Freeport: Now lighthouse carries the flame
A flag is held over lighthouse on Branch Avenue and Ray Street in Freeport. (Sept. 11, 2011) Credit: Newsday/Carl Macgowan
On Sept. 18, 2001, someone lit a candle on a green at the intersection of Branch Avenue and Ray Street in Freeport. The next night, another candle was lit.
Candles continued to be lit every night, and eventually people added photographs of 9/11 victims, mass cards and stuffed dolls.
The nightly tradition continued until Sunday night, when the village dedicated a lighthouse at the site bearing the names of dozens of Sept. 11 victims with ties to Freeport.
The makeshift memorial, including dozens of lantern-style candleholders, will be moved to the Freeport Historical Society. Candles had been lit by volunteers who braved rain and snow storms to maintain the tradition.
"It was a lot of hot, a lot of cold," said Maureen Anglim, who with her mother Mary Lou Anglim was among more than a dozen candle lighters over the years. "Sometimes it was not very nice but we did it anyway."
