Published: Dec 14, 2022 6:00 am
Ten years ago December 14, Sandy Hook went from being a small section of Newtown occasionally confused with a similarly named slip of beach along the Jersey Shore to an international synonym for one of the worst school shootings in this country’s history.
Within hours of innocent children and female educators losing their lives that Friday morning, the world began responding with signs of support and gestures of kindness toward the residents of Newtown.
This week The Newtown Bee remembers those lost on 12/14 and the first four weeks of the aftermath with these previously unpublished photos by Managing Editor Shannon Hicks.
They are not meant to reopen wounds.
Instead, they are meant to remind readers how local, regional and international residents tried to put into signs, banners, sculptures and other creations their love and support from all reaches of the planet.
A collection of 26 signs depicting angels were placed on the hillside of South Main Street just north of its intersection with Swamp Road. —Bee Photo, Hicks
—Bee Photo, Hicks
Six puppets and 20 stuffed animals were left at the gazebo at The Pleasance, with a sign that said, “You are in our prayers Newtown. Love, South Salem, N.Y.” —Bee Photo, Hicks
—Bee Photo, Hicks
Twenty-six Christmas trees were purchased by an anonymous caller to Sandy Hook Volunteer Fire & Rescue Company, who had been conducting an annual holiday fundraiser when 12/14 happened. The trees were placed near the intersection of Riverside Road and Sandy Hook School’s driveway, and quickly became locations for visitors to leave offerings and add homemade ornaments. —Bee Photo, Hicks
December 15, 2012: The sign for Sandy Hook School, at the northern end of the school’s driveway, quickly became recognized around the world after flowers, balloons, dolls, and other offerings were left at its base and on its pole a within hours of the school shootings on December 14, 2012. This photo was taken on Saturday, December 15, 2012. —Bee Photo, Hicks
—Bee Photo, Hicks
Evergreens tied with a red ribbon were attached to a lamppost in the courtyard of Edmond Town Hall. The lettering reads S.H. Teachers — Angels In Training & First Responders. —Bee Photo, Hicks
December 23, 2012: A man contemplates some of the stuffed animals and other items left by mourners in front of Sabrina Style on Washington Avenue. —Bee Photo, Hicks
December 28, 2012: Two men walk along the sidewalk in Sandy Hook Center, rounding the corner from Riverside Road to Washington Avenue. Multiple portable tents were put in place to protect some of the items left by visitors, which quickly filled sidewalks. —Bee Photo, Hicks
—Bee Photo, Hicks
—Bee Photo, Hicks
—Bee Photo, Hicks
—Bee Photo, Hicks
December 15, 2012: Boxes and crates of fresh flowers wait to be unpacked in the parking lot of Newtown Florist. —Bee Photo, Hicks
Green and white bunting was draped on a residential fence on Church Hill Road. —Bee Photo, Hicks
—Bee Photo, Hicks
A collection of wood angels graced a hill in front of a home on Church Hill Road in Sandy Hook. They quickly became a point for visitors to leave their flowers and other symbols of grief. —Bee Photo, Hicks
—Bee Photo, Hicks
January 14, 2013. —Bee Photo, Hicks
Over 50,000 teenagers from across the country sent messages that were collected and printed, according to notes on this banner hung in Sandy Hook Center. —Bee Photo, Hicks
—Bee Photo, Hicks
—Bee Photo, Hicks
They say “A picture is worth a thousand words”; so, mathematically, these 23 photographs should be worth 23,000 words. But I’d say they’re worth more like 23 MILLION, 23 BILLION, or 23 TRILLION words !