The geologist most often credited for the old earth explanation of the Joggins fossils is the nineteenth century geologist John William Dawson. In his book Acadian Geology, Dawson proposed that the fossils are from large trees that grew in the fertile soil of a dried up peat bog. He suggested that local flooding events would then have caused the area to become submerged for hundreds of years during which dead shellfish would have built up around the vertical stumps of the trees. Eventually the vegetation of the area would again form a peat bog, and after hundreds of years, that bog would dry up enough for another layer of forest with large trees growing again in the fertile soil. Thus, Dawson viewed the tree fossils as evidence of successive cycles of slow and gradual processes.
Both Coffin's and Dawson's books can be read online by following the above links, and I would recommend that you read both views. They each devoted an entire chapter to the Joggins formation, and it shouldn't take more than an hour or two to read them. I'm convinced that Coffin is correct, but perhaps you disagree. If so, feel free to leave a comment below, but please do so only after you have read both views.