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Home My WebLink AboutThe Lucknow Sentinel, 1993-09-29, Page 5`Singing miner' helped keep the faith by Marsha Boulton SPRINGHILL, NOVA SCOTIA, OCT. 28, 1958 -- What Canadian hero sang "Happy Birthday" and hymns for eight and half days? If you knew • that Maurice Rud- dick sang to keep the hopes of his fellow -miners alive when they were trapped nearly four kilometres. underground in the. Springhill Mining Disaster, you may also know that he was, named 1958's Canadian Citizen of the Year. Ruddick was one of the few black miners employed at the Springhill mine. He and 173 other coal miners) were just starting their 8 to 11, evening shift in the Cumberland Pit Shaft Number 2 when a small "bump" occurred. Although the earth may fiot seem to move beneath our feet, it is constantly shifting. No where is this more apparent than in a mine, where pressure builds up in gaseous pockets causing pressure -releasing shifts called bumps. An hour after the first bump, a second followed which shook even the surface of the town and created a heart -chilling rumble. It was the most severe bump in North American mining . history... Underground, 73 miners were killed instantly by a massive cave-in. Rescue teams mobilized to find survivors. Within 24 hours, more than half of the surviving miners made it to the surface. While anxious family members crowded at the pithead, the fabled team of draegermen specially trained to assist in such disasters found themselves hampered by communication breakdowns and ventilation problems. It seemed to be a miracle when, six days 'later,a voice was heard' through a ventilator pipe that stretched over 8,000 metres below the surface and 12 more miners were saved. Eight other miners would wait two and a half more days in a metre high pocket before being discovered. As the men waited, wondered and prayed, Ruddick sang. Although the 46 -year-old father of 12 had suf- fered a broken leg and watched as one man died gasping for air, he persisted in rallying his comrades spirits with jokes and tunes. "I ..cried quietly in the darkness, but I made sure nobody else heard me. It might have broken the resolve to live," Ruddick admitted. When the men divided their last sandwich and drank the last of their water on Nov. 1, they also celebrated the birthday of miner Garnet Clarke with a resounding chorus of "Happy birthday," led by Ruddick. To survive, they chewed moist bark from the pit -wall props, sucked coal and even drank their own urine. When the draegermen finally reached them on Nov. 5, one of the rescuers reported that • he found Ruddick "sitting on a stonetack, singing at the top of his lungs." "Give me a drink of water and I'll sing you a song," he said in greeting, and the long ordeal came to an end. Ruddick modestly underplayed his inspirational role, but others felt differently. "If it wasn't for Maurice, they'd have all been dead," declared the mother of one of the miners. After the disaster, the Springhill mine was closed forever. Canada's ' "singing miner" ex- perienced the spotlight briefly in public tributes. His international celebrity was. such that he even appeared on the "Ed Sullivan Show," But when he died in 1988, Maurice Ruddick was an all -but forgotten hero. Lucknow Sentinel, Wednesday, Septemher 29 1993 .- Pace 5 ALFALFA WANTED ,�"�,, - quality standing maturing alfalfa (greater than 90% purity) - minimum 20 acre lot size - must be within a 50 km radius of Tiverton Contact: ottsawi AGRA CANADIAN AGRA CUBING LIMITED R. R. #3, Tiverton, Ontario Phone 368-5174 Alt eta le:~. 7 cuaued &lee to 441 a • �•a4 a -7 " a ail y Cadecuitelt0 & a%cie eda baa Vie -by eve safJeaat ewer tie It.a4e' 7 1/2 ryeerna . 7a acct ataa.aocd kumiliy edf'eeiale9 '. auy ', aafraucd. Nuy"?'cud cued ztie. 9 caaldoc't )ecce dee .it aitltoae yoa. 7a all tie HceirMe.eta ad -Crac/setuo. yarin j ea41444# aad good rioted uaill ee 1,1 r44oed east. due cot •eeast. 9 coe:44 Patiriejet Vecuti e Me rsezey beat cse 4e r reeu� ueatune. cad 44ite you code eoatutue to ..cft/taat )tea. as you did once. 7?S. 74e caaee fzur tune 6e cut at Rat aaa. Cyteestltouae. boa at'i out etSaekaoos t,OiececGz Doouta Sae Tom Thompson, the Lucknow Sentinel's advertising manager took fifth place] in a class of 16 during the IPM's media plowing event last week. Not bad for a city slicker who had never been on a tractor before! Shelley McPhee Heist, Focus editor was first; Pat Flett of the. Walkerton Herald Timea, second; Joanie Gauthier, of the Kincardine News, third, and CKNX's Murray Gaunt, fourth. (Pat Livingston photo) Announce celebrity plowing' winners BRANT TOWNSHIP --The sun shone on the celebrity plowing competition at the International Plowing Match in Bruce County last week. Top billing was Prime Minister ,Kim Campbell, Who plowed in the • MP's section. She won first place, of course, with the plowing judge giving her an "E" for excellent. Celebrity Plowing winners are as follows: " Sky Hawks: Bob Chaffe, first; Glen Ryan, second; Len Chartrand, third; fourth, Nick Stetzenko. MPPs: Paul Klopp, Huron Coun- ty, first; 'Pat Hayes, second, Essex County; Murray Elston, third, Bruce. MPs: Prime Minister Kim Campbell, first, Vancouver; Charles Mayer. second; minister of agricul- ture; Ken Monteith, third, Elgin - Norfolk; Murray Cardiff, fourth, Huron -Bruce. Media, Shelley McPhee-Haist, first, Focus Newsmagazine, Goderich; Pat Flett, second, Walkerton Herald -Times; Joanie Gauthier, third, Kincardine News, Mayors: Charles Mann, first, Kincardine; Jim Bolden, second, Walkerton; Arthur Knechtel, third, Southampton. Reeves: Bob Catley, first, Lions Head; Carman Fullerton, second, second, . Brant County; Carman Elderslie Township; David Thom- Fullerton, third, Bruce County. son, third, Brant Township. * * * Judge for the celebrity plowing War 9 ens: Qs • ey, Mel-McGurre; an -'6 Dufferin County; Barb Miller, director. IPM committee is looking for these winning ticket holders BRANT TOWNSHIP --Visitors to last week's International Plowing Match were eligible to win daily draw prizes for trips to Hawaii or an ATV, and children could win bicycles. The winning ticket numbers for the daily draws are listed below. * * * * Tuesday Adult --114475 Child --2179 Wednesday Adult --107114 Child --1282 Thursday Adult --60707 Child --10858 Friday .Adult --25245 Child --21259 Saturday Adult --89395 Child --27721 * * * * Winners can contact Tony Lang, Walkerton, 881-1114, June Barclay, Tara, 934-2083, or Roger Thome, RR 2, Tar, 934-2202. • /ONTARIO JUNIOR CITIZEN OF THE YEAR AWARDS 'CONTACT THIS COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER FOR DETAILS DEADLINE . OCTOBER 31, 1993 tidal ow FEED MILL' INC f We Are Taking Orders For... Motassed Pelleted Beet Pulp In Bulk or Bags Pick-up or Delivery In October! CANNING ST. 1-800-265-3006 LUCKNOW