GANDER, NEWFOUNDLAND

Crossroads of the World
Because of Gander’s aviation history I had always wanted to visit the city. The nicely done museum appears to have a plane running through it. Its tail is over the entrance and the nose of the plane protrudes out the back of the building.

The pretty much fog-free area was isolated until the 1930s when the British Air Ministry chose it for an air base. In 1936 its 6000-foot runway was the longest in the world. However shortly, the base was filled with wartime air traffic. It was a strategic refueling base as well as a major service and air traffic control center.

After WW II Gander became the hub for trans-Atlantic commercial airline routes. Today it is an alternate landing site for the space shuttle.

I was in South America on 9/11, when on that terrible day 39 international planes carrying 6500 people were diverted to Gander. After all hotel and B&B rooms were filled, churches and schools were opened, and finally the friendly people of Gander opened their homes to house and feed stranded airline passengers. All of the 6500 people, who suddenly found themselves in Gander, had a bed to sleep in. No one had to sleep in a chair at the airport! Emergency phone lines were set up and cell phones were lent to people so calls could be made to worried family members. I met some of the musicians who hastily put together shows to entertain the city’s unexpected visitors. As the book title says it was a day the world came to visit Gander.It was nice to hear about the kindness of strangers to strangers and this heartwarming 9/11 story