Logo revealed for first-ever Indigenous Arts Symposium to be held in Newfoundland and Labrador

ArtsNL, in conjunction with steering committee members comprised of representatives from Nunatsiavut, NunatuKavut, Miawpukek, Qalipu First Nation, and the Sheshatshiu Innu First Nation, launched a website (http://www.tolightthefire.wordpress.com) and unveiled a logo for the province’s first-ever Indigenous Arts Symposium today.

The symposium, which is being called To Light The Fire, will take place in Happy Valley-Goose Bay from November 19-22, 2015. The logo features reference to the titular ‘fire’ and visuals of a drum, which are often heated over a flame prior to being played. The imagery was chosen by the steering committee as fire and drums were universally present in each of the involved indigenous cultures, and Camille Usher created the logo. The event is part of a series of initiatives that ArtsNL is undertaking to celebrate its 35th anniversary.

“The strong interest to have a provincial symposium focused on indigenous artists and art practices was heard loud and clear at the Atlantic indigenous arts symposium planned by the Atlantic Public Arts Funders called Petapan, which was held in August 2014 in Millbrook, NS,” said Reg Winsor, ArtsNL executive director. “We’re following a similar model for our provincial event that will include demonstrations, workshops, showcases, a film festival show case, exhibition, and pop-up shops.”

The symposium will also include a number of forum discussions where registered participants will have the opportunity to freely discuss challenges they’ve faced as artists, the business of being an artist, while sharing creative solutions and strategies that have worked for them. A full itinerary of events is available on the symposium’s website, and biographies for those leading workshops, demonstrations, and speakers will be added in the near future.

The website features online registration for the symposium, which is open as of today. Interested individuals from all indigenous backgrounds are welcome to register and attend, though spaces will be limited so people are encouraged to register at their earliest convenience. There is no fee to attend the symposium, and limited accommodations assistance is available. Registration closes October 9, 2015. Individuals with limited internet access are encouraged to contact Donna Roberts, ArtsNL’s Cultural Outreach Officer in Labrador to register by phone at 896-9565 or 1-888-896-9565.

As details continue to become available, they will be shared through future releases, on the ArtsNL social media profiles, or at http://www.tolightthefire.wordpress.com or http://www.artsnl.ca.

Living Heritage Podcast Ep009 Archival Tips and Tricks with Mary Ellen Wright

Mary Ellen Wright has been the Professional Development and Outreach Officer (aka archives advisor) for the Association of Newfoundland and Labrador Archives (ANLA) for the last fifteen years. She has a BA in history from Dalhousie University, a master’s from St. Mary’s University and has also studied history at Memorial. Prior to coming to Newfoundland she worked at the provincial archives in Halifax, N.S.: she was a contract archivist in various institutions around St. John’s before starting with ANLA in December of 2000. Mary Ellen’s job with ANLA has taken her to archives and museums from Nain to Grand Bank. We talk all things archives, from the donation of garbage bags filled with papers to the need for accessibility, as Mary Ellen gives advice to anyone hoping to start an archives.

The Memory Store: But we're even more lucky to have the artifacts...

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 how the gun shield art and other wall art displayed in the club is placed in the order it was left when the Second World War ended.

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

Living Heritage Podcast Ep008 Admiralty House Museum with Allison Bennett and Carla Watson

Allison Bennett is from Mount Pearl and graduated with a Master of Arts (in History) from Memorial University in October 2014. She is currently completing her Bachelor of Education (Intermediate/Secondary) at Memorial and will graduate this fall. Allison is currently employed as the Centennial Celebrations Coordinator at Admiralty House Communications Museum and is organizing and preparing events for HM Wireless Station’s 100th anniversary September 2015. Originally hailing from Saskatchewan, Carla Watson completed her Masters in Public History at the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario. She is currently the Museum Manager for Admiralty House Communications Museum in Mount Pearl. In this podcast, Terra Barrett talks with Allison and Carla about the Admiralty House Communications Museum, favourite stories and artifacts found in the museum, examples of programs, stories about supernatural activities in the museum, and challenges youth face working in the heritage sector.

Booklet Launch Sept 10th - Witless Bay: Exploring A Cultural Landscape

The Department of Folklore will launch its latest publication, Witless Bay: Exploring A Cultural Landscape, on Thursday, September 10th, in ED4036, at 12 noon.

This booklet is the result of the 2014 Department Field School. Graduate students and visiting faculty spent three weeks last September 2014 living in Witless Bay, documenting local traditions. Essays cover the history of Witless Bay, as well as some of the most important houses, barns, and fish stages/stores in the community. 

Join us for coffee/tea and snacks.

Living Heritage Podcast Ep007 Food Knowledge and Skills with Sarah Ferber

Sarah Ferber is the Education Manager at Food Security Network NL. Their mission is to actively promote comprehensive, community-based solutions to ensure access to adequate and healthy food for all people in the province. Sarah works closely with community groups across NL to gather, share and preserve food skills and knowledge. In this podcast, folklorist Dale Jarvis talks with Sarah about the "All Around the Table" film series, creating food celebrations with seniors, traditional knowledge, food skills workshops, and advancing farm-to-school and school gardening initiatives.

The Memory Store: It was not consumed in the fire of 1892...

Photo courtesy of Bruce Templeton.

The week's Memory Store video comes to us from St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church otherwise known as the Kirk. Bruce Templeton tells the story of the burning bush in relation to the Presbyterian Church and how the burning bush medallion of an earlier church survived the fire of 1892.

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

Tuesday's Folklore Photo - A Trinity Potato Garden

Happy Tuesday! For this week's Folklore Photo, a lovely view of a potato garden in flower in Trinity, Trinity Bay.

I have been assisting the Agricultural History Society of NL with some of their files, soon to be uploaded to the Digital Archives Initiative, under the "Knowledge and Practices Concerning Nature and the Universe" section of the ICH Inventory. This is one of the photos in their collection that will be included.

The photo was undated and unnamed, but that is the Hiscock House there in the background, now a provincial historic site.  I love the wood stacked up behind the garden, as well.  The photo was used in a panel prepared by the Agricultural History Society circa 2008, but the photo might be older. If you recognize it, email me at ich@heritagefoundation.ca or leave a comment below!

- Dale Jarvis

Oh! You Nasty Nazi Man: A WWII Novelty March Song from 1940s Newfoundland

Those of you who follow the ICH blog know that we are often uploading information and interviews to the ICH Inventory on Memorial University's Digital Archives Initiative. It is an amazing resource for people conducting historical and folklore research, and the ICH Inventory is only one small part of the entire collection.

There is a recent uploads page for the DAI, which showcases some of the more recent items uploaded. While checking it out today, I came across this peculiar gem, a novelty march song from Newfoundland entitled "Oh! You Nasty Nazi Man" - a call-to-arms of sorts with a chorus that starts "Oh! you nasty Nazi man, Way over in Berlin, You know you haven't got a chance, This blinking war to win."

Words and music are attributed to A.J. Dee, and copyright is attributed to one A.S. Donnelly, of 20 McKay Street, St. John's. If you know anything about this piece of music, or the author, let me know, or leave a comment below!

You can view the sheet music on the DAI, or download a pdf here.

Can you help solve the mitt mystery of Long Beach, Trinity Bay? #nlheritage

I recently got an intriguing email from Wanda Garrett of the Southwest Arm Historical Society, concerning a pair of children's mitts dug up by her father. Wanda writes:

A few years ago, my father dug up two children's mitts on his land in Long Beach. I am trying to find out some historical information about the mitts - how old they are, etc.

The mitts appear to be children's mitts as they are small. They are two different sizes. It appears that the mitts were dipped in some type of solution to make them waterproof - maybe linseed oil?

The land where the mitts were found is now owned by my parents but it used to belong to my grandparents. When my parents took over the land, my grandparents' home was in bad shape and falling down so they had it bulldozed and buried on the land. We don't know if the mitts were in the house when it was bulldozed or not. My grandparents purchased the land and house in the '50s. The original owners of the land lived there from 1873-1961. 

I asked my mother (who is 81) if she remembers seeing these mitts before but she does not. I also asked her brothers, who are a little younger than her, and they also do not remember them. Therefore I am thinking they belonged to the people who owned the house and land before my grandparents. When they sold the house to my grandparents, they left some belongings in a back room upstairs. These mitts may have been among their items.

Have you seen or worn mitts like this? If you have, send me an email at ich@heritagefoundation.ca, or leave a comment below.

- Dale Jarvis

Living Heritage Podcast Ep006 Public Folklore with Jillian Gould

Jillian Gould is an assistant professor in the Department of Folklore at Memorial University. In the public sector she was a museum educator in New York City, and has worked with museums and archives in Toronto, Ottawa, and St. John's. On this episode, Dale Jarvis talks with Jillian about egg rolls and egg creams, fish and chips, public programming and festivals, and the public folklore program at Memorial University.

Notes from the road - St. Matthew's Presbyterian Church, Grand Falls-Windsor

I'm in Grand Falls today, helping sort out some oral history collections with the Grand Falls-Windsor Historical Society (more on that in a future post).

Before I left St. John's, Margaret Scott with St. Matthew's Presbyterian Church heard that I was going to be visiting Grand Falls, and tracked me down. They have a collection of historical documents they want to do something with, so I met with them today, and had a brief chat about their materials and the possibility of doing some digitization work, and potentially some oral history recording around the life and history of the church and congregation.

Today, there are about twenty active members of the congregation, which holds a service once a month. The church is one of the oldest buildings in Grand Falls, and was the first municipally designated heritage building for the town, officially recognized as such on October 11, 2005. It is the only Presbyterian church in Newfoundland outside of St. John's.

St. Matthew's Presbyterian Church is listed on the Canadian Register of Historic Places, which notes that the building was constructed in 1910, and is the last remaining original church structure in Grand Falls. It is a fine example of a small, country-style church in an urban setting. It has some Gothic Revival style elements, such as multi-paned, Gothic arched windows, as used in similar small churches in Newfoundland and Labrador. It is currently undergoing some repair work.

The building has undergone a number of changes over the years.  The interior of the church was redone in the 1950s, and has been largely untouched since.

The church has a number of interesting archival items documenting the construction and changes to the church over the years, including a copy of the original construction blueprints and photos of the building at various stages, including the one below showing the church before renovations.

Other photos in the collection document church suppers, youth events, women's groups, and special events such as the dinner below, held between 1-2 April 1951.

I am looking forward to seeing more of the St. Matthew's archival material, and wish them success with their preservation efforts!

- Dale Jarvis

 

Saving Stories: Podcasts, Workshops, and Community Booklets

In this edition of the Intangible Cultural Heritage Update for July and August 2015, we announce the launch of the Living Heritage Podcast, give a review of the Saving our Stories workshop held in Corner Brook, and provide some tips for communities wanting to create a short oral history or local folklore booklet.

Download the newsletter as a pdf

Living Heritage Podcast Ep005 Museum Gift Shops with Kelly Jones

Kelly Jones has worked in the world of retail for the past 30 years as a sales associate, manager, merchandiser, and owner. Currently, she is on a contract for The Rooms Gift Shop, as Buyer and Product Development officer. She is also still involved in theatre and film on a small scale, having been a professional stage manager for 10 years. On this episode of Living Heritage, Terra Barrett chats with Kelly about the business side of running a successful museum gift shop. They talk about challenges faced by museum gift shops, how to link products to gallery exhibits, balancing the themes of collections with sales products, developing product for the Christopher Pratt exhibit, working with artists, popular price points for items, and tips for marketing your shop using social media.

The Memory Store: The walls came down and we were back to square one...

This week’s Memory Store video is a clip of Elisabeth Laverty from the Anglican Cathedral of St. John the Baptist. Elisabeth describes the construction of the Anglican Cathedral of St. John the Baptist and the destruction caused by the 1892 fire.

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

Stick out your thumb: hitching for stories from Newfoundland and Nova Scotia

Andrea McGuire, a folklore graduate student at Memorial University, is currently seeking interviews with past and present hitchhikers in Newfoundland and Nova Scotia. She is collecting stories from people who used to hitchhike, people who hitchhike in rural communities, people who hitchhike nationally/internationally, and drivers who pick up hitchhikers. Each interview will take approximately one hour, and will be drawn on for Andrea’s master’s thesis. Do you have a hitchhiking story to share? Get in touch with Andrea by phone at 709-771-2216, or via email at c33alm@mun.ca. She would love to hear from you!

The proposal for this research has been reviewed by the Interdisciplinary Committee on Ethics in Human Research and found to be in compliance with Memorial University’s ethics policy. If you have ethical concerns about the research, such as the way you have been treated or your rights as a participant, you may contact the Chairperson of the ICEHR at icehr@mun.ca or by telephone at 709-864-2861.

Living Heritage Podcast Ep004 Shipwrecks and Social Media with Heather Elliott

On Episode 004 of the Living Heritage Podcast, we talk shipwrecks and social media with Heather Elliott.

Heather Elliott has an educational background in anthropology and museum management. Her passion for maritime history inspired her to create her own blog, www.originalshipster.com. Through it, she tells stories of ships and shipwrecks from across Canada. In this interview, we talk of ships and the sea, and share tips for navigating the waters of social media.

Conception Bay Museum and the Anglican Church Assistance Association brass band

On Sunday, 2 August 2015, I had the pleasure of attending the Conception Bay Museum Founders' Day activities, to celebrate the establishment of the Conception Bay Museum on the 40th Anniversary of its official opening.

Former Heritage Foundation of NL chair Shane O'Dea spoke on the history of the museum and its place in the development of heritage in the region, a commemorative plaque was unveiled, the women of Coughlan United Church prepared War (Trench) Cakes from a WWI recipe, lemonade was imbibed, and the entire event was opened and closed in style by the gentlemen (and one lady) of the Upper Island Cove Anglican Church Assistance Association (ACAA) brass band.

The ACAA band is unique in Newfoundland, one of our oldest continually-running bands in the province, and over the past century has developed its own unique musical notation system. They played several selections, including the Ode to Newfoundland, which you can listen to here.

Ben Hiscock of Champney's West - Unity

This video clip is from an interview with Ben Hiscock of Champey’s West which is located on the Bonavista Peninsula in Trinity Bay, NL.  Last week I posted a video of Ben and one of his brother Roy both of whom grew up in Champney’s West and had great memories of growing up in the community, ship wrecks and rescues, square dancing, old graves, and local characters.

During a trip to Port Union and Champney’s West doing some workshops on asset mapping and oral history Dale and I had the opportunity to interview Ben and Roy Hiscock. Ben and Roy’s family has been in the community for generations. Both brothers had great stories and I would like to showcase a couple of their stories on the blog.

In this short video Ben describes the unity found in the community of Champney’s West when he was a young boy.  He describes how everyone helped everyone and the community pulled together to take care of one another.  I thought this was a beautiful clip which showcased the spirit found in the community of Champney’s West and I hope you enjoy the video!  

If you are in the area during August 7th-9th, 2015 make sure to stop in for the Champney's West days including their cardboard boat race on Sunday!

-Terra

Roy Hiscock of Champney's West - Weekly Meal Pattern

Snelgrove, Eric and Olive. Vegetable storage in their historic Quidi Vidi home.
LaDuke, John.
Photo courtesy of Memorial University's Digital Archives Initiative.

What is your weekly meal pattern? Do you have one? Have you ever followed the one below?

Today I have a short video clip of Roy Hiscock of Champey’s West which is located on the Bonavista Peninsula in Trinity Bay, NL. If you saw the video earlier in the week of Ben Hiscock, Roy is Ben’s older brother. During a trip to Port Union and Champney’s West doing some workshops Dale and I interviewed these two older members of the community.

Ben and Roy Hiscock are brothers whose families have been in the community for generations. They had great memories of growing up in the community, ship wrecks and rescues, square dancing, old graves, and local characters. Both brothers had great stories and I would like to showcase a couple of their stories on the blog.

In the short video Roy describes the meals the family would eat during the week. I did a quick search on Memorial University’s DAI and came across a thesis on traditional Newfoundland foodways written by Pamela Gray in 1977. I included two pictures below of Gray’s work with examples of weekly meal pattern. I’ve seen the tradition of the weekly meal pattern mentioned in other articles but it isn’t something my family followed growing up.

How about your family - do you follow a weekly meal pattern? Is it similar to these examples of the traditional weekly meal pattern? Do you still have a cooked dinner (Jiggs dinner) on Sunday? Let us know in the comments below!

-Terra

The Memory Store: An optical illusion...

The video for this week's the Memory Store was filmed in the stairwell of the Anna Templeton Centre.  Executive director Beverly Barbour describes the process of installing an elevator in a historic building, especially one which is a bit of an optical illusion.  You can check out the building and the new elevator during an evening or weekend craft class at the centre.

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

Ben Hiscock of Champney's West - Earliest Memory

Fishing stage in Champney's West

Today I would like to introduce Ben Hiscock of Champney’s West. For anyone who doesn’t know, Champney’s West is located on the Bonavista Peninsula in Trinity Bay, NL. The small community is home to wonderful people who I had the opportunity to meet in June when Dale and I went to do an asset mapping and oral history workshop in the area.

I posted some pictures of the trip in mid-June. I included pictures of the asset mapping workshop, the coffee house with mummers and a trip into Elliston. I also mentioned that Dale and I interviewed two older members of the community, Ben and Roy Hiscock.

Ben and Roy Hiscock are brothers whose families have been in the community for generations. They had great memories of growing up in the community, ship wrecks and rescues, square dancing, old graves, and local characters. Both brothers had great stories and I would like to showcase a couple of their stories on the blog.

Today’s story comes from Ben Hiscock who describes growing up in the community and the lack of money found in the community. He tells the story of being given a penny with a hole in it and hammering the penny until the hole closed and he was able to buy candy. Check out the video below or click here to watch it on YouTube.

Make sure to stay tuned for a couple more stories from the Ben and Roy Hiscock of Champney’s West.

-Terra

Saving Our Stories Workshop in Corner Brook, August 5th

Saving Our Stories - An Introduction to Community Oral History with folklorist Dale Jarvis.
A free workshop organized by the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador, in cooperation with Qalipu Mi’kmaq First Nation Band. This workshop is open to anyone with an interest in local history, culture and folklore. It is intended to give a background on how to conduct research interviews, and will give people a chance to try their hand at creating interview questions and to explore the world of oral history! It is free to attend, but you need to register in advance.

Wednesday, August 5th, 2015

1pm-4pm
Brendan Sheppard Boardroom, Qalipu Office
3 Church Street, Corner Brook

Workshop is limited to first ten registrants. To register, contact Dale Jarvis at:
1-888-739-1892 x2
ich@heritagefoundation.ca

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.

###

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