Candlelight Vigil to Commemorate 10th Anniversary of 9/11

The town's 9/11 Candlelight Vigil is set to take place at the at 7 p.m. Sunday. It will be one of many events across the state and country to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

"As much as folks say never forget, I think many Americans do just that," said Steve Roberto, who helped coordinate the event. "It is important for us to remember how we all felt that day as we watched the terrible events unfold. My son had just turned one and I remember feeling afraid for him, wondering what type of world he would see when he was grown."

The town has added many details to the service since it began planning it about a month ago.

The event will include remarks from resident Heather Toyen, whose sister was killed in the attacks on the World Trade Center.

Toyen said she will remind people to be kinder, slow down and appreciate what they have.

The Canton High School Chamber singers will perform the National Anthem, Amazing Grace and America the Beautiful. The Rev. Jim Wheeler of Collinsville Congregational Church and the Rev. Linda Spiers of Trinity Episcopal Church will provide the invocation and benediction respectively. Kathy Corkum, first selectman at the time of the attacks, will read a poem.

The ceremony will last about a half hour. The town has 200 candles ready to go for the event. The rain location will be Canton High School.

The town's emergency services will also be a big part of the ceremony, First Selectman Richard Barlow said. The volunteer Fire and EMS Department will perform a bell ceremony and emergency vehicles will provide a backdrop for the evening.

Firefighters emerged as heroes that day, including some in Canton.

"As news of the attack got around, over 30 members of Canton's Volunteer Fire & EMS Department put aside their own grief and disbelief; left their work and their own families to volunteer to go to the site of the Twin Towers to assist in the rescue and recovery of victims and our brothers and sisters in the fire service," said Sylvia Cancela, spokeswoman for the department.

She was not a member but became one the next day.

"My response to the attacks on 9-11-01 was to join Canton's fire service on 9-12-01. And, it's one of the very best decisions for the very best reasons that I will ever make," she said.

And there were so many people who lost their lives and/or stepped up to help that day and long after, Barlow said.

The tragedy of the attack for the victims and those who served the country in the aftermath are staggering and the event is one that, unfortunately, defines a time period, Barlow added.

"I think that it certainly is a tragic event that marks our time," Barlow said.

Roberto, who volunteered to help at a selectman's meeting in August, said he was at least encouraged to see the patriotism following that day but feels it has been "diluted" over the years.

"I think this event will give people an opportunity to take a quiet moment as a community and remind them of how they felt that day because we should truly never forget," Roberto said.