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The museum’s collection features a large
variety of Hank Snow memorabilia and
artifacts, including childhood pictures, vintage
concert posters, custom tailored stagewear,
Snow’s record collection, two of his beloved
Cadillacs and more. The museum is also home
to the Nova Scotia Country Music Hall of Fame
and features exhibits on Wilf Carter, Carroll
Baker, Don Messer, Anne Murray and many
other Canadian musicians.
*****
Clarence Eugene ‘Hank’ Snow was born on May 9, 1914 in Brooklyn, Nova Scotia, a small
community across the river from Liverpool. The third of four children, he acquired a love for music from
both of his parents, but in particular his mother. At the age of eight, his father deserted the family and
Snow’s parents divorced. The local Overseer of the Poor Commission ruled that his mother was
incapable of supporting her four children, and Snow and his three sisters were separated.
The young Clarence was sent to his paternal grandparents who demanded that he never speak of
his mother and often beat him. He ran away frequently to visit his mother, and after she remarried, he
eventually returned to her care. However, his new stepfather was a violent and abusive man, and
Snow soon realized that his situation had only worsened.
In 1926, at the age of 12, Snow left home and signed on as a cabin boy on a fishing schooner. He
was first exposed to country music through American radio broadcasts of Vernon Dalhart and Carson
from left: Diane Baker, Hank Snow, and Rocky Baker
