One of the main features of the EB Festival taking place in
GV on 8 August 2015 is the “Festival Market” where over a dozen artists and
artisans will gather to share their creations. This post is a profile of author
Janet Maybee.
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Janet Maybee got her BA
(English) at the University
of New Brunswick,
where one of her classmates and great friends was Robert Cockburn, who later as
professor there introduced Sandra Barry to Elizabeth Bishop, a rather pivotal
happening! Janet proceeded to Dalhousie for MA (Honours) English, writing a
thesis on the history of theatre in Halifax.
She spent twenty-five years of teaching, mostly in special education and drama,
plus local community development projects, writing hundreds of press releases
for worthy (often lost) causes. She is currently Research Associate at Maritime Museum
of the Atlantic and working on history of pilot service in Halifax Harbour,
but mostly indulging in serious granny addiction.
In the fall, Janet’s book about Francis Mackey will
be published by Nimbus Publishing of Halifax, N.S. Mackay was a respected
harbour pilot with a spotless record of twenty-four years’ service when he
boarded Mont Blanc on the evening of 5
December 1917 and spent the night anchored outside the closed submarine nets.
The aging French ship had been loaded in New
York with a deadly cocktail of highly volatile
explosives. A series of mischances the next morning led the outward bound Norwegian
vessel Imo into collision with Mont Blanc,
gashing her forward hold deeply. Fire broke out instantly and as there was no
possible way to save the munitions-laden ship the captain ordered the crew to
the lifeboats; at 9:04:35 a disastrous explosion devastated Richmond and caused
terrible damage across the rest of Halifax. Mackey was vilified in the press,
in part because he survived while so many thousands were killed or maimed.
After the Wreck Commissioner’s Inquiry he was
arrested along with Captain Aime Le Medec of Mont Blanc
and the port’s chief examining officer, Commander F. Evan Wyatt. All three were
charged with manslaughter and criminal negligence in the death of Mackey’s
longtime friend, Imo’s pilot, William Hayes. A Nova Scotia Supreme Court
justice, Judge Benjamin Russell, determined the charges were unfounded and
released Mackey from prison on a writ of habeas corpus. However, C.C.
Ballantyne, the minister of marine and fisheries, refused to restore Mackey’s
license. With a wife and six young children to support, the pilot found himself
unable to work at his profession. He spent the next four years and his life’s
savings in frustrating attempts to gain reinstatement. Reasons for denying the
return of his license were never given.
Check out this amazing link for a multi-media
account of the explosion:
Janet will be manning the Bookmark table at the
Festival Market – come and talk with her about her exciting new book.
Janet gave a talk about this fascinating subject at the Elizabeth Bishop House
a couple of years ago.
Janet with Sandra at the Elizabeth Bishop House
for an afternoon talk about Francis Mackey
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