The Halifax Explosion and the Boston Christmas Tree

[@scottcunningham1135]

I am a Haligonian. My great grandmother and her sister were killed in the Halifax Explosion. They lived a few hundred feet from the narrows in the city's north end. My grand parents were children at the time but told me stories. Thank you for keeping history alive. Nobel work.

[@phasm42]

What a hero, that telegraph operator. Knew he was going to die if he stayed, but stayed nonetheless to save numerous lives aboard incoming trains.

[@shallendor]

1 life for a train full of lives, that is true heroism!

[@Claymore1944]

His name is Vince Coleman if you wanted to know

[@melissalutz9003]

@@Claymore1944 I remember the commercial made about him warning people. So moving

[@DBAllen]

Now that's the true mark of a professional.

[@DBAllen]

@@shallendor "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few or the one".

[@VSE4me1]

Doctors from Boston rushed to help, including pediatricians. Surgery on children was rudimentary due to problems administering anesthesia to such small and tender patients. With no alternatives, and a critical need for medical intervention, field surgical hospitals became ad hoc research centers to try various anesthesia methods on children. Advances discovered in the crucible of Halifax surgery gave doctors the knowledge to return to Boston and open the world famous Boston Children’s hospital.

[@ericsalidbar1693]

Sometimes great leaps in science and medicine happen from terrible and tragic history. After Germany lost the war the allied forces recruited and pardoned ss scientists and doctors to turn their torture and messed up experimentations on humans into the greater good for humanity. Its really messed up but it was life changing for our future.

[@markrook6085]

For those of us in the USA, Canada isn’t just an ally and a friend. Canada is family. And though we may not say it very often….we love you guys. 🇺🇸 🇨🇦 🇺🇸 🇨🇦 .

[@marckyle5895]

My best man is Canadian.

[@skybot9998]

❤ love you america.

[@167curly]

A wonderful example of international humanity.

[@DBAllen]

Same with the Kiwis and Aussies.

[@allanhill7179]

Maybe you can mention this to trump :)

[@maggiebee5261]

As a Canadian, this is a well-known and tragic part of our national story. My husband is a native of Boston, and we are currently in Halifax for Christmas with our kids (one of whom serves in the Canadian Navy and is intimately familiar with Halifax harbour), so this episode ties in nicely with our own family story as well. Merry Christmas to you and yours, THG!

[@In.Darkness]

In Canada 🇨🇦

[@tedjones3955]

Please thank him for his service! From one Canuck to another. Merry Christmas. All the best in the New Year. God bless America 🇺🇸thanks for your help. Always appreciated.

[@dellaboca9737]

Hope your baby is home for Christmas 🎄 Merry Xmas one military family to another ❤️and Happy Boxing day

[@anthonybanchero3072]

I’ve seen the heritage minute about the Railroad Dispatcher, Vince Coleman.

[@haggis525]

I love Halifax! I lived there for a time in the late 1980's into early 90's. The Maritime Museum there has an interesting collection of artifacts from that day in 1917... among much else, of course. I don't wish to seem picky but it's the Royal Canadian Navy. Established 1910.

[@richardbell7678]

My favorite small story from the Halifax Blast was how one of the sailors from the Mont Blanc saved a young Micmac mother and child. After failing to explain the danger to the woman for lack language skills, he grabbed the child out of her arms and ran off with it, over the a ridge to safety and the mother chased after him, becoming saved as well.

[@revedtrevors4961]

Good morning from Halifax NS! We live in a neighborhood that was devastated by the explosion and greatly aided by the folks in Boston.

[@In.Darkness]

Sask 🇨🇦

[@Luvacanuck]

Grandma passed in 2010 and had been 2yrs old, living down on the water that fateful day. She lost an eye and my Great Grandmother was burned badly, having been thrown away from the window onto the kitchen wood stove. Our whole family has always keep the anniversary front of mind. Thank you for a telling the story concisely and interestingly. It helps keep all those who went through the horror and the heros stay alive.

[@Luvacanuck]

Thank you Boston. Bless

[@dylanhuculak8458]

This is a very famous story to Canadians. I'm so happy that you are covering it. You are a great historian and narrator. Thank you.

[@verneblestien315]

Famous to us down in Boston also, Merry Christmas

[@dylanhuculak8458]

@@verneblestien315 Merry Christmas!

[@ajg617]

I live in NH and frequent Boston and had never heard the source of the tree.

[@melissalutz9003]

I’m a Halifax Native. As a child I remember learning about this and also the television commercials showing the reality of how it happened in the middle of an average day as people were going on with their every day lives.

[@kevinKronnack]

I come from Nova Scotia, we hear this story pretty much every year, but not going to lie it, always chokes me up with how much Boston bent over backwards for us. Thank you for telling our story.

[@fluxcapacitor007]

As a Nova Scotian this story is of particular importance to me. I have always hoped you would cover this story. I have been online with strangers from Boston and when I bring up the history and special relationship between my province and their city, they are often furious that this tale was never taught to them in school. They never knew where their Christmas tree came from every year and they had to hear it for the first time gaming online from a Nova Scotia stranger. They are always moved by the tale. I'm so glad you covered this amazing story. Your KZbin channel is one of the best things on the entire internet. Merry Christmas.

[@elizabethw]

I was born and raised in Massachusetts, only a few miles outside Boston, and I never knew anybody outside my family who knew this story. Whenever I told someone they had similar reaction to the ones you described. The only reason I know is because my great grandmother lived in Halifax, but she was super poor and it was too cold to go to school that day because she didn’t have any shoes. Her school was very close to the harbor and everyone who was at the school that day died. Then when she grew up she moved to Boston. So basically I only know because it’s a bit of family history as well as Canadian history.

[@elizabethw]

@@jennifermarlow. omg, that’s crazy. Small world I guess hahaha. All the best to you and your family!

[@ceceliamacintyre3085]

As a Haligonian, I grew up hearing all the stories of this disaster. Most were about the help from Boston. Everyone ran to their windows to watch the burning ships. Many of those who didn’t die, had facial cuts, especially to their eyes from the window blowing inward. I’ve read that doctors learned more about the eye from that explosion than ever before. Luckily, my father lived as a little boy in the south end of Hfx , about 1 1/2 mile from the flattened north end devastation. I always check out the Christmas tree that is sent to Boston each year. Because of this history, Boston is the only US city I have ever wanted to vacation. I was so happy to see that it is very much like home, but much bigger.

[@robirwin6149]

As Paul Harvey used to say, “And now you know, the rest of the story”. Thank You History Guy!

[@edwardparkhurst9804]

Yes I remember and listened to Paul all the time. Good job of the reminder of an icon of the past.

[@curtismcelhaney2512]

The history guy is totally on the same level sure miss Paul Harvey tho

[@edwardparkhurst9804]

@@curtismcelhaney2512 yeah you have a point there.

[@legoeasycompany]

My HS history teacher read to us a story from a book of Paul Harvey's stories every day for a year, Really weird that that saying has stuck since then.

[@callmecamo2]

I sure miss him..

[@robertdragoff6909]

I’m originally from the Boston area, a suburb called Newton. This story from 104 years ago makes me proud to be from Boston. That the commonwealth was already prepared for anything and set help by train was the right thing to do. As I said, I’m proud to be from Boston

[@alanbarnhill930]

As a resident of Halifax, the tree for Boston is still a big deal. Property owners are willing give up a prize tree on their front lawn to be the one going to Boston! My grandfather was an electrician at the dock yards, he missed his train the day before which saved his life. Halifax and Boston still have close connections, we have a lot of Red Sox fans! Thanks for remembering.

[@ScovaNotia]

I speak as a Haligonian and I am Nova Scotian born and raised. As always, your content and style of delivery is amazing! I live downtown and near the waterfront and a five minute walk to the harbour from my home. Indeed, the explosion happened just two kilometres away from where I live. As A boy, I remember my great (and possibly great great) aunts and uncles and other family elders sharing their memories about that day. The Halifax Explosion is taught in local schools and we do remember the horror and the kindness of others to this day. I want to thank you for your efforts making this video. History is worth our time. Live well and fully!

[@TheArtofKelso]

How did they come up with Haligonian instead of Halifaxian?

[@DarkpawTheWolf]

Thanks for posting this. Halifax and Boston are often considered "sister cities" now, as there are so many similarities between them.

[@forestfishburne7900]

“Goodwill toward Men.” A proper Christmas story. Thank you.

[@davea4245]

The City of Halifax is very hilly. This is what saved my granddad's young family, which included my mother being only 5 at the time of the explosion. Their home was behind a hill that block the view to the harbour. My father was born in Bergen, Norway at the turn of the century. In 1917 my father started his career in sailing, which had him as a captain by WW2. Well, to start sailing you need to ship out and he secured a steward position (steward is a path forward to become bridge crew) on board the SS Imo. Trivial facts ; the Imo did have a few of it's crew killed however most survived. The Mount Blanc's crew abandoned ship and made out for Dartmouth before she exploded. The damaged Imo was repaired and renamed. It did run aground on reefs in the Falkland Island in 1921, where she was abandoned. It was WW2 went the Germans invade Norway was went my father decided to move to Canada. My mom & father meet, they courted and got married.

[@jvincentpelrine4364]

Dave... my grandmother was also 5 years old at the time of the explosion and went to St Joseph's school in the north end (on Kaye Street). I'm curious if your grandmother went to the same school?

[@Grahameajohnson]

Funny that you mention your granddad's family being saved by a hill, as I just got finished posting a very similar story in reply to this video. I was saying that I wouldn't exist if my grandmother was on one side of a hill instead of the other during the explosion. She was a baby at the time, and the cover over her bassinet saved her from the secondary threat of blown-in windows. I thought that I'd never hear such a similar story! Cheers! P.S. Oddly enough, my grandmother went on to marry my gramps, who would later become the head steamship inspector for the east coast of Canada ('not too sure about the official title's name), and later even earned the Order of the British Empire by saving a ship that he was the head engineer aboard while traveling along the east coast of the US during WWII, so he had plenty of salt water in his blood by the end of his life - there's even a ship's engine model in the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic that he built.

[@In.Darkness]

In Canada 🇨🇦

[@jvincentpelrine4364]

@@Grahameajohnson Thanks for sharing. The more I read about the explosion the more similarities and overlaps I come across with other stories... It has been too long since I last visited the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic but I shall be sure to look for the engine model next time I'm there. Season's greetings. Cheers

[@alecjones4135]

I always thought the hill way caused by the explosion.

[@DerekBlair0X40]

As a Canadian I'm aware of the Halifax explosion and the help that Boston gave Halifax. What I wasn't aware Of was how much Boston gave. Now I understand the meaning of the Boston Christmas tree. Thank you for producing this video.

[@ch1pnd413]

I went to see the tree the other day on Boston Common! There’s a sign on the small picket fence around the tree that talks about the explosion; it’s a fascinating tradition!

[@Yogasefski]

Morning from Boston. My Great Grandfather went to Halifax as a doctor post explosion.According to family records, when he heard news of the explosion, he got the first train from Boston, to Halifax.

[@jvincentpelrine4364]

Good morning from Nova Scotia. My great grandmother may have been one of his patients. She was taken to the Bellevue temporary hospital set up by Boston. This building shows up in the video at 15:02 with the American flag hanging in front of it. Thank you for sharing and have a great Christmas. Cheers

[@extractedentertainment8213]

My great grandfather, Gowan Lomond, was the engineer aboard the SS Stella Maris the vessel that attempted to tow the Mont Blanc away.

[@gregparrott]

This is a very nice, and very DIFFERENT perspective on the Halifax explosion. Rather than focus on the ship and the resulting damage, this version focusses on the response it evoked from the U.S. even though past conflicts had not been fully reconciled at the time. This shows how calamity can sometimes evoke our 'better angels.'

[@assessor1276]

A wonderful story for this time of the year THG - thanks for the telling. As I Canadian, I salute our US friends and would only add the immortal words: “much more unites us, than divides us”.

[@ecouturehandmades5166]

My Dad's cousin (many generations removed) lived near Halifax and helped his father find a small boat and take bodies out of the water. He was eight years old. Still made him shudder years later.

[@GeoffreyGodshall]

My submarine pulled in there for a port call in '94. Absolutely loved it. The coniferous scent of the air and the hospitality will never be forgotten. Cheers to Bob and Doug, Red Green, Trailer Park Boys and of course Rush! Many more, but that's the gist.

[@andyharman3022]

Take off!

[@stanp9388]

The book "Barometer Rising" by Hugh MacLennan is centered on the Halifax explosion and is a story well known to Canadians.

[@jonstone2466]

As a Nova Scotian and Haligonian, thank you for doing such a great job telling this story. We often wonder if the story behind the Boston Christmas Tree is really known.

[@Niinsa62]

The Halifax explosion. Even I, here in Sweden, have heard of it. The largest man-made explosion ever. But I didn't know any details really. Thanks a lot for this video! Also, I'm really impressed by the speedy response of Boston! Part of what impressed me there was that when they got no response from Halifax after offering help, they knew that things were bad and they acted. Here in Sweden, after the Indian Ocean Boxing Day tsunami in 2004, when lots of Swedish holiday makers in Thailand went silent, the Swedish government did not act at all, except they sent out a junior embassy official from the Swedish embassy in Bangkok to check why no Swedish tourists on the Thailand west coast answered their phones. He had a gruesome time checking dead bodies in makeshift morgues for weeks after. The Bostonians, on the other hand, back in 1917, knew that if they aren't picking up the phone, things are bad, and they need help, and they need it quick! Good thinking! Go Boston!

[@colbeausabre8842]

They're an old saying in the armies of the world, "In the absence orders, march towards the sound of gunfire" That's what the Bostonians did when they heard about blast

[@funnyusername8635]

My family lived in Nova Scotia at the time. My grandmother and great grandmother were out in the front yard of their house and heard the explosion but had no way of knowing what it was for several hours. Once they knew of the emergency (later that same day, hearing by word of mouth), my great grandmother went to Halifax to help care for all the wounded people.

[@korbell1089]

Today there are numerous organizations dedicated to disaster relief and are prepared at a moments notice to spring into action but back then it was more rare. That makes it even more amazing that Gov. McCall had the forthright to make a plan to do just that and being able to get them there in only two days on an archaic rail line through a blizzard. It also show one of the things I have always been proud to be American about, whenever or wherever there is a disaster, we are prepared to help in anyway we can.

[@crankycanuck2066]

For more about the Boston relief effort, check out "Abraham Ratshesky", who was directed by Governor McCall to lead the relief effort

[@jvincentpelrine4364]

Excellent telling of the Halifax Explosion and the Boston tree. Our family has a direct connection to the assistance rendered by Boston in the wake of the destruction. At 5 years old my grandmother Laura was about 600 meters (6 football fields) from the blast. She was walking uphill away from the harbour towards school with her 7-year-old sister Marguerite. The blast knocked Laura down... she survived without a scratch... but her sister had been killed instantly… such was the random nature of the explosion. The family home had been flattened and the wreckage lit on fire by the kitchen stove. Laura’s 14 year old brother managed to pull his mother May out of the burning ruins. May had suffered burns and was eventually taken to the temporary American hospital set up in the Bellevue building (shown with the American flag in the video at 15:02). The explosion happened just after 9 am on December 6th, 1917… the train from Boston left for Halifax with doctors, nurses and supplies to set up a hospital that *same day*. Thus our continued appreciation to Boston for their immediate response in the wake of the disaster.

[@averyshaw2142]

Thank you for the football field distance conversion 😂

[@megelizabeth9492]

The speed they were able to mount a response is astounding. Apparently, they were already organizing relief efforts within an hour of first receiving the telegram.

[@josephstevens9888]

What a beautiful story in time for Christmas! Two cities, once adversaries with one coming to the aid to the other in response to a horrific explosion. It is such a testimony of gratitude that the people of Halifax haven't forgot the generosity of the people of Boston. God bless Canada, God bless America!

[@briantaylor9266]

I've been a Halifax resident for 40 years, and I can attest that The History Guy has not overstated the gratitude that we feel for the aid received from the people of Boston. The image at 0:57 is of Lunenburg, which is a famous fishing/boat building town south of Halifax. Well worth a visit is you're in the province - it really is as picturesque as the photo makes it appear. The schooner at the wharf is the Bluenose II, whose namesake Bluenose graces our dime.

[@buckodonnghaile4309]

Just be cautious around Cape Bretoners, they have a taste for hu man flesh.

[@dianapriester9032]

I visited Halifax this past summer and learned everything about this disaster. To view the narrows where it all happened was incredibly touching. You have a beautiful province and I would love to go back to explore it. I am from neighbouring Quebec.

[@K1ddkanuck]

@@buckodonnghaile4309 **Laughs in Maritimer**

[@cj_m2477]

My family hails from Lunenberg and I have a relative who was a deep water captain on the Bluenose. This story is especially touching for me as are the Maritimes.

[@GhostofGomezDawkins]

If it's a beautiful town, then keep it secret. You don't need loads of tourist polluting the shit out of an amazing town. It's sad to say that, but I'm protective of my small US Midwest towns still free from the flood of tourist and the lakes clean from the mass of drunk weekend partiers. Too many examples of what happens when a place becomes a vacation destination. Pessimistic outlook, sure, but I've watched Lake of the he Ozarks become a polluted drunk mess, pretty sad.

[@RiverRev]

Hi History Guy! I am in Halifax, visiting from Boston. I just rewatched this episode after visiting the Maritime Museum and seeing their exhibits. Thanks for making people aware of this story and propelling some of us to experience history.

[@larrybrennan1463]

My step-grandfather was sailing in convoys in WWI, and was in Halifax a week or so after the explosion. He said the devastation was amazing, like a giant hand had brushed over the city.

[@chrisj2848]

I have heard this story many times from the Canadian perspective, however I really appreciate the American side of the story. Thank you THG for your research and storytelling. Merry Christmas from Canada!

[@MultiKswift]

I remember feeling the same way when I saw a video about Canada's experience with 9/11.

[@donnyboon2896]

Excellent episode. Today it feels strange that we should ever have had an adversarial relationship with Canada. 🇺🇸🇨🇦

[@BobCampbelldev]

I was born & raised in Canada (been in the US for about 30 y now, citizenship in 2017) and it is odd to think of that. To be precise, Canada was still a colony of the British Empire, so the beef was with Great Britain, although Canada has (had?) a designation for those who fled the US rather than rebel against the throne - United Empire Loyalist. I think they received lands and some special recognition from the king, so it is pretty notable to see how that conflict was viewed a lot differently in Canada than the US. Can-Am forever! ✌🏽🇺🇸🇨🇦 🙂

[@Idahoguy10157]

That was then. Canada and the USA have been peaceful neighbors for over two hundred years

[@In.Darkness]

In Canada 🇨🇦

[@guywerry6614]

Well, it didn't help that the USA invaded Canada in 1812 - that got people a bit cranky ... so we burnt the White House down in retaliation.

[@bubblehed738]

I agree. I've been to Halifax five times in my former Navy submarine days. We found our Canadian Submarine brothers to be warm, welcoming and a hell of a lot of fun. One patrol, they even met us at the Dartmouth pier we pulled into with beer, BBQ and single women wanting to meet American sailors. Can't get any more friendly than that.

[@kevinvey9474]

This is what brought my mother mothers family here to Boston. Any stories that Nana told me of, ended with how nice a place it was before the blast. As a teenager in "71" Nana brought me to see the tree delivered. It was quiet on the way home. We had fin haddi that night and is still something I do this time of year. Halifax/Boston strong

[@wmsification]

The one Christmas story that stops me every time - a tale of real human tragedy, love and rememberance...

[@patriciafeehan7732]

Canada had our back on 9\11 all those airline flights they took in bound for U.S. Cities. We can never repay that kindness.

[@EdinburghFive]

Your President (Bush) did visit Halifax and thanked the people for their assistance to the thousands of people on the planes that diverted to the city.

[@Nick-Lab]

As a Canadian, I was touched by the selflessness of the people of Boston. We may be two countries but we are one people.

[@UrMomsChauffer]

I wish this type of humanity was more prevalent in the world today. This type of humanity is history that deserves to be remembered.

[@stantheman9072]

Of all the wonderful stories you’ve done highlighting forgotten history, this has got to be among the more famous events. Thanks for focusing on the Boston response to the disaster, which is not nearly so well known but actually more interesting than the terrible accident itself, except maybe among mavens of forensic analysis and chemistry.

[@Lanky41]

As someone who lives In Nova Scotia down In Digby I have family that goes back to the Explosion of 1917 I'd like to thank you for making this more known

[@knotbumper]

My 8th grade teacher was a member of the Sisters of Charity of Halifax. Sister Robert Clare was a postulate at the time of the explosion. Luckily the mother house was on one of the reverse slopes of the harbor. She told stories of all the Sisters helping to dig through the wreckage looking for survivors. It was a harrowing time for a young woman of 17. She could tell a fascinating story which enthralled her students.

[@ustuplay7782]

Barometer Rising by Hugh MacLennan is a great read with a description of the explosion and aftermath as its centerpiece.

[@frankgulla2335]

I can only add my compliments on a well-told story. Having visited Halifax, your story was most affecting.

[@loritalbot3063]

My grandparents survived the explosion , and we were raised on stories from the time. We learned before we were even old enough to go to school of the heroism and kindness of strangers from near and far and will always be grateful for it!

[@bmused55]

The speed of which the aid was sent is just astounding. You'd be hard pressed to beat that today. Too many self serving politicians in the way now, it'd take days to get them to agree to help.

[@Pilgrimdave1960]

I cannot express emphatically enough what an outstanding presenter you are. Well done, Sir. Well done.

[@bwktlcn]

Along the same vein...when Columbia, SC had lost all of their fire fighting equipment in Sherman’s March, the fire department appealed to NYC for any cast off equipment so the firemen could protect the citizens of Columbia. Rather than sending junk, the NYC fire department sent new equipment, uniforms and sent people to help rebuild the fire stations. The then mayor of Columbia promised to send help to NYC if any future catastrophe happened. In 2001, the While Knoll Middle School watched events unfolding in NYC, and saw video of the destroyed fire trucks. Someone remembered the promise, and a middle school in raised $500,000 to replace a pumper. They weren’t the only ones to send NYC equipment, but I always remembered that a school full of kids found a way to bring some good out of so much evil. Merry Christmas, THG

[@PrussianFrost]

This made me cry, the level of humanity and love is great

[@kyonkochan]

I've seen a fragment of the Montblanc ship from the Halifax explosion myself at the Canadian War Museum. It's hard to believe a tiny fragment has such a history to it sitting behind a glass case on display.

[@bigred9428]

Just the day before this, I was reading on Wikipedia about Christmas tree controversies, and it talked about "holiday" trees and how, in 2005, after hearing that Boston renamed their Christmas tree a "holiday" tree, the Nova Scotia farmer that grew it, stated that he would rather have put the tree in the wood chipper if he had known it was going to be dubbed a "holiday" tree, and I thought to myself, "Why is Boston getting a Christmas tree from Nova Scotia?" ...now I know. Thanks History Guy.

[@SocialistDistancing]

I've visited Halifax, and when you see how close that incident took place to shore, it's amazing that more people weren't killed. There's also a story of a the surviving dog of the captain of the supply ship. The captain died on the ship and the dog would not leave his side. Halifax is full of history. Visit there if you ever have the opportunity.

[@MLCrisis1790]

I was stationed on a Coast Guard cutter out of Boston when we pulled into Halifax for Christmas. What a great time that was! Awesome city and good people!

[@rodchallis8031]

Thank you, History Guy. This story never fails to move me, since the first time I read about it in school. The aid from Boston (I'm not choked up, *you're* choked up) in particular leaves me speechless. Forever thanks. These are the things that bind people. All that being said, Bostonians, Brad Marchand still sucks.

[@mortifinkenbein9559]

I knew of the explosion, but I hadn't heard about what happened after this catastropy. This truly is history that deserves to be remembered!

[@Redshift42]

As a native Haligonian, thanks for the video, and thanks for getting this story out. I'm rightly proud of this tradition.

[@buckodonnghaile4309]

As a man married to a fine girl from Cape Breton I've always wondered how they came up with Haligonian over say Halifaxian? Either way, love the place.

[@boathousejoed9005]

Was there a large Armenian community up nort?😁

[@patthesoundguy]

Great video, Hello from Halifax! I have worked in a building downtown near where the explosion happened and you can see how the building was put back together with very random pieces of rubble. It's often hard to look out at the harbor and not think about the explosion. I have the pleasure of working at a university that looks out over Bedford basin and the harbor. It's also very amazing if you get to see a view of the Boston tree heading out.

[@peterpelly5756]

A couple of interesting points. Nova Scotians submit photos of their trees for consideration to be sent to Boston each year. Also, pediatrics began do to the Halifax explosion. Many children and others were blinded while watching from windows.

[@Grahameajohnson]

Thank you for covering the happier side of this lesser-known yet significant event in North American history. I have a very personal connection to it, as I literally wouldn't exist if my grandmother wasn't on one side of a hill instead of the other in Halifax. As she was just on the other side of a hill between her and the explosion, she was protected by its shadow, and even though the windows in her house were blown-out, as a baby, the cover over her bassinet deflected the shards from their glass. Without the glass brought in by such selfless neighbours, I wonder if my grandmother would have survived a potential second wave of disaster in the form of a cruel winter. Cheers!

[@evensgrey]

How well known this event is depends on where you live. It's extremely well known in Canada. In part because of kzbin.info/www/bejne/qKiQd5Wtot-DgdE

[@Mark13tol]

The cooperation in this disaster is breathtakingly beautiful. It would be wonderful if people could act this way today without having any disaster to ignite good will.

[@IntrepidMilo]

As a kid growing up in Canada we learned about the Halifax explosion in school and from the CBC Heritage Minutes. Thank you for this amazing episode and bring this piece of history to light.

[@stephanM5]

The best history teacher on the net, right here on this channel.

[@poppedweasel]

Mark Felton is on this channel? Where?

[@halnywiatr]

The destruction of Halifax was the last thing hundreds of people ever saw as the largest mass blinding in Canadian history. It is estimated that the shock wave smashed through the city at 5,400 km/h. Shattered glass and flying debris took sight from more than 1,000 residents. One in 50 people in Halifax were blinded that day or suffered serious eye damage. Doctors and nurses removed or treated damaged eyes from hundreds of people in the two weeks after the deadly blast. Some 206 people lost one eye. Hundreds more were left with glass embedded in their eyes. Nova Scotia had long been a North American leader in care for people who are blind and so was strangely poised to deal with the mass blinding. The well-regarded Halifax School for the Blind had been operating since 1867. Troop ships returning maimed soldiers from Europe added to the count of Nova Scotians learning to live with blindness.

[@pathemeleski]

I'm ASTONISHED that you didn't mention the BLIND! Hundreds of people stood at their windows watching the fire. When the explosion happened, glass shattered into their faces and many people became permanently blind. The charities for the blind played a big part in this.

[@frankzeppelin]

Great video, and shout out to the channel Fascinating Horror that recently covered this as well. I'd never heard of this disaster even though I lived in Boston for several years. 12 hours is a fast response time for a city to get a grip on a local disaster, and it's astonishing to think they responded so quickly for another city. No bickering about who will pay for it or how much responsibility they have or even the fact that it's in a foreign country. Just straight to getting the job done.

[@nautifella]

My mother is a _Blue Nose_ from Cape Briton Island. This story is still remembered in my family's oral history. *_Merry Christmas to all_*

[@BlueBaron3339]

Half-way through I paused the video, shook my head, and said aloud, "Uh...merry Christmas?" Went back to the beginning, however, and found this a most inspiring story and one I really needed to hear. This was a period of almost unrelenting and previously unimaginable horror, punctuated by a pandemic that not only killed millions, but hit people entering the prime of their lives the hardest. The response to this immense tragedy cast aside all longstanding differences in a manner so unrestrained that it serves as a lesson for this moment in time most keenly. Thank you!

[@johnweaver4564]

May we learn that helping other people is always a good thing!

[@Tallness1000]

Oh almighty algorithm, for which we view, bless this Guy of History, educated he be, and bring him views, comments, and ad space. For he is the teacher of old, and pirates.

[@LymanPhillips]

Highly recommend Bacons book mentioned in the video. There are more stories then THG can mention. Proud Bostonian here, and a frequent visitor to Halifax. I can recommend the book and the lovely city.

[@carbidegrd1]

There is a long history of competition between Boston area fishermen and the Atlantic provinces, that included racing their boats annually. I believe both sides are still squabbling over a lobster fishing ground.

[@nickw7619]

What a great Christmas story. I truly hope that, God forbid, something like this happened again anywhere between the two countries, the same would happen and not be bogged down by politics. I mean sending $300k of supplies in 12 hours? Incredible. Not sure it could be done as quick today, let alone to another country

[@markbanash921]

Living in the Boston area, I make it a special trip to see the tree every year and remember.

[@alanmoffat4454]

THANK GOD FOR DECENT WORKING PEOPLE THE VERY BEST THAT YOU CAN DO IS HELP YOUR FELLOW MAN .

[@stamrly418]

The ingenuity of man to make items of destruction and the ability of people to care for fellow man. The extremes of both ends of of out natures shows fear and love in massive amounts.

[@stevedietrich8936]

Good Morning THG, most of us have been waiting for this particular episode. It should be an interesting one.

[@xcritic9671]

Rivalries can quickly turn to the strongest of bonds in times of adversity, this touched me deeply.

[@revade6698]

Excellent story in time for Christmas, History Guy. Just to let you know, the name of the city across the harbour from Halifax is "Dartmouth" not "Cambridge" (4:29). Between the devastating explosion, paralyzing blizzards, and Spanish Flu epidemic, the winter of 1917-18 in Halifax was, to say the least, one of the cruelest imaginable. Even so, the twelve happiest years of my life were spent in Halifax, where, as a much younger man, I met my wife. Haligonians were always - and still are - extremely grateful, happy, and proud to send the Christmas tree 🎄 to our friends in Boston every year. Merry Christmas, Lance! 🇨🇦🇺🇲

[@gmaclean1]

Caught that as well. I suspect it was a mix up where Boston has Cambridge as their neighbour.

[@revade6698]

@@gmaclean1 I think you're right. Given that The History Guy (Lance) gets so many things right, I think he can be forgiven this "minor faux pas". (Um, just don't go telling that to any proud Dartmouthians. 😉)

[@LadyintheGreenHat]

I was looking to see if anyone else pointed out this error that I noticed.

[@BankgeekOutdoors]

Yet another example of why I love this channel. Great storytelling on events I didn’t know about and now am not likely to forget.

[@mah6183]

My grandmother survived the explosion as a 5 year old in Halifax. My grandfather, a 9 year old farmboy in Pictou County some 150 km away said it felt like an earthquake there.

[@jodivandyk3649]

Canadians are very familiar with the Halifax Explosion. This was an interesting angle. Thanks for posting!

[@rehingley]

Thank you Lance. I am a former Haligonian and well aware both of the Halifax Explosion and of the Boston Christmas tree tradition. Dartmouth is the town (later city) on the other side of the harbour. There was a Cambridge Battery (Fort Cambridge) located in Point Pleasant Park guarding the harbour entrance. Started during the US Civil War it was deactivated in 1918. On a personal note my grandfather was a young man of 17 serving on HMCS Niobe, which was a depot ship at the time of the explosion.

[@deraldporter3828]

Another excellent read about this devastating story is "Curse of the Narrows" by Laura MacDonald. Great episode, thanks for your continuing effort to keep history relevant.

[@MrARock001]

The surest way to make a life-long friend is to help an adversary when they need it most.

[@ianburton5624]

Thank-you for the detailed account of this period in Halifax history. You recounted details that I hadn't heard before. I have lived in Halifax for 27 years now and it is not uncommon even today with half a million people in Halifax to run across people whose families were affected by the explosion. One question, you mentioned the town of Cambridge across the harbour from Halifax. Could you have meant Dartmouth? I'm not aware of any town there being known as Cambridge but Dartmouth was a small town at the time.

[@RussellTHouse]

This is one of the BEST stories ever told, and told so SKILLFULLY! Thank you, History Guy!

[@penumbraenigmatica3252]

🍁I sure am proud to be Canadian, with the best dang neighbours in the world just south of the 49th parallel...!! 🇨🇦🇺🇸

[@oldgundog4705]

In a way, this history hit home. Along with Revolutionary War patriots, my children are also decended from the Cronkite/Cronkhite family; loyalist transplants in Nova Scotia. Glad we are one family! Merry Christmas!

[@hickory572]

thats the country i grew up in and love so much. dont worry about your self help thy neighbors first

[@stitch626aloha]

Having seen a documentary on the Halifax Explosion, I knew only of the incident... not of the humanitarian aid after. Thank you History Guy.

[@f5debris]

This is sad and wonderful history. Good people will always care for everyone.

[@annegoodreau4925]

What a tremendous story of animosity turned to compassion. Thank you, History Guy.

[@alfamaize]

Great that you noted John Bacon's book- "The Great Halifax Explosion: A World War I Story of Treachery, Tragedy, and Extraordinary Heroism" as it was a good read and I learned a lot. Travelling Canada over the past few years put the story into really good perspective, as having Canada and the US allies was a pretty big deal (Canada worried that the Union would invade during the Civil War, even).

[@euansmith3699]

There were, apparently, repeated raids across the Canadian Border during the American Civil War; so, I guess that the Canadians had a right to feel suspicious of their neighbours.

[@TheSteveRobinson]

@@euansmith3699 Those were the Fenian Raids... basically, they were trying to establish a "New Ireland" in what's now New Brunswick. Ex- Civil War soldiers, primarily Union veterans of Irish descent, including large numbers who had immigrated to the US shortly before the war broke out. They did raid New Brunswick in 1867, I think?

[@baroose67]

@@TheSteveRobinson The US Army was in no shape to stop the Fenians but the US Navy stop a shipment of repeater rifles headed for the Fenians in Washington County. Canada didn't fear the US but they had course to fear the Fenians who were hell bent on taking NB hostage and trading it to Great Britain for Ireland.

[@crankycanuck2066]

Bacon's book is excellent

[@rodcleaves9904]

A few years ago I saw the tree at a rest stop on the Maine Turnpike. I didn't know the story but the truck driver filled me in and took my picture in front of the tree.