Pouch Cove Heritage & Cod Liver Oil

Left to right: Gail Everson, Terra Barrett, Margot Duley.

This morning I had the pleasure of interviewing Gail Everson and Margot Duley of the Pouch Cove Heritage Society for the Living Heritage Podcast. Although this episode won’t air for a couple of months, I wanted to share a little information about today’s interview and a couple of pictures taken this morning.

Gail Everson, formally a Hudson, is a lifetime resident of Pouch Cove. Her family owned and operated 3 Cod Liver Oil factories in Pouch Cove, Bauline and Cape St. Francis from the late 1800s until the mid 1960s. Dr. Margot Duley is a graduate of MUN and the University of London where she received a PhD in history. She currently lives in Pouch Cove, a community that she loves and where she finds inspiration for her ongoing writing in Newfoundland history. Founded in 2009 the Pouch Cove Heritage Society is a non-profit community association which assists the residents of Pouch Cove in identifying and protecting their local heritage.

Gail Everson showing one of her grandfather's diaries.

Our discussion mainly focused on the Heritage Society’s work including the Pouch Cove Heritage Days, storytelling circles, kitchen parties, and a commemoration of the Waterwitch shipwreck and rescue. We discussed how the society created “Our Home by the Sea” which is an extremely popular book about the community of Pouch Cove.

One thing in particular we discussed was the importance of cod liver oil to the community. The importance of this industry led the Heritage Society to create a short video and app with the help of Chris Brookes and a grant from the HFNL. This app can be downloaded on iPhones and android. The listener can choose the armchair option if they are unable to walk through the community itself or the listener can choose to listen by location as they walk through the community of Pouch Cove. Make sure to check out the Pouch Cove Memories app here!

Paid stamp in an account book.

After the interview Gail brought out some of her grandfather’s diaries which included account books with the names of men who purchased supplies such as leather, calico, or overalls and a small book with a list of how much cod liver oil was processed each year. There was note on one page where a man traded cod liver oil for supplies at the Hudson Store. I hope you enjoy the photos and let us know if you have any memories about cod liver oil. Did you enjoy the taste? Have you ever helped process cod liver oil? Let us know in the comments or shoot us an email at ich@heritagefoundation.ca

-Terra

Account book.

Gail Everson and Margot Duley.

Directions for putting preservative with cod livers.

Living Heritage Podcast Ep003 - Community Engagement with Dennis Garreck @SaskCulture

In this episode of the Living Heritage podcast, folklorist Dale Jarvis speaks with Dennis Garreck of SaskCulture. 

Dennis Garreck has over 30 yrs experience working at the local, municipal, and provincial level as a programmer, manager and consultant. Dennis has been with SaskCulture for the past 14 years, working with communities on cultural engagement and planning, as well as managing three funding programs and liaising with provincial cultural organizations. Most recently he has been working on an ecomuseum advisory committee, community engagement animateurs, a living heritage region, and community outreach. Dennis talks about the work of SaskCulture to engage citizens across Saskatchewan in their own heritage and culture, inclusivity and cultural diversity, the ecomuseum concept, and the importance of maintaining and sharing local stories.

The Memory Store: And we painted the rest white...

The Memory Store post this week is another video from the Craft Council of Newfoundland and Labrador.  Executive director Anne Manuel describes the Craft Council's first exhibition and the expansion of the Craft Council in the building.  Remember you can stop in to Devon House and check out the exhibits or the buildings beautiful woodwork and fireplaces.

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

Click here for more information about the building's history and architectural style.
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@heritagefoundation.ca or 739-1892 ex. 5.

-Terra

Living Heritage Podcast Ep002 Kevin Aucoin, Agricultural History Society.

In today's edition of the Living Heritage Podcast, folklorist Dale Jarvis talks with Kevin Aucoin of the Agricultural History Society of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Kevin Aucoin was born and raised on a small mixed farm in the Codroy Valley, on the west coast of the island of Newfoundland. He was introduced to the 4-H program as a teenager, which lead Kevin to an interest and training in the agricultural field. Kevin attended the Agricultural Colleges in Nova Scotia, Quebec and Ontario. He worked for some 35 years in the agricultural industry, becoming involved in farm and agricultural history in the mid 1980s. Kevin discusses his family background in farming, the formation of the Agricultural History Society, changes in technology, hay barracks and root cellars, agriculture in Labrador, and the Century Farms program.

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The Living Heritage Podcast is about people who are engaged in the heritage and culture sector, from museum professionals and archivists, to tradition bearers and craftspeople - all those who keep history alive at the community level. The show is a partnership between HeritageNL and CHMR Radio. Past episodes are hosted on Libsyn, and you can subscribe via iTunes, or Stitcher. Theme music is Rythme Gitan by Latché Swing.

The Memory Store: The Crow's Nest tells a whole bunch of stories...

The week's Memory Store video is another video from Gary Green.  Gary is a past president of the Crow's Nest Officer's Club and a past president of the Crow's Nest Military Artefacts Association.  This week Gary Green explains the tradition of gun shield art and how each gun shield tells a story.

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

If you haven't been the Crow's Nest check out their website to find out more information or pop in for ballad night or storytelling circle sometime soon!

Click here for more information about the building's history and architectural style.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@heritagefoundation.ca or 739-1892 ex. 5.

-Terra

Tuesday's Folklore Photo - Booklet Launch

Participants of the Petty Harbour-Maddox Cove booklet There Was No Pavement Then with editor Terra Barrett.
Left to right: Betty Cheeseman, Ann Payne, Mary Heffernan, Mary Kieley, Jimmy Kieley, Mike Hearn, Terra Barrett, Gordy Doyle, Ron Doyle, Yvonne Collinson, Marguerite Weir, and Phyllis Weir.

Today's folklore photos come from the launch of There Was No Pavement Then from last Thursday evening. The booklet launch took place in the Watershed Cafe on the waterfront of Petty Harbour. Watershed is a new cafe which opened in June 2015 and it was the perfect place to hold the launch. During last summer's Arts and Heritage Festival in Petty Harbour-Maddox Cove Dale and I set up a Memory Store in the Watershed cafe (although it was little more than a disused shed at the time). It was fitting to be back in the cafe for the launch of the booklet.

Inside the Watershed Cafe

Jack and Gertrude Walsh with Terra Barrett

Roughly 50 people turned out to celebrate the launch of the booklet, to hear some speeches, listen to a reading from the booklet, and celebrate with free tea, coffee, and cake. Copies went quickly and due to its popularity we did a reprint with a limited number of copies available so if you were interested in a copy and didn’t manage to grab one at the launch you can send me an email at terra@heritagefoundation.ca or check out the full pdf of the booklet online.

Left to right: Dale Jarvis, Terra Barrett, Jillian Gould and Frank Crews

It was a great turnout and a fantastic way to end a great project! I’d like to send out another huge thank you to everyone who came out to the launch and in particular the participants of the project whose stories make up the booklet.

-Terra

The Association of Newfoundland and Labrador Archives presents “Honour 100”

Guest blog post by Sharna Brzycki

Hi everyone! As this is my first post here on the ICH blog, I thought I should start by introducing myself and how I became a part of the very special world of folklore, specifically within the public sector. My first experiences with the discipline began during my undergraduate studies at Eugene Lang College The New School for Liberal Arts in Manhattan while earning my BA in Culture and Media. During this time I learned how to document the cultural vibrancy of the city through mediums such as film and audio production.

In my last semester of college I serendipitously ended up taking a course with folklorist Hanna Griff-Sleven called “Oral Histories of the Lower East Side”. For three months we learned about the discipline of folklore (something that was new to all of us!) and were given a crash course in fieldwork. These skills were ultimately used to create a short film exploring food traditions found throughout the neighborhood. My experience in this final semester of college is what led me to realize that all of my previous endeavors and passions were, in fact, forms of public folklore. After graduation I spent some more time gaining folklore experience through volunteering for projects with the Museum at Eldridge Street, one being the annual Egg Rolls and Egg Creams street festival, a celebration of the Chinese and Jewish communities of the Lower East Side. I was given a taste of the life of the folklorist, which is what ultimately led me to move to Newfoundland to study for my MA in Public Sector Folklore.



Ralph Carey and I posing with beautiful whale tusks during the Witless Bay field school, September 2014. Photo courtesy of Andrea McGuire.

This summer I have the pleasure of working with Alanna Wicks and Mary Ellen Wright at the Association of Newfoundland and Labrador Archives (ANLA). In honour of the one hundred year commemoration of World War One we are devoting a large portion of the season to identifying related archival materials across the province, ultimately promoting the use of these materials for the public and honouring our history.

We began Honour 100 by contacting each of ANLA’s member institutions to establish what archival holdings they may have from the years 1914 through 1919. These holdings may either be directly related to the war (i.e. draft papers or a photograph from Beaumont Hamel) or considered as “home front”, which is any holding from those years despite a direct connection to the war itself. We are currently in the process of discovering the extensive range of WWI holdings there really are throughout Newfoundland and Labrador, from soldiers’ helmets to war diaries of the Newfoundland Regiment to photos from the seal hunt. Once this inventory of items is complete, we will have a roadmap of pertinent WWI archival holdings across the province. This roadmap will allow us to explore various ways in which we can provide further description of the declared items as well as possible digitization for public access.

“On the Way to Gallipoli” - Courtesy of the Trinity Historical Society

The next step is to establish a plan to produce a project that will promote the use of these materials. There are a variety of methods through which this can be done. While the final outcome of the project will be determined by our preliminary findings, some approaches we are currently considering are possible exhibits, digitization and inclusion in ANLA’s provincial Archival Resource Catalogue.

Are you a member of an archive in the province? Know someone who is? If you or anyone you know is interested in getting involved please let us know! We can be reached by email at anlahonor100@gmail.com.  We hope to hear from you!

-Sharna Brzycki

Living Heritage Podcast Ep001 Christine LeGrow, Spindrift Handknits

It is official! The new Living Heritage Podcast is up and running, and ready for a listen!

Living Heritage is about people who are engaged in the heritage and culture sector, from museum professionals and archivists, to tradition bearers and craftspeople - all those who keep heritage alive at the community level. We talk about their work, their passions, and the day-to-day safeguarding of culture and tradition.

Ep. 001 - Christine LeGrow - Spindrift Handknits

Christine LeGrow is the owner of Spindrift Handknits. Christine was born and raised here and has a keen interest in the people, places and things that make this island of Newfoundland unique. In this interview, Christine talks about learning knitting skills, traditions related to craft, patterns, socks and trigger mitts, sources of wool, and her wishes for the future of heritage in Newfoundland.



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The Living Heritage Podcast is about people who are engaged in the heritage and culture sector, from museum professionals and archivists, to tradition bearers and craftspeople - all those who keep history alive at the community level. 
The show is a partnership between HeritageNL and CHMR Radio. Theme music is Rythme Gitan by Latché Swing.

The Memory Store: The first public library in Newfoundland and Labrador...

This week’s Memory Store video is filmed in the Bishop’s Library where the Basilica houses a museum and archives. Anne Walsh, treasurer of the Basilica Museum and Historical Committee, describes the Bishop’s Library which was the first public library in Newfoundland and Labrador.

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

Click here for more information about the building's history and architectural style.
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@heritagefoundation.ca or 739-1892 ex. 5.

-Terra

Tuesday's Folklore Photo: Birch Brooms In Our Midst

Today’s Tuesday Folklore photos are of Mr. Joshua Young demonstrating how to “run” a birch broom. Last Thursday afternoon after a successful first interview for the radio show/podcast Living Heritage with Christine Legrow, Dale and I took a trip to Mount Pearl to talk with a gentleman who grew up in Grey River on the South-West Coast of Newfoundland near Burgeo. Mr. Young learned how to make birch brooms from his family members and continues to teach his grandchildren how to make the brooms today.

Mr. Young explained the different between white and red birch trees and how to find the right piece of wood to carve into a broom. While explaining and discussing broom making Mr. Young made a small birch broom in under an hour as a simple example of how to make a birch broom. He sent us back to the office with the sample he made as well as one of his larger brooms which he wasn’t completely satisfied with due to the crook in the handle. The broom now hangs on the wall in our office and is the first thing you see when you step inside.

Mr. Young also makes model wooden boats and explained his process of crafting and painting these as well. It was an excellent afternoon and I hope I am able to join Dale when he goes back in August for a more hands on demonstration of broom making.

-Terra

Booklet Launch - There Was No Pavement Then

Please join us for the launch of our new booklet:

There Was No Pavement Then: Memories of Growing Up in Petty Harbour-Maddox Cove

Thursday, July 9th, 2015

7:00 pm

Watershed Café, Petty Harbour.

“There was no pavement then, it was all dirt road and we would play in the schoolyard,” remembers Betty Cheeseman. “We would draw out the hopscotch with our sticks in the sand and we had lots of time and lots of fun.”

Cheeseman was one of several current and former residents of Petty Harbour-Maddox Cove who took part in the 2014 Petty Harbour-Maddox Cove oral history project.  Their memories and stories are part of a booklet “There Was No Pavement Then: Memories of Growing Up in Petty Harbour-Maddox Cove,” edited by Memorial University folklore graduate student, Terra Barrett.

“The booklet focuses on growing up in the community, the children’s games played in the area, folk beliefs, seasonal activities, and community events,” says Barrett, currently a public folklore intern with the Intangible Cultural Heritage office of the Heritage Foundation of NL. “The booklet contains transcribed excerpts and portraits of community members, comical local stories, and memories about fishing for tomcods and cutting cod’s tongues.”

The booklet was laid out and designed by local graphic designer and artist Graham Blair, and was funded by the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador and the Helen Creighton Folklore Society.  

The Heritage Foundation of NL will be hosting a booklet launch at the new Watershed Café, in Petty Harbour, on Thursday, July 9th, 2015, at 7 pm. The Watershed Cafe is the blue building, right on the harbour front, three buildings up from the convenience store.  All are welcome!

Light snacks, coffee and tea will be available for purchase.

For more information please contact:

Terra Barrett

(709) 739-1892 ex. 5

terra@heritagefoundation.ca

On the Air: Living Heritage with Christine LeGrow.

We have been working on a new project, and it is launching today!

“Living Heritage” is a production of CHMR Radio 93.5 FM at Memorial University, in collaboration with the Intangible Cultural Heritage Office of the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Living Heritage is about people who are engaged in the heritage and culture sector, from museum professionals and archivists, to tradition bearers and craftspeople - all those who keep heritage alive at the community level. We talk about their work, their passions, and the day-to-day safeguarding of culture and tradition.

Our first show airs today on CHMR at 6:00pm. You can tune in and listen to our interview with Christine LeGrow, local knitter and owner of Spindrift Handknits, as we talk knitting, craft production, and the importance of maintaining local tradition.

Living Heritage will be a regular weekly program on CHMR, broadcasting every Thursday at 6:00pm. It will also be a podcast published biweekly, and will be available through iTunes. When our first episode is ready, we will let you know here, and give you information on how you can subscribe.

In the meantime, tune in tonight! Thanks to Christine to being an easy first guest!

If you think your heritage organization or project might be a good fit for our show, email us at ich@heritagefoundation.ca.

- Dale Jarvis

The Memory Store: They used to put the windows in molasses to keep them from sliding around...

This week’s Memory Store video is a clip of Elisabeth Laverty from the Anglican Cathedral of St. John the Baptist. Elisabeth explains the story of the only surviving stained glass window prior to the great fire of 1892. Elisabeth also mentioned the way large stained glass would have been shipped during the time period – in barrels of molasses!

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

Click here for more information about the building's history and architectural style.
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@heritagefoundation.ca or 739-1892 ex. 5.

-Terra

Tuesday's Folklore Photo - Heritage Video Screening

I spent Monday morning attending the Association of Newfoundland and Labrador Archives' annual general meeting and today's folklore photo was one I snapped quickly during yesterday's meeting.  I was invited as a representative from the ICH Office as ANLA and the Heritage Foundation are partners and sister heritage organizations.

It was interesting to learn a little more about the organization and to hear some of the triumphs and challenges the organization has achieved and overcome in the past year and where they want to take the organization in the coming year.  One thing which ANLA has been promoting recently are their online webinars so be sure to check out their website for upcoming workshops!

The picture above is from the presentation which occurred during the lunchbreak.  Jenny Higgins from the Newfoundland and Labrador Heritage Website introduced a series of short films which she has been working on recently.  The videos were on difficult subjects and were incredibly moving.  One touched on the 1914 sealing disaster, another on the great fire of 1892 and the last on the battle of Beaumont Hamel.  Check out some of the videos on their website and stay tuned for more.

-Terra

The Leida Finlayson Memorial Scholarship 2015 winner - Sarah Hannon.

On Monday, June 29th, I was tasked with handing out the 11th Annual Leida Finlayson Memorial Scholarship as part of the NL Historic Trust's annual Southcott Awards, and saying a few words about Leida. Here is the text of that short speech.

Ladies and gentlemen, distinguished guests, award winners, it is my privilege tonight to speak on and present the 2015 Leida Finlayson Memorial Scholarship. Robyn Pike asked me if I would come and say a few words about Leida and the scholarship that bears her name. I am very happy to do this, and I think it is a very appropriate thing. We are in the business of preserving heritage, and I am delighted to be asked to act as the bearer of memory and witness to our own organizational history.

I suspect that some of you here tonight didn’t know Leida Finlayson, who was the first general manager of the Newfoundland Historic Trust.

I was wondering how I might, in the exactly three minutes that Robyn has allotted me, to give you a sense of a person’s life.

I met Leida in what was, in retrospect, a typically Leida way. We met by letter. Letters today are rare and precious things, and of all the people I know, it is fitting that Leida is the only person in my circle of acquaintances that I met by way of a carefully and delightfully worded piece of correspondence. I regret that I don’t have that letter, but I still remember it. She was witty, clever, and engaging. In one word, she was charming, even on paper. 

Indeed, I think that was one of Leida’s greatest gifts: she was absolutely charming, possessed of the ability to make pretty much anyone fall in love with her. If her time with us had been longer, she would have made a perfect diplomat.

I am delighted that the awards presentation tonight is back in the Newman Wine Vaults Provincial Historic Site, because I have great memories of Leida here in this space, long before there was anything as glamorous here as plumbing, or electricity, or even a floor. She swept in here before the restoration was even complete, and set about organizing a series of fund-raising teas, one of the first public events held here in the vaults, which were very popular, even in the darkness and dust.

Leida shone in those types of events. She had an old-fashioned glamour, and loved any excuse to dress up. She loved high heels, long gloves, and makeup. She wore fabulous hats. These were things which were something of a mystery to her parents, Duncan and Renee, who had been part of the back-to-the land hippie movement of the 1960s and 1970s. Leida was more high-fashion than homespun. Duncan swears they weren’t really hippies, but as Leida said, at that time, in the rural Newfoundland where she spent her girlhood, “a little hippie went a long way.” 

While her fashion sense was different from her parents, she shared many of their ideals.
She wrote political commentary, was intensely interested in history, heritage, politics, and social justice. She was smart, passionate, and interested in the world. 

When Leida passed away in 2003, we established a scholarship in her memory. It was determined that the scholarship would be directed to a Memorial University student of history or political studies, two of Leida’s passions, and that it would be presented annually as part of the Trust's Southcott Awards. 

I am very pleased tonight to present the Leida Finlayson Memorial Scholarship to Sarah Hannon, one of our community’s next generation of smart, passionate young women. Congratulations Sarah on your academic work, and on behalf of the Trust, I commend you and encourage you in your pursuit of excellence. And on behalf of Leida, I would also encourage you to take every opportunity you have to wear a fabulous hat.

Sarah, if you would come forward, I would love to present you with the Leida Finlayson Memorial Scholarship.

- Dale Jarvis

Participants needed for paid study with Memorial University Department of Linguistics

If your first language is English, and you have a spare hour, a group of linguists at Memorial University wants your time -- and they are willing to pay for it!

Participants are needed for a study on speech perception and production. Participants will listen to speech samples and answer questions about them. Participants will also be asked to read some words and phrases aloud. These readings will be recorded and analyzed.

Participants will be paid $10 for their time. Participation should take about an hour. To participate, you must speak English as your first language.

If you are interested in participating please book a time here:
https://speechresearch.youcanbook.me

or simply contact

Paul De Decker
pauldd@mun.ca

Sara Mackenzie
sjmackenzie@mun.ca
709-864-8170

Youth Heritage NL represented at the Canadian Commission for UNESCO

Guest blog post by Heather Elliott
Hi everyone! My name is Heather and I am the newly selected representative for Youth Heritage NL on CCUNESCO’s Youth Advisory Group (YAG). Earlier this month I was fortunate enough to travel to Ottawa, Ontario to attend CCUNESCO’s Annual General Meeting. It was an incredible experience and I’m more than happy to tell you all about it.

YAG exists as a way to bring the youth voice to CCUNESCO. This was my first time attending a conference of this size, so I really wasn’t sure what to expect. Once I arrived at the YAG meeting (held the day before the official AGM) and started meeting my fellow Yaggers, I was put immediately at ease. The group was made up of diverse and dynamic individual, with doctors, nurses, teachers, museum types (like myself), human rights advocates, biosphere professionals and more all seated around the same table. Over the course of the morning we discussed topics ranging from sustainable development to global citizenship, and talked about how we wanted to see youth used within CCUNESCO. It was a fantastic opportunity to not only hear about what everyone else was working on across the country, but to share the work that Youth Heritage NL is hoping to do as we continue to grow.

Over the following two days I was able to attend the official CCUNESCO AGM, and continued to meet inspiring people from across the nation. Everyone had come together to discuss the importance of UNESCO and their values within Canada, and how we can all work together to bring those values to our own communities. I left the experience feeling optimistic, excited and determined. I am really looking forward to returning next year and once again representing Youth Heritage NL at CCUNESCO.

Youth Heritage NL now has a blog online, where I’ve posted a much more detailed account of my experience at the AGM. If you’re interested, please feel free to head over and check it out! If you have any questions, you can feel free to contact me at youthheritagenl@gmail.com.

• Youth Heritage NL Blog
• Youth Heritage NL Twitter Feed
• Youth Heritage NL Facebook group

The Memory Store: A present with a big bow on it...

This week's Memory Store video is filmed in the Anna Templeton Centre at 214 Duckworth Street in St. John's. Beverly Barbour the Anna Templeton Centre executive director describes the history of the building, how it came to be the Anna Templeton Centre and why it was named after Miss Templeton.

Click here for more information about the building's history and architectural style.

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@heritagefoundation.ca or 739-1892 ex. 5.

-Terra

Folklore Photo - The Hole In the Floor and Adolphus's Wake

This week's folklore photo might not look like much, but it comes with a great story, and is a very good example of how intangible cultural heritage and our built heritage are intertwined. 

We've been working on an oral history of the Jenkins House in Durrell, Twillingate, which was owned for a portion of its history by Adolphus and Lucretia Jenkins. 

According to oral history, Lucretia contracted tuberculosis and suffered in the home for many years with the disease. She was confined to her bedroom while her daughter Leah Jenkins cared for her, surprisingly Leah never contracted the disease herself. While Lucretia was sick her husband Adolphus passed away. Adolphus was waked in the home, which was tradition at the time. Bedridden and unable to leave the upstairs of the house, Lucretia still wanted to see her husband one last time. The family decided, instead of trying to bring her downstairs they would saw a hole in the floor by the side of her bed so she could rest and still be able to see her husband, so that is what they did. Today, the cut in the floor is still recognizable by the newer boards that fill where the hole once was. 

Corey Sharpe remembers his Grandmother Leah recounting the story;

“Well, I tell you about that now. I never told anybody about it before. When father passed away, they waked him downstairs. So Lucretia was bed ridden upstairs with TB and separated from the family. She wanted to see her husband while they had him waked. So what they did, instead of bring her downstairs, they cut a hole in the floor so she could look down from her bed and see him. So the floors are to stay like that.”

You can download the full oral history report on the Jenkins House in PDF format here.

- Dale Jarvis

Invite to Heritage Day in Hodge’s Cove, Trinity Bay, Saturday June 27th

Guest blog post by Wanda Garrett, Southwest Arm Historical Society

Come and step back into time at the first annual Heritage Day of Southwest Arm Historical Society on Saturday, June 27th at the Lions Club in Hodge’s Cove, Trinity Bay. Doors open at 2:00 p.m. and the admission is free!

Museum for the Day
From 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., view the museum items that are on display for the afternoon. There could be everything from school yearbooks to vintage cast sad irons to a model or mould used to construct a punt. View and touch some of the many items that your ancestors used every day. You may be aware of most of the items but there could be some that you haven’t seen before or even know their purpose.

You might see items such as these two Maritime Archaic tools that were found at Heart’s Ease – a slate knife blade and a stone celt (axe). These items are approximately 4000 years old.

or you might see pottery inkwells that were found when the pond was drained at Heart’s Ease Beach in 1990….

or maybe a complete kit for loading bullets…

or items your grandmother or great-grandmother used around the house such as this sad iron or chopper…



The possibilities are endless so don’t miss out!

Share your ‘Old’ Photos
The Southwest Arm Historical Society will also take this opportunity to collect photos for their website. There will be a couple of computers and scanners set up at the Lions Club in the afternoon to scan your photos while you view the items in the ‘museum for the day.’ Be sure to bring along your photos of people and places of Southwest Arm and we will scan and return them to you before you are ready to leave.

Home-made Soup for Supper
What event in Newfoundland and Labrador would be complete without a little food? Join us for some homemade soup and sandwiches between 5:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. – cost just $5.00 each.

‘Old-time’ Square Dance
And a little entertainment to round out the day! We will finish off our Heritage Day with an ‘old-time’ square dance. Don’t know how to square-dance! No problem; a number of square-dance pros will demonstrate how it is done and then offer you an opportunity to give it a try. Sound like fun? The square dance will start at 7:00 p.m. with local live music (accordion and guitar) – must be 19 years and older – cost only $5.00 each.

We hope to see you there!

Johnny Poker - A Boat Hauling Song

I’m currently typing the notes from the Asset Mapping workshop Dale led in Champney’s West and I came across the song Johnny Poker.  It is noted as a traditional song that people would sing when they pulled boats up.  Sometimes people would pull back on the boat so they could hear the Johnny Poker song.

The version which is written in the notes is:
“To my jolly poker
We will start this heavy joker
Haul boy haul” [everybody pulls]

The notes say there are 4-5 versions of the song.  I did a quick search and came across a version by Stuffed Squid set to music.  I’ve added the video here and you can check out the page with the lyrics and some background information here.

Do you know a version of Johnny Poker? Let us know in the comments or send an email to terra@heritagefoundation.ca

-Terra

Introducing a new folklore hashtag: #FolkloreThursday

The Twitterati/Blogatrixes @WillowCWinsham and @DeeDeeChainey have started up a new hashtag for those of us that love folklore and mythology: #FolkloreThursday, and an attendant Twitter account, appropriately enough, named @FolkloreThurs. As Willow notes on her blog:

During the last year of writing here at The Witch, the Weird, and The Wonderful, I've noticed two things. One is the never-ending supply of fascinating tales and intriguing images out there to share. The other is how many fabulous like-minded folks there are about, with fabulous blog posts and tales just waiting to be shared.

So, if you have something appropriately fabulous and folkloristic to share on social media, tag it with #FolkloreThursday each week, and join in the conversation.

- Dale Jarvis

The Memory Store: Start with a lump of clay and turn it into something...

The week's Memory Store video comes to us from the Annex Gallery on the second floor of Devon House.  Executive director of the Craft Council of Newfoundland and Labrador, Anne Manuel, explains some of the highlights or things that have made the space special over the Craft Council's twenty plus years in the building. 

Click here for more information about the building's history and architectural style.
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@heritagefoundation.ca or 739-1892 ex. 5.

-Terra

Folklore Photo - Gertrude and Leah Jenkins, Twillingate, 1930s

This Tuesday in our folklore photo segment, we've got a gem from Corey Sharpe, of Grand Falls-Windsor, who owns and has restored the Jenkins House Registered Heritage Structure in Blow Me Down, Durrell, Twillingate.

The photo shows his great aunt Amelia "Gertie" Gertrude (Jenkins) Hamlyn and her sister, his grandmother, Leah (Jenkins) Sharpe, thought to have been taken sometime in the early 1930s, positioned in front of the Jenkins House.  Gertrude was born in 1919, Leah was born in 1925, and today is her 90th birthday! Happy Birthday, Leah!

You can read and listen to the interview I did with Corey about the house here.

- Dale Jarvis

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