Do you remember? Maritimers reflect on 9/11 terrorist attacks 20 years later
Julia Stewart was working in tourism 20 years ago.
On Sept. 11, 2001, she was taking a group of Americans on a tour of the Maritimes.
She'll never forget telling them about the terror unfolding in their country.
"I remember distinctly, one woman sobbing because she has family members who worked in the towers," Stewart explains.
For many, time stood still the moment they heard the news.
Some educators were teaching classrooms filled with young children when they learned about what was happening in the United States.
"You have the students speak to you, tell them about their concerns," former principal Earl Muise remembers how he handled the situation that day. "What is important to them, and how you can reassure them that they are safe."
"We put the TV in the library so that we could go check while eating lunch," adds former teacher Yvette d'Entremont. "But I'll never forget that day."
Maritimers, who were in school at the time, say they tried to make sense of what was taking place.
"I was in Grade 11, I was 17 years old," reflects Bassam Mothana of Bedford, N.S. "I had a friend that rushed over and told us that a plane had hit a building in New York City, half of the class went down to the cafeteria to watch the event unfold. That's what happened, and my biggest concern and worry was that it was a terrorist attack, and unfortunately, it was."
Others were going about their day – running errands or at work.
"The bank teller told me, had explained to me, that there was a terrorist attack at the world trade buildings in New York," explains April Ramsay who was doing some banking in Halifax that day. "I just remember feeling overwhelmed."
"I was building an apartment building in Bridgewater," explains Robert Richardson. "I remember we took, it was almost dinner time, and we decided to stop a bit early, and we always had the radio running, and it was on the radio about these attacks in the states. We sat around the radio for probably two hours and listened."
Mothers, like Joanne Ozon, tried to comfort their children.
"I remember my three year old son saying Mommy, what happened to the plane? And that's when I instantly became fearful, saying that this is not the world that I hope my kids will grow up in, and I remember crying out to God because people's lives were being shattered."
As people gather to make the 20th anniversary of 9/11 on Saturday, Julia Stewart says she will reflect quietly.
"I won't watch the footage again of that day," the former tour guide says. "I don't need to. It's engraved in my brain. But I'll reach out to other tour guides I was working with at that time and say, hey, I'm thinking about ya."
A global historic tragedy, that's still fresh on the minds of many Maritimers two decades later.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'Still so much love between us,' Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
What to know about avian influenza in dairy cows and the risk to humans
Why is H5N1, or bird flu, a concern, how does it spread, and is there a vaccine? Here are the answers to some frequently asked questions about avian influenza.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
opinion The special relationship between King Charles and the Princess of Wales
Royal commentator Afua Hagan writes that when King Charles recently admitted Catherine to the Order of the Companions of Honour, it not only made history, but it reinforced the strong bond between the King and his beloved daughter-in-law.
Pro-plastic lobbyist presence at UN talks is 'troubling,' say advocates
Environmentalist groups are sounding the alarm about a steep increase in the number of pro-plastic lobbyists at the UN pollution talks taking place this week.
'Too young to have breast cancer': Rates among young Canadian women rising
Breast cancer rates are rising in Canada among women in their 20s, 30s and 40s, according to research by the University of Ottawa (uOttawa).
Charlie Woods, son of Tiger, shoots 81 in U.S. Open qualifier
Charlie Woods failed to advance in a U.S. Open local qualifying event Thursday, shooting a 9-over 81 at Legacy Golf & Tennis Club.
$70M Lotto Max winners kept prize a secret from family for 2 months
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Trump's lawyers grill ex-tabloid publisher as 1st week of hush money trial testimony nears a close
After prosecutors' lead witness painted a tawdry portrait of “catch-and-kill” tabloid schemes, defence lawyers in Donald Trump's criminal trial on Friday sought to dig into an account of the former publisher of the National Enquirer and his efforts to protect Trump from negative stories during the 2016 election.