Today is the 25th anniversary of September 11, 2001. I don't usually use this space for anything outside the market — but a milestone like this one is worth stepping away from listings and rates to acknowledge.
I've spent my entire career in Crawfordsville and Montgomery County, and if there's one thing this community does well, it's showing up for each other. Today is a good example of why that matters.
The Day, By the Numbers
Nearly 3,000 people were killed in the September 11 attacks — the deadliest terrorist attack in U.S. history. Congress designated September 11 as Patriot Day in 2001, and in 2009 it was additionally named the National Day of Service and Remembrance, one of only two federally recognized days of service in the country alongside Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The goal, as its founders have described it, is to make the anniversary a day of doing good rather than only a day of mourning.
What's Happening Across Indiana
Indianapolis is holding one of the state's larger commemorations today: a memorial parade starting at Indianapolis Professional Firefighters Local 416 that marches roughly 1.7 miles to the Indiana 9/11 Memorial on West Ohio Street, where a ceremony honors the 343 New York City firefighters who died that day and the members of Indiana Task Force 1 who deployed to Ground Zero. Other observances around the state today include a Patriot Day ceremony at Indianapolis International Airport, a Walk of Remembrance at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and a meal-packing service project at Butler University benefiting Gleaners Food Bank.
Closer to home, Crawfordsville's own VFW Post 72 has a long tradition of honoring service and sacrifice in this community — the kind of quiet, consistent presence that's easy to overlook until a day like today reminds you it's there.
Why This Matters to Me
Where you live is my business — that's how I've approached this work for nearly two decades. Part of that means paying attention to what makes a community worth living in, and a big piece of that is how a place remembers. Twenty-five years on, the fact that Hoosiers across this state — from firefighters marching in Indianapolis to families packing meals at Butler — are still choosing to mark this day says something good about where we live.
If you're able today, take a moment. Thank a first responder. Fly your flag. Remember the people we lost and the ones who ran toward the danger to help.
— John
