The horrific event that happened eleven days after PN’s September 1 launch was unthinkable.
Just as my parents and grandparents remembered where they were when Pearl Harbor was attacked on Dec. 7, 1941, and just as many of us remember where we were when we heard President John Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. had been assassinated in the 1960s, most of us over 30 recall where we were on Sept. 11, 2001.
I was attending a breakfast Rotary Club of Naperville board meeting at Egg Harbor in downtown Naperville. Jeanne Johnson was called out of the meeting by her daughter. Jeanne returned with the tragic news that the first of the WTC Twin Towers had been hit by an aircraft. The meeting abruptly ended. I raced home and turned on the TV just in time to watch the second plane hit.
My recollection of that day and many years of remembrances and photos of visits to the Financial District in New York City and Sept. 11 Memorials in New Jersey are recounted in the PN archives. I’ll never forget.
When the October 2001 issue of the new publication hit the streets, many residents who had not seen the first issue thought PN was in response to 9/11. And that’s when I truly dug in my heels, determined to spread good news about enterprising small businesses that create jobs.
On Friday, Sept 14, 2001, folks gathered in downtown Naperville to pause, reflect and mourn the losses and to begin remembering the acts of heroism, bravery and compassion that followed. The lawn outside the Municipal Center where the Cmdr. Dan Shanower Sept 11 Memorial was dedicated in 2003 became a mass of American flags.
Napervillians also responded to the tragedies in big and small ways. On Sept. 14, 2001, event planners went ahead with their United Way benefit auction featuring painted sculptures of “Baby Giraffes to Reach New Heights.” Residents held candlelight vigils, donated funds, attended carillon bell concerts and flew American flags.
Mayor Pradel was quoted as saying, “Thanks, Naperville, for showing your true colors in recent weeks. Now let’s polka ‘round the festivities at Oktoberfest… and lighten our hearts with a little oomp-pah tuba music as we celebrate our freedom and American spirit.”
Ever since, this community has paused to remember. The 2025 observance, hosted by Naperville Responds for Veterans, will begin at 5:45PM Thurs., Sept. 11, at the Dan Shanower/Sept. 11 Memorial along the Riverwalk behind the Naperville Municipal Center, 400 S. Eagle Street. The Naperville Municipal Band will play. In the event of inclement weather, the remembrance will be held in Council Chambers.
– Stephanie Penick
PN Publisher
Update, Sept. 11, 2025 / Today again our heart goes out to remember three friends from New York and New Jersey, Bonnie Smithwick, Michael Boccardi and Tony Infante; as well as Naperville native Cmdr. Dan Shanower, all of whom perished in the unthinkable events of Sept. 11, 2001.
Sadly, on this day, we’re also mindful that on Sept. 10, 2025, another direct shot took the kind, respectful young life of Wheeling, Illinois, native Charlie Kirk, a faithful freedom-loving husband and father of two young children. The American flag at the Naperville Township Building is flying at half staff as a mark of respect for the memory of Kirk, by the authority vested in the President of the United States by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America.
Let there be peace on Earth. Pause and reflect with faith, hope and kindness to all.
Sept. 11, 2025, Photos by Ashley Penick. Thanks to the Naperville Park District for setting the American flags along the Riverwalk early today.
