Dracut Remembers and Unites
Town-wide Food Drive in
Honor of Victims of 9/11
By Debbie Hovanasian
There are events that we’ll
remember just where we were when we heard about them. While sitting in a
first grade classroom at Shawsheen School in Tewksbury, our teacher told us
of the death of President John F. Kennedy. I still remember her grave look
and red-rimmed eyes. My 6-year-old mind couldn’t quite comprehend the
sadness of the adults around me.
It was quite different
nearly four decades later, on Sept. 11, 2001. I was in a place that
unknowingly would become a focal point in the days that would follow – St.
Francis Church in Dracut. A volunteer project had taken me to St. Francis
that day, beginning with 9:00 Mass. As we gathered peacefully inside the
church, we had no idea of the horrific events that began just before the
start of Mass and that continued to enfold in our country.
Returning to the parish
office around 9:30 a.m, we forged ahead on our work – until someone called
with the news of the attacks. We gathered around the television in the
pastor’s office, in shock and disbelief. We had no idea how close it would
hit to home.
That morning, my oldest
daughter had taken a bus from Dracut to Bishop Guertin High School in
Nashua, along with her friends, Laura and Caroline Ogonowski. I knew their
father was a pilot.
As we watched the footage,
I asked: “Isn’t John Ogonowski a pilot with American Airlines?” But I
never truly believed there would be a connection from this national tragedy
to our little town of Dracut or our parish.
A short time later we
learned that, indeed, one of our parish members, Capt. John Ogonowski, was
the pilot of American Airlines Flight 11. The Rev. Brian R. Kiely, then
pastor, visited with the Ogonowski family and later scheduled a Mass for
that evening for anyone in Dracut -- no matter their faith.
Word spread quickly,
television crews arrived and the church filled up with townspeople who,
shocked and saddened, needed to be together to sort out the confusion and
horror of that day through prayer. When the closing hymn, “Let There Be
Peace on Earth”, was sung, hundreds of voices joined in. There
were few dry eyes.
Uniting
a Decade Later
The unity of that evening
resonates as we approach the 10th anniversary. As a parish, we
searched for a way to bring the town together once again to honor John and
all the victims – including Brian Kinney, who grew up in Dracut and was on
the second plane to hit the towers, and Army Specialist Matthew Boule, a
Dracut native and St. Francis member who was killed in the war in Iraq, a
direct result of 9/11.
We think the best way is to
use Sept. 11, 2011 as an opportunity to highlight the best in humanity – the
very kind that was typical in the days that followed the 9/11 attacks.
Dracut
Remembers Town-wide Food Drive
As
a farmer, John was driven to help immigrant farmers and others who needed a
hand. Providing food was a big part of his life. September is a time when
food inventories at local food pantries are typically low. September 11 is
increasingly becoming a day of service, a movement suggested by the families
of the victims.
For all these reasons,
we’ve chosen to honor those we have lost by sponsoring the Dracut
Remembers Town-wide Food Drive on Sunday, Sept. 11, to benefit the
Dracut Food Pantry and the Ste. Marguerite D’Youville Food Pantry.
Depending on how much we collect, we will also forward a portion of the
donations to the Merrimack Valley Food Bank.
Farming
and Food Connections
St. Francis representatives
will be at the farm stands at Brox Farm, Shaw Farm and Saja Farm from 9:00
am until 3:00 pm to collect non-perishables. Dave Dumaresq (Brox), Warren
Shaw (Shaw) and Caroline Zuk (Saja) were all part of John’s Dracut farming
circle.
Food will also be collected
at St. Francis Church at 115 Wheeler Road. The church is built on 15 acres
of former farmland that was once owned by relatives of John.
St. Francis reps will also
collect food at the main Dracut Fire Station, in honor of fire safety’s role
in saving lives on 9/11, and also at Owen & Ollie’s Restaurant, which has
been one of the Dracut Food Pantry’s invaluable supporters.
Making
a Difference
We hope that everyone in
Dracut takes a few minutes that day to help a local family in need,
especially in this difficult economic climate. Having served on the board
of the Dracut Food Pantry, I can assure you of the need out there. And I
can also assure you that those who receive the food – including the elderly
and many families with young children -- have a deep appreciation for each
item in their grocery bags.
We can all make a
difference to them as we remember the day a decade ago that changed our
world.
Look
for more details, including a list of the “most needed” items, in the coming
weeks. For more information, email Debbie Hovanasian at
sunfaith@comcast.net
