Where Were You on 9/11? Jon Hammer Remembers

Jon Hammer is South Whitehall Township’s manager. But 10 years ago, when terrorists rammed planes into the twin towers of the World Trade Center, Hammer was acting mayor of Allentown, covering for his boss who was on a working trip to Italy.

Suddenly, the routine became the extraordinary as Hammer had to take charge of securing Pennsylvania’s third largest city.

“The greatest fear was the unknown,” Hammer said. “You didn’t know what was going to happen next.”  

Until then, he said, emergency management meant dealing with ice storms and floods, not terrorist attacks. 

Hammer pulled together city department heads to brainstorm: What did they need to do next?

Working in conjunction with state and county emergency management teams, the city locked down its assets, specifically city water plants to keep the water supply safe from any additional acts of terrorism. The airport was secured, police officers were sent to guard city property as well as houses of worship where terrorism was feared, and non-essential city personnel were allowed to go home to be with their families.

“It sounds cliché,”Hammer said, but “in a time of crisis, the entire city really did come together.”

As he looks back, Hammer said the "great part" of the story is that nothing happened locally. But it was a wake-up call for leaders, who are now better prepared to deal with terrorism.

"We have our eyes open more than we did at the time," Hammer said.