HADLEY — It was a crisp September day, said Hadley Fire Chief Michael Spanknebel. Much like last Sunday afternoon, he recalled.
Fifteen years ago on Sept. 11, Spanknebel was driving to his then carpentry job in Hatfield. When early reports of the 9/11 terror attacks broke, he swiftly turned the car around for home.
“Everything else became unimportant,” he said. “It was just being glued to the radio and the television after that.”
The fire chief closed his eyes Sunday and the memories flooded back — watching the twin towers come down, the rising death toll of innocent lives lost, and the struggle to reach his sister, a New York City physician, by phone.
“I couldn’t get in touch with her because all of the cellphones were completely overloaded,” he said of that day.
His sister was busily working at a city hospital. But a staggering 3,000 people lost their lives, he said, including those on the four planes used in the attacks, at the World Trade Center in New York and at the Pentagon.
When Spanknebel opened his eyes, some 100 Hadley residents did, too.
They were sharing a moment of remembrance at the start of Polka Festival, a decade-long tradition at the Hadley Senior Center.
This year, the date coincided with the anniversary of 9/11.
Senior services director Suzanne Travisano said the festival was very nearly canceled because Sept. 11 was the only date available this year.
Those present felt that celebration — paired with respectful remembrance — was the right tone.
And celebrate they did.
Dancers twirled and whirled to upbeat tunes as American flags fluttered in the breeze.
Spanknebel said the scene was exactly what all those who died in the tragedy would want to see.
“They would definitely want to hear Eddie Forman playing,” he said of the local orchestra that provided the music.
“I bet they’re all listening right now,” he said. The crowd applauded.
Holding their loved ones a little tighter, they paid joyful tribute to the fallen.
Sisters Natalie and Kylie Daigle, 12 and 9, of Chicopee, reflected on the tragedy that occurred before they were born.
“I don’t know how anybody could be so mean to wreck and kill so many people,” Natalie said. “So many lost their parents and it shouldn’t be that way.”
The girls spent the afternoon watching their father, John Daigle, perform in the orchestra.
Stories shared by those who were alive during the tragedy help them to understand, they said.
Laura Waskiewicz, 34, was at Westfield State College during the attack.
Classes were canceled and the students were sent back to their dorms, she recalled during the festival.
“It’s scary to think this is the world we live in now,” she said.
John Kokoski, a longtime Hadley resident, hopes his children and grandchildren never have to experience anything like that day.
Kokoski, 67, was driving on the Mass Pike on the day of the attacks, listening to a “blow-by-blow of the whole thing” over the radio. He hopes U.S. leaders will take the measures necessary to ensure safety for the generations to come.
But spirits could not be broken by the occurrences on that mournful day for the nation.
That’s why Hadley residents gathered to share in the happy Polish beats.
“When polka music starts playing, you just get a good feeling,” Kokoski said. He said being surrounded by family and friends provides comfort on a hard day. Waskiewicz agrees.
“If you were in a bad mood before, you’re not anymore,” she said of the cheery tunes.
Kokoski said every ethnic group has a way of dealing with tragedy and looking toward the future, and polka is the Polish community’s, he said.
“America is made up of all ethnic groups,” he said. “It’s the way this country was founded and the way it should continue.”
Sarah Crosby can be reached at scrosby@gazettenet.com.