Heritage Update Summer 2018 - Documenting Traditional Places and Skills

In this summer edition of the Heritage Update newsletter, we are focusing on traditional skills and knowledge around our historic places. Jerry Dick writes about an oral history project to document the knowledge of traditional artisans and carpenters; Terra Barrett writes on “Remembering the Merchants of Main Street" -- a Windsor-based project which is part of the Virtual Museum of Canada’s Community Stories investment program; and summer intern Keith Burgess writes on the designated St. James Anglican Church in Battle Harbour Labrador.

Download the pdf here

Mother M. Bernard Clune #FolklorePhoto

Photo courtesy The Sisters of Mercy. 

This week's #FolklorePhoto is of Mother M. Bernard Clune. She was the nun who purchased Sir Little's property that eventually became Littledale in 1883-1884.

Living Heritage Podcast Ep116 Pigeons, podcasts, and public history

Today on Living Heritage, we’re talking pigeons, podcasts, and public history with the staff of the Admiralty House Communications Museum in Mount Pearl. Our guests are Sarah Wade, and Lauren Lambe. Sarah Wade is museum manager and holds a BA in History/Archaeology, and an Honours in Applied Museum Studies from Algonquin College. Lauren Lambe is the museum’s collection assistant and is currently completing her Masters in Public History from University of Western Ontario. Together, they have created "Pigeon Post" -- a podcast produced by staff at Admiralty House. Through storytelling as well as oral history interviews, this podcast aims to keep the history of Admiralty House alive, while also focusing on elements of the community of Mount Pearl.

Download the mp3


###


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 are hosted on Libsyn, and you can subscribe via iTunes, or Stitcher. Theme music is Rythme Gitan by Latché Swing.

Tuesday's #FolklorePhoto: Seal Skin Slippers

Doreen Noseworthy poses with a pair of sealskin boots that she made, Green Island Brook. Photo by Lisa Wilson. 2010.

Today's Folklore Photos come from The Straits collection on Memorial University's Digital Archives Initiative. The Strait of Belle Isle is a geographic region on the northwest coast of Newfoundland's Great Northern Peninsula. Colloquially know as 'The Straits,' this coastal strip runs from the community of Plum Point in the south, to Eddies Cove East at the northernmost tip. 

Between these two locales, several small communities dot the coast. Families first arrived at The Strait of Belle Isle in the 1880s, to exploit the salmon fishery and perhaps set up a base for the fur trade. Early inhabitants were there seasonally, but by 1884, permanent settlers arrived and began fishing for cod, herring, and began sealing practices as well. Although resources may have shifted in value, abundance and importance, over the years, the local drive to work the land and sea has remained consistent. While the cod fishery ultimately saw its demise in the 1990s, forms of this industry continue to fuel the local economy today. In Anchor Point, for instance, many of the residents continue to work as fish harvesters, or alternately in the shrimp plant, which employs upwards of 150 people each season.

The Straits inventory is part of a founding collection for the Great Northern Peninsula Textiles Archive and Learning Center. This project, based in Conche, NL, is an on-going initiative to document and preserve the textile-based crafts that are being created on Newfoundland's Northern Peninsula. The items in this collection were gathered between May and July of 2010 and include photographs of textile craft objects such as sealskin boots, Newfoundland Quilts, knitted socks, and embroidered cloth. This inventory also includes audio clips of craftspeople discussing their particular textile-based skills and practices. Straits communities present in this collection include Green Island Brook, Pines Cove, Bird Cove, Black Duck Cove, Eddies Cove East, Anchor Point, Sandy Cove, and Flower's Cove. Flower's Cove, due to its comparably large population, has been given its own community inventory on the DAI.

If you want to learn more about this collection click here and if you want to listen to an interview with Doreen Noseworthy about the process of making seal skin boots, slippers, and mittens click here.

Doreen Noseworthy demonstrates how to make sealskin boot pleats, Green Island Brook. Photo by Lisa Wilson. 2010.

Doreen Noseworthy demonstrates how to make pleats in sealskin, Green Island Brook. Photo by Lisa Wilson. 2010.

Memory Mug Up at the Senior’s Club in Hillview, July 3rd

Students with teacher Marcie Drodge, circa 1942-43.

School is finishing and we are seeing lots of graduation pictures – from Kindergarten to High School. Does this make you nostalgic about the “old days” of attending school in Southwest Arm? If it does, we have an event for you – a Memory Mug Up at the Senior’s Club in Hillview on Tuesday, July 3 from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m

The Memory Mug Up is an informal story sharing session for seniors, where people gather, have a cup of tea, and share memories. The goal of the program is to help participants share and preserve their stories.

Join Folklorist Dale Jarvis of the NL Heritage Foundation and members of the Southwest Arm Historical Committee for an afternoon of memories. Come and share your memories of attending school in Southwest Arm.

To register, call Elaine Spurrell at 435-2013 or email info@swahsociety.com

Facebook event here.

Living Heritage Podcast Ep115 Mentor & Metalsmith - the metal art of Wesley Harris and Arthur Brecken,

Wesley Harris began silversmithing under his high school Art teacher, Arthur Brecken. Both this gentleman and his subsequent instructor at Cranbrook Academy of Art allowed Wesley to learn by trial and error. The underlying inspiration in Wesley’s work is Nature. He lives in ruggedly beautiful western Newfoundland and his studio overlooks the ocean where he creates high-end hollowware and jewellery. In 2015 Wesley was inducted into the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts (RCA), and we are delighted to feature him on this episode of Living Heritage.

This episode is part of a series of programs in partnership with the Craft Council of NL, to document craft traditions in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Image: Mustache comb by Wesley Harris, 2002. 

Download the mp3



###

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 are hosted on Libsyn, and you can subscribe via iTunes, or Stitcher. Theme music is Rythme Gitan by Latché Swing.

Online resources for understanding tombstone symbols

Grave marker at the United Church Cemetery, Lower Island Cove.

People often ask "what does this particular symbol mean on this tombstone" but there is not always a clear answer. It isn't always possible to know why a particular symbol was chosen for a grave marker or memorial. Sometimes people picked symbols from a catalogue, or went with a motif seen on another family member's stone.

Symbolism is the practice or art of using an object or a word to represent an abstract idea. Tombstone carvers used (and continue to use) symbolism to hint at ideas or refer to larger stories, without having to explain those stories or ideas in detail.

Meanings of symbols shift and change over time, and motifs on gravestones often reflect the culture which created the work, and can have multiple meaning. Similar symbols may be regarded differently by ethnic groups or religions.

Having said that, if you want some general ideas about what tombstone designs might mean, here are a few websites to get you started:

http://www.graveaddiction.com/symbol.html

https://stoneletters.com/blog/gravestone-symbols

http://www.thecemeteryclub.com/symbols.html

http://www.gmct.com.au/media/720756/gmct-information-sheet-_cemetery-symbols_lr.pdf

Behind the Counter at Pelley's #FolklorePhoto

Photo courtesy Joyce Clouter. 

This week's #FolklorePhoto is of Viola Greening behind the counter at Pelley’s in Port Blandford c. 1960. Daniel Pelley, the owner of Pelley's, established his first store in Southwest in 1920. In 1936, he moved locations. This building is still standing in Port Blandford but is not currently in use.

Grave of Phillip Louis, The Mount, Lower Island Cove

On a cold and wet Friday, June 15, 2018, I visited Lower Island Cove, Conception Bay North, with Judy Rogers as my guide. While there, Judy took me to one of the oldest burying places in Lower Island Cove, a section of the community on a hill close to the water, which is locally called The Mount.

The cemetery sits in a windswept, barren spot, overlooking the community, and wild grasses have largely obscured the majority of the rough-stone grave markers. There is only one visible carved tombstone, marking the grave of Judy's fourth-great-grandfather, Phillip Louis. The inscription reads:

--- 

IN

MEMORY OF

PHILLIP LOUIS

A NATIVE

OF THE ISLAND OF JERSEY

WHO AFTER A RESIDENCE

OF MORE THAN FIFTY YEARS

IN THIS PLACE

DIED ON THE 19TH NOVEMBER 1821

IN THE 78TH YEAR OF HIS AGE

RESPECTED AND ESTEEMED

FOR HIS HONESTY

AND

INTEGRITY

He came to his Grave in a Full age

like as a Shock of Corn cometh in

in his season

_____________

Be not Slothful,

but Followers of them who through Faith

and Patience inherit the Promises

---

The stone, reset in a more modern concrete base, also features a well-carved hourglass and scythe motif, surmounting a crossed arrow and trumpet. The scythe can be seen to represent the reaping of life and the hourglass representing that earthly time has run out. The hourglass has also been interpreted as a memento mori, reminding we visitors that we are one hour closer to our own deaths. More cheerfully, the ivy (or vines, botanists feel free to weigh in on this) on either side of the stone could be interpreted to represent memory, immortality, friendship, fidelity, faithfulness, undying affection, or eternal life.