Community Corner

Touched By Terror: Patch Remembers 9/11 in Snapshot

Skokie car dealer goes on a long bike ride to honor soldiers in marking anniversary of attacks.

Like many Americans, Rob Paddor can recall exactly what he was doing and where he was going on Sept. 11, 2001.

As the owner of Evanston Subaru in Skokie, Paddor was driving to an auction to purchase several vehicles for his dealership. It was about 8:30 a.m., when he received a phone call from his wife informing him of the tragic event that took place at the Twin Towers.

"By the time I got to the auction it was dead silent. You could hear a pin drop," Paddor said. "Usually when you're at an auction, there's a lot of rumbling and noise, but everyone was tuned into the TV."

Find out what's happening in Skokiewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Paddor took the tragedy to heart and became involved with the military shortly afterward. He's now serving on the bard of directors for the United Service Organization (USO), which provides support to personnel in the armed forces. Last November, his dealership netted more than $20,000 in donations for service members.

Last October, Paddor attended a USO gala at Navy Pier and donated more than $12,000 to participate in the Ride 2 Recover bike excursion, a 530-mile event that will honor soldiers, families and others in marking the 10th anniversary of 9/11 terrorist attacks, which killed nearly 3,000 people.

Find out what's happening in Skokiewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The 58-year-old is confident that he'll be able to complete the long journey, which starts Sept. 11 near Ground Zero in New York City and ends Sept. 18 at the Pentagon just outside of Washington, D.C. Both sites were targeted by terrorists who hijacked four jetliners 10 years ago.

The eight-day ride will include two historic stops in Pennsylvania: at the Civil War battlefield in Gettysburg and at the United Flight 93 Memorial in Shanksville, near where the hijacked airliner crashed.

"This is going to be an honor for me," Paddor said of the bike ride. "The events of 9/11 changed everything--myself included."

To see more 9/11 snapshots, check out our topics page on the Huffington Post.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

More from Skokie