Friday, April 17, 2020

"I live in Bug Town" - Mapping out the heritage assets of Deer Lake



Before the Covid-19 lockdown, Heritage NL assisted the Town of Deer Lake with one of our People, Places, and Culture workshops, helping identify heritage assets in the community. The workshop involves people writing out recipe cards like the one above, noting things like placenames, historically interesting people, old shops and stores, or places where things used to happen. Then, we put them on a big paper map, and start to figure out clusters of places for future research and planning. I always love finding out some of the local informal neighbourhood names which you would never know if you didn't live there (like Bug Town!).

Since then, I've started to put some of that information on a Google Map, and have been compiling a list of names of people (past and present) who are of cultural or historical interest.  This is a very preliminary list, with a lot of gaps in it. If you have information on any of these people, or have suggestions for other Deer Lake people who should be included, email dale@heritagenl.ca or comment below.


Family NameFirst NameNotes
??War Veteran Farmers
BallRalphBlacksmith
Barrett?Store owner
BashaMike
BashaFrankie
Bearsley?Manager of Power House, wife was involved with Girl Guides possibly?
BolosDanBlacksmith
Brownie?farmer
ButtJoeGas station
ChaulkBillBowater superintendant
CoishAmosHarness maker in the 1930s
Critch?Store owner
CritchBeckyStore owner
CritchMoseStore owner
DinneyEliasworked as a carpenter on penstocks in early 1920s
Eddy?Store owner
FelthamAbrahamoriginal settler at Junction Brook, worked on Main Dam, farmer
Green(e?)TMFirst doctor
HaydenVictorhad second operation in Deer Lake hospital - appendix
Hinton?Mrs.?
HodderPhilRec Centre named for him
HousellMamielives on Hancock's Road, housed moved from Junction Brook, daughter of Abe Feltham
Hruse (?)?teacher
LungJimOwner of first Chinese restaurant in Deer Lake, on Main Street
McDonald?Doctor, made house calls, after hour visits, no set office hours for patients
MoreyMelvaGrade 4 teacher
MoreyDougfarmer
Nicols?Original settlers, farmers, fishing and hunting guides
Osmond?Store owner
Prowse?Had farm on Humber River near upper bridge
ReidAlexander (Sandy)towed houses from Junction Brook to Newtown in Deer Lake during the 1950s in preparation for the airport
SchwartzSamShop keeper, businessman. Job interview -you had to break the twine, if you broke it, you were hired
St. George?Hotel owner
Stuckless?Store owner, 5th Ave
WightHaroldLong time employee of Deer Lake Airport
Williams?Store owner


2 comments:

Karen said...

I grew up in Deer Lake. Elias Dinney was my grandfather. The Mr. Williams who owned the building supplies store was DJ (not sure what the initials stood for).

Anonymous said...

DJ's name was Dexter