With the death of Osama Bin Laden, many people are remembering back to September 11th, 2001. That was the awful day that planes attacked the Twin Towers in New York and the Pentagon in Washington D.C. At the time of the first attack, President George Bush was in Sarasota, Florida. He was visiting a second grade class promoting education at the Emma Booker School. He was reading “The Pet Goat” to the students.
When the news of the tragedy hit, we were all notified of the President’s whereabouts. It was then that we, here, realized that the Principal of the school was the daughter of a Koontz Lake resident.
“When the President was given the news by Chief of Staff, Andrew Card, he became suddenly serious and rigid,” remembered Ted Hayes. “As those seven year old students, who are now 17 this year, remembered that he regained his composure and finished the story so he wouldn’t scare the children. He lingered for ten minutes with the students after getting the word that two planed had hit the Twin Towers. Gwen Tose-Rigell, who died in 2007, was the daughter of Daisy Davey of Koontz Lake. Daisy is still alive and lives in Sarasota, Florida. I had the opportunity to visit with Gwen in the school there in Sarasota and to visit with Daisy. How many people remember that there was a unique local touch to that day, 9/11/01?’
