Olympia Fields gets 9/11 artifact
BY STEVE METSCH smetsch@southtownstar.com August 26, 2012 10:04PM
Jim McGeever, left, and Joe Stubbs, salute a portion of the World Trade Center as it finished its journey from New York to the site of Beatty Lumber in Oak Lawn in December 2010. File photo
Updated: September 28, 2012 6:09AM
A somber reminder of a dark day in American history will be displayed at the village hall in Olympia Fields.
A ceremony at 7 p.m. Monday will unveil a steel I-beam from the fallen World Trade Center.
Olympia Fields obtained a portion of the beam with help from Oak Lawn and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, according to a news release.
Former police chief Jeffrey Chudwin, who retired in June, worked with Oak Lawn to obtain the beam, current Olympia Fields police chief Randy Kickert said Friday.
“Chief Chudwin heard that Oak Lawn was getting a large piece from the World Trade Center, and reached out to them. They agreed to give us a piece,” Kickert said.
Village Trustee Susan Ormsby designed the memorial which will be in the lobby of the village hall, 20040 Governors Highway, Kickert said.
A plaque will be installed near the memorial acknowledging the efforts of Chudwin, the two villages and the port authority, the news release said.
“It will look nice. There’s an engraving of the Twin Towers,” Kickert said.
The village marked the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks last year with a “very moving ceremony,” Kickert said.
