Flier
Photo credit: 9/11 Memorial staff
Accession Number: C.2010.9.1522
Dimensions: 8 ½ in X 11 in
Dimensions (Metric): 20.32 cm X 27.94 cm
Dimensions (Metric): 20.32 cm X 27.94 cm
Source: Michael Ragsdale
Credit Line: The Michael Ragsdale 9/11 Aftermath Paper Ephemera Collection
Description
Flier requesting Chinese language interpreters to volunteer at the WTC Family Assistance Center (Pier 94) from October 22 - November 15.
Flier requesting Chinese language interpreters to volunteer at the WTC Family Assistance Center (Pier 94) from October 22 - November 15.
Historical Notes
By the afternoon of September 11, the New York City Mayor’s Community Assistance Unit had set up a temporary center at a hospital in Manhattan to assist people concerned about loved ones believed to have been at the World Trade Center. The center moved to progressively larger spaces until September 17, when a passenger ship terminal at Pier 94 on the Hudson River was transformed into a family assistance center. Staffed by hundreds of workers from more than 50 agencies, the center provided legal, financial, and mental health services to victims’ relatives.
By the afternoon of September 11, the New York City Mayor’s Community Assistance Unit had set up a temporary center at a hospital in Manhattan to assist people concerned about loved ones believed to have been at the World Trade Center. The center moved to progressively larger spaces until September 17, when a passenger ship terminal at Pier 94 on the Hudson River was transformed into a family assistance center. Staffed by hundreds of workers from more than 50 agencies, the center provided legal, financial, and mental health services to victims’ relatives.
Curator's Comment
At the time of the September 11th terror attacks, Michael Ragsdale, a New York City-based video producer, was employed as a senior technician for Audio Visual Services at the College of Physicians & Surgeons at Columbia University Medical Center and occasional video crew member for C-SPAN. His private passion was autograph collecting, a hobby fortified by his active participation in the Ephemera Society. On the morning of the attacks, Ragsdale voted in the NYC Primary Election and then headed to his first work assignment where NY Governor George Pataki was scheduled to speak. Just before 9 A.M., while preparing the set-up, Ragsdale noticed the beepers worn by Pataki’s staff beginning to go off simultaneously. They exited the building as a group, abruptly canceling the press conference, a signal to Ragsdale that something serious had happened. Sometime later, Ragsdale spotted hundreds of receipts littering the ground in the vicinity of a group of ATM bank machines all marked with the same words: “transaction denied, 9-11-01.” He paused to pick up and pocket one of the receipts. Thus, was born an idea for a new collection.
Ragsdale's impulse to collect ephemera related to the World Trade Center and the aftermath of the attacks culminated in a vast and unique archive of paper ephemera. Fliers, posters, brochures, cards, public notices, copies of speeches, lesser-known publications and event programs. Not meant to be saved, most were mass produced for easy distribution. Numbering over 4,000 individual pieces, the materials document a breadth of urgent messages and evolving information reflecting the efforts of New Yorkers to cope with 9/11’s disruptions and repercussions. Communications include expressions of mourning and tribute; cries for civic participation, discussion and rebuilding; calls for volunteers; denunciations of terrorism and violence; pleas for peace, protest or tolerance; offers of help from the federal government, state, city and other service groups; and appeals for reflection, love and prayer.
Chronologically, Ragsdale’s collection spans a 14-month period, from September 2001 through winter 2002. It is organized by category: Pre-9/11 mailers; United Nations ephemera; the 9/11 brochures; Offers of Help and Healing; Calls for Peace and Tolerance; Religious Reaction; Red Cross and Travel ephemera; Lesser-known publications; One Year Anniversary ephemera; and Miscellaneous materials.
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At the time of the September 11th terror attacks, Michael Ragsdale, a New York City-based video producer, was employed as a senior technician for Audio Visual Services at the College of Physicians & Surgeons at Columbia University Medical Center and occasional video crew member for C-SPAN. His private passion was autograph collecting, a hobby fortified by his active participation in the Ephemera Society. On the morning of the attacks, Ragsdale voted in the NYC Primary Election and then headed to his first work assignment where NY Governor George Pataki was scheduled to speak. Just before 9 A.M., while preparing the set-up, Ragsdale noticed the beepers worn by Pataki’s staff beginning to go off simultaneously. They exited the building as a group, abruptly canceling the press conference, a signal to Ragsdale that something serious had happened. Sometime later, Ragsdale spotted hundreds of receipts littering the ground in the vicinity of a group of ATM bank machines all marked with the same words: “transaction denied, 9-11-01.” He paused to pick up and pocket one of the receipts. Thus, was born an idea for a new collection.
Ragsdale's impulse to collect ephemera related to the World Trade Center and the aftermath of the attacks culminated in a vast and unique archive of paper ephemera. Fliers, posters, brochures, cards, public notices, copies of speeches, lesser-known publications and event programs. Not meant to be saved, most were mass produced for easy distribution. Numbering over 4,000 individual pieces, the materials document a breadth of urgent messages and evolving information reflecting the efforts of New Yorkers to cope with 9/11’s disruptions and repercussions. Communications include expressions of mourning and tribute; cries for civic participation, discussion and rebuilding; calls for volunteers; denunciations of terrorism and violence; pleas for peace, protest or tolerance; offers of help from the federal government, state, city and other service groups; and appeals for reflection, love and prayer.
Chronologically, Ragsdale’s collection spans a 14-month period, from September 2001 through winter 2002. It is organized by category: Pre-9/11 mailers; United Nations ephemera; the 9/11 brochures; Offers of Help and Healing; Calls for Peace and Tolerance; Religious Reaction; Red Cross and Travel ephemera; Lesser-known publications; One Year Anniversary ephemera; and Miscellaneous materials.
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