Week 27 – CIVIL RIGHTS – Maurice Ruddick – Survival and Segregation

In 1958, a mining disaster in Nova Scotia, Canada, would soon bring attention to the cause of civil rights in the Golden Isles. On October 23, 1958, 174 men were working in the No. 2 coal mine near Springhill, Nova Scotia, when seismic activity caused the mine to collapse. The disaster killed 75 men-but 99 remained trapped underground. Most were rescued quickly. Two small groups of miners spent days awaiting rescue with limited food and water, and often in complete darkness. The last group to be rescued on November 1 had spent more than a week underground. Among them was a musician and father of twelve named Maurice Ruddick.

The disaster and subsequent rescue effort became an international television spectacle. An aide to then-Georgia governor Marvin Griffin realized the chance to promote tourism to Georgia and to the Golden Isles, and he offered nineteen rescued miners and their families an all-expenses-paid trip to Jekyll Island for recuperation. Soon after the offer was extended, the governor and his aide learned that eighteen of the miners were white and one—Maurice Ruddick—was black. Ruddick could still take the trip, but on a segregated basis. The government that had invited him had to scramble to prepare a place for him to stay. While the white miners vacationed in motels on Jekyll, Ruddick and his family stayed in a trailer on a newly cleared portion of the island’s south end. The family’s hosts, housed in a neighboring trailer, were Dr. and Mrs. William K. Payne, the presidential couple of Savannah State College.

While celebrations for the white miners were hosted on Jekyll Island, Maurice Ruddick and his family had to go further afield for the ceremonies that celebrated them. Genoa Martin, the manager of Brunswick’s Selden Park, organized several community events for the Ruddicks on the mainland. The family also visited Savannah State College, where they participated in a special assembly and a question-and-answer session. When asked about the segregated gatherings, Maurice Ruddick answered diplomatically, saying that he seemed to be enjoying himself just as much as the other miners. At one gathering in Brunswick, Ruddick, well-known as a musician among the miners, took the stage with his guitar to sing a song called “Aren’t You Sorry Now.”

Although Ruddick was still able to participate in the trip, his treatment highlighted segregation in Georgia. LIFE magazine published a feature about the miners’ Jekyll Island vacation; although it showcased photographs of both groups, the article was also notable for its headline, “Springhill Survivors on Segregated Spree.”