The Wisconsin 9/11 Memorial with Dustin Melzark
This year marks the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the United States. Since 2018, I've been involved with helping to build the Wisconsin 9/11 Memorial and Education Center in Kewaskum, Wis. On this week's episode, Dustin Melzark, an architect and construction manager for Lakeside Development, joins me to discuss all of the symbolism of the Memorial. There are a ton of easter eggs built within the Memorial that you are probably unaware of.
Links:
• Wisconsin 9/11 Memorial – https://wisconsin911memorial.com
Transcript
I was working for Mike Elliott. I was doing an afternoon show. I'd eventually take over the morning show and program director position after Mike retired. I miss him by the way, RIP. But now I am the chief strategy officer at Epic Creative in West Bend. I'm also the vice president of the board of directors for Kewaskum Remembers 9 11 Inc, which is the nonprofit that runs the Wisconsin 9 11 Memorial and Education Center.
th,:He's also native of Kewaskum and he joins me this week to talk all about the symbolism and Easter eggs that you'll find at the Memorial. There's a lot more to the Wisconsin 9 11 Memorial than you'd think. If you're listening to this prior to September 11th, we invite you to join us on Saturday, September 11th at 10 a.
m. at the Memorial. We're going to pay tribute to fire, police, and first responders as we commemorate the 20th anniversary of the attacks on our nation.
th of:involved with the memorial, and we'll go into what all the symbolism of the memorial means.
[:When he initially approached me for this idea of a 9 11 memorial in Kewaskum, he explained that the Port Authority of New York had granted them a steel artifact and needed help further defining their idea into a memorial space in an actual memorial in Kewaskum. So there was, there was another artist involved at the beginning, right?
Correct. Yeah, there was another Kewaskum High School alum, David Eyre, and he had developed an idea he titled Artifact. And this idea highlighted the beam itself, and they had received a steel beam that was from the lower section of the North Trade Tower. And that became the center of the memorial as it stands today.
[: [:And I think Initially, this idea just was an idea, and they were supporting it and kind of playing along. But as it gained momentum, and we put up a sign that said, Future Home of the Kewaskum 9 11 Memorial, it got to be really real. So these issues came to light, and we acknowledged that it was going to be an issue, and worked with the village and found this.
Secondary site, which I actually think is a much better location for the memorial.
[:Well, it's in
[: [:And I always want to stop and tell them all the things that they're looking at. But if I did that, I wouldn't
[:So it's really, I think that's one of the fascinating parts of it. It's set up for discovery and for you to spend time there. And quite frankly, I think that the memorial itself, I might be a little biased because I was involved for such a long time, but it's a beautiful space and it's a space that I think is more beautiful than some of the major memorials throughout the country.
Yeah. And it's right here in Kewaskum. Yeah.
[:com, if you go to the site, you can click through the education side of things and see there are actual photos of the beam still attached to the building. Talk about how it's situated and how it's incorporated into the memorial.
[:The way that David Iyer, the artist who came up with this concept, is that it's actually positioned naturally if you were to take the center of gravity. And holding on a string, that's the way the steel would, would rest. And then we positioned it so it was pointing towards New York. And then initially we worked with a structural engineer to make sure that we could actually get this piece of steel to stand upright.
It's a two ton piece of steel. And I mean, the foundation is pretty massive, below grade. But then we worked with carpenters to make sure it could be built because it's, you know, taking a solid piece of steel for that base and welding it and making sure that it's going to come together the way that I drew it in.
SketchUp is, is a lot to ask. So initially we made a wood mock up and then that wood mock up was taken to The fabricator, and then the fabricator cut the pieces basically by tracing the plywood that was cut out and put together and then they took all that and fabricated it together and it's, it's actually pretty fascinating because I don't know how many listeners have welded or put together some steel, but it's a, it's a work of art and it's beautiful.
[: [:But the fabricators wanted to do a bolting pattern instead. And that's kind of the thing that as a construction manager, you kind of let the project evolve, but ask questions along the way. So the volunteers and the skilled craftspeople that came together to help us put this together were an integral part of the success and the way it is presented today.
I mean, we couldn't have done it without them. And it wouldn't be nearly as special without them. Everybody who stepped up to help.
[: [:Yeah. Like I said, we couldn't have done it without everybody's help.
[: [: [: [:Mm hmm. And Jerry's attitude was that if I'm not willing to do it, knock on doors, talk to people, spend the time, then I shouldn't be involved in this. So, you know, taking his lead, I'm not one that's really going to knock on doors, but, you know, I spent countless hours trying to make sure everything was going to come together, and took phone calls, and You wouldn't even realize how many phone calls we had about the paint finish on that piece, you know, and that's extended into other parts.
But yeah, Jerry Gosa was a, was a fantastic leader and led by example, which was really great to see and humbling to watch someone like that just do whatever they could to get this done.
[:It's on a foundation that's shaped like a pentagon, which is a symbolism in itself, but there's more to it than that.
[:And the first one points to the amphitheater and the teaching podium. And the next point is to the flight map. And then the next one goes to a sculpture titled Ascension. And then the next one points to a victim's learning station, which is being developed as we speak, and it might actually be done, because I think you're working on that.
Yep, yep.
[: [: [:Really awesome how that all comes together. Let's talk about the teaching podium. When you look at it, there are these tridents that come up, and they're pretty recognizable if you remember the imagery of September 11th.
[:of the Twin Towers, and we partnered with Mark Hargis of BMH Manufacturing. And he put countless hours in and coordinated everything and somehow fabricated those to look as beautiful as they did. I mean, I bet you he has hundreds of hours into those legs, but yeah, they're beautiful and they have some ingrained symbolism to support this teaching podium, which is meant to allow educators to convey The meaning behind this memorial and not only what the different symbolism means, but what it meant on a larger scale.
[: [:It's a prominently displayed on our memorial. It's also prominently displayed in the New York memorial. So it's a way to tie the two together and add a layer of. Detail and symbolism in the amphitheater itself.
[:If you. You may have remembered seeing the news stories from a couple years ago, the funds raised for that were from an organization called Forever Honoring Our Washington County Veterans, which was led by County Executive Josh Shulman and Justin Reichert, who is a U. S. Army vet. He enlisted, actually, the day after September 11th, and he's a bronze medal recipient.
Also married to Ashley Reichert, our county clerk, but they raised between Forever Honoring, our Washington County Vets, and Josh Schumann on his own, they raised a ton of money for our memorial and we appreciate their dedication to doing that and the Veterans area looks just gorgeous.
[: [: [:So there were a lot of cool things that happened as a This concept evolved, and it kind of, it almost stitched Kewaskum to the memorial, because we were able to integrate this bench, and we were able to integrate this memorial for local veterans, not, not just locally, but nationally, and I think it's a, it's a really wonderful thing that happened.
[:A few other pieces to the memorial. We do have the survivor tree. Tell us what that is.
[:We had them tagged out there, we actually removed those, but we're making signs to indicate which ones they are so visitors can recognize them, but yeah, there's a, there's a strong tie between the two. That actual tree in our memorial and the memorial in New York City and the day of the attack. There's
[:Um, another tree in the memorial is the Swamp White Oak, and you think it's an oak tree that's in the middle of a field, but tell us about that.
[:And that swamp oak is reminiscent of the Oak Alley on the 9 11 Memorial Plaza in New York. So again, we have another tie back to New York. And these trees were chosen because they're native to all three areas attacked on 9 11. So that ties together New York City, Arlington, Virginia. in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
And it's also a symbol of strength, morale, resistance, and knowledge. So again, there's a really deep meaning as to why that particular tree was chosen, and why it's in the middle of a field, exactly. 754 inches from the center, which You know, we haven't surveyed it, but that was the intent.
[:So
[:And people have thought that it stands for other things, but really it's just resting on its neutral axis position towards New York. And it's meant to look dynamic. You know, there were other concepts thrown around, like just having it flat, but it's In my opinion, just the way it's resting on the site.
It's, it's really, it's a focal point and that's the point is that everything emanates from the steel.
[:That 9 11 happened in the days following and I'm glad to be a part of it. I'm glad you were a part of this. I'm looking forward to the future of the memorial itself. We have an event coming up on Saturday, September 11th. It's at 10 a. m. It'll be honoring fire, police, and first responders for the 20th anniversary of the attacks on September 11th.
It will be Hosted by Kewaskum Police Chief Tom Bishop and Greenfield Fire Chief John Cohn, uh, they'll be our speakers. And we'll also have the Kewaskum High School Band there, as well as some other great things going on with the American Legion and others. So, join us for that, September 11th at 10am.
Also, we just launched educational resources. We have age appropriate lesson plan ideas for 3rd through 5th graders, 6th through 8th, and 9th through 12th grades that teachers can use in, in their classrooms, or they can modify them. They all adhere to state standards. Again, they're age appropriate, and they're focused on Wisconsin, too, so how September 11th ties into Wisconsin.
There's also an activity guide for field trips, other educational resources. And if you want to help, we still have bricks available, right?
[:You know, at this point, we're really focused on maintaining the memorial into the future perpetually. And we still need a lot of help with that. So any help we can get is greatly appreciated. Yeah. We're going to,
[:And that's why we're here and we're doing this. And Dustin, I appreciate you coming on the show. Thank you very much. And this, again, this is a big feat. It took a lot of hard work by a lot of people and you were, and still are, very involved and we appreciate your support. Yeah. Thank you, Fuzz.
Thank you so much for listening to Fifteen Minutes with Fuzz. Again, if you're listening to this right now and September 11th is coming up, be sure to join us at the Wisconsin 9 11 Memorial on Saturday, September 11th at 10 a. m. If you're listening after that, uh, we had a great event. I'm guessing, because we put a lot of work into it.
If you like this show, Fifteen Minutes with Fuzz, be sure to subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Google Podcasts. Connect with the show on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, at FifteenWithFuzz, or visit FifteenWithFuzz. com. Again, thanks so much for listening, and we will talk to you again. Next Monday, as we explore some of the great things going on in West Bend with Jay Shambo, the City Administrator.
That's on the next episode of Fifteen Minutes with Fuzz.
