Architecture, Pothead Whales, and International Folktales - The Heritage Update!

In the July-August edition of the Heritage Update for Newfoundland and Labrador, we bring you up to date with the various ongoing projects of the Heritage Foundation of NL. The lineup of articles includes: "Tales from Afar: Old Stories from New Residents" -- a new project to share traditional stories which have come from away; memories of hunting pothead whales in Bonavista Bay, the
Heart’s Content Heritage District Inventory and a spotlight on the Anglo-American House; memories of the Americans in Ship Harbour, Placentia Bay, with Mary (Murphy) King; the Oral History Roadshow in Port Blandford; a look an unusual Victorian photo album in Holyrood; and early Modernist architecture in St. John's!

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#FoodwaysFriday - Carrot Sandwich

When Terra and I were in Port Blanford last week, I noticed a sandwich at the Memories Mug Up that I had never seen before. It appeared to be the most popular sandwich at the event; the tray having been more or less consumed before any of the other typical pot luck sandwiches. It's innards were bright orange, and so, obviously, I had to enquire as to what it was.

Linda Bennett explained that this sandwich is composed of grated carrot and cheese, finely chopped onion and mayonnaise. Apparently this recipe is particular to Port Blanford.

According to local lore, Betty Greening, a World War II bride brought this recipe with her to Port Blanford from Scotland. It has since become a well-known sandwich among the locals.

Have you ever consumed this sandwich? Is there a particular name you've associated with it?

-Katie Harvey

Living Heritage Podcast Ep085 How do Newcomers Experience Newfoundland? Part 1

Today on the Living Heritage Podcast - Part One of “NL Stories: How do Newcomers Experience Newfoundland?” - excerpts from an Evening of Storytelling and Musical Performances. The event was recorded live on Thursday, June 29, 2017.

It was hosted by the Refugee and Immigrant Advisory Council, with support from the Helen Creighton Folklore Society and the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador. The MC and organizer for the event was Marissa Farahbod, a graduate student in the Department of Folklore at Memorial University, with stories from Yvette Niyomugaba (from Rwanda), Mark Watts (from the UK), and Jing Xia (from China).

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Retaining Wall in Heart's Content

Does anyone have any information on this retaining wall on Main Road in Heart's Content? How old is it? Who built it? It is located just alongside the Anglican Cemetery in the Heritage District. If so, please email Katie at katherine@heritagefoundation.ca or call (709) 739-1892 ext. 7.

#OralHistoryRoadshow - Port Blandford

Oral history event on local stores. Photo by Katie Harvey. 2017

On Wednesday afternoon Katie and I headed out to Port Blandford to meet with the Conservation Corps' Port Blandford Green Team and Calvin Efford with the Port Blandford Heritage Society. Calvin contacted the Heritage Foundation about having the Oral History Roadshow come to Port Blandford. The Heritage Society suggested we focus on the stores in the community as there have been over twenty stores in the community through the years, and many local people have memories of both shopping and working in these general stores, convenience shops, and grocery stores.

Thursday morning we met with the green team and provided an overview of how to do oral history interviews including consent, recording equipment, questions to ask, and how to process the material once the recording has been done. Following this meeting Katie and I interviewed two women in the community about their experience with stores in the community.

In the afternoon we held the public oral history event where twenty five people came out to share their memories of local stores like Roland Greening's (later Wanda's), Powell's, Pelley's, and other small stores. There were stories about the charge system, how everything was noted by hand, and memories of the delivery service first by horse and cart and then by vehicle.

Following the afternoon event Katie and I interviewed five community members about their stories and memories of working and shopping in Port Blandford. We are still looking for memories of the stores in Port Blandford so if you have one let me know by calling 1-888-739-1892 ex. 5 or emailing terra@heritagefoundation.ca

Do You Know of Any Metal Grave Markers in Newfoundland and Labrador?

On a recent camping trip to the New-Wes-Valley area, I visited the Lumsden United Church Cemetery and came across the headstone of William Tuff, son of William and Susanah Tuff, who died 9th of October 1847 aged 28 years. What caught my attention with this headstone was that it's made of cast iron. I have seen one other cast iron marker, at Bethany United in Carbonear, and a small sheet metal marker in St. James Cemetery, also in Carbonear.

In a 2012 ICH Newsletter article, Patrick Carroll wrote about the tin monuments in Bonavista Bay, which you can read about here. There are also a few interesting zinc (or white bronze) grave markers in St. John's. The hollow zinc markers have an distinctive blue-gray colour that is easily recognized once you know what to look for.

The zinc or White Bronze grave marker of Isabell and S.H. Parsons at the General Protestant Cemetery in St. John's

Do you know of any others metal grave markers around the province? Do you have a relative whose grave is marked with one? Do you know anything about the makers of these headstones, particularly the cast iron ones?

~ Kelly

New project to share traditional stories which have "come from away."

"Tales from Afar: Old Stories from New Residents"

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.

The goal is to create a showcase of traditional stories and folktales from around the world. The project will end with 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.

What kind of stories do you want?
We are looking for folktales, legends, myths, stories of saints and miracles, ghost stories, fables or stories of talking animals, or traditional children’s tales -- any story that has been passed down by word of mouth.

Who can share a story?
If you come from away, and know an old story, we want to hear it! Storytellers could be 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.

What if I’m worried about my English?
Don’t worry! We’ll work with you to edit it your story into a final form that makes you happy!

How can I share a story?
Stories can be submitted in written form, or participants can sit down with a collector and record a spoken version of their story.

To share a story, you can:

• Email ich@heritagefoundation.ca
• Call Dale Jarvis at 1-888-739-1892 extension 2, or 
• Fill in the online form here: https://goo.gl/forms/QWmJY9haiyItAeop2

Deadline to share a story: September 29th, 2017.

#FoodwaysFriday - Recipe for Chop Suey

Where is that recipe from?

On a recent trip to Spaniard’s Bay for the Oral History Roadship Judy Symonds brought out some papers she had recently found while cleaning out her mother’s belongings. There was an old newspaper clipping from 1950 as well as a small recipe book. Although I didn’t have a chance to scan all the recipes I had a look through the book and scanned a couple of pages. The recipes inside were reminiscent of the time with white layer cake, salads with fruits like bananas and pineapple topped with sliced eggs, and fruit cake filled with raisins, sultanas, cherries, and almonds.

Among the recipes for shortbread and cakes was a recipe for Chop Suey which includes mince meat, tinned tomato soup, rice, macaroni, onion, boiling water, and fat pork. These ingredients seem to resemble Newfoundland’s version of goulash which typically consists of minced meat***, and macaroni in a tomato sauce with variable vegetables such as onions, bell peppers, and occasionally mushrooms more than a Chinese meal. After a quick internet search and a discussion with a friend from New England it seems like the chop suey recipe is a version of American chop suey which is a pasta dish resembling Newfoundland goulash with macaroni, ground beef, onions, and peppers in a tomato based sauce. It is interesting that the recipe showed up in a handwritten notebook in Newfoundland. I would love to know the background behind the recipe, where she found it, and why Judy’s mother kept the recipe.

The origin of chop suey itself is a hotly debated topic with folks arguing it is an American Chinese creation and others saying it was a Chinese dish which was adapted to the available American groceries and particularly vegetables. If you want to learn more about the Chinese community in Newfoundland and their expression of Chineseness check out Dr. Mu Li’s thesis “Wanderers between Cultural Boundaries: Exploring the Individual Expressions of Chineseness in Newfoundland”.

Share your stories and knowledge of food with the hashtag #FoodwaysFriday.
Tell us your favourite recipe and let us know the origin story!

***Judy Symonds emailed to clarify that the minced meat in the recipe simply means ground meat. 


~Terra Barrett

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