It doesn’t happen often for a crusty, East Coaster like me, but occasionally I get bit by the nostalgia bug, as I did for this month’s column. I’ll blame it on hormones, courtesy of the boy/girl twins that threaten to burst out of my belly at any moment, or maybe it’s the season with September 11 right around the corner. Every year at this time, my nostalgia for old New York gets me. But could it be the community of Napa Valley that’s the real culprit?
Prior to relocating to Wine Country by way of Los Angeles (which never cultivated one iota of nostalgia in the whole six years I lived there), I never understood the true meaning of community. I’d only read about it in fairy tales. But we in Napa Valley are lucky enough to be part of a bona fide community, eager to help at every turn. Whether it’s launching a new business, providing fresh produce at the local farmers markets, cultivating a wine club following or, in the case of the Coalition for the Napa 9/11 Memorial Garden, memorializing one of the most devastating national tragedies of our lifetime, time and time again, our community rises up and out to help neighborhood kind.
It was over Memorial Day weekend in 2011 that I first learned of our community’s plans to build a grandiose 9/11 memorial. It shocked me initially because it so often seemed that years after the events, in California and even all over the world, we’d developed an almost laissez-faire attitude when it came to September 11. But I was pleased to be proven wrong when plans charged forward to build a commemorative park in downtown Napa. I found it impossible not be drawn into the project and its progress.
At my first meeting, I learned of the overarching mission of the project: to create a September 11 memorial for the people and by the people in our community. Jim Asbury, chairman of the Coalition for the Napa 9/11 Memorial Garden, has always been quick to correct people when it comes to crediting the group or any one individual for the evolution of the memorial. He cites, “This project has been and will always be a community effort.”
The completed Napa 9/11 Memorial Garden now stands in downtown Napa at Main St. and the Napa River (by Kohl’s), as testament to just that. Countless people have been involved in the project ever since the New York and New Jersey Port Authority granted Napa permission to receive steel beams from the World Trade Center in 2009. Artist Gordon Huether donated time and services to create the sculpture located at the center of the park, landscape architect Gretchen Stranzl McCann donated her services toward the park’s design. There were the Biagi Brothers who trucked the six World Trade Center beams across the country to Napa and GD Nielson, who led the construction effort. And the city of Napa itself, which has been an ardent supporter of the effort since the beginning, donated $120,000 (through the City Art Fund donated by Kaiser Permanente), staff resources and will play a role with maintenance now that construction is complete.
But even more impressive than all of that is the collective effort of the citizens and business owners of Napa County that banded together to make the dream of a memorial a reality, kicking in an additional $130,000 as well as countless in-kind donations that rival the cash contributions. I could fill a year’s worth of column space listing the names of those who donated to the cause in the form of funds, time, material, services and, most of all, heart. But there still wouldn’t be enough space, as the list is long and ever-growing (and on display on a sign at the entrance of the site). Instead, I encourage you to come out on September 11. Witness the magnitude of communitywide support for yourself, when the citizens will come together to celebrate and dedicate the site to those who perished in the attack on our nation.
Some people don’t support the project, and others, including the Napa Valley Register, which has been critical of the effort at times, aren’t clear on the point of having such a memorial in Napa––a city geographically far removed from the events. But regardless of where you stand, there’s no denying the visual impact of the park on downtown Napa, nor a truer testament of community allegiance. If Napans want something to happen—they make it happen. When Napa Valley Vintners saw that the community and local health care were in need of a boost three decades ago, they created Auction Napa Valley and watched local wineries and vintners rise to the challenge—and stay there. As chain businesses and large-scale expansion plans threaten to trample the very charms of the towns that put Napa Valley on the worldwide map, townies fight back, not always winning, but never giving up on the ideals of preserving aspects of small town life.
While local townsfolk may not always agree on what’s in the best interest of Napa County (take Napa Pipe and Enchanted Resorts development), there’s one area where the people remain unflinchingly aligned: As long as there are grapes growing in the fields of Napa Valley, a community exists that’s forever willing not only to take a stand, but to take action.
I thank you for indulging me as I walk down this lane of tribute to one of the truest senses of community I’ve ever had the pleasure of experiencing and reporting on. I look forward to hearing from you and learning what Napa County business will inspire you to take action in the days and months that follow.
