Pete Lawson recalls events of Halifax Explosion

Pete Lawson, a newspaper publisher in Beaumont, Texas, was, in his earlier days, a student of the Main Street school in Berwick and, later, an employee of The Berwick Register. Lawson was always an avid reader of The Register and often sent articles to Berwick that were published in the local paper.

Lawson was mildly annoyed with The Register when it advertised Major Borrett’s new book, Tales told under the Old Town Clock, had been published, but neglected to mention any details on how to purchase the book.

Lawson’s own first recollection of that old clock ran back more than 60 years. As a young boy, he lived for a time in Halifax, on Cornwallis Street and also on Robie Street. At the time of the great explosion in Halifax, he was living on Buckingham Street and employed at The Halifax Herald. On the morning of December 7, 1917, and having seen The Herald put to bed, Lawson returned home at 4 o’clock to get some sleep. Minutes after 9 o’clock that morning, he was awakened to the sound of doors and windows smashing in, and his first thought was German submarines were shelling the city and must have targeted the old town clock, near his home. It was not long before a special messenger, sent by Senator Dennis, arrived with instructions Pete get busy on the story.

There were no cabs or taxis, as all the street cars had been put out of commission. Crossing Sackville Street, he ran across the Citadel in the shadow of the old town clock, noting it was still running. Over towards Richmond, there was still a large pillar of smoke in the sky, and he headed in that direction. Uncovering the origin of the two blasts from the explosives on the SS Mont Blanc, Lawson returned with his story to The Herald office.

There have been many stories told of the tragic events of that time, and many challenges for the news reporters. With the gas and electricity shut down, the Herald’s linotype printer could not operate. All that was available was an old hand-press printer, such as The Register once used. Employed at The Register years earlier, Lawson had learned the hand-set method and, in addition to printing the first story of the Halifax Explosion, he also had the privilege of putting his part of the story in type. The result was a few small, one-sided editions of The Herald, one of which Lawson remembered was later hanging on the wall of The Halifax Herald office.

Getting the copies of the edition out to the province posed a problem, as the Halifax rail terminal was badly wrecked. A special messenger carried the copies to the train terminal near Bedford and, as the news spread of the disaster, emergency measures and assistance immediately began to pour in from every direction to aid the thousands of Halifax victims.