Maurice Ruddick
Encyclopedia
Maurice A Ruddick was an Afro-Canadian miner and a survivor of the 1958 Springhill Mining Disaster, an underground earthquake, or "bump" as the miners call it, in the Springhill mine in Cumberland County
, Nova Scotia
. He was chosen as Canada's "Citizen of the Year". Ruddick and six others were trapped 4000 feet underground, and were there for nine days. Ruddick cheered his comrades with his singing, and the mother of one of the miners later declared "If it wasn't for Maurice, they'd all have been dead."
The Governor of the State of Georgia
invited nineteen of the survivors to vacation at one of his State's luxurious resorts, Jekyll Island
, usually reserved for millionaires. When he discovered that one of the miners was black, he said that Ruddick would have to be segregated from the others. When the miners heard this, they were reluctant to accept the offer, but Ruddick agreed to go on the Governor's terms, knowing how much the others really wanted the vacation.
Maurice Ruddick died in 1988. He is buried in Hillside Cemetery.
His daughter, folk singer Val MacDonald, later recorded a song that he composed in the mine, "The Springhill Mine Disaster Song."
He was featured in a Canadian Heritage Minute
.
Cumberland County, Nova Scotia
Cumberland County is a county in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia.-History:The name Cumberland was applied by Lieutenant-Colonel Robert Monckton to the captured Fort Beauséjour on June 18, 1755 in honour of the third son of King George II, William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, victor at...
, Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
. He was chosen as Canada's "Citizen of the Year". Ruddick and six others were trapped 4000 feet underground, and were there for nine days. Ruddick cheered his comrades with his singing, and the mother of one of the miners later declared "If it wasn't for Maurice, they'd all have been dead."
The Governor of the State of Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
invited nineteen of the survivors to vacation at one of his State's luxurious resorts, Jekyll Island
Jekyll Island
Jekyll Island is an island off the coast of the U.S. state of Georgia, in Glynn County; it is one of the Sea Islands and one of the Golden Isles of Georgia. The city of Brunswick, Georgia, the Marshes of Glynn, and several other islands, including the larger St. Simons Island, are nearby...
, usually reserved for millionaires. When he discovered that one of the miners was black, he said that Ruddick would have to be segregated from the others. When the miners heard this, they were reluctant to accept the offer, but Ruddick agreed to go on the Governor's terms, knowing how much the others really wanted the vacation.
Maurice Ruddick died in 1988. He is buried in Hillside Cemetery.
His daughter, folk singer Val MacDonald, later recorded a song that he composed in the mine, "The Springhill Mine Disaster Song."
He was featured in a Canadian Heritage Minute
Heritage Minute
Heritage Minutes, also known officially as Historica Minutes: History by the Minute, are sixty-second short films, each illustrating an important moment in Canadian history. They appear frequently on Canadian television and in cinemas before movies...
.
External links
- obituary appeared in the July 11, 1988 issue of Maclean's