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

by Jim DeFede

“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.”

No one else in the world is on Newfoundland time other than Newfies. Which, in a way, is appropriate.

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.

Thirty-eight planes landed there on September 11, depositing 6,595 passengers and crew members in a town whose population is barely 10,000.

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.

Without being called, off-duty controllers started arriving at the center within a half hour of the attacks.

For many, the quickest path from East Berlin to West Berlin didn’t involve jumping the wall, but flying through Gander. Of

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 go.

In the first twenty-four hours, pharmacists in Gander filled more than a thousand prescriptions. All at no cost to the passengers.

By her count, at Lakewood Academy alone there were people from forty different countries, from Sri Lanka to Tasmania. There were women in burkas and men in flowing robes. The hallways were filled with the sounds of different languages.

“We’re all Americans tonight,” replied McKeage.

From house to house, people stripped their closets of extra bedding, blankets, and pillows and carried them to various shelters. When word spread that the passengers didn’t have access to their luggage and had been wearing the same outfits for nearly two days, piles of old—and in some cases new—clothes magically started appearing.

Well, he said with a laugh, he almost showed her more than that.

This was hilarious and I’m sure a much needed moment of levity.

Vey told them that if they changed their minds, to come by the Sears outlet and they could take the car. Most of the time, she added, she leaves the keys in the ignition.

this town's innocence was a blessing

“What changed?” Brendan asked. “The young people changed things,” Mercer said. “When a young man found a young woman that he liked the look of, religion was the last thing on his mind. And if he was lucky enough to catch her, he didn’t let anything come between them.”

if only

In an emergency, however, there was no time for rivalries.

They had known these people for less than thirty-six hours, but they were already family. Bruce

The passengers weren’t treated like refugees, but like long-lost relatives, and the more he thought about it, the more it moved Baldessarini.

It’s unfortunate that we don’t treat refugees with the same level of empathy

And given everything that was going wrong in the world, it was reassuring to see that right now, right here, in one small corner of the planet, something was going right.

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. And Baldessarini understood that he was a witness to it and it was affecting him in ways he’d never imagined.

“You can’t leave Canada without a passport and a smile.”

“Newfie steak,” known elsewhere around the world as bologna.

“It is not possible for me to tell you how I felt during my stay with you,” he wrote. “Only once was I treated in a similar way. This was when I was a child. I was liberated in Holland in 1945. You wonderful Canadians have not changed.”

this broke me

The Newfoundlanders had provided a caring haven for hundreds of people at a moment when they were scared and far from home. They were made to feel safe and secure when the world around them seemed anything but. Smith

Not only had the world come to town, but so, too, did the world’s problems.

They did what they did for one reason only—it was the Newfie way.

“It was magic,” said passenger Tom McKeon. “And what I now realize is that magic is not guaranteed to happen again. The things that happened on September 12, I took for granted. Seeing the world today, I don’t take it for granted anymore.”

‘You’re as welcome as the flowers in May. Come on in. The kettle is on and have a cup of tea.’ Or ‘Let’s go down to the bar and have a drink, have a beer or whatever.’

“When everyone was in a state of sadness, confusion, worry—this town took on the burden of everyone there.”

these people came together in a time of crisis regardless of their own personal shortcomings. And if that’s the case, then it offers hope that all of us have that ability within us.