MONTOURSVILLE, Pa. — Sunday marked the 26th anniversary of the TWA Flight 800 crash.
On its way to Paris, the plane went down in the Atlantic Ocean shortly after takeoff from JFK Airport in New York, killing everyone on board.
The plane carried 21 students and chaperones from Montoursville Area High School's French Club.
"It is a day of remembrance. It is a day of mourning. It is also a day where we get together as a community and take care of each other," said Montoursville Mayor Stephen Bagwell.
Located behind the high school now is the Memorial Gardens, with 21 trees, shrubbery, a brick walkway, and a statue dedicated in 1999 to the folks who lost their lives.
Twenty-three years later, the park is now in need of some TLC. The brick walkway has become a hazard because of tree roots from underneath.
"We are going to remove the existing brick walkway and put in another one that is about six yards from the existing position," added Bagwell.
The borough and the Memorial Gardens Perpetual Care Committee are trying to raise $200,000 for repairs and future care.
"Shrubs that need to be removed — they are dying and diseased, so they need to be replaced. What we would like to do, too, is put ground covering around, so the constant mulching doesn't need to be done," said Bagwell.
Several businesses in downtown Montoursville are chipping in and trying to raise money for the Memorial Gardens.
Johnson's Café is donating $1 for every French onion soup it sells and another 50 cents for all salad entrees sold in the next month. A few doors down is Faddies Ice Cream and Pizza. This past weekend the shop sold milkshakes with proceeds going to the gardens.
"Start to finish at 9 o'clock at night it was just go, go, go. It was awesome because a lot of people came out, and the community really kicked in to help this fundraiser," said Jay Rice, the owner of Faddies.
Anyone can make a donation. Donations by check may be made to the MASD Memorial Fund and mailed to:
MASD Office
50 North Arch Street,
Montoursville, PA 17754.
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