Northwoods' Jon Cole Recounts Experiences Reporting on 9/11 Attacks

CUMBERLAND CENTER, Maine — Northwoods Tick Control owner Jon Cole had a longtime career as a photojournalist before starting his tick control business in Cumberland Center, Maine. One of the more life-changing assignments Cole experienced was traveling to New York City on Sept. 11, 2001, to report on recovery efforts following the terrorist attacks.

At the time, Cole was the chief photojournalist for WPXT-TV, a Fox television affiliate out of Portland, Maine. He and a reporter were assigned to do live shots at the Portland Jetport.

Cole said as the day unfolded, it became clear that Portland, Maine, was where ringleader Mohamed Atta and Abdulaziz Al-Omari began their day.

“They traveled to Portland on Sept. 10 in a rental car and left the Portland Jetport the morning of Sept. 11,” he said.

AP news reported the two then traveled to Boston, Mass., where they joined other hijackers and boarded a larger plane, American Airlines Flight 11, one of two jets to crash into New York’s World Trade Center.

After the towers fell, Cole and a reporter were sent to New York City that same day to be on the frontlines to “help keep spirits up and add some levity to those working on the recovery efforts,” he said.

Cole left his career as a journalist after a 12-year health scare with Lyme disease.

After multiple misdiagnoses and surgeries, Cole started Northwoods Tick Control in hopes of saving even one person from going through what was a life-changing Lyme disease diagnosis for him

Read more on PCT’s report of Cole’s experiences and business venture.

Cole shared how the day’s events impacted his personal life and career as a tick control expert.

We spent several days there with firefighters and dog recovery teams.  I personally was invited to visit Ground Zero to witness firsthand the recovery efforts.  I also witnessed incredible humanity in the face of this horrible event.  While visiting a memorial of photos of the missing, a small boy began to sing "America The Beautiful."  It was truly a moving moment as everyone joined hands and sang with him.  I will never forget the absolute silence of Lower Manhattan, broken only by the grinding sound of metal and machinery working at Ground Zero.  It was a sobering life experience to say the least.  

Now as I visit my clients, I spend as much time as they need helping them understand the risks associated with tickborne disease.  I’m very fortunate to be able to work and live in Maine every day.  People forget that it’s only a five-hour car ride to Lower Manhattan.  Life is precious and we cannot take our health for granted.  It is very rewarding to do the work I do now.  I’m always going to be a journalist, but for now, I feel like I’m on the frontlines of tickborne disease prevention efforts.

 I share my personal account of being misdiagnosed for several years and eventually walking away from television journalism only to begin to tell a new story.  This is a story of prevention and education overcoming adversity and medical confusion.  I like to tell people that ticks play for keeps. Here in Maine, we have a significant health threat, and we all need to do our best to prevent tick-borne disease and infections.

 I use my relationships with local television journalists to forward the narrative of tick-borne disease and education whenever possible.  I am constantly on television speaking about the risks associated with tick encounters.