Flin Flonners are known for two things.
The first is their willingness to stay in a part of the world that on certain January mornings you’d swear was never intended for human habitation.
The second, of course, is their big hearts and desire to lend a hand wherever one is needed.
Which brings to mind yesterday’s 13th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on our American neighbours.
True, Flin Flon is as far removed as can be from the bright lights of New York City and the international symbolism of Washington, DC.
But when unspeakable tragedy struck those distant cities, our residents were quick to offer their help to strangers and honour the lives of thousands they never knew.
I was here at the office when the World Trade Center and Pentagon were hit by those deadly airplanes-turned-missiles.
I immediately began scouring the Internet for all of the information I could dig up. This wasn’t a local story, but it carried such global import that it would have to be detailed on our front page.
I spent probably an hour sifting through news item after news item when the phone rang. It was a frequent tipster reporting that a number of citizens had already stopped by the Flin Flon General Hospital offering to donate blood for the rescue efforts.
It was then that I realized this was more than a story of cold-blooded murder and catastrophe. Sept. 11, 2001 also showed (once again) how our residents possess this incredible, innate desire to support people in times of need.
In the coming days, weeks and months, I explored the local angles of the devastation and often found myself deeply touched by what I learned.
A phone call to the hospital proved that about 10 people had indeed stopped by to give blood. Unfortunately, they had to be turned away because staff were not equipped to accept their gift.
On another call, I learned that the Anglican Parish of St. Peter and St. James was going to hold special prayer services for the victims and their families.
In a similar vein, our emergency service workers remembered their lost counterparts with a poignant service attended by hundreds of people at the RH Channing Auditorium.
There were even rumours of a grandmother who baked cookies to send to the New York Fire Department, which lost 343 firefighters, and of a homemaker ordering a memorial bouquet for the Pentagon.
I was never able to confirm those reports, probably because the women involved didn’t want the recognition or, in typical Flin Flon fashion, felt they weren’t doing anything special.
Several months after the attacks, the Flin Flon Oddfellows and Rebekah lodges dedicated a bridge over Ross Creek to the memory of the victims. Members had been fixing up the bridge on that awful day. They quickly agreed to christen it the “Bridge of Hope,” though it was removed last year due to safety concerns.
Then there’s Flin Flon native Cheryl Redmond, now an American citizen, who likewise chose a special way to honour the victims. The avid quilter stitched together five magnificent Sept. 11 memorial quilts, including one that later spent time on display at Washington’s famed Smithsonian Institute.
All of this confirmed what I had long suspected – Flin Flon’s caring knows no borders.
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