{"id":29357,"date":"2017-09-11T15:27:37","date_gmt":"2017-09-11T22:27:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/?p=29357"},"modified":"2017-09-11T15:38:10","modified_gmt":"2017-09-11T22:38:10","slug":"the-little-town-that-could-on-911","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/2017\/09\/11\/the-little-town-that-could-on-911\/","title":{"rendered":"The Little Town That Could on 9\/11"},"content":{"rendered":"

As sorrowful as this day was in 2011, and as sorrowful as the memories still are, I want to share with you a story about a small Canadian town, population 11,688 (2016), who rose to the occasion in 2011 with little notice.\u00a0 I say ‘who’ in referencing the town because this is about the people of Gander, Newfoundland and their response to the tragedy unfolding in New York 16 years ago.<\/span><\/p>\n

From USA Today<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0<\/span>—\u00a0They still don’t know what all the fuss is about.<\/p>\n

Sixteen years ago, this small Canadian town on an island in the North Atlantic Ocean took in nearly 6,700 people\u00a0\u2013\u00a0almost doubling its population\u00a0\u2013\u00a0when the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks in New York and Washington forced\u00a038 planes to land here.<\/p>\n

Their simple hospitality to the unexpected house guests drew worldwide accolades and even inspired a Broadway musical.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone looks at us and says that\u2019s an amazing thing that you did, and the bottom line is I don\u2019t think it was an amazing thing, I think it was the right thing you do,\u201d says Diane Davis, 53, a now-retired teacher who helped 750 people housed at the town’s elementary school.<\/p>\n

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