On a quiet December morning in 1917, a Norwegian passenger ship was speeding through the Narrows, just outside Nova Scotia's Halifax Harbor, when it collided with a French freighter packed full of TNT, guncotton, and fuel. The resulting explosion flattened most of the harbor-facing district of Halifax, caused a tsunami and a fire, and killed or injured upwards of ten thousand people. On this episode, we're looking at the causes of the accident and explosion, the heroism of the railway workers and firefighters who averted even greater loss of life, the loss of the Mi'kmaq settlement of Turtle Grove and the Black community of Africville, the blizzard that nearly derailed early rescue efforts, and the almost-unimaginable damage to Dartmouth and Richmond neighborhoods. We're also taking a look at the incredible rescue effort put forth by Canadian and American healthcare workers and emergency services, and the story behind the legacy Christmas tree that Nova Scotia continues to send to Boston every holiday season.
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Sources for this episode include:
1917 Halifax Explosion and American Response by B. Beed
The Halifax Explosion: Surviving the Blast that Shook a Nation by J. Glasner
The Survivors: The Children of the Halifax Explosion by J. Kitz
Catastrophe and Social Change: Based upon a sociological study of the Halifax Disaster by S. Prince
The story of Turtle Grove by Ava Coulter, Isabel Ruitenbeek and Julia-Simone Rutgers
Tracking Dr. Lonecloud: Showman to Legend Keeper by Ruth Holmes Whitehead
