The 1936 Moose River Mine Disaster
It happened fast. Three men were suddenly trapped 43 metres underground when Nova Scotia's Moose River gold mine collapsed on Apr. 12, 1936. Fellow miners flocked to help, and reporters from across Canada gathered to cover the dramatic rescue effort. For one of them it was a career-changing event. For 56 hours straight, J. Frank Willis of the CRBC (precursor to the CBC) stayed awake to give radio reports every half-hour until two survivors were rescued on Apr. 23. Willis's groundbreaking round-the-clock coverage changed perceptions of the purpose of radio, and influenced the path CBC Radio would take in its formative years.
Last updated: April 15, 2013
Page consulted on November 3, 2014
All Clips from this Topic
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Journalist J. Frank Willis, disaster survivor Alfred Scadding, and sev...
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In 1969, CBC's Bill McNeil pays tribute the journalist who became reno...
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An RCMP constable who was present at the 1936 Moose River mine disaste...
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In 1996, three men who were part of the rescue operation for the 1936 ...
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It happened fast. Three men were suddenly trapped 43 metres undergroun...
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CBC's J. Frank Willis reports from Moose River, where three men have b...