Job Posting for recent MA level graduate: Historic Places Intern

Historic Places Intern

The Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador (HFNL) is hiring a Historic Places Intern. The position will run for 33 weeks, finishing December 2018. The position will require excellent written and oral skills in English. The Researcher will be undertaking research about the heritage, architecture, and oral history of local historic places, with the goal that the collected information and images from the research will be featured in online collections. The Historic Places Intern will assist with the “Digital Storytelling for Historic Places” project: six two-day-long digital storytelling workshops, in six various locations across Newfoundland and Labrador, followed by a public screening of the finished videos in each community.

The Historic Places Intern will be responsible for event organization, technical training at the workshops, and then sharing/presenting the final videos. The collected videos will be uploaded and become a permanent part of Memorial University’s Digital Archive Initiative.


Candidate profile

The applicant must have excellent written communication skills; strong public presentation skills; valid driver’s licence and use of automobile; availability to travel throughout Newfoundland & Labrador; and a graduate-level (MA or PhD) degree in history, archaeology, folklore, or architecture, having convocated within the last two years. Completion of workshops or training in digital storytelling an asset.

Must be eligible for funding as a recent Canadian graduate under the Young Canada Works program and be residents of Newfoundland & Labrador.

Previous experience with a heritage organization is an asset, as is a keen interest in oral history and vernacular architecture. Excellent computer skills required, including ability to do online research, power point presentations, audio editing, and word processing.

In your application, you must demonstrate your past ability to:

• Organize, promote, and coordinate community heritage events;
• Conduct field-based research in rural Newfoundland and Labrador;
• Provide workshops on oral history or folklore interviewing;
• Work with community members to elicit personal narratives orally as part of a group;
• Write scripts or texts based on oral history;
• Record and edit audio material using Audacity or similar software;
• Create narrated videos using Windows Movie Maker or similar software;
• Scan print materials to the archival standards of Memorial University’s Digital Archive Initiative;
• Prepare archival metadata to the standards of Memorial University’s Digital Archive Initiative. 

Interested applicants should send a resume, three references, and a cover letter including links to two different samples of your digital storytelling work to:

Dale Jarvis
ICH Development Officer
dale@heritagenl.ca

Deadline for applications: Monday, April 16, 2018

Student Employment Opportunity - Heritage Writers/Researchers

Student Employment Opportunity

Heritage Writers/Researchers Sought

The Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador (HFNL) is seeking 2 Heritage Writers/Researchers. The positions will run for 12 weeks commencing May 14, 2018. The Researchers/Writers will undertake research about the heritage, architecture, and oral history of local historic places in Newfoundland and Labrador in support of HFNL programs. Candidates should be enrolled in a related program at the undergraduate or graduate level (e.g., history, folklore, cultural geography, archaeology or architecture) and should have excellent written and oral English language and research skills. Experience in working for a heritage organization is an asset. Candidates must be eligible under the Young Canada Works employment program and be residents of Newfoundland & Labrador.

Rate of Pay: $560/week based on 35 hour week

Deadline for applications: 4:00 pm, April 26, 2018

Please submit resumes along with a cover letter and 3 references along with any inquiries to: jerry@heritagenl.ca

Folklore student series to showcase local craft.

Starting this week, the Living Heritage radio show/podcast will begin a ten-week special series on the history and contemporary practice of craft in Newfoundland and Labrador. The series was created in partnership with the Memorial University graduate folklore course “Folk 6740 - Public Folklore” and the Craft Council of NL.

The Living Heritage radio show and podcast is a joint project of CHMR radio at Memorial University and the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador's Intangible Cultural Heritage Office. Regular host and producer is provincial folklorist Dale Jarvis

“Folklore students were paired with interview subjects, and were responsible for writing artist bios and show intros, preparing and discussing possible interview questions, and recording the interview itself in the CHMR production studio,” says Jarvis.

“The series was designed to give public folklore students practical skills in research, interviewing techniques, and the sharing of information on traditional and contemporary arts.”

The Craft Council of Newfoundland and Labrador represents 300 professional craft designers and makers in all parts of the province. The series showcases ten artisans and designers, and the premiere episode features an interview with Anne Manuel, a champion of craft in the province for over four decades.

Living Heritage Podcast is played twice weekly on CHMR radio 93.5MHz, on Thursdays at 6pm and Saturdays at 11am, Rogers Cable channel 942 and Aliant TV channel 825. A downloadable mp3 version of the series will be available each Thursday on the ICH blog, www.ichblog.ca, and through iTunes, Stitcher, or your favourite podcast app.

Snowmobile #FolklorePhoto

Photo courtesy the Julia Ann Walsh Heritage Center's collection. Date unknown.

This week's #FolklorePhoto is of a snowmobile outside the Bonne Bay Cottage Hospital. It was common, and convenient, for people to be transported by snowmobile in the past.

Doris Randell recounts a memory from her childhood when she went home on a snowmobile:

I was [at the Cottage Hospital] as patient when I was eight years old. I remember being on the ward, and some of the girls that worked here were local girls. They’d bring me a little treat when they’d come from the kitchen. My next door neighbour had a baby here at the same time, and my cousin was working here. So the next day she showed me this coat, and I was only eight years old, and she asked me, “Do you know who owns this coat?” I said, “Yes, that’s Bessy’s coat.” She said, “Bessy is here.” I was right overjoyed. She said, “Bessy had a baby girl.” Of course later in the day Bessy was moved on the ward - the same ward that I was on - so I got to see the baby several times in the day. It was a fairly pleasant experience . . . And when I went to go home from the hospital, she was going home the same day, and a friend of theirs - actually I think it might have been a relative from up in Portland Creek - came in a snowmobile, you know one of those big ones that you could take many people? So that’s how we went home from the hospital Sunday; her with her new baby and myself.

Can you help identify this mystery polar bear from Labrador?

Diana from Southern California writes,

I am wondering about the history of a wooden letter opener that belonged to my great aunt. I have had it for many decades, and love it, but only recently found myself curious as to where my little bear came from. When I looked closely this morning, I saw a bit of a tag that reads “Labrador,” which finally led me to you. Does this craft piece ring any bells? I have fun finding out the background of family artifacts, where they came from, who the craftspeople might have been, what era they were created. This one seems to be from up in your neck of the world! If you can direct me to any pertinent resources, I would be appreciative.

If you recognize this piece or know who the artist might have been, comment below or email ich@heritagefoundation.ca

Easter Eggs #FolklorePhoto

In honour of Easter, this week's #FolklorePhoto is of Ljudmila Nikolajeva's beautiful, hand-painted Easter eggs at Newfiki: Cultural Concert Night which took place in 2013. This photo was taken by Nicole Penny. 

Living Heritage Podcast Ep104 Behind the walls of the Simms House

Tyler Stapleton is a 24 year old Nautical Science Graduate from the Marine Institute. When not navigating the North Atlantic he is actively restoring his 1882 Registered Heritage Structure in Downtown St. John’s. The home was built in 1882 for draper George Taylor and sold to cooper Henry V. Simms in 1902. Simms ran a successful trade out of a shop once located behind the home and, by the time he died in 1947, owned several properties in the area. Simms played an active in his community, serving as Vice President of the Master Coopers’ Association and an organizer of the local prohibition movement.

In this episode of the Living Heritage Podcast, we chat about the history of the building, his process of research and restoration, and delve into some of the secrets of the Simms House.


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 history 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.

The Knights of Columbus Hostel #FolklorePhoto

Photo courtesy The Rooms Provincial Archives.

While researching jukeboxes for our next Oral History Roadshow project, I came across this photo from the 1940s. It was taken at The Knights of Columbus Hostel which was located on Harvey Road. This was a popular hangout spot for service personnel during WWII. 

On December 12, 1942 a fire quickly swept through the building and resulted in the loss of ninety-nine lives. An "Uncle Tim's Barn Dance" was happening at the time.

Mutliculturalism Week and "Tales From Afar: Old Stories from New Residents" Booklet Launch

As part of St. John's Multiculturalism Week, last Thursday HFNL, in partnership with the Local Immigration partnership (LIP), launched a new booklet titled Tales From Afar: Old Stories from New Residents. 

We collected stories from new Canadians, recent immigrants, refugees, internationals students and log-time residents who have made Newfoundland and Labrador their forever home. They shared ghost stories, myths, legends, fairy tales - anything that had been passed down by word of mouth. These stories came from all over the world: Scotland, France, Germany, Croatia, Ukraine, Nigeria, Syria, Iran, China, Korea, Taiwan, Philippines, and the USA. We took these stories and arranged them into a booklet.

Nadia Sarwar. Photo by Terra Barrett. 2018.

Depute mayor, Sheilagh O'Leary, emceed the event. We had participants share their stories. We heard a tale about how one should never give up. We learned why chickens scratch the ground. We were treated to a traditional Korean drum and dance, and heard the story of the dreadful dried persimmon in both Korean and English. We learned about the importance of respecting your parents. And we heard the cautionary tale of Tiger Grandma.

Jae Hong Jin. Photo by Terra Barrett. 2018.

The day finished with some delicious, traditional Taiwanese food made by The Smiling Sisters. The event was a great success, and showcased the rich multiculturalism we have present in St. John's.

If you would like to read these stories in full, you can download a PDF version of the booklet by clicking here.