The Day the World Came to Town: 9/11 in Gander, Newfoundland

They placed their lives on hold for a group of strangers and asked for nothing in return. They affirmed the basic goodness of man at a time when it was easy to doubt such humanity still existed. If the terrorists had hoped their attacks would reveal the weaknesses in western society, the events in Gander proved its strength.

There was no hatred. No anger. No fear in Gander. Only the spirit of community. Here, everyone was equal, everyone was treated the same. Here, the basic humanity of man wasn’t just surviving but thriving

Neighbor to neighbor. It is a mentality that has been fostered over centuries, since the earliest settlers realized the only way to survive in this desolate but beautiful outpost was to work together. Much of their music captures this spirit.

Their willingness to help others is arguably the single most important trait that defines them as Newfoundlanders. Today, it is an identity they cling to, in part, because it is something that cannot be taken away from them.

We're all Americans tonight.

The passengers weren't treated like refugees but rather long lose relatives.

Over three nights they went through more than two hundred cases of beer, more kegs than they could count, and enough hard liquor to embalm a herd of moose.

Clemens was a passenger, Clemens Briels, and when teachers at the school did a little further checking, they learned that he was a renowned Dutch artist. In fact, Briels was one of the official artists for the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. The drawing he crafted on the school blackboard was a version of his piece A Jump for Joy. one of the paintings he created especially for the Olympic Games and which was on display in Salt Lake City. The principal had the blackboard removed from the wall, framed, and covered with Plexiglas. It now hangs in the school’s library.

The language difficulties didn’t seem to bother the kids, who acted as if they had been playing together for years.

While some of these planes were able to turn around, the only option for most was to land in Canada. Although officials in the United States were certainly justified in wanting to protect their own borders, they were effectively passing the potential threat posed by these planes onto their neighbor. Canadian officials had no way of knowing if any of these flights contained terrorists. In fact, Canadian and American law enforcement suspected there were terrorists lying in wait on some of these flights. Despite the risk, Canada didn’t hesitate to accept the orphaned planes.

Raise your glass and drink with me to that island in the sea Where friendship is a word they understand. You will never be alone when you’re in a Newfie’s home, There’s no price tag on the doors in Newfoundland. There will always be a chair at the table for you there, They will share what they have with any man. You don’t have to worry, friend, if your pocketbook is thin, There’s no price tag on the doors in Newfoundland.

Newfoundland is not enunciated as if it were three distinct words, as in “New Found Land.” Nor is it pronounced as if it were somehow a Scandinavian colony, as in “New Finland.” Instead it is “Newfin-land.” The key is to say it very fast. One fellow offered me a simple mnemonic device: “Understand Newfoundland.” The words rhyme and the cadence is similar.

We realized that we were part of the global village, as my children used to say: What is happening in one part of the globe is affecting all of us.” Whether it is a novel coronavirus in China, an Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leone, or a madman in a cave in Afghanistan—we are all part of that village. And as terrifying as that village may seem, the story surrounding the events in Gander on September 11 offers a way through the fear. Now almost twenty years later, that story resonates more than ever.

Gray-Felder knew people had donated the towels from their own homes, and she asked one of the women how everyone was going to reclaim their towels once the passengers left. The woman looked at her as if it was an odd question. “It doesn’t matter,” she said.

Over the first few days, Canadian Tire donated almost $20,000 in its own merchandise and spent another $10,000 in other stores, including its chief competitor, Wal-Mart. Normally, O’Donnell can’t even bring herself to say Wal-Mart’s name aloud, referring to it instead as “that store.” For her, Wal-Mart is “that W-word.” In an emergency, however, there was no time for rivalries.

Pulling up to the Lions Club, the buses were greeted by a dozen people all waving and smiling and calling out, “How she goin’, buddy?” Roxanne and Clark soon learned that when Newfies don’t know a person’s name, they just call that person “buddy.

Amazingly, as soon as the drivers realized what was happening, they laid down their picket signs, setting their own interests aside, and volunteered en masse to work around the clock carrying the passengers wherever they needed to

The MacLeods were anxious to help in any way possible, even if it meant placing their own lives on hold for a few days.

We got to experience such an outpouring of love and compassion,” Greg said. “It gave us an opportunity to have hope, whereas I think most other people were just in shock and fearful of what people are capable of. And we were able to see the good side of what people are capable of.

Newfoundland’s own brand of music from groups such as Great Big Sea, the Ennis Sisters, and Buddy Wassisname.

The harder he ran, the more distance he temporarily placed between himself and his grief.

There are a few things everyone should know about Newfoundland. First and foremost is how to pronounce it correctly.

Although it felt much longer, within a few seconds the pilot came over the loudspeaker. He spoke in German and Roxanne couldn’t discern much from the tone of his voice. Then she heard the passengers who could understand him audibly gasp. This made her even more frightened. Finally, in somewhat broken English, the pilot announced that airspace over the United States was closed and he had been ordered to land in Gander, Newfoundland. He offered no further explanation.

because they didn’t care if their adoptive child’s skin was a different color from their own. They were just looking for a child to love. And

she was “giving him the devil.