Hey, not sure this has been mentioned, or embedded in one of the links above. But the Canadian version of Readers Digest had done a story about this back in 2002:
http://www.readersdigest.ca/mag/2002/10/strangers.html
The Kindness of Strangers
For almost 14,000 stranded “plane people,” compassionate Newfoundlanders helped to ease a troubled time
On september 11, 2001, when Islamic terrorists attacked the United States with hijacked American airliners, Washington halted all civilian air traffic at 9:45 a.m. In 45 minutes, 132 aircraft approaching from Europe were diverted to Canada’s east coast, 83 to Newfoundland alone. Warned by radio, most pilots withheld the news to avoid panic. On Delta Flight 15 to Atlanta, Capt. Mike Sweeney simply lied to his 218 passengers over the PA system: “Folks, we’ve got a minor problem with an indicator light, so we’re going down to have it checked at Gander airport.”
Upon arrival, all were amazed to see 27 jets on the remote tarmac. “Our ‘problem’ was a ruse,” Sweeney confessed after landing. “The truth is, we’re here because American airspace is now closed.” Gravely, he told of the earlier flights seized over eastern American states that exploded on impact with the two 110-storey towers at New York’s World Trade Centre and the Pentagon near Washington, killing thousands.
In the business-class cabin, Shirley Brooks-Jones shuddered. A 65-year-old retired college official, she’d been in Denmark at a board meeting of People to People International, an organization founded by Dwight D. Eisenhower to foster global goodwill. Now, confronted instead by hatred for her homeland, she was deeply afraid. “I couldn’t imagine what might happen next.” Least of all could she have conceived that such evil would inspire thousands of total strangers to the finest acts of kindness she’d ever known.
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After 4,200 visitors had landed in Gander, it was decided smaller communities would take the rest. In Lewisporte, a tidy town of 4,000 on Burnt Bay, Mayor Bill Hooper was phoned at his print shop by a Salvation Army padre just back from Gander. “They want our town,” said Maj. Lloyd George, “—all of it.”
“Okay, it’s theirs,” replied Hooper. That night at the “Sally Ann” hall, Hooper and his wife, Thelma, helped to lodge and feed 773 stranded passengers in four churches, three schools and various private homes. After the mayor made a radio plea for food, Lewisporte’s women cooked through the night while men went door-to-door rounding up bedding.
Typically, other communities pitched in. Besides casseroles, baked beans, pies, and such local delights as moose meat and cod tongues, they provided cases of baby food, toothpaste, razors, shampoo and deodorants, along with cribs, diapers, toys, dolls and games for all ages. As Gander received and distributed 4,000 army litters for the Great Canadian Sleepover, many kids lent blankets and pillows off their own beds.
The following morning, after a long wait, Delta Flight 15’s passengers left the plane with their carry-on bags to be screened by Customs and Immigration, then rode to Lewisporte in yellow school buses. As the first one arrived at the Lions Club, Mayor Hooper, wearing a Molson Canadian baseball cap, stepped aboard. “An awful tragedy brought you here,” he said, “but we hope you’ll see how welcome you are.”
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The story goes on for a few pages....