Floating George and Annie Warren's House, Placentia Bay

Lisa Wilson and I are just back from a trip to Arnold's Cove, to meet with their local heritage committee on a web project they are undertaking, on the theme of resettlement.

Committee member Edna Penney shared with us this great image, which would have been a fairly typical sight during the resettlement period. It shows George and Annie Warren's house, being floated from Best's Harbour (Tack's Beach) to Arnold's Cove in July 1966.

If you've got a photo of a family house being floated, or hauled across the ice, we'd love to see it. Toss us a line at ich@heritagefoundation.ca

A Valentine's themed ICH newsletter, sealed with a kiss!

In this special February edition of the Intangible Cultural Heritage Update for Newfoundland and Labrador, our contributors get all romantic. Learn about the Heritage Foundation's celebration of Heritage Day 2013, enjoy some traditional Czech pernicky (gingerbread), explore love stories from the appropriately named community of Heart's Content, see how an outport nurse celebrated her honeymoon, and lock up your loved ones. We love you, folklore!

Download the PDF

Contributors: Andrea O'Brien, Christina Robarts, Lisa Wilson, Nicole Penney, Dale Jarvis

Russian Matryoshka Doll

The matryoshka doll, also known as the Russian nesting doll, is often painted and made out of wood. It consists of a set of wooden dolls of decreasing size. The doll typically follows the “object within a similar object” or onion metaphor by placing the smaller doll inside the larger doll. The image painted on the doll is traditionally of a Babushka, which means motherly figure; this is where it derives its name. Another image that is typically painted is that of a peasant woman. This babushka or peasant woman are drawn wearing a head scarf, also called sarafan, and a long and shapeless peasant jumper dress. Which is the traditional dress for Russia. The centre and smallest doll is generally a baby wrapped up in cloth.

The artwork can also range from very simple to very elaborate. Although public perception is that of the head-scarf-wearing woman figure, matryoshka dolls are not limited in theme or gender. Other subjects include: animals, Christmas objects, music, films, sports, fairy tales, popular culture figures, political leaders, and males in general.

The very first Russian matryoshka archetype is said to have appeared at the end of the nineteenth-century. Russia was having an interesting period of economic and cultural development, as well as a rising sense of national identity. Artists like S.I. Mamontov (1841-1918) used folk toys from local regions or foreign countries to express this new art movement. It is thought that the idea of the matryoshka doll came from Japan on the island of Honshu, and that the idea for the doll was adapted to fit the needs of the toy makers. However, there are other stories behind the creation of the first Russian matryoshka doll.

The dolls seen here are owned by Irina Glazkova, who came from Russia to Canada in 2007 in order to attend Memorial University. Her collection of Matryoshka dolls was given to her as a present from a friend who returned from a trip to Russia. Irina told me how she grew up with the dolls and how different regions of Russia have taken the doll and recreated and or adapted it to fit their own style.

Irina: Matryoshka dolls became an integral part of society. Differences are based on colour and ornaments. I played with them since I can remember. In addition, me and my mom would also make up stories about them.

Photos taken by Christina Robarts Jan. 20, 2013, of a Matryoshka doll (Russian nesting doll) owned by Irina Glazkova

Source: Soloviova, L.N. 1997. Matryoshka. Slovenia: Interbook Business.

Days of the Bulldozer

One thing you can count on during wintertime in Newfoundland is that everyone starts talking about the local snow plows. Whether you are happy with their work on your street, or have a dozen things to complain about, we all know that we are better off with them than without. I recently had a chat with Lloyd Smith of Heart's Content about how they used to deal with snow on the roads before the days of the plow. Our conversation was inspired by a photograph he showed me from 1959 of a bulldozer pushing snow off the roads. To see this photo and hear Lloyd's recollections of getting around during the winter when he was young, watch the video below. After that, hear him talk about how the town would use a horse and dray to deal with all the potholes that would appear once the snow had fully melted.


 
 

Fingers crossed that we don't get another huge snowfall anytime soon. In the meantime, let's all thank the local snow plowers who are doing a great deal of hard work this year. -Lisa

Fabulous stop-motion documentary on Irish furniture

If you are going to watch one stop-motion documentary on vernacular Irish furniture, watch this one!

I hadn't heard of this lovely little 2012 film, directed by Tony Donoghue, but it was recommended to me (thank you!) by Joy Hecht. Apparently, it has won an award for animation at the Sundance Film Festival. If you have 9 minutes or so to spare, check it out on YouTube.

Tuesday's Folklore Photo: English Picnic Baskets

A woven basket owned by Neal Wells of Grand Falls-Windsor

A woven basket owned by Patricia Mchuge of Grand Falls-Windsor

Last year the Intangible Cultural Heritage Office undertook a collection project focused on basket making in this province. We documented several basket styles, including what we believe to be two English picnic baskets. Beyond that we know very little about these baskets and would like to figure out exactly what they are woven from. We suspect the baskets to be made of willow, as this is a very common material used by English basket makers. Also, both these baskets seem to constructed using the randing weave, which is a common style of English willow weaving.

If you happen to have any idea what these baskets are made of  please get in touch with the Intangible Cultural Heritage Office, we'd love to hear from you! Contact Nicole at 1-888-739-1892 ex.6 or email at nicole@heritagefoundation.ca 

Bay Roberts Heritage District Plans

Yesterday evening Dale Jarvis and I traveled to Bay Roberts to join the local Heritage Advisory Committee for one of their monthly meetings. On the agenda was a topic that I have a vested interest in: The Bay Roberts Heritage District plan. The planning for district has been in the works for quite some time and will ultimately involve the official designation of Cable Avenue in Bay Roberts as a heritage district. This street is lined with houses that were built around 1913 by the Western Union cable company as accommodations for their staff. You will also see several large chestnut trees that were planted in 1915, just after the buildings were completed.

Over the next few months I will be collecting oral histories with residents who have either lived on this street or have some personal connection to this unique architectural district. Ultimately, the fieldwork I am doing will be put towards a special exhibit for the 100th year anniversary of the cable station in Bay Roberts.

The above image was taken in 1913 and shows the construction of Cable Ave. It is from the online  archival collection: The Cable Story--Bay Roberts Virtual Museum (provided by Bay Roberts Heritage Society Inc). Please contact me if you know anyone who has lived on Cable Avenue or has any stories to share about these buildings.

lisa@heritagefoundation.ca
709-739-1892 ext.3

-Lisa

12 tips for a better oral history or folklore interview

Nervous about your first oral history or folklore interview? It's OK, I'm here to help! Here are some tips and tricks to get you ready. And if you want, you can download this as a one-page PDF for handy reference.


1. If you haven't done any oral history interviewing before, think first about a focus or theme for your project.  Ask yourself, “Why am I doing this interview? What information do I want to get?”

2. Think about the type of interview you wish to do.  Life History Interviews focus on the life history of a person and the changes they may have experienced;  Topic Interviews collect information about a specific subject, workplace, skill or occupation.

3. Do an informal “pre-interview.”  Be clear with your “informant” - the person you are interviewing - that the interview is being recorded, and what it will be used for. Have a discussion in advance about the type of information of interest to you.

4. In general, have a list of topics in mind you want to cover in the interview, rather than a set list of questions. You might have some written starting questions to begin with, but then shift to your topic list and be flexible.

5. Start off with some easy questions, such as short biographical questions about name, date of birth, parents and the like. This gives you good identifying information at the start of the interview, and helps relax your informant. You can ask more detailed or personal questions after you both settle into the conversation.

6. Ask questions one at a time. If your question has two or three parts, ask them separately.

7. Ask open-ended questions that require more than a "yes" or "no" answer. Questions that start with “how” or “why” get you more interesting answers.

8. Use plain, straightforward words and avoid leading questions. Rather than asking “I suppose life as a fisherman was hard?”, ask “Can you describe what life was like for a fisherman?”

9. Ask follow-up questions. Then ask some more! If something is unclear, ask for clarification.

10. Don’t be afraid to ask questions to which you think you already know the answers. You might get suprising answers!

11. Be a good listener, and refrain from talking too much yourself. Use body language, nodding, and smiling to encourage your informant. Let them know, visually, that you are interested.

12. Don't let periods of silence fluster you. Just wait and don’t rush the interview. Sometimes people need a moment to complete their thoughts. If you are silent, chances are your informant will fill the gap by saying something more about the question you asked last.

• Have questions about questions? Ask your friendly neighbourhood folklorist, Dale Jarvis, at ich@heritagefoundation.ca

Tuesday's Folklore Photo: Russian Gzhel Folkcraft Hand Crank Coffee Mill

 

 

 

Photo taken by Christina Robarts Jan. 28, 2013

 

 

As part of the interviews conducted for the "Newfiki" project I have been documenting objects that immigrants coming to Canada have brought with them from their home country. The above photo is a picture of a porcelain hand crank coffee grinder mounted on the cabinet in the kitchen of O.V, in St. John's, NL. The top portion is decorated in the Gzhel style which is recognizable by its characteristic blue-and-white colour scheme.