Dear Reader
A note about this project.

EDITOR'S NOTE: This "Dear Reader" appeared in the print edition of A Day in September: In Their Own Voices, which was published in the Sept. 8, 2002, editions of the Times Herald-Record.


Dear Readers,

What you are holding in your hands is only half of the Times Herald-Record’s commemoration of the first anniversary of the terrorist attack on the United States.

The other half can be found online at www.adayinseptember.com. Taken together, it is a first for the Record – a multimedia presentation of stories about Sept. 11, 2001, as told by your own neighbors, in their own voices.

We asked 22 Hudson Valley residents to allow us to record them as they told of their connection to the events of that day. Some were in the Twin Towers when the terrorists attacked; some were home, fearful for the fate of loved ones; others tried vainly to rescue survivors; still others buried their dead.

Their gripping tales can be heard and read on the A Day In September Web site. Shorter,
edited versions of their stories are what you now hold in your hands.

Taken together, A Day in September: In Their Own Voices is an historical document, one that can be found nowhere else. The story of Sept. 11, 2001, is a local story, and it is local residents who can tell it best.

The 22 people who agreed to participate in this project had vastly different experiences that day and in the weeks following the attacks, yet they share much in common. All of them were profoundly affected by the events of that day. All of them say their lives have changed, in either large or small ways.

And all of them were reluctant to participate in this project. Not because they didn’t believe in it, but because they felt their own stories weren’t big enough or important enough.

“Why me? I’m only a small part of this,” they told us, over and over again. Why? Because without the small stories, there is no larger tale.

We have spent months pulling together their stories for this special section and for the Web presentation. It has been a labor of both love and pain – for us and for our story tellers.

We are deeply grateful to the 22 people whose stories appear on these pages for their willingness to re-live a time of profound pain and fear; for their generosity in baring their souls in a large, impersonal room in front of a tape recorder and a camera; and for their inspiring stories of personal bravery and endurance.

We thank them all.

– David Feld, Beth Quinn, Bob Quinn, Lisa Ramirez and Kristina Wells








© 2002 Orange County Publications, a division of Ottaway Newspapers Inc., all rights reserved. An abridged version of this transcript appeared in the Sept. 8, 2002, editions of the Times Herald-Record. *The Times Herald-Record is not affiliated with RealNetworks and is not responsible for any difficulties involved with using its product. Please refer all technical support questions about the player to RealNetworks. Click here to see the system requirements for the RealOne Player.