Posts with the J. Frank Willis tag

Barris Beat

Without a word from our sponsor

Written by Ted Barris on . Leave a comment
J. Frank Willis, interviews miner involved in rescue of men underground. April 1936.

He didn’t look much like a pioneer. But J. Frank Willis sure was. Dressed in tall boots, a long coat and scarf, wearing a fedora – typical of the 1930s – he was a reporter. Hearing news of a coal-mine rescue underway in a remote corner of Nova Scotia, he made his way to a place called Moose River.

There, he found the only available land telephone line and got permission to broadcast from the mouth of the mine. Miners were trapped 50 metres underground and their would-be rescuers had been digging for days to reach them. Willis held his primitive microphone in front of one of the rescuers.

“Here, ladies and gentlemen, is the captain of the rescue team from Stellerton, Nova Scotia,” Willis said.

“Hello Stellerton,” the captain said. “We’re getting’ along fine. We’ll have those men up in a couple of hours.” (more…)

Barris Beat

Media godparents

Written by Ted Barris on . Leave a comment
Rescuers attempting to reach those trapped in a cave-in at Moose River, Nova Scotia, in 1936.

Their enemy was water above and below the ground. And gravity, since the water and rock underground were sealing off any escape. Days passed and nothing seemed to happen, at least not on the surface anyway. Underground, it was different. People were holding on, conserving, surviving. Then, when communication was finally made, it seemed like a miracle.

“Hello, hello!” the voice shouted from underground. “Do you hear me up on the surface?” (more…)

Barris Beat

A “Where were you when…” moment

Written by Ted Barris on . Leave a comment
Reporter J. Frank Willis interviews mine with the rescue team at the Moose River mine cave-in, April 1936. He is speaking to more than 100 million people on radio stations across Canada, the U.S. and Britain.
Reporter J. Frank Willis interviews miner with the rescue team at the Moose River mine cave-in, in Nova Scotia, in April 1936. His non-stop broadcasts on the Canadian Radio Broadcasting Commission are being heard by more than 100 million people on radio stations across Canada, the U.S. and Britain.

You’ve probably never heard of Luis Iribarren. Or Claudio Lagos. And you’ll likely never run across Dario Rojo in your lifetime. But, in fact, you do know them, all of them. They are three of the 33 men trapped in the Chilean mine since Aug. 5. For the record, you probably remember the very first words that Iribarren spoke to the world on Aug. 22.

“We are well,” he said through a communication line, “and we are hoping that you will rescue us.”

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