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To Mike Murray and Bob: I guess Bob coming in on discussion jogged my memory on this one. Right at the point where the MacKay bridge crosses the harbour at the narrows is just about where the Halifax Explosion occured. My grandfather talked with people that saw it happen. They told him that at time of explosion you could see the floor of the harbour from side to side. My grand parrents recall feeling the inpact from the explosion 60 miles away at Middle Musquodoboit. Of course it is quite well known interests in New England dispatched a train load of medical supplies, relief workers, doctors and nurses. A major snow storm set in and many of these New Englanders found themselves shoveling snow as the train actually got stuck in snow twice. I somehow can't imagion shoveling out a locomotive. That is why to this day the Province of Nova Scotia provides the City of Boston with a 75' Christmas tree and every year the Premier of NS goes to Boston for the lighting. A committee scouts the province every year and selects the tree mid summer, quite an honour for the land owner, to have a tree selected from his property. To this day there are some quite strong ties between Maritimers and New Englanders. In fact Maritimers in Mass. used to claim they elected John Kennedy. My grand father's sister used to kid him about not be able to get his favourite party elected in Nova Scotia, yet enough Nova Scotans immigrated to New England to elect a President. My recollection of my first trip to Halifax was when I about 5 years old right after the second world war. From where the MacKay bridge is to the head of Bedford Basin was so full of millitary ships you could walk from one side of Basin to the other in any direction on gang planks. Quite an impressive sight for a 5 year old as that Basin is 10 miles long and a mile wide.
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