Book Update - Halifax Explosion

It's four months into 2021 and the memoir I’m working on about my Grandpa Joe Landry’s family, before, during and after the Halifax Explosion is looking more and more like a book worth publishing in 2022; thanks to weekly meetings with my editor, Sylvia Clark.  As you can imagine, it’s taken a lot of research time, many hours of writing, and several edits per chapter to get to this point. 

We’re half-way through chapter six with about two chapters left.  In chapter five, two ships, the Imo, a cargo ship and the Mont Blanc, a munitions ship had collided.  The collision breached the hull of the Mont Blanc, causing sparks, then a massive fire. About twenty-minutes later, the Mont Blanc, having drifted into Pier 6, blew up; leveling homes in the northern sections of Halifax and Dartmouth. In chapter six, there is a threat of another explosion on the Halifax side of the harbor at Wellington Barracks, when the munition shed appeared to be on fire.  Panic spread throughout the city, as calls were heard to head for higher ground and that the munitions shed at Wellington Barracks was about to explode.

Members of the Landry and Burke families were scattered throughout Halifax - some at home and others at work or school when the explosion hit. At this point in the narrative, family members were trying to get to their homes to check on loved ones. The panic spreading throughout the city was making it more difficult to get into the devastated area.  Amidst the chaos, those who were wounded were taken to hospitals or dressing stations. Roads were closed off.  The north end of Halifax was lit up by the flames of overturned coal stoves.  Rescue efforts were disrupted and some members of the Landry and Burke families would lose their lives - all were left homeless.

By the end of chapter six, families will be split apart, not living under the same roof, as they were prior to the explosion. A couple of the teenagers wouldn't be reunited with their family for weeks.  

There’s still a bit of research left to do, as well as, writing to complete this chapter, but it's moving forward at a steady pace.  Right now, the focus is on the various places throughout the city of Halifax and Dartmouth that family members wound up at, like hospitals and shelters. Thanks to the Halifax Relief Commission claims records and Archibald MacMechan's digital collection online, along with books like Shattered City by Janet Kitz and The Great Halifax Explosion by John U. Bacon, the second half of chapter six is taking shape.  

Thank you, family and friends for your continued support and encouragement. 

In Memory of Three Fathers - The Halifax Explosion

This blog is in memory of, not only the fathers who perished, but those who survived the Halifax Explosion.

Three fathers - a stevedore, a railway car cleaner, and a carpenter, would leave their families on the morning of December 6, 1917 and only two would survive the horrors of an explosion that would devastate the section of town they called home.

Dan Landry is in 2nd row from the top on far right. circa 1917

Michael Landry - Date Unknown

My great Uncle Dan Landry (26), a carpenter, was handsome and rugged, known for his physical strength. Though quiet, he was very protective of loved ones.  He was young and healthy. Life was good with his devoted wife Annie Adams (23), a baby on the way, and his 18-month-old son Clarence, who melted his heart.


Dan’s father and my great Grandfather, Michael (60), was a railway car cleaner.  He had a gentle way about him.  Being easy going, he’d been content to leave the discipline to his wife Charlotte Bouchard, until she passed away of Tuberculosis in January of 1917 at the age 48.  His two young girls, Anna Bella (14) and Elizabeth (11) cherished his soft-spoken ways and tried their best to keep up with the chores their mother used to do like cooking, laundry, and housekeeping.  All of Michael’s children, (with the exception of Bernadette who died at 3 months, and son Leo who died in June of 1916 at the battle of Y-Press), lived in the same house.  At 38 Union Street in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Michael’s second oldest son, Dan and his family lived on the second floor.  Michael, his sons – Joseph (28), Abe (18), Jimmy (15) and two little girls – both small for their age, lived on the first floor.

Great Uncle Joseph Burke (53), a stevedore, was strong and quite the handyman. He was able to do all the necessary repairs around the cottage they’d been renting for many years. His wife was proud of what he’d been able to accomplish and so was the landlord, who kept their rent at its original $5 a month.  Similar accommodations, would go for close to $15 a month.  Joseph, his wife Pauline Bouchard (49), and five of their seven children, Malcolm (26), Annie (18), Marie (12), Clarence (8), and Edward (5) lived at 19 Stairs in Halifax.

Like many fathers, Dan, Michael, and Joseph were at work when two ships collided in Halifax Harbor resulting in a massive explosion that leveled the Richmond district where they lived. 

Daniel and Michael Landry, were working about a mile from home and close to a city block from each other.  Each felt the ground rumble as their work places were badly damaged and debris was scattered everywhere.  When they looked down the hill, they saw that the city below them was leveled.  Panic came over them as Dan and Michael thought of their families and made their way toward home.  The carnage and devastation got worse as they attempted to get closer.  About half way home and with Fort Needham in view, it looked like all the homes below it, including those up to the waterfront, were on fire.  They feared for the lives of their families.

Joseph Burke was at Pier 8 loading cargo on the Curaca, not far from ground zero where the munitions ship the Mont Blanc, exploded at Pier 6.  His body was never found. (Joseph's story - "Uncle Joseph Burke at Ground Zero")

Michael would discover that two of his children, Abe and Anna Bella were badly cut. Both were buried beneath the rubble when the buildings they were in were hit by the blast. Fortunately both were rescued. Abe would require months of care. All of Michael's children survived the explosion. (Micheal's story - "A Father's Love")

Dan witnessed the burned-out foundation of his home.  He soon learned that everyone, who’d been in their home at 38 Union Street when the explosion hit, except members of his little family on the second floor, had made it out alive.  Within two days he’d identify the “charred remains” of his wife and children. (Dan's story - "From Despair to Hope")

St Joseph’s School – Marie (Burke) Jordon – Halifax Explosion

Ross Dunn - bnw filter added

Looking at this photo it’s hard to believe that anyone made it out alive, but most did.

"Marie, my cousin, had a fractured skull... She was in bad shape for a while... It was quite bad, poor Marie." - Anna Bella Landry Bradley

At the time of the Halifax Explosion, my grandfather’s first cousin Marie Burke (age 13) was in her sixth-grade classroom located on the stage of the auditorium on the top floor of St Joseph’s School. The force of the explosion would blow off part of the roof above the classroom, causing the collapse of two over-sized doors onto some of her classmates.  Their teacher, Sister Ethelred, with the help of a student named Fudge, were able to free most of the girls, but three had not survived its impact. Along with the doors, beams had let go with one of them striking Marie Burke on the right side the head, crushing her skull. 

Marie stated that she had been taken to Victoria General Hospital where she didn’t regain consciousness for five days. Her stay there would span many weeks. She was diagnosed with Post Traumatic Epilepsy as a result of her fractured skull. 

Years after the explosion Marie moved to the United States where she married Clarence E Jordan (b 1905), son of Charles (b 1871) and Ida Horne Jordan (b 1879), on November 12, 1926 in Boston, Massachusetts.  

In her 30’s, Marie had brain surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital which left her seizure free.This gave Marie a freedom and self-sufficiency she hadn't known since before the explosion. She was grateful.

Marie Burke Jordan (b 1904-1997) is the daughter of Joseph (1864-1917) and Pauline Bouchard Burke (1868-1976).  Pauline and my grandfather Joseph Landry’s (1889-1994) mother Charlotte Bouchard Landry (1870-1917) were sisters.

Marie's father Joseph Burke was a Stevedore on Pier 8 the morning of the explosion, December 6, 1917 and his body was never found. 

Note:
I'm thankful for my great Aunt Anna Bella Landry Bradley's (1903-2007) sharing of family stories about the Halifax Explosion.  She was one of  my Grandpa Joe's younger sisters and he kept pretty quiet about it.

Other sources for information in this article - Halifax Relief Commission #393, Archibald MacMechan - Personal narrative Sisters Edevina, Rita, Ethelied, Maria Arilia of St. Joseph's Girls' School (Archibald MacMechan Nova Scotia Archives MG 1 volume 2124 number 18), FamilySearch.org

Positive Life Lessons from the Halifax Explosion

Positive life lessons are replacing the horrors of the Halifax Explosion that have run through my mind as I research and write my family’s memoir.

1.  Be thankful for what you have because it could be gone in an instant.

2.  Doing acts of kindness during someone else’s tragedy, is lifesaving.

3.  When everything appears to be lost, look around and be resourceful because what you need might be close by.

4.  We are braver and stronger than we ever imagined.

5.  Individuals can survive and thrive after experiencing unspeakable horrors.

Maybe you've read about this tragedy or have experienced your own, feel free to add your positive life lessons by commenting below.

Heroes Come in all Shapes and Sizes - Halifax Explosion

Archibald MacMechan

This week I made a wonderful find that documented the Halifax Explosion which led me to the realization that heroes come in all shapes and sizes. From a young boy pulling his mother to safety to newspapers helping families find each other, the work of the official Halifax Explosion historian, Archibald MacMechan, has these detailed stories and more. Finding this collection of works online, courtesy of the Nova Scotia Archives, is a reminder that there are a lot of caring and generous people in this world.  Though some of the notes and pieces are rough, many demonstrate the acts of kindness and generosity we’re all capable of.  Acts of kindness like:

Norman Roberts, an eight-year-old, rescued his mother and sister before their house burned down. 

Dr. Grace Rice, a woman doctor, helped many who were injured. 

The December 10, 1917 issue of The Morning Chronicle, helped family and friends by listing the wounded and where they were located, as well as, those who were identified as dead.  My grandfather Joseph Landry and his brother Dan’s tenants, Mrs. Gibson and 2 children, having lived at 38 Union Street, were listed at Camp Hill hospital on page 6 under “Partial Alphabetical List”.  Uncle Dan Landry’s 23-year-old wife, Annie Landry and 18-month-old son Clarence Landry were listed in article “List of Dead Recovered Among the Ruins.” This means he identified them some time between Thursday, December 6, 1917 and Saturday night, December 9, 1917. (Remembrance Book)

In the New Year, may we remember to do acts of kindness.

Note:  Link to his complete work: https://novascotia.ca/archives/macmechan/results.asp?Search=&Start=1

A Young Rescuer on Union Street - Halifax Explosion

Fort Needham Memorial Park, Halifax, NS - Cal Shook

While doing research this month, one story about a brave young rescuer stood out.

On December 6, 1917, the Myra family lived at 52 Union Street. My relatives, the Landry family, resided at 38 Union Street. With the exploding of the Mont Blanc, houses in the Richmond section of Halifax were leveled which included Union Street..  At the Myra residence, thirteen-year-old Doris and her mother, Mary were the only ones home.  Uninjured, Doris found herself in the midst of the debris from the house, a fire had started and was closing in on her and her critically wounded mother.  After a failed attempt to lift her mother and with fresh blood covering her clothes, Doris took a piece of rope and tied it around her mother’s feet and then dragged her outside to safety.  Sadly, her mother Mary died later that day.

“Doris was one of three people believed to have survived on Union Street near Fort Needham as of the paper’s printing. Edward A. Myra, Doris’s father also survived,” according to author Katie Ingram in her book, Breaking Disaster. *

Ninety-four people from Union Street are listed among the dead in the Halifax Explosion Remembrance Book.  On that day my great Uncle Dan Landry lost his pregnant wife Annie and their 18-month-old son Clarence.

I’m grateful that among those who lived, was my grandfather’s next to youngest sibling, Anna Bella. Fourteen at the time, she was pulled from the rubble in a semi-conscious state and lived to share family stories.  In August of 2003, Aunt Anna Bella shared:

“It must have been terrible for my father and Dan to come home and see that, everything mowed down… And everything was burning, burning next to me. The house next to me was burning. And the next thing I saw was Elizabeth. But someone had taken me out and brought me out in the street because I was half unconscious… coming out like that… and I saw Elizabeth and thought, my God she’s safe…”



Note:
*from  page 88 of Breaking Disaster by Katie Ingram.  The newspaper that Ms. Ingram referred to was “The Morning Chronicle” published on December 10, 1917. The quote contained a footnote: "Doris Myra would later work as a clerk before marrying Joseph Paul Dubois in 1925. Her father Edward never remarried and would pass away in 1966 at the age of 91.”

A Picture on the Wall
A Father's Love

A Walk in Fort Needham Memorial Park - Halifax Explosion Remembered

Artistically forged metal and stone structures line the walkways of Fort Needham Memorial Park - giving insight into the magnitude of loss as a result of the Halifax Explosion on December 6, 1917.

It's a cold December day in Halifax and my cousin Linda Landry Horne and her husband David are giving me a tour of this reverent and peaceful park.

The steep grade of the stairs leading to the summit is evident as the individual letters of the word "RICHMOND" lead the way toward the summit of Fort Needham Memorial Park.  

Photo by Cal Shook

Richmond is the area in the North End of Halifax that suffered the greatest loss and destruction from the explosion.

Linda's grandfather Daniel Landry (age 25) and my grandfather Joseph Landry (age 28) co-owned the family home, not far from the base of these stairs, at what was 38 Union Street in 1917.

Tall cut-out steel posts baring the names of  churches, schools, and businesses destroyed support the hand rail to the left of the stairs.

Photo by Cal Shook

At the summit is the Memorial Bell Tower.  It overlooks the section of the narrows in Halifax Harbor where a fully loaded munitions ship, the Mont Blanc and a Belgium cargo ship, the Imo collided causing the horrific explosion - the Halifax Explosion. 

Photo by Cal Shook

The Memorial Bell Tower's carillon bells were donated by Barbara (Orr) Thompson

in memory of her family, the Samuel Orr family, that perished during the explosion. 

Barbara was 14 years old at the time.

Anna Bella Landry Bradley, Linda's and my great aunt and one of Dan and Joseph Landry's younger sisters, was also 14 years old that fateful day. She too, would survive.

Heading down the hill are statistics etched in stone:

Photo by Cal Shook

1 in Every 10 Left Homeless.

1 in Every 10 Was Military.

Photo by Cal Shook

1 of  Every 5 Injured.

1 of  Every 25 Killed.

This was a beautiful yet humbling walk.  So grateful for family members Linda and David for this opportunity and their insights.

Do you have family members that were forever changed by this horrific explosion?
Have you had a chance to check out this memorial park?

Note:  Newspaper clippings and minutes for original planning and dedication in 1985
           Hope and Survival Quilt 

Hope and Survival Quilt and Scroll of Remembrance – Halifax Explosion

It’s December 2017 and the week of the 100th Anniversary of the Halifax Explosion.  I’m at the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Hope And Survival Quilt by Laurie Swim

The Hope and Survival Quilt surrounded by its Scroll of Remembrance fill the room that I’ve just entered.  A tear rolls down my check. Names of family members that I’ve been researching and writing about are on the wall being memorialized through the scroll and what they lived through is in front of me in the form of a quilt. Thanks to artist Laurie Swim for creating this and her host of volunteers.

The quilt is a creatively stitched painting on a canvas of turbulent indigo blue and black clouds.
Life flies through the air in the form of a girl with her arms outstretched.  Her hat and boot, having been blown off, are flying with her.  Her pose resembles that of superman as she flies to a safe place where she survives.

As though miles below her, in the upper left hand corner a tiny map of the devastated area appears with sparkly red threads spurting out.

The framed scenes around her add to the narrative as a ship explodes, help arrives, and survivors appear, some with eyes shut having lost their sight.  Within the clouds lie finer details, like a canoe and the silhouettes of people in various heights and sizes appear to rise from the ashes.

Surrounding this masterpiece is the Scroll of Remembrance.  The magnitude of the loss is felt with height and depth of the scroll that surrounds the quilt.  One thousand nine hundred and forty six lives are remembered and represented on the 172 panels that make up the scroll. 

Scroll of Remembrance - Laurie Swim

Hundreds of volunteers took panels and embroidered names in beaded Braille and English.

Gratitude overwhelms me as I search for and find:

Annie Landry (23) and Clarence Landry (18 months) 
(Annie and Clarence - my great Uncle Dan Landry’s pregnant wife and son.)




Joseph Burke (54)
(Joseph - Pauline Bouchard Landry’s husband and father of five.  Joseph was working as a stevedore*. Pauline is my great Uncle Dan and my paternal Grandfather Joe’s mother - Charlotte Bouchard Landry's sister.)

The scroll of Remembrance touched me.
Do you know someone who is listed on the scroll?  I'd love to here how you're connected?



Note:
*A stevedore is "one who works at or is responsible for loading and unloading ships in port" according to www.merriam-webster.com

For more about Laurie Swim's work go to www.laurieswim.com

Halifax Explosion Remembrance Book - Search for Names

Do you know the Gibson’s of Cape Breton?

River Bourgeois, Cape Breton by Cal Shook

While in this time of transition, as my husband and I are getting ready to move, I’ll be seeking answers to some questions that continue to surface as I write a memoir on my great grandfather Michael Landry’s family.

At the time of the Halifax Explosion the Landry family owned and occupied 38 Union Street in Halifax, Nova Scotia. They were not alone; the Gibson’s of Cape Breton were living there also. Do you know the Gibson’s of Cape Breton?

Joseph Gibson and his wife Alice, plus their two daughters, Mary and Vernetta, moved in shortly before December 6, 1917.  They rented three rooms: a kitchen, sitting room, and bedroom.  They were making payments on a piano and owned a violin and accordion.

At the time of the explosion, Joseph was around 28 and Alice 23. Daughter Mary may have been around 3 years old and Vernetta possibly less than a year. Not long after the explosion, Alice and the girls went to live with her parents, Andrew and Mary (Thibeau) Robertson, in River Bourgeois, Cape Breton.  One of the girls “had been badly cut about the head,” said mother Alice in a statement to the Halifax Relief Committee, on January 1st, 1918.   Joseph did carpentry work in Halifax for a little while then joined them.

Alice Gibson’s parents were Andrew and Mary (Thibeau) Robertson.  Joseph Gibson’s parents were Thomas and Marie Anne (Thibeau) Gibson. Joseph died around 1968 and Alice around 1926, in St. Peters, Cape Breton

Any pictures or information about this family before, during, and after the explosion and how you acquired them would be welcomed.

Note:  Special thanks go out to cousin Linda Landry Horne for the many hours spent at the Nova Scotia Archives doing research and to Kristin Josselyn Morin for genealogy assistance.

Caught Between Two Worlds

Photo by Cal Shook

Maybe you’ve been caught between two worlds – it’s that time when you are preparing to leave the life you’ve known to head to another place.

For my husband and I, the familiar routines are gone as belongings are wrapped and placed in boxes. We are torn between the life we’ve known for the past ten years and the new life that we’re heading to.  As our journey continues, we grieve the loss of  being close to family and friends in and around coastal Maine.  Uneasiness surfaces as we contemplate the unfamiliar.  It’s followed by a muffled sense of wonder, yearning to break free, as we look at the variety of possible adventures in the foothills surrounding Lake Winnipesaukee.

Photo by Cal Shook

During this somewhat disorienting time, I want you all to know that the Landry Family memoir is making its way onto the page with the goal of a more authentic and coherent work.  In the life that awaits I plan to take a sabbatical of sorts before taking on new commitments.  I’m determined to leave this legacy for my great Aunt Anna Bella who put the narrative in motion and for the many family members who’ve added to it.  Family and friends have contributed key information, through research and detective style strategies that has helped me fill in information to add to its authenticity.

 In the months to come, I’ll post some brief updates and let you in on new family insights and strategies.  Thank you all for your support and prayers.