Gander
The
main road from the West to East side of Newfoundland
goes through Gander.
We have some interest in aviation history and we had time along the way, so
decided to stop at their little North
Atlantic Aviation
Museum.
In
the early years of transatlantic flight, airplanes needed a refueling stop on
the great circle route. Coastal locations were the easiest to supply, but they
had fog and more difficult terrain. Newfoundland
did have a railroad, so some empty inland land along the railroad was selected,
and the Gander
airport was built. The airport greatly expanded during World War II, with both
British and American squadrons that hunted U-boats and protected shipping. Gander also became a staging airport for Ferry Command, a
civilian organization that flew bombers built in the United
States to Great
Britain for use in the war. Prior to the
war, only 100 airplanes had attempted a transatlantic crossing and only 50
succeeded, so regular transatlantic flying was an audacious idea, but the Ferry
Command pilots did it. After the war, civilian airplanes followed, making Gander a regular stopover
for the famous. As jets with longer range became available in the 1950’s, a
stop in Gander
was no longer needed and the large airport was little used. Until September
2001, when the United States
closed its airspace after the 9/11 attacks and all the airplanes airborne had
to land somewhere. Gander
airport landed 42 planes with 6000 passengers and 600 crew, and the small town
had to find food and accommodations for all those stranded people. We both had
previously read and were touched by the account in The Day the World Came to
Town: 9/11 in Gander, Newfoundland by Jim Defede. The story even became a Broadway
musical! Barbara enjoyed reading some of the many thank you letters written to
the town on display in the museum.
Trinity
We
continued along to the Bonavista peninsula. After setting up our trailer we
went to Trinity – a quaint harbor town – and hiked up Gun Hill for a view of
the town and harbor.
Then
we walked around the town, seeing only a handful of other people – the tourist
season has yet to ramp up. No traffic, no box stores… just charmingly painted
buildings and a lighthouse in the distance.
