Living Heritage Podcast Ep145 The Loss of the Truxtun and Pollux

The USS Truxtun (DD-229) during the 1930s. Photo from the collection of Donald McPherson, courtesy U.S. Naval Historical Center (Charles Haberlein Jr., NHC and Chris Cavas, RoundTower Productions)

On this date, 18th of February, 1942, over 200 American sailors died when the USS Pollux and USS Truxtun ran aground during a winter storm near St. Lawrence, The two ships, accompanied by the USS Wilkes, were headed for Argentia  American navy base carrying war supplies. Due to the rescue efforts of the people of St. Lawrence and Lawn, 186 men survived the ordeal.

In this episode of the Living Heritage Podcast, we chat with local historian and tour guide Carl Slaney about the dramatic event, and the work happening now to ensure that the memory of the Truxtun and Pollux disaster is not lost.

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The Living Heritage Podcast is about people who are engaged in the heritage and culture sector, from museum professionals and archivists, to tradition bearers and craftspeople - all those who keep history alive at the community level. The show is a partnership between HeritageNL and CHMR Radio. Past episodes are hosted on Libsyn, and you can subscribe via iTunes, or Stitcher. Theme music is Rythme Gitan by Latché Swing.

Walking through the Great Fire of 1892

The Newfoundland and Labrador Historic Trust (“The Trust”) is accompanying the launch of the latest version of its Walk St. John’s app with a real-time history lesson. On Tuesday, July 8, the Trust will live-tweet the events of the Great Fire of 1892 from its account @NLHistoricTrust using #GreatFire1892.

The Walk St. John’s app allows users to experience the alluring streetscapes and heritage architecture of the city, which stand as a testament to the resilience and perseverance of its citizens who rebuilt time and again over the ashes of its past structures.

The app, created with the assistance of local developers TPLED Technology Inc., was initially released for iPhone and iPad in 2012. It allows users to select from several round-trip historic walking tours which guide them through the streets of St. John’s. The new version of the app includes a fifth tour tracing the path of the Great Fire of 1892 and is now also available for Android devices.

“The Great Fire dramatically altered the City of St. John’s,” said Robyn Pike, President of the Newfoundland and Labrador Historic Trust. “Using the app to explore the path of the fire and following #GreatFire1892 on July 8 will introduce you to the places and people that were forever changed by the events of that day.”

The information used to compile the fifth walking tour was collected by a student researcher employed by the Trust in 2013. A founding member of the Trust, Shane O’Dea, provided a voiceover to highlight points of interest along the Great Fire tour.

The Walk St. John’s app is available for free download for iPhone and iPad in the iTunes Store at: http://bit.ly/1n7uwoa and for Android in the Google Play Store at: http://bit.ly/1j8gDGx.

The Newfoundland Historic and Labrador Trust, established in 1966, is a membership-driven, non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of all forms of architecture reflecting the culture and heritage of Newfoundland and Labrador.