Effort to replace dead and unhealthy trees at Flight 93 memorial expected to take decades
Officials say it will take decades to replace and revitalize trees at the national memorial in western Pennsylvania to the crew and passengers who died there when a hijacked airplane crashed on Sept. 11, 2001.
About 700 dead or unhealthy trees were removed nearly a year ago and work has begun to add topsoil and plan for what is expected to be a lengthy effort to rehabilitate the trees in 40 memorial groves and along a central walkway.
The crescent of groves at the Flight 93 National Memorial commemorates the 40 passengers and crew killed when they acted to force down their airplane hijacked by al-Qaida terrorists before it could be used as a weapon against Washington, D.C. Passengers in the flight from New Jersey to California memorably declared "let's roll" before moving against the hijackers.
Landscape architect James Mealey said Thursday it may take 40 years before visitors see the fully mature trees, according to the
Tribune-Democrat of Johnstown
.
Mealey said one issue had been a rushed effort to complete the project. Problems have been attributed to poor soil quality, tree species that did not thrive in conditions at the reclaimed coal strip mine, low-quality nursery stock, inadequate irrigation, harsh winters, hungry deer and limited maintenance capacity.
"Obviously, that won't mean that we're planting the last trees in 40 years, but that's sort of how long it takes to establish a landscape of this scale and this complexity," Mealey said. "In terms of the actual, like, replanting, that would take place over the next decade, maybe even into two decades."
About 2,000 native deciduous trees of various types were planted at the memorial from 2012 to 2016, a key feature of the park's landscape design. The first tree replanting may take place next spring. Money is being raised to pay for the tree revitalization effort.
Nearly 3,000 people died in the Sept. 11 attacks, when terrorists seized control of four planes. Two were flown into the World Trade Center skyscrapers in New York and the fourth into the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia.
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How three pizza restaurants predicted Israel's attack on Iran
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'As of 6:59pm ET nearly all pizza establishments nearby the Pentagon have experienced a HUGE surge in activity.' Only about 10 minutes later, there was a significant drop in footfall in each of these locations. It was as if a gap between meetings had prompted a flurry of takeaway and delivery orders which then tailed off again as work resumed. At 23:55 (by which time most restaurants had closed) one takeaway which stays open until midnight suddenly showed 'busier than usual' activity. 'With minutes left before close District Pizza Palace which is not too far from the Pentagon is experiencing a huge surge in traffic.' Last-minute orders before staff would be forced to resort to whatever was left in the vending machines, perhaps? It's understandable – no one wants a Bounty in a crisis. Five miles away, the Domino's locations near The White House were also experiencing 'above average levels of traffic'. Meanwhile, it was crickets at the local post-work watering holes. Come 10pm and Freddie's Beach Bar, 'the closest gay bar to the Pentagon' had 'abnormally low traffic for a Thursday night. Potentially indicating a busy night at the Pentagon.' And a busy night it was. An hour and a half after the 7pm spike at the pizza restaurants near the Pentagon, explosions were heard in Tehran and Israel's defence minister Israel Katz said the country had launched a 'preemptive strike against Iran.' Asked what 'heads-up' the United States received about the attack, Trump later told the Wall Street Journal: 'Heads-up? It wasn't a heads-up. It was, we know what's going on.' Puerile, perhaps, to use Google's restaurant footfall data to track the ebb and flow of tension in the Pentagon, which houses 24,000 military and civilian employees, and the White House Situation Room, as Israel launched air strikes on Iran. But over the years, pizza delivery patterns in central D.C. have, bizarrely, proven to be an indicator of major geopolitical events. 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Immigrants who lived in this area in the mid-1890s petitioned to have Chicago's first outdoor public swimming pool built there. When it opened in August 1896, the Tribune reported 15,000 people braved bad weather to celebrate with a parade. 'The German, Polish, and Bohemian athletic societies in the city had charge of the exercises. Long before the hour set for the beginning of the procession hundreds of uniformed Turners and bicyclists gathered … It was estimated that 3,000 men were in line. The procession consisted of four divisions, each headed by a band.' A pool still exists in the park. It is used for day camps, classes and open were in bloom when the Washington Park Conservatory debuted at 56th Street and Cottage Grove Avenue in late 1897. Heated by exhaust steam piped in from a plant 700 feet away, the new 'floral castle' provided South Siders with a warm respite and lush surroundings inside the 425-foot-long hothouse constructed of stone, iron and glass. Thirty-foot-tall palm trees flourished under the conservatory's main dome and exotic fruits trees, ferns, grasses and vines were also mixed in. Washington Park long a site of change, controversyThe conservatory held exhibitions throughout the year, but plans were made in 1936, to tear it down. Its structure was deemed weak and too expensive to repair. A Park District police station was later constructed at 57th Street and Cottage Grove Avenue. The DuSable Black History Museum and Education Center opened there in South Shore neighborhood was, like much of Chicago, a place where ethnic groups came and went. Yet above the club's porte-cochere, its arched entrance way, was a sign proclaiming that the South Shore Country Club was: 'For Members Only.' 'Until it closed in 1974, the club was, in the coded language of the time, 'restricted,'' Grossman wrote in 2016. 'Remember that this was a private club in its time and if you were Black or Jewish, forget about it,' a Chicago Park District official told the Tribune in 1984, when the club was renovated, prior to reopening as the South Shore Cultural Center. 'People who have never been here before will walk in and realize they are in the Taj Mahal.' South Shore: From exclusive country club to inclusive cultural centerThe club was worthy of such hyperbole. The main clubhouse, built in the then-tony Mediterranean Revival style, featured a cavernous main dining room and grand ballroom joined by a 'passaggio,' a broad and towering corridor. It was so long that three orchestras could play in different parts of the clubhouse without interfering with each other. Its facilities came to include a nine-hole golf course, tennis courts, a trap-shooting range, lawn-bowling courts and stables, bridle paths and a dressage ring for equestrian members. The club's Horse Show was the high point of Chicago's social season. In 1920, the club added a band shell to its music venues. The club reached its high point of a little more than 2,000 members in 1953. But membership declined as the neighborhood's demographics changed. In 1975, the club sold its property to the Chicago Park District. Years of squabbling followed over what to do with the site. Park District officials weren't eager to spend money on the clubhouse and athletic facilities. Maintenance had been neglected as the club's revenues shrank. 'Ironically, Blacks — many of whom are now fighting to preserve the structures — were barred from the grounds except to work,' the Tribune observed in 1977. In the end, the neighborhood won. The buildings and grounds were renovated and now host jazz festivals, the restaurant Nafsi, art exhibitions and lectures. Michelle and Barack Obama held their 1992 wedding reception there. Thanks for reading! 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