Living Heritage Economy Case Study - Revitalizing Barking in Southern Labrador: The Labrador Artisans Co-operative

July's Living Heritage Economy Case Study features the Labrador Artisan's Co-operative.

Barked Labrador cossack. Photo by Cindy Colosimo Robbins.

A newly incorporated organization, the Labrador Artisans Co-operative is using old traditions in new ways to tell the story of Labrador and its history. Barking is a centuries-old tradition used by both Indigenous and settler communities to preserve animal hides, textiles, and fishing gear. The Labrador Artisans Co-operative is mixing this Labrador tradition with innovative materials dyeing techniques to create products that showcase what makes Labrador unique.

Barked hand bags. Photo by Cindy Colisimo Robbins.

You can download a pdf version of the case study here.

This is part of a series of case studies examining the links between living heritage, traditionality, entrepreneurism, and community economic development in Newfoundland and Labrador. For more information, contact Dale Jarvis at dale@heritagenl.ca. Photo courtesy of Labrador Artisans Co-operative.

Living Heritage Podcast Ep184 Eileen Matthews and NERRL Hand Painted Designs

Eileen lives and works in New Perlican, where she creates unique arts and crafts for her business, NERRL Hand Painted Designs. Eileen is also an active member of the New Perlican Heritage Committee. In today’s episode, Eileen talks about how Newfoundland scenery inspires her art, and some recent heritage projects in New Perlican. Listeners may know the small community for their colourfully painted stages. Picturesque New Perlican is not to be missed if you are taking a drive along the Baccalieu Trail. 

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Living Heritage 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 HeritageNL and CHMR Radio.
Theme music is Rythme Gitan by Latché Swing.

Heritage Update: Modernist Architecture, Spruce Beer, Adaptive Reuse, and Cemeteries!

Van Ginkel Footbridge, 1962

In this edition of the Heritage Update: Sarah Reid on the Hidden Modernist Architecture in Bowring Park; Rebecca Newhook is looking for possible placements for the MUN Folklore fall 2020 work terms; Dale Jarvis investigates the “St. Johns’ Spruce Beer Brewery” on Signal Hill; a note on possible adaptive reuses for the Greenspond Courthouse by Myles Burry; and Katie Crane and Andrea O'Brien take us for a walk through some historic cemeteries, with some tips on what your communities can do to safeguard our landscapes of memories!

Download the pdf here

Living Heritage Podcast Ep183: Grates Cove Part 2

In this episode, we’re back for Part 2 with Terrance and Courtney Howell from Grates Cove Studios. Terrence and Courtney moved to Grates Cove over a decade ago and started their studio. The business has grown since and they also have a restaurant featuring Newfoundland, Cajun and Korean flavors, offer accommodations, and harvest their own seaweed to make their seaweed lotion. You can also sign up for cooking or art classes during your stay. In this episode, Terrance and Courtney talk about the history of the community and that elusive characteristic that makes Grates Cove such a unique and special place.

This episode is part of a special series about the Baccalieu Trail region of Newfoundland and Labrador. Join us as we explore the hidden gems of the Baccalieu Trail- from stories of phantom ship sightings to local art and history.

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Living Heritage 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 HeritageNL and CHMR Radio.
Theme music is Rythme Gitan by Latché Swing.

The Death of Mrs. Leah Rendell, Heart's Content, 1913

Yesterday, we posted a story by Ted Rowe about the Rendell Forge and a picture as it was in 2003. Above is a photo I took of the same building.  You can see the roofline has changed, and the siding was replaced with cedar shakes (shingles). The trees have grown up dramatically behind the building.

The other photo that Ted shared was of the Rendell boys at the time of their mother's funeral in 1913. Below is a copy of the article that ran in the Evening Telegram, 1913-09-30:

We will have more on the Rendell Forge in the future! 

There Would Be None Left Around to See: Wriggle Fences with Kevin Andrews #MakerMonday

For #MakerMonday we'll be profiling some of the people practicing traditional skills on the Baccalieu Trail.
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Kevin Andrews of New Perlican learned how to make wriggle fence by helping his uncles and grandfather make their own. Eight years ago, he and his wife Bonnie made one of their own to show their kids how it was done.

I just wanted to show the kids the type of fences that were around the community 40 and 50 years ago because there's none left here now. So I just made an 8 foot section, that's all. Just for them to have a look at it and just see the work that was involved.

He says that there is a fair bit of work involved in constructing a wriggle fence, but that it is worth it to preserve this knowledge for future generations. It is also what he calls a "long time fence." A wriggle fence will last up to 20 years.

Kevin Andrews' wriggle fence. Photo by Dale Jarvis.

Kevin likes that the wriggle fence is cost effective. The wood is harvested locally. He uses spruce or var for the wriggles and rails, but he says whatever wood bends easiest is a good choice. It also only uses four tools, so it does not require a lot of specialized equipment. He says all you need is an axe or power saw for cutting the wriggles, a hammer or wooden mallet for driving in the posts and wooden dowels used to secure the rails in place, an auger or drill for making holes in the rails for the wooden dowels, and a pocket knife for sharpening the wooden dowels so they can be used as nails.

If you're curious on the steps to making a wriggle fence yourself, listen to Kevin describe how he built his own.

Heritage Foundation NL · Kevin Andrews - Wriggle Fence

We took the wriggles and we come out and you need some rails too for to weave the wriggles in around. You need one on top, one in the centre, and one on the bottom. So you take the wriggle and you bend it, and you go in through the centre one from the top and come out through the bottom one, and that applies the wriggle out facing you. Then the next one you put in, you put it in on the opposite side of the centre piece and the three rail fence, and you weave it the opposite way and put it in through the centre and come down and come out through the bottom. So, each one, every second one goes the same way. There's no nails involved because, well, years ago they had no nails, so they used to make wooden dowels and they'd nail the rails onto the fence, drive the wooden dowel in through the rail and into the stake and weave the wriggles in the way I just told you, and you end up with the wriggle fence. But now, in the beginning you got to put the stakes down in the ground first. 6 or 8 feet apart, however wide you want it. And then you start from there after you get the stakes down in the ground. You drive them down through with a wooden mallet. And then you start from there and put your rails on and then after the rails on then come with the wriggle fences which you weave in through. I done 8 feet and it took me 8 hours, so it was roughly an hour a foot for to build the fence.

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Do you live on the Baccalieu Trail and practice a traditional skill or know someone who does? Fill out our survey!

The Rendell Forge, Heart's Content - guest post by Ted Rowe

Rendell Forge, 2003, courtesy Ted Rowe

The Rendell Forge, Heart's Content by Ted Rowe

The Rendell family of Newfoundland has its origins in Somerset, England.  Blacksmith Charles Rendell moved to Heart’s Content from Trinity in the early years of the 1800s and settled at the northern end of Rowe’s Bank, where he provided the ironwork for the vessels coming off the stocks at Rowe shipyard.  Descendents of Charles Rendell produced an unbroken line in the blacksmith trade in Heart’s Content for three generations.  His four sons Charles, Giles, James and John all took up the trade.  Son Charles was also Heart’s Content’s first constable, appointed in the 1830s, and was prominent in the Loyal Orange Association.   Bela, son of Giles, operated this forge with his son Jim in the 1920s.  When business fell off during the depression years Jim moved his family to Hants Harbour.  In 1941 at the age of 60 Bela went to Scotland as a blacksmith with the Newfoundland Overseas Forestry Unit.  He returned to Heart’s Content at the end of the war and continued with the forge in the 1950s, turning out grapnels, horseshoes and custom ironwork.  Following his death his son Ray worked the operation on a part-time basis.

 The Rendell brothers at the time of their mother's funeral in 1913.
From left to right Bela, Tolson, James, Giles, Charles

Living Heritage Podcast Ep181: Grates Cove Part 1

Photo courtesy of Courtney and Terrance Howell.

In this episode, Terrance and Courtney Howell, owners of Grates Cove Studios, talk about the adaptability of Newfoundlanders during uncertain times, the natural beauty of the Baccalieu Trail, and the history of Grates Cove. Courtney and Terrance moved to Grates Cove over a decade ago and started their studio. The business has grown since and they also have a restaurant featuring Newfoundland, Cajun and Korean flavors, offer accommodations, and harvest their own seaweed to make their seaweed lotion. You can also sign up for cooking or art classes during your stay. Listen to hear more about one of the most ruggedly beautiful spots in on the island.

This episode is part of a special series about the Baccalieu Trail region of Newfoundland and Labrador. Join us as we explore the hidden gems of the Baccalieu Trail- from stories of phantom ship sightings to local art and history.

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Living Heritage 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 HeritageNL and CHMR Radio.
Theme music is Rythme Gitan by Latché Swing.

St Andrew's Cemetery Workshop

Today, Dale and I were invited to give a cemetery documentation workshop in the St Andrew's Cemetery in Harbour Grace. St. Andrew's is a small Presbyterian cemetery that is tucked back behind a park with trees that were planted and possibly imported from Scotland. You almost wouldn't notice that it was there if you weren't looking for it!

Entrance to St. Andrew's Cemetery, Harbour Grace. Photo by Katie Crane.

Despite the rain, we had a great group with representation from the Conception Bay Museum, the Harbour Grace Board of Culture, and the Port de Grave Peninsula Heritage Society!

A wonderful turnout for the cemetery workshop. Photo by Katie Crane.

We walked people through how to use the Billion Graves app to record the headstones in the cemetery. We also talked about common headstone materials and Dale gave his "Don't Be At It" talk about historic headstone conservation.

With so many volunteers, recording this cemetery went very quickly. You can check out what they accomplished today on the Billion Graves page for St. Andrew's Cemetery.

St. Andrew's Cemetery was sometimes referred to as the Merchants Cemetery as many of those interred within had some connection to the Merchant families of Harbour Grace.

One notable grave in the cemetery is this cast iron marker to Captain Bert Holst, the captain of a Norwegian schooner who took ill and died suddenly in 1871.

Captain Bert Holst's cast iron headstone. Photo by Katie Crane.

I found Captain Holst's death notice in the Harbor Grace Standard from December 6, 1871 on the Digital Archives Intiative.

Captain Holst's death notice. Harbour Grace Standard 1871-12-06. Courtesy of the Digital Archives Initiative.

Also buried in this cemetery is the artist Joan Parsons Woods.

Joan Parsons Woods headstone. Forever Potting. Photo by Katie Crane.

She studied art at l’École des Beaux Arts in Montreal, and she sculpted memories from her life and poured her love of Newfoundland into the clay. Her sculptures were purchased by the Historic Sites Society and displayed for the 500th anniversary of John Cabot's arrival in an exhibit called A Place Called Home which toured the island. Learn more about Joan Parsons Woods here.

We accomplished a lot today, and I think we had a lot of fun despite the rain. An old English folk saying that Dale brought up today is particularly apt: "Happy is the bride the sun shines on. Happy is the corpse the rain falls on."

And I think I know why Dale felt so at home at this cemetery...

Jarvis headstone. Photo by Katie Crane.

If your community is interested in running a cemetery workshop, get in touch! dale@heritagenl.ca