Ridgewood Reflects, Remembers 12 9/11 Victims

By MEGAN ANDERLE, BECKY PENHAKER and ELYSE TORIBIO

Elizabeth Sullivan, of Ridgewood, was in eighth grade when she heard the news that her father’s best friend, Daniel McGinley, was missing on Sept. 11, 2001. Her immediate reaction was disbelief.

“He was a funny, boisterous man,” Sullivan recalls of man who she knew since she was a child. “Always the center of attention.”

Around town, McGinley was known as “Danny boy” and sang at every party he ever attended. The proud Irishman took every St. Patty’s Day off from work to take his five children and wife, Peggy, to New York City for the annual parade. McGinley was also a devout Roman Catholic, according to The New York Times.

“He was always wearing his beads,” Peggy McGinley said about the rosary beads her husband always wore for his devotion to the religion.

McGinley was senior vice president of Keefe, Bruyette and Woods. He never returned home that evening, from work in the North tower, on September 11, 2001. McGinley met Peggy at Seton Hall University, where the two attended college, and he graduated with a degree in theology. They were married for 12 years. He was 40 when he died.

Elizabeth Sullivan’s father, Tim, got a job at McGinley’s office a month before the attacks but was out of the office that day. On any given day, Tim Sullivan would have been settling into his office in the North Tower around 8:45 a.m., which is when the first plane hit on Sept. 11, 2001.

“I thought to myself, ‘Why did this happen?’” Elizabeth Sullivan said.

Like Sullivan who knew McGinley, many residents of the insular, private Ridgewood community knew the 12 residents who passed away. Ten years later, they gathered at Van Neste Park, the heart of the town. Town officials said a few words and read the victims’ names. Religious leaders, including an imam, gave sermons  after a flag-raising ceremony on a lawn that had wreaths other memorial symbols.

Ridgewood Landscape

An affluent suburban community only 23 miles from the heart of mid-town Manhattan, the Village of Ridgewood is home to 24,500 residents. The appeal for many living in Ridgewood is its close, small town vibe, mixed with its city-ready mentality.

Ridgewood has the old time feel where one can imagine a neighbor borrowing sugar next door; yet, the town still maintains a fast-paced urban lifestyle, and a feeling of always being on the go.

However, the hustle and bustle took a back seat when residents realized some of the familiar faces they were used to seeing at their children’s soccer games and back-to-school night events would not be coming back home from work that Tuesday morning.

Laurie Goodman can remember quietly walking up to her children’s Ridgewood elementary school to pick them up that confusing September day.

“You didn’t know who you would see, what working parents would come [to get their children],” Goodman said. “These were parents that were actively involved with their kids.”

For Goodman and others involved in the community, it was a time not to ask questions in an evolving media-frenzied environment; but instead, it was a time to be available to those hurting in a more subtle manner.

“We know these families, these Ridgewood 12. And we just wanted to be there for them without having to dwell on the incident,” Michele Lenhard, Board of Education president, said.

Town and School Out-Reach

In such a closely knit town, it seemed as though everyone knew someone who lost a loved one. They sought refuge by participating in community church services.

The Home and School Association [Ridgewood’s PTA] reached out by providing individual support-making meals for affected families, offering rides to the children’s events.

Fearing the unknown of what could and would happen next, Lenhard and other parents, wanted to focus on the idea of routine.

“The most important thing a school district can offer is support in an individual crisis,” Lenhard explained. “It’s good for students to go back to normalcy and the routine of life-to find comfort in that.”

One method that helped students with the healing process was Ridgewood’s “Open Circle” program, a nation-wide social and developmental program that 265 schools participate in that allows students to talk freely with their teachers about what is going on in their lives.

Ridgewood schools Hawes Elementary School, Orchard School, Ridge School, Somerville School, Travell School and Willard School implemented the program years before the attacks, but it was heavily utilized after 9/11. Out of all the schools participating in New Jersey, Ridgewood is the town that has the greatest number of schools involved.

“Open Circle” is adapted differently for elementary and high school students. The elementary schools offer a very specific program where students meet during the school day with their classroom teacher. It’s part of the weekly schedule. It’s continued in the middle schools and high school, but is a less formal meeting; upper levels concentrate more on peer groups and a maintain a less structured setting.

“With extracurricular activities — not having to talk about it — is a way to heal,” Lenhard said. “The support, in of itself as an activity, helps heal.”

Ridgewood Events

Ten years ago, still severely shaken by the events that had transpired hours earlier, the residents gathered at Van Neste square to support each other through the trying time and pray for their neighbors that were missing or deceased.

On the anniversary of the attacks of Sept. 11, the close-knit residents of the village of Ridgewood came together once again to commemorate the decade that had passed and the lives that were lost.

Nearly 500 were in attendance, standing in silence, many with their heads bowed as leaders of the community talked about the 12 victims. Mayor Keith Killion shared his thoughts, remembering residents.

“We’ve missed these 12 residents,” Killion said. “We miss their smiles, their laughter and their friendship.”

One important element of the ceremony was the participation of different interfaith leaders. Rev. John Hartnett of St. Elizabeth’s Church led a prayer, and was then followed by a deeply moving prayer from the Qur’an by Mahmoud Hamza, a leader of the Muslim Society of Ridgewood.

“Don’t give up to despair,” Hamza said. Then, as he continued, “Whoever kills a person, it shall be as if he has killed all humankind, and whosoever saves the life of one, it shall be as if he has saved the lives of all humankind.”

The inclusion of leaders from different faiths in the community showed the open-mindedness of residents even after the tragic events, according to Lenhard.

“I think the ceremony was well done, and having the different leaders was very reflective of how tolerant we are of other religions,” Lenhard said.

Click here to view a slideshow of the Ridgewood memorials, and listen to a poem that was recited at the ceremony on Sept. 11.

Once the ceremony at Van Neste Square ended and most residents began their way home, some stuck around with friends, families and acquaintances, speaking in low voices. But the mood was different after the ceremony – less somber — as some residents joked and laughed.

A memorial exhibit of the Ridgewood victims from 9/11 is open to the public at the Ridgewood Library through the end of September. The exhibit, called “Portraits,” features pictures of the victims with short bios and quotes from friends and family.

“Rick Blood grew up in Williamsburg, Va., but his heart always belonged to New York City,” begins one.

“He loved the view [of the World Trade Center],” says the wife of Michael San Phillip in his dedication. “He thought it was beautiful.”

The exhibit includes photographs from the vigil held Van Neste Square on Sept. 11, 2001, and an easel with memories and feelings that Ridgewood residents have about the tragedy.

“I cringe when someone says, ‘Isn’t it a beautiful day?’” one reads.  “It reminds me of the blue skies on 9/11.”

Read more, about Kathy Simmons, a Ridgewood victim here.

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