Behind the Counter at Pelley's #FolklorePhoto

Photo courtesy Joyce Clouter. 

This week's #FolklorePhoto is of Viola Greening behind the counter at Pelley’s in Port Blandford c. 1960. Daniel Pelley, the owner of Pelley's, established his first store in Southwest in 1920. In 1936, he moved locations. This building is still standing in Port Blandford but is not currently in use.

#CollectiveMemories Monday - Shops of St. John's and Port Blandford with Linda Bennett

Sarah Greening (L) and Linda Bennett (R) in the basement of the Anglican Church in Port Blandford following a public memory mug up. Photo by Katie Harvey. 2017. 

On August 10, 2017, as part of the Collective Memories project, I interviewed Linda Bennett of St. John’s about growing up in town, convenience stores, shopping in downtown St. John’s, visiting Port Blandford, the shops of Port Blandford, and moving out from St. John’s to Port Blandford. This interview was also part of our Oral History Roadshow and sections of the interview were used in the booklet “Everything Was Wrapped in Brown Paper: The Old Shops of Port Blandford”.

In this interview Linda discusses Harvey’s Convenience which was owned and operated by her father who had a close connection with the Portuguese fisherman who docked in St. John’s harbour. Linda explains how her father became fluent in Portuguese and helped translate for the fishermen. She also describes heading to Port Blandford as a child and the old shops that were in the community at the time. She particularly remembered Hayley’s movie theatre and Pelley’s store where she could try on high heel shoes.

If you would like to listen to the full interview on Memorial University's Digital Archives Initiative click here or you can check out the pdf of our booklet on Port Blandford’s old shops click here.

~Terra Barrett

#CollectiveMemories Monday - Stories of Port Blandford's Old Shops and Former Schools

Reg Penney in the Anglican Church in Port Blandford. 2017. Photo by Terra Barrett.

On August 10, 2017, as part of the Collective Memories project, I interviewed Reg Penney about growing up in Hant’s Harbour, moving to Port Blandford, his teaching career, the stores and shops of Port Blandford, and his time as mayor. This interview was also part of our Oral History Roadshow and sections of the interview were used in the booklet “Everything Was Wrapped in Brown Paper: The Old Shops of Port Blandford”. 

If you would like to listen to the full interview on Memorial University's Digital Archives Initiative click here or you can check out the pdf of our booklet on Port Blandford’s old shops here.


~Terra Barrett

Old Shops of Port Blandford and Folk Cures and Practical Magic Booklet Launches

Katie Harvey discussing "Everything was Wrapped in Brown Paper" in Port Blandford.

The past few weeks have been busy ones at the ICH Office. We've been working on several projects including our two latest booklets which have recently launched. On Thursday, October 12th, Katie and I hit the road to Port Blandford with one of the latest booklets in the Oral History Roadshow series. “Everything Was Wrapped in Brown Paper: The Old Shops of Port Blandford” is the third booklet in the Oral History Roadshow Series produced by the Heritage Foundation. This booklet focuses on the old shops of Port Blandford, and people’s memories associated with these places.

Participants Sarah Greening and Linda Bennett reading the book. 

The booklet developed as a result of conversations with Calvin Efford of the Port Blandford Heritage Society and a public event held in August 2017. This event focused on the shops in the community. There were over forty shops in the town from the late 1800s to the early 2000s. Over the course of a couple of days in August we did some interviews with community members who worked or shopped in the stores. These interviews were combined with background research done by the Port Blandford Heritage Society and the community's summer Green Team as well as photos from the community.

On Tuesday October 17th, Dale and I along with our summer student Andrea McGuire headed out to Spaniard's Bay for the launch of the second booklet in the Oral History Roadshow series, "Folk Cures and Practical Magic". This booklet was focused in Spaniard's Bay but also includes a couple of stories from seniors who were interviewed during the summer as part of the Collective Memories project. It includes sections of charming warts, and curing toothaches as well as memories of the midwives and doctors in the 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s.

Andrea McGuire and Terra Barrett with some of the participants interviewed for the Folk Cures and Practical Magic book.

This booklet was the result of a roadshow event held in Spaniard's Bay in July 2017 that focused on home remedies like poultices for infections or practical magic such as removing a stye with a gold ring. Andrea McGuire and I completed interviews with community members who attended this Oral History Night and the Spaniard's Bay Heritage Society's summer student, Thomas Lane, completed a series of interviews with identified community members.

Judy Symonds reading one of her excerpts from the book.

Both launches were quite successful and the popular booklets are being sold by each Heritage Society. The Heritage Foundation will also place a PDF version online in the next few weeks which can be accessed and downloaded for free. 

If you would like to know more information about how your community can get involved in the Oral History Roadshow call Terra at 1-888-739-1892 ex. 5 or email terra@heritagefoundation.ca or Dale ex. 2 and ich@heritagefoundation.ca

~Terra Barrett