On My Mind: Yountville’s 9/11 response forged a cross-country bond
I still have a chilling gut reaction whenever I recall 9/11. Next week will mark a quarter-century since that dark day in our nation’s history.
We all remember exactly where we were when we learned of the multiple attacks and watched the World Trade Towers fall before our eyes.
What we likely have forgotten is how Yountville responded.
What I remember is that Yountville wanted to “do something” right away.
I suspect we hoped that taking action might allow us to feel less helpless.
We didn’t have any immediate ties to the tragedy, although we soon learned our mayor, the late Mary Lou Holt, was in Washington, D.C. that day, and she watched pedestrians running for cover when it was learned that one of the planes appeared headed for that city.
I recall Bill Dutton, Arik Housley and the couple who then were forever on top of any situation in Yountville, the venerable Barbara and Bud Dulinsky, putting their heads together.
A fundraising dinner was organized and held near Halloween, an all-you-could-eat pasta dinner for $10 per person. A large pumpkin was hollowed out, and folks were encouraged to fill it with as much money as they could.
With cash in hand, it was time to make what difference we, as a small town on the other side of the country, could. At that time, there was not a specific beneficiary.
Housley started searching everything he could find out about the victims and their families. Among the avalanche of messages being posted on the internet, in newspapers, on radio and TV and even on walls throughout Manhattan, there was one that stood out to Housley.
It was a funeral notice that began, “McGovern-Scott Martin. Age 35 of Wyckoff, N.J. Victim of World Trade Center Disaster, September 11, 2001. Cherished husband of Jill (nee Shaffro). Adored father of Alana and Nicole.”
“Alana” was close enough to “Alaina,” Housley’s own daughter, to catch his attention. That was the family Yountville would help. In October a check for more than $8,000 was sent to the McGovern Family Foundation.
Scott’s widow Jill called Arik in tears to acknowledge the kindness. They became acquainted and eventually met in New York, and she remained in contact with the Housley family.
Seventeen years later, when the Housley’s daughter Alaina died in a mass shooting while line dancing in a local pub close to the Pepperdine University Campus where she was a freshman, Wyckoff, N.J. returned the concern Yountville had shown in 2001.
Jill called Arik and explained that Wyckoff had rallied together and raised money to have a tree dedicated to Alaina on the Pepperdine campus. They also contracted with the non-profit Splashes of Hope to paint a mural installed at the UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital in Oakland in memory of Alaina.
The Town of Yountville will host its annual September 11 Remembrance Ceremony at 9 a.m. on the plaza in front of Yountville Community Center on the 25th anniversary next Friday.
