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Wellsville remembers one of their own lost in 9/11 attacks

By KRISTI R. GARABRANDT 5 min read

WELLSVILLE -- In a memorial service held at Springhill Cemetery on Friday night, Wellsville remembered one of their own.

Family and friends remembered Cathy Salter, who died on Sept. 11, 2001, while preparing to evacuate from the 98th floor of the South Tower of the World Trade where she worked when the second plane hit the tower. She was just three weeks away from her 38th birthday.

Cathy's mother Eleanor thanked everyone for having the ceremony. She found a poem that was in Cathy's handwriting called "As Long as We Believe" by Amanda Bradly and fought back tears as she read that aloud.

Cathy was the fourth of six children for Eleanor and the only child she has lost.

Through tears, Eleanor said that it was difficult to try to explain what it's like to lose a child and that it's something a mother doesn't get over.

"I'll will never forget the day that they placed her in my arms. I'll never forget her first steps. I'll never forget her playing with her brothers and sisters. I'll never ever forget the night that her dad was dying, and I was at the house, and she said to me, "Mom, I'm so glad you're here," Eleanor said. "Memories are things that people cannot take from you…the only thing that will make me forget Catherine is the day I die and then I will be looking at her face and she's going to be reaching her hand for me."

Eleanor again expressed her thanks to everyone for coming and noted that at 88 years old she does not know how many more of these memorial ceremonies she will be able to attend.

"My prayer for everyone here that loses someone is that you never, ever forget all of the memories that that person gave you to have," Eleanor said.

Classmates of Cathy's -- Jamie Hardman, Columbiana County Municipal Court Judge Tim McNicol and Wellsville Fire Chief Barry Podwel -- shared their memories of Cathy and how they learned she had died.

Hardman recalled how his wife took the kids to school and came home and got him up and told him to come out here, and he went out and looked at the TV in shock. When he sat down on the couch to continue watching was when the second plane flew into the tower Cathy was in, although at the time he didn't know she was in there. It was two days later when he found out she was gone, and he realized he watched as it had happened.

"It was a day I will never, ever forget, and I hope no one else does," Hardman said. "It was the most horrific attack on United States soil.

On Sept. 11, 2014, Hardman had the idea to create the Cathy Salter Memorial Scholarship which awards $1,000 to graduating seniors from Wellsville High School. There have been 12 students awarded a scholarship from the fund including McNicol's daughter Emily.

Podwel said he was working in his basement when his wife came to the top of the steps and told him a plane had crashed into the North Tower. He came up to watch the news, and a reporter was on TV to explain what was happening when in the background he saw the second plane come in and hit the South Tower.

It was a few days later he found out about Cathy's death after receiving a call from another classmate.

Podwel turned toward Cathy's grave and said, "Cathy, we will not forget you, I will not forget you. We love you and I love you."

Podwel thanked all the first responders present at the memorial and offered his sympathy to the Salter family.

McNicol said it's hard to believe that it has been 25 years since Sept. 11, 2001, and most of us can remember exactly what we were doing when we first heard the news and remember the disbelief, the confusion and suddenly the realization that something really terrible had happened.

He noted for those in Wellsville that terrible day became personal because among the nearly 3,000 lives lost, there was one of their own.

McNicol said to him and many others Cathy was more than just a name read among the ones who died. He explained how he knew Cathy in school and how when he thinks of Cathy, he doesn't think of the World Trade Center but of a girl growing up in Wellsville. He noted back in 2023 that he had the pleasure of voting Cathy into the Wellsville Hall of Fame, which is an honor she shares with her sister Linda, serving as an opportunity for people in Wellsville to remember how Cathy was before Sept. 11 defined her in history.

McNichol also said that Cathy was a young woman from Wellsville whose life was taken 25 years ago but due to the Cathy Salter Memorial Scholarship her legacy is still helping young people from her town to pursue their dreams. He said while Cathy's life was cut short, her life isn't measured by how long she lived but what she left behind.

McNicol said Cathy left behind family and friends and a community that still remembers her 25 years later.

Pastor Mark Blakeley offered an opening and closing prayer. Vince Melillo played "Amazing Grace," "Flowers of the Forest," and "God Bless America" on the bagpipes.

A moment of silence was held to honor Cathy and all the other lives lost on Sept. 11, 2001.

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