Make and Break Engines: Running the Past Into the Future

- The Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador -

- recognizes iconic marine engines in 2012 Provincial Folklife Festival - 

There is a sound that was once ubiquitous to the waters in Newfoundland that has sparked the interest of the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador (HFNL). Putt-putt; putt-putt – the sound of Make and Break engines once filled the skies from dawn to dusk as busy fisherman worked to sustain their families and their island.

This summer HFNL wants to restore the interest that Newfoundlanders once had in these rhythmic engines. A series of oral history interviews, to be conducted throughout the island, will lead up to the 2012 Provincial Folklife Festival in Bonavista, which will focus on the iconic marine engines. Events for the festival will be held on Saturday, August 4 in Bonavista, as part of the town’s inaugural Church Street Festival.

Joelle Carey is a public folklore intern with HFNL and a graduate student in Memorial University’s Department of Folklore.

“By working on this project we hope to promote the marine history of the province,” says Carey. “It’s a great opportunity to get people talking about these engines that are such an important part of life in Newfoundland and Labrador.”

The oral history project will take the form of interviews conducted by Carey throughout the summer months. These interviews, along with pictures of the motors found, will then be added to Memorial University’s Digital Archives Initiative. This archive will be accessible to the public online.

The Heritage Foundation has secured the partnership of Parks Canada through association with Ryan Premises National Historic Site in Bonavista.

“Through the many conversations I have had in organizing this event, I am repeatedly inspired by the glazed-eyes that come over people and the small smiles that appear on their faces as they recall their particular fond memories of times spent on or near the water,” says Pat Carroll, with Parks Canada.

“The Ryan Premises National Historic Site of Canada is honoured to be a part of this event,” says Carroll, “and to have a role in the celebration and rejuvenation of one of the resounding traditions of Newfoundland and Labrador, Atlantic Canada and of the whole of Canada.”

The festival events will take place in Bonavista on August 4 and will include a Make and Break flotilla and a parts swap.

HFNL would like to hear from anyone with memories or an interest in Make and Break engines. If you are interested in getting involved by sharing your stories or if you have an engine, please email joelle@heritagefoundation.ca or call, toll free, 1-888-739-1892 ext. 5.

Two online fora for NGO work on the Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage

At the UNESCO NGO meeting this morning in Paris, two online resources were referenced to help NGOs network with each other:

The NGO Forum To the Convention on Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage

and

The Intangible cultural heritage and civil society Facebook page

If you are part of a  heritage organization doing work on ICH, check them out.

Paris Notes: ICH Researchers Forum and UNESCO General Assembly on ICH

I arrived in Paris yesterday, and since then have had a day and a half of interesting meetings and conversations already.

I got here in time Sunday to take in the second half of the Forum of ICH Researchers meeting at la Maison des Cultures du Monde. The first panel session was on community participation in the safeguarding of ICH under the Convention, chaired by Toshiyuki Kono. There were several different papers presented, but the two that interested me particularly were the papers given by Win van Zanten, an ethnomusicologist from the University of Leiden, and Marc Jacobs, the director of the Flemish Interface Centre for Cultural Heritage.

Van Zanten looked at some of the short films on the UNESCO website for Intangible Cultural Heritage (see some of them here). He argued that they were important because they increase the visibility of ICH, but thought that they could do more to document the tradition in relation to community, and that the larger social context could be better documented. He also raised the idea of showing the film back to community, filming their reaction, and include their comments.

Jacobs presented on heritage communities and safeguarding programs, and argued that the critical success factor to safeguarding programs is the presence of a cultural broker, someone who can walk the community through the processes involved in an ICH project. He argued that these mediators are crucial for building bridges, and providing followup that goes beyond pure documentation. It was music to my ears, and a validation of the work we are undertaking with the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador, particularly the project-based training model we are working on, and which we will hopefully be doing more with later this year.

The second panel session was on identifying priority areas for research, facilitated by Harriet Deacon, Hon. Research Fellow at the University of Capetown. I've followed her excellent posts on Twitter @the_archive for a while now, so it was nice to meet her in person. Misako Ohnuki, Deputy Director of the International Research Centre for ICH in Asia and the Pacific Region, who I'd also only ever met online, was first up, talking about documentation as a tool for safeguarding the ICH of communities. Then Deacon and Chiaro Bortolotto talked about their impressive project to document and track current published research on ICH. It was noted that there are gaps in the research, with a large amount of grey literature that has not been documented, and a growing body of practical handbooks, guides and suchlike documents being produced by NGOs which are not part of the academic literature.

The meeting ended with a decision that the Forum should meet again, annually if possible. I'll keep you posted on developments.

This morning was the start of the fourth session of the General Assembly of the States Parties to the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage at UNESCO Headquarters. It was a fascinating day, with some very interesting comments made by a variety of state party representatives.

One of the topics up for debate was whether there should be a ceiling placed on the number of nominations the secretariat can examine each year for the Convention's Lists, which include the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding, and the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. The presentations were insightful and at times passionate. The general consensus was that a ceiling on the number of nominations is necessary because of the time and resources required to properly assess each nomination. But there was also a general sense that the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding not be limited, as it represents traditions under particular threat.

There is also a listing of programmes, projects and activities for the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage considered to best reflect the principles and objectives of the Convention, a list which seems to be somewhat undersubscribed, and it was suggested that due to the small number of listings, a cap not be placed on that list either.

A need for best practices led to many state party representatives talking about the importance of safeguarding ICH, stating that the listing of traditions is less important within their jurisdictions than the active safeguarding of those traditions to ensure they continue at the community level. Many state parties returned to this theme over the course of the day: Austria noted the importance of UNESCO capacity-building initiatives in safeguarding ICH, Cuba talked about the need for ICH training at regional level; Jordan expressed the importance of community-level work in safeguarding ICH; and St Lucia stressed that listing is less important to some regions than the work inventorying and safeguarding. 

All in all, a fascinating day, and a remarkable first look, for me, at how the ICH General Assembly works.

The day ended with a rather remarkable presentation from Mongolia, mixing traditional ethnic costume, high fashion, traditional (and very modern) music, dance, throat singing, gymnastics, contortionism, and hand-balancing. All in a day's work, really.

Sleep, soon, perhaps, with another three days yet to come, and the ICH non-governmental organizations' meeting first thing tomorrow morning!

Two more baskets: a creel and a picnic basket from Carbonear

My obsession with Newfoundland baskets continues... I've got a series of photos sent to me by Frank Parsons of two baskets which he inherited from his father. The first, a creel, or trout basket, was bought in Carbonear in the 1950s, possibly the late 40s. The date of the picnic basket is more uncertain, but it dates to the 1950s at least. A query for Carbonear natives: which shop would have sold these, or items like this?

If you have an idea, email me at ich@heritagefoundation.ca 

Putt-Putt-Putt-Putt: Looking for memories of "Make and Break" Engines

There is a distinct sound that can be heard on the waters around Newfoundland and Labrador, putt-putt, putt-putt; the sounds of an antique “make and break” engine cuts through the air. At one time this sound was ubiquitous to small fishing communities throughout the province, but now the rhythmic chugging of the make and break is to be cherished when heard.

Make and break inboard motors were among the first technological advances to help revolutionize fishing in Newfoundland and Labrador. They allowed fishermen to save their strength for fishing, not wasting it on paddling or hauling sails as they had done before. Most often installed in trap skiffs, the hull was first cut to accommodate water intake and output, which helped cool the engine. The large motor was then bolted to the inside of the boat, usually in a motor house, with the propeller advancing through the stern, driving the vessel forward. These dependable, sturdy, single cylinder, gasoline engines have been called many names, and while make and break is the most common, putt-putt engine, one-liners, or pik-a-puk, are all used to describe the same type of engine.

Do you, or someone you know, have a make and break engine? If so, we would love to hear from you! The Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador is looking for running engines and stories from their owners. If you have an engine or a memory to share, please email joelle@heritagefoundation.ca or call, toll free, 1-888-739-1892 ext. 5.

A 1950s trout basket, bought on Water Street, St. John's.

I couple days ago, I got an email from Leslie (Les) Winsor, of Mount Pearl. He had seen some of my posts about the basket research we were doing, and had a trouting basket to share.

Les's father Francis (Frank) was from Central Street, his father before him from Carbonear. Les didn't have a lot of information on where the basket originated. It was probably bought in the late 1940s or early 1950s at the Sports Shop on Water Street, one of the few places to buy that type of equipment, according to Les.

If you know anything about this type of basket, or have a memory of buying one on Water Street, email me at ich@heritagefoundation.ca

Look to the skies! The Hindenburg over Newfoundland - a research project

Dirigible over Brigus [1935], PANL VA 6-87

From 1936 to 1937, the German dirigible, LZ 129 Hindenburg made 14 flights over Newfoundland. Researchers at Memorial University are trying to recount and record these trips and are looking for first and second hand stories of the Hindenburg flying over Newfoundland and Labrador. Documents show that the Hindenburg was spotted over Brigus, CBS, Corner Brook, Cupids, Fortune, Lamaline, North West River, Pouch Cove, St. Anthony, St. John’s and Stephenville.

If you or someone you know remembers the Hindenburg passing overhead, have heard stories of it, know of other communities where it was spotted, or have pictures, please email historicaviation@gmail.com so that this amazing piece of Newfoundland history can be recorded and saved.

"This video might also be of interest to you," notes archaeologist Lisa Daly. "It's taken near Cape Race on the final flight of the airship."

Hindenburg survivor, German journalist Leonhard Adelt, wrote:

"On the third day we sighted Newfoundland. Binoculars and cameras appeared, and my wife’s delight grew when the white dots along the coast turned out to be icebergs. The captain ordered the ship to fly low and steer toward them. Very slowly we passed over the most beautiful, which looked like a magic marble statue. The sun came out and laid a double rainbow around the airship. The giant iceberg turned into a monument of sparkling brilliance. We glimpsed the foothills, the lighthouse on Cape Race, the limitless forests of the hinterland. Then the coast sprang back and we floated, a gray object in a gray mist, over the invisible sea."

And, if you haven't seen it, check out this original footage from the British Pathe archive. It shows impressive shots of the Hindenburg flying over its landing ground at Lakehurst, New Jersey, and then  footage of the famous crash.  View it on YouTube here.

Media Relations Workshop for Heritage Non-Profits June 2nd.

The Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador is hosting a workshop to help you improve your knowledge of media relations and your ability to get the word out about your organization.

We often depend on the media to disseminate information, promote events and cover our news stories of interest to the public. However, in many non-profits, it is not feasible to have a dedicated resource for public and media relations and this role falls to other people within the organization who may not have media experience.

This workshop will instruct you: how write or improve your media releases, how to pitch stories to the media; and how to improve your ability to work with the media overall. 

When:            June 2, 2012

Where:          1 Springdale St., St. John’s, Boardroom, Heritage Foundation of NL

Time:             10:00 a.m. to Noon

Cost:             $25/$15 for students

About the instructor:

Sandy Woolfrey-Fahey has worked for several local non-profit and corporate organizations including the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador since receiving her Bachelor of Public Relations from Mount Saint Vincent University (BPR ’01). Currently, her main role is as a stay-at-home mom with her three little boys while still doing PR consulting.

Sandy is a creative thinker and approaches communication projects with this mind-set. With regards to media relations, she understands the media’s needs and is eager to share some of the tricks of the trade with you!

Registration:

Space in the workshop is limited, so pre-registration is required. To register, call Joelle at 709-739-1892 ext 5, or email joelle@heritagefoundation.ca.  If paying by cheque, cheques must be made payable to "Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador."

Just in time for Victoria Day Weekend: A Newfoundland trout basket

This year, we've been doing some research on basket making traditions, and yesterday, I got an email from Dan Mercer, who was looking for someone to repair his father's old trout basket.

The basket was purchased from Leckie's LTD here in St John's "in the very early 1970s."

The basket is fairly typical of other designs I've seen, such as this one from Tor's Cove, this one from Flat Bay, and this one from Pouch Cove.

Dan says he's used the basket for many years, and it is now in need of some repair work. If you have any leads on who might be able to do that sort of work, email me at ich@heritagefoundation.ca.