RITES OF PASSAGE
MATTHEW ROGAN
I was in New York very shortly after 911. I was staying in West Islip, on Long Island and I was in the midst of creating a photo/oral history exhibit on loss and grief.
A series of coincidences brought me in touch with a 10-year-old boy whose father, a firefighter, had been one of those who died on September 11th.
I told this young boy about my project and asked him if he would like to talk about his father and have his story be part of this project. He said yes and so I recorded his thoughts and took some pictures. He drew his father’s fire truck and this piece became a significant part of Between Now and Forever, which traveled around the US.
In October 2012, Rites of Passage donated this piece to the Houston Fire Department:
‘A Child’s Grief’ 911 Story Donated to HFD
By Connie Strong
Award-winning film producer Cindy Pickard’s “Rites of Passage” has donated ‘A Child’s Grief’ 911 Story to HFD. The piece contains photos and a letter from Matthew Rogan to his father, New York fire captain Matt Rogan, who was tragically lost when the World Trade Center towers fell.
The piece is part of Pickard’s exhibit, “Between Now and Forever.” The exhibit opened on May 16, 2002 in the historic Carnegie Library of Homestead, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and contained stories, poems, artwork and music from 20 bereaved people, and a video (“Turning Toward the Morning”) for parents who have suffered the loss of a child.
Pickard says, “These memorials are used for healing, both for those who make them and for others who may see them.”
Her early work with renowned psychiatrist and author, Dr. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, eventually led to Pickard’s founding “Rites of Passage,” a non-profit organization that offers education about death and dying through art, video and photography.
‘A Child’s Grief’ 911 Story came about after Pickard visited the small village of West Islip where she noticed many tributes and memorials in the shop windows. The image of Captain Rogan’s smile stayed with her and, through a series of coincidences, she met his son, Matthew Rogan—age 10 at the time—who agreed to be a part of her work-in-progress.
“I wanted his story to be seen and felt and remembered,” says Pickard.
Thirty-seven-year-old Rogan was a second-generation firefighter who grew up in West Islip. He was supposed to be off-duty the day of the attack, but had switched tours with a fellow firefighter at Ladder Co. 11 on the Lower East Side. He had been a firefighter for eight years at the time of his death.
“This piece is not only about Matthew’s father’s unselfish, heroic actions as a firefighter, but also about how Matthew attempted to deal with the sudden, violent death of a father he loved and admired so much,” states Pickard.
Pickard says she hopes that his story “will be helpful and inspiring” and hopes that those who view it will be able to “move beyond the sadness and feel the incredible beauty and resilience of the human spirit.”
‘A Child’s Grief’ 911 Story can be viewed in the lobby of Houston Firefighters’ Relief and Retirement Fund.
*** Connie Strong is a freelance writer who has previously worked with Pickard on numerous articles. Strong is the wife of retired Sr. Cpt. Lanny Strong.