When a mining accident in Nova Scotia became a headline in the Brunswick News and the Atlanta Journal, nobody quite understood why this story was so well covered in the local media. It did not take long to find the missing link between Jekyll Island and Nova Scotia.

Gov. Griffin visited Canada in early 1959 on official business. During his visit, 12 miners were trapped in a Nova Scotia mine for several hours before all of them were safely rescued. To celebrate the successful rescue operation, Gov. Griffin offered a free week long vacation on Jekyll Island to the rescued miners.

The offer must have seemed strange at the time since it is doubtful that any Nova Scotia resident or miner would even have heard about the island or know exactly where it was located. Nevertheless, a free vacation should never be turned down.

In late 1959, the miners took the governor up on his offer and arrangements were made for their stay on Jekyll Island. Several business people and clergy from Brunswick sponsored the vacation trip, and the Wanderer Motel made arrangements to accommodate the miners.

There was only one slight problem. One of the miners, Mr. Ruddick, was black!

Since the island was still segregated, Mr. Ruddick could certainly not stay at the Wanderer Motel, nor could he use any of the public facilities, except of course the St. Andrews subdivision. But even that presented a problem. The beach pavilion was closed for the winter and the Dolphin Motor Lodge had not even been constructed yet.

What to do next to resolve this small dilemma?

The solution was to simply place a trailer on St. Andrews beach where Mr. Ruddick could stay overnight. Several Brunswick businessmen raised funds to not only pay for his trailer but to also rent a second one for Dr. W.K. Payne, President of Savannah State College. At least Mr. Ruddick would have company during his vacation.

Together they went sightseeing and fishing, and had a wonderful time on the island despite the fact that neither one of them was welcome in any of the facilities Mr. Ruddick’s co-workers and fellow miners were enjoying.

As sad and regrettable this story may be, and as much as this time period is forever a part of our history and lives, it does have a nice ending that is known by few people.

Mr. Ruddick retired from his mining job in 1964 and moved his family to Jekyll Island to become a shrimper.

This time, he could move around freely and enjoy all the island had to offer, thanks to the Civil Rights Act and the desegregation of Jekyll Island.

If you would like to read more about the history of Jekyll Island State Park, click here.

For more information about my previous blogs, click here.

I hope you enjoy and come back to read more next week when I write about how the island finally lifted prohibition in 1971.