BILLINGS — The Billings Public Library has a new exhibit: a 9/11 memorial.
The memorial was given to the Billings Public Library by the 9/11 memorial and museum in New York City. The library applied to receive the exhibit, which consists of informational posters that describe the event, and how it is still affecting people 20 years later.
“It’s a series of quite a few posters that detail from the beginning to 20 years later. What happened, how we dealt with it, the recovery efforts. It’s incredible to sit there, walk through and read it. It’s definitely impactful,” said Hannah Steward-Freeman, the assistant director at Billings Public Library.
The library will be able to keep most posters for the community to enjoy for years to come.
While talking about the exhibit, Stewart-Freeman and others shared their 9/11 stories.
“I was actually in sophomore biology. I remember sitting there, it was a normal day and one of the teachers came by the door, so our teacher went to talk. It was hush, hush, very whispered and then he came back, and that’s when we turned the television on. We turned it on just in time to see the second plane hit,” said Stewart-Freeman.
“I just remember sitting on my couch, on the phone with my mom and I was crying because I had this new baby, and we didn’t know what was happening in the world. We had no idea what was going on, planes kept crashing and buildings were falling and as a new mom with a small child, it was a very scary day,” said Allynne Ellis, the children’s librarian at Billings Public Library.
Both said it was a day they will never forget.
