Posted 4:43 pm Sunday, December 27, 2009
Destinations To Pay Tribute To Space Shuttle Columbia Designated
By KELLY GOOCH
Staff Writer
As the seventh anniversary of the space shuttle Columbia explosion approaches, area residents have a choice of destinations to pay tribute to the event.
Staff Writer
As the seventh anniversary of the space shuttle Columbia explosion approaches, area residents have a choice of destinations to pay tribute to the event.
One of those places is the Commercial Bank parking lot on Fredonia Street in Nacogdoches.
Bruce Partain, president of the Nacogdoches County Chamber of Commerce, said a medallion is embedded into the parking lot, marking where a particular piece of the shuttle came to rest.
He estimated the medallion is four or five inches in diameter.
Another place people can go is Masonic Hall, next door to Commercial Bank, where there's a granite marker commemorating Columbia.
For those who are fond of nature, there is a memorial garden on Pearl Street, a couple hundred yards from Main Street.
“It's a pathway,” Partain said. “There are benches where people can sit and think about things.”
Nacogdoches is not the only city with memorials.
There's also a tribute to the Columbia explosion at the Texas State Railroad's Rusk Depot.
Lori Pennington, marketing manager for the railroad, said the tribute contains about four framed photos that are on a wall outside the depot.
“It's a lot of information and pictures about the space shuttle and a brief small sentence saying more than 40 pieces of the shuttle were recovered from the depot and campground … (There's also) another sentence that says reports came in that something was going over the lake,” she said.
Ms. Pennington said part of the tribute also includes a photo of Cherokee County Sheriff James Campbell kneeling next to a large piece of debris found near the depot property.
The Rusk Depot is approximately three miles west of downtown Rusk on U.S. Highway 84.
He estimated the medallion is four or five inches in diameter.
Another place people can go is Masonic Hall, next door to Commercial Bank, where there's a granite marker commemorating Columbia.
For those who are fond of nature, there is a memorial garden on Pearl Street, a couple hundred yards from Main Street.
“It's a pathway,” Partain said. “There are benches where people can sit and think about things.”
Nacogdoches is not the only city with memorials.
There's also a tribute to the Columbia explosion at the Texas State Railroad's Rusk Depot.
Lori Pennington, marketing manager for the railroad, said the tribute contains about four framed photos that are on a wall outside the depot.
“It's a lot of information and pictures about the space shuttle and a brief small sentence saying more than 40 pieces of the shuttle were recovered from the depot and campground … (There's also) another sentence that says reports came in that something was going over the lake,” she said.
Ms. Pennington said part of the tribute also includes a photo of Cherokee County Sheriff James Campbell kneeling next to a large piece of debris found near the depot property.
The Rusk Depot is approximately three miles west of downtown Rusk on U.S. Highway 84.
