Job Posting - Summer Research Student in Portugal Cove-St. Philips

 Note: deadline extended to Thursday May 30^th, 2013.

Employment Opportunity- Heritage

The Heritage Programs and Services Coordinator and the PCSP Heritage Committee are seeking the employment of a Summer Research Student.

Job Description:

The selected candidate will complete a project that will be focused on the research and documentation of the built heritage of the community. This will include the identification of buildings, structures, and cultural landscapes in the town that might meet specified heritage characteristics. In doing so, the candidate may need to interview occupants/owners or others who may have knowledge of the select building and its history as well as research the architectural features. The researcher will prepare presentations to the heritage committee on the heritage value of the buildings and help with the drafting of recommendations to council. This position will include both office work and fieldwork. When the project is complete it is hoped to have a complete compilation of all the structures in the community that have heritage value.

Qualifications:

· The applicant will have completed some university in Folklore, Geography, History, Architecture, or Social Sciences

· Be familiar with Microsoft Office

· Have knowledge of interview practices

· Be adaptable to working environments

· Have great communication and interpersonal skills and be able to speak with and conduct interviews with residents and community members.

· Be a student prior to and/or following the position

Deadline for applications is Monday May 27th, 2013. For further information contact Julie Pomeroy at Julie.pomeroy@pcsp.ca or 709-895-8000 ext. 229.

Tuesday's Folklore Photo

Have you ever wondered what the oldest structure is St. John's is? Anderson House, built circa 1804-1805, is most likely the oldest in the city. The structure was built for James Anderson who was a sergeant in the militia at the time. Anderson House was designated as a Registered Heritage Structure by the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador on March 23, 1996. 

-Nicole

Weaving Pillow Tops in Cupids

Yesterday I was invited out to Cupids to instruct a pillow top workshop. Dale came along and we had a great time at The Cupids Legacy Centre teaching a lovely group how to weave this interesting textile. 

Pillow tops are square-shaped textiles woven from wool using a wooden frame, made by Newfoundland women and men. Women would make these in various sizes and used them around the house as pillow covers, table toppers, and backs for chairs. Pillow tops were also made by men working in the lumber camps. Cutting and collecting lumber was arduous work and the only day the men in the camps had off was Sunday. To pass the time some men would make pillow tops to give to girlfriends, wives and mothers.

For more information on pillow tops check out the Intangible Cultural Heritage Pillow Top Collection on Memorial University's Digital Archives Initiative. 

And here's some of the finished pillow tops. One thing I love about these is they all look different, I've yet to see two pillow tops that look the same. 

For more information on the tradition of Newfoundland lumber camp workers weaving pillow tops, check out this issue of the ICH newsletter. 

If you're interested in making your own pillow top frame, check out this blog entry which includes instructions and lots of pictures.

And if you'd like to have us out to your community to teach a pillow top workshop, you can reach Nicole Penney at 1-888-739-1892 ex.6 or via email at nicole@heritagefoundation.ca. 

Happy Weaving! 

Tuesday's Folklore Photo: A Wedding in Muddy Hole

The wedding of Hettie and Jimmy Robert Simms, in Muddy Hole, Newfoundland, probably during the early 1950s. The couple left Muddy Hole some years before the community was resettled in 1965, and moved to Pushthrough. Photograph courtesy of HFNL board member Doug Wells, of Harbour Breton.

Identify this Telegraph Artifact

At the ICH Office we are putting together an exhibit with the Road to Yesterday Museum in Bay Roberts to celebrate the 100th year anniversary of the cable station. As part of this exhibit, we are working on identifying some of the telegraph artifacts that are currently mysteries to us and the museum. 

One item I've become slightly enamored with is this little brass oddity. My guess is that it's some sort of manual ticker tape winder or an attachment to a teleprinter. The engraving on the top reads "Honore Patent / Creed and Co. Ltd / Makers / London. 

I did a bit of research and learned Creed and Co. was a British telecommunications company that was an important pioneer in the field of teleprinter machines. Founded by Frederick George Creed and Harald Bille, it was first incorporated in 1912 as "Creed, Bille & Company Limited". After Bille's death in a railway accident in 1916, his name was dropped from the company's title and it became Creed & Company. Then in 1928 the company merged into the International Telephone and Telegraph Corporation. It then stands to reason this item was most likely manufactured between 1916 and 1928.

If you have any idea as to what this artifact is, or if you have memories of the cable station in Bay Roberts, we'd love to hear from you. 

Nicole can be reached at 1-888-739-1892 ex.6 or at via email at nicole@heritagefoundation.ca 

Tuesday's Folklore Photo

I know that it's spring now and snowy landscapes are not exactly what we want to be looking at, but I thought it would be nice to say goodbye to winter by looking at this fantastic photograph of unbridled winter fun. This photo was taken by Ted Rowe in Heart's Content during the early 1960s and shows boys playing hockey on harbour ice. Nowadays the harbour doesn't freeze over like this, and groups of children no longer gather together to play hockey outdoors. This photo is a nostalgic peek into days gone by--a special thanks to Ted Rowe for sharing it.
-Lisa

Quidi Vidi Village Oral History and Folklore Project Launch

Memorial's Department of Folklore, Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador, and City of St. John's, in cooperation with The Quidi Vidi Village Foundation, invite you to the launch of the

Quidi Vidi Village Oral History and Folklore Project
Wednesday, May 8th, 7pm
The Plantation

Starting this summer, MUN Folklore and the Heritage Foundation will be researching the folklore and oral history of the Village. On Wednesday night, folklorists Jerry Pocius and Dale Jarvis will be presenting on this exciting project, and who will be involved.

Hope to see you there!

Coffee, tea and conversation to follow.

Facebook event listing here.

Water Wells on Cable Ave.

Cable Avenue in Bay Roberts was always known for having certain services before other parts of town. The Western Union Telegraph company ensured that their company houses had electricity, sewage, running water, and an attractive streetscape, all of which were maintained by hired caretakers. Originally there were two main wells that serviced both the cable station and the avenue, but each of the staff duplexes were eventually given individual wells that were located in their basements. Some of these wells can still be seen in the buildings, and one of the main service wells is still present in the backyard of Randy Collins. Mr. Collins is a long-time resident of Cable Ave who lives in the former Superintendent’s house. He has covered this large well with a gazebo, but it is connected to a faucet that supplies Mr. Collins with water for his garden. He took the time to show me two different wells:

“This here, this is built over a well. It’s 18 feet deep, 15 foot wide. You could put a boat into it. That was the well that supplied all the avenue at one time. And everyone of them got wells--see, there’s a well in each one of those houses. I’ll show you. This one here, I built that over it but in the middle of July in the hottest weather, you can get icy cold water out of that.”

“I’ve got a submersible pump down in mine that keeps the water down below three feet from the top. There it is, there’s the well there. I left the cover off. Each one supplied two households, see. And those wells would be perfectly good you know, if you wanted to pump them out through a line, get some water, you’d have no trouble.”

I wonder how many communities have old water wells that are still in use? If you know of any, please contact us, we’d love to hear about it. lisa@heritagefoundation.ca.

-Lisa

Hi Ho Silver! Stories with metalworkers tonight at The Rooms

Tonight, Wednesday, May 1st, at 7pm, join the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador (HFNL) at The Rooms Theatre for “Talking Shop: Metalworking.”

To highlight The Room’s new exhibit Silver: a Noble Metal, this Engaging Evening will explore the craft of metalworking. Folklorist Dale Jarvis will host Don Beaubier, Susan Lee Stephen, and Jason Holley, three local artists who work with metal, and who will join us to talk about their experience creating their pieces of art with silver and other metals.

The presentation is organized to coincide with a recent Rooms exhibit, “Silver: A Noble Metal.” In chemistry, silver is considered a noble metal; it is resistant to corrosion and oxidation and is considered precious due to its rarity in the Earth’s crust. From silverware to jewelry, pocket watches and trophies, silver was once mined and worked right here in Newfoundland.

Silver has been a status symbol for centuries, its artisans creating functional works of art but also paying attention to styles and trends. It has also been considered a great reward and is given as an award to important dignitaries, athletes and heroes on the battlefield.  The exhibition examines silver (sterling and plate), its uses and markings and its production within the province.

Photos courtesy Susan Lee Studios.