Digital Museums Canada Investment - The Early Lebanese Community in Newfoundland

Photo of Melin and Marion Noah and family in the doorway of their New Gower Street grocery store. Courtesy of City of St. John's Archives

Heritage NL's exhibition proposal for The Early Lebanese Community in Newfoundland receives funding as part of Digital Museums Canada's 2022 investments. Stay tuned as we create this digital exhibition over the next year. 

The Early Lebanese Community in Newfoundland
Heritage NL
The Lebanese community has a long history in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador that is not often commemorated. This virtual exhibit delves deeper into the story behind many well-known local businesses across the province, exploring how one group of immigrants built a unique sense of place while retaining cultural ties to its ancestral homeland.

Heritage NL has produced three exhibitions funded by Digital Museums Canada:
2019 - Remembering the Merchants of Main Street, Windsor
2020 - Carved by the Sea: Heritage Places of Bay Roberts, Newfoundland
2022 - Heritage Underground - A History of Root Cellars in Newfoundland and Labrador

Press Release shared from Digital Museums Canada:

We’re pleased to announce that 19 new projects submitted as part of the 2022 call for proposals were approved for investment.

“The recipients of funding from the 2022 Call for Proposals represent a wide range of compelling subjects from organizations all over Canada,” said Leah Resnick, Director of Digital Museums Canada. “We look forward to working with these organizations to build their digital capacity and bring their projects to life.”

 “Through Digital Museums Canada, the Canadian Museum of History is pleased to honour its commitment to communities across the country in sharing diverse online stories, accessible to all,” said Caroline Dromaguet, President and CEO of the Canadian Museum of History.

Topics covered in this year’s new digital projects include:

• Diaspora: Montréal Jewish Community (QC); Lebanese community in Newfoundland and Labrador
• Community History: Early coal mining in the Bow Valley (AB); Lithuanian immigrants and the War of 1812 (ON); a community festival in Saint-Eustache (QC); the impact of the SS Atlantic shipwreck (NS)
• Art and Architecture: Inuit art (MB); Winnipeg modernist architecture (MB); NFT artmaking (ON); Franco-Ontarian illustrators (ON); Acadian stained glass (NB)
• Women: Women in medical illustration (QC); women journalists in the early 20th century (QC)

In all, DMC received 39 proposals for the Medium and Large investment streams, and 20 proposals for the Small stream from museums and heritage organizations across the country. Projects were selected through a competitive process by an arm’s-length advisory committee.

See the full list:
Approved Projects

Eligible organizations are invited to apply during the next Call for Proposals, which opens on Thursday, June 15, 2023. For more information, please visit the DMC website.

Heritage Underground - A History of Root Cellars in Newfoundland and Labrador

Spence root cellar, Brigus.
Heritage NL, 2011.

In their travels, visitors to Newfoundland and Labrador might be surprised to see numerous little doorways peeking out of hillsides across the province. These are our root cellars. While they are not unique to this province, they are a part of our history and are a familiar sight in many communities.

Today, a selection of stories about the history, archaeology and folklore of root cellars go online as part of Heritage Underground - A History of Root Cellars in Newfoundland and Labrador. This exhibition was developed by Heritage NL, with an investment from Digital Museums Canada.

Root cellars are insulated structures built above ground, or wholly or partly buried in the ground. They are used to preserve vegetables and protect them from frost and rot. Root cellars were a crucial part of a subsistence lifestyle, giving fishing families the ability to preserve the food they grew, in order to survive the long winters along the rugged coastlines of the province.

Little Harbour root cellar.
Photographed by Otto Samsome, 2008.

“This website is a great opportunity to share stories about this traditional food storage method,” says Heritage NL Executive Director Dale Jarvis. “Some of the history may be well known, while some of the subterranean folklore about boo-darbies, babies, and silver shovels might be specific to certain communities or regions. All of the information, including five common root cellar styles, is available in both English and French.”

This online project was developed with the support of the Digital Museums Canada investment program. Digital Museums Canada is managed by the Canadian Museum of History, with the financial support of the Government of Canada. This investment program helps build digital capacity in Canadian museums and heritage organizations and gives Canadians unique access to diverse stories and experiences.

Come with us, and explore the fascinating underground heritage of Newfoundland and Labrador’s root cellars.

English:
Heritage Underground - A History of Root Cellars in Newfoundland and Labrador


Français:
Patrimoine souterrain - Petite histoire des caves à légumes à Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador


For more information or photos, contact:
Terra Barrett
Heritage NL
terra@heritagenl.ca
709-739-1892 x2

Change Islands root cellar.
Heritage NL, 2021.