We shall never forget. On the 10th anniversary of Sept. 11, Langley senior Margaret Kriso’s mother, Mrs. Lydia Kriso, stood up in New York’s Memorial Service. She read off a list of names, including her older sister Susan “Sue” Getzendanner, of those who died in the falling building of the South Side of the World Trade Center.
What was your memory of 9/11?
I remember that morning a neighbor called and said, ‘Doesn’t your sister Sue work in the World Trade Center?’ and I replied, ‘Yes.’ And then she said, ‘Well you better turn on your TV.’ I turned on my TV and saw the first plane hit the North Side and then I called my mom. My mom said she talked to Sue and that she was fine and her office was on the South Side and the North Side was the side that was hit. Then I just remembering watching the plane hit the south side. I’ll never forget that moment. I then told my mom, ‘Mom they hit the south side. That’s Sue’s building.’ At that time I was unaware of whether she was dead or alive, but I knew she worked on the 98th floor.
I then went to Langley to pick one of my daughters up, Carolyn, who was a freshman. I remember going into the attendance office at Langley and although it was complete chaos, it was still very organized, and they did a good job of getting me my daughter and some of the other neighborhood kids.
What was it like meeting the victims’ families in New York during the memorial?
We all had something in common. I needed to go up there and read the name of my sister. For nine years, I had been watching other people read the name of my sister and it was my turn. My partner [the person I read names next to] was a senior in high school, and she was reading off the name of her aunt. It was good to be with other people, it was a healing thing. When I walked up, my partner started to get real nervous, and that happened to make me stronger. I knew that I needed to be strong for her too.
How were you chosen to be a speaker?
Each Sept. 11 victim has a contact number, which happens to be my brother. My brother notified the family, and I decided it would be a good thing to read my sister’s name. I needed to make a personal memorial [to Sue]. My first reaction once I got the phone call, was ‘Yeah, I think so. I really want to read my sister’s name.’ I’m glad I did it, though I’m not sure if I’ll get the chance again.