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From YouTube: Halifax 100th Anniversary Plaque Unveiling
Description
Mayor Walsh joins Nova Scotia Premier Stephen McNeil and Halifax Mayor Michael Savage on Boston Common to unveil a plaque commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Halifax Explosion of 1917 and the resulting union between the two cities.
For 46 years Nova Scotia has given a tree to the people of Boston as thanks for relief efforts following the December 6th, 1917, explosion of a munitions ship in Halifax Harbor. Within 24 hours of the disaster a train loaded with supplies and emergency personnel was making its way from Boston to Nova Scotia.
A
Ladies
and
gentlemen
good
morning
and
welcome
to
beautiful
Boston
Common
America's
first
Park,
my
name
is
Chris
cook
and
I
have
the
great
honour
to
be
the
Commissioner
of
Boston,
Parks
and
Recreation,
and
we're
here
today
to
celebrate
our
friendship
with
Halifax
Nova
Scotia.
First
and
foremost,
though
I'd
like
to
thank
the
men
and
women
of
the
Boston
Parks
and
Recreation
Department,
who
do
such
a
terrific
job
taking
care
of
this
park
and
all
our
parks
in
the
city.
A
So
if
you
can
give
them
a
round
of
applause,
I'd
appreciate
that,
and
secondly,
I'd
like
to
introduce
a
great
friend
to
Boston
Parks
and
someone
who's
really
supported
this
relationship
with
our
friends
up
in
Nova
Scotia.
Ladies
and
gentlemen,
a
nice
warm
welcome
for
the
mayor,
Boston
Martin,
J,
Walsh,.
B
Thank
you
very
much.
Chris
and
I
want
to
thank
Chris
in
the
parks
department
as
well.
I
want
to
thank
premier
Steve
McNeil
from
Nova
Scotia's
with
us
today.
Thank
you
for
me
for
being
with
us
today.
Thank
you
for
the
beautiful
scarf
that
they
have
on
today.
Wear
it
with
pride
tonight.
I
also
want
to
thank
miss
Savage
from
Halifax
has
joined
us
today,
the
men
and
women.
That's
behind
me,
men
and
women
of
the
Boston
Fire
Department,
all
of
our
public
safety
officials
that
are
here
all
of
our
guests
from
Halifax.
B
Thank
you
for
being
here
with
us
today.
This
is
obviously
a
significant
year
in
this
relationship.
We're
celebrating
a
hundred
years
of
our
friendship
with
the
people
of
Halifax
I
want
to
thank
Chris,
Commissioner
cook
for
representing
the
city
of
Boston
the
tree
send-off
a
few
weeks
ago.
It
was
a
beautiful
ceremony
and
he
was
excited
to
go
and
represent
the
city
of
Boston,
and
we
are
grateful
for
Nova
Scotia's.
Continuing
continued
generosity.
B
I
also
want
to
thank
Boston,
Fire
Commissioner,
Joe
Finn,
who
couldn't
be
with
us
today,
but
he
and
his
team
are
going
to
Halifax
next
week
to
commemorate
the
hundredth
anniversary.
While
we're
celebrating
Andreea
is
a
friendship,
we're
also
remembering
a
very
terrible
tragedy.
The
Halifax
Explosion
remains
one
of
the
worst
men
made
disasters
of
all
time.
I
want
to
recognize
the
people
who
lost
their
lives
and
the
families
and
descendants.
Today
it
was
a
devastating
event
that
we
will
never
and
should
never
forget,
but
it
also
sparked
a
special
bond
between
our
cities.
B
In
1917,
the
mayor
of
Boston
was
James
Michael
Curley.
He
immediately
reached
out
to
the
Consul
General
and
said:
Boston
was
ready
to
help
in
any
way
that
we
could.
We
sent
food
in
water,
medical
supplies,
along
with
hundreds
of
doctors,
nurses
and
volunteers,
I
applied
for
our
city,
stepping
up
in
such
a
big
way
and
I
admire
the
people
of
Halifax
for
their
resilience.
The
people
of
Boston
know
about
resilience
as
well.
B
We
don't
let
tragedies
define
us,
we
rebuild,
we
move
forward
and
we
are
stronger
for
that
and
we
know
that
we
are
stronger
together
when
we
work
together.
The
friendship
we
share
means
a
lot
to
us
here
in
the
city
of
Boston.
It
means
a
lot
to
the
people
of
Nova
Scotia
as
well.
It's
a
time
when
we
see
hostility
and
tension
across
the
world.
We
are
especially
thankful
for
our
friendships.
B
We
set
an
example
for
the
rest
of
the
world
and
how
we
can
take
care
of
each
other,
especially
in
the
time
of
need
in
a
few
moments,
we'll
be
dedicating
a
monument
here
on
Boston
Common
to
commemorate
our
friendship.
Visitors
who
come
here
will
learn
about
the
special
bond
our
cities
share
and
about
the
strength
and
resilience
of
the
human
spirit.
Again,
I
want
to
thank
all
of
you
for
joining
us
here
today
and
I
hope
to
see
you
all
the
tree
lighting
tonight,
it'll
be
a
beautiful
night
in
the
city
of
Boston.
B
A
Thank
you
so
much
mayor
Walsh.
As
the
mayor
said,
this
is
a
wonderful
relationship
and
it's
it's
fueled
by
the
beautiful
people
of
Nova
Scotia
and
when
you
go
there,
you're
just
you're,
just
wrapped
in
a
warmth.
Whenever
you
tell
somebody
that
you're
from
Boston
it's
an
extraordinary
relationship
and
it's
something
that
we
continue
to
build
on
and
it's
an
absolutely
beautiful,
beautiful
province.
It
gives
me
great
pleasure
to
introduce
to
you
the
premier
of
Nova
Scotia,
the
Honorable
Stephen
McNeil.
C
Thank
you
very
much
Chris.
Let
me
just
say
on
behalf
of
Nova
Scotians,
our
great
thanks
to
you
in
the
last
four
years
since
I've
had
the
proud
to
be
the
premier.
You've
been
a
great
conduit
coming
into
our
city
to
ensure
we
have
a
great
send-off
for
our
tree
to
come
down
and
recognize
the
great
people
of
Boston
your
worship,
it's
great
to
be
with
you,
as
always:
Minister,
Miller,
your
worship
and
and
deaf
I
look
forward
to
hearing
from
you.
You
were
a
star
last
night.
C
2,000
people
lost
their
lives,
9,000
people
were
injured,
225
thousand
people
lost
their
homes
and
our
first
responders
standing
behind
us,
Halifax,
Regional,
Police,
Halifax,
Fire,
headed
towards
that
and
I
want
you
to
think
about
that
for
a
moment.
Imagine
the
devastation
that
was
taking
place
in
the
North
End
of
our
city
and
our
first
responders
behind
us,
we're
heading
in
to
see
what
they
could
do
for
their
fellow
citizens.
I
know
in
our
audience
today
there
are
a
number
of
nurses
who
are
representing
their
profession.
C
Your
sisters
in
1917
did
the
same
thing
left
their
families
that
headed
in
to
ensure
that
the
people
of
the
North
End
of
Halifax
had
the
support
they
needed
to
try
to
deal
with
what
and
continues
to
be
one
of
the
largest
disasters,
not
only
in
the
history
of
our
country,
but
globally.
Think
about
that
and
when
we
called
out
it
was
the
people
of
Boston
who
responded
to
our
needs.
C
Just
imagine
what
would
have
happened
or
could
have
happened
in
the
ensuing
days,
but
it
was
their
friendship
and
they
were
responding
to
the
human
need
of
us
in
Nova,
Scotia
and
then
particularly
in
Halifax,
and
there
is
never
enough
there's
never
enough
that
we
can
do
to
say.
Thank
you,
and
this
tree
behind
us
is
a
symbol
of
that
great
relationship
and
friendship.
C
That's
part
of
the
enduring
connection
that
we
have
as
communities
and
we
need
to
continue
to
build
on
and
to
make
sure
that
we
not
only
recognize
the
great
generosity
of
the
people
of
Boston
in
1917
when
they
came
to
our
aid.
But
we
also
need
to
continue
to
celebrate
our
enduring
friendship.
The
friendship
that
builds
and
continue
to
build,
whether
it's
an
economic
tie
or
a
social
tie,
continue
to
come
and
celebrate
with
each
other.
C
And
yes,
when
there
are
challenges
in
our
communities,
whether
it
be
the
explosion
at
home,
whether
it
be
the
terrible
bombing
at
the
Boston
Marathon.
We
respond
to
each
other
to
make
sure
that
we
know
with
all
of
the
things
that
are
going
on
in
the
we
have
friends
that
we
can
turn
to
and
count
on
in
our
darkest
days
and
that's
what
I
believe
this
whole
celebration
symbolizes,
it's
the
beginning
of
our
Christmas
season.
C
In
my
mind,
this
is
when
Christmas
starts
for
me
and
for
my
family
and
I
believe
it's
when
it
starts
for
all
of
us,
the
spirit
of
giving
and
the
spirit
of
supporting
the
spirit
of
loving
one
another
and
appreciating
each
other
for
all
the
good
that
is
happening
this
year.
We've
dedicated
this
tree
to
first
responders,
standing
behind
me,
you
see
ours.
I
know
there
are
a
number
of
first
responders
who
would
be
here
in
the
audience,
but
one
of
the
things
that's
been
lost
and
I'm
not
remembered
in
this
whole
process.
C
C
We
are
indebted
every
day
to
our
first
responders
in
our
province,
but
think
about
that
day
in
1917,
when
our
first
responders
came
to
our
aid
and
then
we're
supported
by
the
great
people
of
Boston,
so
those
of
us
from
here
from
Nova
Scotia.
Let
me
say
thank
you
for
traveling
here
to
help
us
celebrate
this
friendship.
While
we
are
talking
about
the
explosion,
I
think
tonight
will
be
a
celebration,
a
celebration
of
our
friendship
and
the
possibilities
of
us
continuing
to
work
together
to
ensure
that
both
of
our
communities
celebrate
all.
A
Thank
You
premier,
for
those
kind
words
and
for
your
friendship
and
when
you
think
about
Halifax,
you
hear
words
like
colleges
and
arts
and
the
warmth
of
the
people
and
innovation
and
technology,
and
those
are
all
words
that
could
be
used
to
describe
Boston.
It's
even
more
remarkable,
though,
when
you
think
about
the
scope
of
this
tragedy
and
the
fact
that
it's
only
been
a
hundred
years
and
the
accomplishments
of
Halifax
that
when
you
go
there,
it's
such
a
vibrant
in
such
an
alive
city.
D
Thank
you
very
much,
it's
great
to
be
here,
mayor,
Walsh,
premium,
MacNeill,
premium,
McNeil's,
family,
former
leftenant,
governor
of
Nova
Scotia,
Myra
Freeman
people
who
keep
us
safe
fire
and
police.
Ladies
and
gentlemen,
it's
a
great
pleasure
to
be
here.
I
just
want
to
give
some
of
you
a
little
sense
of
the
impact
of
this
explosion.
D
100
years
ago
on
December,
the
6th
1917
Mary
Jane
hench
woke
up
to
get
her
10
children
off
to
school
and
her
husband
off
to
work
when
she
settled
down
eventually
the
next
day
she
had
no
children,
no
husband,
she
lost
six
siblings.
She
lost
six
siblings,
her
mother,
her
ten
children
and
her
husband
in
the
Halifax
Explosion
24
hours
later
they
found
her
under
the
rubble
and
under
the
snow,
and
she
was
saved
and
a
few
months
later
she
gave
birth
to
Hubert.
She
was
pregnant,
that
is,
the
scope
of
the
Halifax
Explosion.
D
The
impact
on
one
person
and
one
family
in
1958.
She
died
in
her
body
was
interred
beside
the
rest
of
her
family
at
Mount
Hermon
Cemetery
in
Halifax,
the
largest
man-made
explosion
in
the
world
prior
to
her
Ashima.
But
the
story
of
Mary
Jean
is
the
story
of
the
explosion,
unthinkable
tragedy
and
horror,
but
a
resilience
to
go
on
to
have
that
child
and
to
continue
life
and
with
friends
like
Boston
coming
to
our
aid,
Halifax
has
endured
in
100
years
later.
D
I
think
Halifax
is
stronger
than
ever
proud
of
our
friendship
with
this
great
city
of
Boston
were
so
pleased
and
so
honored
to
be
here
on
the
Boston
coming
to
be
celebrate
this
and
to
really
thank
you
for
the
support
that
you've
given
us
over
the
years
and
to
let
you
know
that
anybody
who
lives
in
Halifax
and
the
Halifax
region
has
a
very
special
place
in
their
heart
for
the
people
of
Boston.
Thank
you
very
much.
A
E
Not
a
first
responder
I
come
in
after
them.
My
pathway
to
nursing,
though,
can
be
traced
back
to
the
events
on
in
Halifax
on
December
6
1917.
At
that
time,
my
mother,
hazel
Mosier,
was
12
years
old
and
my
father,
Bert
Hubley,
was
11
years
old.
Both
were
growing
up
in
Halifax,
but
each
told
two
very
different
stories
about
what
happened
that
day
at
precisely
9:07
a.m.
E
E
E
Only
the
pleas
of
a
bystander
alerted
the
police
to
the
fact
that
my
grandmother
was
standing
down
the
street
waving
for
her
to
come
home
and
they
let
my
mother
pass.
My
father
had
been
sitting
in
his
classroom
fifth
grade
and
he
was
waiting
for
the
morning
lesson
to
begin.
When
suddenly
the
glass
window
shattered
beside
him
and
spread
glass
across
the
room,
he
thought
the
Germans
had
attacked.
E
He
brushed
the
glass
shards
from
his
clothes
and
started
to
run
home.
His
house
was
right
on
Shabak
toe
road,
but
the
crowds
and
the
debris
field
filled
streets
slowed
him
down
and
there
were
men
and
boys
already
on
the
street.
Picking
up
the
debris,
trying
to
clear
a
path
for
the
emergency
vehicles
to
get
through
and
for
people
to
pass
down
to
their
homes.
Burke
joined
his
cloud
of
men
and
boys
and
worked
for
the
next
three
days:
cooking,
putting
up
tents
out
in
the
arm
for
people
who
had
lost
their
houses.
E
You've
heard
how
many
were
completely
destroyed:
cooking
food
for
people
who
didn't
have
access
to
their
own
food
supplies
and
all
the
other
important
things
that
needed
to
be
done
to
support
this
community
that
was
devastated.
These
experiences
in
the
days
following
in
many
ways
shaped
the
rest
of
my
parents.
Lives
hazel,
had
seen
first
aid
stations
on
the
crosswalks
and
they
were
staffed
by
nurses
and
doctors.
She
watched
him
cleaning
and
dressing
rooms.
Many
including
her
own
sister,
had
had
I
in
juries
or
lost
their
eyes.
E
He
built
a
successful
plastering
business
that
enabled
him,
as
he
liked
to
say,
to
build
homes
for
families
from
so
much
destruction
on
that
terrible
day
in
Halifax,
come
so
many
stories
of
humanity,
large
and
small,
including
those
of
my
two
parents
who
taught
us
through
their
example
in
their
lives,
to
be
concerned
for
the
well-being
of
others
neighbor.
Helping
neighbor
thank
you.