# Ruth A. Spencer oral history interview conducted by Laurel Gumpert, June 1, 2020

On 9/11, Ruth, a musician who taught and performed, could smell the smoke from her apartment, which was five miles away from the World Trade Center. The next morning, she went to the local Red Cross office to volunteer and was assigned to serve food and provide support to the first responders. She was directed to Chelsea Pier and was taken on a boat full of supplies to Ground Zero. The fires were still burning, and smoke filled the air. She never wore a mask during her time there and no one ever warned her about the air quality. It was the first time Ruth volunteered during a disaster and it was a different world compared to her normal life. She did not encounter many first responders during her daily life, but now she was working alongside them. She began working with the Salvation Army and met even more people who wanted to help. Ruth didn't personally know anyone who passed away on 9/11 but she met many people who were grieving. She volunteered for the people who lost loved ones and wanted to show support for her city. Ruth felt a sense of camaraderie and community that she wasn't used to in her career, where everything is more of a competition. With her background in classical music, she was given the opportunity to play the piano for the first responders at St. Paul's Cathedral, sharing her passion with people who had completely different career paths. Even though this experience was a tragedy, Ruth learned a lot about the first responders and volunteers in NYC, whom…

- Kind: Interview
- Year: 2020
- Runtime: 55 min
- By: Spencer, Ruth A.
- Genres: History
- Archive: [Library of Congress](https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2015048_440/)
- Licence or status: Rights statement at the Library of Congress (as the archive states it)
- Credit: Library of Congress
- Who can watch: Teens profiles and older (the archive gives no rating; placed by Invisible Network from its collection and subjects)

[Watch now](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/watch/archive/loc/afc2015048_440?play=1)