The Great Halifax Explosion
Page 38
300“Perhaps inspired by Boston’s example . . .”: Beed, 1917 Halifax Explosion and American Response, pp. 66–67.
302“They arranged a benefit concert . . .”: Ibid., p. 28.
Chapter 33: A Toast to Allies
303“The Calvin Austin . . .”: Beed, 1917 Halifax Explosion and American Response, p. 24.
303“With splendid heart . . .”: Raddall and Kimber, Halifax: Warden of the North, p. 249.
304“The State of Maine hospital . . .”: Beed, 1917 Halifax Explosion and American Response, pp. 26 and 67.
304“a delightful and informal dinner . . .”: Ibid., p. 27.
305“a complete warehouse of household goods . . .”: Maritime Museum of the Atlantic, various websites, 2000.
305“splendid outburst of help . . .”: Kitz, Shattered City, p. 84.
305“ ‘instant and unstinting aid . . .’”: Ibid., Shattered City, p. 85.
306“At Hospital you will find . . .”: Beed, 1917 Halifax Explosion and American Response, p. 30.
Part VII: Rebuilding
Chapter 34: The Missing and the Dead
309“Walter Driscoll, 1549 Barrington Street . . .”: Kitz, Shattered City, pp. 80–82.
311“Some sailors could be recognized . . .”: Ibid., pp. 109–12.
315“One deceased mother . . .”: Ruffman and Howell, Ground Zero, p. 135.
314“It is not by the hand of the Almighty . . .”: Kitz, Shattered City, p. 108.
314“When they realized . . .”: MacDonald, Curse of the Narrows, p. 250.
Chapter 35: The Inquiry
316“Its mission was . . .”: Zemel, Scapegoat, p. 1.
317“An editorial in the Truro Daily News . . .”: The discussion derives mainly from Donald A. Kerr, writing in Ruffman and Howell, Ground Zero, pp. 368–71.
Chapter 36: Christmas 1917
320“But on Monday, December 17, 1917 . . .”: Kitz, Shattered City, pp. 113–14.
321“On December 21 . . .”: Ibid., pp. 115–16.
323“Frank Burford . . .”: Ibid., pp. 116–18; and Kitz, Survivors, p. 87.
323“The Overseas Club . . .”: Kitz, Shattered City, pp. 117–18.
324“After returning to Wolfville . . .”: Joseph Ernest Barss, letter to his uncle Andrew Townson, December 14, 1917, Barss family archives.
Chapter 37: Orphans
326“Others had lost one parent . . .”: Kitz, Shattered City, pp. 96–102.
329“Most correspondents were sincere . . .”: Ibid., pp. 103–4; and Kitz, Survivors, p. 78.
Chapter 38: “Don’t Stare”
332“Of the many doctors . . .”: Kitz, Shattered City, p. 90.
333“The gratitude shown . . .”: Ruffman and Howell, Ground Zero, pp. 249–50.
334“The soldiers continued exhuming . . .”: Kitz, Shattered City, pp. 107 and 112.
335“In the summer of 1919 . . .”: Raddall and Kimber, Halifax: Warden of the North, p. 248.
336“Many victims never sought . . .”: Ibid., p. 247.
336“The many friends of Mrs. Vincent Coleman . . .”: Beed, 1917 Halifax Explosion and American Response, p. 35.
336“Gordon Driscoll was never found . . .”: Kitz, Shattered City, pp. 81 and 112; and Kitz, Survivors, pp. 81, 83, and 87.
338“Not one photograph of the Orr family . . .”: Kitz, Shattered City, p. 82.
Chapter 39: The Trials
339“The Wreck Commissioner’s Inquiry . . .”: These legal proceeding were all covered by Donald A. Kerr in Ruffman and Howell, Ground Zero, pp. 371–75.
Chapter 40: The Wholesome Discord of a Thousand Saws
347“For months the people of the North End . . .”: Raddall and Kimber, Halifax: Warden of the North, p. 249.
347“The Massachusetts Temporary Relief Fund . . .”: Maritime Museum of the Atlantic, various websites, 2000.
348“While the Americans’ decision . . .” Kazin, War Against War, p. xv.
350“When experts rank . . .”: Ruffman and Howell, Ground Zero, p. 252.
350“Oppenheimer and his team . . .”: Ibid., p. 291.
351“It speaks to the unprecedented magnitude . . .”: Ibid, p. 292.
Part VIII: Facing the Future
Chapter 41: New Lives
355“They . . .”: Kitz, Survivors, p. 99.
355“The Pattison boys had lost their home . . .”: Ibid., pp. 97–98 and 113–15.
355“The Reverend William Swetnam . . .”: Kitz, Shattered City, p. xx.
356“Archie and Millicent Upham . . .”: Kitz, Survivors, pp. 98, 110, and 115.
356“The Driscolls moved to South Uniacke . . .”: Ibid, pp. 97, 103, 106, and 108.
357“Did we ever make a mistake . . .”: Kitz, Shattered City, p. 103; and Kitz, Survivors, pp. 99, 101, and 113.
357“With all four Richmond churches . . .”: Kitz, Shattered City, p. 99; and Kitz, Survivors, p. 102.
Chapter 42: The Accidental Doctor
359“I have put you through college . . .”: Helen Kolb Barss, letter to her children, Barss family archives. All her letters to her children were unfortunately not dated.
359“until the tears . . .”: Helen Kolb Barss, letter to her children, Barss family archives.
360“On March 9, 1919 . . .”: Joseph Ernest Barss, official military records, Barss family archives.
360“For fun . . .”: Helen Kolb Barss, letter to her children, Barss family archives.
361“Darned if I know . . .”: Author interview with Joseph Andrew Barss, 1999.
361“He threw a few things in a trunk . . .”: Helen Kolb Barss, letter to her children, Barss family archives.
000“Because of the medical school’s strict rule . . .”: Helen Kolb Barss, letter to her children, Barss family archives.
364“Barss paid a visit . . .”: Helen Kolb Barss, letter to her children, Barss family archives.
365“He sure gave me a good upbringing . . .”: Author interview with Joseph Andrew Barss, 1999.
365“Dr. Barss took his wife . . .”: Author interview with Joe Barss, 2017.
Chapter 43: The Lasting Impact
366“One of the first Boston doctors . . .”: MacDonald, Curse of the Narrows, pp. 279–80.
370“In 1996, author Blair Beed . . .”: Beed, 1917 Halifax Explosion and American Response, p. 29.
Chapter 44: The Reunion
372“In between, on June 23, 1984 . . .”: Kitz, Survivors, pp. 129–30.
373“Barbara Orr played . . .”: Ibid., p. 133.
373“‘Sometimes,’ she said . . .”: Ibid., p. 103.
Index
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Acadia Sugar Refinery
explosion and, 201
Mont-Blanc burning at Pier 6 near, 151–52
Pattison as mechanical superintendent at, 88, 158
railyard and docks within blocks of, 84
reduced to rubble, 215, 310
remains found under rubble of, 334
tsunami floods, 172
Acadia University, 50
adoptions. See also orphans
unauthorized, 325
Africville, Halifax, 90–91, 152, 154, 173, 369
air waves, Mont-Blanc explosion and, 169–72
Aitken, Max, 34
Akins, Thomas, 25
Alexis, Germain Bartlett, 91. See also Lone Cloud, Doctor
Almon, William Johnston, 29, 30, 238
ambulance drivers, amateur, 209
American Civil War, 28–30, 31
American Revolution, 23–24, 238
amputees, 335
anesthetics supplies, 251
Anglin, Francis Alexander, 340–42
animals, SPCA and care for, 295–96
Arcadia, HMCS, 369
Armories, Glube’s drive to, 208–9
Arnauld de la Perière, Lothar von, 106
Articles of
Confederation, U.S., 24
Ashpan Annie, 267–68
Associated Press, 240–41, 299
Atkinson, Roy, 241
Atlantic crash (1873), 36, 107
atomic bomb, 112, 349–50. See also Hiroshima
Australian government, financial gift from, 300
Austria-Hungary, Great War and, 43, 349
bagpipers, 65, 78, 122, 363
Baillie, D. G. O., 258
Bank of Nova Scotia, 242
Barnstead, Arthur S., 270, 271, 272, 333
Barnstead, John Henry, 38, 39, 270
Barss, Harold, 361
Barss, Helen Kolb, 362–63, 365
Barss, Joe (Ernest’s grandson), 365
Barss, John Howard, 49–50, 81–82, 92–94
Barss, Joseph Andrew, 50, 361, 363
Barss, Joseph Ernest
anti-American sentiment of, 28
in British hospitals, 92–94
at Camp Hill Hospital, 250, 253
Christmas letter to his Uncle Andrew from, 323–24
demotion to Corporal for Neglect of Duty whilst NCO, 68
desire to become a doctor, 324, 359
doctors’ prognosis for, 99
dual citizenship for, 363
early life, 49–51
engagement of, 362–63
get-out-the-vote for Borden and, 106
Great War memories of, 363–64
insomnia of, 121–22
letter after first trench tour, 63–64
letter from Belgium, 79–80
letter from England with orders to France, 53–54
letter from France before combat, 61–62
letter on casualties, 64–65, 66
letter on R & R, 66–67
letter on trench-digging close to the line, 65–66
letters from the front (early 1916), 75–77
in London on leave (1916), 77–79
marriage of, 363
medical career of, 365
medical school for, 361–65
parents visit in England with, 93–94
personal physical therapy efforts, 100, 359–60, 362
Prince of Wales’ visit and, 63
provides first aid after explosion, 236–37
psychological improvement efforts, 360
relief from first aid duties for, 280
relief train to Halifax and, 244
returns to Canada, 95
safety in Halifax for, 17
Uncle Andrew supports medical school for, 361–62
unfulfilled in Montreal, 51–52
walk from Rockingham into Halifax and, 244–46
World War I enlistment by, 49, 52–53
World War I injuries, 16, 81–82, 96
Barss, Joseph, Esq., 26
Barss, Joseph, Jr., 16, 26–27, 49–50, 62, 238
Barss, Libby, 49–50, 82, 93–94
Beazley, Edward, 74, 118–19
Bedford Basin, 22, 106, 116–17, 369
Beed, Blair, 236, 296, 371
Belgian Relief Commission, 107
Bell, McKelvey, 278, 301, 331
Bellevue Building (temporary hospital), 278–79, 331
Benedict XV, Pope, 44
Bennett, William M., 33
benzol (airplane fuel)
aboard Mont-Blanc, 7–8, 112
on fire aboard Mont-Blanc, 141, 142, 153–54
seeping into hold, 163
Berwick, Nova Scotia, offers to take orphans, 295
Bishop, Josephine, 220
Black Hand, 43
Black Joke, 26
blacks, in Halifax, 58
Bliss, Michael, 101
blizzard
deaths and injuries due to, 257–58
high winds of, 259
unanticipated, 255
warm spell and slush after, 281–82
Bloomfield School, 86, 356
Bluenosers, 25, 43–44
body bags, 38, 270. See also victim’s effects bags
Bond, Bertha, 188–89, 190–91, 264, 283, 311
Bond, Ethel, 188, 189, 190–91, 264
bootleggers, 59, 292–93
Bordeaux, France, Mont-Blanc’s explosives for, 7, 8, 10–11
Borden, Robert L.
on Americans at Bellevue temporary hospital, 285
Conscription Crisis and, 98–99, 101
election of 1911 and, 33, 34, 35
election of 1917 and, 348
explosion response and, 276
greets Ratshesky in Halifax, 278
Reconstruction Committee and, 279
Borden, Sherman, 78
Boston
bonds between Halifax and, 238–39
Christmas tree sent from Halifax to, 3–4, 373–74
Committee on Public Safety in, 228–29, 239
early history, 23
gifts of all kinds from, 301–2
gratitude for doctors from, 332
Halifax shipping and, 28
luxury public projects in, 35–36
Nova Scotia’s reception recognizing contributions by, 304–5
population of, 35
relief train and reporters arrive in Halifax from, 277
relief train and reporters from, 240–41
relief train breaks down in Monctown, 268
telegram for help to, 232
telegram received in, 238
Boston & Maine train, 268
Boston American, 240–41
Boston Children’s Hospital, 349
Boston Evening Globe, 303–4
Boston Globe, 240–41
Boston Herald, 240–41
Boston party in Halifax. See also Ratshesky, Abraham C. “Cap”
Bellevue Building as hospital for, 278–79
greetings to, 277–78
Boston Post, 240–41
Boston Red Sox, 35, 85, 98, 373
Boston Symphony Orchestra, 302
Boutlier’s Fish Truck, 215–16, 227
Box 83 fire alarm, 155–56, 159
boxcar as temporary shelter, 294–95
Boy Scout volunteers
Devastated Area and, 283
in Salem, Massachusetts, 371
Brannen, Horatio
Mont-Blanc burning at Pier 6 and, 152
photograph of, 131
to tow Mont-Blanc away, 153
wants Imo to change course, 131–32
Brannen, Walter, 131, 153, 176
Brennan, Horatio
photograph of, 337
Stella Maris destruction and, 175–76, 333
bridges, Halifax
over the Narrows, 368
pedestrian, 153, 194
Britain
draft initiated (1916), 96
financial gifts from, 300
Halifax as supply depot for, 57
World War I and, 44–45
Britannic (White Star Line), 36
British Admiralty, 73, 109, 129
British-Canadians, 315–16, 340–42
British Military Stores Depot, 278–79
British North America. See also Canada
talk of U.S. annexing, 28–29, 31
British Royal Navy, harbour pilot shortage and, 73
Brodeur, Louis-Phillipe, 342–43
Brooks, Colonel, 306
Brown, John, 90
Brown, Thomas, 90
Brown, William, 90
Brown Bombers (Africville hockey team), 91
Brunt, Albert, 156
Buffalo Bill Cody’s Wild West show, 91
Burchell, Charles J.
aggressive nature of, 317–18
appeal to Privy Council in London by, 343–44
Imo legal team and, 316, 338
questioning Makiny, 339
Supreme Court appeal and, 340
Burford, Frank, 154, 157, 181–82, 290, 322
burial permits, protocols for, 273
burials
for explosion victims, 314, 322
for Titanic victims
, 38–39
Burns & Kelleher marine engineers, 151, 177–78
Burton, Ernest DeWitt, 50
Calais, Maine
offers homes for orphans, 328
Red Cross from, 304, 328
Calonne, at Pier 9, 176
Calvin Austin (supply ship), 279, 284, 303–4
cameras, rarity of, 337
Cameron, Donald “Donnie,” 309
Campbell, Leo, 283
Camp Hill Hospital
on Barbara Orr’s ankle, 357
Barbara Orr’s stay at, 216–17
Barss’s work at, 253
casualties seen at, 250–52
C Company volunteers at, 252–53
Christmas (1917) and, 321
esprit-de-corps and sense of mission at, 254
as military hospital, 236
watching Mont-Blanc burn from, 154–55
wounded World War I soldiers at, 55
Canada
annexation concerns of, American Civil War and, 28–29
annexation concerns of, Halifax explosion and, 366
annexation concerns of, U.S. Articles of Confederation and, 24
annexation concerns of, U.S. congressmen on, 238
annexation concerns of, U.S. Speaker Clark on, 33–34
Dominion government financial support for Halifax, 299
establishing navy, 69–70
establishment of, 31, 367–68
Military Service Act (1917), 98
9/11 disaster and, 370
reply to U.S. letter of support by, 285–86
World War I casualties, 99
Canadian Department of Indian Affairs, 91
Canadian Expeditionary Force, 47. See also Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry
Canadian Government Railways (CGR). See also Duff, W. A.; North Street Station, Halifax
Ratshesky meets Hayes at headquarters of, 277–78
Canadian Infantry’s North Barracks, 247
Canadian Pacific, wire repairs and, 282
Canadian Railroad, 50–51
cars and trucks (“motors”)
blizzard’s toll on, 259
crowding Halifax (1914), 59
to deliver Christmas parcels, 321
delivered on Northland to Halifax, 284
panic and demand for, 209–10
thaw in weather and, 281
Catholics
mass funeral and, 313
orphanages for, 326
Cavendish, Victor, 285–86
C Company (teenaged volunteer girls), 252–53
Central Powers of Germany
gas warfare by, 47–48
World War I and, 43, 96, 97, 349
Chambers, Bertram, 127
Chambers, B. M., 169
Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, offers homes for orphans, 328
Chebucto Bay, Sambro Island Lighthouse and, 116