DECATUR — There is at least one positive side to a drought. Things that were once lost can be found, including the 9/11-related artifact that was stolen from the Nelson Park memorial.
Decatur Park District Executive Director Clay Gerhard holds the elusive World Trade Center artifact in front of the Decatur 9/11 Memorial after it was discovered on the exposed lakebed, on Thursday, Feb. 19.
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The World Trade Center I-beam is seen with the damaged piece of file cabinet during the installation of the Decatur 9/11 Memorial in 2017.
SUBMITTED PHOTO
The World Trade Center artifacts sent from the New York Port Authority for the Decatur 9/11 Memorial in 2017 included an I-beam and mangled filing cabinet attached to each other.
SUBMITTED PHOTO
After nearly two years in Lake Decatur, the missing piece of the 9/11 memorial was covered in the scum. Park Police officer Troy Kretsinger accepted the task of cleaning the artifact.
PROVIDED PHOTO
Decatur Park District Executive Director Clay Gerhard places the recovered artifact on the Decatur 9/11 Memorial for a picture on Thursday, Feb. 19. The piece of filing cabinet from the World Trade Center that was part of the memorial went missing in February 2024. Thanks to recent low Lake Decatur water levels, it was discovered along the shoreline in November.
JOSEPH RESSLER, HERALD & REVIEW9/11: Locally-submitted photos
9/11 photos submitted from Decatur, Macon County and Central Illinois residents.
Contact Donnette Beckett at (217) 421-6983. Follow her on Twitter: @donnettebHR
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Donnette Beckett
"Together Decatur" Columnist and Food/Drink Reporter
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