Harris Leroy Getson was born in 1891 in La Have, Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia to James and Martha (Richard) Getson. Harris married Ruey Kathleen Barkhouse (1900-1999) of Martins Point, N.S. on November 16th, 1925. The couple had two children, Lowell and Sylvia, and lived in La Have. During World War II, Harris became a prisoner of war when the Canadian Merchant Navy ship he served on, the S.S. Canadolite, was captured at sea in May 1941 by German forces. Harris was taken prisoner and lived in the Milag camp (a camp specifically for members of the British Merchant Navy) of the greater Marlag und Milag Nord prisoner of war camp in northern Germany, until British allies liberated the camp in April of 1945. Harris travelled back home to La Have, NS in June of 1945. The family lived in the Lunenburg County area until Harris’ death in 1974.
Dorothy Louise Swetnam was born in Glace Bay, Nova Scotia on 27 March 1911, the daughter of Rev. William James and Elizabeth "Lizzie" Louise (Astbury) Swetnam. Her mother and brother were both killed during the Halifax Explosion on 6 December 1917. Dorothy was an accomplished pianist, having studied at Mount Allison University. She served as the head of the piano department at the Canadian Academy in Kobe, Japan, taught at Mount Royal College in Calgary, and toured with a variety of performers. She married Clayton Hare in 1943 and together they were instrumental in founding the Victoria Summer School of Music. She died on 8 June 2002 in Calgary, Alberta.
The grand jury was one of the institutions of customary law whose existence, although amended and altered by provincial legislation, was based on practice established in England. The Hants County Grand Jury was established when the county was created in 1781. The grand jury was chosen by lot from lists of qualified property owners prepared by a committee of the Court of General Sessions. Sitting for a year, the jury nominated individuals for the Sessions to consider for appointment to local offices; prepared financial estimates for county government; inspected the accounts of expenditures; determined the annual road work and the establishment of new roads; and claimed the right make presentations to the Sessions on topics of public interest. The grand jury also acted in a judicial capacity to determine whether sufficient evidence existed for an accused to be placed on trial by the Supreme Court. Half of the grand jury, or 12 of the 24, were required to concur, otherwise no bill was returned and the criminal case did not proceed to trial. In 1861 the County was divided into East and West Hants. In 1879 the advent of elective municipal government ended the administrative function of the grand jury. Although terms of jurors, their numbers, qualifications and method of appointment changed over time, the judicial function persisted until 1979 when amendments to the Jury Act abolished the grand jury «
Clarence Eugene “Hank” Snow (1914-1999), international country music singer and songwriter, was born in Brooklyn, Queens County, NS, on May 9, 1914 to George Snow and Maude (Hatt) Snow. His music career started in 1933 on CHNS Radio Station in Halifax NS under the name Hank the Yodeling Ranger. He signed a recording contract with RCA Victor’s Bluebird label in 1936 and made his first recording at their studio in Montreal QC. He toured across Canada in the 1930s and 1940s, then got his ‘big break’ when he appeared on the Grand Ole Opry stage in Nashville TN, USA in 1950 with his hit song “I’m Movin On”. Between 1936 and 1985, Hank Snow made 840 commercial recordings including folksongs of his boyhood, hobo and train songs, cowboy songs, pop standards, gospel, instrumental guitar, tributes to his main influence Jimmie Rodgers, recitations of Robert Service Poems, and his Billboard hits like “I’ve Been Everywhere”(1962) and “Hello Love” (1974). He sold over 70 million albums in his career, entertained US Army troops during the Korean War (1950-1953) and the Vietnam War (1955-1975), and operated a music school for guitar in Nashville TN. He was elected to the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1978, their Country Music Hall of Fame in 1979 and the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame in 1989. Hank Snow stopped recording in 1985, retired from performing in the early 1990s and gave his last Grand Ole Opry performance in September 1996. He died at his home in Madison TN on December 20, 1999 at the age of 85.
Brenton Halliburton was born on 27 December 1774 in Newport, Rhode Island. He came to Halifax, Nova Scotia, in 1782 when his father, a doctor in the Royal Navy, joined the Loyalist exodus. He was educated in London but returned to Nova Scotia and joined the army when war broke out with France in 1793. In 1799 he married Margaret, the eldest daughter of Reverend Charles Inglis, Bishop of Nova Scotia. After the French war, Halliburton, who had begun studying law before the war, resumed his studies and was admitted to the bar in 1803. In 1807 he was appointed an assistant judge of the Supreme Court, becoming the first with legal training. In 1815 he was made a member of the governing council by the Lieutenant Governor, and attended sessions faithfully until 1837. In 1833, when the aging Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, S.S. Blowers, was finally forced to retire, Halliburton succeeded him. He presided over Joseph Howe’s libel trial in 1835, and was the last chief justice to sit as a member of the council that governed the province. Though he was removed from the council in 1837, he remained active as chief justice. Advancing age and infirmity prevented him from going on circuit during the 1850s but he attended court in Halifax until January 1859. In that year Queen Victoria bestowed a knighthood upon him. After enduring a long illness, he died on 16 July 1860.
William Hall was born 25 April 1829, at Summerville, Nova Scotia. His father, Jacob, and mother, Lucinda, were formerly enslaved American black refugees who came to Nova Scotia during the War of 1812. Hall served as able seaman on HMS Rodney during the Crimean War and HMS Shannon during the 1857 Indian Sepoy Uprising. He received the Victoria Cross, two Crimean War medals, and the Indian Mutiny Medal. William Hall, VC retired on 10 June 1876 with the rank of quartermaster and a certificate of good conduct, and he returned to the family farm near Hantsport, Nova Scotia. In October 1901, he was presented to the Duke and Duchess of York (future King George V) during their visit to Halifax. Upon his death on 25 August 1904, Hall was buried without military honours at Lockhartville, Nova Scotia. In 1945 his remains were reinterred in the grounds of the Hantsport Baptist Church, and in 1947 a commemorative cairn was erected by the Canadian Legion on land it had purchased. The cairn is one of a number of memorials, several of them created by the black community of Nova Scotia, which perpetuate the name of William Hall, VC.
The Halifax District Trades and Labour Council was formed in November 1898, a few months after the dissolution of its predecessor, the Amalgamated Trades Union. Its main organizers were former members of that union. The purpose of the new council was to organize new labour unions, strengthen existing ones, and seek legislation beneficial to the working class. The council affiliated with the Trades and Labour Congress of Canada in 1903 and received a charter from the parent body in January 1904. In August 1957 the Halifax District Trades and Labour Council became the Halifax District Labour Council, and in 1958 adopted its current name, the Halifax-Dartmouth and District Labour Council. In August 1958 it was chartered by the Canadian Labour Congress, and also affiliated with the Nova Scotia Federation of Labour, the CLC's regional arm.
The Halifax Handweavers Guild, originally comprising a group of fourteen women interested in weaving, was organized on 11 February 1944. Through the courtesy of the Handcraft Department of the Nova Scotia Department of Trade and Industry, meetings were held in their workshop on Argyle Street. Looms belonging to the Department were made available for lessons. On 20 April 1948, through the courtesy of the City of Halifax, the Guild was given the use of a building believed to have been built and used by the Duke of Kent in the latter part of the 18th century. Owing to the sale of the building in 1952 the Guild became homeless, but was able to procure a room in a private home to continue its affairs. By 1960 the Guild had fallen on difficult times and there was a vote for disbandment but it was unsuccessful according to the minutes.
The Halifax Visiting Dispensary was instituted on 20 February 1855 in Halifax, N.S. by members of the medical profession and the general public to provide medical and surgical care and medicine for the sick poor of the city. William Murdoch served as first president of the society which was administered by a board of governors and later, a board of directors. Dr. F.W. Morris was appointed first resident physician. In the early years, medical work was carried out by the resident physician, a staff of visiting and attending physicians, and consulting surgeons. Between 1856 and 1868, 38,000 persons were treated either at the dispensary located on Argyle Street and then Grafton Street, or in their homes. The society was reorganized in 1867 and incorporated on 18 April 1872. When the new building of the Halifax Visiting Dispensary was opened in April 1876 at 31 Brunswick Street, it had departments for women's and children's diseases, medical and surgical cases, and an eye, ear, nose, and throat clinic which remained under the care of Dr. S. Dodge for twenty-five years. In 1877 a Dartmouth branch of the Visiting Dispensary was organized. In November 1924 the dispensary was relocated to the Dalhousie Public Health Centre which eliminated the need for attending physician staff. However, the dispensary retained its visiting staff and pharmacist as well as its independent corporate existence and administration of funds until its closure ca. 1966.
Halifax Shipyards Limited was established in 1918, when a Montreal group purchased the Halifax Graving Dock Company facility, which had been destroyed in the 1917 Explosion. In 1920 the British Empire Steel Corporation acquired control of the shipyard's stock; it was subsequently purchased in 1930 by DOSCO. During the Second World War the shipyard built the first all-Canadian destroyers and repaired more than 7,200 ships damaged in the battle of the Atlantic. Besides ship construction and repair, the shipyard also manufactured various wood and metal products for industry. In 1958 A.V. Roe Canada (later Hawker Siddeley Canada) acquired a controlling interest in the shipyard. From 1964-1968 the shipyard built numerous small ships. In 1968 the offshore oil construction business began, resulting in the shipyard's production of several SEDCO oil drilling rigs and a self-dynamically positioning SEDCO drill ship. In 1978 Hawker Siddeley was placed in receivership and a consortium, Halifax Industries Limited, reached agreement with the Province of Nova Scotia to operate the shipyard. Modernization began in 1979, involving a $7.5 million mill upgrading and replacement programme of yard infrastructure, and purchase of a floating dock to complement the existing graving dock. In 1983 a new Panamax floating dock was installed, capable of repairing the largest-sized ships on the eastern seaboard. By 1985 the shipyard had become bankrupt and was purchased by a group of Nova Scotians who renamed the company Halifax-Dartmouth Industries Limited. In 1994 the company was purchased by the Irving-owned Saint John Shipbuilding Limited and renamed Halifax Shipyard.
The Halifax School for the Blind opened in 1871 with two teachers and four students. Sir Charles Frederick Fraser, the first superintendant from 1873 to 1923, raised funds through music concerts and public lectures. In 1882 the Nova Scotia Legislative Assembly passed an act for free education of the blind. By 1887 the school was admitting students from the Atlantic region and 145 students were enrolled in 1902. By 1918 the school offered a variety of subjects, particularly those designed to place the blind in the workforce. In 1975, the school changed from a private to a public institution with the formation of the Atlantic Provinces Special Education Authority. The school was renamed the Atlantic Provinces Resource Centre for the Visually Impaired.
The Halifax Relief Commission was appointed by federal Order-in-Council on 22 January 1918, in part to oversee the expenditure of nearly $21,000,000 donated by Canadian, British and other governments and by the general public, following the Halifax Harbour explosion of 6 December 1917. The commission included T. Sherman Rogers, KC, Halifax, as chairman; W.B. Wallace, judge of the County Court, Halifax; and F.L. Fowke, merchant of Oshawa, Ont. Ralph P. Bell was the secretary. A subsequent act passed by the Nova Scotia Legislature on 26 April 1918 incorporated the Halifax Relief Commission and broadened its duties and powers. The commission was given the power to spend relief monies in any manner it deemed appropriate, stating that it "may repair, rebuild or restore any building or property damaged, destroyed or lost in or by reason of the said disaster, or compensate the owner thereof, or any person having an interest therein...". Also at its discretion, the commission provided compensation for the financial and physical relief of victims suffering personal injury or who lost family members as a result of the disaster. The act also granted the commission the power to prepare a town planning scheme and by-laws and to expropriate lands in the devastated area. Numerous workmen and professionals were hired by the commission to assist in the reconstruction of Halifax-Dartmouth, notably town planner Thomas Adams and Ross and Macdonald, architects of Montreal and Halifax. The Halifax Relief Commission was dissolved in 1976 and responsibility for administering pensions was transferred to the federal Canadian Pension Commission.
The Ladies' Committee of the Halifax Protestant Orphans' Home was established in 1857 to serve orphans and neglected children. It was incorporated in 1886 (NS Statutes, 1886, cap.68). The Ladies Committee was in charge of the Home's administration, overseeing the education, health and recreational needs of the children, supervising staff, purchasing supplies and equipment, and formulating operational policies. The Committee disbanded following the closure of the orphanage in 1969.
The Halifax Poor Man's Friend Society was founded 17 February 1820 by a group of local business and professional men who aimed to "...relieve the wants of the numerous poor, and destroy the system of public begging". Society members regularly visited the poor to examine their state of need and offer assistance in the form of money, food, supplies, or employment. By 1822, money was discontinued as a standard form of relief. In 1823, the society opened a soup kitchen to meet the increased demand for relief. Faced with public criticism and declining funds, the society disbanded on 16 February 1827.
The Halifax Hotel, built on Hollis Street in Halifax, N.S. in 1839, was incorporated in 1840, and opened in 1841 by a joint stock company called the Halifax Hotel Company. In its first two years of operation the hotel was leased by Hinckley and Parker of New York who recruited Henry Hesslein as the proprietor. In 1850, the federal government leased the hotel to accomodate military officers. In 1852 it was closed for several years and finally sold to Hezekiah Cogswell. Harry Hesslein again took over the lease in 1861 and the Halifax Hotel continued under the ownership of Harry Hesslein and Sons from 1868 until 1930. Edmund L. MacDonald bought the hotel in 1931 and immediately sold it to Commercial Hotel Limited, who remained its owners until it closed on 14 May 1943.
The Halifax Funeral Home was incorporated on 30 March 1939 and was initially located at 90 Dresden Row, Halifax. The business was operated by Francis MacDonald, Rod MacAskill and Duncan MacAskill. In 1953, it opened a second funeral home located at 6270 Quinpool Road, Halifax. The Dresden Row funeral home closed in 1972. Business continued at the Quinpool Road site until 1977 at which time the company ceased business.
Halifax Curling Club established in 1824 is one of the oldest active curling clubs in Canada. In 1874, they were the first club to build an indoor facility in Nova Scotia. The facility was located on Tower Road, Halifax but was later sold in 1892. A new facility was built on South Bland Street, Halifax in 1899. It was home to the first official game between Scotland and Canada, January 1923 - Scotland would take the victory 84–78. In 1928, Halifax Curling Club was the first facility in Nova Scotia to have artificial ice. The club was rebuilt in 1974 due to fire damage.
The grand jury was one of the institutions of customary law whose existence, although amended and altered by provincial legislation, was based on practice established in England. The Halifax County Grand Jury was established when the county was created in 1759. The grand jury was chosen by lot from lists of qualified property owners prepared by a committee of the Court of General Sessions. Sitting for a year, the jury nominated individuals for the Sessions to consider for appointment to local offices; prepared financial estimates for county government; inspected the accounts of expenditures; determined the annual road work and the establishment of new roads; and claimed the right make presentations to the Sessions on topics of public interest. The grand jury also acted in a judicial capacity to determine whether sufficient evidence existed for an accused to be placed on trial by the Supreme Court. Half of the grand jury, or 12 of the 24, were required to concur, otherwise no bill was returned and the criminal case did not proceed to trial. In 1879 the advent of elective municipal government ended the administrative function of the grand jury. Although terms of jurors, their numbers, qualifications and method of appointment changed over time, the judicial function persisted. Although amendments to the Jury Act abolished the grand jury in 1979 they remained unproclaimed and without affect until 1984.
Prior to 1879 local government in Nova Scotia was the responsibility of the appointed Court of General Sessions of the Peace, which was composed of all those who held commissions as justices of the peace within a particular county. The Halifax County Court of General Sessions of the Peace began with the creation of the county in 1759. Meeting two or more times a year, the court had both administrative and judicial functions. It was empowered to appoint local officials, who had been nominated by the Grand Jury; levy county, town, and poor rates; exercise control over roads, bridges, prisons, hospitals, and other public works; regulate animals, weeds, fires, taverns, and the inland fisheries and perform other duties assigned by statute. It could also sit as a court of justice, with limited criminal jurisdiction, using the Grand and Petit Jury system from England. The Grand Jury decided whether a charge should proceed to trial. The Petit Jury decided on an accused’s guilt or innocence. Jury members were selected by lot from a list of male residents who either owned land or held a minimum amount of personal wealth. As originally constituted the county was much larger and in 1783 increased population in the outlying areas and the difficulties of transportation led to the creation of separate sessions for what became Pictou and Colchester counties. In 1784 the newly consistuted Sydney County was similarily removed from the court's jurisdiction. The passage of the County Incorporation Act in 1879 replaced the administrative functions of the Court of General Sessions with an elected municipal council. Its judicial function was assumed by the Supreme Court on County Circuit.
The Halifax Civil Emergency Corps (H.C.E.C.) was a civilian defense force formed during the Second World War to provide police, fire, health, relief and other services in the event of an emergency in Halifax. The corps operated under the leadership of Major O.R. Crowell who was appointed director of civil defence for the city in February 1942 by the Halifax Civil Emergency Committee. The divisions of the corps included air raid wardens, auxiliary fire fighters and police, first aid, rescue squads, demolition squads, water repair, emergency clothing, transport, commmunications, and mortuary service personnel. In March 1942, Major Crowell won approval for a city by-law making it compulsory for citizens to have a supply of sand and a shovel in case of an incendiary bomb attack. By the end of 1943, the H.C.E.C. comprised 6000 citizens. One of the major operations of the H.C.E.C. was the evacuation of the north eastern end of the city following the explosion at the Bedford Magazine in 1945. The corps was disbanded on 31 October 1945.
Halifax Cablevision was founded by Senator A.I. Barrow, A. Garnet Brown, J.K. Lawton, and Donald D. Anderson, and received its cable licence from the Canadian Radio and Television Telecommunications Commission in August 1970. The station went on air 5 December 1971 with a mandate to distribute a variety of programming to subscribers within the licenced area. In January 1985, John Bragg purchased controlling interest of Halifax Cablevision. By 1998, Halifax Cablevision Limited was serving approximately 70,000 subscribers in Halifax, Yarmouth, Shelburne, Barrington, Liverpool, Prospect Bay, St. Margaret's Bay, and Sheet Harbour. In November 1998, Halifax Cablevision Limited, Bragg Communications, and Island Cable merged to become EastLink.
The Halifax Board of Trade began in 1750 as the Association for the Benefit of Trade, an organization formed by local merchants to promote the interests of the newly-formed community's business class. The organization changed its name to the Committee of Trade in the early 1800s and became the Chamber of Commerce in 1832. In 1883, some of the chamber members formed the Board of Trade, a rival business group aimed at advancing development of the city. They re-joined the chamber and became the Halifax Board of Trade in 1886, which was incorporated in 1890. The board offers services to members including government lobbying, tourism promotion, self-help programs such as the Economic Understanding Program and Business Hotline, and publications including Commercial News and the Metropolitan Area Business Directory.
The Halifax Association for Improving the Condition of the Poor was organized on 27 December 1866 by a group of local clergymen and businessmen and incorporated on 19 April 1884. The aim of the association was to improve the condition of the poor in Halifax by providing food, shelter, clothing, and other forms of assistance. Among its earliest relief activities was providing winter work for unemployed men at the stone shed located on the north Common, which the association was charged with operating in 1868 by the City of Halifax. Other activities included organizing meal programs for school children and providing food and grants to local social welfare organizations. From 1935 to 1972, the association worked in close cooperation with the Halifax Welfare Bureau (later the Family Service Bureau) which investigated requests for help and distributed relief for the association.
John Derek Haikings was born 5 June 1928 in Scarborough, Yorkshire, England, the son of George and Elsie (Clough) Haikings. In 1940 he was evacuated from England aboard the Furness Withy Line passenger ship "Nova Scotia" and arrived at Pier 21 in Halifax on October 3rd. He initially lived with a host family on Pepperell Street and attended Quinpool Road School, but subsequently went to live with the family of Allison DeForest Pickett and attended the Annapolis Royal Academy until the end of the war. Thereafter, he returned to England and served in the Royal Navy between 1946 and 1948. Upon his release he attended Doncaster Technical College and worked in Leeds. He immigrated to Canada in 1952 and worked in Queens County and Halifax before attending Acadia University, where he graduated with a B.Sc. in 1960. He married Margaret Longley of Bridgetown, Nova Scotia, in 1957. He worked for the federal Department of Public Works for thirty-five years retiring in 1993.