Rally fundraiser for Flight 93 rose garden planned Sunday in Delmont
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A revival, rally and fundraiser for the Remember Me Rose Garden near the Flight 93 National Memorial will take place this weekend in Delmont.
“We did an event last year at New Alexandria called ‘Stand Up Stand Strong’ in Sanner Park,” said Jeff Hartung of Delmont, founder of the “Let’s Roll America” group which is hosting the event from noon to 6 p.m. Sunday at Shields Farm, off of Contact Place.
“And when this year came around, with everything going on, we’re in a real struggle in this country,” Hartung said. “We thought it was the perfect time to pay tribute to the heroes of Flight 93 who united to stop evil. We thought it was the perfect time to come together as Americans.”
Hartung’s original plan was to host the event at the site of the nonprofit Remember Me Rose Garden, donated from property purchased by the families of Flight 93 passengers as a non-commercial buffer zone around the memorial site.
Bill Cenk, vice chairman of the nonprofit Remember Me Rose Garden, said the theme of the garden is “bringing beauty from the ashes.”
Cenk, of O’Hara Township, became involved with the garden when his son, as an Eagle Scout project, installed the first few benches along a trail at the site.
Other features of the garden include a reflecting pool and water fountain, additional concrete benches and a compass rose design — a circle with four points, fashioned from large rocks at the site.
Rocks also will display the names of the 40 crew and passengers who were killed in the Flight 93 crash on Sept. 11, 2001.
“We’ve made tremendous progress over the past couple of months,” Cenk said this week as he led a group of volunteers in planting more than 400 rose bushes in the garden.
Change of venue
Using it as a site for the revival and rally changed when Hartung learned that the public would not be permitted to participate in commemorating the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks in and around the memorial.
“We reached out to Delmont because Shields Farm is less than an hour away,” Hartung said. “We have three motorcycle groups coming in, and we’re also going to pay tribute to (Army Sgt.) Jason McClary.”
McClary died after being injured by an improvised explosive device in Afghanistan in late 2018.
A $10 donation at the gate will be put toward the cost of developing and maintaining the rose garden site.
Let’s Roll America’s request to rent Shields Farm took place after Delmont’s monthly meeting, and council President Andy Shissler emailed fellow council members to make them aware of the request.
Councilman Bill Marx said he felt council should have met publicly to discuss the event, and had concerns about information on a “Let’s Roll America” website about things such as covid-19 vaccinations, critical race theory and other hot-button social issues.
Hartung said Marx had confused his Facebook page with a completely separate organization run by former TV news reporter, writer and producer John Spiropoulos.
“He tried to identify us with another ‘Let’s Roll America’ group that’s out there with this anti-vaccination type of thing,” Hartung said. “There will be no political aspect to this.”
The participating motorcycle groups, organized by Full Throttle Warrior Productions, are planning to meet at 9:45 a.m. at M&M Leather, 6041 Route 30 in Hempfield on Sunday morning, ride first to the rose garden and the memorial, then head to the revival and rally.
Marx felt that council members should have met to discuss an event of this size, in the same way that Apple’n Arts Festival organizers keep council up-to-date on their annual fall festival.
“It just keeps growing and changing, and yet council has never formally approved this event,” Marx said.
Delmont Police Chief T.J. Klobucar said he is working with the county’s Public Safety department and local EMS after discussing the event with Hartung.
“I have to plan as though there will be a lot of people there,” he said. “We just need to make sure if there’s a medical problem with traffic backed up, we can get someone evacuated and get them medical treatment, or if something is happening in town, we can respond quickly.”
Klobucar added that “Let’s Roll America” organizers are providing their own security for the event.
“They are a group of guys who’ve worked in either federal security or are current police officers. The Delmont police are controlling things,” Hartung said. “We’re just there to be an extra set of eyes.”
Marx said he doesn’t understand why the group has not been held to the same public planning standard council has asked of Apple’n Arts organizers.
“They should need the approval of council and there was none given, nor was there a public meeting about this,” Marx said. “(Council President) Andy (Shissler) just decided on his own.”
Shissler said logistic needs such as public safety, restrooms and electricity have been addressed, and pointed out that council members were all notified of the request by email.
“Shields Farm is open for public use,” he said.
For more on the event, see the group’s Facebook page. The link has been shortened here to Bit.ly/3lberRy.