Living Heritage Podcast Ep084 Untold Stories: Merchants and Memories of Main Street Windsor

In September 2016 researcher Terra Barrett spent a week in Grand Falls-Windsor collecting stories and memories of Main Street, Windsor. This was part of the Merchants and Memories project which was a partnership between the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador and the Grand Falls-Windsor Heritage Society. The Society wanted to focus on Windsor to celebrate the diverse community that grew up on Main Street across from the train station. This podcast is a selection of memories about Main Street which take the listener back to the heyday of the shopping district of Windsor. Take a listen to learn more about fights at the pool hall, movies at the Vogue Theatre, people watching at the train station, and shopping at Riff’s and Cohen’s.

Download the MP3

The X-Ray Machines of Old St. John's

If you talk to enough people about the way St. John’s used to be, a few reoccurring stories begin to emerge. Some of these stories describe the advent of new machinery in the downtown. For instance, the allure of the first escalator in St. John’s, at Woolworth’s department store, is an oft-cited memory. As the story goes, crowds of people showed up in the store for the sole purpose of riding the escalator. Lynn Anne Hollett also recalled the stir caused by an early TV set, which could be gazed at through the window of Great Eastern Oil on Water Street. Though no sound could be heard through the glass, there were usually "about four deep there of people watching that black and white TV." However, while escalators and TVs are all around us these days, other contraptions of downtown St. John’s have (perhaps wisely) fallen out of favour. One of these contraptions is the shoe store x-ray machine, otherwise known as a “fluoroscope”:

Wayne Guzzwell, who went on to become a CBC producer, and who later oversaw the Cabot 500 celebrations in 1997, the 50th Anniversary of Confederation Gala, and the Vikings 1000 Islendingur arrival ceremony, shared his memories of the gadget during our interview: 

Wayne: I wanted to go to the Royal Stores because the Royal Stores had this neat machine that—you put your new shoes on, you’d stand up to the machine, and you put your feet in the machine, and then there was a scope, and you’d look down, and it was an x-ray machine. And you could see your toes inside the shoe. So you could see if there was enough room for your feet. So, you know, our feet were probably massively radiated by the x-rays, but I thought I was Superman at the time, because I could see my feet through the shoes. And that was a really neat aspect of the Royal Stores, that x-ray machine. And that’s the only thing I would buy at the Royal Stores, or my family would buy, was shoes, and it was because of the x-ray machine.

Lynn Anne Hollett also brought up the x-ray machine during our interview, saying that "at least once a week you'd get away with it":

Lynn Anne: It was a big thing. Can you imagine what we were exposed to at that particular time? I mean, it was just like if you go over there now and put your foot into a sizer and say, “Okay, we’re going to do an x-ray right here, right now.” And I mean, you’d go down there for play. I mean, at least once a week you’d get away with it, to get down there and have an x-ray done of your foot. [laughs] Those poor salesmen. I don’t know how they fared, or how long they lived after that particular thing.

Andrea: So the salesmen would have to administer the x-ray?

Lynn Anne: Yeah! Yeah, right? No lead aprons or anything then, no, definitely not.

Andrea: So that was a big thing for kids, mostly?

Lynn Anne: Oh yeah, and adults! I mean, can you imagine? They can tell the exact size of my foot because I’m getting an x-ray. Wonderful! 

Andrea: Do you think the appeal was mostly seeing your bones?

Lynn Anne: Yes, of course! And it was new, and it was amazing. Like, “That’s my foot!” I mean, what doctor ever showed you an x-ray if you ever had one as a child? None! You know, as they sat smoking in their examining room. But you know, who knew that radiation was a problem or that it existed? You know, nobody. 

These exciting (but in all likelihood, highly regrettable) machines certainly drummed up business for the shoe stores during their heyday (around the 1950s), but by the 1970s, they had largely been banned.

Do you remember the shoe store x-ray machines?

Media Release: Tales from Afar: Old Stories from New Residents

"Tales from Afar: Old Stories from New Residents"
New project to share traditional stories which have come from away.

St. John’s, NL
For immediate release

The St. John’s Local Immigration Partnership and the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador (HFNL) are looking for old stories from new residents as part of a project to collect and share the diversity of oral traditions that exist within the region, and to create a showcase of traditional stories and folktales from around the world.

“When European settlers first arrived in Newfoundland and Labrador, they brought stories from their old countries,” says foundation folklorist Dale Jarvis. “That is part of the reason we have such a unique oral tradition here in the province with our stories of fairies and superstitions. But that process didn’t stop; new people coming here are bringing their own traditional stories as well, and adding the richness of our local lore.”

Jarvis believes that sharing folktales can highlight the commonalities between cultures, and help build a common understanding between people by bridging cultural, political and religious divides.

“Sharing the stories we grew up with is a way of bringing people together,” Jarvis says.

Jarvis, a group of researchers with the foundation, and the St. John’s Local Immigration Partnership are embarking on a pilot project called “Tales From Afar: Old Stories from New Residents”

Project organizers are looking for folktales, legends, myths, stories of saints and miracles, ghost stories, fables, or traditional children’s tales -- any story that has been passed down by word of mouth.

Participants could be newcomers in the truest sense of the word - recent refugees, temporary foreign workers, international students, newly arrived professionals or economic migrants, or could be well-established immigrants who have long since made St. John’s their home.

“If someone knows a story, and wants to share it, we want to hear it!” says Jarvis. “We will work with participants to edit and polish the stories once they are collected.”

“Tales From Afar: Old Stories from New Residents” will culminate in the creation of written booklet of world folktales. The booklet will be made available online, printed, and shared through key organizations and at community events.

To share a story, email ich@heritagefoundation.ca or call 1-888-739-1892 x2. Stories can be submitted in written form, or participants can sit down with a collector and tell their story in spoken form.

Partners:

City of St. John’s Local Immigration PartnershipThe Local Immigration Partnership (LIP) is a multi-stakeholder partnership designed to help address key immigrant issues, encourage broader stakeholder collaboration and promote St. John’s as a welcoming community. Building a welcoming community in this sense means fostering the conditions where social connections can be made between people, namely between newcomers to Canada and Canadian-born residents.

Intangible Cultural Heritage Office, Heritage Foundation of NLThe ICH Office works to safeguard and sustain the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Newfoundland and Labrador for present and future generations everywhere, as a vital part of the identities of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians, and as a valuable collection of unique knowledge and customs. This is achieved through initiatives that celebrate, record, disseminate, and promote our living heritage and help to build bridges between diverse cultural groups within and outside Newfoundland and Labrador.

For more information, contact:

Dale Jarvis
Intangible Cultural Heritage Development Officer
Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador
PO Box 5171, St. John's, Newfoundland,
Canada A1C 5V5
Phone: 709-739-1892 ext 2
E-mail: ich@heritagefoundation.ca

Online submission form for stories:
https://goo.gl/forms/QWmJY9haiyItAeop2

Long Since Demolished House in Freshwater, Conception Bay (1995). #Folklorephoto

A House in Freshwater, Conception Bay that has since been demolished. Photograph taken in January 1995 and is part of the slide collection of the Baccalieu Trail Heritage Corporation.

#CollectiveMemories Monday - Charming Warts with Dianne Carr

Dianne Carr of the Spaniard's Bay Heritage Society. Photo by Terra Barrett.

On Tuesday July 31st, as part of the Collective Memories project, I interviewed Dianne Carr about her memories of charms and cures from Spaniard's Bay, Newfoundland. One of the stories Dianne told me was about her sister Jeanette and how she had her warts charmed as a child. Listen to the clip below to learn more about how a local woman charmed the warts away!

If you have any stories about folk charms, and cures, or practical recipes for things like soap, toothpaste, or wallpaper paste me know at terra@heritagefoundation.ca or call Terra at 1-888-739-1892 ex. 5.

A cabbage cure for migraine headaches! #FoodwaysFriday

"My Grandmother, Mary Jane Gosse, had a ‘cure’ for migraine headaches. I’m familiar with it having been her patient several times. The treatment was this. A dark green cabbage leaf was soaked in strong vinegar, place on your forehead and carefully tied on with a sock, nothing else, and kept there until the headache was gone. My guess is that the stinging of the strong vinegar hurt more and the headache was soon forgotten."

- Wesley Gosse, Stories and Stuff Spaniards Bay, page 31. March 2007.

Living Heritage Podcast Ep083 Chronicling Craft Traditions

Don MacLean grew up on Cape Breton Island and attended St. Francis Xavier University and Memorial University. He retired in 2015 after a 32 year career as a fisheries biologist with the Inland Fisheries Division of the Nova Scotia Dept. of Fisheries and Aquaculture. He has written professionally since 1999, and his columns and articles on sport fishing, natural history and traditional crafts have appeared in a variety of newspapers and magazines. He is the author of two books, Discover Nova Scotia Sportfishing and A Little Thing I Tied Myself-Stories of Atlantic Canadian Fly Tiers. Don and his wife Judy live in Pictou, Nova Scotia.

In this podcast, we discuss Don’s new book project on traditional arts and crafts, the history and regional variations of fly-tying, the resurgence and vitality of craft traditions, and Don’s quest to find a tin kettle maker.

Listen on the Digital Archive:
http://collections.mun.ca/cdm/singleitem/collection/ich_oral/id/716/rec/1

The Goats of New Perlican - Booklet Launch

Cyril Pinsent reading out some of his story from "The Goats of New Perlican" booklet.
Several people who were interviewed for the booklet surround Cyril on stage.

On Saturday, July 8th, while the rest of our office was busy with Great Fire celebrations in St. John's, I headed to New Perlican for their Heritage Day celebrations. The day was a celebration of all things heritage and included a couple of speeches and presentations as well as display boards on family genealogy, occupational folklore, significant buildings, and events in the community.

As part of New Perlican's Heritage Day we also launched "Goats of New Perlican".  This is the first booklet in the Oral History Roadshow series. The booklet focuses on local memories and stories around the goats of New Perlican from their many uses to their stubborn nature.

New Perlican Heritage Day displays.

The roadshow is an initiative of the Intangible Cultural Heritage Office of the HFNL made possible with assistance from the New Horizons for Seniors program. The Oral History Night Roadshow will see researchers travel from community to community, hosting a series of Oral History Nights, open-mic storytelling sessions led and inspired by seniors in that community.

The launch was a great success with approximately a hundred people turning out to celebrate New Perlican's heritage! Heritage New Perlican is currently selling the print copies of "The Goats of New Perlican" or you can check out the free PDF here!

Heritage Day audience.

If you would like to know more information about how your community can get involved in the Oral History Roadshow call Terra at 1-888-739-1892 ex. 5 or email terra@heritagefoundation.ca or Dale ex. 2 and ich@heritagefoundation.ca

~Terra Barrett

What Is Your Earliest or Favourite Memory from the Royal St. John's Regatta? #Folklorephoto

People at the 1962 St. John's Regatta. Identified (l to r): Theresa, Edna Tucker, Delcie, Jake Tucker, Jimmy King, Al Squires, and Syl. Photograph courtesy of the Portugal Cove-St. Philip's Archives (Allen and Pearl Squires Fonds). 

1962 St. John's Regatta. Photograph courtesy of the Portugal Cove-St. Philip's Archives (Allen and Pearl Squires Fonds)

1962 St. John's Archives. Photograph courtesy of the Portugal Cove-St. Philip's Archives (Allen and Pearl Squires Fonds)

What's your earliest or favourite memory of the St. John's Regatta? Do you compete, watch the races, play the games, eat the food, or take in every aspect?

~ Kelly