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By Rob Alway, Editor-in-Chief
LUDINGTON — Students from O.J. DeJonge Middle School gathered at Oriole Field Friday to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, joining members of the Ludington Fire Department, Ludington Police Department and Life EMS for a day centered on remembrance, service and community.
The event was organized by O.J. DeJonge Health and Physical Education teacher Alison Helminski, who said this year’s observance shifted its emphasis from a physical fitness challenge toward helping students understand the meaning of Sept. 11 and the lessons that came from it.
Superintendent Travis Walker walks with students on the Oriole Field track.
“Obviously, it’s the 25th anniversary from that tragic day, to have a little tribute, a little remembrance,” Helminski said.
Students entered Oriole Field past American flags honoring the 343 firefighters who died on Sept. 11, 2001. Photographs placed with the flags were provided by the Ludington Fire Department, while Filer Credit Union purchased the flags.
Throughout the school day, physical education classes traveled from O.J. DeJonge to Oriole Field. Each group participated in a brief remembrance program followed by 25 minutes of continuous movement. Students and first responders could walk, jog or climb at their own pace.
Various school administrators, faculty, staff and members of the Ludington Area Schools Board of Education also joined students during the different class sessions throughout the day.
LPD Capt. Mike Haveman walks with students.
In previous years, students climbed the Oriole Field bleachers in an effort to represent the stairs climbed by firefighters inside the World Trade Center. Helminski said the format was changed this year because Friday was only the fourth day of the school year and organizers wanted every student to be able to participate while allowing more time to discuss the significance of the anniversary. Students had the option of climbing the bleachers or walking the track at Oriole Field during the 25-minute period.
The theme of the event was, “25 years later, we climb together. We remember together. We serve together.”
Helminski said one of the challenges in teaching today’s middle school students about Sept. 11 is that none of them were alive when the attacks occurred.
“For them it’s just something they learn about briefly in a history class,” she said. “Whereas most of their teachers and coaches, like we all lived it, and we want to make sure that they can stay connected to that very important day in American history.”
Helminski said the lessons extended beyond remembering the firefighters, law enforcement officers and emergency medical personnel who responded that day.
“Our focus this year is to really make a connection with them on that ordinary people can do extraordinary things,” she said.
The attacks also produced countless stories of office workers, restaurant employees, secretaries, bankers and others who helped coworkers and strangers escape danger.
Helminski said she wants students to understand that making a difference does not always require an extraordinary act.
“That just one person can make a difference, and it’s just a little thing like picking up books in the hallway or being nice when you don’t have to be,” she said.
Students learned about Sept. 11 throughout the week in Helminski’s classes. She said she read material to students before they arrived at Oriole Field, following the 25-minute activity and again as they returned to the school.
The program also incorporated the story of Welles Crowther, who became known as the “Man in the Red Bandana.” Crowther, a 24-year-old equities trader and volunteer firefighter, helped people escape the South Tower of the World Trade Center before he was killed when the building collapsed.
The story inspired a red symbol of remembrance for O.J. DeJonge students. First responders presented each student with a red ribbon bracelet, funded through a donation from West Shore Bank.
Helminski said the bracelet was intended to serve as “that little reminder to do service, to be kind, and to help each other out.”
For Helminski, the observance was about connecting a generation that knows Sept. 11 only as history with the people, sacrifices and choices that defined that day — and demonstrating that service to others continues long after an anniversary passes.
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