20 Years After the 9/11 Attacks; The Twin Towers Live in Ashland

As we honor the 20th anniversary of the September 11 attacks there are several events planned across the region. I was aware that the Ashland Fire Department had a piece of the one of the twin towers, but I had never been to the 9/11 memorial they have set up until today. The weather here today is very similar to what it was like on that morning 20 years ago.

The Twin Tower memorial in Ashland, Maine JC/TSM

I am impressed at how simple the display is and it is not over the top. Sometimes these memorials have too much going that the history and impact of the display loses its luster. The two pieces of steel that were cut from the ruble and then put together to resemble the twin towers. In total, the steel weighs around 3,600 pounds! These are just two small pieces from the towers and that just goes to show how massive those two buildings were before they were attacked.

Steel from the Twin Towers in New York City are part of the Memorial in Ashland, Maine JC/TSM

JC/TSM

Get our free mobile app

If you have time this weekend, I recommend you visit the memorial in the town of Ashland. The memorial is located near the library on Exchange Street. Visiting this memorial is a great way to educate any children who may not know or understand what happened in our country two decades ago. I have always had an interest in the 9/11 attacks and the history behind them because I am old enough to know what life was like before that day. I regularly crossed the US/Canada border without presenting documentation or having my name entered into a system. Just 20 years later, I will now need to present multiple passports and forms of identification.

These signs have been added to tell more of the story. JC/TSM

With all of that said, I must reiterate that I think the memorial in Ashland is something everyone tries to see at some point. Have you ever been to the memorial in Ashland or to any other 9/11 memorials that are noteworthy? Here is a gallery that shows how everything changed for all of us on one late summer morning in 2001.

See 20 Ways America Has Changed Since 9/11

For those of us who lived through 9/11, the day’s events will forever be emblazoned on our consciousnesses, a terrible tragedy we can’t, and won’t, forget. Now, two decades on, Stacker reflects back on the events of 9/11 and many of the ways the world has changed since then. Using information from news reports, government sources, and research centers, this is a list of 20 aspects of American life that were forever altered by the events of that day. From language to air travel to our handling of immigration and foreign policy, read on to see just how much life in the United States was affected by 9/11.

LOOK: Here are the 50 best beach towns in America

Every beach town has its share of pluses and minuses, which got us thinking about what makes a beach town the best one to live in. To find out, Stacker consulted data from WalletHub, released June 17, 2020, that compares U.S. beach towns. Ratings are based on six categories: affordability, weather, safety, economy, education and health, and quality of life. The cities ranged in population from 10,000 to 150,000, but they had to have at least one local beach listed on TripAdvisor. Read the full methodology here. From those rankings, we selected the top 50. Readers who live in California and Florida will be unsurprised to learn that many of towns featured here are in one of those two states.

Keep reading to see if your favorite beach town made the cut.