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")

Making Progress – the Writing of a Memoir About the Halifax Explosion

Joseph Landry (1889-1994)

The stories are coming together and it's looking like a book.

With the help of my editor, Sylvia Clark, I’ve been busy working on edits and revisions of a memoir about my grandfather, Joseph Landry’s family and their experiences, before, during, and after the Halifax Explosion.   Our main focus is to have a completed draft of their story called, “A Picture on the Wall” done as soon as possible.  Since the beginning of this year, an Introduction and four chapters have undergone multiple edits with upcoming chapters in various stages.  We’ve set an editing schedule of every two weeks.  The hardest chapters are in progress.  There are several missing pieces that would be beneficial to have. Below are two of them that concern the Burke Family.

For example:
Harry Burke, son of Pauline and Joseph Burke was at the City Home due to mental defect before the explosion occurred.  If you know anything about Harry and/or you have any idea where I could look to find out more about his situation, please share below or on Facebook.  "Landry, Burke, and Myatt Family Chart."

With the help of Paul C. Landry, we have the names of the family members of Mrs. Myatt, oldest daughter of Pauline and Joseph Burke.  Yet we haven't been able to find the Halifax Relief Commission record for this family at the Nova Scotia Archives.  There was a card showing that a record was kept, but unable to find the corresponding documents.  If you have any ideas or information to help us uncover more about what happened to them, we'd appreciate your sharing it with us.  "Do You Know the Simon and Hilda Myatt Family - Dartmouth NS - Halifax Explosion?"

Do you know James (Jim) Cody, survivor/rescuer of Halifax Explosion 1917?

View from Waterfront - Halifax Explosion - December 6, 1917
       Wikimedia,org

It was the morning of December 6, 1917 and the Mont Blanc, a munitions ship had blown up as a result of a collision in Halifax Harbour.  The north end of the city was obliterated. 

Under the ruins, flames were approaching as Jim Cody, an apprentice teacher, managed to get himself and my great uncle, 18-year-old Abe Landry, toward the light and out of the debris of Jim’s cobbler shop at 1209 Barrington Street. Moments later, the collapsed building they’d been in, was fully engulfed.

On behalf of Abe’s children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, and those his life touched, I want to let Jim Cody’s family know how grateful and thankful we are that Jim saved his life. 

Uncle Abe lived to see his 98th birthday.  He owned and operated two business: Landry’s Shoe Repair Shop in the Hydrostone section of the North End of Halifax for 47 years and was co-owner of Landry’s Grocery Store on St. Margarets Bay Road with his son Percy.  Abe retired at age 95.

After the explosion, it appears that Jim Cody went to work as a watchman at New Terminals Railway.

If anyone reading this has more information they’d like to share about Jim and/or his family, listed below, I’d appreciate it if you’d share it with me.  I’m working on a memoir about my grandfather Joe’s family and their experiences. Because of the actions of Jim Cody, we’ve had many years of inspiration and joy with our soft spoken yet full of life family member.
______

The Cody Family ages 1917

Father:  James Cody – age 42,
Mother:  Florence – age 33,
Children:  James age 7, William age 5, and Cecilia 9 months. 

According to Halifax Relief Commission Claim, the James Cody family had lived in Halifax all their lives up to December 6, 1917.

 

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

Landry, Burke, and Myatt Family Chart: Halifax Explosion

Inspired by conversations with my editor,  Sylvia Clark,   I’ve created a chart  to make it easier for  readers to visualize the families that I’m writing about in a memoir called "A Picture on the Wall.". 

Along with the above chart, I was wondering if information included in the Legend below might be helpful. 

What do you think?  Should I include it?  Vote "yes" or "no" and/or comment in the section below or on Facebook.

My Writing Space

Cal Shook - Gilford, NH

“I learned this, at least, by my experiment: that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.”  ― Henry David Thoreau, Walden: Or, Life in the Woods

Our new home in Gilford, NH is set on a hill and surrounded by trees.  Though not completely isolated, it has the feeling of being off on its own. A perfect setting for writing.

For my writing space, I've chosen a room slightly smaller than Thoreau's cabin on Walden Pond. 

A small desk with a chair is located in one corner, an end table in the other, with a lamp on each. Next to the end table is a futon lounger.

Whether at the desk using my laptop or lounging back with pad and pen, it is quiet and the space feels comfortable. My mind is free of distractions as my brain stretches to put my passion, bringing the Landry/Bouchard family to life, onto the page. 

My new life, like my writing space, is less cluttered.  I'm writing daily, and with mentor Sylvia Clark providing editorial feedback I'm making revisions. 

Could Use Your Help

If you're related to or know the Landry/Bouchard family, I'd appreciate it if you'd share a story and/or a photo that could be added to this narrative.  To contribute check out last month's blog, The Landry/Bouchard Family of River Bourgeois, Cape Breton.