9/11 exhibit leaves impression

CLAYTON SIDENBENDER, The Elkhart Truth, Ind.
·2 min read

ELKHART — John Adams, a Patrick Industries maintenance technician, still gets goosebumps thinking about Sept. 11, 2001; he was working in Benton Harbor, Michigan, at the time and could not believe what he was seeing on TV.

“It was unreal,” Adams said. “We were in shock watching it. It was like we went back to work, but we couldn’t go back to work because people were suffering.”

Thoughts about that fateful day came flooding back when the 9/11 Never Forget Mobile Exhibit rolled into downtown Elkhart. The exhibit arrived by motorcade about 2 p.m. Tuesday and was set up at 240 E. Jackson Blvd. in the northeast parking lot, east of Beacon Health and Aquatic Center.

The exhibit will be open to the public from 12:30 to 6:30 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday.

Jeffrey Rodino, Patrick Industries president, made the connections to bring the exhibit to Elkhart.

“At Patrick [Industries], we’re honored to bring it here to Elkhart County, for Elkhart residents and anybody to come see it,” said Patrick Industries marketing manager Sarah Snyder. “It’s just a really incredible thing.”

The exhibit is an 83-foot trailer that is 1,100 square feet when it is set up. The exhibit has three sections and includes actual artifacts from 9/11.

An older version of the exhibit has been touring around the United States and Canada since 2013. But the exhibit this year is new, and Elkhart is the second stop.

“This is going to be emotional for a lot of people who never got to see anything of it,” Adams said.

The opening ceremony on Wednesday featured a series of speakers including Elkhart Mayor Rod Roberson, Elkhart Assistant Fire Chief Kristi Sommer and Fire Department New York retired Lt. Pat Clancy.

Billy Puckett, who drove the exhibit and gave tours to guests inside, also spoke on the importance of the exhibit and 9/11 in general.

“It’s a truly humbling experience,” said Dustin Reynolds, an Elkhart native and retired 14-year firefighter/EMT veteran. “I’ve lived through it, and I saw it on the TV. Once you get close to it, it’s really humbling.”