Showing posts with label Elliston. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Elliston. Show all posts

Friday, July 22, 2016

#CollectiveMemories Roadtrip: Bonavista Peninsula

Pei and Michael measuring and drawing the inside of the Salvation Army Citadel.
Last week from July 12th to the 15th Built Heritage Officer Michael Philpott, Heritage Intern Pei Xing Li, and myself, Terra Barrett travelled to the Bonavista Peninsula for a #NLHeritage Roadtrip. The main goals for this work road trip were to measure, and draw the Salvation Army Citadel in Elliston and the spar in Champney’s West, gather as much information about the Citadel and spar, and to photograph the Foundation’s designated buildings.
Sign inside the Salvation Army Citadel.
We left the office early Tuesday morning and hit the highway. Our first stop after a quick lunch at Two Whales in Port Rexton was the Tourism Elliston Office. We talked with Don Johnson about the Citadel and asked about who we should talk with in the area. He also showed us the Salvation Army instruments which were found in the citadel and were being stored in the Tourism Elliston storage room. Don then let us in the building and found a ladder for us to use.
The Salvation Army Citadel which was recently designated.
The weather outside was pretty dreadful so we mainly focused on photographing, measuring, and drawing the inside of the citadel. The equipment we used was very straight forward – a couple of measuring tapes, graph paper, a clipboard, pencils and pens, line level and string, a drafting triangle, and a molding comb. If you would like to learn more about field documentation there is a fantastic PDF guide from the United States’ National Park Service here.
Mortuary Chapel, Trinity, NL.
After measuring and drawing the interior of the building we had a dinner of fish cakes and fish and brewis at Nanny’s Root Cellar and then headed out to take some photographs. One major part of the Heritage Foundation’s mandate is to designate buildings and offer information, support, and grants for the restoration of buildings. We have an online listing of our properties and have photographs of each building. Some of these photographs are quite old so we decided to use the trip to take photographs of as many of the buildings as possible in order to update our website. If you want to check out some of our registered structures click here!
Pei and I turnipped in Champney's West.
Wednesday we spent most of our time in Champney’s West. If you follow the blog you will remember Dale and I took a trip to Champney’s last summer did a few workshops and a couple of oral history interviews. This summer our team did a couple more interviews about the spar which rests outside the Heritage House in Champney’s West. This spar (which is basically the mast off of a ship) is a piece of the Hazel Pearl which was wrecked near the community. Two local fisherman accidentally caught it in their net and so they’ve displayed it outside their community museum. There are several people in the community with vivid memories of when the Hazel Pearl sank and so we did a couple of interviews on its sinking and hope to do another one next week with the man who accidentally retrieved the spar.
Sarah Hiscock who was interview about the sinking of the Hazel Pearl.
The Hookey house which was framed and finished in the 1930s.
In the early evening we were invited to an old house built in the 1930s which quite sadly is falling down. The woman who lived in the house until recently is 106 and both she and her husband were incredibly crafty. Amy Hookey is a beautiful quilter, and rug hooker who left in her home an incredible collection of mats and quilts both finished an unfinished.
Bj who purchased the home has contacted the local crafting groups in the area about reusing the scraps and materials remaining in the home for new projects. Amy’s husband Alonzo was also a craftsperson – most all of the furniture found in the house was handmade. There were handmade rocking chairs, dressers, and built in cabinets. It was an incredible house to explore. It will be sad to see the house go however it hasn’t been lived in for some time and it is starting to really deteriorate quickly. I’m glad Michael, Pei and myself had a brief opportunity to explore the home and photograph some of it’s stories. I would love to talk with Amy in the near future and hear some of her personal memories and stories about the home and about crafting.
Details of Alonzo's work.
Pile of Amy's quilts.
Later Wednesday evening we returned to Trinity to finish photographing the area and we even ventured to the abandoned Trinity Loop for a couple of photographs. One interesting thing about talking to folks in small communities is their willingness to invite you into their homes. P.J. allowed us to walk through Amy’s home, we were invited in to Karl Hobb’s home in Elliston for a chat about the Salvation Army, carpenter Aiden Duff showed us around the Trinity schoolhouse, and we enjoyed a cup of tea with house owner Robert Cuff.
View from St. Paul's Anglican School in Trinity, NL.
The designation of the Loop is confined to the railroad tracks but it is pretty amazing to explore the abandoned park.
Following a late supper in Trinity we returned to Port Rexton to see if the Kitchen Party was still happening. We stopped by after nine for an event that started at seven expecting it to be almost finished. Instead we arrived just in time for a lunch of tea, sandwiches, and cookies and another couple of hours of music. There were locals who sang original songs, played instrument from keyboard and guitar to accordion and bass, a couple of ladies got up and stepped along with the jigs and reels, and there was a special appearance by a fiddle player from Newfoundland and Labrador tourism who is touring the coast and playing at community events. It was a lovely ending to a full day!
Michael and Pei on our Fox Island hike.
On Thursday we woke up relatively early and took the opportunity to hike some of the Fox Island Trail in Champney’s West. You get great vistas of the ocean, Trinity, and Trinity East. Our team spent most of the rest of our day in Elliston. This time we were measuring, photographing, and drawing the exterior of the building, as well as conducting interviews with local people about the Salvation Army Citadel. Michael and Pei did a lot of the measurements and drawings while I conducted a couple of interviews. The first interview was with a gentleman, Lewellyn Tucker who grew up in Elliston and went to the Salvation Army Citadel with his grandmother. Lew said in jest that his favourite memory of going to the Citadel was trying to make off with the 25 cent collection he brought each week. He said 25 cents was a lot of money back then but he never made away with it. He was always caught by his grandmother and put the collection in the plate.
Port Union Heritage District.
Michael and Pei measuring the Salvation Army Citadel.
Theodore Tucker was the second interview and he discussed the open air services held during the summer, who played the drums and tambourines, as well as his memories about attending services and singing on the platform. We tried to do one last interview before heading out to Bonavista to take some registered heritage structure photos but unfortunately the gentleman wasn’t home. Instead we stopped into Bonavista and photographed houses, churches, and lodges. We were invited in to see the progress on the home of Robert Cuff who, along with his son, is renovating his home.
Alexander Mortuary Chapel of All Souls.
We left Bonavista and headed to Upper Amherst Cove where we had a lovely supper at the Bonavista Social Club. When we finished our meal we booked it back to Port Rexton to bingo but unfortunately we were late! In my experience you never want to be late to bingo and you certainly don’t want to be late and new to the game. It took us a few minutes to sort out what size cards we wanted and then we had to get dabbers. Once we got into the swing of things it was a great fun. We had to keep checking with the table next to us to check what card we were on. We also played Wild Bologna for the last card which means that you dab all the numbers that end in the number called. 17 was called so 7, 27, 37, 47 and 57 could be dabbed. Is this common to bingo? It was my first time playing with Wild Bingo. Although we didn’t win anything it was a fun evening and it was great to see some familiar faces from the Kitchen Party and from an interview we had done.
One of the many designated homes in Bonavista.
Friday we packed up the car and headed to Bonavista. We finished taking photographs of the registered structures in the area and we did an interview with a gentleman name Bill Faulkner who was a school teacher in Elliston and had memories of the Salvation Army Citadel. He described the renovations to the citadel which he had helped with, the special services for Easter, and Christmas, and the music which was played during the services. After we finished the interview and photographed the last buildings we stopped at Aunt Sarah’s Chocolate Shop to try her ice cream and then we hit the highway back to town.

Stay tuned for some short video clips of Sarah Hiscock and Albert Hiscock's interviews!

~Terra Barrett

Thursday, June 9, 2016

Call for Memories - Salvation Army in Elliston


Salvation Army Citadel, Elliston, 1960.  Source: Community Memories Virtual Museum, Subsistence of Early Outport Newfoundlanders, Tourism Elliston Inc. album, 203.
Do you have memories about the Salvation Army in Elliston, NL? The Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador (HFNL) is looking for stories, photos, and memories and wants to talk to you.

Collected stories will be made available through Memorial University’s Digital Archives Initiative, which is a free, public website where the HFNL stores the photos, videos, and interviews it collects. Researchers are currently looking to talk to locals about their memories of the Salvation Army in Elliston, NL. We are also interested in any photographs of Salvation Army events such as weddings, and citadel suppers.

The Salvation Army began in London England in 1865, and arrived in Elliston in 1887 with the first officer assigned in 1894. We are looking for anyone connected to Elliston’s Salvation Army’s citadel including soldiers, officers, captains, and majors who may have served in the area. From recollections of the church’s social events such as weddings, garden parties, and citadel suppers to regular services, if you have been involved with the Salvation Army in Elliston we would love to hear from you.

The oral history project is part of HFNL’s ongoing Intangible Cultural Heritage program. The program works to safeguard the living heritage of the province for present and future generations everywhere, as a vital part of the identities of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians, and as a valuable collection of unique knowledge and customs.

If you would like more information, are interested in being interviewed for the project, or have photos of citadel events please contact Historic Places Researcher Terra Barrett at (709)739-1892 ext. 5 or terra@heritagefoundation.ca.
Salvation Army Captain standing on Lodge Hill, Elliston, 1940.  Source: Community Memories Virtual Museum, Subsistence of Early Outport Newfoundlanders, Tourism Elliston Inc. album, 28.
~Terra Barrett

Thursday, June 2, 2016

Fisheries Heritage, Oral History, Salvation Army Citadel in Elliston, and more



For this month's update, we are showcasing more of our built heritage work, with updates on work related to our fisheries heritage program, and an expansion of our documentation work on our registered heritage structures, including the newly designated Salvation Army Citadel in Elliston. Also, we have more information on our ongoing project to digitize oral history collections in Grand Falls-Windsor, and notes on the recent Canadian Declaration on Intangible Cultural Heritage in support of Canada ratifying the 2003 UNESCO convention on ICH.

Contributors: Dale Jarvis, Terra Barrett, Andrea O'Brien, Michael Philpott, and Celeste Billung-Meyer.

Download the pdf here

photo credit: The Rooms Provincial Archives Division, 
Grand Falls Academy Series , Item 1.26.01.279, 1944.

Wednesday, May 18, 2016

The Memory Store: The root cellar - that is built heritage...

The video for this week's the Memory Store was filmed in Elliston, NL inside one of the many root cellars found in the community. In this clip Don Johnson with Tourism Elliston describes different types of root cellars and how cellars are a form of green energy which keeps vegetables fresh without refrigeration.

Watch the video below or click here to watch the video on YouTube.
Click here for more information about the root cellar's history and architecture.
If you missed our initial post explaining the concept of the Memory Store clip here to go back to our first blog post with the introduction video or check out our YouTube channel at ICH NL.

Stay tuned for more short stories about historic places in the province, in the form of short oral history interviews conducted with the people who care about those places and if you have a personal memory about a historic place in Newfoundland and Labrador, and want to add your voice to the Memory Store project, let us know at ich@heritagefoundation.ca

~Terra Barrett



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Wednesday, March 9, 2016

The Memory Store: The root cellar capital of the world...

The video for this week's the Memory Store was filmed in Elliston, NL inside one of the many root cellars found in the community. In this clip Don Johnson with Tourism Elliston describes the tourism and introduction of two festivals which developed in the town of Elliston as a result of the abundance of root cellars in the town.

Watch the video below or click here to watch the video on YouTube.
Click here for more information about the root cellar's history and architecture.
If you missed our initial post explaining the concept of the Memory Store clip here to go back to our first blog post with the introduction video or check out our YouTube channel at ICH NL.

Stay tuned for more short stories about historic places in the province, in the form of short oral history interviews conducted with the people who care about those places and if you have a personal memory about a historic place in Newfoundland and Labrador, and want to add your voice to the Memory Store project, let us know at ich@heritagefoundation.ca

-Terra

Wednesday, October 21, 2015

The Memory Store: Huge, built like a motorboat...

The video for this week's the Memory Store was filmed in Elliston, NL outside one of the many root cellars found in the community. In this short clip Don Johnson with Tourism Elliston describes the construction of root cellars including how the large porch stones were put in place by a local strongman by the name of Jimmy Chant.

Watch the video below or click here to watch the video on YouTube.

Click here for more information about the root cellar's history and architecture.
If you missed our initial post explaining the concept of the Memory Store clip here to go back to our first blog post with the introduction video or check out our YouTube channel at ICH NL.

Stay tuned for more short stories about historic places in the province, in the form of short oral history interviews conducted with the people who care about those places and if you have a personal memory about a historic place in Newfoundland and Labrador, and want to add your voice to the Memory Store project, let us know at ich@heritagefoundation.ca

-Terra

Saturday, June 13, 2015

Discovering the Discovery Trail

Asset mapping in Champney's West
Ready to map the living treasures of the community
It’s been a whirlwind two days of work here in Champney’sWest.  Dale and I headed out Thursday morning for a weekend of oral history interviews, asset mapping, and an oral history workshop.  On Thursday evening there was a public asset mapping workshop held in Champney’s West to see what heritage means to the people of the community.  There were three tables of locals with a moderator taking notes on the community’s cultural organization, creative cultural industries, spaces and facilities, festivals and events, cultural heritage sites, natural heritage and intangible cultural heritage. 
Discussing the community's cultural assets
Checking out the map of Champney West's living treasures
After the community brainstormed the important cultural assets of the community the residents received a recipe card and were asked to think of a living treasure in the community.  Living treasure just means someone in the community who is knowledgeable about a particular topic or skill and why they are important.  The residents then mapped these local treasures on a map of Champney’s West.  After the map was completed everyone enjoyed a little lunch and cup of tea before heading home for the evening.

Friday morning and afternoon Dale and I interviewed two older residents of the community brothers Ben and Roy Hiscock.  Both brothers were great storytellers and told stories about growing up in the community, local shipwrecks, memories from the Second World War, and jokes from local characters.  Be on the lookout for clips of these two interviews!
Checking out Elliston, the root cellar capital of the world!
Don Johnson and I outside one of Ellison's many root cellars
Between the interviews with Ben and Roy we also headed out to Elliston to talk with Don Johnson from Tourism Elliston to do a short interview on root cellars in the root cellar capital of the world.  Don showed us a couple of cellars and explained their importance to the community in the past and to the present community.  He explained their upcoming festivals and took us out to see the puffin site and the new sealers memorial.  

The Sealers Memorial in Elliston
Puffin site in Elliston
After a lovely supper at the Bonavista Social Club we were back in Champney’s West for the first coffee house of the season.  It was a great evening with live music, jokes, stories and another small lunch.  After lunch we were in for a special treat as local characters Martha and Bertha put on a skit.  They discussed the “h’asset mapping” and the ‘eritage of the community.  They even mentioned the out of town folklorist who wrote a book on mummering.  This is when it got interesting as Bertha bet Martha he couldn't even mummer.  Let’s just say a nice bit of dress up and dancing ensued!  Check out the pictures below!

Local fiddler
Martha, Dale Jarvis and Bertha
Plankin er down!
Thanks to Champney’s West for a great two days!  Today we've got a couple more interviews and an oral history workshop in Port Union.

-Terra

Tuesday, April 22, 2014

The Science You Eat - A Newfoundland root cellar in Ottawa!




If you've followed the ICH blog for any length of time, you'll know that we love root cellars! A few years ago, we partnered on a root cellar research project with the Agricultural History Society of Newfoundland and Labrador, and that information has been added to a root cellar collection on Memorial University's Digital Archives Initiative, over 500 photos, interviews and floor plans, much of it collected by folklorist Crystal Braye and cultural geographer Julie Pomeroy.

Now, some of that info has made its way to Ottawa, where a new exhibit is nearing completion, which will include a life-sized replica of a Newfoundland root cellar.

Suzanne Beauvais is a curator with the Canada Agriculture and Food Museum, and one of the people who has been researching and building the model root cellar. She writes,
Have you ever wondered why storing cucumbers in vinegar keeps them edible for longer? Or whether canned food lasts forever? Our ancestors preserved food using several different methods but did not know that scientific principles underlie food preservation. The Canada Agriculture and Food Museum, located on the grounds of the Central Experimental Farm in Ottawa, is opening a new exhibition — Food Preservation: The Science You Eat — that answers these questions and much more. The exhibition explores traditional and modern preservation methods, both at home and in industry, and explains the scientific principles behind food preservation using artifacts, videos, interactives, and audio recordings of people sharing their memories. A particularly interesting feature is a replica 1890s root cellar, such as those found in Elliston, Newfoundland and Labrador, where visitors will experience the cold, damp, and dark of this food storage structure common to homes of the time. This replica has been made according to the historical information provided through the generous collaboration of the Agricultural History Society of Newfoundland and Labrador.
So, if you are in the Ottawa area this summer, check out the Elliston root cellar. The exhibit opens officially on May 13th.