Tell Us Your Story: Another Day in September

From now on, everyone in Cortland County will remember that infamous day, September 11th, 2001. This story is about another day in September in Cortland -- Thursday, September 13th, to be exact. For it is on this day that three people put their heads together and found a way to channel shock and dismay into hopefulness and helpfulness. It is a day that underscores the value of each person’s contribution to his or her community. And, most of all, it is a day that acted as a catalyst for a community to begin to come together to do many wonderful things on behalf of others.

In the wake of the nightmare of attacks on our land on 9/11, citizens in Cortland County joined their fellow Americans in feeling stunned. In the initial hours following the disasters, a young man named Tim Alger, raised and educated in Cortland, felt it was time to do something locally to channel our grief. He first thought we should collect food and clothing, but that proved to be an unwieldy task for one person. Since his mother has been an active volunteer with the American Red Cross for years, Tim decided to call me and ask what could be done. I suggested that money was needed to buy mass care supplies – medical supplies, water, gloves, socks, clothing and food to feed the massive numbers of rescue workers at the scene. I left it up to him.

On Thursday, as Tim was mulling over his options, across town, local DJ Tony DeFranco was at radio station WKRT/WIII, scrambling like other media representatives to get the news out as fast as possible and beginning a makeshift fund drive for victims and their families. Tony and his general manager had had a future fund drive in mind to raise a million pennies, or $10,000, for a worthy cause. At about the same time, Tim eyed Tony conducting a live remote broadcast in town. He called Tony and said he wanted to challenge the DJ to do something to raise money for this cause. Tony and his station manager felt there was no better time than now to pull out the “million pennies” campaign. Tim offered to put some excitement into the drive by cycling on a stationary bike until the last penny was collected.

So begins the story of an extremely swift fund-raising effort and a way to begin channeling Cortland’s grief into something positive. Tim began his “ride” at about 6:00 a.m. Friday the 14th, near the Cornell Federal Credit Union in the Tops Plaza. By 9:00 a.m., the goal of a million pennies had already been reached, and by Noon, that figure was doubled! According to Tony, “We kept going until 7:00 p.m. Friday and extended our drive through the weekend both at Royal Motors in Cortland and at a site in Ithaca.”

Within hours of the onset of the drive, State troopers came along with money they had collected overnight. A car pulled up at 7:00 a.m. Friday with two little girls – a three and a five-year old. They ran out of the car with a few coins in their hands, one losing her slipper in the process. That scene was repeated many times over. As the day wore on, there was a steady stream. Someone pulled up with a 5-gallon pail nearly full of pennies. Larger denominations began to pile up. Checks came pouring in from local businesses, $100, $500, a $1,000 check here and there. Waiters and waitresses donated their tip money. Banks in the community counted the change for free from Saturday through Monday.

By mid-morning Monday, the final tally was $36,000. “It’s a good thing we reached our goal early,” Tim said. “The bike broke at Noon on Friday!” The community had the ambition. They just needed somebody to kick it in the pants,” Tim added.

All of those involved hasten to remind me that this fund-raiser was not about personal success or personal gain. “People were looking for a way to demonstrate that they cared. It was a highly emotional outpouring. All we did was do our job,” Tony said. From that beginning, the Cortland community raised roughly $111,175 over the next six weeks in a variety of efforts to aid the families of victims as well as rescue workers.

What is that saying about ‘lighting just one little candle to curse the darkness?’ When all was said and done, the weekend following September 11th ended up being a very bright one, indeed, in Cortland – the way it’s supposed to be in late summer.

Thank you, Tim Alger, Tony DeFranco, WKRT, private citizens, local businesses, children, everyone who stopped by and who cared. There are workers still down there at Ground Zero, who’ve been there from the start. There are 9 local Red Cross volunteers who have traveled to New York City to give of their time. And, then, there are the living victims and the families of those who perished on 9/11. They will never forget you, either.