Come From Away
Over the last two nights I enjoyed two very special evenings here in Ottawa.
My daughter, Karen, and my wife, Lisa, were invited by the cast (and the real people of Gander, Newfoundland portrayed by the cast) of the well-known musical 'Come From Away' to an after show cast party at a local pub across the street from our National Arts Centre.
Our other daughter, Alison, was in choral rehearsals and could not attend with us but she made it out the second night.
Here is the bulletin board in the lobby of our National Arts Centre advertising the show.
Karen has travelled to such faraway places as London, England; Melbourne, Australia; New York City...and...closer to home - Toronto, Montreal & here in Ottawa to see the opening night of this incredible musical.
The award winning musical tells the story of how the people of Gander, Nfld. opened their homes and their hearts for the thousands of stranded travelers whose planes landed within a three-hour window on the morning of 911 as 'heavy' Trans-Atlantic airplanes were ordered to land immediately.
This is the main hall of the NAC in an image taken while the various shows are taking place in the various theatres.
I mentioned the 'real' people of Gander, Newfoundland. Whenever 'Come From Away' opens a new run anywhere in the world the folks of Gander who are portrayed in the musical are invited to attend.
In total 38 aircraft were positioned along a spare runway and the tarmac area of Gander.
Photo courtesy of Radio Canada International
At the moment of the directive for pilots to land their planes at the nearest airport "immediately" there were 4546 aircraft aloft in the air worldwide. Within mere hours the skies would be emptied.
Photo courtesy of the Daily Mail in the UK.
Airlines from North America and all over the world descended into Gander...all 'heavies' such as 747's and "triple sevens" 777's. As pilot Beverley Bass has said, "Planes are meant to fly, not remain on the pavement for long periods of time."
Photo courtesy of the Daily Mail in the UK.
And speaking of Beverley Bass, here is my daughter, Karen, in the lobby of the NAC with American Airlines retired pilot, Beverley Bass, and her husband, Tom.
In 1986 Beverley Bass became the first female 'captain' to fly for American Airlines after being hired on ten years earlier. In fact, she was the first female 'captain' of any airline in the world in the history of aviation.
She also captained the first 'all-female' crew in the history of jet aviation on a flight from Washington D.C. to Dallas Texas.
On the morning of September 11th, 2001, she was piloting a Boeing 777 on a flight from Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris to Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport when her flight was ordered to land at the nearest runway - that being in Gander, Newfoundland.
In total 38 'heavies' arrived Gander from countries all around the world.
Alison joined us on the second night which was the official 'opening night' of the show.
Pilot Beverley and husband Tom toured Ottawa on this first sunny day of their time spent here in our nation's capital and later in the afternoon Karen took them on a personal tour of Lisgar Collegiate High School as Beverley & Tom were interested in seeing the school that one of the play's two creators attended.
Karen is also a graduate of Lisgar!
When the 38 'heavy' aircraft began descending into Gander, the mayor of Gander, Claude Elliott, was then pressed into action.
With military precision, food and lodging was organized in the small community that saw its population almost double in three hours.
Much of the food was stored in the local community ice rink turning it into "the largest walk-in freezer in the country" Claude informed us.
Here is Gander Mayor Claude Elliott with Karen at the after
show cast party.
Claude is explaining to Karen & Lisa just how much the population of Gander increased over the five days the stranded passengers had to be taken care of.
Gander's population was 9300 residents and the stranded passenger totaled somewhere around 6700 folks...not quite doubling the population of the town - but almost.
Claude was quick to inform us that other outlying communities pitched in taking passengers; the towns of Gambo, Appleton, Lewisport to name a few.
Beverley Bass, Claude Elliott, Karen & Lisa in a grainy photo at the pub.
Nick Marson had fun 'photo bombing' the picture!
His story follows below!
Diane & Nick Marson were strangers on the morning of 911.
She was from Texas and he was from the UK.
The only thing they had in common was the fact that they were in the same predicament as stranded passengers for the five days - arriving Gander on the same flight.
It was over those five days that they got to spend a lot of time together and get to know each other a little bit.
They developed a tremendous bond with each other and Diane told me that when she arrived home in Texas and Nick was back home in the UK they both were longing to be together.
It was wasn't very long before Nick telephoned her and proposed marriage over the phone!
They have been married ever since and their story is portrayed in the musical.
And...oh yes...while in Newfoundland, they were "Screeched In" - an almost religious Newfoundland tradition that allows you to become a true Newfoundlander!
Here we see Oz Fudge (the bald-headed lad who was the police constable in charge in Gander on the morning of 911) and Brian Mosher (who was the Rogers TV television reporter covering the event live throughout the five days) screeching in a number of the cast members and friends at the cast party.
With those being 'screeched in' off in the distance, this is certainly a 'Newfoundland' party!
And yes...you have to "really" kiss the cod!
Yes, it smells pretty bad!
Constable Oz & Brian were having the time of their life!
Brian Mosher is the lad in blue in this blurry image. He was a high school media teacher who moonlighted as a reporter in the community.
He and Oz have been best friends "forever", like Ernie & Bert Oz tells us.
Brian responds saying they are more like Statler & Walforf, those two old guys in the balcony on the Muppet Show! Heh heh!
Seeing as my image is blurry, I share this picture of the lads courtesy of the Sydney Morning Herald.
Brian speaks of his friend, Oz - "Everyone in town knows OZ. He used to do animal patrol so even the dogs know him!
Brian tells us that when a hockey team needs funds for new jerseys to replace the old worn-out ones he steps up.
When the church or some other association needs help fundraising - he always finds a way!"
Oz & Karen!
Many in Oz's family and extended family are first responders, be they RCMP members, Canadian Forces members, fire chiefs and fire fighters. Such a giving family.
Oz's daughter, also named Lisa joins us. Oz calls Lisa "Commander Gander" as she helped him organize a very special and largely unknown event that occurred during one of the five days.
There were a group of 60 or more children on one of the flights from overseas who were terminally ill. They were en-route to Disney World that week on a very special trip organized by the "Make a Wish" foundation. With their plane having landed and been grounded on "this island somewhere out in the ocean", their hopes were dashed - or so they thought.
Oz & Lisa (Commander Gander) sat at a table early one morning and organized a party for the children with many other youngsters from the other planes invited to attend! Oz told me that because Disney had mascots, they would need to have mascots as well!
They rallied the troops and the party was thrown later that same day - mascots and all - plus a huge 4' by 8' birthday cake for those children from the planes who were celebrating birthdays at some point throughout the five days! Lisa told me that there were five or six youngsters who had a birthday that week.
Both Oz & Lisa let us know that those young children had the time of their lives! Community members took them out canoeing, hiking and organized games for their entertainment and the children let them know that their week was just as much fun - or moreso than if they had made it to Disney World.
Besides, as Oz said...it rained all those days of that week down in Florida!
Kevin Tuerff is a very special man. He was on a flight with his partner, also named Kevin. Yes, Kevin & Kevin!
A gay relationship back in 2001 was seen a little differently than today.
Kevin was so touched by how the people of Newfoundland opened their hearts and homes to all - without prejudice to religion, colour or sexual orientation.
As a result of his experience that week, he started a foundation called Pay it Forward 911.
Whenever Kevin attends an opening of 'Come From Away' with a new cast he gives each of the cast members one hundred dollars and asks them to go out into the community where the show is playing and to "pay it forward" - yes, perform random acts of kindness.
Interestingly, when Karen attended the opening in Toronto, she went into a fast food restaurant for a quick bite of dinner before the show. When she went to pay for her food at the counter, a lady behind her intervened and paid for Karen's dinner with the one hundred dollar bill. With the change, that cast member was able to do a few more "acts of kindness" in the surrounding neighbourhood!
Here is Kevin with Lydia who is another "superfan" who travelled from England. Lydia has assisted Kevin in videoing folks with interesting stories related to "Come From Away" and 'giving back'. Kevin interviewed Karen due to the fact that she has travelled around the world to see the play.
The next morning, Karen joined Lydia, Kevin and a number of other cast members going out into the community 'paying it forward'.
With the monies from Kevin and others who wished to donate, the group went into a local Shoppers Drug Mart and Dollar Store and bought numerous items that could helpful for the homeless and other less fortunate folks in the community.
They then went about distributing the items at a church on Elgin Street that assists those in need who come daily to the church for food and various necessary items to help keep them clean and in (hopefully) better health.
This is Tom. He is from New Jersey. He was on one of the flights that had to land quickly in Gander.
Tom was 'taken in' by the mayor of Appleton, Derm Flynn. Appleton is one of the smaller surrounding communities that also assisted seeing as the numbers were too large for Gander itself.
Tom's initial reaction was "How could a perfect stranger (the mayor) take in someone like me - a perfect stranger as well!"
When Tom took his first shower at the mayor's home he made sure that he had his wallet with him in the bathroom - you know, just in case!
Well, Tom soon realized that he needn't be so protective and concerned of his personal effects - no, they wouldn't be stolen by these lovely folks of Newfoundland!
Here's the mayor of Appleton, Derm Flynn, in the blue shirt!
When Derm realized that his much smaller town would be hosting and feeding some 400 of the stranded passengers he quickly sent Tom out on a mission.
"Go around to as many homes in my truck as you can and gather up their gas barbecues. No worries, just tell them Derm sent you. We'll need to set up the grills near the church and the community hall!"
And that's what Tom did - and he was amazed that everyone said, "Yes, please take my grill!"
Sorry about the grainy image...but I couldn't resist getting a picture of Derm with Karen!
Here is Derm, the mayor of Appleton, on Opening Night with his wife, Dianne.
Karen poses with both Derm & Tom in the NAC lobby.
This is a very special image. Alongside Karen is Irene Sankoff on the left and Buelah Cooper in the middle.
Irene and her partner, David Hein are the creators of 'Come From Away'. It was a 'labour of love' for them to get the opportunity to interview so many people from that week in Gander, both locals and "come from away's" and work the script around their personal stories.
Beulah was the Treasurer and Provincial President of the Ladies Auxiliary for the Royal Canadian Legion. She was busy doing housework at home on the morning of 911 when her son told her to turn on the television.
"Which channel?" Beulah asked.
"It doesn't matter!" her son replied.
When she saw the second plane crash into the twin towers she thought she was watching a movie. Soon the legion called and asked her to bring sandwiches down so she made a tray of egg and ham & cheese sandwiches and headed to the legion. She barely saw her home again over the entire five days.
She quickly befriended a stranded passenger named Hannah O'Rourke. Later on, they both realized they had sons who were fire fighters, with Hannah's son working in Brooklyn and Beulah's son working here in Newfoundland.
Hannah was distraught within a short period of time as she could not get a hold of her son who she felt would have been one of the many first responders to arrive at the site of the twin towers. Sadly, when Hannah arrived back home she learned that her son perished that day. She and Beulah have been as close as sisters ever since.
Beulah told me that her son passed away recently from cancer - no doubt caused from his courageous career fighting fires.
This is David Hein, Irene Sankoff's husband and co-creator of 'Come From Away' alongside Karen. As mentioned earlier, both Karen & David are graduates of Lisgar Collegiate here in Ottawa.
We hadn't met Diane & Leo Davis as they didn't attend the cast party the night before so we were excited to meet up with them on Opening Night. Diane & Beulah worked tirelessly together in a strong partnership along with so many other volunteers making breakfasts, lunches and suppers for the stranded passengers who soon became friends and then became family to them!
Diane is wearing these amazing shoes with the name 'Beulah Davis' on them. Diane's full name is Diane Davis and Beulah's full name is Beulah Cooper...so why the mix-up?
In fact, it is not a mix-up at all. Because Beulah & Diane contributed so much as a 'dynamic duo' the writers, Irene & David chose to create a single character for the stage production using an amalgam of the two ladies' names.
A number of other characters in the play are given amalgamated names to honour so many seeing as only 12 cast members appear on stage at any one point in time.
The actors playing the parts also portray multiple people throughout the duration of the play.
Love the shoes Diane!
Here's Tom again...without the many BBQ grills he took from people's backyards!
Tom was so welcoming, inviting our family to the cast's "opening night party" to be held in an upper room at the NAC but we politely declined seeing as we all had very busy days that day and Alison had to get up early the next morning to get to work.
Okay...it's a grainy, fuzzy shot, but here is Kevin in his lumberjack jacket, just as he is portrayed on the stage.
Kevin really appreciated Karen's involvement in 'paying it forward' earlier in the day alongside him and a handful of other helpers.
The night before, Mayor Elliott was signing a special form.
Why, it's a 'Screechers' certificate one receives after they have been screeched in!
This was another one I saw on the table which was already signed by Beulah & Constable Oz Fudge. The mayor would be signing this one in short order.
This is Steffi, one of the members of the cast. She plays the role of TV reporter Janice Mosher, which is an amalgam of the names of the two reporters...Janice Goudie and Brian Mosher. She also covers some other characters throughout the show.
Janice Goudie happened to be only a few days into her job as a reporter in Gander when the events of 911 took place. She and Brian were the face folks saw on the news casts surrounding the events of that week.
While Brian Mosher made it up to Ottawa this week, Janice Goudie was unavailable to attend. Indeed not all those who are portrayed can make it to all of the opening nights.
Steffi is quite the accomplished actor and singer!
Brian Mosher is in conversation with David, the show's co-creator.
Grainy I know but he was a fun person to meet. When I told him I retired four years ago following a 40-year career in teaching he was blown away. He told me that I had him beat as he taught for 31 years and also dabbled in television reporting of course.
This is Ali with Karen. He played one of the two Kevin's on opening night as well as some other characters.
Just like Steffi and all of the other actors, he is quite accomplished as his bio indicates!
Bonnie Harris wasn't in Ottawa this week, but she played a significant role throughout the five days the 38 airliners were parked in Gander.
Bonnie is a veterinarian and she knew in her heart that there would be animals and pets in the cargo holds of those airplanes even though when she phoned authorities she was told there weren't any.
She didn't believe this message so she persisted...and ultimately eleven of the airplanes did indeed have cats, dogs and, yes, two rare Bonoba Monkeys on board. These monkeys are really apes.
One of the cats had pills attached to its carrier cage so Bonnie had to learn of the cat's condition and administer the drugs in their prescribed dosages so the cat would not experience seizures.
The cages had to be cleaned each day and the animals had to be let out of their cages for short walks. Of course, Bonnie had to convince regulators that these animals needed some fresh air as she was initially ordered to keep them on board the aircraft and in their cages. In the end her persistence paid off.
Like so many other volunteers that week, Bonnie barely saw her own family!
As Kevin's hoodie says on it's back, "We all come from away". The lady in the checkered shirt is super fan, Peggy, who traveled from Toronto to catch the play here in Ottawa. She has seen it in many other places as well.
Super fan Ryan also traveled from Toronto to catch the opening night.
Lydia 'paid it forward' with Karen and others earlier in the day. She hails from the UK.
He gave each of our family members a very special "Come From Away" pin that is not available for purchase from the merchandise table.
It is a pin he gives out only to very special people who he meets in his travels with the show - so Karen, Alison, Lisa & I feel privileged to have received the pin from him.
Here is my pin with Newfoundland featured on the globe that forms the letter 'O' in the word 'From'.
And...as they say throughout Newfoundland, "A candle's in the window and the kettle's always on!"
As the cartoon image showcases, this was the day when the world came to the town of Gander!
Cartoon courtesy of Reader's Digest
To watch a short interview with airline pilot Beverley Bass, copy and paste the link below into your computer's browser.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQO6fXkmjQA
To see and hear the beautiful song about Beverley's story of becoming a pilot that is sung in the show copy and paste this video into your computer's browser.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5CxPdnHxh54
To learn more about the love story of Nick & Diane Marson, copy and paste the link below into your computer's browser.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YfZnPSRZwSg
To see a three minute interview with Mayor Elliott, Constable Oz Fudge, Nick & Diane Marson, Kevin & Kevin, Beulah Cooper & Diane Davis, reporters Brian Mosher & Janice Goudie, and veterinarian Bonnie Harris copy and past the video below into your computer's browser.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZdj1LxqGrstch?
Thanks for taking the time to read through this blog entry that I know has nothing to do with trains...although transportation is a major theme - air travel...and camaraderie is also a theme, not unlike the camaraderie we enjoy when we gather at Fred's to run our trains.
Following this blog entry I will return from 'air travel' to 'travel by rail' as I continue to report on the comings and goings along the route of the IPP&W and the RP&M railways.
Reporting live,
Mike Hamer of the OVGRS from Gander, Newfoundland and Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
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