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New Yorkers touched by poster from Griffin Creek By DAMIAN MANN For students at Griffin Creek Elementary, it was a small gesture to help soothe the frazzled emotions of New Yorkers traumatized by the recent World Trade Center attacks. A 3-by-4-foot poster created by the school has been placed two blocks from Ground Zero that says: "Griffin Creek Elementary School, Medford, Oregon, Cares About You." Its simplicity has touched many New Yorkers who pass it every day, at the corner of Broadway and Cedar Street, on their way to work and have called or written the school to thank the students for their support. Darlene Hale, Griffin Creek office manager, said one worker helping clean up the pile of rubble even takes the time to carefully drape the laminated poster each night for extra protection. Busy office workers have taken the time to write letters of thanks to the students. Brad Louth, of Chase Manhattan Bank, sent the school a letter saying, "I wanted each of you to know that your poster made me smile and remember that I was not alone in dealing with this terrible tragedy. To be honest, it nearly brought tears to my eyes." Louth, 49, of Stamford, Conn., was on his way to his office when the first building was struck on Sept. 11, he said in a telephone interview. "I came out of the subway. I looked up and it was like a ticker tape parade with all this crap in the air." About 50 days after the toppling of the two buildings, Louth said the smoke from the burning pile of rubble still can be troublesome. "Today it's a bad day," he said. "It's blowing toward us." Another New Yorker, Michael Grande, wrote the children at Griffin Creek to say, "You would be proud to know that your sign has been seen by every firefighter, National Guard trooper, man, woman and child who has walked past this barricade. Every day I come to work to a pile of debris that still remains on fire, and every day I look forward to seeing the sign that you have made for us." Grande, who works on Broadway, lost a cousin who was on the 105th floor of Tower One when the first plane struck. "That day will always remind me of the helplessness I felt when I saw those towers fall," he said. "There was nothing anyone could have done to help or save those innocent lives lost." Even other Oregon residents have sent letters, surprised to encounter the poster on a visit to New York City. Dale Horton, grand secretary of the Grand Lodge of Oregon of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, said, "It was thrilling to have so many people walk up to us and tell us how glad they were that we came to New York. I am sure that your poster warmed their hearts as it did mine." Griffin Creek has received six letters and about six phone calls from people who saw the sign. The students have decided to create another poster, a slightly bigger one, to send back to their new New York friends. This one will say: "Far away, but not forgotten, Griffin Creek Elementary, Medford, Oregon, Cares About You." To help people figure out where Medford is, the school decided to put a map of Oregon on the sign. Reach reporter Damian Mann at 776-4476, or e-mail dmann@mailtribune.com |
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