Mount Pearl Memory Mug Up at Admiralty House

Memory Mug Up participants at Admiralty House Communications Museum.

On Wednesday, July 18th, Dale, Natalie, and I were out in Mount Pearl at Admiralty House Communications Museum for their first Memory Mug Up. The Mug Up was hosted by several staff members at Admiralty House and it focused on Mount Pearl memories.

A dozen people showed up to tell stories about climbing haystacks and stealing turnips from farmers' fields, swimming at Twin Falls, and flattening pennies on the railway track. The main memories people shared were about the sense of community and the strong relationships which developed in Mount Pearl.

There were several residents who moved to the community in the 1960s through the 1980s and discussed the development over the years. Another common memory which was shared was of time spent volunteering with different organizations. Several people mentioned the sport alliance, and the Frosty Festival and how volunteering for these events helped build the community spirit of Mount Pearl.

If you want to learn more about how to run a Memory Mug Up in your community check out our easy how-to-guide or contact Dale Jarvis at 739-1892 ex. 2 or dale@heritagenl.ca

Sharing stories and memories of Mount Pearl.

Living Heritage Podcast Ep118 Victoria Park Lantern Festival with Elizabeth Tuck

Elizabeth Tuck is the Coordinator for the 2018 Victoria Park Lantern Festival. In this episode, Elizabeth talks about how the 2018 festival is the biggest yet, with even more fire and light performances, workshops, musicians, volunteer opportunities, and chances to make your own lanterns. The Lantern Festival is celebrated the last Saturday of July every summer, from 2- 8 p.m. at Victoria Park in St. John’s, and is a free event.

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

How do you cook your capelin?

It's capelin season! I was down at Middle Cove last Saturday watching everyone with their nets and buckets. What is the best way to prepare and cook capelin? And what do you do with leftover fish?

Salmon Fishing #FolklorePhoto

Photo courtesy Daphne March.

This week's #FolklorePhoto is of Jeff and his father, Arthur Hodder. This was the first fish he ever caught on a salmon fishing trip with his father. Jeff recalls:

"I remember it was a pretty exciting time. I remember it was in the evening, and the sun was just setting. Everything was perfect. It was calm. And the next thing you know, I had this fish on. Was I excited! I remember mom squealing and getting the camera ready for a picture. Dad was saying 'Keep your pole up! Keep your pole up!' I landed him, I didn’t need anybody’s help. He netted it for me. I just remembered everything he told me, and he was there coaching me. It was pretty exciting. Needless to say, I was pretty proud at the end of that day. I woke up the next morning, and I figured I was old enough now to shave. I put Dad’s lather on my face, took the razor out. You know those old razors with the blade you’d put in? I took the blade out and started shaving. There is a picture of me shaving somewhere. That was the next day, I figured if I was man enough to catch a salmon, I was man enough to shave!"

Memory Mug Up - Bell Island U-boat Attacks & Sinkings, July 20

The two German U-boat attacks in 1942 sank four ore ships off Bell Island and left 70 sailors dead. Do you have memories or family stories you can share of the attacks or the sinkings? Or of the care of the survivors or the funerals for the dead? If so, then we would like to invite you to a Memory Mug Up at the Bell Island Community Museum on Friday, July 20 at 7:00 p.m.

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

Join folklorist Dale Jarvis of the NL Heritage Foundation and members of the Bell Island Heritage Society for an evening of memories. This event is part of a larger project which the Bell Island Heritage Society is working on with the Shipwreck Preservation Society of Newfoundland & Labrador, to create a new website on the WWII sinkings and how they affected Bell Islanders.

To register for the Memory Mug Up, please call Teresita McCarthy at 709-488-2880 or email bellislandhs@nf.aibn.com

Facebook event listing

Living Heritage Podcast Ep117 Virtual Museums and Memory Mug Ups

Terra Barrett is a public folklorist with the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador. This week, Terra talks about a Virtual Museums Canada project in Grand Falls-Windsor, which will make oral histories and photographs from the town available online. Terra and Dale also talk about Memory Mug Ups, including a Mug Up in Grand Falls-Windsor and another on Bell Island, along with some tips and tricks for collecting stories. As part of her next project, Digital Storytelling, Terra will help community members tell stories by collecting and digitizing their photographs.

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

New Broadcast Intern joins the Living Heritage Podcast

Good morning, Newfoundland and Labrador! You might not hear my voice on the radio, but this summer I’ll be at the ICH office bringing you the latest on heritage and culture in our province. We’ll be talking to artisans, craftspeople, musicians, and more about festivals, food, farmers markets, and regattas (just to name a few!). Throughout the summer, I’ll be looking to chat with people who practice all kinds of culture, from crafts to music and more. If you or someone you know wants to be on the Living Heritage Podcast, email Natalie at livingheritagepodcast@gmail.com.

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. We talk about their work, their passions, and the day-to-day safeguarding of culture, history, and tradition.

Hillview School Memories Mug Up

Hillview Memory Mug Up.

On Tuesday, July 3rd Dale and I headed out to Hillview and their 50+ Club Centre to a community Memory Mug Up on school memories. We were invited by the Southwest Arm Historical Society to facilitate the event.

Twenty seven community members attended the Mug Up and shared stories from their school days as both students and teachers. Several people had memories of attending or teaching in one room schools with outhouses, while others attended larger schools in St. John's or Grand Bank that were fancy enough to have indoor plumbing! One person told a story of how in his mother's time if they wanted a day off school they would simply clog the chimney and the students would be free for the day. Another woman remembered walking to school and passing the piano rock which her and her sisters would "play" each day. Several people discussed children's games including tidley (or pidley), and marbles.

Do you have a memory that stands out from your time in school? Let us know in the comments below!

Hillview Memory Mug Up.

Tuesday's #FolklorePhoto: Textiles in St. Lunaire-Griquet

Louise Bussey poses with her patchwork leaf quilt, St. Lunaire-Griqeut. Photo by Lisa Wilson. 2010.

Today's Folklore Photos come from St. Lunaire-Griquet collection on Memorial University's Digital Archives Initiative. St. Lunaire-Griquet is scenic community located about twenty minutes north of St. Anthony on Newfoundland's Great Northern Peninsula. It is a community of approximately 1000 residents, spread across a region that was once two distinct communities. During the 1950s, sudden development in the area precipitated the conjoining of St. Lunaire and Griquet into one incorporated town-site. Unlike the vast majority of GNP communities, St.-Lunaire-Griquet has always seen a continual rise in population rather than a decline, with exception to the cod moratorium years, which invariable saw many people leave their homes to pursue work elsewhere. It is often said that the local post office marks the spot where the two communities come together.

The French began visiting this region as early as the 16th century, in order to exploit the renowned cod fishery. Despite the early arrival of these seasonal fishermen, the vicinity was not officially mapped until 1784, when the infamous French sailor Liberge de Granchain pursued the undertaking. He is still remembered for his work in the area, by an island near St. Lunaire Bay that bears his name. Granchain Island still holds evidence of the French presence, by the archaeological remains of French bread ovens that can be observed on the site.

The St. Lunaire-Griquet 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 embroidered and pieced quilts, knitted items, and Grenfell-style coats. This inventory also includes audio clips of craftspeople discussing their particular textile-based skills and practices.

If you want to learn more about this collection click here and if you want to listen to an interview with Louise Bussey about textile projects including quilts and parkas click here.

An embroidered Grenfell coat made by Louise Bussey, St. Lunaire-Griquet. Photo by Lisa Wilson. 2010

Close-up of a patchwork Canada goose quilt made by Louise Bussey, St. Lunaire-Griquet. Photo by Lisa Wilson. 2010