There are 365 days in a year, and each one is filled with
endless events and activities, year after year. Throughout our lives some dates
become more important than others. Some days witness events that connect that
date over and over through centuries of time. September 11th and New
York have one of those momentous connections.
Event #1: September
11, 2001, Lower Manhattan, New York
This is one of those dates that you remember exactly what
you were doing when you heard the news. For me it was early in the morning. I
was teaching a class to high school age students. When they came into the room
that morning a few of them mentioned they had heard something about planes
crashing into a building in New York; it seemed like a serious event.
I taught my class but in the back of my mind was a fear
about what might be happening. As soon
as I finished, I got into my car and turned on the news. The events of the destroyed
buildings and crashed planes were so unbelievable that I had a difficult time
even comprehending what had happened. The terrorist attacks that had transpired
in New York were beyond my understanding.
My husband called from work to see if I’d heard what was
going on. He was teaching 6th grade at the time and pulled all of
his students into the library to watch the live coverage of the attacks.
Together they saw a plane fly into the second tower of the World Trade Center
in Lower Manhattan; they watched in bewilderment as portions of it toppled to
the ground.
Our family spent several weeks listening to NPR (National
Public Radio) every chance we had to try to understand what had happened in New
York, why these terrorist activities had happened and who was responsible. We silently
worked on projects with our hands as our minds listened and tried to untangle
the numbing events.
Event #2: September
11, 1609, Entrance of the Hudson River, New York
September 11th of 1609 goes back to a time before
the Twin Towers stood in New York. Instead of terror, this day began with great
hope as Henry Hudson looked up the North River (today know as the Hudson).
Previous to this date, he embarked on his third voyage to
find a passage to Asia from Europe, but as his ship became encased in ice,
Hudson decided to change his plans and take an entirely different route. He charted
a course suggested by a fellow explorer, John Smith – yes – THE John Smith, and
decided to search for a Northwest Passage instead. The Northwest Passage was believed
to be a river that would go from the east coast to the west coast of North
America and as he approached the North River, he felt this was the illusive
passage so many explorers had been seeking.
As Hudson headed up the North River, he was optimistic that
he had finally met with success but after a few weeks, Hudson realized this path
was not what he had hoped for. After trading with Natives in the area he headed
back to Europe. He did not find a
Northwest Passage but briefly explored the area that soon became the Dutch
Colony of New Netherland and centuries later, New York.
Event #3 - September
11, 1689 Wallabout Bay, Long Island, New York
The September 11th of 1689 falls between the two
previously mentioned years. It is the day that Catalina Trico died in what is
Long Island, New York today; she was 84 years old. Catalina married Joris Rapalje
in 1624, only a few days before they set off on a ship across the Atlantic
Ocean to settle in the Dutch Colony of New Netherland. They were both religious
exiles that went to the Netherlands for protection from Spain during the early
1600s. Little is known about how Catalina and Joris met but we know that Catalina’s
sister was the only family at their wedding. Both Catalina and Joris were
illiterate as their marriage certificate bears their signs, not their
signatures.
Together they sailed across the ocean on the first ship that
carried colonist headed for New Netherland. They were daring enough to start
fresh in a new place they had never set foot on and willing to work hard to be
successful there. They were among the families
that were placed at the far north end of the Hudson River, deep in the center
of a land filled with Natives; the same river that Hudson had sailed up years
before. Catalina and Joris had 11 children in New Netherland. They bought and
sold land, cleared land and then cleared more land to rebuild homes and farms
to raise their family on. Catalina outlived her husband Joris by 26 years. As a
widow, she lived independently, raised her own garden, and even though her
family was nearby, she took care of herself.
I have thought about the possible events for Catalina on
September 11, 1689 many, many times during the past several months as I have
attempted to pull some potential details from what that day might have been
like. Had she spent the day gathering winter squash into her home with a few of
her grandchildren? Had she enjoyed dinner with one of her children and their
family? The interesting thing about Catalina is that she lived in New
Netherland from the very first day to the very last and then a bit longer. She
was on that first ship that landed before any homes were built; and she was
also there on the day Peter Stuyvesant surrendered the Dutch colony to the
English. She was one of the very few that saw it all!
Making Connections
All three of these events happened on the same date, in the
same area, and each had an effect on New York that rippled out and changed the
entire world – forever. The September 11, 2001 event took away a feeling of
safety; people were hurt physically and emotionally, and there was a little
less trust in the world.
September 11, 1609 eventually brought the Dutch to the area
that would later become New York where they established a colony that was
different from any other settlement in the New World. They brought tolerance,
cooperation, and free trade to New Netherland and these ideas have become part
of what New York is today.
September 11, 1689 brought the end of a life that was full
of courage and determination. Catalina was one of the few that witnessed and
experienced New Netherland in its entirety – every single day of it. She took a
chance and changed her future because of her willingness to work hard and
improve herself and the places she lived. She has over one million descendants
living in the United States today.
The designer, Charles Eames, said, “Eventually everything
connects - people, ideas, objects.” As I consider September 11th,
and examine events that happened on that date in New York, I realize that
everything does eventually connect; that a single day can link people, places,
and events throughout generations. These associations send out concentric
ripples that shape the course of many histories in places far from where they
first began.
