Garden Railroading: Thinking of Our American Friends on This Day

Thinking of our American Friends on This Special Day

Today, our hearts go out to our American friends who lost so much 25 years ago on September 11th.

We were beside you in grieving the loss of your citizens in New York, Pennsylvania, Washington and those who hailed from other locations around America.

We were with you then and we will always be with you in support of freedom, liberty & justice.

We share in your grief as we lost Canadian loved ones as well on that day.

Certainly our losses were numerically a fraction of the total lives taken on that day but each individual who never made it home that night had loved ones who continue to feel their loss to this day.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to all families affected by the events of September 11, 2001.

We treasure the memory of each of these wonderful people.

We stand together, united in grief.

Let's examine other times where our two countries have stood together in support of each other.

You were there for us following the great Halifax explosion of December 6th, 1917.

Upon hearing of the disaster, the city of Boston, Massachusetts sent crews of hundreds to assist Canadians in Halifax.

Within hours of the news arriving of the explosion, a train filled with doctors, nurses and medical supplies left Boston for Nova Scotia.

To show gratitude, the citizens of Nova Scotia sent a tree in 1918 to the City of Boston to be used as the city's official Christmas tree that year.

In 1971 (the last two digits being an inverse of 1917) the province of Nova Scotia sent a second tree to Boston as a note of gratitude for what the city did for this Canadian province.

Having been officially revived, the gift of a Christmas tree has become an annual tradition and is enjoyed by Bostonians each December as the 40-50 foot balsam fir (and sometimes white/red spruce) stands tall in the Boston Commons during the holiday season.

Thousands gather for the public tree lighting event every Christmas season.

Indeed, Christmas is a time to rejoice in the goodness of people.

Thank you Boston!

Our care and compassion for each other is reciprocal...not because when someone does something good for you then you must reciprocate and do something good for them...not at all.

Our care and compassion on both sides of our mutual border is reciprocal simply because deep down in the hearts of our citizens from both nations...we are a caring people.

Following the great earthquake of 1906 in San Francisco, Canada did not stand back and read the news...the country acted with care and compassion just as the city of Boston would do 11 years later for their neighbours in Nova Scotia.

The government of Canada sent an immediate emergency relief fund of $100 000 in official aid to the stricken city.

This would be the equivalent of almost four million dollars today.

Canadian financial institutions and private donors added extra funds to support the relief work.

The funds helped to purchase food, tents and supplies for people who lost their homes in the resulting fires and from the damage of the earthquake.

President Theodore Roosevelt praised the Canadian government in a message to Congress shortly thereafter.

Following the 1989 earthquake in San Francisco, Canada sent a highly specialized team of researchers from the National Research Council of Canada (NRC) as well as industrial engineering experts to the stricken city to offer assistance.

The team worked collaboratively with its American counterparts on-site to evaluate structural integrity and mapping failures.

This collaborative environment resulted in improved preparedness for earthquakes along the western rim of the continent benefitting both countries.

The Canadian Red Cross remained closely networked with local California agencies to help support overall cross-border disaster relief.

Indeed, responses to these events happen so readily in a collaborative environment.

In 1998, a great ice storm struck the Canadian provinces of Quebec & Ontario.

The United States supplied critical aid to Canada during this extreme weather event through the deployment of massive utility reinforcements, emergency equipment and vital supplies to help rebuild the devastated power grids in the two provinces.

This offer of kindness was so greatly appreciated by the folks living in the affected areas considering the fact that northeastern American states were severely affected by the same storm system as well.

More than 1250 US line workers and technical crews crossed the border to assist Hydro Quebec and Ontario Hydro to rebuild thousands of kilometers of downed power lines and replace thousands of snapped utility poles.

American power companies and emergency agencies shipped heavy machinery, specialized service trucks, thousands of replacement transformers and miles of electrical wire to the hardest hit regions here in Canada.

In recent times the state of California has been hit by more and more wildfires.

We know because the smoke reaches up into Western Canada...but we do not blame California residents for our smoky skies during these times as this is not their fault...it's Mother Nature behaving as she does.

We in Canada help out because that is what good neighbours and friends do.

Canada has sent hundreds of battle-tested wildland firefighters and specialist staff from British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario & Quebec to assist with the response.

The Canadian Armed Forces along with Parks Canada and various other federal agencies stand ready and have been utilized to help transport personnel, tactical equipment and relief assets under our mutual cross-border aid agreements that we 'hope' can withstand the 'perceived' nature of our relationship at the moment.

Canadian water bombers "doing their thing" over California.

Indeed, we are there for both our Canadian and American citizens (as well as other countries around the world) in times of need!

Indeed, mutual cooperation holds the key.

America has always been there for Canada when we required additional personnel to battle our very own forest fires.

In recent times including this year, we have battled our share of wildfires in Western Canada and across the country.

We thank our American friends and also those from other countries who have assisted us in battling these blazes.

Canadian diplomats hid six American citizens in Tehran and safely smuggled them out of revolutionary Iran.

Canadian Ken Taylor risked his life in doing so and his efforts were greatly appreciated by American President Reagan.

Later on, former President Jimmy Carter stated that the film Argo did not represent the true story...as it was the Canadian contingent who made the escape happen successfully.

His words were, "Argo is a 'great drama' that deserves its Academy Award for Best Picture, but it grossly distorts the historical reality by erasing Canada's role in the rescue.

Carter was the sitting president during the 1979-1981 Iran hostage crisis.

During the pandemic, the United States shipped much-needed COVID 19 vaccines to Canada.

Yes...the US government shared millions of surplus AstraZeneca and Pfizer doses with Canada during critical vaccine shortages in 2021.

Let's check in on that fateful morning of September 11, 2001.

The town of Gander Newfoundland saw 38 heavy civilian and military aircraft land virtually 'unannounced' on their doorstep at their airport in an emergency response situation that became known around the continent as "Operation Yellow Ribbon".

The population of Gander at the time was 9 651 townsfolk.

With 6 700 stranded passengers arriving on their doorstep, the town's population (not quite but nearly) doubled in a single day.

The visitors had to be fed...and the town rallied in doing so.

They had to have places to sleep...and that was arranged on a moment's notice.

And...when the community halls, church halls and school gymnasiums filled up, the local townsfolk took the stranded passengers into their homes.

When the Gander homes were filled to capacity...the surrounding communities of Appleton, Lewisporte, Glenwood, Norris Arm, Gambo, and Grand Falls-Windsor offered their halls and homes to take in the stranded passengers from America and many other foreign countries.

Apparently there is a 'little child' with 'yellow-white' hair who lives in a 'white house' somewhere south of the Canada/USA border who thinks these people who have been so helpful are 'nasty - very nasty'.

If he were to read this blog...or...

...attend the Broadway hit musical "Come From Away" he would be surprised at all the helpful things these wonderful people have done for his very own citizens when they were in times of deepest need.

I strongly believe the lessons he would learn from reading and hearing about these experiences may...maybe...just may...help that little child mature a little bit more.

I could continue with so many examples of how Canadians were supported in times of need by Americans and vice-versa.

But...suffice it to say...all of us really are caring and kind people (with some very few exceptions).

We have the same passions - and for those interested in this blog - railroading is one of them.

Take for example...this BNSF locomotive driver.

He is a hard-working individual who tries his best to get commodities to communities around his neck of his country.

And how about locomotive engineer, Canadian Leslie Lukan.

She drives 60 miles an hour with 14 000 tonnes and over two miles of train behind her.

Her work - assembling and driving freight trains is vital to Canada's economy on a railway that moves goods 365 days a year - 24/7!

And we at the OVGRS have enjoyed traveling to the United States to share in our passion of railroading...

...while at the same time hosting our friends from America up here in Canada.

Indeed, our similarities are much greater than our differences.

With this great photo of a shared Christmas train...thank you for taking the time out of your day to read about these situations where both of our countries have "been there" for each other in times of need and as you have seen from the above rail images "in times of fun and mutual partnership".