We went to the Hall of Flame Museum of Firefighting in Phoenix. Bill & Julie enjoyed the exhibits while Jamie was on a continual hunt for the gift shop. He had some spending money in his wallet and he could NOT wait to buy a firetruck toy.
The museum has over 90 fully restored pieces of fire apparatus, including engines of all types, shapes and sizes. It was designed with children in mind, thankfully, as interactive displays were stratically placed along the route. We had fun dressing up in firefighter gear and climbing on the 1951 American La France Fire Engine.
Again, stratically placed, the fire safety exhibits were child friendly and allowed Jamie to play in a mock fire station complete with pole and pedal-car fire engine.
We did eventually make it to the Museum Gift Shop and Jamie was so excited to buy a firetruck with his very own money.
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One room of the museum was dedicated to fallen firefighters and one wall, in particular, honored the firefighters, police and emergency workers who died as a result of 9/11.
The Memorial Pony was created to honor the heroes of 9/11. It is decorated as a rider-less horse as used in the funeral processions of Presidents Lincoln and Kennedy. The Calvary Saddle and reversed boots symbolize the loss of a great man. Beneath the saddle is a coffin-like base containing an FDNY fire helmet and caps from NYPD, New York Port Authority and New Jersey Port Authority. The Memorial Pony was donated to the Hall of Flame museum after being on display in New York's La Guardia International Airport for 2 years.
Again, stratically placed, the fire safety exhibits were child friendly and allowed Jamie to play in a mock fire station complete with pole and pedal-car fire engine.
We did eventually make it to the Museum Gift Shop and Jamie was so excited to buy a firetruck with his very own money.***************************
One room of the museum was dedicated to fallen firefighters and one wall, in particular, honored the firefighters, police and emergency workers who died as a result of 9/11.
The Memorial Pony was created to honor the heroes of 9/11. It is decorated as a rider-less horse as used in the funeral processions of Presidents Lincoln and Kennedy. The Calvary Saddle and reversed boots symbolize the loss of a great man. Beneath the saddle is a coffin-like base containing an FDNY fire helmet and caps from NYPD, New York Port Authority and New Jersey Port Authority. The Memorial Pony was donated to the Hall of Flame museum after being on display in New York's La Guardia International Airport for 2 years.
This is a piece of a steel beam recovered from the World Trade Center that was donated to the Phoenix Fire Department.
This wall contained photos of the 400 firefighters, police and port authority officers who died in the attack on the The World Trade Center. I stood there and stared at the faces of these heroes for several minutes. What was their last thought or memory? I thought of their families and friends. I was especially intrigued that there were no women firefighters (although there were women police and port authority officers). This memorial is thousands of miles from Ground Zero but, nonetheless, it had the essence of being a holy and sacred place. My thoughts drifted to imaginings of a similar memorial that would contain the photos of those who have sacrificed their lives in the aftermath of 9/11. Violence causes pain...it is not the way to create peace and harmony. Violence is final; the lives that these faces represent are gone. Beside these photos, what do we have to show for their sacrifice? This is not okay; we have to find a better way.
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