Springhill, 1958

 

The 1950s was a great decade — but not for those living in the coal-mining town of Springhill, Nova Scotia. In 1956, a mine explosion killed 39 men … and in 1958, 75 more perished when the floor of the mine shaft, deep underground, suddenly shot upwards, crushing scores of men. 

I was 8 years old and in grade 4 when the ’58 ‘bump’ happened. I remember it all as if it happened yesterday.

As a kid growing up in Campbellton, New Brunswick, I was drawn to reports of the tragedy on the local radio station, CKNB. Mind you, radio was king in the fifties. Back then, very few families had a television set … but everyone had a radio.

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Back then, coal was also king. It kept homes warm on cold winter nights, fuelled power plants and kept ships and locomotives running. Coal drove industry in the first part of the 20th century.

In the fall of 1958, I was spellbound by the massive news coverage of the mine disaster. That was partly because Springhill was only five hours drive away — and we had a small coal bin in the basement of our home at 90 Duncan Street. Plus, I was interested in news that was dramatic.

I was also worried about the fate of more than a dozen miners [whom mine officials feared were dead] entombed about a mile underground. Imagine that. A mile underground. It scared the living daylights out of me to think that someone could be trapped so far down in complete darkness with little food or water … and little or no hope of getting out alive. I still cringe when I think about it.

But then came breaking news! About a week after the bump, a group of trapped miners were discovered alive, then a few more. Given how the men were thought to be goners, their rescue was often described as a miracle, and I guess it was.

What struck me about one of the last miners pulled to safety was the man’s first name — which I spotted on the front page of the  Saint John [NB] Telegraph Journal. He had my name: BYRON! I knew of only one other Byron, and so I never forgot the miner’s full name: Byron Martin. Martin became one of my heroes, although he never knew it.

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LET’S JUMP AHEAD TO THE EARLY 1990s …

More than three decades later, while on vacation in the Maritimes, I finally made it around to Springhill. My wife Alice wanted to check out the Anne Murray Centre, but my focus was the Miner’s Museum. And there under a glass showcase, I spotted the same Telegraph article that listed Martin as one of the survivors.

I asked a Museum guide if Byron Martin was still alive. “Who?” he queried. “Byron Martin,” I said. ” “Oh, you mean Barney  … Byron’s the name they used in the newspapers.” [Translation: Barney was his nickname.]

“Barney is still around,” informed the guide … “in fact, he’s in a retirement home in town.” I was given an address, and so I got around and buzzed Martin’s unit. A voice came over the intercom: “Who is it?” “You have a visitor,” I said. “I’m not expecting any visitors,” Martin shot back. I paused, then said, “Barney … OPEN UP!” Buzzzzzz. The door unlocked and in we went.

There stood the long-retired miner in the hallway, hands firmly planted on his hips, wearing shorts and a t-shirt and looking somewhat bewildered. Remember, the man wasn’t expecting visitors.

“So you’re Byron,” I told him. “Yes, sir.” “My name is Byron, too,” I replied with a handshake. And with that revelation, a huge smile broke over his face. “Your name is Byron?!”

Over a cup of tea, we discussed our memories from 1958. Barney shared how his wife, Marion, was home, in the kitchen when a mining company car pulled up. There was a gentle knock at the door. She opened the door fearing the worst. Her visitor smiled and promptly announced that her husband was alive and they were getting him out. And so ended her 9 long days of dread.

Barney also recalled that before they brought him to the surface and put him on a stretcher, they placed a blindfold over his eyes. That’s because he’d been in total darkness for over a week.

Martin was also injured in the 1956 explosion which almost ripped his ear off. Thanks to Doctor James Carson Murray, his ear was re-attached. The good doctor was the father of Anne Murray.

I informed Barney that I was a news reporter on a criminal justice beat with CBC Radio in Edmonton. He was proud to share, with a grin, that his son was a warden at the federal penitentiary in Springhill.

For a number of years, Byron Martin and I exchanged Christmas cards. The cards stopped and for me, life moved on. But not for Mr. Martin. He passed away in 2006.

Byron ‘Barney’ Martin is buried in St; George’s Anglican Cemetery in nearby Parrsboro.

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A RETURN VISIT

I returned to Springhill in early October 2023. While searching a town map for the Miner’s Museum, I noticed a graveyard at the end of town, and so I went there instead.

The cemetery was massive. My initial thought: small town, huge graveyard. 

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AN AERIAL VIEW OF THE CEMETERY

. [You may have to wait for it to download … the clip runs one minute]

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A BELATED THANKS TO THE MINERS

It’s been a long time coming, but a huge THANK YOU to all the miners from Springhill who put their lives on the line to provide coal. From 1880 until 1969, a total of 422 miners lost their lives at the Springhill mine. That’s not counting those who died early from black lung disease.

Wanna hear something strange? Not until I was 74 did I connect the Springhill miners with the coal in the basement of my childhood home. That’s three-quarters of a century! Guess I’m a slow learner.

Now that I’m older, I’ve become more reflective of the sacrifices workers endure so we can have more comfortable lives. I’m talking about oil and gas workers killed on the job, fishermen lost at sea, electricians and utility workers electrocuted, all the farmers who have killed and injured — even children who mine toxic material so we can enjoy vehicles powered by batteries … my Lord, the list is endless.

I can hardly wait to see what connections I make when I’m in my 80s.

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SHOUT OUTS …

A hat-tip to Ken Cuthbertson for his fine investigative work — a book on the great Springhill Mine Disaster called Blood on the Coal. Thanks also to the Springhill Record, the Chronicle-Herald, Halifax Mail-Star, Public Archives of Nova Scotia … and Bryne MacIntyre, a retired Dragerman [mine rescue worker]. He’s pictured below.

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AUTHOR

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Byron_Christopher