On verge of 9-11 observance, a theft at Remember Me Rose Garden

William Cenk, of Pittsburgh, stepped forward and replaced the portion of the split-rail fencing stolen over the weekend from the grounds of the Remember Me Rose Garden near the Flight 93 National Memorial.

The vice president of the nonprofit joined about 25 volunteers Thursday to make the 13-acres allotted for the rose garden even more beautiful — if that is possible — for the influx of visitors expected over the weekend. It is the 21st observance of the actions of the Flight 93 heroes who died in the skies over Somerset County fighting terrorists who hijacked their plane on Sept. 11, 2001.

First Lady Jill Biden and U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland will attend and deliver remarks at the Flight 93 National Memorial Observance Sunday.

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The rose garden, a living tribute, is where one can pay respect for the first responders and heroes of Flight 93 and 9/11 in a beautiful and fragrant setting. In 2004, the land was donated by the Families of Flight 93 for just such a place and Mary Alice Mankamyer put in an experimental garden at her and Clay Mankamyer's home in Shanksville to learn which roses would thrive in that plot of land.

Clay was a first responder at the tragic site that now is a national memorial. He dug up the stones that ring the rose garden. Each stone is engraved with one of names of the 40 heroes of Flight 93. The donated land by The Families of Flight 93 was part of the property the group bought as a buffer zone to stop any commercial development around the crash site. The rose garden is across the street from the entrance to the Flight 93 National Memorial.

It took nearly five years before the rose garden's groundbreaking and it has been enhanced and enlarged every year since. The missing fencing was bought with donations to the nonprofit organization to put up at the site's recently revamped parking lot, according to Mary Alice.

So far there has been no news from the state police and its investigation into the theft, but there was a footprint and tire track left behind by whomever grabbed and fled with half of the $1,000 worth of fencing, she said.

The fencing was delivered last Friday and the theft became known the following day by volunteers at the rose garden, she said.

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But, that incident has far from stopped the active hum at the garden as the volunteers did their thing to keep the garden alive and well.

Among the volunteers Thursday were Stephen Scanniello and Dane Twining from New Jersey. Scanniello is a renown gardener, historian, author, lecturer, designer and an advisor for Remember Me Rose Garden. Twining is a business communications professional.

The couple are into roses big time and know about their healing power and how a moment among nature's colorful bounty can be peaceful and reflective. They enjoy telling how they met 33 years ago, over a compose heap.

Scanniello, who lives in New Jersey across from New York City, remembered the horror of the sight and lasting smell after he witnessed one of the Twin Towers fall on Sept. 11, 2001. Helping create "a peaceful place" across the road from a memorial honoring the heroes of Flight 93 is a balm to those memories from 21 years ago, he said.

"Whenever I've lost someone in the family, I go work in the garden," he said.

He said he was "overwhelmed" when he came to the rose garden in the spring.

Now just days before the 9-11 observance that will draw a large crowd, "So many volunteers working at different levels of experience," he said. "Overall it is amazing."

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Scanniello also currently serves as the curator of the internationally acclaimed Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden at the New York Botanical Garden and as the consultant for the Elizabeth Park Conservancy in West Hartford, Connecticut, the oldest public rose garden in America.

He joined Julie Andrews in 2015 as honorees by the New York Botanical Garden for their ongoing work with preservation and conservation of heritage roses. In fact, the fragrant, large fluffy pink roses at the rose garden are called Julia Andrews Roses, a little over 400 of them.

"I will be talking with her about this garden and the roses," he said.

Cenk is grateful he can show his gratitude to the heroes of Flight 93 is this way. "This is just such a place of beauty."

At the rose garden he can feel closer to his son, Ryan Cenk, who passed away in 2017 at the age of 22. The 14 teakwood benches that visitors can use and view on a walking trail were a gift from Ryan. He was kind and horrified by what happened on 9/11 and even as a teen felt like he needed to do something. So, Ryan raised $14,000 on his own to purchase the benches as an Eagle Scout project. His project included name tags on the benches and platforms for the structures to sit.

The nonprofit built a half-mile trail in the garden and named it Ryan's Trail.

For the members of the nonprofit there is always another project at the rose garden. They are planting white roses across from the stone engraved: Lauren Catuzzi Grandcolas & unborn child.

Elsewhere in the garden there is always new projects.

"We'd like to have flowering trees in the spring," Mary Alice said. "This is just the beginning."

Anyone who would want to volunteer or donate visit Remember Me Rose Garden Facebook page or website to learn how.

This article originally appeared on The Daily American: Theft at Remember Me Rose Garden on the verge of the 9-11 anniversary