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

Bonnie Harris, manager of Gander’s animal shelter, worried that stranded animals might be aboard the 38 planes and was correct. The animals had been stuck in their cages for more than 24 hours. After a Canadian agricultural representative denied a request to take the animals off the planes, Bonnie and others worked their way through the holds to care for the animals, but the process was too arduous and time-consuming to provide adequate care for all the animals, which included a pair of Bonobo monkeys on their way to a zoo.

They contacted regional government veterinarian Doug Tweedle, who secured a hanger to house the animals. This ensured that they could not escape and thereby potentially introduce diseases into the country while still providing space and time for proper animal care.

Constable Ox Fudge received a phone call from Sheryl McCollum, a police investigator from Georgia. Sheryl asked Fudge to find her sister, Delta flight attendant Sharlene Bowen, and give her a hug. After several missed connections, Oz found her and wrapped her in a hug, saying, “That’s from your sister” (91).

Continental Flight 5 was one of a few flights that had not been processed 24 hours later, but its 116 passengers remained in good spirits. Given the day’s tragic events, they recognized both the inappropriateness and pointlessness of complaining. In addition, the flight attendants made the liquor cart available free of charge at the back of the plane, and the pilots left the cockpit door open for those who wanted to hear news. None of the passengers seemed “to have a direct connection to the tragedy” (93). All had the opportunity to phone their families, courtesy of Texas millionaire Bill Cash, the only passenger whose cell phone was working.

Twenty-eight-year-old Texan Deborah Farrar was returning from a solo holiday in Europe, her first trip outside the US. She connected with two fellow passengers: Winnie House, daughter of a Nigerian chieftain who had grown up in London, and Lana, a native of former British colony Zimbabwe (formerly Rhodesia), who was now married to a US oil company employee.

After their flight was processed, the Flight 5 passengers boarded a school bus for nearby Gambo, a former logging industry hub that a 1961 fire destroyed. Lana chatted with fellow smoker Mark Cohen, and they went in search of the town’s pub with Winnie and Deborah. Local George Neal offered them a ride in his van and a stop at his home, but the group declined, privately recalling that “at least a dozen horror movies” begin “with just this type of scenario” (98). However, when they realized that the pub was farther away than they anticipated and the heat became oppressive, they decided to go to George’s house after all, where they saw the footage from New York, horrifying them.

Local teacher Eithne Smith spent hours sending faxes from passengers unable to reach their loved ones by phone. Learning that an Orthodox Jewish rabbi and passengers had not eaten in more than 24 hours because kosher food was unavailable, she arranged for the delivery of suitable meals. At the request of a mother in Australia, Smith located her son. The two quarreled before he boarded his flight, and he was afraid to call her, worried that she would still be angry with him.

General Barbara Fast fielded passengers’ questions about the attacks and mourned the friends she lost in the Pentagon attack. On Wednesday evening, Canadian military officials approached Fast and apologized for not realizing earlier that she was there. The following morning, she was secretly flown back to Europe and was at her post in Stuttgart by Friday.

The pilot of the Lopers’s Lufthansa flight informed his passengers that they would likely return to Germany, distressing Roxanne, who worried about immigration issues for Alexandria. Most of the passengers preferred to travel to the US, prompting the pilot to take their preference to the airline. Noticing the strain on Roxanne, who reminded him of his daughter, Bruce MacLeod took her for a long motorcycle ride to the airport. Seeing the dozens of planes lined up overwhelmed Roxanne, and she wept.

At Wednesday evening Mass, Father Heale asked the congregation to pray for Hannah and Dennis O’Rourke’s missing son, Kevin. Volunteer Tom Mercer, who had provided transportation for passengers from Spain, personally offered his prayers to the O’Rourkes.

Continental Flight 5 was one of six planes whose almost 900 passengers stayed in Gambo at local churches, the volunteer fire department, and other organizations. Locals donated bedding and clothing; they cooked and delivered meals and offered their homes to passengers who wanted to shower.

George and Edna Neal invited Deb, Winnie, Lana, and Mark to stay with them, and they accepted. The group went out to dinner at Gambo’s one restaurant to celebrate and ran into Bill Cash from their flight. He extracted an invitation to stay with the Neals as well. After dinner, the group went to the pub, which was staying open almost around the clock while the passengers remained in town. Lana and Winnie matched single Deb with a handsome US marine, Gregory Curtis, who was on his way home to North Carolina.

In Gander, Lisa and Sara’s tent became the envy of other passengers. In the town of Glenwood, volunteer Janet Shaw fielded repeated calls from Bill Fitzpatrick’s mother. After tracking him down, she gave him a stern talking-to and ordered the 38-year-old to call his worried mother.

Gander airport president and chief executive officer Gary Vey, who was in Montreal for a conference when the crisis hit, did not wait for the airports to open to return home. He drove 600 miles to the edge of Nova Scotia, caught a six-hour ferry ride to Newfoundland, and drove eight hours to Gander from there, going straight to the airport. After confirming that Geoff Tucker had everything under control, he returned home to shower and drop into bed. Not wanting to wake his wife, he went into the guest room and almost got into bed with the 70-year-old woman his wife had befriended and offered the room to.

Bruce and Susan MacLeod, who had put their lives on hold to tend to passengers’ needs, invited the Lopers and Wakefields to their house to send emails and rest. Both couples faced the challenges of being stranded far from home and forging bonds with their daughters. Beth Wakefield was anxious about her three-year-old son, Rob, who would not understand his parents’ prolonged absence.

At the Neal home, Deb Farrar woke up on the floor alongside Greg, eliciting big smiles from the rest of their party.

Meanwhile, Lenny O’Driscoll was startled to notice that Rose Sheppard left her door unlocked overnight. She told him he had been away from home too long. Lenny left before the 1949 vote that made Newfoundland part of Canada, which he had opposed. He hoped the province could “somehow become part of the United States” (118) since it had a stronger bond to the US than Canada. Because of Newfoundland’s strategic importance, during World War II it was home to more than 100,000 Americans, most of them military, and some 25,000 local women married American servicemen. Doug took Lenny to the memorial for the victims of the Arrow Air jet crash.

Patsy Vey saw two flight attendants walking and offered them a ride. When she learned that they were headed to the shopping mall to buy clothes, she offered to take them to her home and allow them to borrow hers, but they declined. They were confused when Patsy offered them the use of her car to sightsee, wondering why she would trust complete strangers.

Beulah Cooper noticed Hannah’s exhaustion. Her grief and worry over Kevin’s absence was taking its toll. Hannah wondered if her family had news they were keeping from her. Back on Long Island, Hannah’s family missed her comforting, guiding leadership within the family.

Canadian Tire instructed the general manager of the Gander store, Susan O’Donnell, to do anything necessary to help the passengers, including donating everything in the store. If they needed something out of stock, she was authorized to purchase it elsewhere, even at their rival, Wal-Mart. In addition to sleeping bags, air mattresses, blankets, and bottled water, she donated toys. With the encouragement and support of the fire department, she ensured the delivery of toys to every child stranded in Gander.

Sara Wood and Lisa Zale made themselves at home in their tent, fortifying it with a tarp to get through a rainstorm. They were beginning to enjoy their time away from home. Lisa’s husband, Mark, who was looking after their three children ages 9-15, called frequently.

Harry, the handler of Bonobo monkeys Cosana and Unga, remained in the airplane hangar around the clock to look after his charges. Bonobo monkeys are native to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, are closer genetically to humans than gorillas, and are an endangered species. Cosana and Unga were fascinated by the other animals, especially the dogs, whom they attempted to imitate.

Patsy Vey opened her home to any passengers wanting to shower, but when an elderly couple, John and Marie Uncle, accepted her offer after she had run out of towels, she took them to a friend’s home. During the drive, Patsy discovered that the Uncles were from Alexandria, where Patsy’s daughter, Kelly, lived. Patsy sent Kelly to the home of the Uncles’s daughter to reassure her that “there wasn’t a better place in the world to be trapped in than Gander” (130).

Like many of the stranded passengers, Hugo Boss chairman Werner Baldessarini, a walking advertisement for his brand, headed to Gander’s Wal-Mart to purchase underwear but found it uncomfortable. The company sponsored a Formula One racing team principally owned by Saudi Arabian Businessman Mansour Ojjeh, who “offered to send his personal jet to Newfoundland” (135) to pick up Baldessarini. In the meantime, Les Minion, president of the brand’s Canadian subsidiary, asked the Hugo Boss outlet in St. John’s, about 200 miles from Gander, if they could send a package there. When its owner, Byron Murphy, heard that Baldessarini was the stranded party, he offered to deliver the package himself.

In addition to the requested underwear, Murphy put together a gift basket with wine, cheese, and French bread. Baldessarini declined the gift basket, not wanting to offend the around-the-clock volunteers who were cooking for the passengers, but he spent a few hours chatting with Murphy about the spring line and invited him to come to Europe for a fashion show.

Deb, Lana, and Winnie likewise went to Wal-Mart, where shelves were growing bare due to the high demand. There, a young girl approached Winnie and asked for her autograph. At almost six feet tall in shoes and with waist-length hair, Winnie stood out in a crowd and was conscious of often being “the only black person around” (133). When the girl asked to touch her hair, Winnie told her, “Of course” (134) and was moved by the child’s gentle regard, reflecting on the people’s warmth and friendliness. Meanwhile, Deb and Greg experienced an accelerated dating experience, growing close in a short period of time.

Continental Flight 5 passenger Jessica Naish was overwhelmed by the food spread that the locals provided. On her flight, she met Paul Mooney and Peter Ferris, who performed in a Beatles tribute band. Ferris grew up in Belfast during “the troubles.” He saw the same trauma response in his fellow passengers watching the news that he saw growing up and sought a quiet place to find peace.

Ninth-grade English teacher Anna Lee Gosse was startled to hear a man with a New York or New Jersey accent scream in delight when he saw a car stop for pedestrians despite the absence of a crosswalk.

Seventeen-year-old Tara Boyde, who volunteered as soon as she heard about the planes coming to Gander, helped settle a man who identified himself as a Middle Eastern prince. The man and his wife were taking their son to the US for surgery. He was angry at being denied hotel accommodations, which Boyde attributed to the stress of their circumstances.

Middle school principal Pam Coish invited passengers to use the school’s computers, phones, and shower and dining facilities. She was later surprised to learn that Rockefeller Foundation president Gordon Conway and vice president of administration and communication Denise Gray-Felder were essentially running their organization from her school’s computer lab. Gray-Felder later approached Coish to inform her that the Foundation would make a monetary gift both to the school and the church that provided housing for the passengers.

Whatever passengers needed, volunteers and organizations provided. On her first night, Gray-Felder woke in the middle of the night and noticed several townsmen sitting by the church entrance. When she asked why they were awake, they replied that they wanted to watch over the passengers and “make sure nothing happened to you while you slept” (142).

However, the mood among flight crew staying at hotels was tense. The idea that an airplane could become a missile was inconceivable and frightening. Each coped in a different way. Some kept to themselves; others tried to keep busy. Lufthansa’s Captain Knoth noted that his colleagues were “angry and scared and depressed” (145). Others were “physically exhausted” or “wrung out emotionally” (145).

Rumors circulated that Canadian authorities suspected some passengers but lacked evidence to prevent them from boarding their planes. Some flight attendants threatened “not to fly if certain Middle Eastern passengers were permitted on the planes” (145), but they were not the only targets of suspicion. A misunderstanding arose around a comment an Irish man wrote about Osama bin Laden. Despite no evidence that he was a threat, he was permitted back on his flight only if he agreed to be handcuffed. A RCMP investigator, Terry Trainor, received an offer from a group of American men to guard the cockpit. They asked to be armed with axes.

The pilot of the Lopers’s Lufthansa flight announced to passengers that they would leave that evening for Dallas, as they had requested. The passengers and volunteers shared an emotional goodbye.

After the passengers went through a tightened security process, they began boarding. As the Lopers, who were among the last to board, were identifying their luggage, 18-year-old Lisa Cox revealed that their plane would be returning to Germany rather than going to Dallas. Roxanne angrily confronted the pilot, who confirmed the news and instructed her family to board. When they asked what would happen in Germany, the pilot said they would discuss it on board. Roxanne refused to get on the plane. While Clark previously did not have a strong opinion either way, he felt the pilot had lied and was no longer willing to return to Germany. Another couple traveling with two children, Tera and Jason Saarista, also refused to board, and the two families were placed under guard inside the airport.

Beth and Billy Wakefield were already on the plane and learned their destination was Germany only when Beth jokingly asked a flight attendant. She wanted to leave too, and the flight erupted into chaos until a man who was going to Dallas for his mother’s funeral urged calm. Eventually, Billy convinced Beth to go to Germany, but the Lopers and Saaristas refused. They would have to find a way back to the US. Airspace remained closed, and Texas was almost 2,500 miles away in a straight line. Bruce MacLeod picked up the large group in two vans and took them to his home to strategize. The first problem they faced was that the Newfoundland ferry might be closed for a few days due to “the hurricane.”