A Picture Says 1,000 Words - Page 17

"Within hours relief supplies and aid arrived from many sources including the naval vessels in the harbor. At ten PM, the same day as the explosion, Boston sent a relief train contained doctors, nurses and medical supplies. That train fought its way 700 miles through the same blizzard that ravaged Halifax. The train arrived in Halifax at three AM December 8th, only forty-two hours after the explosion.

Many of the casualties of the explosion were residents who were watching the burning ship through the windows of their homes. When the explosion occurred, the blast of air blew the window glass into their homes, killing and/or blinding many watching the excitement through their windows. The records show thirty-eight cases of total and permanent blindness. There were many more cases of less severe eye injury. Just as the 1942 Boston Cocoanut Grove nightclub fire led to large improvements in techniques of treating burn injuries, the Halifax Explosion led to large improvements in techniques of treating eye injuries.

As a thank you to the City of Boston for its rapid response, the City of Halifax sent Boston a Christmas tree in 1918. In 1971, the City of Halifax began a practice of sending a Christmas tree annually to Boston; partially as a thank you for the rapid relief that Halifax received in 1917 when it needed help, and, partially, to encourage commerce between the two cities. Halifax, now a municipal region, continues that practice to this day. Halifax selects the Christmas tree with great care. Boston stands the Halifax Christmas tree in Boston Common with great ceremony."