Students and faculty of all Lewiston schools went onto fields Friday next to their schools to form letters and a heart to honor the victims of last year’s mass shooting. Photographers Ben Jumper, Jessica Douin and Russ Dillingham launched their drones to capture the students throughout the morning and used Photoshop to blend them together into one image. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal

LEWISTON — Students and educators in the Twin Cities showed up for the first responders in different ways Friday morning, as the cities marked a year since the Oct. 25, 2023, mass shooting in Lewiston.

Showing gratitude took different forms. For some kids, it was making a card with a blue heart. For some others, it was spending months planning for gift baskets, food and banners that were brought to first responders Friday.

At several Lewiston schools, many students and educators went out with signs early Friday morning before the first period. Drone operators were lined up to take pictures from the sky, capturing parts of a “Lewiston Strong” message.

Students from Lewiston Regional Technical Center came together with their peers from Edward Little High School in a shared effort to bring gift baskets to first responders in both Lewiston and Auburn.

The effort was two months in the making, since the beginning of the school year. Students wanted to thank and give back to those who’d come to Lewiston’s aid at a painful time.

“We wanted to thank the first responders for everything that they had done,” Tami Stewart, a teacher at LRTC, recalled from last year. “A lot of the students at that time wanted to do that but it felt as though that it was very raw at that particular point.” This year, it felt right.

Students and faculty of all Lewiston schools went onto fields Friday next to their schools to form letters and a heart to honor the victims of last year’s mass shooting. Photographers Ben Jumper, Jessica Douin and Russ Dillingham launched their drones to capture the students throughout the morning and used Photoshop to blend them together into one image. This photo is of the group from Next Step that formed the heart for the collage. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal

“Without the first responders that were there, we wouldn’t have had the problems resolved in such a short time,” said Elijah Appleton, a Lewiston senior. “They put a lot of hours in. We thought it was very important that we should say thank you and give back to the community because they gave so much to us.”

“We’ve been planning this since the beginning of the school year,” Alyssa Greeley, another senior, explained. “We try to get ahead with things, so we’ve definitely been thinking about this for some time. ”

Looking back, the grief from last year is still there for Greeley and her peers, who lost friends or loved ones.

“It’s emotional for me. I was actually at the high school when it happened. There was someone who we were closely friends with in my family that passed away,” Greeley said.

Like Greeley, Richie Ray has lost family friends, too. “It’s hard because it was at the bowling alley that we lost a close veteran friend of my family’s. He was the manager at the bowling alley. He tried to help out but could not,” Ray said.

“I’d like to think we’re a tight-knit community, Lewiston and Auburn,” Greeley said. “Despite Edward Little and Lewiston’s rivalry (in high school sports), I think it definitely helped both towns come together.”

“We were able to all come back together,” Appleton said. “Even after such a big tragedy happened.”

“I think ‘Lewiston Strong’ is really the perfect message to put out because we’re coming back stronger,” Greeley agreed.

“I’m proud of them because this was their idea, not ours. They wanted to go out and be here this moment,” LRTC Director Rob Callahan said Friday as students prepared to drop off the gifts at Lewiston Central Fire Station.

“This is an opportunity for us to introduce our students as they look at their careers in the service of the community,” Callahan said. “To meet folks that have put the community first and just done exceptional things.”