Jim Kaizer is not exactly a household name when it comes to Oak Island but he probably should be considering his heroic actions in recovering 4 bodies from a water-filled pit.

Jim started doing several jobs for the Restall family in the early 60s during their time on Oak Island. On August 17 1965 Jim Kaizer had the day off and was at home on the mainland (Nova Scotia) when his Uncle stopped by to tell him that something had happened on the island and that a rescue mission involving the nearby Chester and Western shore fire departments was underway.

Jim dropped what he was doing and headed for the island to find that in all, 6 people had ended up at the bottom of the shaft. Two were rescued by a visiting fireman from New York and 4 lay floating deceased in the water below. The only option that the rest of the crew was willing to do was attempt to retrieve the bodies using hooks as nobody else was willing to take the chance on going back down for fear that it may be poison gas in the pit.

 

Kaizer a local Mi'kmaq man known for having no fear grabbed an old WW2 gas mask from a firefighter and protested that he would not allow the bodies to be retrieved in such a manner and insisted on being lowered down to bring them back up himself.

Jim was able to bring all 4 back up. The fireman from New York was awarded The Canadian Medal of Bravery for going down in a poison gas-filled pit once. Jim never received a mention for his 4 trips.

Following the disaster, the land was purchased by a new owner who offered Jim a job as night watchman, Sometimes staying in the Restall shack a tiny 12 x 12 building that was the former island home of his previous employers.

 

 
Several months later around 11 pm Jim was asleep in the shack and was woken by the sound of the tiny cabin being shaken violently. Something was holding him down. When he opened his eyes he saw two red eyes staring back at him and was told "Leave and don't ever come back". He arrived home shaken and cursing he also had bruises on his arms that looked like 4 fingers and a thumb.

Jim was not a man known to express his feeling very well and remained in this state for about a week but eventually told his wife Beulah " I know you ain't gonna believe me but I'm gonna tell ya anyway" "I put a small fire on and lay down and went to sleep" "I woke up and couldn't breathe, Two red eyes as big as you'd ever wanna see lookin' right into mine. The body was covered in hair, tight curly black hair". " Jim then said that it smiled at him as it told him to leave and never return and as it left, The cabin started shaking again.

 

Jim was known to play Russian Roulette on a fairly regular basis and was not one to back down from a good scrap but he never returned to the island.

He said it was the only thing that ever scared him. Jim started drinking more often and would go dead silent for days. His son said he was never the same after that day. He had a hard time keeping a job and got into more trouble with the police. "He would erupt into violent rages" his son claimed. Things only got worse for Jim when he would try to confide in people and he felt that they didn't believe him.

 

In 1976, shortly before his fiftieth birthday, James Kaizer took his own life by a gunshot to the head outside of a bar on the western shore of Nova Scotia.

I have included, along with the photos of Jim and the island, some of my own pictures from my visit last year.

[Video Version - Click Here]

Leo

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