What Ellicott City means
The mother of one of the victims of the 2014 Ellicott City train derailment says a community that caring must be saved
My family and I moved to Ellicott City in 1997. The historic district was a place we went only occasionally. We took friends and their children to the B&O Museum when they came to town, we celebrated anniversaries at Tersiguel’s restaurant, and we had lunch from time to time at Fisher’s Bakery. I bought my dining room table and chairs at Caplan’s and I bought Christmas presents for my kids at the local toy shop.
But six years ago this month, the CSX train derailment claimed the life of my daughter, Elizabeth, and her friend, Rose (“Two-mile run will memorialize derailment victims,” Aug. 14, 2014). Suddenly, historic Ellicott City had a new role in my life. A part of my heart is in that town. On that devastating night in August 2012, Mark Hemmis, the owner of The Phoenix, opened up his business to my family. He gave us a safe shelter, out of the public’s eye, away from the glaring lights of the media. I had never even met him. In addition to opening his doors to my family and me, Mark and his staff prepared food for the many police officers and fire and rescue workers who were there that night, as well as the many, many workers who spent the next three days cleaning up from the derailment — all while his business was closed to the public.
Sally Tennant, owner of Discoveries, immediately set up a memorial to Elizabeth and Rose near her store on Main Street. Again, I had never even met her. A few months later, when my sons and I were on Main Street on what would have been Elizabeth’s 20th birthday, we went into Discoveries so I could introduce myself to Sally. WhenI told her why we were there that day, she insisted on giving me a necklace from her shop. When Main Street re-opened after the derailment, many of the businesses held fundraisers to help support the owners who were most impacted by the loss of income. They then gave a portion of the proceeds from those fundraisers to our family and Rose’s to help with the purchase of memorial benches. On the one-year anniversary of the derailment, we dedicated those benches in Tiber Park, where they stood through two floods as the Tiber River raged around them and destroyed buildings and took lives.
For the past five years, I (along with many other of Liz’s and Rose’s family and friends) have frequented those benches and, while there, patronized the shops and restaurants of Main Street. Today, my heart is heavy knowing that many of Benches at the base of Main Street in Ellicott City commemorate the deaths of Elizabeth Nass and Rose Mayr, who were killed in a train derailment there. the buildings on the lower end of Main Street — including The Phoenix and Discoveries — as well as the Tiber Park area where the benches stood, might be destroyed. I am devastated for this charming little town and its kind, generous, hardworking people. They are resilient and strong, yes. We all witnessed their strength as they built their way back after the flood of 2016. But, then we all stood with them in shock as we watched their homes and businesses destroyed for a second time and another life lost. How much devastation and tragedy can one town handle?
I hope and pray that the decision to tear down buildings was not made hastily and that all other possible solutions were carefully and thoroughly considered. But, even more importantly, I hope and pray that no matter what the final plan for flood mitigation might be, that the community come together and support all those affected — those who are able and choose to stay, as well as those who are not able or choose not to stay. Because as sad as I will be to see buildings torn down, I would be even sadder to see this amazing community divided.