this is a non basketball thread,hope you don't mind.tomorrow is a very special anniversary here in Halifax.it's the 100th anniversary on the Halifax explosion.for those not familiar with it on dec 6 1917 two ships collided in Halifax harbour,one was a munition ship packed full of high explosives,bound for France..the munition ship caught fire anddrifted to the Halifax side of the harbour,people ran to the harbour to see what was going on,hundreds more were looking out their windows,unaware of what was about to happen,shortley after 9.00 am the ship exploded with the force of 2.9 kilotons of TNT..it was and still is the largest non nuclear explosion in world history...2.000 people were killed,9.000 more were injured including hundreds that were blinded from flying glass..12,000 homes and buildings we're destroyed,to make matters worse,the city was hit by a blizzard the same day..The city of Boston was amongt the first to respond to the disaster sending trains full of food,medical supplies doctors,nurses and hundreds of volunteers..the next Christmas Halifax sent a giant Christmas tree to them to thank them for their help...then,starting in 1971 it became an annual tradition,the treeis very specific,a white spruce 40-50 feet high. they are chosen from all around the province..a couple years ago,good friends of mine had the tree chosen from their property..the entire family is flown to Boston for the tree lighting ceremony that takes place on the Boston Common,apparently it's quite a show.The people of Nova Scotia have a special bond with the people from New England,Boston sports teams are far and away the most popular teams around here.thanks for indulging my long winded post...one final note my grandmothers family home was destroyed in the explosion,fortunatley no one was seriously injured...she went on to live a long life of 88 years and mothered 15 children!
