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Ceremony Held @ Residence at Valley Farm for 15th Anniversary of 9/11

by Eric Niermeyer
9/14/2016

On Friday, September 9th, a touching ceremony was held at the Residence Farm Inn in Ashland in remembrance of the 15th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks.  The service featured patriotic and religious musical renditions, a litany, and the recitation of prayers.

Local law enforcement and fire officials attended the event, as did many residents of the Residence Farm Inn.  Senator Karen Spilka, Senator Richard Moore, and Representative Tom Sannicandro were all present and gave brief remarks, as did local officials and clergymen.

An excerpt from one speech,  written by Pastor Mac Murray, Trinity Episcopal Church, Milford, Mass., reads, “In these years filled with continuing war we dare to hope for an era yet to come in which the slaughter of innocents, greed, the ambitions of power, and cultural, racial, and religious bigotries are but memories of a dim and unenlightened past and that we all may be blessed with peace.”

Four candles were lit in remembrance for those who suffered and died in New York, Pennsylvania, and at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia.  The first was lit by Craig Davis, Ashland’s Police Chief; the second was lit by Fire Chief Scott Boothby; the third was lit by Board of Selectmen Clerk Yoland Greaves; and the fourth was lit by a Deacon of the Federated Church of Ashland.

The ceremony was capped with the folding of an American flag, which was presented to Chief Davis.  This was followed by a moment of silence and a Benediction.