On October 23, 1958, a massive "bump"—similar to a small earthquake—collapsed No. 2 colliery of the Cumberland mines in Springhill, Nova Scotia, trapping 174 men 3900 metres underground. Rescuers acted immediately, with little hope there would be many survivors. Slowly they extracted men, alive and dead, from the ground. On the ninth day, they reached the last 7 to be found alive. Among them was Maurice Ruddick, a 46-year-old African Canadian, a slim man with a thin moustache who always pomaded his hair.
When the miners finished a shift, it took an hour to ride to the surface in the trolleys. Ruddick would sing during the trip, blues, jazz or popular songs of the day. Some of the miners joined him to sing "Dem Bones" or "Don't Be Cruel" or "Bye Bye Love." As they ascended from the pit, their baritones rumbled up ahead of them, audible to the company men who worked on the surface.
After the mineshaft caved in on them, the 7 men struggled to survive. Ruddick, despite a broken leg, helped his companions keep their spirits up by singing and leading them in song and prayer. He later described the experience in "Springhill Disaster," the song he wrote about the event.
Ruddick and the other "miracle miners" enjoyed public attention briefly after the disaster. For Ruddick, the only Black in the group, racism dimmed his moment in the spotlight. As you will learn in the accompanying Historica Minute Maurice Ruddick, survivors of the disaster were invited by Georgia's governor to vacation at a luxurious resort. Upon learning that Ruddick was Black, the governor said that Ruddick would have to be segregated. Ruddick agreed to the governor's terms so the other miners' vacation would not be ruined, but he and his family stayed in a trailer apart from his colleagues.
The 1958 mine collapse killed 74 men and ended Springhill's tenure as a large-scale mining town. The mines were sealed shortly after the Big Bump. Maurice Ruddick died in 1988, all but forgotten for his role during those 9 long days.
Check this out......Courtesy of MARK RUSHTON
http://books.google.com.mx/books?id=Yz8EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA49&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false
When the miners finished a shift, it took an hour to ride to the surface in the trolleys. Ruddick would sing during the trip, blues, jazz or popular songs of the day. Some of the miners joined him to sing "Dem Bones" or "Don't Be Cruel" or "Bye Bye Love." As they ascended from the pit, their baritones rumbled up ahead of them, audible to the company men who worked on the surface.
After the mineshaft caved in on them, the 7 men struggled to survive. Ruddick, despite a broken leg, helped his companions keep their spirits up by singing and leading them in song and prayer. He later described the experience in "Springhill Disaster," the song he wrote about the event.
Ruddick and the other "miracle miners" enjoyed public attention briefly after the disaster. For Ruddick, the only Black in the group, racism dimmed his moment in the spotlight. As you will learn in the accompanying Historica Minute Maurice Ruddick, survivors of the disaster were invited by Georgia's governor to vacation at a luxurious resort. Upon learning that Ruddick was Black, the governor said that Ruddick would have to be segregated. Ruddick agreed to the governor's terms so the other miners' vacation would not be ruined, but he and his family stayed in a trailer apart from his colleagues.
The 1958 mine collapse killed 74 men and ended Springhill's tenure as a large-scale mining town. The mines were sealed shortly after the Big Bump. Maurice Ruddick died in 1988, all but forgotten for his role during those 9 long days.
Check this out......Courtesy of MARK RUSHTON
http://books.google.com.mx/books?id=Yz8EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA49&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false
On October 23, 1958, a massive "bump"—similar to a small earthquake—collapsed No. 2 colliery of the Cumberland mines in Springhill, Nova Scotia, trapping 174 men 3900 metres underground. Rescuers acted immediately, with little hope there would be many survivors. Slowly they extracted men, alive and dead, from the ground. On the ninth day, they reached the last 7 to be found alive. Among them was Maurice Ruddick, a 46-year-old African Canadian, a slim man with a thin moustache who always pomaded his hair.
When the miners finished a shift, it took an hour to ride to the surface in the trolleys. Ruddick would sing during the trip, blues, jazz or popular songs of the day. Some of the miners joined him to sing "Dem Bones" or "Don't Be Cruel" or "Bye Bye Love." As they ascended from the pit, their baritones rumbled up ahead of them, audible to the company men who worked on the surface.
After the mineshaft caved in on them, the 7 men struggled to survive. Ruddick, despite a broken leg, helped his companions keep their spirits up by singing and leading them in song and prayer. He later described the experience in "Springhill Disaster," the song he wrote about the event.
Ruddick and the other "miracle miners" enjoyed public attention briefly after the disaster. For Ruddick, the only Black in the group, racism dimmed his moment in the spotlight. As you will learn in the accompanying Historica Minute Maurice Ruddick, survivors of the disaster were invited by Georgia's governor to vacation at a luxurious resort. Upon learning that Ruddick was Black, the governor said that Ruddick would have to be segregated. Ruddick agreed to the governor's terms so the other miners' vacation would not be ruined, but he and his family stayed in a trailer apart from his colleagues.
The 1958 mine collapse killed 74 men and ended Springhill's tenure as a large-scale mining town. The mines were sealed shortly after the Big Bump. Maurice Ruddick died in 1988, all but forgotten for his role during those 9 long days.
Check this out......Courtesy of MARK RUSHTON
http://books.google.com.mx/books?id=Yz8EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA49&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false
When the miners finished a shift, it took an hour to ride to the surface in the trolleys. Ruddick would sing during the trip, blues, jazz or popular songs of the day. Some of the miners joined him to sing "Dem Bones" or "Don't Be Cruel" or "Bye Bye Love." As they ascended from the pit, their baritones rumbled up ahead of them, audible to the company men who worked on the surface.
After the mineshaft caved in on them, the 7 men struggled to survive. Ruddick, despite a broken leg, helped his companions keep their spirits up by singing and leading them in song and prayer. He later described the experience in "Springhill Disaster," the song he wrote about the event.
Ruddick and the other "miracle miners" enjoyed public attention briefly after the disaster. For Ruddick, the only Black in the group, racism dimmed his moment in the spotlight. As you will learn in the accompanying Historica Minute Maurice Ruddick, survivors of the disaster were invited by Georgia's governor to vacation at a luxurious resort. Upon learning that Ruddick was Black, the governor said that Ruddick would have to be segregated. Ruddick agreed to the governor's terms so the other miners' vacation would not be ruined, but he and his family stayed in a trailer apart from his colleagues.
The 1958 mine collapse killed 74 men and ended Springhill's tenure as a large-scale mining town. The mines were sealed shortly after the Big Bump. Maurice Ruddick died in 1988, all but forgotten for his role during those 9 long days.
Check this out......Courtesy of MARK RUSHTON
http://books.google.com.mx/books?id=Yz8EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA49&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false
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