-11 of 2001.
It was an overcast, blustery day on the morning of Friday, April 5, but that didn’t keep about 65 people from turning out at Fire Station #2 on south York to attend the ground-breaking for a sculpture being created to commemorate the first responders, who came forward to answer the call on the fateful day of 9-11 of 2001. The memorial serves as a remembrance of that one incident that caused everyone’s life to stop short for a moment, but later turned out to be a group of events that indeed changed the course of history in the United States, the world, and even Elmhurst.
A few days after the Twin Towers fell, several Elmhurst firefighters traveled to New York City, to assist with making life a bit better in that city, doing their part as first responders. The City received an actual piece of rail from Twin Towers that fell that day, which has been on display at Fire Station #2.
Local sculptor Jason Peot is creating this vibrant, moving, multi-faceted memorial to be placed near Fire Station #2. Peot, who is an Elmhurst resident, spoke to the Independent briefly at the ceremony.
“I found out about the project and they asked me if I’d like to work on it, or at least come up with an idea, they were talking to another artist as well,” he said. “I put together a proposal and it just kind of all happened.”
Peot is a professional sculptor as well as a professor at Harper College in Palatine, where he manages the entire art program, as well as teaches sculpture and design. He has a studio here in Elmhurst and his wife works for Elmhurst University. His works typically appear in galleries and museums, but he has occasionally done an outdoor installation and is particularly looking forward to this one – right here in Elmhurst!
Close to goal, but funds still needed
To compete the project, the Fire Department had to raise about $200,000 and contributions have been steadily coming in to make Friday’s event possible. They are still a little short of their target, so contributions are still being accepted. The goal is to have the sculpture in place by Sept. 11, 2024.
If you’d still like to help support the Fire Department’s efforts, there are commemorative bricks available for $300 each. Residents are invited to purchase a permanent engraved brick paver that will be placed in the First Responders Memorial Plaza. It’s an opportunity to honor a loved one or a special occasion by choosing up to three lines of type with a maximum 13 characters per line (including spacing, punctuation, special character, etc.).
There are also Sponsorship Levels, which offers the opportunity to be recognized by being listed in the First Responder Memorial Plaza. Sponsorship levels are Gold, $10,000; Silver, $3,500-$9,999; or Bronze, $950-$3,499. For more information, visit the City’s web site or visit elmhurstfiredepartment.com/programs_services/first_responders_memorial.
