By Anish Sikhinam – Staff Reporter

Earlier this month, Jonathan Law remembered and commemorated the events of 9/11 by selling red bandannas in honor of firefighter and hero Welles Crowther.

The Law community purchased 185 bandannas and raised a total of $925.

“I think that Welles particularly resonates with students your age,” reading teacher Mrs. Rowley said. “And that’s why the red bandanna fundraiser is always very successful.

All proceeds will go to the non-profit Welles Remy Crowther Charitable Trust, which creates curricula for students about the events of 9/11 as well as leadership qualities and the impact of good deeds. The red bandannas were being sold in the rooms of social studies teacher Mrs. Mannion, Rowley, and history teacher Mr. Zuraw, and in the cafeteria courtesy of the Key Club.

In addition to the fundraiser, students also watched a documentary about Welles Crowther in their advisories.

“It was really inspiring knowing that some simple ordinary guy could do so much,” sophomore Sanskar Shah said.

Welles Crowther was an extraordinary leader who grew up being very polite and well-spoken, as well as having a strong sense of duty and care. He participated in many leadership activities while growing up, and excelled at many sports such as lacrosse, which he got to play for the varsity team at Boston College.

Crowther completed the New York State firefighting when he was just 18 years old, and became a full member of the fire department. After graduating college, Crowther became a research analyst and then an equities trader for the investment firm Sandler O’Neill & Partners.

During the events of September 11, 2001, however, Crowther became a firefighter and a hero.

That day, a man wearing a red bandanna was seen amidst the smoke and the ashes organizing a rescue effort, ordering fire extinguishers, directing people to the stairwell, and as a result saving the lives of many.

This man was later identified by family as Welles Crowther, as he had always carried a red bandanna in his back pocket, and his spirit lives on today honored by many schools around the country due to this red bandanna.

“It certainly helps me remember and reflect on September 11, 2001 and the impact that [it] had on this country, but also the spirit of Welles Crowther, who was just a true hero… so it really makes me reflect on the American spirit, how we’re always at our best when we work together and help each other,” principal Mr. Thompson said.

This tradition was brought to Jonathan Law several years ago by Rowley and Mannion, who were involved with the 9/11 Tribute Center.

“We were lucky enough to actually meet Welles Crowther’s parents… and eventually Mrs. Crowther actually came to Jonathan Law… and she spoke to the senior class that day,” Mannion said.

The presentation was very touching for the students, and ever since, Rowley and Mannion have shown the students a documentary about Crowther and have worn and honored the red bandanna, as well as starting a fundraiser with it in recent years.

Rowley, Mannion, and Zuraw have all been involved designing the 9/11 curriculum taught in the history department in the Milford school district.

“I think it’s getting trickier for our students because when I first started teaching, the students were in 7th, 8th, 6th grade, and now you guys weren’t even born when it happened… so you need to try [to] educate people and make them realize how much of an impact it had and… that’s our job to do,” Zuraw said. “Over the years and through our 9/11 curriculum, you guys and younger generations will have a good appreciation for what happened that day and what changed.”

Rowley hopes the curriculum and fundraiser will bring awareness to this worthy cause.

“I think stories like Welles help to make a personal connection to 9/11,” Rowley said. “I feel it’s extremely important to make sure you guys are educated as much as possible about 9/11 [because]… 9/11 to you is what Pearl Harbor was to me.”

(Some information courtesy http://www.crowthertrust.org)