Above: Ascent, a sculpture by Mark Pilato.
The little hamlet of Halcottsville in Delaware County is hosting a 9/11 ceremony today from 1pm to 3pm. The hamlet's fire department is now the permanent home of "Ascent," a sculpture by Halcottsville volunteer fireman Mark Pilato, who sculpted it in the months after the World Trade Center attacks ten years ago.
The sculpture, a soaring work in bronze, has been displayed at Ground Zero in NYC and at the Pentagon in Washington DC. Now, it sits in a newly-landscaped park next to the Halcottsville Fire Department, as you can see on the Halcottsville Fire Department Facebook Page and in the photo below.
In an article in Catskill Mountain Guide Magazine, Pilato explained his connection with the Halcottsville Fire Department:
I joined the Halcottsville volunteer fire department shortly after 9/11. Halcottsville is a small hamlet in the Catskill Mountains. My fellow firefighters are amazing, every one of them. In the days and weeks and months after the tragedy of 9/11 they all said the same thing, like a mantra: “I wish I could have been down there to help.” They represent thousands of volunteers who said those same words all over the nation.
Watershed Post advertisers Chase-Randall Gallery and Quarltere's Nursey are both involved in today's event. Quarltere's, which helped landscape the new park in Halcottsville, posted about the ceremony and the sculpture in July. Zoe Randall, the proprietor of the Chase-Randall Gallery in Andes, witnessed the sculpting of "Ascent." Randall will be speaking at the ceremony today, according to her recent post on her "News From Local Businesses" page.
