Halifax Explosion commemorated by survivor, 98 years later

CeciliaCoolen wasjust 10 days old when the Halifax Explosion hit, 98 years ago today. In the aftermath, she was discovered underneathher cradle.

Coolen says it was three years before she took her first steps.

"The cradle was thrown upside down and I was against the wall," she said."They figured I must have hurt my legs or my back but one day I got up.... Once I started walking I never stopped."

• Halifax Explosion photos, letters donated for 98thanniversary

Sunday morning more than 100 people huddled at the memorial site inFortNeedhamMemorial Parkfora moment of silence at exactly 9:04:35 a.m. AT, the time of the explosion.Coolensaid it was important for her to take part in thememorial service.

"It's very emotional. And to think I lived to see it. There are not too many living that saw the explosion," she said.

On Dec. 6, 1917, the French cargo ship Mont-Blanc, fully loaded with explosives, collided with the Norwegian vessel Imo in The Narrows, a straitbetween Halifax and Dartmouth.

A fire on board Mont-Blancignited the explosives in the ship'shold, causing the largest man-made explosion the world hadever seen.

The explosionlevelledmuchof the city and sent shards of glass and burning debris flying for kilometres.

The blast wasfelt as far away as Sydney, N.S.,435 kilometres away.

When the smoke cleared, 2,000 people were dead and another 9,000 were wounded. Half of the city's population, 25,000 people, wereleft homeless.

'She didn't expect to see him again'

Among those who felt the power of theblast was Coolen's father, who was part of a crew of 45 men workingon the waterfront.

"He didn't get touched. He didn't get a scratch. There was only eight men left. The parish priest called them the lucky eight," she recalled.

Through her lifeCoolensaw the city rebuilt after the devastation. She said she grew up hearing stories of that day.

"My mom and dad kept it alive talking about it.... Shewas so afraid that dad was killed that day, because a lot of men on the waterfront were killed, and when he came home she almost fainted. She didn't expect to see him again. It must have been so emotional for them," Coolen said.

A number of events wereplanned to commemorate the 98th anniversary.

At the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic, commemorations include special discussions about the disaster and a ringing ofthe bell on the former survey shipAcadia, which survived the blast.

After the service, a public reception was tobe held at the United Memorial Church on Young Street in Halifax. Halifax's regional fire departmenthelda commemorationat the fire station on Lady Hammond Road.

A service of remembrance was also held in Dartmouth at Pinehill Park.