SPOKANE COUNTY, Wash. — Twenty-three years ago, on September 11th, the tragic events that unfolded thousands of miles away deeply impacted communities across the nation, including Spokane.
Bonnie Sewell, a local fair worker, recalls standing in the Ag building, preparing for morning live shots, when the first plane struck the World Trade Center. She learned of the incident from a reporter on site.
“He said a plane had just hit the tower,” Sewell remembered. “At that point, everyone thought it was an accident, so we continued with our work. But then he went pale and said it was no accident; a second plane just hit…”
As the nation watched the chaos unfold, the reporter quickly left, and Bonnie rushed to a nearby landline to check on her husband, who was in the military.
Soon after, supervisors from different fair departments got together to discuss whether or not to cancel the fair as a whole.
They decided to keep it open but Bonnie gave all of her staff the option to go home if they wanted to.
Bonnie says they did not know when the attacks were over. Later that week when she heard fireworks, she thought they were attacking again.
