A firefighter with 49 years of service wanted a way to honor and remember not only the 343 firefighters, but each of the 2,977 victims that were lost on Sept. 11, 2001.
That became a reality for Kirkwood Community College instructor John Conyn, who, along with the help of Zac Hornung, recreation coordinator for Mount Trashmore Trails and Overlook, put together “The 7 Climbs for 9/11” on Wednesday, Sept. 11.
According to Conyn and Hornung, climbing Mount Trashmore seven times is the equivalent to the distance first responders climbed to the top of the World Trade Center towers on 9/11.
With the number of trips it would take to go up and down Mount Trashmore, Conyn said it did not matter if every participant completed the seven climbs. “It doesn’t matter even if you do one climb this is just to serve as honor and tribute for those who aren’t here anymore. Every foot that steps on this hill has their own reason and that’s what makes it so precious,” he said.
The event started with the presentation of the heroes’ flag and a moment of silence, and the climbers were off.
According to Hornung, around 100 people participated including members of the Cedar Rapids Police Department, firefighters from different departments and everyday people.
One of the them was Jamie Henze, operations coordinator for the Vice President of Student Services at Kirkwood, along with her husband Chris, who has been in fire services for 20 plus years. She said, “This is one of the reasons and seeing it on a grand scale the even bigger commitment that the firefighters and police officers gave for 9/11. We felt that it was important to come out and honor that.”
Henze was able to complete five climbs before leaving for work. Mount Trashmore is located at 2250 A Street SW, Cedar Rapids.
Categories: Local News, News
