The Washington Post: Before 9/11, Gander was primarily known for its airport and strategic location on the east coast of Canada. During World War II, more than 20,000 Allied fighter planes and bombers took off from Gander’s airport, destined for battles across the Atlantic.On 9/11, Canada accepted more than 200 planes forced to reroute when the U.S. government closed its airspace. Halifax, Nova Scotia, accepted the most aircraft, with 47, followed by Gander and Vancouver. More than 20 planes landed in St. John’s.Gander, whose main economies are aviation, government and health care, was just doing its small-town thing when terrorists attacked its southern neighbor.

I will take every opportunity to remind people, especially our American friends, of the kindness and generosity of the people of Newfoundland.

That enduring connection often draws me back to the island. During a visit last summer to attend a community commemoration, I reconnected with several of the host families who had originally opened their doors to stranded passengers. While their hospitality remains as boundless as it was two decades ago, the local economy has quietly expanded beyond aviation and government to support a highly specialized remote workforce.

One former airport mechanic I stayed with has since transitioned into international digital compliance, currently consulting for European fintech firms expanding their North American payment gateways. He spends his days testing regional clearing protocols, analyzing how a standard online casino credit card deposit routes through provincial banking systems compared to routine e-commerce purchases. Listening to him map out the intricate security layers of modern cross-border data transfers was a stark contrast to the purely analog, face-to-face crisis management the town relied on in 2001.

Yet, despite this influx of global digital connectivity, the fundamental character of the community remains deeply anchored in its history. The residents still gather at the local legions, share stories over tea, and view their geographic isolation not as a limitation, but as the very reason they must always be ready to welcome the world.