#CollectiveMemories - Main Street Memories

Stewart's. Photo courtesy of Carmel Barry.

Yesterday morning started with a chat with Carmel Barry about Stewart’s store on Main Street in Windsor. Carmel worked with George Stewart for 47 years. She spent one year working part time and another full time on the floor packing shelves and doing whatever needed to be done but most of the time she spent in the office doing the bookwork. Carmel vividly remembered the money system that was in place in the store which allowed money to traverse the store from the office to the cash. She also remembered the wood stove that heated the store and how George would head in to the store before the staff and have the fire burning so it would be nice and toasty when they arrived. Carmel clearly loved the store, the work, and the staff and she exclaimed that she would still be working there today if she could. Unfortunately George Stewart died in 20008 and the old store was torn down a couple of years ago.

In the afternoon we had two interviews. One was with Boyd Cohen whose family moved from the Ukraine and Poland. His grandfather moved from what is now the Ukraine to London, England in the 1890s to work for a clothing company. Between the years 1904 and 1906 Simon Cohen, Boyd’s grandfather, moved to Newfoundland to work for a Newfoundland Clothing Company which was being established by a firm out of England. Following the First World War the family moved to Grand Falls-Windsor and opened a general store. This store sold “anything from hardware and nails to ladies hats”. Boyd also discussed the move from Main Street in Windsor to High Street in Grand Falls and how he got into the furniture business and into real estate.

Cohen's bus.  Photo courtesy of Boyd Cohen.

One memory Boyd shared was of the bus his father ran between High Street, Grand Falls and Main Street, Windsor between 1928 and the mid 1930s. Listen to the clip below.
Our next interview was with Mary Kelly. She discussed growing up in Grand Falls-Windsor and spending time on Main Street, Windsor. Mary had many fond memories of Riff’s where her aunt Helen Kelly worked for years and years. She described going to the store and the magic of Main Street in Windsor. Mary fondly remembered the generosity of the Riff family and how they sent Christmas cards to the family long after her aunt had passed away. She described how after one of Riff’s buying trips to Montreal her family would eat bagels for weeks which were brought back from Montreal from Mr. Riff.

Riff's Christmas party. Helen Kelly and Marie Penney. Photo courtesy of Mary Kelly.

Listen to Mary’s memories of Main Street in Windsor.

Here Mary describes going into Riff’s on Main Street.
Let us know your memories of Main Street, Windsor! Email terra@heritagefoundation.ca or call 1-888-739-1892.

~Terra Barrett

Collective Memories Grand Falls-Windsor - Sealing Sweep

Harry Pinsent

I’m spending this week in Grand Falls-Windsor talking to folks about their memories of Main Street in Windsor and merchants such as Becker’s, Chow’s, Cohen’s, Hiscock’s, Munch’s, Riff’s, Stewart’s, and many more who started shops and businesses in the area. The Heritage Foundation is working with the Grand Falls-Windsor Heritage Society to gather and learn more information on Windsor as the society has a large number of interviews focused on Grand Falls, the company and the mill.

Yesterday afternoon Audrey Burke and I had the pleasure of talking with 93 year old Harry Pinsent about his life and his memories of growing up in Grand Falls-Windsor. Harry had vivid memories of growing up in the community and has certainly seen the town change over the years. Harry grew up in a family of six including his only surviving sibling Gordon Pinsent. Harry described going to school in Grand Falls-Windsor and the joy of being able to wear jeans in the summer instead of the shorts required for the school uniforms!

Harry's equipment for his work as an electrician.

Once Harry finished school he worked for the mill briefly before signing up and flying overseas with the RAF during the Second World War. When he returned to Grand Falls-Windsor Harry worked as an electrician with the mill until he retired at the age of 65. Harry married and together with his wife raised a family of fifteen. Harry described some of the shops on Main Street in Windsor and High Street in Grand Falls. He also had memories of leisure activities such as dances, picnics, and going to the movies.

Harry's mother Flossie is in the centre of this picnic.

One story which stood out during the interview was Harry’s description of the Sealing Sweep. Harry remembered the Methodist Church on the West End of Gilbert Street where movies were shown while the new town hall in Grand Falls-Windsor was being built. He saw the first “talkies” or talking pictures at the church. Harry explained that bingo was also played in this church however you couldn’t play for money. In the sound clip below Harry explains the only gambling allowed in the town – the Sealing Sweep.
Do you remember the Sealing Sweep? Or do your recall memories of shopping or working on Main Street? Let us know in the comments or email terra@heritagefoundation.ca or call 1-888-739-1892.

~Terra Barrett

The City of St. John's Volunteers: Marie Ryall

Marie Ryall with her volunteer awards. Photo taken by Terra Barrett.

Marie Ryall grew up in the West end of St. John’s. Her daughter, Rhonda, lives in Nova Scotia with her husband. They have three children, and Marie is now the proud great grandma of four.

Marie considers her life in two stages: before and after the accident. In 1990, she was in a head-on collision while driving to Nova Scotia to visit her daughter for Christmas:

“It was a life-changing experience. After the accident my marriage broke up, and that’s when I started to live for myself.”

For Marie, living for herself meant a chance to help others. “Because I was so lucky that I had lived, I wanted to get into volunteering with those who are less fortunate than me and who experienced likewise. I just want to be part of a team that’s out there helping others. You know, and it gives me a sense of purpose. As I said, it’s a two way street. You help someone, you’ll get it back millions of times over.”

During Marie’s working years, she collected for the Cancer Society and the Heart and Stroke Foundation and was team captain of the Arthritis Society in her area. After she was diagnosed with fibromyalgia she helped to launch a support group for sufferers of the disease. She continues to volunteer at the Miller Center Veteran’s Pavilion, has been volunteering at the Agnes Pratt Nursing Home since 2001, and is an active member of the City of St. John’s Senior’s Outreach Program. Once a year, she helps out with the Children’s Wish Foundation.

”When I look back over the years and realize how many new friends I’ve made through volunteering, and the events that I’ve experienced getting involved with them and their families, it gives me such a very, very gratifying feeling. My motto is that by helping others you help yourself.”

Living Heritage Podcast Ep053 On the road

Andrea McGuire is completing her MA degree in Folklore at Memorial University. She is currently in the throes of writing her master’s thesis on hitchhiking traditions in Newfoundland and Cape Breton. In her thesis, she is looking at how trust, in its many variations, influences the way hitchhiking is practiced, and the way hitchhiking stories are told.

In this episode of the Living Heritage Podcast, we discuss why Andrea chose hitchhiking for her thesis, how she conducted her research, the difference between short and long distance hitchhiking, how gender effects hitchhiking, the stories people tell and the techniques they use, the brief history of hitchhiking in Newfoundland, and examples of the hitchhiking stories she has heard.

Listen on the Digital Archive:

http://collections.mun.ca/cdm/singleitem/collection/ich_oral/id/691/rec/1

The City of St. John's Volunteers: Ruby Hann

Ruby Hann with her Volunteer Award. Photo taken by Terra Barrett.

Ruby Hann was born and raisedin downtown St. John’s. She is a mother of three and a proud grandmother of many.

Ruby began volunteering at the Miller Center at the Senior’s Resource Center when she retired about thirty years ago. She has always had a great deal of respect for seniors.

One woman in particular has been an inspiration for Ruby: Ivy, another senior volunteer, who had a massive stroke which left her paralyzed on one side and unable to speak. According to Ruby, Ivy came back to the Senior’s Resource Center dances and began learning to speak again.

When Ruby is at home, her door is always open. “They know here if my door is closed I’m either gone out, or I’m having a shower, or I’m having a nap.” She is well-known at Kenny’s Park Apartments, where she has sometimes been mistaken for the building superintendent because of her helpful nature and involvement with the community.

As for aging, Ruby embraces her life as an older person: “I’m a very happy senior, and I’m very proud that I’m a senior, actually. People say ‘how old are you?’ and I say ‘I’m eighty!’ Ah! ‘You’re not eighty!’ Yes I am, unless they made a mistake on my birth certificate! But that’s me.”

“I feel for other people - differently. You know, I have always sympathized with people but now I can see. Me being a senior, I can see.”

Heritage Update - New Perlican, Windsor, Champney's West & Fisheries Heritage

In the September issue of the Heritage Update: we have news on heritage programs in the town of New Perlican; an update on the architectural history work we are doing on the Salvation Army Citadel in Elliston; a report on the wreck of the Hazel Pearl in Champney's West; we announce our planned oral history fieldwork in Windsor; and we are looking for communities interested in documenting their fisheries heritage and fixing up old fishing stages (with a $10,000 grant to support restoration).

Download the pdf here

Contributors: Andrea O'Brien, Michael Philpott, Terra Barrett and Heather Elliott.

Looking for a past issue of the Update? They are all online as part of Memorial University's Digital Archives Initiative. You can browse through them here. 

Living Heritage Podcast Ep052 What is a Planner?

Ken O'Brien is the Chief Municipal Planner for the City of St. John's, involved with land-use planning, rezonings, heritage planning and environmental planning. He graduated from MUN in 1986 with a B.A. in Religious Studies and a minor in Math (having tried Engineering first), then attended Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, graduating with a Master's in Urban and Regional Planning in 1991. He likes history and old buildings and is a member of the Canadian Institute of Planners.

In this week's episode of the Living Heritage Podcast, we discuss what a land use planner does and what they study, the importance of the social history of buildings, his work with the city of St. John’s, changes in the past 20 years, the benefits of heritage regulations, St. John’s storm doors, the Atlantic Planners Institute and the Planners’ Plate series, how community members can get involved with planning, mapping community assets, the oddities of downtown St. John’s, and growing up in Georgestown.

Listen on the Digital Archive:
http://collections.mun.ca/cdm/singleitem/collection/ich_oral/id/690/rec/1

The City of St. John's Volunteers: Linda Furey

Linda Furey. Photo taken by Terra Barrett.

Linda Furey was born in Torbay and attributes her interest in community work to her family. According to Linda, her mother was always involved in the neighbourhood and local churches:

“Mom always had a houseful. On the weekends the women would all get together and we all had to do our share of whatever had to be done. I used to help out with the churches when they’d have a dinner on. I was about 18 when I started.”

Helping out really does seem to run in Linda’s family. Her volunteer initiative has been an inspiration for her grandson, who, like her, has learned the importance of showing respect through service to others.

“My grandson will help anybody. He helped out when they had the parade on Armistice Day - there was a man trying to get into the church, and because that man couldn’t get up over the steps he went over and said ‘Use me as a walker.’ He’s 15 now, and he comes and spends the weekend with me.”

“Since I moved in here I’ve been pretty active, I haven’t stopped. I like the mingling with people. I like company. I’d have a houseful if I could! I like the fun and the enjoyment of it all. Especially the dinners and that, I’m amazed, how they all jump up to dance as soon as the music starts!”

Request For Proposals (RFP) - Municipal Museum Plan & Heritage Evaluation

The Town of Torbay is issuing a request for proposals (RFP) to identify qualified consulting firms to examine and present recommendations on the future of the Torbay municipal museum.

The Town seeks a firm with specific past experience in the research, preparation and delivery of reports for municipal museums, and cultural or heritage focused organizations.

Copies of the RFP and all inquiries relating to it, can be requested from the Town by emailing bparsons@torbay.ca.

Contract award is dependent on government funding approval.

Proposals will be accepted up until 12:00pm (NST) Friday September 30, 2016 and must be mailed in marked “Attn: Municipal Museum Plan & Heritage Evaluation” to the following address:

Town of Torbay
1288 Torbay Road
PO Box 1160
Torbay, NL
A1K 1K4

Living Heritage Podcast Ep051 Archiving the Arts

Colleen Quigley holds a Masters degree specializing in Archives from University of Toronto and is Acting Head of Archives and Special Collections at Memorial Libraries. Her primary responsibilities include managing the vast treasures of the division’s Performing Arts Collection, which included North America’s largest online performing arts poster collection. In addition to archival work Colleen is also a trained dancer, with a degree from York University, who performs and choreographs regularly.

On this week's episode of the Living Heritage Podcast we discuss how Colleen started working with archives, her work with ANLA and a dance think tank which moved Colleen into the archives world, her work with the Archives and Special Collections at Memorial University including their poster collection, the STAGE project, and some of Colleen’s favourite collections.

Listen on the Digital Archive:

http://collections.mun.ca/cdm/singleitem/collection/ich_oral/id/688/rec/1

Wooden Boat Heritage 2016 is Looking for Youth Ambassadors!

Are you a youth? Do you enjoy heritage? Education? Working within your community?

We have the perfect opportunity for you!

The Wooden Boat Museum of Newfoundland and Labrador is hosting Wooden Boat Heritage 2016 from October 4th-6th in St. John's and Petty Harbour, and we're looking for volunteers! You'll be Team Leaders during the Heritage Skills Challenge, moderators during brainstorming sessions and, of course, active participants throughout the whole conference. We want your voices to be part of the conversation!

We are looking for people who can commit to both Wednesday, October 5th, and Thursday, October 6th, and who are available for the full day. Volunteers will have free registration to the conference.

If you're interested, please click here to learn more and register!

Looking forward to seeing you at this unique conference. It promises to be an exciting time!

The City of St. John's Volunteers: Kat de Metz

Kat de Metz volunteering with one of the horses

Originally from Newfoundland, Kat de Metz is an animal lover who grew up in Colorado Springs, Colorado. She credits her family for instilling in her the desire to care for creatures big and small.

“I think I was born into it. My grandmother Metz and Uncle Ed homesteaded in Alberta, where she was in charge of the two big draft horses. I look like her and I’m petite and strong also. I’ve never had a fear of animals, only respect.”

Kat told us all about her experiences caring for animals in B.C. She has rehabilitated family pets, livestock, and wild animals alike. Her wards have included everything from cats and dogs to horses, toads, and birds of all kinds. She told us what it was like to work with raccoons:

“They’ve got little, almost human-like hands with little opposable thumbs, and they are quite grabby! They’re very intelligent, and we had double locked entrances, because if they saw how you got in they would know how to get in and get out - they’re very smart! They would remember it and go ‘Ah, I can do that!’ Little hands, you know…”

Kat is presently working on a related novel, The Dragon of Tessier Place. It’s a story about Peter Easton, a certain dragon, and modern day domestic violence.

Commemorating Carbonear's German History

I was in Carbonear today for the unveiling of a new plaque marking the history of German settlement and industry in the town. Early in the 1950s, nine craftspeople arrived in Carbonear as part of a plan to stimulate industrial growth in rural Newfoundland. Those nine would be followed by families and workers, who opened three leather-related businesses in Carbonear. While the businesses were short-lived, they had a great impact on the town and on its people. Many of the Germans left, but some married, and stayed, and the names Reiss, Reichel, Shaefer, and Stoeterau can still be found here to this day.  The plaque unveiled today commemorates that history and their contribution to Newfoundland. Congratulations to the Carbonear Heritage Society and especially to Ron Howell for their fine work. 

 

 
 
 

Lassy Wall, Crackie Road, and the Unmarked Graves – Stories from Spaniard’s Bay

Workshop participants.

On Wednesday August 24, 2016 Dale and I drove out to Spaniard’s Bay for a short #NLHeritage roadtrip for a People Places and Traditions workshop. The local heritage society invited us out to do a workshop with the community and engage local people with their heritage.

Discussing what to put on the cards for people, places, and traditions.

The People, Places, and Traditions is the first step for communities who want to map out what heritage means to local people. It is a way to get people thinking about the resources in the area. All the people who make the best toutons, build boats, farm strawberries, tell great stories, or have knowledge particular to the area. It makes people think about the places where they swim, berry pick, trout, and about the old names for neighbourhoods and trails, community gathering places, and historic buildings. People remember traditions around bonfire night, Santa Claus parades, hauling wood, mummering, fairies, and local festivals and events.

Brandon and Dale discussing the location of a local sliding hill.

Several great stories came out of last night’s discussion of community heritage including the story of the Lassy Wall. The Lassy Wall below the Holy Redeemer Church was built in 1830 as a retaining wall to shore up the hill from the main road. The people who built the wall were paid in molasses so the wall became known as the Lassy Wall.

The Lassy Wall in Spaniard's Bay.  Photo by Cathy Kleinwort, 2005.  Courtesy of the Town of Spaniard's Bay.

Another story about a place name was about Anthony’s Road which is locally known as Crackie Road. There were two stories about where the name came from. Several of the older community members said the road was called Crackie Road because the people that lived there were “saucy as crackies” while a younger summer student with the heritage society who lived on the street was told it was just because there were a lot of crackies or small saucy dogs on the street.

Plotting the cards on the map.

One story which was not well known in the community was about the unmarked graves on a marshy island in Shearstown Pond. The story that was told was of a family who died of a contagious disease and the people of the community were so worried about catching the disease that they buried the family on the island rather than in the community’s cemetery.

People, places. and traditions.

There were a number of important local characters mentioned such E.H. Vokey who was a teacher, local historian, writer, and photographer. Another woman put down her grandfather who would always bake molasses raisin bread just for her (without the raisins) and would be sure to heat up rocks to send her to bed with at night!

Reviewing the story about the Spaniard's Bay Riot in 1932.

Did you grown up in Spaniard’s Bay? If you have memories of other people, places, and traditions in the area let us know in the comments!

Traditions practiced at the Loyal Orange Lodge.

~Terra Barrett

Living Heritage Podcast Ep050 Skeets, b'ys, and other bits of Newfoundland folklore

Philip Hiscock has been studying Newfoundland and Labrador language and folklore for four decades. These days, he teaches Folklore at Memorial University of Newfoundland, and is the coordinator of the MA and PhD programmes in that department. We discuss Philip’s interest in dialectology, folklore, radio, and popular culture, Newfoundland folklore and language including the terms skeet and b’y, Newfoundland language and YouTube, children’s folklore, and digital folklore.

Recorded 23 June 2016

Listen on the Digital Archive:
http://collections.mun.ca/cdm/ref/collection/ich_oral/id/671

Photo of Philip Hiscock by David Press.

The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Harbour Grace, circa 1949-1951.

We have a gem of a historic photograph for Tuesday's Folklore Photo this week!

The Heritage Foundation of NL has been working with a committee in Harbour Grace to find a new life for the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception (read about that here) and it has unearthed this great photo of the building, taken sometime between 1949 and 1951.

The photo comes from Bill Brooks, and was taken by his father, William Brooks (who was at the time a Captain in the US Air Force). I asked Bill what his father had been doing in Harbour Grace, and this is his response:

I’m guessing that he played some role in decommissioning the signal intelligence facility that was located at Harbour Grace – perhaps for reinstallation at Ft McAndrews, but it’s pure speculation. He was stationed at Ft McAndrew AFB in Argentia from 1949 through 1951 (where I was born). He was a Signal Officer. From his orders: “Commanding Officer of Signal Company Aviation responsible for training, administration, supply, personnel.” Responsibilities included “supervising installation, maintenance, operation of telephone, telegraph, and radio equipment.” I don’t think he was in Harbour Grace on vacation – not to dismiss it as a cold war period USAF personnel vacation destination, but his service record shows he had 58 days of unused vacation when he concluded service in Newfoundland, so he probably wasn’t taking much time off.

If you have any old photos of the Cathedral (or a memory of Captain William Brooks) email me at ich@heritagefoundation.ca.

Read more about the Cathedral itself here. 

#CollectiveMemories Roadtrip to Humber Valley - People, Places and Traditions

Discussing people, places, and traditions.

On Wednesday Dale and I headed back to Reidville, the community where we interviewed Clifford Reid, in order to do a second People, Places, and Traditions workshop. We ended up with a smaller crowd due to the size of the town.  This meant that the sixteen of us were able to sit around one big table and have a discussion about some of the town’s history and stories.

Writing on their index cards.

After discussing the people, places, and traditions in the community we handed out index cards for everyone to fill out. Everyone took a couple of cards and wrote out someone, some place, or some tradition which is important to the community. We then mapped the cards on the large map of the community.

The story of Dead Man's Woods.

What was great about this workshop was that the size of the group and the close-knit community meant it turned into a story telling session with people taking turns telling stories from their childhood. Russ Reid told many stories about Mr. Oxford and himself growing up and the trouble they would get into.  The stories ranged from antagonizing the bull in his pen to sneaking up to the lumber camps, there were stories about a child who fell into a well and survived, a woman who gave birth in a canoe on her way to Deer Lake, and almost everyone had a story about stealing apples or fruit from their neighbours’ yards.

Adding stories and memories to the map.

Impromptu story telling around the Reidville map.

Reidville is located on a river and the islands of the river were named as well as the beaches which served as swimming holes or trouting spots. One of the islands, named Grandmother’s Island, was where Mr. Oxford would collect the long grass which would be used in their psalm Sunday services in the school which doubled as a church.

Discussing the future of heritage in the Humber Valley region.

After the session in Reidville Dale and I headed to Deer Lake where we had quick supper, and a poke around the community and two of the local cemeteries before heading to the Grand Lake Centre of Economic Development for a meeting with the Humber Valley Heritage society. We met with four members of the heritage society to talk about the future of heritage in Humber Valley. These women were the people who invited us out to lead the workshops and do some interviews and they are interested in how they can use the information collected at workshops like these. The heritage society is interested in holding similar events around the Humber Valley region in order to work together to promote the heritage of the region. The first thing they plan to do is take the information located on the physical maps and store it digitally. The committee is very interested in using Google My Maps to make this material accessible to and also editable by community members. They want to create a map of the region in order to showcase the agricultural heritage of the region and increase the tourism to all the communities.

~Terra Barrett

Living Heritage Podcast Ep049 Heritage Foundation NL Programs

Andrea O’Brien is the municipal outreach officer and provincial registrar for the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador. She comes from a background in folklore, history and Newfoundland Studies. She has been involved in the province’s heritage sector, both academically and professionally, for 20 years. We discuss how Andrea got her start in folklore and heritage, provincial and municipal heritage designations, interesting municipal designations, Andrea’s favourite designation, cultural landscapes, graveyards, fisheries heritage preservation program, and the links between tangible and intangible cultural heritage.

Listen on the Digital Archive:

http://collections.mun.ca/cdm/singleitem/collection/ich_oral/id/684/rec/1

Workshops and Interviews on the West Coast

Sandra Wheeler, Crystal Braye, Terra Barrett, and Dale Jarvis.

Dale and I are out on the west coast of the province as part of the Collective Memories Project. Tuesday afternoon after a breakfast with folklorists Crystal Braye and Sandra Wheeler we headed to Reidville in the Humber Valley. We met with another folklorist Amanda-Marie Hillyard who is from the community and set up an interview with Clifford Reid, a local history buff and a descendant of the original Reid’s of Reidville. Following the interview Clifford took us on a tour of the town pointing out how the land was originally parceled out, the location of the old tram system, and where people would the leave the community to paddle their canoes to Deer Lake.

Dale Jarvis and Clifford Reid.

Clifford described how the community was settled by his grandfather and his uncles in the 1930s following one uncle’s move to Junction’s Brook across the river from the land that became Reidville. Clifford’s uncles and his grandfather moved to the area in order to work as loggers and farmers. The main work in the area was at the lumber camps feeding logs into the river system bound for the mill in Corner Brook. Clifford described the 20 mile tramway system which ran from Reidville to the lumber camps near Adie’s Lake (locally spelled Aides and pronounced Eddys) where the Humber River starts. This tramway was built by Bowater in order to bring supplies to the logging camps.

Adies Lake Tramway about 1940. Courtesy of Bowater's Wood Department.

Clifford also added his own memories of growing up in the community such as the best spots for swimming and trouting, going to school in the small community, and riding the horses that ran wild in the community in the summers. He also mentioned that with no church or graveyard no one died the community! Listen to the clip below to hear a story Clifford told about some mystery snoring heard by his uncle and friends at a woods camp in the winter.

In the evening we headed to Pasadena for a People, Places, and Traditions workshop where there were over 30 people in attendance. We had the group separate into smaller groups and cluster around three tables. One focused on people, one on places, and one on traditions. Each group wrote their thoughts and memories on index cards which they then placed on large maps of the community. They connected their index cards with a ribbon to the location where the people discussed live/lived, the important places in the community, and where traditions took place.

Dale telling a story.

People.

There were business owners, principles, farmers, crafters, heritage society members, and active church members were placed on the map while parks, community centres, and the concrete rock were mapped out. The concrete bottom is where locals would go swimming and it got its name for a rock on the bottom of the pond which is flat almost like poured concrete. There were traditions such as heading to the dump to watch the bears play, trapping rabbits, and taking part in festivals such as the winter carnival, the strawberry festival, and the Santa Claus parade.

Mapping memories.

Reviewing the maps.

After the mapping a couple of community members shared stories and memories stirred up by the session and one gentleman told of how his mother and him were planting potatoes in the field where the community centre now lies and she gave him her wedding ring to wear while she planted. He put the ring on, watered the potatoes and when they finished planting the garden went for a swim at concrete rock. He came home after swimming only to find he had lost the ring. His mother told him to tell all the boys who went trouting if they came across a ring in the belly of a fish it was her wedding band. Unfortunately to this day the ring is still missing. If you ever come across a ring while trouting in the area be sure to call the local heritage society to ask about this story!

The story of the ring and the trout.

~Terra Barrett

People, Places, and Traditions Tea

Dale and I are out on the West Coast this week doing some interviews, workshops, and meetings in Corner Brook, Pasadena, Reidville, and Deer Lake.  We are hosting a couple of People, Places and Traditions Workshops and invite everyone in the area to come out and talk about your community.

Tonight we will be in Pasadena from 6:30-9:30pm at Pasadena Hall and tomorrow afternoon we will be in Reidville in the Community Hall from 1:30-4:30pm. Drop by, have a cup of tea, and share some memories of your community!

~Terra Barrett

Please share and help solve this Newfoundland family photo mystery!

Last week, we were emailed three vintage photos, and the following intriguing note:

I am trying to research some aspects of my wife's family history. Her name is Jeanette Wareham and she was born in St. John's in 1968. Her birth father's name was Berkley Wareham and he was born in Salmon Cove about 1934 (he passed away in Toronto in 1989). We know that he was a teacher and that he taught in several places around Newfoundland including Twillingate. The attached pictures would have been taken in the mid to late 1950's and we think they may have been taken during his time in Twillingate, but we are not sure. He is the gentleman in the light sports jacket. Can I ask you if you recognize the school building that he is standing in front of in these pictures, or can give us any more information. The building appears to say "Prince Arthur" above the door.

The community of Charlottetown in Bonavista Bay has a Prince Arthur Orange Lodge, and we are curious if this is the same building.

If you  know anything about these photos, the people in them, or the buildings, send us a note at ich@heritagefoundation.ca

Living Heritage Podcast Ep048 Bell Island Museum and Memories

Teresita E. McCarthy is a retired educator. She taught for thirty-three years in the classrooms in her native community of Bell Island, NL. Teresita also taught three programs for older workers under a WISE sponsored program on Bell Island. She is currently manager of the Bell Island Community Museum and #2 Mine Tour. She is a founding member of the Bell Island Heritage Society Inc. and Tourism Bell Island Inc. and has also served as Vice President of the Museum Association of NL, President and is currently immediate past President and Treasurer of this association. We discuss the history of Bell Island and importance of the mine, effects of World War Two on Bell Island, the closure of the mine, Bell Island Community Museum and #2 mine tour, diving tours in the mine and partnership with Ocean Quest, and the museum expansion.

Listen on the Digital Archive:

http://collections.mun.ca/cdm/singleitem/collection/ich_oral/id/677/rec/1

The Livyer's Log - Issue One

The Livyer's Log

The Livyer’s Log is a newly developed bi-annual electronic newsletter for owners of Heritage Structures. It is intended to provide useful information to the owners of designated Registered Heritage Structures in Newfoundland and Labrador. The goal is to build a “community of heritage property owners” that will collectively create a forum of shared experiences and information about their heritage properties.

In this edition of The Livyer’s Log, there are articles on practical things such as: how to approach the hiring of a contractor for heritage preservation work; building tips; and how to make heritage properties more energy efficient. As well, we examine the importance of heritage designation and how to navigate grants that are available to heritage properties.

This first edition was created and edited by Celeste Billung-Meyer a summer intern with the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador. Although Celeste is finishing her position shortly she worked tirelessly to bring this newsletter to fruition!

Click here to check out a pdf version of the newsletter or register below to receive our newsletter.
If you would like more information about Heritage Designation please contact our Built Heritage Officer Micahel Philpott at michael@heritagefoundation.ca or 1-888-739-1892 ext. 3.

Contributors:
Jerry Dick, Andrea O’Brien, Michael Philpott, Celeste Billung-Meyer, Dale Jarvis.

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