Caledonia Argus

Local residents recall terrorist attacks

Posted: 9/10/02

by Andrew Miller
Argus News Reporter

For many, the events of September 11 were witnessed from afar. Relayed to the bulk of Americans via television and radio, news of the attacks sent shudders throughout. Yet the destruction was half a continent away, the victims anonymous, the direct relief efforts out of reach.

Though most of us were far removed from Ground Zero, the concern, the grief, was none less acute. It did not matter that we were not directly involved, that we didnít witness firsthand the sound and the fury. The strike on the World Trade Center and on the Pentagon were symbolic assaults, we perceived, and the attacks on these symbolic sites were, in essence, attacks on us.

But for others, the attacks took on a more personal bent. To feel oneís nation is under siege is one thing, but to have a vested personal interest in the matter is a wholly more harrowing experience. For Houston County residents Nancy Runningen and Dale and Joann Meiners, September 11 was as much a cause for personal concern as it was a national tragedy.

Destination: Ground Zero

While most Minnesotans sat in front of their televisions and watched the events of September 11 unfold, Eitzen residents Dale and Joann Meiners had front-row seats. And, if not for a last-minute change in their schedule, they would have gotten a little too close to the chaos.

Their tour group was scheduled to visit the World Trade Center at 9 a.m. on September 11. Their tour guide, however, thought 9 a.m. was too early, and that they should arrive an hour later. This random switch in the itinerary, they later realized, proved to be a godsend.

The tour group loaded onto their bus and headed out of Newburgh, New York on Highway 3. Just before they reached the Lincoln Tunnel at around 9 a.m, they noticed smoke issuing forth from a building in downtown New York.

ìAll at once there was this big smoke; I happened to be in the front seat of the bus so I had a really good view of it,î Dale Meiners said. ìThen we got closer and we could see the building was on fire. At the time, we didnít know it was the Twin Towers.î

By the time theyíd reached the Lincoln Tunnel, authorities had halted traffic and were instructing all vehicles to turn around, for fear that the tunnel was another terrorist target.

Waylaid in the tunnel, the bus driver asked a nearby trucker if he knew what the structure fire was in downtown New York. It was then that the tour group learned that their destination was the source of the blaze.

ìIt got pretty quiet when we found out what it was,î Meiners said. ìWe were in disbelief that something like that could happen in the United States, but we were thankful we werenít there when we were scheduled to be. How fortunate we were that someone was watching over us.î

When traffic began to move and the bus exited the tunnel, the vacationers looked in the direction of the Twin Towers, only to see a giant void, muddled by soot and smoke. During their time in the tunnel ,the towers had come down.

The driver headed toward New Jersey, en route to a shopping mall parking lot where the bus could park.

ìAll our families knew at that time we were supposed to be at the Towers, so everyone back here was wondering if we were there when the buildings went down,î Meiners noted. ìIt was a good hour before we got to call back. Everybody was worried, but awful glad to hear we were okay.î

It took but a short time for the chain of events to sink in. Had the group stuck to schedule, they would have been at the World Trade Center when the first plane struck.

ìWe just wondered many, many times, if weíd been there at nine instead of ten, would we have been one of the fatalities?î Meiners wondered. ìIt is a scary thought.î

ìThe next morning it was tough,î he added. ìEverybody was kind of crying after weíd learned how many had been killed.î

Though many tour-goers opted to return home immediately, several in Meinersí group decided to continue with the bus tour, visiting Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Washington D.C. in the following days.

At the national cathedral in Philadelphia, the group attended a church service, praying for the victims in New York. But it was in Washington D.C. on September 13 that Meiners and his travel companions were confronted with a most surreal scene. Their bus, as far as they could tell, was the only one within the tourist areas in Washington D.C. Plazas and walkways nearly deserted, the group viewed memorials and monuments in almost complete solitude. The only other salient human presence, it seemed, were law enforcement authorities.

ìThere were armed guards at the national monuments, at the Lincoln and Jefferson memorials,î Meiners said. ìWe could get in, but things were pretty well secured.î

The groupís East-coast excursion began as a casual tour of time-honored Americana. The events of September 11 turned the trip into a firsthand history lesson, with the initially easygoing vacationers becoming eyewitnesses to an American tragedy.

ìEverything seemed unreal, like a movie, as the scenes of the attack played out as we traveled,î fellow tour-goers Darrell and Violet Albrecht stated. ìThe image of the smoke rolling out of the World Trade Center will forever be etched in our minds.î

First on the Scene

Houston resident and Caledonia Community Education director Nancy Runningen received news of the attacks like many people in Houston County. She was at home, finishing up some work, when her husband called and told her what had happened.

ìI was at home and I had been watching the Today Show, and I remember very clearly what the topic wasñ whether or not Michael Jordan would return to the NBA,î Runningen said. The showís mundane topic is recalled so vividly, she thinks, because ìan hour later the world had changed.î

After her husband called, she turned on the television again and watched the second plane strike the Twin Towers, as well as the subsequent collapse of the structures.

Though Runningen learned of the attacks in a very ordinary way, her the stakes in the matter were higher than those of the average at-home viewer. She hails from Staaten Island in New York City and, though she was safely tucked away in the Midwest, thousands of miles from the destruction, much of her family still resides in the city.

Her parents, Anna and Simon Hansen, were at their Staaten Island home when the events of 9/11 transpired.

ìI tried to get a hold of them to make sure they were okay, but the circuits were busy,î she said. ìThink of how many New Yorkers there are, and all those people were trying to reach people they care about. It took a long time to get through, but my parents were okay.î

Her sister Betty Hansen, who works as a teacher in NYC, was at school at the time.

ìShe went on the roof of the school,î Runningen said. ìFrom there she saw the buildings collapse.î

Erik Olson, a second cousin of Runningenís, served with a fire department located about 10 city blocks from the Twin Towers. In such close proximity, his department was one of the first to respond to the fires. His unit entered the World Trade Center to extinguish the blaze and to help evacuate people from the building. Olson and his comrades were still inside when it all came crashing down. He, along with 13 others from his South Street station, perished when the structure gave way.

ìClean-up crews found some of his remains, which was a comfort to his family,î Runningen said. ìIn November they had a memorial service for his 40th birthday.î

At present, Olsonís parents are raising funds to restore an antique fire engine he had bought and kept outside the South Street firehouse. Once the truck is restored, it will be used at parades and celebrations, a lasting tribute to someone who lost his life in the line of duty.

About a month after the attacks, Runningen decided to visit New York and take stock of the aftermath. ìI went in October to observe the location myself,î she said. ìThe day I went was the first day they let people get close to the ruins. You could still see the steam rising. It was something else.î

She saw that people had built memorials around Ground Zeroñ haphazard clusters of American flags, t-shirts, and notes of condolence. She walked about downtown and noticed that ìthere was still a haze, and people were walking around with masks on; buildings were still covered in soot.î

Runningen also visited her cousinís firehouse, where a memorial had been erected to the men of the department whoíd lost their lives. Outside were pictures of the 14 men whoíd been in the World Trade Center when it collapsed, as well as patches from fire departments around the country, left there as a show of support and of sympathy.

When she returned home, Runningen compiled her photos and made a slideshow titled ìRemembering,î which she presented to classes at Caledonia High School, Houston and La Crescent elementary schools, and the Caledonia Rotary. The slideshow featured pictures of the New York skyline, with the Twin Towers noticeably absent, the firehouse at which her cousin served, and Ground Zero.

Though Runningen was in Houston County on September 11, with family in New York City at the time., the planes that struck the Twin Towers struck very close to home.

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