The 9/11 National Day of Service in Southern Utah brought together hard working people from all walks of life. It was a day of coordinated effort, companionship and community growth, and many participants hope it will continue.
This Day of Service comes in remembrance of a much darker day in America’s history.
The oldest of Gen Z were around three years old on September 11, 2001, when terrorist-controlled planes crashed into the two towers in New York, and the Pentagon in Virginia. Most of Gen Z does not remember what happened that day; nonetheless, they have spent every September 11 since then in memory of it.
Citizens across the United States have memorialized lives lost on this day. They also remember the millions of people who came together to help in the following days.
In December of 2001, Congress designated 9/11 “Patriot Day.” Then in 2009, lawmakers requested the day be observed as a “National Day of Service and Remembrance.”
And Gen Z’s parents and grandparents went to work.
Day of Service in Southern Utah: ‘They Were Workers’
Crushed by all the torn families, the broken dreams, the lives that would never be the same after 9/11, Americans came together with new resolve to serve one another.
That resolve holds strong 22 years later on Saturday, September 9, 2023, when 110 Escalante residents, young and old, trimmed and removed trees, picked up trash, painted curbs, weeded and put down planter boxes in Escalante.
In Boulder, 40 residents “spruced up” the town by pruning the food forest, cleaning out the free box, cleaning the town hall and the elementary school grounds, and serving specific individuals in need.
In Cannonville, about 50 volunteers worked around the Cannonville sign, mowed grasses around phone poles on Kodachrome road and began framing a cement pad for a new basketball court at the park.
In the beginning organizers were somewhat wary of how the turnout would be, but ultimately they were all overjoyed at the people who came to work.
“They were workers,” said Jeanee Shakespeare, who helped organize the Day of Service in Cannonville. “A lot of them didn’t even need direction, they just headed out and did it.”
In Boulder, this was the first organized National Day of Service, and the town had no idea what to expect. They were happily surprised when the small town pulled together as it has for events in the past.
How Service on 9/11 Changes People and Communities
Most Day of Service activities in these Southern Utah communities did not put much emphasis on 9/11, but the fact that people came spoke a powerful message to the day.
It was a message of community, of coming together that could not be found through any other kind of event.
Many new friendships were forged both between longtime residents and with newcomers.
“We had many comments at the end, that this event needs to happen every year and some even commented that it should happen more frequently,” said Jeff Sanders, who helped organize the event in Boulder.
“Anytime you have a community come together,” said Jeanee Shakespeare, “there’s a lot more of a closeness of the community and there’s an appreciation for those that dedicate their lives to serve in the community.”
She named firefighters, council-members, EMTs and other volunteers as many of the people who serve their communities every day that we take for granted.
The communities extend their gratitude to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Escalante, Boulder, Cannonville, Henrieville, Tropic and so many other wards, as well as the prevention coalitions. Thank you to Karen Munson, Royce Orme, Jeanee Shakespear, Jeff Sanders and Ray Overson who organized the events and all those who showed up to help.
So many in Gen Z do not remember 9/11 — I don’t — but so many were involved with the service events of last weekend. Despite being young, they can always remember the power of coming together to serve, a power which can push communities through the very darkest of days in our country.
“The physical results of their work and the emotional results of serving together will continue long after this month is over,” wrote Karen Munson.
– by Abbie Call
Abbie Call – Cannonville/Kirksville, Missouri
Abbie Call is a journalist and editor at The Byway. She graduated in 2022 with a bachelor’s degree in editing and publishing from Brigham Young University. Her favorite topics to write about include anything local, Utah’s megadrought, and mental health and meaning in life. In her free time, she enjoys reading, hanging out with family, quilting and hiking with the dog she’s getting soon — fingers crossed.
Find Abbie on Threads @abbieb.call.