Storytime Tapestry Newsletter

The newsletter devoted to spreading love and cultural awareness throughout the world.

Hearts and Humor – A Michael Smith Column

December 9, 2006

Read HTML version online: http://archives.zinester.com/86758/115291.html


    Prayers work, Family
   
    Your prayers really helped. After more than a week, I am finally

feeling better. The letters, emails, calls and wishes worked.


    There is nothing that could make me feel better than knowing I

am part of a family. My family is you.


    I wanted to post a Christmas story tonight, But I thought I
   
would go with this one instead. Something happened almost 90 yeras ago.

Not manypeople know about it. It touched me personally before I

was born.




                        The Halifax Explosion

    As many turn their thoughts to Christmas preparations this time of
   
year, I like to take a moment to reflect on a not-so-well-known event.


    Thursday, December 6, 1917, the skies were bright and clear in
   
Halifax, Nova Scotia. In Europe, World War 1 raged. Halifax Harbor

was busy. Convoys of ships loaded with supplies of food, munitions

and troops gathered in Bedford Basin, ready for the voyage to Europe,

with heavily-armed warships as escorts.


    The French ship Mont Blanc was headed into the harbor to moor

and await a convoy to accompany her across the Atlantic.  At the same

time, the Belgian relief ship Imo, left her dock in Bedford Basin,

headed for open sea. There was a collision. The Mont Blanc caught fire.


    On the deck of the Mont Blanc were five tons of benzene. In its
   
holds were: 300 rounds of ammunition, 123,000 pounds of gun-cotton - a

powerful explosive formed by the action of nitric or sulfuric acid on

cotton. Also in the holds were 4.6 million pounds of picric acid (an

explosive, which, when dry, is extremely sensitive to shock and

friction), and 4.7 million pounds of TNT.


    People rushed to the shores to watch the ship burn, unaware of what
   
was to come.


    The Mont Blanc exploded in a blinding flash. Its deck and hull
   
disintegrated. It was and is the largest man-made, non-nuclear explosion

in history. A mushroom cloud rose more than a mile in the sky. Three

thousand tons of the shattered ship rained down on the city. More than

1600 buildings were destroyed and 12,000 were damaged. Almost 2000

people were killed - some from the blast and some from the 18 meter

(59 foot) tsunami that rolled onto both sides of the harbor. 9000

people were injured, many blinded, as they stared out windows that

imploded. More than 325 acres of the city were reduced to rubble. All

glass within a twenty mile radius shattered and splintered. The

anchor of the Mont Blanc, weighing more than half a ton, landed five

kilometers (three miles) away, and the barrel from one of her cannons

fell to the ground 5.6 kilometers (3.5 miles) in the other direction.

Millions of liters of burning gas fell on the city. Toppled wood and

coal-burning stoves ignited the collapsed buildings.


    The shock wave was felt as far away as Sydney, Nova Scotia, 270
   
miles away.


    Halifax was a burning wasteland.


    The next day, as if the city and its people were cursed, a six day

blizzard struck, dumping close to two feet of snow over the rubble. The

survivors suffered without food and shelter.


    The day brought death and destruction, but it also created many
   
heroes. Most notable, Vince Coleman. The railway yards were located

near the harbor, close to the site of the collision. As the crowds

gathered to watch, a warning was given to employees at the railway,

freight yards - an explosion was about to occur. Realizing the danger,

Vince Coleman, a telegraph operator for the Canadian Government Railways,

heeded the warning to evacuate and began to leave for the safety of

higher ground. However, he remembered that within minutes, a passenger

train from Boston to Halifax was due. The train had to be warned of the

impending explosion.


    Vince Coleman was successful in getting his message over the wire
   
to stop the train. Mr. Coleman died that day, but he saved the lives of

over 700 railway passengers.


    Among the dead that day was a woman who died in her home. Two of her

children were crushed when their school collapsed. The woman was my great

grandmother and the children my great, great aunt and uncle. One her

children survived. She crawled from the rubble of the school and years

later became my grandmother.


    The tragedy in the harbor of Halifax is the only information I have
   
of the family I lost. Everything they owned was destroyed.


    Help came quickly. From all over the province, people rushed to
   
assist those in need. A great deal of help came from USA, mainly

Massachusetts. The Red Cross in Boston sent medical help, food, and

other supplies. Each year, Halifax sends a giant Christmas tree to

Boston, to let them know, their help is not forgotten.


    The tree is erected in the Boston commons. It stands tall and
   
proud in the tradition of Christmas and also as a reminder and thank

you to those who came who came to assist my family and city in their

time of need.


    Thank you, Boston. You're help will never be forgotten.

    Michael T. Smith


    Michael lives in New Jersey with his wife and son. He works as a
   
project manager in the telecommunications industry and writes in his

spare time. His stories will be part of a collection to be called,

"From My Heart To Yours."


    You can read more of Michael's stories and sign up for his
   
twice-weekly posts at http://archives.zinester.com/86758/