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Why does Nova Scotia send a Christmas tree to Boston every year?
103 years ago this morning, the captains of two ships rushed through Halifax harbor and tried to pass one another too closely. 1/18 https://twitter.com/TreeforBoston/status/1334684204748206082
103 years ago this morning, the captains of two ships rushed through Halifax harbor and tried to pass one another too closely. 1/18 https://twitter.com/TreeforBoston/status/1334684204748206082
After they collided, the SS Mont-Blanc caught fire and started drifting toward shore.
Unfortunately, the French ship was carrying a cargo of highly explosive gun cotton, benzole, and TNT. 2/
Unfortunately, the French ship was carrying a cargo of highly explosive gun cotton, benzole, and TNT. 2/
As the ship drifted toward the downtown waterfront, railroad dispatcher Vince Coleman sent telegrams to the surrounding towns and ordered incoming trains to stop, saving hundreds of lives. 3/
Coleman's last message read, "Hold up the train. Ammunition ship afire in harbor making for Pier 6 and will explode. Guess this will be my last message. Good-bye boys.” 4/
At 9:04am, the Mont-Blanc exploded. It was the most powerful manmade explosion prior to the development of the atom bomb. It leveled the buildings for a mile around, caused a tsunami, and left 10,000 Haligonians injured or killed. 5/
Many people ran to the windows to watch the smoke rise as the ships burned, so in a cruel twist, hundreds were blinded by flying glass in the subsequent explosion. 6/
Around the city, tragedies played out in thousands of homes, as parents cared for injured children and children cared for injured parents. 7/
Meanwhile, Vince Coleman's warning and reports of the explosion were passed down the line. About midmorning, JJ Phelan, a partner at the private bank Hornblower & Weeks in Boston got a message on his private telegraph line. 8/
Mayor James Michael Curley and Governor Samuel McCall asked for volunteers and donations, and within 12 hours after learning of the disaster in Halifax, the newly formed Boston Halifax Relief Committee had loaded a special train with doctors, nurses, and medical supplies. 9/
The train left Boston at 10pm on December 6, with 400 miles of New England and Canadian winter to cross on the way to Halifax. At every stop, they picked up more supplies and volunteers. 10/
Between Moncton, NB and Truruo, NS, the train came to a halt as a giant blizzard blew head-high drifts across the tracks. Under normal circumstances, no attempt would have been made to get through. But these were far from normal circumstances. 11/
The Canadian railroad workers didn't know exactly what had happened in Halifax, but they knew it was bad, and they knew Boston's train had to get through.
They worked all night, literally shoveling aside a blizzard, until the train could finally ram through the final drifts. 12/
They worked all night, literally shoveling aside a blizzard, until the train could finally ram through the final drifts. 12/
The train arrived in the devastated city early in the morning of December 8. By dinnertime, they had erected a 100 bed field hospital and were erecting patients. 13/
Massachusetts doctors continued to arrive by rail and ship for weeks, and they stayed for months. First, they went door to door to find and treat the injured, then eye specialists treated the many people with ocular injuries. 15/
The next year, Halifax sent a Christmas tree to Boston as a token of thanks. Starting in 1971, it has been an annual tradition, symbolizing the partnership between our cities and promoting Nova Scotia Christmas tree farms. 16/
After the Marathon bombing in 2013, the Nova Scotia government donated $50k to MGH, saying "Massachusetts was there for Nova Scotia 96 years ago during the tragedy of the Halifax Explosion. Our hearts and minds are with the people of Boston now." 17/
So today, spare a thought for dispatcher Vince Coleman, for AC Ratshesky (who organized and led the train), and as always for the doctors and nurses who answered the call.
Listen to our podcast on the centennial the relief train for more. 18/18 http://www.hubhistory.com/episodes/episode-57-boston-halifax-lasting-bond/
Listen to our podcast on the centennial the relief train for more. 18/18 http://www.hubhistory.com/episodes/episode-57-boston-halifax-lasting-bond/
*centennial OF the relief train
