A steel beam from the World Trade Center's south tower stood at the center of a 25th-anniversary ceremony in Bixby on Sept. 11.

The National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, Wealaka Chapter, hosted the event, titled "Lest We Forget," at Washington Irving Park. The ceremony began at 9 a.m. and was open to the public, KTUL reported.

The beam, recovered from the 49th floor of the south tower, was brought nearly 1,500 miles to Bixby and dedicated at the park in 2002, according to KJRH. Walter Gund, president of the Friends of Irving Foundation, said his organization requested the beam and arranged its transport.

The beam has stood in the park for 24 years.

Twisted and rusted, the I-beam now sits surrounded by plaques, flowers and flags as the centerpiece of the park's 9/11 memorial, the Tulsa World reported. The memorial honors lives lost in New York, Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania.

Gund told KJRH the beam serves as a reminder for a community that can be quick to forget. "But this here, it tells a story," he said.

Bixby Fire Chief Joe Sherrell said the memorial carries extra weight for first responders. Many of the department's young firefighters and cadets were not alive or were very young when the attacks happened, Sherrell said, and the annual ceremony helps pass that history forward.

Shirley Zeiler, a member of the DAR Wealaka Chapter, said the ceremony is something the chapter holds each year to honor veterans and those who died on Sept. 11, 2001.

Washington Irving Park also houses a memorial to the 1995 Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building bombing in Oklahoma City. The park's namesake, writer Washington Irving, camped in the area in October 1832 during a federal expedition of the American West. Gund noted a "loose connection" between Bixby and New York City: Irving was originally from New York, best known for "Rip Van Winkle" and "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow."

Sherrell told KJRH the beam is part of his daily routine. "When you come across the bridge and see the flag there and see the piece of steel, at least personally, it reminds me every day I pass it," he said.