In the aftermath of Sept. 11, 2001, Manchester School fourth-grade teacher Donna Morton wanted to help her students honor the sacrifices made by Americans on that fateful day while helping them grasp what had happened and inspiring them to help make the world better for everyone.
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| Retired Manchester School teacher Donna Morton, left, gathers with her former students and their parents in Windham to dedicate a wishing well that they created in the days following the terrorist attacks on America on Sept, 11, 2001. Now adults, Morton's former students and their parents restored the wishing well and thanked Windham police and firefighters attending a school ceremony on the anniversary of 9/11 for keeping the community safe. PHOTO BY ED PIERCE |
For more than two decades, on the anniversary of 9/11, Manchester students would form a circle around the wishing well, recite the Pledge of Allegiance, sing the “Star Spangled Banner,” and place wishes into the well for the future. But last year during the reconfiguration of the parking lot and traffic pattern at the school, the front garden was removed, and the wishing well was found to be deteriorating and unsafe.
Now retired from teaching, Morton was informed by a parent of one of her former students about the wishing well’s condition and they decided to restore it and dedicate it at Manchester School for students this year on the anniversary of 9/11. She contacted some of her students from her 2001-2002 class and a few of their parents still in the area to help. They gathered at Morton’s home and set about to reconstruct the well.
Scott Gartsu was 9 on Sept. 11, 2001, and a student in Morton’s fourth grade class. He wasn’t at school that day as he was at home with a broken foot but recalls sitting on the living room floor of his home in Windham and crying watching the events unfold on television. He was part of the students who helped to build the original wishing well for his classmates.
“It was a group effort,” he said. “My dad Todd was a carpenter, and I loved working with his tools. I remember building it and all the kids coming together. The fact that the wishing well has been around this long is pretty cool.”
Steve McFarland of Harrison was living in Windham on 9/11 and his son, Sam, was in Morton’s class that year. They both attended the dedication event and not only helped to build the original well but also worked on the new one.
“It’s neat to see all the kids out there involved,” McFarland said. “It’s nice that Donna Morton is keeping this tradition and reviving it. It’s a testament to her and her connection to her students.”
Speaking to current Manchester students, former students and a contingent of Windham police, firefighters and emergency medical technicians attending the dedication event for the well on Thursday, Sept. 11, Morton said 9/11 remains a special day for her.
“It’s a reminder of the hard work of police and firemen who keep us safe every day,” she said. “We want this wishing well to stand as a symbol of hope.”
She introduced Sara Conant, who was in Morton’s fourth-grade class on Sept. 11, 2001, and helped to build the original well.
“Wishing wells throughout time have been a symbol of hope, gratitude and a bit of magic,” Conant said. This well is no exception. On this day 24 years ago I was sitting in Mrs. Morton's fourth grade class when American history was forever altered by attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Anyone alive at the time knows where they were on that day and I was fortunate to be safely here.”
She said that as a way to honor the first responders, victims, and their families and offer the school community hope, her class made the wishing well to stand forever as a symbol of hope.
“In one afternoon, we all pitched in with some of our parents, my dad included, to create this,” Conant said. “But time isn't always kind and the well needed some love, so Mrs. Morton rescued it and tried contacting everyone in the class to help restore the well to the lasting symbol of hope, gratitude and magic it always was.”
She said Morton’s deep care for each of her students is what brought her to save the well and inspired her to help.
“The magic of the well gave me a happy visit back to fourth grade that I am so thankful for,” Conant said. “We hope you join us in making a wish in this special well brought back to its former glory through love and kindness.”
Windham Police Captain Jason Burke told students that on 9/11 that firefighters, police officers and everyday people worked together to save lives and clean up the damage.
“This is a good reminder that violence is never the answer to a disagreement, a different opinion or a dislike for someone,” Burke said. “Choosing to work together and talk through our problems is always the right choice. As you go through school, you’ll be learning how to be a good citizen and a problem solver. You’ll learn how to work with others even when you don’t agree.”
He said thinking about the events of Sept. 11 reminds us that the way we treat each other everyday matters.
“By being kind, understanding, and respectful to everyone, you can make the world a better place,” Burke said. <
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