![]() Look west (right) when Enchanted Village amusement park is on your left. The Todd Beamer High School campus is visible from southbound I-5. Beamer was heard over a cell phone saying his pet phrase, "Let's roll!" just before he and other passengers rushed the cockpit. Beamer was among the passengers who forced hijacked United Flight 93 to crash in Pennsylvania rather than proceed to the White House or Capitol in Washington, D.C. ![]() However, the school sent Beamer's widow, Lisa, a school windbreaker jacket as a goodwill gesture when the school opened.Įberhart said Lisa Beamer is leading a private life and understandably still is grieving as she raises her three young children, the youngest born after Beamer's death. I am grateful for the community I see in the valley–from the parks to the people.Q: How much contact has there been between the family of 9/11 hero Todd Beamer and the new high school in Federal Way that was named after him?Ī: Contact has been with the Todd Beamer Foundation and not the family, according to principal Carol Eberhart. There is just so much history and connection in this big little city we live in. Now, this sunshine-filled park, enjoyed by so many kids and future Fresno State Bulldog students, stands to honor this courageous man, Todd Beamer. The husband and wife had planned to celebrate their 10-year anniversary just months after the time of his death. He moved home to Illinois and eventually transferred to Wheaton College, where he met his bride, Lisa Brosious, his senior year. His dream was to play professionally, but injuries Beamer suffered in a car accident ended those plans. Beamer actually studied physical therapy at Fresno State University, and played baseball. So what does this have to do with our little city of Fresno, you may ask? Here goes. I honestly get goosebumps even typing this to you all. Beamer was one of the passengers who so bravely tried to reclaim the plan from the hijackers, eventually crashing into a field near Shanksville, PA. Todd Morgan Beamer was an American software salesman and a passenger aboard the now famous United Airlines Flight 93, the flight hijacked during the September 11 attacks in 2001. This monument, however, seemed a little more special. If you’re like me, you go to these little neighborhood parks and know their names by heart, but assume they’re named after donors or Fresno natives, etc. The dedication memorial to Todd Beamer himself. ![]() Money.īut it wasn’t until the end of the summer that I started to notice the monument that stood at the entrance to the park, in the circular garden by the main lot. And with two full jungle gym sets behind the splash pad setup, and a big open field to kick the soccer ball around – well, we could basically stay there all day. As soon as my little and I walked up to the water-lovers haven, I knew I had found something KEY to our hot valley summers! Fountains, splash circles, a magical bucket that randomly dumped water onto the cement (or someone’s head!). Todd Beamer Park, on Maple and Behymer was like pure gold to us all season long. Then one day, someone mentioned a splash pad park in my neck of the woods–close to Clovis, in north Fresno. You know how the summers get – some days are bearable and some you just have to hibernate indoors until the heatwave passes! It was a typical sizzling Central Valley summer, and I really wanted to find an alternative to heading to the local Target to use their free air conditioning (and my impulse buys). All summer, I was on the hunt – toddler in hand – for the perfect park.
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