Abir Zain's Baklava for #FoodwaysFriday

Finished product!

Abir Zain leading the baklava workshop.

Today on the blog we feature Abir Zain's baklava recipe and share the results of last month's baklava workshop. This workshop, which sold out overnight, was led recent immigrant Abir Zain, who is new to province and has recently started making baklava. Abir explained that when she lived in Syria she never learned how to make baklava as she was easily able to purchase the sweet pastry in many local shops. Since her move to Newfoundland Abir has been unable to find the dessert and has created her own recipe based on family recipes from her mother and mother-in-law. Abir's baklava uses homemade cream cheese in addition to chopped pistachios and syrup.

Heritage Foundation Executive Director, Jerry Dick, measures and cuts the phyllo pastry for baklava.

In early March the Heritage Foundation worked with Abir to offer a baklava workshop to showcase this traditional pastry which is being baked and shared in the province today. Twelve participants came out to learn how to make their own baklava and were joined by a video crew from CBC.

Phyllo pastry with homemade cream cheese - ready to be folded!

Abir started the workshop by explaining how to prepare the phyllo pastry with melted ghee and how to properly cut the squares necessary to create the traditional triangle shaped dessert. Abir then went through the process of making homemade cream cheese and whipped up a batch to cool in the freezer. While the cream cheese was cooling Abir demonstrated how to make the syrup which is spread over the pastries as a finishing touch. The participants then placed a dollop of cream cheese in their pasties and shaped the baklava into triangles.

Abir showing two participants how to shape the pastry.

Michael Philpott and Dale Jarvis of the Heritage Foundation trying to lit the propane oven.

While there were a couple of technical difficulties lighting the propane oven once these were taken care of the baklava was placed in the oven at 350' F for 20 minutes. During this time folklorist Dale Jarvis sat down with Abir to discuss traditional Syrian food, what food she remembers from her childhood, and the types of food she cooks and bakes for her family of seven.

Abir Zain talking food with folklorist, Dale Jarvis.

Once the baklava had baked for 20 minutes it was broiled for a short time to colour the top of the pastry. Then the syrup was spread over the pastries and crushed pistachios were sprinkled on top! The finished product looks beautiful and tastes amazing! Abir has been taking orders for her baklava and is hoping to soon sell the pastry at the local St. John's Farmer's Market.

Abir Zain with several baklava workshop participants.

If you would like to see the full recipe please click here to download the recipe!

Or if you want to see CBC's video clip from the event and watch Abir in action see below!

Be sure to let us know in the comments what other traditional workshops you would like to see in the future.

A huge thank you goes out to CBC for coming out to the workshop and filming this video of Abir! ~Terra Barrett

A How-To Oral History Handbook

People, Places and Culture Workshop in New Perlican.

As part of my work with the Collective Memories Project I have been writing and compiling a how-to guide to oral history projects. The Collective Memories Project is an initiative of the Intangible Cultural Heritage Office of the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador, with funding provided by the Department of Children, Seniors, and Social Development. The main goal of this project is to invite seniors to record their stories and memories for archiving and sharing.

A big part of this project has involved oral history interviews and projects with towns across the province as well as Memory Mug Ups and People, Places, and Culture Workshops. Our office has also worked with communities to digitize materials previously collected by towns and organizations. The new interviews as well as the digitized archived collections can be found on Memorial University's Digital Archives Initiative at collections.mun.ca

The third major goal of this project was the oral history guide or toolkit for communities wishing to record and collect their own stories at the local level. This guide will help you start planning your project!

It offers you tips and tricks on how to do interviews, and will help you decide what to do with the materials you've collected to make them publicly accessible. The guide offers useful links guidelines from organizations across Canada and the United States and includes a How-To Guide for the Memory Mug Ups and the People, Places, and Culture Workshops we have been running here at the Foundation.

Click here to find the Oral History Handbook!

~Terra Barrett

#CollectiveMemories Monday - The Childhood of Janet Story

In September of 2013, I had the pleasure of interviewing Janet Story at her home in St.John's on the topic of growing up in St.John's.

Janet Story was born in 1924 and grew up in St. John's, NL. The interview begins with her providing background information about herself and her family, and then reminiscing about the children's game "Hoist your Sails and Run", ice skating, hockey, tube skates, street cars on Water Street, attending Holloway's School, playing marbles in the spring and sliding in the winter, and summer activities such as swimming and catching tadpoles.

Janet also shares her memories of being a young girl in St. John's during WWII, the blackouts of the 1940s and the Air Raid Precaution Group, playing field hockey and basketball as a teenager, and other memories of her early life.

Janet passed away three months after our recording session, but the full interview is available on Memorial University's Digital Archive Initiative.

You can listen to more of Janet's memories of her life in sports here.

Merchants and Memories of Main Street, Windsor - Booklet Launch

Some of the people interviewed for the booklet, members of the Grand Falls-Windsor Heritage Society, and Heritage Foundation staff.

On Saturday, March 4th, Dale, Kelly, and I attended the "Merchants and Memories of Main Street" booklet launch in Grand Falls-Windsor. The launch took place in St. Joseph's Parish Hall just around the corner from Main Street where the memories of the booklet focused.

Interviewer Terra Barrett with longtime GFW resident Yvonne Courtney who was interviewed for the booklet.

“A Little Montreal: Merchants and Memories of Main Street, Windsor” is the third booklet in the Collective Memories Series produced by the Heritage Foundation. This booklet focuses on the memories of people who grew up, lived, worked, and shopped on Main Street with a particular emphasis on the merchants and shops of Main Street, Windsor.

Reviewing photographs from the GFWHS.

The Grand Falls-Windsor Heritage Society (GFWHS) had a collection of their archival photographs from Main Street projected on the wall.  They displayed several 8mm and 16mm films from Grand Falls and Windsor including a soap box car race, baseball and hockey games. The Society also placed photocopied photographs and documents on a table for visitors to view and help identify the people pictured.

The crowd listening to a reading from the booklet.

The launch was a great success with over 150 people turning out and all the booklets being sold in a matter a minutes. The Society is placing an order for more printed booklets and can be contacted here! A PDF version of the booklet will also be placed online through Memorial University's Digital Archives Initiative.

Debating who is in the wedding photograph displayed on the banner.

There were lots of refreshments provided following a couple of speeches and readings by three participants showcased in the booklet.  The Heritage Foundation had three large banners printed and displayed around the room which prompted stories and arguments had over who was in the photographs. After the official launch there were photographs taken of the staff members from different stores on Main Street such as Riff's, Cohen's, Stewart's, etc.

Former staff of a Main Street shop.
I believe this photo is of the Stewart's staff - let us know if the comments if you know for sure!

Discussing stories of Windsor.

The Main Street booklet is part of the foundation’s Collective Memories Project. This project is an initiative of the Intangible Cultural Heritage Office of the HFNL, with funding provided by the Department of Children, Seniors, and Social Development. The Collective Memories Project invites seniors to record their stories and memories for sharing and this booklet and launch was an excellent opportunity to do just that!

Anne Warr posing with the Windsor quilt and the Cozy Chat banner which displays the photograph of her parent's wedding in the Cozy Chat.

~Terra Barrett

Heritage Week - Pasadena Collection #nlheritage

Collecting memories at a People, Places, and Culture workshop in Pasadena, 2016. Photo by Terra Barrett.

Today is the final say of Heritage Week 2017!

As part of the Collective Memories project the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador is helping community organizations, municipalities, and church groups digitize their oral history collections to make them accessible for future generations. Collected stories are 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. If you have something to be digitized - get in touch!

One of the collections we have digitized is the Pasadena collection which consists of thirty eight audio interviews with full transcripts.  These interviews were completed by the Pasadena Heritage Society from July 2014 to August 2016 and they focus on the growth  and changes of the community. They discuss the development of groups such as Girl Guides, Lion's and Leo Club, Glee Club, and Army Cadets, the local library and fire department, how the holidays were celebrated and community events such as the strawberry festival and winter carnival.

Click here to learn more about the community of Pasadena!

Heritage Week - Petty Harbour Memories with Betty Cheeseman. #nlheritage

Betty Cheeseman in the Heritage Foundation office. Photo by Terra Barrett.

On June 30, 2014, as part of the Petty Harbour-Maddox Cove Oral History project, I interviewed Betty Cheeseman of Petty Harbour about growing up in the community, children’s games and social events such as community concerts, Christmas baking and visiting, and household chores such as gardening, cooking, and washing clothes.

In describing her childhood Betty said:
There was no pavement then. It was all dirt road and we would play in the schoolyard. Hopscotch. We would draw out the hopscotch with our sticks in the sand and we had lots of time and lots of fun.

Listen to Betty interview here on Memorial University’s Digital Archives.

~Terra Barrett

Booklet Launch - Merchants and Memories of Main Street, Windsor

Main Street, Windsor. 1944. Photo courtesy of GFWHS.

The Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador (HFNL) and the Grand Falls-Windsor Heritage Society present a booklet launch at St. Joseph’s Parish Hall in Grand Falls-Windsor on Saturday, March 4th, from 2:00-4:00pm.

“A Little Montreal: Merchants and Memories of Main Street, Windsor” is the third booklet in the Collective Memories Series produced by the Heritage Foundation. This booklet focuses on the memories of people who grew up, lived, worked, and shopped on Main Street with a particular emphasis on the merchants and shops of Main Street, Windsor.

“It was very small but it was like a little Montréal. A lot of different cultures and sights and sounds,” described Corey Sharpe. “The business owners on Main Street came from China, Lebanon, Syria, Russia, Norway, Ireland, United States, England so it was a melting pot of cultures.”

Sharpe was one of several residents of Grand Falls-Windsor who were interviewed as part of the oral history project completed by HFNL in conjunction with the Grand Falls-Windsor Heritage Society.

“This booklet developed as a result of conversations with the Grand Falls-Windsor Heritage Society,” says Terra Barrett, a researcher with the foundation. In recent years the Heritage Foundation has assisted with the digitization of some of the Society’s archival materials but most of that material focused on the AND company, the mill, and the former town of Grand Falls,”“This project focused on Main Street in order to showcase and learn more about the Windsor part of the community.”

The Main Street booklet is part of the foundation’s Collective Memories Project. This project is an initiative of the Intangible Cultural Heritage Office of the HFNL, with funding provided by the Department of Children, Seniors, and Social Development. The Collective Memories Project invites seniors to record their stories and memories for sharing.

The booklet launch is open to the public and will include light refreshments. There will be copies of the booklet available at the launch as well as a PDF version which will be placed online. For more information please go to www.collectivememories.ca or call Terra Barrett at 1-888-739-1892 ext. 5.

Several members of the Grand Falls-Windsor Heritage Society with Heritage Foundation staff. Standing L-R: Joe Shapleigh, Jim Locke, Dale Jarvis, Brian Reid, Terra Barrett, John Blackmore. Sitting L-R: Cathy Simpson, Audrey Burke. 2016. Photo by Kelly Drover.

Heritage Week - Cape Race Collective Memories #NLheritage

VA 55-3.4; Cape Race [lighthouse], Newfoundland.  Photo courtesy of The Rooms.

As part of the Collective Memories project the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador is helping community organizations, municipalities, and church groups digitize their oral history collections to make them accessible for future generations. Collected stories are 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.  If you have something to be digitized - get in touch!

One of the collections we have digitized is the Cape Race collection which consists of nine interviews from the area.  These interviews focus on some of the communities on the southeast tip of the Southern Shore such as Portugal Cove South, Drook (Druke), and Long Beach.  There are a number of stories about fishing, farming and keeping animals, shipwrecks, and memories of working at the Cape Race Lighthouse.  If you want to hear stories about cases of beer and whole hams being salvaged from shipwrecks then have a listen to the Cape Race Collection.

~Terra Barrett

Notice: Marjorie Mews Memory Mug Up - Wednesday, February 22nd

Marjorie Mews Public Library.

Share Your Stories at the Memory Mug Up!

Which of your memories would you like to preserve for future generations? What are your dearest childhood memories? What advice would you give your 18-year-old self? If you have answers to these questions, you are invited to attend the Memory Mug Up!

The Memory Mug Up is an informal story sharing session for seniors, where people gather, have a cup of tea, and share memories. The Heritage Foundation of NL will be hosting three Memory Mug Up events for seniors this February.

The goal of the program is to help participants share and preserve their stories. Whatever story is important to you, whether it a personal story, a story about a family member, or a story about your community, the Memory Mug Up program can help you to preserve and share it.

The event is free! You bring a memory of growing up, we’ll supply the tea and biscuits, and we will all have a chat. Following the sessions, those who are interested can set up a time to have their stories recorded and archived by one of our story collectors.

Marjorie Mews Memory Mug Up
Wednesday, February 22nd, 2:30pm
Marjorie Mews Public Library
12 Highland Drive, St. John’s

The Memory Mug Ups are part of the Collective Memories Project, an oral history initiative which invites seniors to record their stories and memories for archiving and sharing. It is a project of the Intangible Cultural Heritage Office of the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador (HFNL), the Provincial Advisory Council on Aging and Seniors, the Interdepartmental Working Group on Aging and Seniors, and is funded through the Department of Seniors Wellness and Social Development.

For more information on how you or your community organization can get involved, email Dale Jarvis at ich@heritagefoundation.ca or call (709) 739-1892 x2.

Portugal Cove-St. Philip's Memory Mug Up - Friday, February 10th

Share Your Stories at the Memory Mug Up!
Do you have knowledge of the Picco's Ridge plane crash of 1978? Can you describe the place names in the community? How about the names of the gullies and pond? What can you tell us about the Bell Island Connection? If you have answers to these questions or have memories of growing up in Portugal Cove-St. Philip's, you are invited to attend the Memory Mug Up!

The Memory Mug Up is an informal story sharing session for seniors, where people gather, have a cup of tea, and share memories. The Heritage Foundation of NL will be hosting three Memory Mug Up events for seniors this February.

The goal of the program is to help participants share and preserve their stories. The town is particularly interested in information about place names, cemeteries, names of local ponds, fishing history and families, the 1978 plane crash, Bell Island connections, and ghost stories. We would love to have a chat with you about your memories of the community!

The event is free! You bring a memory of growing up, we’ll supply the tea and biscuits, and we will all have a chat. Following the sessions, those who are interested can set up a time to have their stories recorded and archived by one of our story collectors.

Portugal Cove- St. Philip’s Memory Mug Up
Friday, February 10th, 10:00am
Recreation Center (next to the Town Hall)
1119 Thorburn Road, Portugal Cove- St. Philip’s

The Memory Mug Ups are part of the Collective Memories Project, an oral history initiative which invites seniors to record their stories and memories for archiving and sharing. It is a project of the Intangible Cultural Heritage Office of the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador (HFNL), the Provincial Advisory Council on Aging and Seniors, the Interdepartmental Working Group on Aging and Seniors, and is funded through the Department of Seniors Wellness and Social Development.

For more information on how you or your community organization can get involved, email Dale Jarvis at ich@heritagefoundation.ca or call (709) 739-1892 x2.

#CollectiveMemories Monday - Levina Fraser of Isle aux Morts

Lavina Fraser on her 90th birthday in August 2016.

In October I had the opportunity to do an oral history interview by phone with Levina Fraser.  Levina, originally from Isle aux Morts, currently lives in Oromocto, NB but has vivid memories growing up in Newfoundland.  In this interview Levina remembers her childhood in Isle aux Morts - going to school, chores such as washing laundry, knitting, spinning and carding wool as well as the lack of electricity, indoor plumbing and cars.  Levina also describes with pride how her grandmother worked alongside midwives and doctors to deliver babies in the community.  If you want to learn about life in a small fishing community before confederation or hear the alphabet recited backwards give this interview a listen!

The recording can be found here on Memorial University's Digital Archives.

Levina Fraser age 20 at Mount Royal in Montreal, QC.

~Terra Barrett

Mount Pearl Memory Mug Up - Monday, February 13th

Mount Pearl Public Library

Share Your Stories at the Memory Mug Up!

Which of your memories would you like to preserve for future generations? What are your dearest childhood memories? What advice would you give your 18-year-old self? If you have answers to these questions, you are invited to attend the Memory Mug Up!

The Memory Mug Up is an informal story sharing session for seniors, where people gather, have a cup of tea, and share memories. The Heritage Foundation of NL will be hosting three Memory Mug Up events for seniors this February, in Mount Pearl, Portugal-Cove St. Philip’s, and St. John’s

The goal of the program is to help participants share and preserve their stories. Whatever story is important to you, whether it a personal story, a story about a family member, or a story about your community, the Memory Mug Up program can help you to preserve and share it.

The event is free! You bring a memory of growing up, we’ll supply the tea and biscuits, and we will all have a chat. Following the sessions, those who are interested can set up a time to have their stories recorded and archived by one of our story collectors.

Mount Pearl Memory Mug Up
Monday, February 13th, 10:30 am
Mount Pearl Public Library
65 Olympic Drive, Mount Pearl

The Memory Mug Ups are part of the Collective Memories Project, an oral history initiative which invites seniors to record their stories and memories for archiving and sharing. It is a project of the Intangible Cultural Heritage Office of the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador (HFNL), the Provincial Advisory Council on Aging and Seniors, the Interdepartmental Working Group on Aging and Seniors, and is funded through the Department of Seniors Wellness and Social Development.

For more information on how you or your community organization can get involved, email Dale Jarvis at ich@heritagefoundation.ca or call (709) 739-1892 x2.

#CollectiveMemories Monday - Mug Ups with Martha MacDonald

This February, we'll be running some Memory Mug Up programs for seniors, as part of our Collective Memories project. The programs are designed to get seniors out and sharing stories, a type of community oral history sharing time, with a cup of tea and snack, of course!

Back in 2010, Dale Jarvis talked by phone with Dr. Martha MacDonald of the Labrador Institute about the Mug Up programs she had been running in Labrador communities. If you want to know more about how the programs work, and to get some tips and tricks for running your own version, make yourself a cup of tea, settle in, and listen in to their conversation here.

Memory Mug Up Events!

Join us for a cup of tea!

Share Your Stories at the Memory Mug Up!

Which of your memories would you like to preserve for future generations? What are your dearest childhood memories? What advice would you give your 18-year-old self? If you have answers to these questions, you are invited to attend the Memory Mug Up!

The Memory Mug Up is an informal story sharing session for seniors, where people gather, have a cup of tea, and share memories.

The Heritage Foundation of NL will be hosting three Memory Mug Up events for seniors this February, in Mount Pearl, Portugal-Cove St. Philip’s, and St. John’s

The goal of the program is to help participants share and preserve their stories. Whatever story is important to you, whether it a personal story, a story about a family member, or a story about your community, the Memory Mug Up program can help you to preserve and share it.

The events are free! You bring a memory of growing up, we’ll supply the tea and biscuits, and we will all have a chat. Following the sessions, those who are interested can set up a time to have their stories recorded and archived by one of our story collectors.

Portugal Cove- St. Philip’s Memory Mug Up
Friday, February 10th, 10:00am
Recreation Center (next to the Town Hall)
1119 Thorburn Road, Portugal Cove- St. Philip’s

Mount Pearl Memory Mug Up
Monday, February 13th, 10:30 am
Mount Pearl Public Library
65 Olympic Drive, Mount Pearl

Marjorie Mews Memory Mug Up
Wednesday, February 22nd, 2:30pm
Marjorie Mews Public Library
12 Highland Drive, St. John’s


The Memory Mug Ups are part of the Collective Memories Project, an oral history initiative which invites seniors to record their stories and memories for archiving and sharing. It is a project of the Intangible Cultural Heritage Office of the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador (HFNL), the Provincial Advisory Council on Aging and Seniors, the Interdepartmental Working Group on Aging and Seniors, and is funded through the Department of Seniors Wellness and Social Development.

For more information on how you or your community organization can get involved, email Dale Jarvis at ich@heritagefoundation.ca or call (709) 739-1892 x2.

#CollectiveMemories Monday - Life on the O'Brien Family Farm

Photo of young Aloysius with two puppies in 1921

Many people in St. John's will have memories of Aly O'Brien and the O'Brien brothers, and their fabulous heritage farm and farmhouse, Thimble Cottage.  The O’Brien Farm is situated within the City of St. John’s between Mount Scio Road and Oxen Pond Road. The thirty-two acre property is located within Pippy Park and is adjacent to the MUN Botanical Gardens.

The O’Brien family immigrated to St. John’s from southeastern Ireland. John O’Brien (1791-1857) established a farm in Freshwater, two miles west of St. John’s, in or around 1818. From its establishment, this farm was operated by O’Brien family for 190 years until the family’s last descendant, Aloysius Patrick O’Brien, passed away in October 2008.

In 2010, the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador acquired the farm to be developed as an historic site. In 2011, the O’Brien Farm Foundation was founded to manage, preserve and develop the property as a sustainable historic resource and visitor destination. The O’Brien Farm as an historic site focuses on a number of themes: Irish settlement in Newfoundland; Irish-Newfoundland culture and tradition; farming history in Newfoundland; sustainable farming practices; and the story of the O’Brien family.

Between 1992-1994, Dr. Jo Shawyer, Department of Geography, Memorial University, conducted a series of interviews with Aly O’Brien.

You can listen to the first of their chats here, where Aloysius talks about the farm and the life in the past. Topics include the acquisition of the land, the history of Irish immigrants, the neighbours, carts, horses, cows, and farm life.

The remainder of their conversations, along with photos and other documents about the farm, are all online on Memorial University's Digital Archive Initiative.

#CollectiveMemories Monday - Growing Up in a Cable Town

As part of the Heart's Content Cable Conference, Saturday, September 10th, 2016, we recorded a funny, charming, and nostalgic look back at growing up in a cable town. The talk was an on-stage conversation between Ted Rowe and Wallace Rendell, recorded at the Heart’s Content Regional Centre for the Arts (Heyfield Memorial Church). 

The two gentlemen swapped stories about the family histories of the Rendells and Rowes; differences between cable staff families and local families; the cable station library and its impact on literacy and education; childhood pastimes and swimming; card games; milking goats; memories of early televisions and TV sets; the post office and mail coming from Carbonear by horse and sleigh; and the impact of the cable station on town life.

You can listen to their chat, with an introduction by Joan Ritcey, right here. 

NEW: One day oral history workshop with Dale Jarvis in Carbonear

Collecting Oral Histories around Anniversaries and Milestone Events

Date: Wednesday, January 25th, 2016. 9:00 am to 4:30 pm.
Location: CARBONEAR, NL. College of the North Atlantic (Room 145), 4 Pike's Lane.

Collecting the oral history of an artifact is an important part of collections management. When people assemble at anniversaries and millstone event exhibitions opportunities to collect information on collections are created, and museums should be prepared to use these interactions with the public to collect and enhance collections records. The stories of veterans and people associated with artifacts should be properly recorded.

This workshop will provide information on the proper recording methods for oral history in museum settings. These histories will enable participants to enhance artifact records by recording stories on digital media. Participants will learn proper methods for digitizing audio and video recordings including the use of electronic devices, recording best practices and proper methods of digital storage. These recordings may be used to enhance the display of artifacts.

Instructor: Dale Jarvis, Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador
Enrolment Limits: Maximum of 10
Registration fees: $85 for MANL members, $110 for non-members

This workshop is an elective course for the Museum Studies Certificate Program. For more information about this program, please contact Sarah Wade, Professional Development Coordinator via email at swade@nf.aibn.com or at (709) 722 9034.

#CollectiveMemories Monday - Colin Pike: railway man, woodsman, and lineman

Photograph of Colin Pike (right) and his son, Wayne Pike

In August 2016, we had a visit in the Heritage Foundation office with Colin Pike, and his son Wayne Pike. We sat down for a chat, and Colin told us about growing up and the different jobs he had, including working on the railway, as a logger, and with Newfoundland Power as a lineman. He also talked about his father, including his service during the First World War, and his life as a trapper. Do you know what a railway torpedo is? Colin can tell you all about it!

Listen to the interview here.

#CollectiveMemories Monday - Clifford Reid and the history of Reidville

Dale Jarvis (l) talks to Cliff Reid (r) about the land settlement patterns in Reidville

In August 2016, we conducted an oral history interview with Clifford Reid about the history of Reidville, near Deer Lake in the Humber Valley region.

In the interview, we talk about his family history; his grandparents William Thomas Reid and MaryAnn Major, the first settlers of Reidville; how Reidville and Junction Brook began; the development and locations of lots of land in the area,and about his memories of Reidville as a child in the 1950’s and 60’s. 

The interview contains a lot of great information about logging, sawmills, woods work, and the tramway railway constructed by the loggers and the Newfoundland Pulp and Paper company, as well as a great story about Cliff's aunt going into labour and giving birth in a canoe!

The recording is archived on Memorial University's Digital Archives Initiative. Listen to it here!

The King of The Birds: Happy St. Stephen's Day!

(l-r) Dale Jarvis, Bev Kane, Dennis Flynn.

"King of All Birds": a public forum about NL wren traditions

“Up with the kettle and down with the pan
And give us a penny to bury the wren”

The wren is just one of several Christmastime house-visiting traditions that continues in Newfoundland and Labrador today. Typically, children or adults will visit homes within their community carrying around an effigy of a small bird—the wren. Upon visiting a home, they usually recite a poem declaring the wren the “King of All Birds” and may offer some kind of performance, be it song, joke, or recitation. Often the host will offer up food, drink, or money for the visit. Unlike other house-visiting traditions, there are no disguises involved.

On December 14th, 2016, the final night of the 2016 Mummers Festival, festival coordinator Ryan Davis hosted a public forum on wren traditions at The Rooms. The forum starts with introductory remarks by Davis, and then folklorist and storyteller Dale Jarvis shares the legend of the wren and moderates a discussion with Bev Kane of Renews and Dennis Flynn of Colliers, two people keep the wren alive in Newfoundland.  Listen in, and learn about the history of the wren tradition and how it’s happening today.

Download the mp3

In the interview, Bev Kane notes a variant version of the wren legend, posed as a battle between two legendary cities: Half a Loaf, and Windy Gap. Her written version is posted below, with a transcript after.

Here is the story, transcribed:

The King of the Birds

Years ago there were two cities named Half a Loaf and Windy Gap. Half a Loaf had the eagle and the people were always saying that they had the best bird to fly, but Windy Gap kept saying that they had the smartest bird to fly and it was the wren. The two groups decided to hold a contest to prove who was right, but first the citizens of Windy Gap had to go in the forest and catch a wren. This didn’t take long for them to catch a wren, so the two cities decided that on the day after Christmas, St. Stephen’s Day, they would let the two birds fly up in the air as far as they could. The people knew that which ever bird went the highest they would know when the birds came back: If a bird only went a short distance its wings would be dry, if it went higher its wings would be wet and if it went much higher there would be frost on its wings.

On St. Stephen’s day the two birds took to flight, no doubt the Eagle went much faster, the small wren took its time but kept the Eagle in sight. After a while the Eagle got tired and started to slow down. The wren started to gain on it but the Eagle kept on going, and he was not looking out for the Wren. The wren was so smart and so small and so light in weight that it pitched on the Eagle’s back and the Eagle did not know it.

When the Eagle got really tired he had to turn back. Now the wren was feeling good after a free ride, he left the Eagle and flew much higher.

When they got back to earth the people got some surprise when they saw the Eagle had wet wings but the smart little wren had the frost on his wings so from that day to this, the wren was called “The King of the birds”.