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

Sep 17, 2019 Brina rated it really liked it

Shelves: history, canada, nonfiction

On 9/11/2001 I was working in the basement of ACT doing data entry work. Word got out that there was an attack in New York and even though we were in Iowa, anyone who wanted to go home, could. I have a photo of my mom on the ferry to Ellis Island and the Twin Towers in the background that was taken on a family vacation in 1994, our first trip there since my grandparents moved to Florida in 1981. I have a cousin who worked as a volunteer firefighter, and both my grandmother and my great aunt did On 9/11/2001 I was working in the basement of ACT doing data entry work. Word got out that there was an attack in New York and even though we were in Iowa, anyone who wanted to go home, could. I have a photo of my mom on the ferry to Ellis Island and the Twin Towers in the background that was taken on a family vacation in 1994, our first trip there since my grandparents moved to Florida in 1981. I have a cousin who worked as a volunteer firefighter, and both my grandmother and my great aunt did not feel safe until they knew that he was safe. As someone with a huge imagination, after 9/11 I haven’t flown much in the last eighteen years and still get nervous if an immediate family member is in the air, even if the statistics show that it’s safer than driving. What lead me to read The Day The World Came to Town is a poster on the bulletin board at my grocery store advertising the Broadway musical that has indeed come to town. What has been labeled a heart warming tale with no violence, I decided to honor 9/11 by reading journalist Jim DeFede’s book.

With United States airspace closed for the foreseeable future, planes from all over the world were diverted to Canada. Gander, Newfoundland had been home to a military air strip and had long been a refueling stop for planes before jets modernized, eliminating the need for fuel stops. Gander’s airport was the closest one for European planes to land at, and before the close of the day, 36 jets would touch down at Gander International Airport. An island province and a city with less than 10,000 residents, Gander would house nearly 6,600 people and hundreds of pets over the course of the week. Pilots and flight personnel would call the town’s hotels homes, and countless churches, schools, legion halls, camp grounds, and private homes would open their doors to the stranded passengers. DeFede tells the story of humanity’s propensity to do good unto their fellow person in a heartwarming tale that I read in one day. Other than the mention of the planes crashing into the towers and the President’s address to the nation, there was no violence in this book, only goodness. Here are some stories that stand out:

•SPCA workers and town veterinarian moving pets and two bonobo monkeys from the bellies of twelve planes into an airport hangar and caring for them around the clock. Because of their tender loving care, all the animals on board planes survived.

•High school principal Eithne Smith providing kosher food for stranded religious Jewish passengers and opening the school for them so that they could observe the sabbath. In a moving moment, a rabbi from London met with a Gander resident who had lived as a hidden Jew for nearly his entire life. This passage moved me to tears.

•Catholic church parishioners lead by Beulah Cooper and Tom Mercer opening their doors and homes to stranded Aer Lingus passengers, showing compassion to Dennis and Hannah O’Donohue, whose son Kevin was among the NY firefighters assigned to cover the Twin Towers. Every time the narrative turned to Hannah I needed to have tissues near by.

•Clark and Roxanne Loper of Alto, Texas had traveled to Almaty, Kazakhstan to adopt a two year old girl named Alexandria. Their travels took them away from their one year old named Samantha, also adopted from Kazakhstan, for nearly three weeks. Gander residents went out of their way to make sure that the Lopers and two other families on the way home from adopting children had everything they needed for the week, especially as these children had to adapt to new surroundings.

In all, the World Came to Gander for six days before all the planes and their passengers were able to return home. Volunteers gave their time, homes, food, clothing, and smiling faces. They threw children a Disney themed birthday party, drove hours to bring a fashionista fresh undergarments, and gave something of themselves with nothing asked for in return. Over the week, they asked passengers to kiss a codfish to become honorary Newfies, but asked for zero monetary compensation from these passengers stranded from all over the world. These newly forged friendships in some cases have endured and all are examples of compassion that is a trademark of Newfoundland. I still do not enjoy flying and may never see the musical, but The Day the World Came to Town is an example of people doing unto others only what they would do for themselves and highlights all that is good in the world.

4+ heartwarming stars ...more

88 likes · Like · see review

Nov 04, 2020 Stacey B rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

11-2018

I loved this book for the emotions and reactions the author made me feel.
From the moment the pilot announced there was an airspace problem which was his short term plan - I began living it.
On the morning of 9/11 the United States was struck by terror in NYC.
Totally shocked and shaken people watched this nightmare unfold for days as they would recognize later our country would change.
But within that change came an empathy and a genuine kindness from all over the world. Yet for those wh 11-2018

I loved this book for the emotions and reactions the author made me feel.
From the moment the pilot announced there was an airspace problem which was his short term plan - I began living it.
On the morning of 9/11 the United States was struck by terror in NYC.
Totally shocked and shaken people watched this nightmare unfold for days as they would recognize later our country would change.
But within that change came an empathy and a genuine kindness from all over the world. Yet for those who had been in the air, there was going to be a different sets of fears.
Newfoundland happens to be the closest country outside North America . When airspace was shut down, Canada immediately made sure that US planes would be protected in potentially dangerous space by allowing planes to land in Gander, Newfoundland.
There was an article of stats showing if you break down the number of planes, it equals about 6,500 people who would land in Gander.
With short notice, the residents of Gander would be playing host to those 38 planes on their way to a foreign place and, for an unknown period of time.
But playing the role of hosts was never a question.
The question was how fast they could execute the needs of their guests; decided in priority order the arrangements to be planned in making strangers feel sheltered, secure, and welcome under somber and still unknown circumstances.
The surprise came when relationships were formed, friendships cultivated, and no lack of understanding to the specific needs from some of their guests.
One can imagine how many topics are included in this story, more than just general necessities from playing hosts.
Written with humility and and humanity, the book is a must read. Kleenex is necessary for the sad and happy tears shed. The book was an inspiration for the Broadway play "Come From Away"- which was so good I saw it twice. And then..the play was filmed live and offered on television free of charge during covid.
Fast forward decades later, around 20 yrs ago since 9/11, the acts of goodness in humanity have done many backslides. ...more

81 likes · Like · see review

Jun 10, 2020 Book Concierge rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: history, concierge, strong-women, library, social-commentary, canada

When terrorists crashed US commercial jets into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on September 11, 2001, the administration moved quickly to shut down all US air space. Plane had to land – immediately – at the nearest airport. But planes coming from Europe had basically just one option … Gander, Newfoundland. In a matter of hours, the town of 10,000 was host to another 6,596 passengers and crew members.

This is the story of how the residents of Gander, and surrounding towns, worked to acco ...more

7 likes · Like · see review

Aug 05, 2019 Joanne rated it it was amazing

Shelves: non-fiction-history-read, 9-11-read

On a subject you would think would bring memories of awful events and sadness, this book brought me joy. During the past week-end of horrific events, the stories written here restored my faith in humanity. It is most definitely a 4 star read, but it gets the fifth one for these reasons.

On September 11, 2001 when U.S. airspace was closed, 38 jetliners, approaching from all over the world, were forced to either turn back or land at the nearest airport in Canada. I remember this being a part of the ...more

4 likes · Like · see review

Aug 13, 2019 Theresa rated it it was amazing

Shelves: new-york, highly-recommended-by-me, biography-memoir, history, arctic

This was wonderful! I loved reading all the details from the various perspectives, such as the pilots while in the air, the Newfie volunteers, the passengers. One of my favorite stories is the Rabbi's. Another the two girls in the tent, another the one star general, and the CEO of Hugo Boss, and the people From the Rockefeller Foundation.

I expected lots of tears, and I did go through a lot of tissues. I did not expect to actually relive my own 9/11 quite so closely. Everytime in Day 1 a time was ...more

Like · see review