The Meaning of #FreemanStrong
ROCKFORD, Wash. — The largest flag in Rockford sits outside the town’s Banner Bank. On Monday it stood at half staff, a reminder of Friday’s shooting at Sante Fe High School in Texas. But Rockford doesn’t need a reminder of the impacts of a school shooting.
“This morning I was thinking, wow, it’s been that long already? It’s gone really fast it feels like,” said Brenda Malloy. “It was a nightmare. It was a living nightmare.”
Like many in Rockford, Brenda went to Freeman High School before joining the family business. Last fall- a rallying cry reminded Brenda her family is much larger than her blood relatives.
“It wasn’t even the next day signs were starting to go up.”
Freeman Strong. Two words – with a whole lot of meaning.
“Everybody came together really well really quickly,” said Jon Seehorn, a Freeman grad who works across the street from Brenda in downtown Rockford.
“I think the pride that we have in our community and the pride that we have in our people, and then to see other people embrace us – it’s huge,” said Tina Bishop, who works next door to Jon.
So while the hurt is real, and the pain is undeniable – the Freeman community has collectively chosen to heal together. That means you should expect to see the “Freeman Strong” signs for quite sometime.
“I don’t see them coming down anytime soon,” Brenda said, as she admired her own #FreemanStrong sign.
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