Endangered Crafts featured in Saltwire Article

Photo by Cameron Kilfoy/The Telegram.

Recently, Terra Barrett, Heritage NL's Intangible Cultural Heritage Program Planner was interviewed by Saltwire about endangered crafts in the province. The article touches on our Craft at Risk program including the Mentor-Apprentice program. If you want to learn more check out the article below. It also features, Melissa Tarrant, Manager and Business Mentor with Anna Templeton Centre discussing their recent workshops. 

Reviving Traditions: Local workshops breathing new life into endangered craft of Newfoundland and Labrador
https://www.saltwire.com/atlantic-canada/lifestyles/reviving-traditions-local-workshops-breathing-new-life-into-endangered-crafts-of-newfoundland-and-labrador-100883761/

Avondale Railway Station on the St. John's Morning Radio Show

 

Picture was taken in the Avondale Railway Museum with Ted Doyle, son of the last Station Agent for Avondale and part of the last family to live in the station!

If you tuned into the St. John's Morning Show on CBC Radio One this morning you would have heard an interview done with Emlyn Tuck, our summer student Historic Buildings Researcher, where she talked about the Avondale Railway Station and the research that was conducted for it! If you missed it, no worries! Check out the link below to listen!

https://www.cbc.ca/listen/live-radio/1-56-st-johns-morning-show/clip/16003656-history-preservation-avondale

If you'd like to learn more about the Avondale Railway Station check out the following links to our website!
https://heritagenl.ca/heritage-property/avondale-railway-station-registered-heritage-structure/

https://heritagenl.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Avondale-Railway-Station-Fieldnote.pdf

Heritage Update for August - Heritage at work in communities across the province

In this month's Heritage Update: heritage restoration is underway on both the Our Lady of Mercy Roman Catholic Church restoration on the Port au Port peninsula, and Sacred Heart Church, Open Hall; a feature on exterior bell towers or campaniles; a Craft at Risk and Heritage Skills Training Program Update; Heritage NL staff go in search of women's stories related to Registered Heritage Structures; a new plaque for Winter Home in Clarke's Beach; we dive into the history of the Avondale Railway Station; and some news from the ongoing restoration of the Fowler House in Brigus. People have been busy!

Download the pdf here

Contributions from:

Jarvis, Dale Gilbert
Barrett, Terra M.
O'Brien, Andrea
Lanphear, Juliet
Barker, Anne
Tuck, Emlyn
Burfitt, Stephen

Heart's Content Cable Staff Houses #1 and #2: Got any stories?

 

Heart's Content Cable Staff Houses #1 and #2 (Heritage NL, 2017)

Heritage NL is looking for information about Cable Staff House #1 and #2 in Heart's Content! This building is a duplex and housed many people since being built in 1882, so there's lots of history there! If you have any stories or know anyone who used to live in the houses don't hesitate to let us know! We'd love to learn more about the history of the buildings and the people who came through their doors!

If you have any information you can email research@heritagenl.ca or take part in our survey, at the link below:

https://forms.gle/HQ1TiEAAXuEogGPv6

To learn more about the Cable Staff Houses check out the following links to our website!

Cable Staff House #1: https://heritagenl.ca/heritage-property/cable-staff-house-1-registered-heritage-structure/

Cable Staff House #2: https://heritagenl.ca/heritage-property/cable-staff-house-2-registered-heritage-structure/

Temporary Plaque Presented to the Pouch Cove Clifton Lodge SUF #46

 

Pouch Cove Clifton Lodge SUF #46

Today Heritage NL presented a new temporary plaque to the Pouch Cove Clifton Lodge Society of United Fishermen #46 to display during the building's restorations. 

Heritage NL's Historic Plaque Intern presenting the plaque
 to the Pouch Cove Heritage Society Chair Susanne Whiteway

The sign also includes a brief history of the building which reads: "Built 1924-26, this building was constructed to replace the original Clifton Lodge founded in 1900, named for James A. Clift, the Grand Master of the Grand Lodge in St. John’s. Clifton Lodge was used as a community space, hosting Society of United Fishermen meetings, Women’s Sewing Circle events, concerts, and wedding receptions, and was briefly a classroom".

Learn more about the Clifton Lodge SUF #46 on our website: https://heritagenl.ca/heritage-property/clifton-lodge-suf-46-registered-heritage-structure/

For more information on the history of the Lodge and possible future uses check out the Adaptive Reuse Report compiled by Heritage NL: https://heritagenl.ca/pouch-cove-suf-hall/

Heritage at Work on the Port au Port

AGUATHUNA NL - A historic Port au Port Peninsula church will soon start much-needed repair work with assistance from Heritage NL.

Our Lady of Mercy Roman Catholic Church is an imposing Renaissance Revival church prominently situated on the isthmus dividing St. George’s and Port au Port Bays. Apart from being one of the largest, it is also one of the finest Newfoundland churches and was designed by one of the province’s noted architects William F. Butler. It was designated a Registered Heritage Structure by Heritage NL in 1997. 

Built between 1914 and 1925, the all-wood building is being restored by the not-for-profit Our Lady of Mercy Complex Committee. The 2023 recipient of a $20,000 Revitalization Grant from Heritage NL, the Committee will focus the first phase of their repairs on the church’s eaves and historic trim work. 

“This funding will assist us to begin an overall plan to restore the exterior of the heritage church,” says Vanessa Glasgow, Chairperson of the Our Lady of Mercy Complex Committee.  “It means we can address one of the priority issues from the completed conditional assessment.”

“The original pine carved eavestrough has been in place for almost a century and has deteriorated the eaves,” Glasgow adds. “This restoration project will restore the integrity of the eaves, reducing heat loss, and addressing any deterioration.”

Heritage NL was established in 1984 to stimulate an understanding of and an appreciation for the historic places and living heritage of the province. In addition to its designation and granting programs, Heritage NL also has an educational role and coordinates events, publications and other projects designed to promote the value of Newfoundland and Labrador heritage. 

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Learn more about the building here:

https://heritagenl.ca/heritage-property/our-lady-of-mercy-roman-catholic-church-registered-heritage-structure

Avondale Railway Station: List of People who Worked Here

Picture taken during a visit to the Avondale Railway Station as they were re-shingling the roof. (Heritage NL, 2023)

Heritage NL and the Town of Avondale have been working together to compile a list of everyone who may have worked at (or lived in) the Avondale Railway Station. The names of station agents, telegraphers, section foremen, and others associated with the station will be included in a proposed exterior sign helping to tell the personal stories behind this historic building. With much research we have been able to recover this list of names of individuals who worked at and around the Avondale Railway Station. This is only a small portion of the people who spent their time here and we are always looking for more information and stories about the station and workers! Feel free to email research@heritagenl.ca or fill out our survey on the subject at forms.gle/f37hryvx7eUurGtJ9!

The following list of workers is in chronological order of when they worked at Avondale Railway Station:

William Aspell (Section Foreman) 1887-1918

C.J. Furey (Telegrapher) circa 1890

G.A. Simms (Telegrapher) circa 1890

Edward Kennedy (Post Office Operator) 1890-1913

J.W. Mitchell (Telegrapher) 1895-Unknown

John Meany (Telegrapher) circa 1895 & (Station Agent) circa 1898 

(Mr) S. Forbes (Telegrapher) circa 1901

Richard White (Station Agent) circa 1904

John Withycombe (Unknown) Unknown-1905

James Kennedy (Post Telegraph Operator) 1905-1906

John Kelly (Section Foreman) circa 1906

Louis Lawton (Post Telegraph Operator) 1907

P. Lee (Conductor) circa 1908

Annie Moore (Post Telegraph Operator) 1908-1910

(Mr) Maher (Station Agent) 1909-1911

A.J. O’Rielly (Station Agent) 1911-Unknown

(Mrs) Maurice Kennedy (Telegrapher) circa 1911

Bertha Moore (Post Telegraph Operator) 1911-1918 & (Post Office Operator) 1914-1919

C. Tavernor (Reid Co. Station Agent) March 1913-October 1913

W. Dwyer (Reid Co. Station Agent) Unknown-1913

John T. Meany (Postal Telegraphs) circa 1914

Dennis Meany (Reid Railway Co. Staff) circa 1914

(Mr) Fox (Station Agent) circa 1918

Jennie Moore (Post Telegraph Operator) 1919

(Mrs) Wade (Unknown) circa 1920

Julia Kennedy (Post Office Operator) 1920-1930 & (Post Telegraph Operator) 1920-1931

Catherine Hennessy (Maid/Housekeeper) Mid to late 1930s

Anne Costello Doyle (Snack Bar Worker/Housekeeper) 1939-1941

Mike Wade (Station Master- Operator) circa 1940s

Daniel Costello (Telegrapher) 1945-1947

Greg Costello (Station Master) circa 1947

Patrick A. Costello (Section Man) 1940s-1950s

James Costello (Section Man) 1940s-1950s

Leo Hickey (Relief Agent) 1961-1971

Chelsey Gosse (Carpenter/Labourer) Unknown-1968

Terrance Michael Doyle (Station Agent) 1969-1984

Terry Doyle (Station Agent- Operator) circa 1980s

James B. Lewis (Worked on train and at station) Unknown

Thomas Costello (Section Foreman) Unknown

James P. Fleming (CN Railway Station Agent) Unknown

John R. Kennedy (Unknown) Unknown

John Parsley (Unknown) Unknown

Living Heritage Podcast Ep236 Mentor-Apprentice Program: Letterpress Printing with Duncan Major and Katie Butler Major

Duncan and Katie in their home studio. Photo courtesy of Heritage NL.

In this episode we talk with mentor Duncan Major, and apprentice Katie Butler Major who are two participants of Heritage NL’s Mentor-Apprentice Program.

Walpugis Press

Duncan learned the craft of letterpress from Tara Bryan, a painter and book artist who was well known internationally for her letterpress work. He started working as Tara’s apprentice in 2000 at the age of 14. In this role Duncan helped make handmade, limited-edition artist’s books. The pair continued to collaborate until Tara’s death in 2020.

Since 2004, Duncan has operated Walpurgis Press with Katie Butler Major, making cards and sundries. Duncan has introduced bookmaking and printing to kids in St. John’s, Goose Bay, North West River and Nain.

Working on the Love poster during the apprenticeship. Photo submitted by Duncan Major and Katie Butler Major.

Katie has always been drawn to handcrafts. She is an avid sewer and knitter, and enjoys working with her hands creatively—so letterpress is a natural fit for her. Katie has helped design and produce invitations, coasters, and cards. As Duncan’s partner, she has learned the basic printing process and is also familiar with the materials that go along with printing. Katie has participated in Printer’s Fairs organized by the Book Arts Association, met letterpress artists from abroad, and visited Running the Goat’s printshop in Tors Cove.

Avondale Railway Station: Did someone in your family work here? We want to know!

Did someone in your family work at the Avondale Railway Station? We want to know their names!

Heritage NL and the Town of Avondale are working together to compile a list of everyone who may have worked at (or lived in) the Avondale Railway Station. The names of station agents, telegraphers, section foremen, and others associated with the station will be included in a proposed exterior sign helping to tell the personal stories behind this historic building.


If you know of someone who worked at the station, you can email research@heritagenl.ca or fill out the short online survey at https://forms.gle/f37hryvx7eUurGtJ9

Avondale Railway Station 1988 before restoration

Source unknown

Avondale Railway Station 2022

Photo credit Heritage NL

If you would like to learn more about the Avondale Railway Station and its history click the link below:

https://heritagenl.ca/heritage-property/avondale-railway-station-registered-heritage-structure/