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HALIFAX DISASTER RECORD OFFICE
ARCHIBALD MACMEGHAN, F.R.S.C.
DIRECTOR
HALIFAX, N.S.

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THE ST. PAUL'S CHURCH PARISH MAGAZINE

It has seemed more like a year since our last issue than the space of a few weeks.

Since the morning of the 6th day of December when in a moment of time we were left a helpless, stricken city, there have been too many claimant calls for aught else to be the thought of save relief.

To-day, with the tide of suffering stayed, the emergency in some measure met. There comes a pause in all this sacred haste and we ask ourselves just where we stand as a church and congregation.
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Thank god when the tale is all written the members of this parish need feel no blush of shame for the part which St. Paul's has played. The staff was among the first to reach the devastated area, and there in the work of rescue, and in the hospitals and shelters, they saw with pride the heroic devotion of scores of parishioners, and in the subsequent relief, committee and brigade work there have been no more earnest and conscientious workers than the members of this church, and we feel sure that they will do their part in meeting the problems of the future, not only in connection with our stricken churches, but also in the task of upbuilding the city itself.
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The story of St. Paul's part in the relief work begins with the church itself. Through the initiative of a member of the vestry the church building became at once a haven for the injured, while busy hands were making the hall as habitable as cold be. There blankets, food, supplies and clothing began to arrive, and within a few hours after the explosion the injured and homeless refugees found beneath its roof shelter and friends.

Thereafter the church was filled with the coffined dead, and along its aisles hour after hour the solemn burial office was read for those who were no more.

The workers will never forget the pathetic scenes of those first few days at the hall, nor will the clergy fail to remember the splendid way in which all joined together to do anything and everything that would bring comfort or relief. The hall parlour became the dining room, the mission hall the first dormitory, and the men's parlor and the gymnasium were converted into a hospital and dressing room, where doctors and nurses were busy daily from the first.
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Some idea of the immense amount of work in connection with the establishment of the shelter may be realized from the fact that over 350 individuals have been cared for over night during the first month, and more than 10,000 meals given, for this purpose a large range being installed.

Bath accommodation and laundry facilities next had to be provided. A clothing department and food relief were also opened and did splendid work during the first trying days. At the bureau of information hundreds of people were helped and directed and over a thousand relief orders written for members of many congregations.

The splendid work of the dressing station was widely recognized, and it became the centre not only for the St. Paul's work and the district out-patients, but for St. Mary's and the Acadian Shelters, as well. It is estimated that more than 2000 dressings and minor surgical operations were attended to. In all the period not one life was lost, although in more than one instance only immediate aid suffered to save it. Many indeed are the suffers who will remember with gratitude St. Paul's Hospital and the time when the welcome Red Cross banner hung upon its portals.
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It has been one of the pleasant features of the entire work, the gratefulness of those who have been helped.

Many expressions have been received from families who were taken care of and have since been established. One family has written from Milltown, N.B., another from Fredericton, a third from Boston, another from Waterville, all deeply appreciative of the treatment they received from the St. Paul's workers and their assistants.

And for the latter, representing many churches, we have only words of unqualified praise. Recognition must be forever general, for in the rush of all things the roll of workers was not taken.

The Shelter has now been transferred into the hands of a salaried staff, and while the need remains acute will remain the hospitable relief depot it has so effectively been.

There have been many little memories which the helpers will treasure all their days.

To see the reunion of parent and child after days of separation. To see the look of pain and anxiety fade from the little faces. To have been present at the wonderful Christmas was in itself a benediction. And then there was the little baby of the family, born the day after the explosion, and which was christened in the church and named after St. Paul, our own patron saint.

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But shelter was not confined entirely to material needs. There was religious hospitality as well. For the second time, once before at the burning of old St. Luke's, St. Paul's was able to come to the assistance of a sister congregation, who worshipped here on the first two Sundays. St. Mark's, St. George's, and Trinity services were also held at special hours, and as some one said, "St. Paul's, the mother of churches, still stands stretching out loving arms to all."