At Pasadena Senior Center, 9/11 Commemorated With Restoration of Vandalized Flagpole

The vandalized flagpole at the Pasadena Senior Center which for more than a year prevented the Center from honoring this country and local veterans was ceremoniously restored on Saturday, 9/11.

A public ceremony at the Center, 85 E. Holly St., in honor of all who perished at the hands of terrorists on America’s darkest day also saw the damaged pulley system on the flagpole replaced by Pasadena firefighters from Station 31 on South Fair Oaks Avenue using a hook-and-ladder fire truck.

Augustine Grube, commander of American Legion Post 13 in Pasadena, presented a new American flag donated by the post.

Boy Scouts from Troop 351 in San Marino helped mount the flag and after it was raised, led those gathered in the Pledge of Allegiance.

The Center’s flag was stolen and the pulley system which raised and lowered the flag was destroyed in February 2020. The Center has not had the means to replace them. It was too strapped for resources, busy feeding and caring for its COVID-19 impacted senior community.

“Somebody cut the cable and took down the flag. There were a lot of protests going on. We don’t know who did it. We went out one day to take the flag down the pole. The cable was cut and the flag was gone,” said Akila Gibbs, executive director of the Pasadena Senior Center.

“Sometimes you don’t think people notice that there’s a flag flying, but to our surprise, people really did notice that it was missing.”

Especially, she said, local veterans.

“We started receiving a lot of veterans and people kept saying, where’s your flag, where’s your flag,” Gibbs said.

“I come from a military family. All my brothers served in the military and my dad was a career Navy man. Every three years, our family moved and I understand the responsibility that military personnel take on. I also understand the strain and how hard it is on the family. So I have a profound appreciation for veterans.”

Saturday’s event was intended “to say thank you to our veterans who’ve kept us safe and defended our flag all these years. We thought that would be appropriate. And also to [say thank you to] first responders. The first responders that are here, helping us with the flagpole, and the ones who lost their lives and responded to 9/11. It just felt that everything culminated, you know what I mean?”

Saturday was the right time to “dedicate this new flag and to acknowledge 9/11 and to acknowledge our first responders and our military.”

The Pasadena Senior Center is an independent, nonprofit organization that has been serving adults 50 and older for more than 60 years.

For more information about the center’s programs and services, visit www.pasadenaseniorcenter.org or call (626) 795-4331.