
- 304 pages
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
About this book
The riveting true story of one of Canada’s worst mining disasters, told in the voices of the men who survived it
Foreword by Anne Murray
They said it was the world’s deepest and most dangerous coal mine. That claim was probably correct. What is certain is that in October 1958, the Dominion Steel and Coal Corporation’s No. 2 colliery at Springhill, Nova Scotia, was a leading candidate for both those dubious distinctions. The mine was the proverbial “disaster waiting to happen.” And it did.
Springhill was the quintessential one-industry town. Its existence depended on coal, and in 1958 the market for that commodity was dying. And yet something far worse was to come. On the night of October 23, a “bump” in the mine—actually a small earthquake—shook the ground beneath the town. Seventy-five miners died and scores more were injured in what remains one of Canada’s worst underground disasters. The lives of the survivors were shattered, and Springhill would never be the same again.
In compelling detail, Ken Cuthbertson tells the stories of three of the miners and one of the doctors who cared for them following the disaster. This remarkable book is based on historical documents and interviews, as well as new interviews with the last of the surviving miners and their loved ones. It is a story of heroism, sacrifice and the indomitable strength of the human spirit.
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Information
Table of contents
- Cover
- Map
- Title Page
- Dedication
- Epigraph
- Contents
- Foreword by Anne Murray
- Introduction: A Disaster Waiting to Happen
- Chapter 1: Coal, Bloody Coal
- Chapter 2: The Black Gold of the Industrial Era
- Chapter 3: No Work, No Pay
- Chapter 4: Destined to Be Miner #872
- Chapter 5: The Singing Miner
- Chapter 6: The Good Doctor
- Chapter 7: Going to Work
- Chapter 8: A Harbinger of Things to Come
- Chapter 9: Nothing to Worry About
- Chapter 10: The Big One
- Chapter 11: An Upheaval, Not a Cave-In
- Chapter 12: Confusion Reigns
- Chapter 13: The Twelve
- Chapter 14: The Seven
- Chapter 15: To the Rescue
- Chapter 16: “No Dungeon So Dark and So Dim”
- Chapter 17: Out of Everything but Hope
- Chapter 18: “It’s for the Lord to Decide”
- Chapter 19: Fading Hopes
- Chapter 20: Tough Slugging
- Chapter 21: “No One Is Coming for Us . . .”
- Chapter 22: Sorrow, Anger, and Desperation
- Chapter 23: “The Miracle at Springhill”
- Chapter 24: “Last Man Out”
- Chapter 25: A Princely Visit
- Chapter 26: Seven Up
- Chapter 27: Be Careful What You Wish For
- Chapter 28: Looking for Answers
- Epilogue
- Acknowledgements
- Select Bibliography
- Notes
- Index
- About the Author
- Also by Ken Cuthbertson
- Copyright
- About the Publisher