Gander

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (June 2009)

Gander
—  Town  —
Seal
Gander Location of Gander in Newfoundland
Coordinates: 48°57′25″N 54°36′32″W / 48.95694°N 54.60889°W / 48.95694; -54.60889
Country	Canada
Province	Newfoundland and Labrador
Census division	Division No. 6, Newfoundland and Labrador
Settled	1936
Incorporated	1958
Government
- Type	Gander Town Council
- Mayor	Claude Elliot
Area
- Total	104.25 km2 (40.3 sq mi)
Elevation	128 m (420 ft)
Population (2006)[1]
- Total	9,951
- Density	95.5/km2 (247.3/sq mi)
Time zone	Newfoundland Time (UTC-3:30)
- Summer (DST)	Newfoundland Daylight (UTC-2:30)
Postal code span	A1V
Area code(s)	709
Highways	Route 1
Website	Town of Gander (official site)

Gander is a Canadian town located in northeastern part of the island of Newfoundland in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, approximately 40 kilometres (25 mi) south of Gander Bay, 100 km (62 mi) south of Twillingate and 90 km (56 mi) east of Grand Falls-Windsor. Located on the northeastern shore of Gander Lake, it is the site of Gander International Airport, formerly an important refuelling point for transatlantic aircraft, and, to this day, a preferred stopping point for transatlantic aircraft that need to land because of on-board medical or security emergencies.

Most of the streets in Gander are named after famous aviators, including Amelia Earhart, Alcock and Brown, Charles Lindbergh, Eddie Rickenbacker, Marc Garneau and Chuck Yeager.^[2] Popular Newfoundland entertainer, Kevin Blackmore, better known as "Buddy Wasisname", from the Buddy Wasisname and the Other Fellers was born in Gander.^{[citation needed]}

History

Gander was chosen for the construction of an airport in 1935 because of its location close to the northeast tip of the North American continent. In 1936, construction of the base began, and the town started to develop. On January 11, 1938, Captain Douglas Fraser made the first landing at "Newfoundland Airport", now known as Gander International Airport, in a single-engine biplane, Fox Moth VO-ADE. During the Second World War, as many as 10,000 Canadian, British and American military personnel resided in Gander. The area became a strategic post for the Royal Air Force Air Ferry Command, with approximately 20,000 American and Canadian-built fighters and bombers stopping at Gander en route to Europe. Once the war was over, the airbase became a civilian airport and the location of the town was moved a safe distance from the runways. Construction of the present town site began in the 1950s, and the present municipality was incorporated in 1958; the settlement around the airport was eventually abandoned.^[3]

After the Second World War, the town grew as the airport was used as a refuelling stop for transatlantic flights, earning its name "Cross-roads of the world" as nearly all overseas flights had to stop there before crossing the Atlantic. Recently efforts have been made to diversify the economy from being dependent on the airport, particularly as new aircraft designs have permitted longer-range flights without the need for landing to refuel.^{[citation needed]}

Gander was the site of a major aircraft accident, Arrow Air Flight 1285, on December 12, 1985.

The Gander airport played an important role in world aviation in the immediate hours following the September 11, 2001 attacks when all of North America's airspace was closed by North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), and 39 transatlantic flights bound for the United States were ordered to land at the airport—more flights than any other Canadian airport other than Halifax International. (Vancouver International received the most passengers, at 8,500.) Over 6,600 passengers and airline crew members unexpectedly found themselves forced to stay in the Gander area for up to three days until airspace was reopened and flights resumed. Residents of Gander and surrounding communities volunteered to house, feed, and entertain the travellers in what became known as Operation Yellow Ribbon. This was largely because Transport Canada and NAV CANADA asked that transatlantic flights avoid the major airports in central Canada, like Lester B. Pearson in Toronto and Montréal-Dorval.

Subsequently, Lufthansa named one of its Airbus A340 aircraft Gander/Halifax to thank both cities for their handling of rerouted travellers on 9/11. In addition, a book called The Day The World Came to Town was published by Reagan Books, and several stories and segments about Gander's role during 9-11 have been featured on various educational and news programs. A radio play, The Day the Planes Came by Caroline and David Stafford, dealt with the effect of the 9/11 overspill passengers on Gander. It was first broadcast on 24 June 2008 on BBC Radio 4, and was repeated on 23 October 2009.^[4]

The Town of Gander continues to play a very important role in aerospace today, and, to this extent, Gander has retained an experienced United States Representative^{[clarification needed]} to attract and retain valid business opportunities in the aerospace industry.

In May 2007, Money Sense ranked Gander as the 10th best place to live in Canada. The magazine ranked communities strictly by crunching numbers relating to 12 measurable factors including weather, real estate values, income levels, unemployment rates, discretionary income, murder rates and signs of prosperity such as the percentage of late-model vehicles.

Demographics

According to Statistics Canada 2006 census, the current population of the town of Gander is 9,951, a 3.1% increase from 2001. There are a total of 4,153 dwellings and the town's total area is 104.25 km² (40.25 sq mi), with a population density of 95.5 /km² (247.3/sq mi).

The largest visible minority groups in Gander are Aboriginal people (1.65%) followed by Black Canadians (0.52%) Indo-Canadians (0.3%), and Chinese Canadians (0.15%).

Climate

Services

Gander offers all the conveniences of a major centre. A business park with big box stores like Wal-Mart was built a few years ago. There are two malls - the Gander Mall, with stores like Canadian Tire, Dollarama and the Fraser Mall with Price Chopper and government offices. Town Square on Elizabeth Drive and Airport Bouvelard has several local businesses, including Riff's.

Medical services are provided by the James Paton Memorial Hospital, on the Trans-Canada Highway. The hospital opened in May 1964 and has undergone many changes since then, making it a prominent hospital in the central region. The hospital has a rated beds capacity of 92.^[6]

Telephone services are provided by Bell Aliant, formerly NewTel Communications. Aliant also provides DSL high-speed internet service to the community. Rogers Communications is the cable TV and cable internet provider for the town.

Planetary nomenclature

In 1991, the International Astronomical Union and Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature (IAU/WGPSN) officially named a crater on Mars. GANDER, the Martian Crater which is named for and attributed to the town is located at -31.5 South Latitude and 265.9 West Longitude on the Mars Surface. Crater GANDER of Mars has a diameter of 38 kilometers.^[7][8]

See also

• List of cities and towns in Newfoundland and Labrador

References

External links

• Town of Gander (official site)

v • d • e Subdivisions of Newfoundland and Labrador Newfoundland · Labrador · Nunatsiavut  · Other islands Census divisions 1 · 2 · 3 · 4 · 5 · 6 · 7 · 8 · 9 · 10 · 11 Cities Corner Brook · Mount Pearl · St. John's Other communities Bishop's Falls · Bonavista · Botwood · Carbonear · Channel-Port aux Basques · Clarenville · Conception Bay South · Deer Lake · Ferryland · Fogo · Gander · Grand Falls-Windsor · Happy Valley-Goose Bay · Harbour Grace · Labrador City · Marystown · Nain · Norris Arm · Pasadena · Peterview · Placentia · Red Bay · St. Anthony · Stephenville · Twillingate · Torbay  · Woody Point

Coordinates: 48°57′25″N 54°36′32″W / 48.95694°N 54.60889°W / 48.95694; -54.60889