A Picture on the Wall: the Halifax Explosion

Boston responded and Halifax remembers as the Tree for Boston is lit on December 3^rd in gratitude and remembrance of those who died and those who survived the Halifax Explosion.  The lighting of the tree brings fond memories of a family survivor who brought this history to life over many cups of tea and an occasional slice of homemade apple pie. 

In honor of this event I’m sharing a piece of my late Aunt Anna Bella’s story.   Anna Bella is my paternal Grandpa Joe’s younger sister.  

“I tell you, awful things happen in this life, but you’ve got to keep going on…you just have to go on.”  - Anna Bella (Landry) Bradley

The Picture

A large sepia toned family picture was hanging over Anna Bella's bed.

“Could you tell me about the picture over your bed?” I asked.

“It’s the only thing that survived the explosion?” Anna Bella said.

“What explosion?”

“The Halifax Explosion,” 

What follows is a brief excerpt from the stories she shared of survival and tragedy.

The Explosion - December 6, 1917

Halifax Harbor’s piers were busy with ships from many countries being loaded and unloaded in an effort to supply the allies as World War I waged on.  

Five streets up with a beautiful view of the waterfront was 38 Union Street.  

Everyone had left for the day and fourteen year old Anna Bella was busy clearing breakfast dishes off the kitchen table in her family’s first floor apartment.  She's feeling a bit down. Life had changed since her mom passed away of Tuberculosis in January.  Instead of going to school she was keeping house. Between her dad, three older brothers, and younger sister there was a lot to do. While in the midst of this morning routine, she was unaware of what was happening in the harbor.

The Mont Blanc, a fully loaded munitions ship, had been cleared to enter the harbor.

On the other side of the harbor the Imo was making its way out.  Further into the harbor,  a tug is on the wrong side. Before they get to close to each other, the Imo’s pilot switches lanes successfully; which keeps the two boats from colliding.  Now the Imo is on the Mont Blanc’s side of the harbor.

Once in site of each other the Mont Blanc’s horn sounds alerting the Imo to switch lanes.   The Imo signals back, requesting the Mont Blanc move over.  By the time the two ships reverse engines it was too late – the Imo’s hull pierced the Mont Blanc’s.  Then as the Imo’s engine reverses, metal scrapes metal and the two hulls pull apart.  The Mont Blanc’s deck catches fire as it drifts toward Pier 6.

Anna Bella was at the sink doing dishes when the Mont Blanc reaches Pier 6 and blows up. With the force of the blast, the house explodes.  Anna Bella’s unconscious body is thrown several yards away and buried under a pile of rubble.   The once beautiful city of Halifax was in ruins with Anna Bella buried within it.  

Smoke starts to rise from the debris as the embers from overturned coal stoves ignite the downed structures like kindling.  Seeing this, soldiers, family members, and others start calling out and listening for life.   They were hoping to lift people from the ruins before the fires spread.

As Anna Bella regains consciousness she hears the bells of the fire rigs and feels herself being pulled from the rubble and then lowered onto the street. Squinting and adjusting her eyes to the light, she focuses to see her sister Elizabeth in front of her.

The explosion has left Anna Bella’s lip partially torn off and there are cuts on her arm.  They are stitched up, out on the street.  Her face swells to the point where it will be difficult to eat for several weeks.  Once attended to, Anna Bella is relieved to find out that Elizabeth is uninjured.

In the days to come, Anna Bella and Elizabeth are reunited with family and eventually relocated to the Hydrostone section of Halifax.  *

* * * * 

Spending time with my great Aunt Anna Bella and learning about my heritage is like getting some pieces to a larger family history. Thanks to family members from both countries, Canada and the United States, I’m getting more of the missing pieces and they’re starting to fit together. 

I’d appreciate your prayers and support as I spend time each day working on writing my great Aunt Anna Bella’s memoir.  My hope is to portray her 103 years of living a “fully engaged” life as authentically as possible and to have it completed in time for the 100th anniversary of the Halifax Explosion.**  

[*Note: As more information came to light from additional audio recording transcripts of my great Aunt Anna Bella Landry Bradley, it appears that her father was on the scene not long after she was rescued and before they went to the Monastery of the Good Shepherd after their home was destroyed. 

**Note: The scope of my great aunt's life, additional research and interviews, plus relocating have altered my plans.  I've changed the focus of this book to the Halifax Explosion and the family's experience.  The book is progressing with plans to publish in 2022.  Thinking of  My Grands - Passing It On. ]

Gibson Girls of Cape Breton - Which one was injured? – Halifax Explosion

Photo by timkraaijvanger 

As I’ve work on my family’s memoir, A Picture on the Wall, there have been many unanswered questions like this one, “Which of the Gibson’s girls, Mary or Vernetta, were injured in the Halifax Explosion?"  If after reading about them below, you think you know or have an idea of  how I might find out, I’d appreciate your sharing either in Comments below or on Facebook.

In a conversation with my great Aunt Anna Bella Landry, she told me about her home at 38 Union Street and mentioned the people in the house at the time of the explosion. Not everyone survived, but “… the other woman with two children, they come from the second floor down to the basement and they got out.” Thanks to the help of family members and research, I’ve discovered that the woman and two children were Alice (Robertson) Gibson and her two daughters, Mary and Vernetta.

At 38 Union, the Gibson family - Joseph, Alice, Mary (about age 3) and Venetta (0-1) had recently moved in and lived upstairs across the hall from Daniel Landry and his pregnant wife Annie (Adams) Landry and their 18-month old son Clarence. Daniel’s father and siblings lived downstairs.

On the morning of December 6, 1917, Daniel Landry’s sister, 14-year-old Anna Bella Landry was at home on the first floor, doing household chores.

This was the morning of the Halifax Explosion.  To get perspective, I’ve interviewed family members and done extensive research. From this, it seems likely that after the two ships collided and the Mont Blanc caught fire and drifted into Pier 6 and about the time that barrels of Benzol heated up then exploded like rockets into the air, Alice probably looked out the window and thought the ship was about to blow up.  She better get herself and the girls out.  Alice then would have grabbed her two girls, brought them into the hallway then knocked on Annie’s door urging her to get Clarence and head out, because they were in danger.   Annie chose to stay and pray instead of leave.

This time of the morning was probably Annie’s usual prayer time and the possibility she could have seen the initial collision and a smaller fire,  she might have figured the fire would be out shortly like usual. 

Alice then took her girls and headed down the stairs as the Mont Blanc exploded.

The force of the blast shot Anna Bella’s limp body out of one side of the house then buried it under shattered pieces of their destroyed home mixed with fragments from the ship. The other side of the house imploded forcing everything within it downward.  In an instant - Annie, the child within her, and son Clarence were under debris in the basement not far from an overturned coal stove.  Somehow Alice and her girls wound up in a space below the foundation where she was able to get the girls out, but one of the girls was bleeding, she was badly cut about the head with shards of glass sticking out around it.

Sadly, Annie, her unborn child, and Clarence didn’t make it out.  (From Dispair to Hope)

Rescue workers were able to dig Anna Bella out.  Though injured, she’d live into her 100’s. (A Picture on the Wall)

After a short stay at Camp Hill Military Hospital, Alice Gibson and the girls went to live with her parents in River Bourgeois, Cape Breton.  Not long after, Joseph would join them.

According to medical records, the girl who was injured had four-inch and two-inch cuts around her head that had become infected and she would be scarred for life. Though there are several references in Halifax Relief Commission HRC#1960, the girl’s name was never mentioned.

If you know which girl was injured, or know a way of finding out, I'd appreciate your comments either here or on Facebook.

Genealogy information below:

Alice Robertson was born in 1894 in River Bourgeois, Cape Breton, Canada. Her parents were Andrew and Mary (Thibeau) Robertson.
Joseph Gibson was born about 1888 in Amherst, Nova Scotia to Thomas and Marie Anne (Thibeau) Gibson.
Joseph Gibson and Alice Robertson were married on 14 Feb 1914.
Around 1915 their daughter Mary Gibson was born.
Around 1917 their daughter Vernetta Gibson was born.

(Note: I’ve been unable to find Mary or Vernetta Gibson’s birth records and am using the 1921 Census to estimate their ages.) It might be helpful to know when they were born? 

Correction sense blog was posted: Joseph Gibson was born about 1888 in Amherst, Nova Scotia not in 1890 in Amherst, England - to Thomas and Marie Anne (Thibeau) Gibson.

A Father's Love - Halifax Explosion

This year’s December 1st lighting of the Tree for Boston on the Common marks the 99th Anniversary of the Halifax Explosion.   I am eternally grateful for all the aid given by the Canadians, Americans, and other countries.  For without this life giving generosity many more would have died.  Thank you for the gift of family.

What follows is a short remembrance based on my great grandfather Michael Landry's experience.

9:00am
December 6, 1917
Halifax, Nova Scotia

It’s a warm beautiful sunny day in December.

Sixty one year old, widowed dad, Michael is at his job at the Round House about a half mile from home.

He’s walking toward a rust colored freight car parked next to an outbuilding.  His job is to clean the car. Michael walks between the building and the car, unlatches and slides open the door, then climbs in to assess what needs to be done.  Before he can open the door on the other side, he feels the ground rumbling.  As its force increases, he’s knocked off his feet.  The large metal box shakes violently.  There’s a deafening sound reverberating within its walls as Michael’s body is jostled about.  Abruptly it stops.  Silence.  

Shops C.G.R. adjacent to the Round House – Photo #36
(Halifax Relief Commission Photos – Mass. State library)

Lying on the floor, Michael lifts his head and turns toward the door.  The air feels heavy and it’s dark outside. Getting up, he makes his way to the door and climbs down.  As he rounds the car, he sees a debris field containing a mixture of splintered wood, glass fragments, and shattered equipment.   There’s a huge dark cloud hovering over the harbor.

My family, he thinks as he stumbles through the debris and heads toward home.    

Oh, God, my family, my two girls.  He starts running out of the yard.

C.G.R. Round House – Photo #41
(Halifax Relief Commission Photos – Mass. State library)

As he's running, he thinks about his two girls and how he'd hugged them before he left for work. 

He thinks about his older daughter, fourteen year old Anna Bella at home doing the household chores; something she's done since her mother's death in January.  Elizabeth, age eleven, is at school.

He continues to run. The usual landmarks are missing.   Somehow his internal compass takes over as he makes his way down what was Young Street to look for Elizabeth.  The time it takes him to reach St. Joseph’s School feels like an eternity. The closer he gets the worse it looks. Houses are in various stages of demolition.   

As he approaches the parishes block, he sees there’s no roof on the church and the walls are barely standing.   The school is a windowless bulged-out mess.  A set of stairs has collapsed, so he moves around the building to discover a few children and a couple nuns covered in blood with soldiers assisting them.  

"Has anyone seen Elizabeth Landry?" he asks.  

“She’s not here,” said Sister Cecilia.

Burnt District – Photo #16

(Halifax Relief Commission Photos – Mass. State library)

Michael heads down the hill.  He smells the burning ruins and flesh.  Human carnage is strewn about the ground with cries of anguish coming from under the wreckage.  Soldiers and civilians are pulling people from the rubble.   Fireman using their equipment are doing their best to keep the fires at bay, but there aren’t enough of them.  

He fears that Anna Bella may have perished. It appears that the area where the house stood is now totally burned. 

In front of  him, the injured are being loaded onto horse drawn carts and motor powered vehicles. Running from one to the other he checks for his two girls. It is hard to find them since most everyone is unrecognizable. He continues his frantic search.

  

Then he hears, "Papa, we're over here!" 

He turns to see two girls, seated and holding each others hands, on the back of a buckboard. One has a swollen face and is covered with blood and dirt.  The other is covered with plaster dust.  

"Anna Bella, Elizabeth!"

"Yes, Papa, it's us," says Elizabeth.

Michael moves to them and wraps them in his arms

----------------------
To read more about the family during the explosion at "A Picture on the Wall."

Permission granted for photos used in this blog:  Folder #17 Photos 1-79, MS Coll. 90 Massachusetts-Halifax Relief Committee Records. State Library of Massachusetts Special Collections.

The Armouries, a Great Uncle, and the Halifax Explosion

The Armouries, Halifax, Nova Scotia
Notman Studio Collection - 1899

Architecture has always intrigued me and a two-foot thick walled structure resembling a medieval castle, called the Armouries, is no exception. Its imposing presence towers above the North Commons in Halifax, Nova Scotia.  Magnificent turrets adorn its rough red exterior.  Inside is a large room in which troops assemble and spectators can watch from a walkway above.  Currently, the Armouries is undergoing repairs and renovations; some of which occurred during the Halifax Explosion.

On the morning of December 6, 1917, a collision between two ships in the harbor had leveled the sections of Halifax and Dartmouth closest to the blast. South of the main blast, the Armouries sustained minor damage to its roof and western wall, but its structure remained strong. This structure and the military men who slept in its barracks on its grounds were about to help in the relief effort.

As these military men and other rescue workers made their way through the city, extricating people from the ruins, smoke was rising from the munitions shed at Wellington Barracks, located on the edge of the devastated area. Shouts could be heard to head for higher ground.  Thousands fled to the North Commons: some on foot and others in various modes of transport from wheel barrows to horse drawn carts to automobiles.  The area on the North Commons between the Armouries and the long barracks, several feet away, were soon jammed with hundreds of bloodied people who were barely clothed. Among them was my great Uncle Abraham (Abe) Landry who was 18 years old.

Like many on the Commons that day, Uncle Abe had been injured by flying glass and debris when the ship exploded.  His left side caught the worst of it since it was facing the window when the blast occurred. After arriving at the Commons, a medical person removed the larger shards of glass but left the smaller ones. Then, without anesthetic, 15 stitches were used to close the big gouge in his arm.  Once this was completed, it was on to the next casualty.

Uncle Abe, along with others on the Commons, would be given shelter at the barracks of the Armouries where they received a blanket and some warm broth.  He and others could be found thanks to the record keeping of military personnel who placed the names of those being sheltered on the doors where they were located. Along with the barracks housing the homeless, the Armouries would become a food depot.

Note:  To see the Armouries' barracks click on the link: https://www.flickr.com/photos/rdb466/8272877877/in/photolist-dTXBjn-dU4f4G-dB3Ent-99oDRQ-ng9BnK/ Thank you, Ross Dunn for putting this photo on flickr!

I would love to be able to see the front of the barracks, also known as hutments. If you've seen them online or have a picture of it, could you share it with me?

Other sources:

The Halifax Explosion December 6, 1917, Graham Metson - includes The Halifax Disaster by Archibald MacMechan

Archibald MacMechan - Halifax Disaster Record Office Materials

What's in Your Family's History?

What’s in your family’s history?  Maybe there’s someone born during the depression or a survivor of war? An artist or photographer? The list is endless…

During this time of social distancing and our use of Facetime, ZOOM, and Skype, now might be a good time to get to know an older relative and uncover your family's history.  When you've visited them in the past, was there an item in their house that caught your eye and appeared to have historical significance? It could be an old photograph on the wall, an antique chest at the end of a bed, a medal, etc. Ask your relative to tell you about the item.

Cal Shook and Anna Bella (Landry) Bradley

My great Aunt Anna Bella Landry Bradley had a large Sepia toned picture that hung above her bed. I asked her about it.  The answer, "It's the only thing that survived the explosion."  That explosion was one I hadn't heard about until that day, the Halifax Explosion.  That one conversation, led to more stories. At first I took notes about them then realized I wasn't getting everything, so she gave me permission to audio tape our conversations.  I wished it had been easier to do video recordings back then like it is now. It was around 1995 when Aunt Anna Bella started sharing about this event. 

ZOOM, Facetime, and Skype, allow you to video record your time together. It can be beneficial to  write down some questions ahead of time to fuel discussion during your time together. This is a simple way to help your loved one(s) leave a legacy and keep their stories alive for generations to come. If a family member is hesitant, assure them that they can view the final video, before you show it to anyone else, and that you’ll edit out anything they’d rather not include. This could be a time, not only to get to know a family member, but to uncover parts of your family's past, as well.

My visits with my great Aunt Anna Bella, along with other relatives, have given me enough information for a family memoir.  Who knows what spending time with your relatives might uncover?

The memoir that I'm working on is called, "A Picture on the Wall."  My editor and I are meeting weekly as I work through the chapters, with plans to have a full draft by the end of the year.  Our goal is to  publish in 2022.  I'm not a professional writer, but am hoping to create a memoir that authentically portrays my great Aunt Anna Bella and my Grandpa Joe's family, showing their triumph over the tragedy, after the the tragedy they survived, on December 6, 1917, the day of the Halifax Explosion.  

There's no time like the present to preserve our family's heritage?  It could give us new insight on the people that came before us.

Two-Thirds of the Way Through 1st Draft of "A Picture on the Wall" - Halifax Explosion Memoir

Photo Halifax Harbour - Cal Shook

This month marks the completion of about two-thirds of the first draft for “A Picture on the Wall,” a Landry family memoir about the Halifax Explosion.   My paternal grandfather Joseph's family.

Earlier this week, I emailed my editor, a section about three family members who witnessed the aftermath of the collision between the Imo and the Mont Blanc.  The three witnesses would bring this family narrative right up to the explosion.  For two of the witnesses, split second decisions would forever change each of their family's lives. 

When I entered my editor Sylvia Clark’s home, a couple days later,  she greeted me with, “This is your best piece yet.  It left me wanting more.” 

With the revisions that need to be made and the continual striving to write something worth reading, I realize that I have a way to go before I come close to the captivating words of a J.K. Rowling or a Stephen King.  My hope and prayer is to leave a lasting legacy. 

Halifax Explosion Stories – Halifax Relief Commission Records

Joseph Landry - born 1889

Over 2,000 people died as a result of the Halifax Explosion, and it left 9,000 injured and 25,000 homeless.  

Having grown up in the United States, I had not heard of the Halifax Explosion and no idea that members of my Grandpa Joe's family had lived through this event.  I'm determined that the generation, coming after me, will have a written account of their experiences. As I work on this project, the Halifax Relief Commission (HRC) claim records are one of my favorite resources, giving me a better understanding of what my relatives lived through - before, during and after the Halifax Explosion.

Looking at the HRC claim records I’ve discovered how few possessions, most of my grandfather’s family owned before the explosion.  Each family member might have two pairs of  a certain item of clothing, like a shirt and pants, or skirt.  Maybe one to wear and one to wash.  Household items listed were handwritten and wouldn't fit a letter sized sheet of paper.   

Other information found in the records:

Their ages and education, with some unable to read or write;

Though most of the family survived, we lost four;

If they were working, where they worked before and after the explosion, with one person being in and out of a job because he was needed at home.

Many of the records contained the remark "home destroyed and family scattered."
They were scattered because those who weren't injured needed to find shelter near their places of employment - while other's who were wounded were taken to different hospitals throughout the city; 

One family member, having lost her husband, came down with Tuberculosis and struggled with the decision of whether to leave her children in order to get treatment at the hospital.  She just couldn't leave her children.  Another family member, having lost his wife and children, was in shock and it was affecting his ability to work. 

When housing standards were substandard, the HRC made efforts to relocate.  It would take close to 3 years before they were in permanent housing. 

Out of the families that I'm writing about, only one was able to stay in their home because it was in the southern part of town and the damage wasn't that extensive. This family's HRC claim record was about a paragraph, yet others were from about 13 pages to about 50 pages. I've used information, found in the HRC records, to write previous blogs, along with the chapters that I'm working on for the family memoir I'm writing called, A Picture on the wall.

Two notable books were written using information they found in the HRC records as one of their sources. The first book was written by a woman named Janet Kitz, who having helped organize and catalogue Halifax Relief Commission records, desired that they be more than a number or name, that their stories be brought to life. Kitz's, wrote many books, starting with Shattered City. The second book was written by James Mahar and Rowena Mahar, about their family line and it's titled, Too Many To Mourn. Its about the Jackson family who suffered, what appears to be, the greatest loss of life, with sixty-six of its members living in the section of town closest to the blast: forty-six were killed, nineteen were injured and brought to hospital and only one escaped harm. 

If you’re looking for information whether you have little to none, or just want to expand what you’ve been told about your relative, the HRC claim records might be a good place to start. These records can be found at the Nova Scotia Archives.  Because of the Covid-19 pandemic, you can access the files by making an appointment to visit the archives.  My hope is that some day these files will be accessible online.  May you be inspired to bring the massive amount of statistics regarding the dead, the injured, and the homeless, associated with this disaster, to life, one family at a time. How about your family? 

Uncle Jimmy Landry – Played Hooky – Halifax, Nova Scotia

My great Aunt Anna Bella Landry Bradley has left me with many stories about her family’s life in Halifax, Nova Scotia.  What follows is one of them, a story about her bother and my great Uncle Jimmy and his sometimes mischievous nature. It starts with a quote from Aunt Anna Bella and then my account using additional information that she and others have given me.

Photo by Paul Brennan at Pixabay.com

 “I remember when we were in school and Jimmy use to like to get out of school once in a while; play hooky on school. Well we had truant officers in them days you know, came to the house…  And this truant officer came to my mother and he was giving it to my mother… We all lived in the same place, the same house, up and down.  Dan come out and said you don’t do nothing to my mother. You get the hell away from here… and don’t come back here, he said. Then the guy took off. See that’s how protective Dan was of my mother.   My brother Dan, your Uncle Dan, Yeah… But don’t you dare come back here, Dan said. He took off. “ – Anna Bella Landry Bradley*

The truant officer and youngest son Jimmy were walking up to the Landry’s home at 38 Union Street. This isn’t the first time he’d found Jimmy out of school and he was furious as they made their way to the front door. Jimmy is slightly behind him staring down at the ground as the officer repeatedly bangs hard, with his fist, on the front door. A few seconds later, mother Charlotte answers the door.  As the officer yells at her about her parenting skills, she backs up.  A door can be heard opening on the floor above her.  Charlotte’s second eldest son, Dan, having heard the man’s verbal assault on his mom, rushes down the stairs. The truant officer looks up in horror as he sees this enraged muscular build man making his way down the stairs. Dan’s yelling, “You get the hell away from here and don’t come back here.”  The officer takes off down the street.

Moments later, after their mom and brother got over the shock, Jimmy would have been punished. She was strict.  Even though he disliked school, Jimmy made it to tenth grade, which was the furthest of any of his siblings; not bad for the early 1900’s.

 Did you like school? How about play hooky?

For more stories about Aunt Anna Bella Landry Bradley and her family, check out the following links:  From Despair to Hope;  The Armouries, a Great Uncle, and the Halifax Explosion;   A Father's Love;   A Picture on the Wall;

*The quote has been edited slightly in grammar and tense to its help flow.

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

Home Destroyed, Family Scattered - Halifax Explosion

Monarch by Cal Shook

The phrase “Home Destroyed, Family Scattered” was used by a Halifax Relief Commission worker to describe my great Grandpa Joe’s family.  This phrase resonates as I go through records in an effort to discover where family members, tenants, and others were located after the Halifax Explosion on December 6, 1917. 

Many residents of Halifax and Dartmouth frantically searched for loved ones, only to discover that their homes were leveled and, in many cases, consumed by fire.  It would take my Grandfather and his family a minimum of four temporary shelters and two and a half years before they would have a place to call home.

Thanks to the generosity of some newspapers, individuals could pick up a paper for free and look for  information about a relative or friend that they hadn’t been able to find. This material and that of the Nova Scotia Archives virtual collection, featured in last month’s blog, plus previous trips to the Archives with the aid of family members, have helped me to gain insight into their many losses and their efforts to build a new life.

Even with this extensive research, there are some missing pieces as I continue to write a memoir about my Grandpa Joe's family, "A Picture on the Wall."  I’m hoping that there is a Halifax Relief Commission record for the Simon and Hilda (Burke) Myatt family who were living in Dartmouth at the time of the explosion. I’d like to include them in the narrative.

It appears that there might be some information missing from the HRC Case# 451 about great Grandfather Michael Landry’s family. What leads me to believe this, is that in their file there is a Leo Landry, a carpenter, who was lodging with a Mr. D. Sampson after the explosion due to a severe cut to the head.  Leo is not my Grandpa Joe's brother, since he died in the Battle of  Y-Pres in June of 1916. I believe the Leo, mentioned in this claim file, might be related to a Samuel Landry who lost a son Michael Landry as a result of the explosion.    According to the 1917- 1918 McAlpine Directory, there was a Leo Landry,  a carpenter  who was boarding at 36a Stanley. There’s a Samuel Landry (h=head) and Michael Landry (b=boarder) living at the same address.  If Samuel Landry filed with the HRC (Halifax Relief Commission), there could be some records related to my Grandpa Joe's family. 

If you have any information about the Simon and Hilda (Burke) Myatt family of  Dartmouth or of Simon, Michael, or Leo Landry who were living at 36a Stanley Street in Halifax at the time of the explosion, I'd appreciate your sharing it with me.

Update on the progress of “A Picture on the Wall"

CSS Acadia at Maritime Museum of Atlantic
-Photo by Cal Shook

To date there are 27 people, who end up in about 16 different locations just before the Mont Blanc explodes around 9:05am in Halifax Harbour.  Since I shared the Landry, Burke, and Myatt Family Chart in last month's blog, I’ve written about the three families who occupy 38 Union Street.  Just prior to the explosion, a young family, the Gibson’s move into the vacant upstairs apartment.  Brothers Joe (my grandfather) and Dan Landry, owners of the home, are thrilled that Joe Gibson wanted to rent the apartment..  On moving day, family members get excited as an accordion,a violin, and then the Gibson’s new piano are brought up the stairs.  Thoughts of foot stomping music bring a sense of joy, a welcome respite from reminders of war sitting in the harbor below.

The morning of the explosion brings chores for the Landry children on the first floor. The Landry family still grieves the loss of mother Charlotte who died in January and a brother Leo who died on the front lines the year before.  Youngest of the boys, Jimmy, does his best to cheer everyone with his fun loving antics.

This coming month, I’ll be finishing up 19 Stairs Street and will continue working my way through  other locations that I’ve started.  Well that’s all for now, better get back to writing.

Relationship

Background Photo Credit: www.pixabay.com

Are you yearning for closeness in a relationship? Are you willing to take steps toward intimacy?

It's in using the principles that follow that  I am currently writing a family memoir. By fostering a relationship with my great Aunt Anna Bella and paying attention to what she had to offer, I learned about the events that would shape her life and her "fully engaged" personality. For more on my great aunt click on this link
("A Picture on the Wall.")

The Principles

A relationship becomes stronger when we listen.  For a verbal processor it can be hard to keep from talking long enough to hear the person you’re with. Can you identify? I can.

“Commit” to being present. “Focus” on the person you are with.  “Listen” and “hear” all of what they are sharing.  It takes putting one’s own needs aside and shutting off the inner chatter of your mind. Hear their inner desires without judgment.
 
“Reflect” back to them by showing that you hear and understand. You can do this by saying something like: “It sounds like you mean ___” or “____ really seems painful for you.”  When someone feels heard they’ll “discover” what’s troubling them and be able to put it in perspective.

You’ll know you’re on the right track when their face and shoulders relax and their voice softens. They've reached an Ah-ha moment.  It's that moment when they've figured out what is at the core of their distress.  They begin to “heal”. Watch and hear them become “energized” as they share a “solution” that is uniquely their's.

Closeness abounds when a person feels that they are understood. Their gratitude is evident.

Relationship Recap

Commit 
to being present.

Focus
on the person you’re with.

Listen
carefully.

Hear
what is being said.

Reflect
back what you’ve heard, briefly.

Discovery
will happen if you let it.

Healing
begins.

Solution
found.

The more present we are in a relationship the closer we'll get.

If  you've found this post helpful, feel free to click "Share".  Also, I'd appreciate hearing what you think.

Resources:  The Zen of Listening by Rebecca Z. Shafir, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Steven Covey, and Listening Made Easy by Robert L. Montgomery

Thank you, Mother Seton!

As I work my way through a memoir about my Grandfather Joseph Landry's family and the Halifax Explosion, I've come across some interesting stories while doing research for the book, "A Picture on the Wall".  My great Aunt Anna Bella was one of my Grandfather Joe's younger sisters who shared many memories that have empowered me to move forward with the book. Below is a story that connects with her.

Photo Credit: https://scsh.org/about-us/history/founders/

Because of an Episcopalian turned Catholic, my great Aunt Anna Bella Landry was able to get an exceptional education - even though she only made it to sixth grade due to family circumstances.  Anna Bella had an ability to read, write, and express herself that appeared more advanced than a typical sixth grade education of her time. I credit her ability to the education that she received form the the Sisters of Charity.  The person responsible for the Sisters of Charity was Mother Seton who started the organization in the United States. Her organization would expand to start up several ministries in Halifax,  Nova Scotia.  One of these was St. Joseph's School where  my great aunt had attended.

Mother Seton was born Elizabeth Ann Bayley on August 28, 1774 in New York . Her father was a physician, Dr. Richard Bayley and her mother Catherine Charleton was the daughter of an Episcopalian minister. At the age of three her mother passed away.  Her father was gentle, kind, and loving and made sure that she got a thorough education and encouraged her to read from his extensive library.  She learned French and was brought up in a bilingual household. Elizabeth had a passion for education.

Elizabeth married William Magee Seton on Jan 25, 1794 at the age of nineteen.
In 1803 William died of consumption leaving her a single mom to their five children: Anna Maria age 8, William age 7, Richard age 5,  Catherine age 3, and  Rebecca age 1.

Because of kindness and support of friends she made while William was sick, the Filichini family,  she found comforted not only in their presence, but in the way they expressed their faith.  They were Catholic. They were there for her through William's illness and his passing.  The rituals they practiced seemed to resonate with her spiritually, so much so she decided to learn as much about their faith and desired to become Catholic.

Both families were very upset about her decision. They did their best to persuade her not to leave their church.  When this didn't work, they threatened to cut her off financially.  After joining the Catholic church, they shunned her.  Without their financial assistance, she left and looked for ways to support herself and her children. Though Antonio  Filicchis offered assistance, Elizabeth took as little assistance as possible, she wanted to make it on her own.

Elizabeth took her vows and became Sister Seton.  With her passion for serving the poor and providing education, especially for young girls, there came approval from the bishops.  Sister Seton soon became Mother Seton and established the Sisters of Charity. 

For more information:
"Mother Seton, mother of many daughters" by Charles White
"Life Story of Mother Seton" by Louise Malloy
"Full Biography of Elizabeth Ann Seton" 
"The sisters of Charity, Halifaxa' by Powers, Sister Maura
"The Sisters of Charity of Halifax - The Early and Middle Years" by Sister Marianna O'GALLAGHER, S.C.H.Quebec, P.Q.

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?"

Could this be Annie and Clarence Landry who died in the Halifax Explosion?

Hundreds of photos spread out in two homes, one in the United States and the other in Canada as cousins sift through memories of two brothers and their siblings, who survived the Halifax Explosion. The brothers are Joseph and Daniel Landry. The present meets the past, as younger versions of our grandfathers and their families lie in front of us. Images are photographed or scanned, then forwarded to each other with the hope that family members will be able to help us identify the people we don’t know.

Then this photo is discovered.. Could it be?

In an interview, a couple years ago, I had been told that Uncle Dan had a picture of  his wife Annie and their son Clarence who died in the Halifax Explosion?  Could this be them? 

How are your identification skills?  My cousin Linda Landry Horne and I would like to know what you think. Do you think this could be them? Why or why not?

The first picture below is the one we found that we think could be Annie and Clarence. 

The second is a copy of the "picture on the wall" that hung behind our great Aunt Anna Bella’s bed.  

Annie (Adams) Landry is in the back row - third from the right.

Thinking of my Grands– Passing It On

Photo by Tracy Soucy

My great Aunt Anna Bella Landry Bradley shared family stories with me.  Now it’s my turn to share her stories with my grand niece and nephew, Nora and Tommy.

Nora and Tommy, are young now, both being less than five years old.  They are in my thoughts with each word that I write about their Meme’s and my grandfather Joseph’s family.  Our great Aunt Anna Bella is one of his younger sisters. 

Many hours of transcribing my great aunt's and my visits, additional stories from my dad's and my generations, and research both in the United States and Canada are now coming together in a more coherent form.. As the words make their way onto the page its my desire to create a memoir that will captivate Nora and Tommy.  Hoping that it will be worthy of their passing it on to the next generation.  

The book is taking shape as I work to complete this draft by the end of the year with plans to self-publish later next year.

For a little about how this book came about and Aunt Anna Bella's Experience: A Picture on the Wall: the Halifax Explosion

Great Grandfather Michael Landry:  A Father's Love - Halifax Explosion

100th Anniversary of Halifax Explosion: 
A Walk in Fort Needham Memorial Park,
Hope and Survival Quilt

Hopeful 2021

DarkmoonArt_de - pixabay.com

For many of us this past year has been challenging, but with the start of a new year comes new possibilities. Maybe some of your dreams have been delayed.  Mine has, but I'm hopeful.

This past year started with optimism as my editor, Sylvia Clark and I worked towards completing the first draft of a memoir I’m writing about my Grandpa Joes’ family, before, during and after the Halifax Explosion.  

As the Coronavirus hit and spread earlier in 2020, there were massive shutdowns.  My technical ability was called into service as our church, Hope Ministries, went from meeting in person to online.  I became part of the Media Team.  It’s been hectic, but I feel more connected to our congregation now, more than ever.  Our church family has been supportive and appreciative during this time of physical isolation. 

Taking on new responsibilities left me with less time for writing and research.  My fear was losing valuable time to complete the book. Though progress was slow, I continued to write and do research when time permitted.  As 2020 was coming to close,  I wasn't able to fulfill my dream of completing first draft by its' end.   

With less assistance needed by our church, my writing time has increased exponentially.  This past month, Sylvia and I set up weekly accountability meetings and the pace has quickened.  Upon review of my writing, mixed in with the research, there are more new sections than I realized.  We're optimistic.  The book we're working on, “A Picture on the Wall” is coming to life, with plans to publish by 2022.

Has your dream or goal been delayed?  Do you see it as a possibility in 2021? 

May the new year bring you Hope, Health, Happiness, and many Blessings! 

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.