#AdaptingHeritage Forum 2017 - Introducing Jane Rutherford

Jane Rutherford is a graduate student in Ethnomusicology at Memorial University with a research focus on the sustainability of traditional NL set dancing. Jane is a keen set dancer and has been dancing, calling, and teaching for nearly 30 years. She is a collector of NL dances and has worked with several communities to revive dances that were nearly lost. She was the dance consultant for “Traditional Dances of Newfoundland and Labrador: A Guide for Teachers’, a resource used in the province’s schools. Jane has been on staff with Vinland Traditional Music Camp since 2005, and has helped coordinate the dance program at the Newfoundland and Labrador Folk Festival in recent years.

At the forum, Jane will be participating in a panel titled Close to the Floor - Dance Traditions in Newfoundland where she will focus on her expertise in set dancing.

Forum on Adapting NL's Intangible Cultural Heritage will take place on October 25 and 26. The cost of registration is $75.00, and $18.75 for post-secondary students. For full program details click here. To register click here.

#AdaptingHeritage Forum 2017 - Introducing Kristin Harris Walsh

Kristin Harris Walsh is a dancer and dance scholar based in St. John's. She holds a PhD in Folklore from Memorial University and a Master’s in Dance from York University and currently is working on a SSHRC funded research project on percussive dance in Newfoundland and Ireland. Kristin has been step dancing for 15 years and has trained and performed in Newfoundland and Ireland. She is Past President of DanceNL, the province’s sectoral dance association.

At the forum, Kristin will be participating in a panel discussion titled Close to the Floor - Dance Traditions in Newfoundland. If you would like to hear more about Kristin's work, you can listen to our Living Heritage podcast episode with her by clicking here. 

Forum on Adapting NL's Intangible Cultural Heritage will take place on October 25 and 26. The cost of registration is $75.00, and $18.75 for post-secondary students. For full program details click here. To register click here.

"Everything Was Wrapped in Brown Paper: The Old Shops of Port Blandford" Booklet Launch

The Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador (HFNL) and the Port Blandford Heritage Society present a booklet launch at the Anglican Church in Port Blandford on Thursday, October 12, from 1:30-3:30pm.

“Everything Was Wrapped in Brown Paper: The Old Shops of Port Blandford” is the third booklet in the Oral History Roadshow Series produced by the Heritage Foundation. This booklet focuses on the old shops of Port Blandford, and people’s memories associated with these places.

“The face-to-face relationship that you had with the clerks by going into the store was much more personal than it is today,” explains Reginald Penney,  one of several residents of Port Blandford interviewed as part of the oral history project.

“The store itself had a different atmosphere” says Penney. “There were no aisles as you would see in the supermarket type places we have today. Most groceries were in shelves built in the back or on the sides of the store, and in the back there might be some dry goods articles, nails, screws and things like that.”

“The Port Blandford Heritage Society contacted us to help document the old shops that once existed within the community,” says Katie Harvey, a researcher with the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador. “There are only a few shops remaining, so it is important to preserve these memories while it is still possible.”

This booklet is part of the Oral History Roadshow project, which aims to empower and encourage seniors to showcase their memories through a series of public oral history night celebrations.

The booklet launch is open to the public and will include light refreshments. There will be copies of the booklet available at the launch, and a downloadable PDF version will be placed online. For more information please go to www.collectivememories.ca or call Katie Harvey at 1-888-739-1892 ext. 6.

#AdaptingHeritage Forum 2017 - Introducing Colleen Quigley

Colleen Quigley is the Manuscripts Librarian for the Performing Arts Collection and Head of Archives and Special Collections at MUN’s Queen Elizabeth II Library. Colleen holds a Masters of Information from the University of Toronto; a BFA in Dance from York University and an English major from Memorial. She has worked as a performer, dance instructor and choreographer in North America as well as in the Netherlands. Colleen has participated in Canadian think tanks, International panels, exhibitions, and conferences on the preservation and promotion of dance and other aspects of the performing arts. She is an active member of various professional associations.

At the forum, Colleen will be moderating a panel discussion titled Close to the Floor - Dance Traditions in Newfoundland. If you would like to hear more about Colleen's work, you can listen to our Living Heritage podcast episode with her by clicking here.

Forum on Adapting NL's Intangible Cultural Heritage will take place on October 25 and 26. The cost of registration is $75.00, and $18.75 for post-secondary students. For full program details click here. To register click here.

Queen Victoria's Grave #FolklorePhoto

Photo by Kelly Drover.

Today's folklore photo comes from the General Protestant Cemetery which is located between Waterford Bridge Road and Old Topsail Road in St. John's. A couple of months back I interviewed Roberta Bugden about growing up in St. John's. Along with her own stories she told several stories from her mother Queen Victoria (Ross) Young. If you want to learn more about Queen Victoria's memories of the great fire click here for a previous blog post.

When Queen Victoria Ross was born in 1885 the reigning Queen offered a bounty for multiple births above twins. While she didn't qualify for the bounty as a single birth where she was the eighth girl in the family it was suggested that she was named after the Queen. Pictured above is Queen Victoria's grave in St. John's.

~Terra Barrett

A Townie Childhood: Growing Up in Yesterday's St. John's - Oct 13

A Townie Childhood: Growing Up in Yesterday's St. John's 

Friday, Oct 13th

2pm

Marjorie Mews Public Library

A runaway bull on Water Street, a foiled hold-up, skating across the frozen harbour, and an aunt stuffing her niece’s pockets with cheese to keep the fairies away: these are some of the stories told at our last Marjorie Mews Memory Mug up with local seniors. Hearing those tales left us hungry for more, so we are back another storytelling session at the library, with the theme, "A Townie Childhood: Growing Up in Yesterday's St. John's."

We want to hear your memories of growing up. You bring the stories, we’ll supply the tea and biscuits, and we will all have a chat! Following the sessions, those who are interested can set up a time to have their stories recorded and archived by one of our story collectors. This is a free event, brought to you by the St. John’s Storytelling Festival, the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador, and the Marjorie Mews Public Library.

Space is limited please call or stop by to pre-register. 709-737-3020.
Facebook event listing here.

Living Heritage Podcast Ep089 Victorian Architecture of Dunedin

Jeremy Moyle studied archaeology at University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand. He is currently a masters student in the Department of Folklore at Memorial University, doing his MA on the Victorian and Edwardian vernacular architecture of Dunedin.

In this podcast, we chat about his work in New Zealand, the historical and geographical context of his research, the history of Dunedin and its architecture, typical design and ornamental features of Victorian architecture in Dunedin, cast iron work and “modern” industries, the use of newspapers and historical photographs in vernacular architecture research, and how issues around class and status are reflected in the architecture of the time.

Download the mp3

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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 heritage alive at the community level. The show is a partnership between HFNL and CHMR Radio. Past episodes hosted on Libsyn, and you can subscribe via iTunes, or Stitcher. Theme music is Rythme Gitan by Latché Swing.

#AdaptingHeritage Forum 2017 - Introducing Alex Howse

Alex Howse was born in Gaultois, Hermitage Bay, an out port community on Long Island, located on the South Coast of Newfoundland. Being on an island where his only means of travel was by water, a boat became a very important part of his life for many reasons. He had his first boat (a motor dory) when he was 12 years old. His second boat was a 24’fishing boat, converted to, what you would call today, a small cabin cruiser. The last boat was a small fibreglass cruiser which was birthed in Cupids where he has a summer place next to the ocean. After graduating Victoria High School in Gaultois, he taught elementary school for a year and later moved to St. John’s to study finance at the College of Trades and Technology (College of the North Atlantic)followed by studies with the Registered Industrial Accountants Assoc and The Purchasing Management Assoc. of Canada. The majority of his work life was in Finance, and Materials Management, all within the healthcare sector. While he's built a few boats through the years, now retired in Mount Pearl, his current passion is building large scale model boats, each with a story behind them and built in the traditional method of construction.

At the forum, Alex will be conducting a demonstration on how to cast a net. 

Forum on Adapting NL's Intangible Cultural Heritage will take place on October 25 and 26. The cost of registration is $75.00, and $18.75 for post-secondary students. For full program details click here. To register click here.

The 1845 Whitechapel bell at St. George's Anglican Church, Petty Harbour

C & G Mears Founders London bell at Petty Harbour - cast circa 1845

We paid a visit to St. George’s Anglican Church in Petty Harbour this morning, to have an initial meeting about compiling an architectural and oral history of the building. While there, we explored the belfry, and took a few photos of the building’s historic bell.

The church is the third Anglican church on the site. The first, St. David’s, was built in 1829. It was replaced by St. Andrew’s in 1845. Fire destroyed the second church in 1934. The new cornerstone was laid May 31, 1937, and the church opened for services in 1939.

The bell appears to be the original bell for the second church, St. Andrew’s. According to Sheila MacKenzie Brown’s 1981 Folklore MA thesis “The Church Bell Tradition in Newfoundland: A Reflection of Culture Change,” the St. George’s bell was cast (or purchased) in 1845.

The bell is cast with the foundry’s mark “C & G Mears Founders London.” The name C & G Mears was one of many names used by the company now operating as 'Whitechapel Bell Foundry Ltd.” The Whitechapel Bell Foundry is Britain's oldest manufacturing company, having been established in 1570 (during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I) and being in continuous business since that date. The Petty Harbour St. Andrew’s bell has some historic counterparts, as the foundry produced such notable bells as Big Ben and the Liberty Bell.

The bell is one of seven Newfoundland Whitechapel bells noted in Brown’s 1981 thesis. At that time, the remaining six identified were: a 1846 bell cast for an unnamed Anglican church in St. John’s; the 1852 bell for the Anglican church in Hermitage; the 1931 bell for the United Church in Twillingate; a 1932 bell for the Anglican Cathedral in St. John’s; the 1952 bell for the Anglican Church in Seldom-Come-By, Fogo; and the 1962 bell for the Anglican Church in Daniel’s Harbour.

View of the bell from underneath

Following the 1934 fire, the bell was re-used in the current church. The bell is still rung each Sunday to announce the start of service at St. George’s. Service starts at 11:15 (to allow time for the officiating priest to finish their service at St. Paul’s Anglican in the Goulds).

View of the wheel mechanism that aids in the ringing of the bell. 

View of St. George's Anglican Church from the hill behind the church, showing the belfry. The four-sided spire and corner finials are tin; note the original decorative railing between the finials, 3/4 of which is now missing.  The bell is housed in the tower behind the louvered opening.