DECATUR — There is at least one positive side to a drought. Things that were once lost can be found, including the 9/11-related artifact that was stolen from the Nelson Park memorial.
Decatur Park District Executive Director Clay Gerhard holds the elusive World Trade Center artifact in front of the Decatur 9/11 Memorial after it was discovered on the exposed lakebed, on Thursday, Feb. 19.
JOSEPH RESSLER, HERALD & REVIEWPeople are also reading…
- WW II vet Estes flies in helicopter, drops wreath for Lake Mattoon Memorial Day service
- Updated: Blue Cross to close Mattoon site, shift staff to remote work
- Charleston, Mattoon Memorial Day ceremonies planned
- Search the latest Coles County real estate transfers
- Emergency responders honored for saving life of man in cardiac arrest at Mattoon restaurant
- Mattoon gets $500,000 in state grant funding for sidewalk work near schools
- Takeaways and titles from Girls State Track & Field in Charleston
- See the latest marriage licenses in Coles County
- Coles County Habitat for Humanity breaks ground on 50th home
- Renovations underway on Eastern Illinois University's utility tunnels, Thomas Hall
- Coles County airport among Memorial Day ceremony sites
- ANNIVERSARY: Mr. and Mrs. Richard Spraker
- Meadoview Golf Course in Mattoon marking 30 years of family ownership
- Swimming season kicks off at Coles County pools
- NASCAR champ Kyle Busch dies at 41 after severe illness
Daum
The World Trade Center I-beam is seen with the damaged piece of file cabinet during the installation of the Decatur 9/11 Memorial in 2017.
SUBMITTED PHOTO
The World Trade Center artifacts sent from the New York Port Authority for the Decatur 9/11 Memorial in 2017 included an I-beam and mangled filing cabinet attached to each other.
SUBMITTED PHOTO
After nearly two years in Lake Decatur, the missing piece of the 9/11 memorial was covered in the scum. Park Police officer Troy Kretsinger accepted the task of cleaning the artifact.
PROVIDED PHOTO
Decatur Park District Executive Director Clay Gerhard places the recovered artifact on the Decatur 9/11 Memorial for a picture on Thursday, Feb. 19. The piece of filing cabinet from the World Trade Center that was part of the memorial went missing in February 2024. Thanks to recent low Lake Decatur water levels, it was discovered along the shoreline in November.
JOSEPH RESSLER, HERALD & REVIEW9/11: Locally-submitted photos
Contact Donnette Beckett at (217) 421-6983. Follow her on Twitter: @donnettebHR
Be the first to know
Get local news delivered to your inbox!
Donnette Beckett
Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily!
{{description}}
Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.

