Inside Look: Forging a Limited Edition Keepsake

Inside Look: Forging a Limited Edition Keepsake

  • August 13, 2021
The metal Never Forget Fund commemorative ticket, displayed in a black box with a blue lid.
The completed Never Forget Fund commemorative ticket

With the launch of The Never Forget Fund earlier this month came a new, limited edition keepsake. The hand-etched Never Forget Ticket is proudly made by Pennsylvania's Wendell August Forge, founded by coal miner Wendell McMinn August in 1923. Today, it's the oldest and largest operational forge in the United States, known for its hand-wrought ornamental metalware.

The commemorative Never Forget Ticket - an ideal way to help the next generation connect with the events and lessons of 9/11 - is a gift with your $50 donation to the Never Forget Fund. Learn more and donate at https://neverforget.org/ticket.html.

Below, a photo essay from Wendell August takes us behind the scenes for a look at the keepsake's design and production. 

Three rows of four images each, showing different stages of the making of the commemorative ticket.
Courtesy Wendell August Forge

By 9/11 Memorial Staff

Introducing a New Way to Never Forget

Introducing a New Way to Never Forget

Image of the never forget fund ticket

As we approach the 20th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks, we face a transformative moment, when for younger Americans, 9/11 is not a memory lived but history learned. That’s why it’s more important than ever to educate a new generation – the post-9/11 generation – about the events of the day; the hope, resilience, and unity experienced in its aftermath; and the way 9/11 has shaped the world in which we live today.
 
In this milestone year, we are announcing a new awareness and fundraising campaign to support the National September 11 Memorial & Museum’s educational programs and our mission to fulfill our collective promise never to forget.
 
The Never Forget Fund will ensure that our key educational programs, which are more relevant than ever, will connect to a new generation and beyond. The limited edition Never Forget Ticket is a permanent keepsake in commemoration of the 20th anniversary of 9/11 that includes a free ticket to visit the 9/11 Memorial & Museum. Available with a donation of $50, these hand-etched tickets, proudly made in the United States, can be a meaningful way to help younger members of your family connect to the history of 9/11. The Never Forget Ticket is also available for bulk purchase as a gift to corporate employees. You can learn more and donate at https://neverforgetfund.org/. 

In conjunction with The Never Forget Fund, we are launching an awareness campaign focused on the importance of teaching a new generation the lessons we learned in our response to 9/11: the healing, renewal, and hope we shared together. 

Chief Raymond Downey led Special Operations Command on 9/11 and tragically died in the attacks. In the video, we follow his granddaughter Chloe’s journey through the Museum as she learns about the attacks, the stories of bravery and compassion, and all those who were killed on that day.

Video

Twenty Years Later

While the tragic events of 9/11 are now nearly 20 years in the past, the lessons of that day and those that followed must be taught for generations to come. There is an entire segment of the population, those college-aged and younger, with no lived memory of 9/11. We want all Americans – especially the younger generations – to understand the day itself, but more importantly understand the unity, hope, and resilience experienced afterward in New York City, across our nation, and around the world. That is how we can honor our promise to Never Forget. 

The 9/11 Memorial & Museum is grateful for the generous support of 20th Anniversary Partners: Bloomberg Philanthropies, Brookfield, Cantor Fitzgerald and the Cantor Fitzgerald Relief Fund, as well as Carnegie Corporation of New York, CVS Health Foundation, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Fiserv, History, New York Life, and the Structural Engineers Association of New York.

We thank you for your continued support of the 9/11 Memorial & Museum, and our mission to commemorate, educate, and inspire audiences across the nation and around the world.

By 9/11 Memorial Staff

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