Hear the incredible story of Shirley Brooks-Jones, a 9/11 "Plane Person" who turned tragedy into hope.

We welcome Shirley Brooks-Jones, a remarkable individual whose life was forever changed by the events of September 11, 2001. Shirley shares her compelling story as a passenger on Delta Flight 15, which was rerouted to the small town of Gander, Newfoundland, amid the chaos of 9/11. Along with nearly 7,000 other stranded travelers, quickly dubbed “the plane people, ”Shirley experienced firsthand the extraordinary kindness and generosity of the people of Newfoundland.

Shirley reflects on her background at The Ohio State University, her unexpected role in fundraising, and how those early experiences helped shape her response to the crisis. She recounts what it was like to wait for over 28 hours aboard her plane, the confusion and fear among passengers, and how calm leadership made a difference in such a tense moment.

When Shirley and her fellow travelers were finally welcomed into the community of Lewisporte, the outpouring of support was unforgettable. The local Lions Club, alongside townspeople, provided comfort, food, shelter, and even medical help, asking for nothing in return.

Deeply moved, Shirley and fellow passengers began the Lewisporte Area Flight 15 Scholarship Fund, an endowed scholarship that now sits at $2 million and has supported over 460 students as of this year.

Shirley also shares heartfelt stories of gratitude from the scholarship recipients and their families, and she recounts touching encounters with Canadian citizens and dignitaries, including being honored with the Order of Newfoundland and Labrador and a meeting with King Charles III.

Throughout our conversation, Shirley offers wisdom on giving back, the impact of community, and how each of us can find fulfillment in service, regardless of age. Her story is a powerful reminder of the good that can arise from even the most challenging circumstances.

If you like this episode, please let us know. We appreciate the feed back, and your support of offset costs of producing the podcast!

FAQ about Shirley Brooks-Jones and Lewisporte Area Flight 15 Scholarship Fund

1. Who is Shirley Brooks-Jones and why is she featured on this episode?

Shirley Brooks-Jones is a former Ohio State University staff member and a passenger on Delta Flight 15, which was diverted to Gander, Newfoundland on September 11, 2001. She shares her story of the kindness shown by the people of Lewisporte, Newfoundland, and her efforts to give back through the creation of the Lewisporte Area Flight 15 Scholarship Fund. 00:39

2. What happened to Shirley Brooks-Jones during 9/11?

Shirley was returning from volunteering and meetings in Europe when her plane was diverted to Gander, Newfoundland after the US airspace was closed on September 11, 2001. She spent 28.5 hours aboard the plane before being welcomed by the community of Lewisporte, who cared for her and the other "plane people" for several days. 09:23

3. What is the Lewisporte Area Flight 15 Scholarship Fund?

The fund is an endowed scholarship established by Shirley and fellow Flight 15 passengers as a way to thank the citizens of Lewisporte for their generosity. The fund, managed through the Columbus Foundation, has grown from $15,000 to $2 million and has provided hundreds of scholarships to local students. 27:30

4. How has the scholarship fund impacted the community in Newfoundland?

As of the current school year, 461 scholarships have been awarded to students in the Lewisporte area, helping many pursue higher education and vocational training. The initiative has created lasting positive change in the lives of the recipients and their families. 45:15

5. How can retirees or seniors stay engaged and make a difference, according to Shirley Brooks-Jones?

Shirley encourages retirees to join service clubs such as Lions, Rotary, or Kiwanis and to get involved with organizations that help others. She emphasizes that volunteering is fulfilling and energizing, suggesting there are countless ways for seniors to give back and stay active. 54:15

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Copyright 2026 Carol Ventresca and Brett Johnson

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The views and opinions expressed by the experts interviewed on this podcast are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of the podcast hosts or any affiliated organizations. The information provided in these interviews is for general informational purposes only and should not be considered as professional advice. Listeners are encouraged to consult with qualified professionals for specific advice or information related to their individual circumstances. The podcast host and producers do not endorse or guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of any information provided by the experts interviewed. Listener discretion is advised.

We are Looking forward Our Way. Hi, this is Brett. We all remember where we

were and what we were doing on September 11th, 2001.

9/11 became a pivotal turning point for all Americans. Most importantly,

our American spirit shone through, helping each other through the crisis.

You may also recall planes carrying thousands of passengers. They

were diverted from American airports that day. 38 of the

commercial planes and 4 military aircraft were

diverted to the tiny Gander Airport on the island of Newfoundland,

Canada. Nearly 6,600 individuals found

themselves at the mercy of strangers in a town with a population of only

11,000. Our guest today is Shirley Brooks-Jones,

one of the passengers. She's going to tell us her story and most

importantly, what she's accomplished to repay the kindness of our

Canadian neighbors. As we approach the 25th anniversary of 9/11,

We want to thank Shirley for being with us today and telling her amazing story.

Thanks for being with us today. Thank you. I'm glad to be here. It's so

good to see you, Shirley. Shirley and I were colleagues at Ohio

State and knew each other way back when, and

so glad that we ran into each other at the end of

last year. And I convinced her she had to come in to talk to

us and tell us her story. So thank you for your time and your

efforts and willingness to come downtown on a really hot day.

and see us. Well, it's really an honor to be here with the two of

you. Thanks. Thank you. Thank you. Um, so Shirley, we got a lot to

cover, and I want to share with our audience a few

of the accolades that you have received for your years

of service that include creation

of the Shirley Brooks Jones Citizenship Award

from Ohio State's College of Food, Agricultural,

Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. You

have an honorary graduate of the Lewisport Collegiate.

You have a Medal of the Order of Newfoundland and Labrador, which

you wore to show us today, and the Columbus

Foundation's inaugural Acorn Award.

And you are also portrayed in the Tony

Award-nominated play Come From Away, which

highlights this Canadian journey. So congratulations,

kudos to all of these accolades. It's wonderful. So

I wanted to make sure our audience knew that we were talking to, uh,

Canadian royalty here today. So,

so let's also give our audience a quick look at your time

at Ohio State and how those skills that you built from

being a young girl when you started at Ohio State were used to

open new doors for these young students in Newfoundland. Well,

it was wonderful because I started out as a clerk stenographer,

a civil service position, and then moved up the ladder to

unclassified and eventually became a

member of the Senior Administrative and Professional Staff, which I learned

later the president was a member of that group. And I thought, wow, that's

pretty good. I only have a high school diploma. But anyway, 35 years on

the staff at Ohio State, you know, the honor of being

able to work with a fantastic faculty

and staff, and the students were absolutely

awesome. One of the things that I truly treasured as well

was my being able to work with students from

other countries. We had students from all over the world, and

just to interact with those people, to learn about their cultures and,

and, you know, all kinds of neat things. So, and then

I got into fundraising

just by accident. You know, I was never trained how to do that. I

learned it by watching the man who was my, my, quote,

boss for a good number of years. He could pick up the telephone,

needed money for this or that or the other, he could pick up the telephone

and call somebody and say, hey, this judging team

needs to go to Chicago or New York or wherever, and we don't have enough

money to pay for that, would you? And yeah, it was

amazing. So I watched him, how he interacted with other

people. And I used to be very shy, which I'm not

nowadays. But as the university really

got into fundraising a number of years later, of course, they

worked with the people outside of the university, of course, the

alums and so forth, but people with the big bucks and everything.

One day I was at a meeting and the president was

going on and on about this, and I finally went up to him later and

I said, what about the faculty and staff? They'd never thought

about including the faculty and staff. They established what they

called the Campus Campaign Council. That was just

to work with the faculty and staff. I represented my college

on that for a good number of years. Then For

5 years, strictly as a volunteer, after I

retired, well, shortly before I retired and after I retired,

I was the co-chairman of the Campus Campaign Council. And

it was really fun, you know, being able to work with people

who really are— our theme for Campus Campaign was always, I believe

in Ohio State. And we did believe in Ohio State. And

one of the things that really got me early on

was one day we got a letter that was written by

a woman who worked in the College of Medicine. She scrubbed the

floors and the toilets and all that sort of stuff. She'd written us a

note on a piece of yellow lined paper like the kids

use, you know. And she had written to us and said, I do

believe in Ohio State. She told us she had, I

forget how many children, but a number of children. She was a single parent, but

she believed in Ohio State. And even though she couldn't do much, she wanted to

be involved. She put a dollar bill in there. And that

really, that brought me to tears. And even today, when I think about that woman,

the widow's mite, so to speak, that really encouraged you.

The other thing that was really fun, they had never really gone

out to the, to the branch campuses to involve the people there. And I said,

we need to involve these people. I can remember those campaigns.

And Archie Griffin was one of the members of of the Campus

Campaign Council. And if I wanted to ensure that there would be a

big audience, all I had to do was call Archie and say, hey Archie, will

you go with me? And he always did. And even the hospital,

which they really had a tough time bringing people together to

hospital. Hey, I

remember when our

boxer— Oh, what was his

name? Oh yeah, that's terrible. Anyway,

we'll think of it. Anyway, we're sitting in

a campus campaign meeting one day, and how

could we get to the hospital?

Okay, the person who was representing the hospital said, well—

Buster Douglas. Buster Douglas. Buster Douglas. He became one of

my buddies too. Anyway, Buster Douglas. Buster Douglas

had recently won the world championship. And so,

Anyway, it found we found out Buster Douglas was born

in University Hospital, and so

anyway they said, "Oh well, we could do blah blah blah." Okay,

fine. Let's do that. Okay. Then they found out that Buster

Douglas's mother was not married, and they said, "We can't do that." I said,

"What what what does that have to do with it?" I mean, his mother loved

him. He loved his mother and all that sort of stuff. So when when we

had a meeting scheduled, I let them know Buster Douglas was going to

be there. It was so big, they couldn't have it inside. They had it outside.

All these people from the hospital area came from all these

buildings. It was really great. One of my favorite pictures is

Buster Douglas and me, and he's in this light-colored suit, and I'm looking

up at him. He is really big. Yeah. You know, Shirley, that what

you were saying to all these

Skills that you learned as a young girl. Yeah. And, and

as a becoming a professional in literally

public service. Yes. And this is one of the messages I always give to young

people. Don't think that the only way to get a job is through

private industry. Yeah. Government and, and higher

education are wonderful career tracks. Oh, they are, because you

rub shoulders with so many people from so many different areas.

And you learn. I mean, every person I've— somebody

asked me the other day about— I forget what the question was. But then I

thought about, you know, every person I have met in my life has

become a part of me, you know, and I love that. That's

right. And to serve others. I mean, the things I

do, I don't do them for money. I mean,

when I give talks and all kinds of things, people say, how much do you

charge to do this? I don't charge. I mean, this, this

is my giving back for the good life that I have had,

you know, and, and, and it's wonderful to do that. And I find that you're,

you're far more successful. I mean, if I would say, okay,

I want $150 or something, it turns out they would have given

me a whole lot more, you know? So I don't, I just leave it up

to the people, you know, what they want to give. Yeah, yeah, exactly.

Well, you were in Germany that September for an international conference. Suddenly

your plane, Delta Airlines Flight 15, was diverted to Newfoundland.

What were your first thoughts? I mean, you were there for the next 28 hours.

You were stuck on the plane with the other passengers. Talk about

the myriad of feelings you and the others were experiencing. Well,

actually, I had been volunteering in France and Denmark

as a part of— I was a member of People to People

International, which started in in 1956. Actually,

People to People International was started on September

11th, 1956, by President

Eisenhower. He felt like if we could just get to know other people on

an individual basis, we'd stand a better chance for friendship. I like that.

So I had been involved with People to People, and I was doing

volunteering in France and Denmark. And then at the end,

in Aalborg, Denmark, we had our board of directors meeting. I was on the board,

and also served as the corporate secretary. So I had been there.

As I was making my plane reservations for all this travel and everything,

one of my good friends who was also on the board lived in

Florida with me. She called me one day and she said, hey, when

we leave Denmark, could we fly to Frankfurt,

Germany? Her oldest granddaughter had taken a

2-year contract to serve as a or

to teach English as a second language to German bank executives. And

it was the kid's first trip out of the country and so on and so

forth. So her grandmother said, you know, if we could stop overnight, have dinner with

her. I said, that's fine. So we left, we left Denmark

on the 10th of September. We flew into

Frankfurt. We spent the night with the granddaughter. And I

love telling people that kid didn't need 2 old white-haired

ladies taking care of her. She was doing perfectly fine. So we had a

nice evening with her, get up the next morning, get on the

plane to Atlanta. And then in Atlanta, she's going to

change planes and go to Florida. I'm going to change planes. And at 6:30 that

night, I'll be in Columbus. Well, that didn't happen. We

got on the plane in Frankfurt, Germany, everything was,

you know, just a regular flight. And I was tired. I was looking forward to

getting home after being gone for about 3 weeks. So

We get on the plane, we get settled in. About 4 and a half, 5

hours out from Frankfurt, the captain came on and told us

he had an announcement. We had a slight problem with

an indicator signal on our plane, and we were going to have to put

down in Gander, Newfoundland, and take a look at it.

He said, by the way, we're too heavy to land at Gander, so we're going

to have to dump 30,000 pounds of fuel. Wow. pounds of fuel. And I'm thinking,

oh, I never liked math. Wonder how many, how many gallons that is. And I

thought, has to be a whole bunch. So we circled and

circled, we dumped the fuel, we came in for a landing at

Gander. Now the only thing I knew about Newfoundland was the fact

that that's where the Titanic went down, off the coast of Newfoundland in

1912. I was thinking about that. And then I was

also thinking there in December of

1985, there was an American— there was a chartered plane

carrying the 101st Airborne from Fort

Campbell, Kentucky back, and they stopped in Gander to

refuel. And when they took off, the plane went down and

it just ripped the belly out of the plane, killed everybody aboard the plane.

It was really sad. That's the only thing I knew about Gander. So we landed,

see all these planes sitting on the tarmac, and I'm thinking, what in

the world is going on? And then the captain came on. He

apologized for the ruse because he didn't want to frighten us while we

were in the air. He said, actually, all the borders are closed.

The airspace is now under control of the military. We're thinking, what

happened? And so he told us that one of the Twin Towers had been hit,

the, the, and then the second tower had been hit, the Pentagon had been hit,

and something had happened outside of Pittsburgh. So what Captain

Sweeney did, and he actually was one of my heroes

all during those 28 and a half hours we sat aboard our plane. He

monitored the BBC to get whatever information he could get.

So, but you know, the people on our plane, we

never had any panic aboard our plane. Now that was before a lot of people

had cell phones, so there wasn't really much access or anything.

A few people did have access and they would either loan

their phones or Or they would take names and phone

numbers for people to call and so forth. So everybody was looking out for everybody.

We— and even though Delta is an American airline,

we had passengers, we had 10 people from Ukraine aboard our

plane who were headed to Columbus, social workers who were going to be here for

3 weeks. We had a large group of students from India who

were aboard our plane headed to Ohio State, and people from other

countries. So So, you know, we truly were an international flight.

So anyway, we sat there for 28 and a half hours.

On the plane? On the plane. And we could, you know, you

could watch out the window to see what was going on. You wondered, you know,

what's happening? But everybody, and I tell

everybody, I give Captain Sweeney the credit

for how calm all of us were because he didn't stay in the cockpit. He

was out talking with the passengers. you know, making sure that everybody was

okay and everything. And the crew was absolutely awesome.

If you looked at the faces of any of those crew members, you

would never know that there was anything going on, but just a regular, you know.

Mm-hmm. So, so we, we really, um,

we were concerned, of course. And at one point, you know,

I was, I was concerned, um, about my husband and my

sister who were going to meet me at the airport. And I thought, well, of

course, I didn't have a cell phone. Well, my friend who was traveling with me

was so funny. She, she said, oh, I

have a cell phone. And so she's digging in her purse to find a cell

phone. And she said, oh, I don't know if I even charged

the battery. So we get on the cell phone, and I'm

trying to reach my husband. And, and an operator comes

on and tells me they know where we are. Now, where do I

want to call? You know, and so that was amazing.

Absolutely amazing. Got hold of my husband, told him, I said,

oh, just want to let you know. He says, I know where you are. And

I said, you do? He said, yeah. He says, you're in Newfoundland. Well,

he had heard about the flights, you know, being

diverted. And he was on the way to the golf course. And

he's— he just went right to the airport. He stayed at

Port Columbus. I should say John Glenn, but it was Port Columbus then. He

stayed there hour after hour after hour.

Actually, the Delta people at Port Columbus kept him

advised of what was happening. They also told him,

when we finally got the word days later that we were going to

leave, they changed the flight number from Delta Flight

15 to a 4-digit Number. And

so when I talked with him, I told him, I said, they've changed flight number.

He says, oh yeah, I know, I got it. So he was, he was way

ahead of me. He was, he knew more than you did. And

you were in it. He said yes. But, but it was not an unpleasant thing.

Now, we didn't have food. We had snacks, we had

plenty of water. But nobody was hungry. You know,

we also had a lot of little kids on our plane. Frankfurt

had, you know, there's a military complex there. So some of the people were

military people with their children, you know, heading back to the United States. And those

little kids were so good. Nobody got upset. I mean,

everybody was caring about everybody. And you didn't even have

a complete picture of what had happened. No. And,

you know, as they were getting some information— now,

one of the things I did too, once Captain Sweeney made made the

announcement that we were going to put down in Gander,

I got up and I got my notebook out. And I thought, because I can't

stand not to be busy, I got my notebook out and I started writing

down the times that Captain Sweeney had told me certain things, the

reaction of my fellow passengers, and so forth. So I have a really

good documentary of what happened from the time we were notified

until, till the days, days, days later that I got home

at 2 o'clock in the morning in Columbus. So,

so all of the folks that were on these planes then were

dispersed into different areas of Canada. You were nicknamed the

Plane People, which I thought was kind of cute. Yes.

And so you ended up, after landing in Gander,

then your groups were all split up among all those small towns and villages,

and you were sent 30 miles. I mean, it wasn't next door, right? This

was 30 miles away. to a little tiny fishing village

called Lewisporte. Yes. The

Lions Club welcomed you, and you have an

incredible story about the Lions Club. They took

care of you for the 3 days that you were in Newfoundland. But tell us

about Lewisporte and that day that, of

tragedy, became a day of hope and

endurance when you saw the Lions Club. Yeah, let me back up just a little

bit. The school bus drivers in central

Newfoundland were on strike. And when they found out what had happened,

they came from all their little tiny towns all around to the airport at Gander.

And so as the people— it

was the mayors of the little towns, the ministers,

the service clubs, the Red Cross, the

Salvation Army, and the RCMP— they all got together to figure out

what they could do with the plane people. So they all figured out how many

people each of these little towns could take care of. So we get all the

school bus— Let me, let me just interrupt here a second. It's a

logistics nightmare, because they not only have to figure out where to send

people, but they also had to end up figuring out how to make sure they

got back. Absolutely. Yeah. So anyway, the school

bus drivers was interesting, because they were really going around and around,

you know, with, with the town, with Gander, and so forth.

about it. And they just decided, hey, you know, our fight's not with

the plane people, our fight's with you. So they walked off of the picket lines

and got into their buses and came to the airport and waited,

you know, to load up the people for each of the places. Now, there

were 4 plane loads of people, about

700 of us, about 700 of the

7,000 people who were assigned to Lewisport and its

environs. So anyway, now I've lost

my train of thought. The Lions Club.

Yes. Okay, so we get to

Lewisport, and they pull up to this building.

And I stepped off, and I looked up

at the name of the building where I had been assigned. Now, let

me go back. When I was a kid, lived in the short north here in

Columbus, and was going to school, I was extremely

nearsighted. I had no idea that that wasn't the way you're supposed to see.

You know, I just, you know, everything was blurry. So that was it. Well, the

school nurse sent a note home to my folks and said, Shirley

needs her eyes examined because she definitely needs

glasses. Well, there wasn't any money for that. So the school nurse got in touch

with the local Lions Club. here in Columbus, Ohio. And it was those

anonymous Lions all those years ago that made it possible for

me to be sitting here talking with the two of you. Okay, so now

go back with me. I step off of the bus in Lewisporte, Newfoundland.

I look up at the building where I had been assigned. It was the Lewisporte

Lions Center. And I started— I mean, I've always tried

to keep my emotions inside because I don't like to— I didn't like to upset

my brothers and sisters. I'm the oldest of 9. And so, you know, my little

brothers and sisters, I didn't want to upset them. But the tears

started just rolling down my face when I saw it was the

Lions Center. And my friend who was walking with me said, what's wrong? And I

said, the Lions are still taking care of me. So we walk in,

and you could smell the coffee brewing. You could smell the food being cooked in

the kitchen. They had the tables all set up with white

table in a U-shape. Tablecloths. White tablecloths, flowers on

the table, you know, place settings, everything. They had

actually— and of course, we had not seen any pictures.

I mean, you know, of what actually had happened.

And I realized about days later when I got home that the

pictures that I had formed in my head from what Captain

Sweeney told us while we were sitting aboard the plane, those pictures were in black

and white. When we stepped foot into the Lions Center,

the first thing we saw was this teeny tiny little television

screen up at the front of the, of the, of the room. We

went roaring up to that. Now, we didn't have our luggage. We couldn't take

our luggage with us at all. You know, it was just our flight bags. So

we didn't have much. So we stood there hour after hour after hour

watching the scenes of what, what had happened in New York, what was

happening. And it was just, it was, it was like we were all

numb. I mean, I was never afraid.

I mean, I knew we were going to be okay. I just had that sense

of, you know, everything's going to be okay. But for that to

happen— now, back on the plane, when

Captain Sweeney told us that the plane, a plane had gone into the

World Trade Center and all the borders were closed, the

airspace is under control of the military. Wow. I'm thinking back.

I mean, why would the borders be closed if a plane went into

a building? Okay, I remembered when I was a little kid,

1945, there was one of our military planes went into the

Empire State Building and killed a bunch of people. And so

that was the thought that was in my mind. I'm thinking, but why would they

close the borders? Then he went on and told us all the other stuff. But,

but so many things, you know, so many coincidences have happened. Yeah.

But those people took care of us. I mean, they not ever—

they, and they had, they had brought gym mats from the high school over, put

them on the floor. They brought, they brought their towels, their washcloths. They

brought their pillows, their blankets. They brought everything from their

homes in for us, you know, and they also had

boxes of all kinds of toiletries. I mean, razors for the men,

shaving cream, toothpaste, toothbrushes. Toothbrushes.

toothpaste, toothbrushes. In the bathroom, in the

bathrooms, of course, there were a lot of children. So they had diapers,

they even had sanitary napkins and Tampax for the women. Wow. They

had, they had food for the, for the little kids. They had toys

for the little kids. They had literally thought of everything to help the

plain people because we didn't have anything. And a lot of the people had

actually packed their prescription medications in their

checked luggage. So they had no access to their medications that they needed.

So the local doctor, you know, worked with those people, found out,

you know, what their prescriptions were, and in some cases was actually

able to reach their physicians wherever they happened to be to make sure. And then

the local pharmacists filled those prescriptions, wouldn't charge

anything. They wouldn't take any money for anything that they did.

People would come in and say they were going to go out on their boat,

you know, on their fishing boat. Would you like to come along? And, you know,

other people— and everything was closed down in the towns except for the

essential businesses. A couple of my favorite memories, I

looked over at the corner of the Lions Center one day,

and here sat a high school girl sitting on the floor. She's reading

stories to all these little kids from our plane. They're gathered around

her. It was so neat to watch that happen. You know, and

then another time I looked over and there was a little boy who came

through the side door of the Lions Club. And he

had a stuffed animal under one arm and

his security blanket in the other arm. He brought

those in for the kids who were there and

had no toys. I mean, and I think about those two

so often, and I wish I'd found out who they were. Yeah. names, because I

know with them doing the things at the ages they were, that they're

still doing great things. Yeah. You know, even

looking back 25 years, it's still, it's like,

it hits you in your heart. It's amazing. It will

forever. I mean, it was the most extraordinary experience

I have ever had in my life. And I tell a lot of people, out

of the horror of all of that, became some of the

most beautiful experiences that, that

many of us will ever, ever, ever experience. So, but you know,

at night the women would come in and they would pick up the, the towels

and washcloths that we had used. They'd take them home, wash them, dry them, bring

them back. So we always had clean linens. I mean, it was

amazing, just absolutely amazing. Wow.

It, it, it's— this is a story that's going to Reverberate

for a long time. Oh yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, your

retirement took a sharp turn when you returned to Columbus. The citizens

of Lewisport wouldn't accept any money for their support of hundreds of passengers they had

housed during that time. You knew there was a way to make a difference

if fellow passengers would open their wallets. For the past 25 years, you and

your fellow passengers have provided educational funding for the young people of

Lewisport. Talk about the creation of the

Lewisport Lewisport Area Flight 15 Scholarship Fund, which

is an endowed fund at the Columbus Foundation. It started at

$15,000, now up to $2 million. Talk about the

success and the impact the funding has had on those young people of Lewisport area.

Well, it's been, it's been absolutely amazing.

How it started, of course, is because they wouldn't take any money,

and it bothered us because we knew they couldn't afford to do what they had

done. I mean, everybody was helping us. It wasn't just the

able-bodied. We had people with crutches and wheelchairs and everything else helping us.

So we get back on the plane. And when we got up to cruising

altitude, several of us got up and were talking with our fellow

passengers because we'd all been, you know, assigned to different, different

locations, churches and schools and all that sort of thing. So

I'm standing in the aisle with, with several men.

And we're talking about what could we do? We knew we wanted to do something.

How could we do something? And to me, the most important thing was

to do something that would not offend the dignity

of those wonderful people. I mean, we just couldn't do that.

So this one fellow said, you know, I learned that a lot of the kids

drop out of school. And I said, why? And he said,

no jobs. Okay. That took me back to Vinton County where I was born.

And when I was 4, my parents moved to Columbus to find work.

And I, so I could understand that, you know, the fact

of, you know, no jobs. Okay. So, we,

then the fellow said, you know, I was thinking if we could help 1 or

2 kids. And I'm thinking, and I literally, I said, 1 or

2 after all these people have done for us? I said, why

don't we start an endowed scholarship fund? Oh, that's great. And one guy

said, what's an endowed scholarship fund? And I thought, well,

gee whiz, I thought everybody'd know about endowed scholarship funds. So I simply

explained, you don't spend the principal, you, you

spend the earnings, you know, and the principal keeps going and going. And

so anyway, then another guy said, well, how will we do this? I said, we'll

make up pledge sheets. Another guy says, what's on a pledge sheet?

And when I talk to group— groups that have men involved, I love to say,

It's probably because the men have their wives take care of things like

that. That usually gets a laugh.

But anyway, so I said,

the guy said, how will we do that? So I'm ripping sheets of paper

out of my notebook to make up these pledge sheets,

just writing like crazy, you know, name, you know, address, telephone

number, email address, you know, however we can

reach them, and how much they would like to pledge

to this proposed scholarship fund. So okay, that's fine.

So then I look at the fellow who really triggered the idea in my head.

When he said the kids had dropped out of school, I looked at him and

I— and we're getting closer to Atlanta, by the way. And I'm thinking, once

we get to Atlanta, we will have lost that opportunity. Because

all these passengers are going to go off and they're going to be going different

directions. Right. So I said to the fellow who triggered the idea,

why don't you go ask the flight attendant if she'll make an announcement? Because I

knew she could use different languages for the different people who were aboard our plane.

And that way, you know, everybody would know what we were proposing. And I

knew deep in my heart and soul that everybody would want to do

something. And so he looked at— no, he wasn't about to do

that. And he told me, he says, that equipment is for official use

only. I said, I know that. But I said, I think we should ask. And

he said, well, they'll never allow it. I said, I still think we should ask.

So anyway, he wasn't about to do it. I looked at one guy,

he's brushing imaginary crumbs off of this, off the front of his shirt,

and looked at the other guy, he's looking down at the floor. So I got,

I got the idea they weren't going to do it. So I flew up to

the, to the front of the plane. The flight attendant is

watching all of this. Oh, my goodness. So anyway, I told her what we

were about and asked her, you know, if she would make an announcement.

And she got all teary-eyed. And she said— and

she, of course, as I said, they'd been so professional. She got all teary-eyed.

And she said, this is wonderful, but I have to ask the captain. And

I almost put a fist up in the air because I knew Captain

Sweeney would allow us to do that. So she's back. very

shortly. And she said, the captain says this is great.

And everybody in the cockpit had made a pledge to this proposed

scholarship fund. It was just absolutely amazing. So

I'm standing there and I'm waiting for her to make the

announcement. And she's not making an announcement. And I'm getting nervous because

we're getting close to Atlanta. I'm getting really nervous.

And so I said, aren't you going to make the announcement? And she She said,

no. And again, I like to tell people, I've had a lot of

experiences during this time when I felt like I was in a Rod

Serling Twilight Zone episode. And I looked at her and I said,

why? And she said, because we feel

it was a passenger's idea that a passenger should make the announcement.

So I go flying back to the guys I had been talking with

and the fellow who, again, who triggered the idea. And I said, it's

okay, but you got to make the announcement. He turned white as a sheet. Now

he wasn't about to. So I looked at the second guy. He's, he's still trying

to brush crumbs off. The other guy's looking down at the floor. So

I got, I got the idea. So I said, okay, well, if you, if

you're, if you're nervous about it, I'll be glad to do it. It was like

they rehearsed. They went, would you really? So up I go.

So the flight attendant, she's watching all of this. And I get up there and

she says, so you're it, are you? I said, I guess so. So she

pulls the jump seat down. Now, I'd never been on a jump seat. I don't

know how many people in the audience have been on jump seats, but those things

wobble around. So, and she hands me the microphone.

And she said, do you know how to use this? I know I didn't know

how to use it. So she very briefly told me how to use it. So,

okay, I sat there. Oh, I sat down on the wobbly

jump seat. Oh, my goodness. And I got the microphone up to my mouth. All

of a sudden, I went back to that shy, quiet

person that I was years and years ago. I couldn't open my mouth. And

so the flight attendant thought it was because I was

nervous seeing the faces of my fellow passengers. That wasn't it.

I was thinking about— oh, she said, let me pull the food cart in front

of you so you don't have to see their faces. That wasn't it. I was

thinking about all of the teachers and the professors I had had

down through the years, all the reports I had to write, the papers I had

to write. And you know, when you put something together, you got your

introductory sentence, you have your conclusion, and the rest of it is no

problem. That all comes together. So I had no introductory

sentence. I told her, I said, I don't know how to begin this. Okay, now

in another Rod Serling Twilight thing, she,

she leans down to me and she said, How about,

ladies and gentlemen, may I have your attention, please? I said,

that's it. So I made my spiel.

And, you know, all I want to do is get up there and get back

to my seat and be anonymous. Well, those pledge

sheets went through that plane like crazy. And

we had pledges from, I would say, almost everybody

on that plane. And of course, we had the $15,000 was US,

but we had a lot of pledges in other

currencies as well. And so anyway,

that's how it got started. So when I got back, when I got back to

Columbus, you know, I

went to the Columbus Foundation to see if they would work with

me. Actually, I went to Ohio State first because I had, you know, worked

with a lot of fundraising. I knew. I could just see how exciting

it would be to bring some of these students from Newfoundland on 9/11 to

Ohio State to study. I mean, I could see all kinds of opportunities there.

They couldn't quite figure out, you know, how to work this. So I went to

the Columbus Foundation, not knowing if the foundation did

anything out of the Central Ohio area. They embraced this

story with everything they had. And so they

worked with me. Wow. on— I mean, I knew what I wanted scholarship

to do. And I knew, you know, we had

all the pledges and everything. They were absolutely

amazing. They did all of the legal work. They did all of the other stuff

that needed to be— I could never have afforded to hire

attorneys and all those other kinds of— the foundation is a

true— oh my gosh, we are so fortunate. So

anyway, Now, the foundation can make grants anywhere,

you know, in the country, but they can't, you know, to other countries.

So what they did, what they did was they got in touch.

Well, let me back— well, it's a long story, but we went to different

organizations to see if they would handle this for us. But the Columbus

Foundation was, was the one. Okay. So to

actually get the money, into

Newfoundland, the woman I worked with at the Columbus

Foundation was a member of the downtown Rotary Club. She

went to the president of the Rotary Club, told him the story, and it turned

out I had known that man for years and years. I had no idea he

was a Rotarian. But, so what happens now with the

scholarship, the money, the contributions

go into the Columbus Foundation. Once the school

notifies the Columbus Foundation the kids who are qualified for it,

and the foundation does its work. Then they notify

the downtown Columbus Rotary

Foundation, and they're the ones who actually cut the checks

and send them to the different schools and universities and all that

sort of stuff. So there again, you've got service, you know,

one organization working with another organization and everything. Right. But anyway,

The way I wanted the scholarship to work was because all

the people were helping and all the kids were

helping and to make sure that these kids had an

opportunity, I wanted them to

be able to go to any accredited college or university anywhere in the world that

they chose or any post-high school vocational or

technical training program because the trades are

truly important in our world. Okay, so I set it up so

that every kid in the graduating class who met

the criteria that we set up, the guidelines, so to speak, to,

to have this scholarship, all they had to do was to

have an 85% average for the 3 years

that they attended Lewisport Collegiate. Now,

Lewisport has about 14 outport

villages that feed into it. for different things. Most of

these kids in those— well, the kids in those outports go to

school the first 9 years in their little town. The last 3 years,

they have to come into Lewisport to attend the high school there. They call

it Lewisport Collegiate. Okay. So if they, if they

could make— have an 85% for the 3 years that

they were at Lewisport, they had to be a volunteer in

something. Okay. They had to write a 100-word

essay about why they wanted it. And that's, that's all

they had to do. Now, so then whatever interest we

have each year, we divide it equally among the kids who

qualify. Now, so that means the scholarships are small, but

that doesn't matter to them. I mean, early on, some people

said, why don't you limit the number that you give each year? I didn't want

to do that. because it reminded me so much of Vinton County,

where I came from, and the opportunities that simply were not there

for people who, who had so little and everything. So

anyway, the largest graduating class that they've ever had

during the time that I've been involved with this was 100 students. So

that's not bad. Now, and each year, each year, I,

I should have brought a list of the years and the number of scholarships that

are received, but the highest we gave several years were like

28 scholarships. But these kids and their

families are so happy to be recognized in that

way. And I figure if they have a little bit to get them started,

then there's always going to be other funds that will jump in, so forth.

Right. And it's made a big difference. Now, a couple of, couple

of things that really make me happy. The first year we presented

the scholarship was in 2002. The very next day—

I mean, the very next year, okay? One of the girls in that first

class, after she completed her

undergraduate degree at Memorial University in St. John's, Newfoundland, which

is the provincial capital, she went on to get a master's

in chemistry and a master's in physics. And that hurts

my head because Math and science is not my thing.

But then she went on to get her MD. And about 6 weeks

before I was up there, she was named the chief of staff for all of

the hospitals in that whole area. And these kids, I

mean, they're going out and once they finish their, their formal

education, they go back to their own little communities and they're making a

difference. And it just makes me so happy to know.

And then, you know, as the years went on, and of course, I was giving

a lot of talks and doing all kinds of things. I was really getting

tired. And I kept thinking, geez, I wonder how much longer

I can keep this up. Well, my friend in Florida, who was one of my

biggest supporters, she said, Shirley, you know, this is over

with, you know, you need to stop. I said, Jo, this is never going to

be over with. It's going to continue. Okay. So every,

every time that I would get kind of tired and think I can't keep going,

I'd go back in my head to one particular graduation. Now, I

attended most of the graduations for a good number of years, didn't know

who the scholarship recipients were going to be. They didn't know

either until their names were called, which was really a nice surprise. But I

went back in my mind to this one particular graduation

ceremony. There was a set of twins, this good-looking boy

and girl. Oh, my goodness. Okay, and they were just, just

the greatest kids. They really are. So after that particular

graduation, well, after all the graduations, the parents and the

grandparents would come up and thank me and, you know, and really emotional,

you know, because I don't, I don't really figure I did that much,

you know, but it's making a difference in so many lives.

And this one particular graduation,

after when the twins received their their scholarship.

They're surrounded by a bunch of people. Off to the right was

this elderly man. I knew he wanted to talk with me.

But they're not pushy people. So he waited

until it cleared out. Finally, he came up, he introduced himself.

He had the same last name as the twins. So I said, oh, are

you related to the twins? He started to cry. And he said, they're

my grandchildren. He said, Shirley, you have no idea what you mean to my

family. And I couldn't believe it. I mean, I was just

absolutely— it just really, it made me— so I would think

about that man and his, how emotional

he got over that little thing that I was able to do.

Mm-hmm. So I would think about him, you know, all the time. Well, a number

of years later, I was back, you know, for another graduation. And

beforehand, before we went to all the ceremonies and everything,

the couple that I stayed with, Bill and Thelma Hooper— Bill was the mayor of

Lewisport and his wife Thelma— just, they have become, they've

become my, my 5th brother and my 5th sister. Okay,

we talk on the phone all the time. But anyway, Bill, Thelma, and I had

gone out to lunch before all the ceremonies were going to

happen up at the school. And there was a group of ladies who came in,

sat across the table or across the room in this restaurant where

we were. And you know how you're sort of drawn to some people? I was

kind of drawn to this really lovely lady.

And pretty soon she got up from her chair and

she came over and she spoke to Bill and Thelma. Of course, everybody

knows everybody up there because it's a small town. And she looked at me and

she said, you're Shirley Brooks Jones, aren't you? And I said, yes, I am. She

says, I want to thank you. 3 of my children have received your scholarship.

And I looked at her, and I looked at her, and I said, are you

the mother of the twins? She was. And,

and I mean, there was just a resemblance, you know. And I said, what are

they doing? Well, the youngest one was still in college in St.

John's. The girl, the girl was

now teaching. The boy was working on his

on his PhD in geophysics. And I'm thinking, whoa, that's

heavy. What's geophysics? But, you know, I love going

back. You know, I've been back 30 times,

and in September I'll be going back for the 25th anniversary. That'll

make my 31st trip. So we first— we have

to give a huge shout out to the Columbus Foundation, which

is one of my favorite groups of And

favorite organizations. They— there is nothing that they

don't— that they do that's not excellent. I mean, it's excellent. Oh, they are awesome.

Awesome. So I was in contact with them this week and told them we

were going to be talking. And they said, now

Shirley's really the expert, but our

paperwork says as of last school year, there have been

434 scholarships given. Okay. And with this year's,

it's 461. There you go. There you go.

They told me. Shirley will know for sure. So

461 scholarships for young folks. Yes.

Just out of a 3-day ordeal of

watching over all the plane people. Yes. That is a

legacy. Yeah. That is a true legacy.

Before we started our taping here, Shirley was telling

Brett all about our mutual fund— a mutual friend

Randy Adams, my Otterbein classmate

who is a Broadway show producer in New York

City and who produced the program Come From

Away, which features the Plain People,

and Shirley's kind of stuck in there someplace.

That story revolves around that generosity and respect

at a time When such destructive acts

took nearly 3,000 innocent lives.

How does the courage and the goodness of your Canadian hosts

live on 25 years later, even in today's

chaotic world? It's amazing because

they're what— you know, I wish President

Eisenhower were alive. He would be all over this. He would

be all over this. But it's the goodness of people. And, you

know, when people ask me, you know, they were, they

were, they were kind. They didn't know us. They probably would never

see any of us again. And yet they were so emotionally involved.

They really truly cared. And there were people who had so little,

but yet gave everything they had, you know, and

it just, it makes me feel good.

I've often— I felt from the time I was a little kid that there are

more good people than bad people in the world. And with

all the horrible things that are going— that have happened in the past and are

happening today, I still maintain that there are more

good people in the world. And we need to look at the positive things

instead of the negative things that keep trying to tear us down and

tear us apart. Well, and we said that the whole scholarship program is

your legacy, but in actuality, it's things like that that

have maintained the goodness because you

have been able to give back to those kids. Now they are giving back,

they're paying forward. Oh, absolutely, absolutely,

absolutely. It's amazing. Yeah. Well, and you know,

um, I was, I was really shocked. I mean, so many, so

many things that are coincidental or serendipity or

whatever you want to call it. In 2007, on

December 7th, 2007, of course,

that's kind of a date that's important in our history. I

was presented with the Order of Newfoundland and Labrador, which is the highest honor that

they give their citizens. And they told me that I was the first

non-Newfoundlander ever to receive it. And I was, I was,

I mean, I was just shocked. I really was. I didn't hear a word the

Premier was saying. I didn't hear a thing, you know. But anyway,

after, after the ceremony was over with,

a woman came up to me and she congratulated me and she said,

did you hear the clock chime while you were receiving your award?

And I said, no, I didn't. I didn't hear a thing. And she said it

climbed or chimed 7 times or 11 times.

And I thought, that's interesting. Why is she telling me that? She said, do you

realize you were the 9th person to receive the order? So there you go.

9/11. Isn't that, isn't that interesting? I mean, that's, that's another

Rod Serling. Exactly. Yeah. Then 2 years later, in

February of 2009, I was invited up

for, for an event that they were, that they were having in St.

John's, a very small gathering. Prince

Charles and Camilla, were doing an 11-day tour

across Canada. And Newfoundland was their

first stop. And so they invited me to come to St. John's,

you know, to meet with Prince Charles and Camilla. I thought, oh my goodness. So,

so I went. And they— oh, and so when I called to find

out what the protocol was, they told me it was fairly simple. But they

said, make sure you wear the order. So, you know, I show

up, I'm I've got the Order hanging around my neck and it's kind of hard

to see. Charles spent about 15 minutes with me, just the two of us, just

standing in this room talking with one another, you know. And

at one point he said, and what is that? As he looked at the Order.

And I said, it's the Order of Newfoundland and Labrador. Let's, let's

explain. The Order is a medal. Yes. It's like an Olympic medal.

Yeah, it's, yeah, it's actually, and it's really, it's

really neat because the provincial flower of Newfoundland is the

pitcher plant. So the shape of it is a stylized pitcher

plant. The, the, uh, the, the stones in it

are made of labradorite, which is their provincial mineral. Then it has

the coat of arms that show the people came from Ireland and Scotland, and of

course the Queen's crown, you know. So, but anyway, it's a

beautiful heavy gold medal that is just— I mean, I

was just thrilled. So he wanted to know what it was. And I told him

it was the Order of Newfoundland and Labrador. And he said, oh, well,

I, I did check about the protocol. And they said,

you know, fairly simple, but make sure you wear the order.

Okay. So when he spotted it, he said, and what is that?

And I said, it's the Order of Newfoundland and Labrador. He said, and why do

you have it? And I said, it's for the work I did following 9/11. He

said, oh, you're the American woman. You're the American? Oh, you're the

American woman. And I have never been more proud to

be an American, to have the future King of England

talking to me like that. So we're talking, it's just regular stuff.

And he was fun and funny. And always, he said something funny,

and I reached out and slapped him on the arm. And I thought, oh man,

you should not have done that. That really is— The

Order of Newfoundland will be He's going to be with you in the jail in

London. Well, and I thought, you know, he reminded me of one of my

little brothers. I mean, he really did. I mean, you know, it was just my

little brother. I mean, so what the heck? But anyway, then

I spotted this guy who was standing way behind him.

I was being glared at. I mean, there was a glare. So I mouthed the

words, I'm sorry, but I really wasn't. And it didn't bother Charles

because He kept asking, he wanted to know how many kids had received the scholarship,

where were they going to school, what were they studying. I mean, it was really

neat. That's wonderful. And then when I met with Camilla, because she was in a

different area, she spotted the order and she says, is

that labradorite? And I said, yes, it is. Well, she had a couple little

bracelets on her wrist and she's twisting them, looking up at

me and everything. She said, I have labradorite. She's trying to find the

labradorite in her And her bracelet. And I'm thinking, you

know, it's just one human being to another. Yeah. Yeah. Which

this whole thing was. Yeah. Human beings taking care of other human beings. Absolutely.

But, but now I've— one of the, one of the good friends

I've made throughout all of this is a man who was born in Canada,

but he lives up in Lakewood, Ohio at this point. And

so he got in touch with me shortly after 9/11. And

we've, you know, followed each other and we visit back and forth and everything. Well,

he was just absolutely thrilled with, with this, you know, situation

with Prince Charles and everything. So he took it upon

himself to write King, King Charles

earlier this year to tell King Charles,

to remind King Charles of, of the meeting that the two of us had together.

And also the fact that I'm going to be 90 years old on August

28th. And he was requesting that the King send me a message for

my birthday. And had I known that, I would have croaked. I

mean, what he told me, oh my gosh. So he came down about a

month ago and he said, I have a letter for you. It's addressed to me,

but it's really for you. Well, it was from the

head of the King's correspondence. It was from Buckingham Palace

thanking him for his letter and expressing His

Majesty's best wishes to Shirley and thanking her

for her work and this and that. And I'm thinking, oh my gosh. I

mean, What else is going to happen? There you go. Anyway.

Wow. Well, you know, you're an example of how older

adults can carry on great work, utilize their strengths and

skills to make our world a better place. I'm going to wrap this up

into some words of wisdom too, if you can. So, what advice do you have

for those who are thinking about retiring or have recently retired?

How do they continue to be fulfilled and transition their passions into new goals and

Oh, there's so many things that seniors could do. I mean,

you know, just, just, just ask your friends or, you know,

your former coworkers or whatever. I mean, join service clubs. I mean,

the Lions Club or Rotary or Kiwanis or something like

that. And there's so many organizations that help

others, you know, just get involved. I mean, don't be shy. Just call

or go to a meeting or something and find out how how you could— and,

you know, you don't have to spend a lot of time doing it. You could

just do a little bit here, a little bit there. There's lots of things that

can be done. And the feelings that you get from

doing those things really energize you. I mean, as

I said, I'm gonna be 90 years old. I can't— other than my body falling

apart, I can't believe I'm going to be that age, because I'm

having such a great time doing all kinds of things, meeting

all kinds of wonderful people. Traveling the world. Traveling the

world. Shirley, thank you. This was wonderful. It was

so good to see you, and hopefully we'll have lunch again soon. We'll do

that. We ought to have Randy. Yes, yes. Actually, Randy will be in

Columbus in September, so we'll try to get him to have lunch with us. Oh,

wonderful. Well, and back to the, back to the musical about Come From Away.

One of the things that really, really tickled me, tickles me, is I,

I'm one of the characters in, in that. Now, there are only 12

actors, but each one of them have 4 or 5 different roles

to play. And so, I'm one of the roles that this

particular actor plays. On Broadway, in the North American cast,

I was portrayed by James Earl Jones II.

And James and I have become good friends. We text back and forth and

telephone each other. And he's a nephew, is that right? He's the nephew of

James Earl. Of the Earl James Earl. I thought they were sons, but they were

cousins. And oh my God, what a talented man. And

each, each cast, no matter which cast, it's always a

young African American male. And we always get

together, you know, and it's really neat. It's really neat.

Thank you so, thank you so, so much for being here and telling us this

story. I don't think people realize that Come From Away

especially if they haven't seen the play, what is involved, but that

you're here from Columbus. I mean, this is— it's important to see that we had

a huge part in this. Well, and you know, another really interesting thing

that happened too, one of our former— one of our OSU graduates was a

zookeeper. She was accompanying 2 bonobos.

One bonobo was coming to the Columbus Zoo, the other one was coming to—

going to a zoo in Wisconsin. So, you know, she's worried

about these bonobos there in the bellies of the plane. There were animals in

the bellies of these planes. And one of the women in Gander,

you know, got permission to go in so they could take care of those animals

and everything. So it wasn't just the people, it was the animals as well.

Wow. And that's just so many wonderful— Shout out to all of those folks.

Oh, wonderful. Well, it's been an honor to be here with you. Thank you

so much. Thank you. Thank you. Yes. And many thanks to our expert guests, Shirley

Brooks Jones, activist extraordinaire, for joining us today. Thank

you.