Throughout Gander are placards identifying where lines from the musical Come from Away took place. They made the show come to life. When we did sit in the audience the tears started from the first downbeat and did not end until our walk home from the Steele Community Center.
Real people were involved.
Real places.
Though dramatized, there is a lot of truth behind the stories.
Twelve actors portray 46 different people. At the time nearly 10,000 people lived in Gander (today it is 13,000). Plus another 7,000 people on the planes.
Here are some pictures from the 11 places highlighted in Gander. They were also sent to neighboring towns.
A) St. Paul's Intermediate School
The Make-a-Wish children stayed here and were entertained by Commander Gander, hayrides and other fun. Had they made it to Walt Disney World they would have had rain every day of their trip.
B) Gander Collegiate (High School)
"4 am in NL is breakfast time in Germany, and we got a lot of passengers here from Frankfurt, so breakfast starts at 4 am and we start scramblin' eggs."

C) College of the North Atlantic
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"Poached eggs, scrambled eggs, omelettes .. fried bologna ... something called 'toutons'."The two Kevins stayed here.
D) Gander SPCA
The highlight of our tour. We saw the new SPCA. The sign is not yet installed.
While looking at the original SPCA, Don met "Bonnie," yes, the real person the character of Bonnie is based on. She separated some fact from fiction. By the time she got to the airport, the bonobo monkeys were already off the plane and in the care of their two official handlers.Together with those two, a local vet, and Bonnie, there were four people taking care of the animals. Don said she was very modest in her role. I was waiting for him in the car, meanwhile he was trying to stall Bonnie so I could meet her, too. Missed opportunity.
E) North Atlantic Aviation Museum
I think this made the cut because the current head of the historical society was the former head of the aviation museum. He kept the museum open as late as people wanted to visit it, and did not charge them for their visits. In those days it cost $3 CAD, today it is $10 CAD. Still a bargain.
Over 1,000 of the plane people from 95 countries over the five days. Like many, Brian worked around the clock to take care of their CFAs.
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Commander Gander, the town mascot |
F) Gander and Area Chamber of Commerce
"Yes Gander is large enough to land planes and your family will be safe and well cared for. And I will get a message to your loved ones if you have the flight information."

G) Royal Canadian Legion, Branch 8
Rumor has it the real Beulah has a corner inside where she does regular "screechings." I did not see anything about how to do this. I saw a sign in St. John's offering "family friendly" screechings, and one in Trinity where I could pay someone $20 for a screeching ceremony, but did not find a place to do it in Gander.
H) Gander Academy
I) Steele Community Center
The Steele Community Center is the hub of the city. Come from Away first debuted on the makeshift theater on the hockey rink. This summer it is being performed in the 400-seat theater attached to the hockey rink. When hockey was cancelled, the mayor ordered all of the food to be sent to "the world's largest walk-in refrigerator.""After 5 days, they just ran the Zamboni over the ice, and played hockey." |
Debut of Come from Away |
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When we were there they were set up to handle refugees from the fires happening an hour north of them |
J) Gander Town Hall
"On the northeast tip of North America, on an island called Newfoundland, there's an airport -- it used to be one of the biggest airports in the world. And next to it is a town called Gander."
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A picture of all 38 planes that landed in Gander |
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One of three pieces of WTC steel in Gander. A fourth (the largest) is a town away. |
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Letters dropped in this box are sent to families of 9/11 victims
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K) Gander Fire Rescue
"Someone told me your son's a firefighter -- and mine is, too, here in town, and I know -- Gander's not New York, but is there anything I can do?" ~ Beulah to Hannah. In real life, both parents were in Gander, not just the mother.
I understand this is a rather long post. I'm impressed if you made it this far. There will be a second post with other places we saw in Gander and surrounding towns that do not have signs in front of them, but do feature in the show.
There will also be a post with pictures of the pieces of World Trade Center steel.