Penn State Master Gardeners grow flowers for Flight 93 families

UNIVERSITY PARK -- For months, Penn State Extension Master Gardeners across Pennsylvania have been growing native plants for a special purpose: to honor the passengers and crew of United Airlines Flight 93.

These flowers will be given to their families at Flight 93 National Memorial in Somerset County, where one of the planes crashed on Sept. 11, 2001.

As part of the Master Gardeners' annual day of service at the memorial, about 150 Master Gardener volunteers, Penn State Extension educators, staff from Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences and National Park Service employees gathered Aug. 6 to tend garden beds at Memorial Plaza. They weeded, pruned and prepared the grounds to welcome families and visitors ahead of the 25th annual remembrance.

"Volunteering with the Flight 93 Master Gardener project is an annual event that I look forward to every year," said Lesa Schultz, a Master Gardener from Centre County. "For me, this day of service is the most meaningful Master Gardener project offered."

Valerie Sesler, area Master Gardener coordinator for the region that includes Somerset County, helped organize the event.

"This was my fifth year helping organize the Master Gardener volunteers for this day of service, along with Andy Faust, Penn State Extension program manager, and Tara Mondock, director of college relations and communications," she said. "We couldn't be prouder to bring together Master Gardeners from all across the state to give back to our community and our country."

The 1,500-acre memorial features a plaza, the Tower of Voices -- a 93-foot-tall musical instrument holding 40 wind chimes representing the 40 passengers and crew members -- the Wall of Names and a private area for the families. Volunteers play an instrumental role in maintaining the landscape.

Adam Shaffer is the National Park Service chief of interpretation and education at the Flight 93 National Memorial.

"The spaces can get overgrown quickly, especially some of the sensitive areas that the visiting public sees on a regular basis," he said. "We are absolutely ecstatic to have the Master Gardeners come out once a year."

The idea for the plant project came from last year's day of service, when Stephen Clark, superintendent of the National Parks of Western Pennsylvania, asked Master Gardeners to grow a native plant to bring to the 2026 event.

They answered with 117 plants, grown and donated by 130 Master Gardeners from across Pennsylvania.

The Master Gardeners of Somerset County will care for those plants until Sept. 11, when the flowers will be presented to loved ones of the Flight 93 passengers and crew during a ceremony at the memorial.

"The plants symbolize hope, peace, strength or courage," Sesler said.

Each plant will include a personal card from the Master Gardener who nurtured it.

"Writing the cards allowed me to express the care and love that went into nurturing these plants," Schultz said.

Sesler noted that this year's day of service was especially memorable as volunteers watched the U.S. Marine Corps Silent Drill Platoon perform its memorial ceremony, a powerful moment that added even more meaning to the day.

Schultz said the significance of returning to the Flight 93 National Memorial each year is not lost on the volunteers.

"It is truly an honor and a very humbling experience to assist with this project each year," she said. "All of us who volunteer remember exactly where we were and what we were doing on Sept. 11, and I have yet to leave this day of service without shedding a few tears.

Shaffer said he recently spoke with David Beamer, father of Flight 93 passenger Todd Beamer, whose final recorded words aboard the plane were "Let's roll" as he and other passengers attempted to retake the cockpit.

During the conversation, David Beamer described "Let's roll" as a call to action and "doing the right thing at the right time."

Shaffer said he sees that spirit in the work of the Master Gardeners who return each year.

"I look at the work that Penn State Extension and the Master Gardeners continue to do here for us year after year, coming back with joyful hearts in cleaning up the memorial and making it beautiful and presentable for our nation," he said. "It's a shared partnership, and I'm incredibly thankful."

Sesler said the Master Gardeners are honored to continue that work.

"Twenty-five years later, this ground still matters," she said. "We hope the flowers and cards let the families know they are not forgotten, that people from across Pennsylvania and beyond still think of them and carry their loved ones in their hearts every year."