09/11/2026
September 11, 2001 is a devastating day that American history will never forget.
Fast forward to September 11, 2016, a day in Kernersville history that remembered 9/11 and our public safety services. On this day in history, 10 years ago, a retired Kernersville Police Department officer named Doug Kiger had a dream, his friend Arnold King was a doer, and together they made history come alive in the Town of Kernersville from a single acorn. The Public Safety Memorial at Fourth of July Park is the result of that acorn, Doug’s dream, Arnold’s doing, and the Town of Kernersville rallying as a community.
The History of Our Memorial Tree, given as a memento from the dedication of our Public Safety Memorial at Fourth of July Park, goes like this:
“Through the thoughtfulness of one man, seven acorns from the World Trade Center 9/11 Memorial site traveled through several states until one landed into the hands of a loving North Carolina woman’s nurturing hands. She nurtured the tiny tree until planting time, but at the time she was advised by her landscaper that there would not be enough room in her yard for the size of this tree when fully grown.
With that information in hand, she asked her landscaper to find someone to give it to that would love and nurture it as she had. So the landscaper gave it to his neighbor, knowing full well that it would be nurtured with loving care. It grew and thrived in the neighbor’s backyard for the next three years; where through wild winds, pouring rain, pesky bugs, and pesky cats who tried to deem it the perfect scratching post, it stood resilient and continued to reach for the sky.
During all of this, through each hand it changed into, every heart it touched prayed for a special place for its final resting place. So hearts and minds came together and it was decided that they wanted this special tree to honor the memory of 9/11, and its heroes and their families, while also honoring the Kernersville area’s most cherished and beloved heroes and their families.
We hope and pray that this Public Safety Living Memorial Tree project touches your hearts, as it has touched the ours; that it brings love, comfort, and strength to all the families that have lost loved ones, or who lovingly support injured and/or disabled loved ones each and every day. We want all who work in these fields that have given the greatest of sacrifices, to even the smallest of sacrifices, to know that you are greatly appreciated and remembered … and that you will never be forgotten.”
The Public Safety Memorial is located at Fourth of July Park and the tree that stands there grew from that single acorn to a maturing tree over the course of its planting in the park.
The Public Safety Memorial is open to the public during park operational hours. It is a living tribute to honor and celebrate individuals who have chosen public safety as their profession and have shown courage, patriotism, and pride with this town.
We encourage you to take some time today to visit the Public Safety Memorial, take a pause during your day, remember and reflect upon 9/11, and honor our living public safety professionals.
Many thanks to Doug Kiger for keeping the dream alive, Arnold King for doing it and making it happen, the Town of Kernersville for providing a place, and the many, many other entities that made the logistics possible to have this piece of 9/11 history in Kernersville.
