University of Wisconsin-Madison students and area residents share their experiences about the events of September 11, 2001.
“I was with my babysitter eating macaroni and cheese, and I turned on the TV. My mom didn’t want me to, but I watched that and I didn’t go to school the next day. And it was very scary and overwhelming.”
-Blair Fischer, UW-Madison Junior
“I was in Kindergarten or first grade when it happened, so I didn’t really understand the significance of it until I got home, and my parents were kind of freaking out. And then when I saw it on the news, I didn’t really understand it, but it was just kind of sad seeing all the destruction and the mayhem that was on.”
-Seka Major, UW-Madison Freshman
“I was in seventh grade. And I was picking up lunch for my class at the deli next door, and it was on the TV. And someone said that someone had bombed New York. And I just didn’t really believe it.”
-Anna Nikolich, Madison Resident
“I was working in my home office and my wife … said ‘Dick, come look at what just happened in New York.’ So I walked across the hallway and watched the plane hit the towers. It was terrible.”
-Dick LaCroix, UW-Madison Alumni '67
“I remember my teacher came in crying and really upset. And they tried to explain it to us, but I mean we were in third grade so we really didn’t understand what was happening… I don’t think anyone really understood it at that age.”
-Tess Ursini, UW-Madison Junior
“I was in Waunakee, I worked for a company called Scientific Protein Laboratories and we were enclosed in a manufacturing building that is all concrete. And all of sudden we were getting phone calls and everybody was like, “Did you hear what happened? Did you hear what happened?” And we ran into these special rooms that had TVs and we were just in awe. We were trapped in our room and you want to do something, but you can’t do anything.”
-David Thom, Madison Resident
“I was in my fourth grade classroom. It was early in the morning and my teacher was crying and the lights were turned off and the TV was on… I knew something was up as soon as I walked into my classroom.”
-Hanna Hermanson, UW-Madison Senior
