19/12/2023
Today marks 60 years since the Storm of ’63 – one of the worst storms to ever hit Port Hood.
Francene Gillis wrote the following article to mark the 30th anniversary of the storm. It appeared in the December 22, 1993 issue of “The Oran”:
The Storm of 1963: Memories, Thirty Years Later
Thirty years ago, on the nineteenth of December, there was severe snow storm that caused tremendous damage and havoc for many people in Inverness County.
Blizzard conditions blasted through the area and some say it was the worst blizzard ever in these parts. As one gentleman stated, “In seconds the wind came up and on could not see your hand in front of you as the snow drifted and fell." Another, younger lad remembers his father holding his hand as they walked to the barn to check on the animals, so afraid were they of blowing away. "The wind was so strong. As you would breathe in, it was as if the wind was going to take the very breath of air from you."
Whether you lived five miles or five minutes away, in the peak of the storm nobody was moving. Many people were storm-stayed. Power and phone lines were down for days. Some areas did not get power back until after Christmas. Fishing gear, boats, wharves, and buildings were destroyed, with at least $250,000 worth of damage on Port Hood Island alone. And in the midst of it all, a baby was born in Harbourview.
It snowed all morning, December the 19th/63. By afternoon it had eased up a bit and it was very calm. According to Collie MacDonell, "In the afternoon there wasn't even a ripple on the water. We were working late at the Co-op and about five-to-nine that evening, Alex MacPhee came in to get some decorations. He was fire chief at that time. As we went up the stairs we could hear the creaking and moaning of the old building; the wind was coming up that fast. You could not see across to the Credit Union. Everything was a swirl of white. Within seconds, it was that bad. I had to walk home so I hurried out. Had I waited five minutes later I would never have made it home. Luckily I just had to walk across the field."
Donald “Angus Willie” MacDonald, was after completing a four-to-twelve hour shift in Port Hawkesbury when he got caught in the storm. "I was on my way home. The roads were really bad. They were frozen, and it was blowing and snowing. It was the worst storm I have ever been in. I dropped Leslie Graham off in Judique. I should have stayed there, but I didn't.”
"I made it as far as the Honeymoon Turn. I came across two vehicles stopped, and blocking the road. Two MacIsaac boys and Sid Matheson were stuck in the snow. I shovelled them out and then I dropped the two MacIsaac boys off in Harbourview. I got as far as the Little River, but the Little River Bridge was washed out. I thought the bridge was on the road, but it was stuff that had blown over from the Island and washed up. The power wires were down and there was no way we could get across.”
"I backed up to the train station. Sid Matheson was still with me. I suggested walking along the tracks down by Billy Hector's place. We were completely lost in no time. We didn't know if we were on the tracks or where we were at. I thought I could see a light so we walked toward it. Billy's mother had put a light in the window for Billy because he was working late at the Co-op. I stayed there that night. We got there around three in the morning and there was still no sign of Billy Hector."
Meanwhile, Billy “Hector” MacDonald was storm stayed at the Port Hood Co-op with some of the other workers. "The storm came up really fast. Theresa MacDonell, Catherine MacMillan, Alex Rory MacKillop and myself were unable to get home. We were joined by Donald Francis MacDonell and Donald A. MacEachen. They had gone to Mabou to Bingo earlier in the evening. Some of the crew wanted to go to Bingo because they were giving out Christmas turkeys. Catherine Annie MacDonell had gone with them.”
"The storm was so bad, that when they were coming home, someone had to hold the door open so they could see where they were going. Many people had to stay in the Mabou hall that night because of the storm. Donald Francis and Donald A. made it back to Port Hood and they dropped Catherine Annie off. They kept around the corner, but on the turn, they went off the road about one hundred feet from the Co-op. It was the peak of the storm so they waited it out. Eventually they were able to make it over to the store.”
"We played cards by lamp light but it was getting colder and colder. We' had lots to eat, but it was freezing cold. We started pulling on the heavy wool pants that were in the store and any other clothing we could find to keep ourselves warm.
"Around three or four a.m., Calvin Burke and Rannie MacMillan came along on the plough. They saw the light on in the Co-op and they stopped in. They knew we had no heat. They invited us up to the highway garage. They had a wood stove there. We piled into the plough and Calvin dropped Donald Francis and the women off at Donald Francis's place. We went to the highway garage, but we were still cold. You could only keep one side of you warm at a time in front of the wood stove. You would warm the front, but the back would be cold. Calvin decided he would take the plough home because there was no sense in ploughing the roads, they were filling in that quickly. He drove us as far as Duncan MacEachen's and we spent the night there."
Calvin Burke was a busy man the night of the storm. Not only did he rescue some of the Co-op staff from the cold, but he helped a mother-to-be in distress. Wouldn't you know a baby would decide to make its entrance in the middle of the storm?
Tootsie MacDonald, married to Neily, tells us of her ordeal that stormy night in December. "It was terrifying. Through the night I went into labour. We headed out for the hospital, but you couldn't see ahead of you, it was drifting and snowing so hard. My brother Brian was with me. Neily sent Brian to get Cameron. Cameron came with the power wagon which was a big vehicle something like a four wheeler, but not like the modern ones. They put me on the power wagon, and we headed for Neily’s mother and father’s place. There was no way we could go to Inverness. When we got there we ran into the side of the house because you couldn’t see anything.”
“The telephone lines were down, and the power lines were down, but we did manage to get through once to the hospital in Inverness. We couldn't call them after that but they could call us, at least at first. Cameron and Neily went on the power wagon to get Beverly Roberts. We knew she was a nurse. Her husband was a teacher at the school and she lived close by, although nothing is close in a blinding snowstorm. Cameron and Neily met Calvin on the snow plough and he took them to Beverly's house. Calvin picked her up, my mother up, and then took them to Neily's parents' place.
"I was in labour ten hours and I couldn't help but think of all those terrible stories. It was a long, long night. The room was dimly lit with lamps and candles, and the wind howled outside the doors and windows. I had the baby next to the fireplace in the living room.”
"The Mounties took Doctor Bernie up in a police car, but when he arrived she was after being born. Apparently he had quite a trip trying to get to Port Hood. He forgot the needle they give to prevent hemorrhaging, so Neily and Collie Livingston drove to Inverness the next day for the needle. I never did go to the Hospital, and the baby stayed with me. She was seven pounds.”
"I had her name picked out before she was born, but I named her after the nurse who delivered her, and Neily's mother and my mother, because they were with me. Margaret Agnes Beverly was born around nine o'clock in the morning." (Oblivious to the commotion she had created.) "The next two were born in June!"
On December 19th, some of the firemen were at the hall bagging candies for the children. It was the first year they had Santa Claus visiting the hall. The Port Hood Firemen have been bringing Santa in ever since, and every year, hundreds of children are given candy treats. Most of the firemen were able to get home, but some of them had to stay overnight at relatives or friend's houses. Many people were stranded in various parts across the county as the storm picked up momentum, but no one was hurt.
Perhaps the greatest memories of the storm are not good ones. Vivian Tobey lived on Port Hood Island and she remembers the terrible wind and the very high tide. "The storm came up very quickly. The men were very concerned about the boats, even the boats which had already been hauled up for the season. The water was that high. Les was down at the Cove and the tide was coming in so fast that he had a job getting home. We didn't live that far from the Cove. Walter was with him and they both managed to get home. The wind was so high you couldn't go out and see what was happening. Earl, my brother, came up from the lower end of the island, but he couldn't get back. He spent the night at Walter's.”
"It was a very upsetting night for everyone, whether safe in homes or storm-stayed. You didn't know if your roof was going to blow off, whether your boat would survive, or whether there would be anything left in the morning. It was an awful night. Scott was only a month old at the time and fortunately for us everyone was at home. We had hidden a tricycle and three snow shovels in the building by the Cove. They were Christmas presents for the children. Perhaps trivial now, but they were all destroyed.”
"You couldn't recognize the Cove the next morning. There was rubbish everywhere. The boats, wharves, and buildings were all moved around. The Cove was full of wreckage; remains of buildings, equipment, and Smith and Sons store, all torn apart by the wind. Later we found out that a few boats had drifted across to Port Hood, and there was debris from H.A. Smith and Sons store washing up along the shore by the school in Port Hood, and near the Little River.”
"The next day it was extremely cold. Everything was freezing up, that made it so hard to find things. We were quite a while without power or telephone, quite a while recovering from the devastation and impact of the storm. That night is something you try to forget, not remember."
The winter storm of '63 caused a great deal of damage in the county of Inverness, especially in the Port Hood area. There were frozen and burst water pipes; freezing and exploding radiators; dents to cars, vehicles, and houses, and spent nerves and cold bodies, but the greatest loss was fishermen and to those who lost their livelihood.
According to "The Inverness Bulletin", dated December 27/63, "Some 22 fishing buildings on Port Hood Island, containing the gear for the industry were crushed by the wind thrown across the island into the sea. The fury of the winds was so great that the wreckage from these fishing buildings and warehouses was carried across the mainland and strewn upon the coast. The storm carried away buildings which took 45 to 100 years to establish. On the mainland side, the government wharf, where the island people used to dock, was demolished. Water and piled-up debris covered three miles of track, forcing the cancellation of train service between Port Hawkesbury and Inverness."
Fishermen all along the coast suffered tremendous damage to their gear, their wharves, and their buildings, but luckily there were no reported injuries or deaths from the storm, and everyone eventually did get home. Even the fishermen eventually bounced back.
Most people in Inverness County were content to stay put on December 19th, 1963. Around kerosene lamps and candles, they converged, drawn by the light amidst the darkness. Families read and told stories, played games, and cards, and spent time together huddled in blankets by the warmth of their wood stove. Neighbour helped neighbour, and the stories of that stormy night are still unfolding.
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The accompanying photo is from the collection of the late Perley Smith. The Pontiac is driving through at the Little River. Perley’s wife, Mary, and brother, Obie, are in the car. The picture is dated February 1964 – lots of snow that winter!
What are your memories of the Storm of ’63?
