Conrad’s puzzle honors 9/11 at senior center
Two seniors attending the Sept. 11 activities last Thursday at the Anderson County Senior Center watch as a pre-9/11 New York skyline puzzle, framed and ready to be posted on a wall at the center, is presented to the facility. The puzzle was put together, framed and donated to the Senior Center by local resident Dave Conrad (standing, right). Holding up the puzzle are Anderson County Clerk Jeff Cole, left, and Circuit Court Clerk Rex Lynch. (photo:G. Chambers Williams III )
County Mayor Terry Frank said the puzzle was put together by Dave Conrad, who she said is a regular participant in Senior Center activities.
“It took five months,” Frank said of Conrad’s completion of the giant puzzle.
“He did it at home, then framed it and brought it in,” the mayor said. “It was important to him. He thought people were forgetting about (the terrorist attacks).”
The framed puzzle measures 3-1/2-by-5 feet in size.
“It’s something I enjoy doing, and I wanted to do this for the Senior Center,” Conrad said when he delivered the puzzle to the facility, at 96 Mariner Point Drive.
With a view of the Brooklyn Bridge in the foreground, the puzzle shows the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center dominating the skyline, prior to the 2001 terrorist attacks that resulted in the deaths of thousands of people and the collapse of the towers.
The twin towers were part of a seven-building complex that was home to more than 430 companies from 28 countries, according to the website, 911memorial.org.
People across the nation joined those at the Senior Center in observing the 24th anniversary of the terrorist attacks last week.
The Senior Center also had an ice-cream social for attendees, beginning at 1 p.m. Thursday, just after presentation of the framed puzzle.
The ice-cream social featured Mayor Frank, county Trustee Regina Copeland, Property Assessor John Alley, County Clerk Jeff Cole, Register of Deeds Tim Shelton, and Circuit Court Clerk Rex Lynch as the official “celebrity scoopers.”
The ice cream and an assortment of toppings were provided by Burr-Ville Sweet Treats at 197 Edgewood Avenue in Clinton.
Also on hand was local author Don Bell, who shared stories about his life growing up in Oak Ridge, the “Secret City.”
A native Oak Ridger, Bell also talked about historic places that no longer exist. These stories can be found in his book “Life Stories from a Secret City Kid.”
The Senior Center hosts numerous programs each month. The calendar can be found at andersoncountytn.gov/office-on-aging-senior-center/. The center is also home to the Anderson County Office on Aging, which provides an array of resources for senior citizens.
The Senior Center is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. The Office on Aging and Senior Center are funded in part through a grant contract from the East Tennessee Human Resource Agency.
For more information, call 865-457-3259.
