Anthony, Kansas — Never forget?
Bull.
Everybody forgets. Everything.
Grandma, your third favorite dog, breakfast; we forget them all, eventually. And because we haven’t visited a grave in a while or thought much about how somebody’s karaoke was so hilariously awful it made you cry, doesn’t mean we loved, or love, any less. Forgetting is just what people do. Our lives and brains and emotional bandwidth demand it.
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Which is one of the many reasons this stretch of south central Kansas stands out.
Main Street in Anthony, Kansas, on Sunday, September 6, 2026. The city is home to the state’s official 9/11 memorial featuring three piece of twisted steel from the World Trade Center, dirt from the United Airlines Flight 93 crash site and limestone from the Pentagon. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Three piece of twisted steel from the World Trade Center are part of the 9/11 Memorial in Anthony, Kansas, on Sunday, September 6, 2026. The site is official 9/11 memorial of Kansas and also features a and dirt from the United Airlines Flight 93 crash site and limestone from the Pentagon. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Earl Ratliff has lunch at the Idle Hour bar in Anthony, Kansas, on Sunday, September 6, 2026. The bar, opened in 1878, has hatchet marks in the bar top where famous prohibitionist Carrie Nation smashed alcohol in the early 20th Century, according to bartender Ali Harbin. The city is home to the state’s official 9/11 memorial featuring three piece of twisted steel from the World Trade Center, dirt from the United Airlines Flight 93 crash site and limestone from the Pentagon. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Three piece of twisted steel from the World Trade Center are part of the 9/11 Memorial in Anthony, Kansas, on Sunday, September 6, 2026. The site is official 9/11 memorial of Kansas and also features a and dirt from the United Airlines Flight 93 crash site and limestone from the Pentagon. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Main Street in Anthony, Kansas, on Sunday, September 6, 2026. The city is home to the state’s official 9/11 memorial featuring three piece of twisted steel from the World Trade Center, dirt from the United Airlines Flight 93 crash site and limestone from the Pentagon. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Main Street in Anthony, Kansas, on Sunday, September 6, 2026. The city is home to the state’s official 9/11 memorial featuring three piece of twisted steel from the World Trade Center, dirt from the United Airlines Flight 93 crash site and limestone from the Pentagon. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
a piece of limestone from the facade of the Pentagon at the 9/11 Memorial at the Liberty Garden in Wright Park in Dodge City, Kansas, on Sunday, September 6, 2026. The memorial features also two 110-inch replicas of the World Trade Center buildings, a 1,200-pound piece of steel from Ground Zero and a piece of Pennsylvania sandstone from the grove next to the United Airlines Flight 93 crash site. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
A rainbow shines behind cows off U.S. Highway 166 in Hackberry Township, Kansas, on Sunday, September 6, 2026. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
The FDNY’s Joe Spor is on a plaque at the 9/11 memorial in Anthony, Kansas, on Sunday, September 6, 2026. After the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the city of Anthony raised money for the Joe Spor’s family after Spor died when the towers collapsed. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Three piece of twisted steel from the World Trade Center are part of the 9/11 Memorial in Anthony, Kansas, on Sunday, September 6, 2026. The site is official 9/11 memorial of Kansas and also features a and dirt from the United Airlines Flight 93 crash site and limestone from the Pentagon. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Two 110-inch replicas of the World Trade Center buildings at the 9/11 Memorial at the Liberty Garden in Wright Park in Dodge City, Kansas, on Sunday, September 6, 2026. The memorial also features a 1,200-pound piece of steel from Ground Zero, a piece of limestone from the facade of the Pentagon and a piece of Pennsylvania sandstone from the grove next to the United Airlines Flight 93 crash site. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Main Street in Anthony, Kansas, on Sunday, September 6, 2026. The city is home to the state’s official 9/11 memorial featuring three piece of twisted steel from the World Trade Center, dirt from the United Airlines Flight 93 crash site and limestone from the Pentagon. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
A customer at the Idle Hour bar in Anthony, Kansas, on Sunday, September 6, 2026. The bar, opened in 1878, has hatchet marks in the bar top where famous prohibitionist Carrie Nation smashed alcohol in the early 20th Century, according to bartender Ali Harbin. The city is home to the state’s official 9/11 memorial featuring three piece of twisted steel from the World Trade Center, dirt from the United Airlines Flight 93 crash site and limestone from the Pentagon. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Grain elevators flank Main Street in Anthony, Kansas, on Sunday, September 6, 2026. The city is home to the state’s official 9/11 memorial featuring three piece of twisted steel from the World Trade Center, dirt from the United Airlines Flight 93 crash site and limestone from the Pentagon. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Bartender Ali Harbin at the Idle Hour bar in Anthony, Kansas, on Sunday, September 6, 2026. The bar, opened in 1878, has hatchet marks in the bar top where famous prohibitionist Carrie Nation smashed alcohol in the early 20th Century, according to Harbin. The city is home to the state’s official 9/11 memorial featuring three piece of twisted steel from the World Trade Center, dirt from the United Airlines Flight 93 crash site and limestone from the Pentagon. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Main Street in Anthony, Kansas, on Sunday, September 6, 2026. The city is home to the state’s official 9/11 memorial featuring three piece of twisted steel from the World Trade Center, dirt from the United Airlines Flight 93 crash site and limestone from the Pentagon. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Dents from a hatchet attack on the bar top at the Idle Hour bar in Anthony, Kansas, on Sunday, September 6, 2026. The bar, opened in 1878, has hatchet marks in the bar top where famous prohibitionist Carrie Nation smashed alcohol in the early 20th Century, according to bartender Ali Harbin. The city is home to the state’s official 9/11 memorial featuring three piece of twisted steel from the World Trade Center, dirt from the United Airlines Flight 93 crash site and limestone from the Pentagon. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
9/11 Memorial at the Liberty Garden in Wright Park in Dodge City, Kansas, on Sunday, September 6, 2026. The memorial features two 110-inch replicas of the World Trade Center buildings, a 1,200-pound piece of steel from Ground Zero, a piece of limestone from the facade of the Pentagon and a piece of Pennsylvania sandstone from the grove next to the United Airlines Flight 93 crash site. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Earl Ratliff has lunch at the Idle Hour bar in Anthony, Kansas, on Sunday, September 6, 2026. The bar, opened in 1878, has hatchet marks in the bar top where famous prohibitionist Carrie Nation smashed alcohol in the early 20th Century, according to bartender Ali Harbin. The city is home to the state’s official 9/11 memorial featuring three piece of twisted steel from the World Trade Center, dirt from the United Airlines Flight 93 crash site and limestone from the Pentagon. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Earl Ratliff leaves the Idle Hour bar in Anthony, Kansas, on Sunday, September 6, 2026. The bar, opened in 1878, has hatchet marks in the bar top where famous prohibitionist Carrie Nation smashed alcohol in the early 20th Century, according to bartender Ali Harbin. The city is home to the state’s official 9/11 memorial featuring three piece of twisted steel from the World Trade Center, dirt from the United Airlines Flight 93 crash site and limestone from the Pentagon. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Grain elevators flank three piece of twisted steel from the World Trade Center are part of the 9/11 Memorial in Anthony, Kansas, on Sunday, September 6, 2026. The site is official 9/11 memorial of Kansas and also features a and dirt from the United Airlines Flight 93 crash site and limestone from the Pentagon. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
A weathered Kansas state flag in Anthony, Kansas, on Sunday, September 6, 2026. The city is home to the state’s official 9/11 memorial featuring three piece of twisted steel from the World Trade Center, dirt from the United Airlines Flight 93 crash site and limestone from the Pentagon. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Main Street in Anthony, Kansas, on Sunday, September 6, 2026. The city is home to the state’s official 9/11 memorial featuring three piece of twisted steel from the World Trade Center, dirt from the United Airlines Flight 93 crash site and limestone from the Pentagon. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Earl Ratliff has lunch at the Idle Hour bar in Anthony, Kansas, on Sunday, September 6, 2026. The bar, opened in 1878, has hatchet marks in the bar top where famous prohibitionist Carrie Nation smashed alcohol in the early 20th Century, according to bartender Ali Harbin. The city is home to the state’s official 9/11 memorial featuring three piece of twisted steel from the World Trade Center, dirt from the United Airlines Flight 93 crash site and limestone from the Pentagon. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
9/11 Memorial at the Liberty Garden in Wright Park in Dodge City, Kansas, on Sunday, September 6, 2026. The memorial features two 110-inch replicas of the World Trade Center buildings, a 1,200-pound piece of steel from Ground Zero, a piece of limestone from the facade of the Pentagon and a piece of Pennsylvania sandstone from the grove next to the United Airlines Flight 93 crash site. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
A 1,200-pound piece of steel from Ground Zero at the 9/11 Memorial at the Liberty Garden in Wright Park in Dodge City, Kansas, on Sunday, September 6, 2026. The memorial also features two 110-inch replicas of the World Trade Center buildings, a piece of limestone from the facade of the Pentagon and a piece of Pennsylvania sandstone from the grove next to the United Airlines Flight 93 crash site. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Limestone from the Pentagon is part of the 9/11 Memorial in Anthony, Kansas, on Sunday, September 6, 2026. The site is official 9/11 memorial of Kansas and also features a three piece of twisted steel from the World Trade Center and dirt from the United Airlines Flight 93 crash site. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Main Street in Anthony, Kansas, on Sunday, September 6, 2026. The city is home to the state’s official 9/11 memorial featuring three piece of twisted steel from the World Trade Center, dirt from the United Airlines Flight 93 crash site and limestone from the Pentagon. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
U.S. Highway 160 looking west in Barber County, Kansas, on Sunday, September 6, 2026. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
a piece of Pennsylvania sandstone from the grove next to the United Airlines Flight 93 crash site is part of the 9/11 Memorial at the Liberty Garden in Wright Park in Dodge City, Kansas, on Sunday, September 6, 2026. The memorial also features two 110-inch replicas of the World Trade Center buildings, a 1,200-pound piece of steel from Ground Zero and a piece of limestone from the facade of the Pentagon. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Main Street in Anthony, Kansas, on Sunday, September 6, 2026. The city is home to the state’s official 9/11 memorial featuring three piece of twisted steel from the World Trade Center, dirt from the United Airlines Flight 93 crash site and limestone from the Pentagon. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
ExpandWe woke up in Dodge City, in a hotel on a street named after Wyatt Earp, and found a 9/11 memorial we didn’t expect to find.
It’s a big investment for Dodge, too, with miniature Twin Towers water features and a chunk of metal from one of the towers and a hunk of cement from the Pentagon and a rock from the field in Pennsylvania where Flight 93 crashed. The tasteful, well-designed memorial is in the city’s biggest park, near an outdoor theater and a baseball field and a public meeting room called “Hoover Pavilion.”
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Then, over the next two-plus hours, as we drove a zigzag path down state highways to get to Anthony, we saw tiny towns with not-so-tiny memorials of various sorts dedicated to different people and events — World War II, football teams, country singers.
And, here in Anthony, we found the biggest 9/11 memorial in Kansas, an official designation bestowed by the governor a few governors ago. It’s got Twin Tower iron and remnants from the Pentagon and Pennsylvania, and dozens of bricks with messages.
Most of the messages are about people who gave money for the memorial or people who died in ways other than terror attacks. One says “Pea Pod.” Another says “Iris Helms, mother of Judy Lewis,” which is next to a brick that says “Iris Helms.”
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Another is aimed at the first responders. “We needed you. You were there.”
And, of course, there’s an especially aggressive brick, but it speaks volumes.
“You’ve forgotten 911. You need to remember.”