Local Residents Participate in 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb

Submitted by

Beth Farrar, SMT Writer

Clayton, Missouri – America was broken and rattled after the events that occurred on September 11^th, 2001. Last Wednesday, the nation remembered the lives that were lost by having tributes, moments of silence, and times of prayer. A few residents from Dexter travelled to Clayton, Missouri to remember those that were lost inside of the Twin Towers on that fateful morning.

There are many 9/11 Memorial Stair Climbs held in multiple different states, but Missouri is proud to be holding two different climbs in two different cities. Both Clayton and Springfield both hold them each and every year.  The first Memorial Stair Climb was held on September 11^th, 2005, in Denver, Colorado, where the participants supported the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation and those who were involved with the 9/11 rescue mission. Years later, the event spread all across the country with thousands of participants each year.

Dexter resident, LaDawn Northcutt, and her family travelled to Clayton and climbed up twenty-two flights of stairs five times to represent the one-hundred-and-ten flights of stairs that the firemen and policemen climbed on the morning of 9/11 during their rescue mission. The climbing took place in the Pierre Laclede Tower in Clayton.

The Clayton Fire Department hosts the event each year. The firefighters and other volunteers, like the Northcutts, got a chance to support the first responders of the FDNY and the battle they faced in the towers twelve years ago. Each of the participants got the chance to go the extra mile and remember the Americans that were lost in a different way than most.

“I had a great experience this weekend at Clayton 9/11 stair climb,” said one volunteer, “ I got to hear a little bit of what happened and how the FDNY responded that day. It was bone chilling to listen to a guy that was actually there, risking his life, and not knowing if he would see his family again. My hat comes off to all the responding units that were involved in 9/11.”

The Clayton 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb was described as a humbling experience by Northcutt. Her and the team she ran with were proud to represent the three-hundred-and-forty-three heroes that were part of the first responders on that morning. Some participants carried breathing apparatuses, fire hoses, or other firefighting equipment. Most firemen showed up in full turnout gear. Each participant carried a photo and a biographical sketch of one of the three hundred and forty three FDNY firefighters that lost their lives when the World Trade Center collapsed.