A Christmas Treat!

Courtesy of The Rooms provincial Archives.
Circa 1948

In 1924 W.R.Goobie purchased what was Woods West End Candy Store located on 350-348 Water Street, and started Purity Factories Limited. Some of the first items Purity made were peppermint knobs, candy kisses and flavoured syrups. In the 1930s they began production of a line of hard bread, sweet bread, cookies and biscuits. From 1948 until the 1970s they even bottled Canada Dry Products. By the late 1960s Purity was the only company in the province producing hard bread. Now 88 years later Purity products are a Newfoundland tradition, especially during the holiday season.

Courtesy of Crystal Braye; via The Downhomer

Earlier this week I asked for some of your Purity memories. Here are some of the lovely stories I received:

Being raised by Newfoundlanders in Ontario gave Purity products an extra special place, especially around Christmastime. Purity Syrup was a Christmas staple, along with a variety of Purity candies and treats. One Christmas, when I was about nine or ten years old, we had some of our neighbours over for a visit - including eleven-year-old Patrick, who I had a huge crush on at the time. Wanting to share my special Newfoundland Christmas treats, I offered Patrick a "Newfie Kiss," [I don't remember exactly what they were, but my parents called them "Newfie Kisses"]. Unfortunately, Patrick didn't realize I was referring to a candy and got a look of disgust on his face when he thought I was going to kiss him. He refused a Newfie Kiss and kept his distance for the rest of the night.- Crystal Braye

Courtesy of Crystal Braye; via The Downhomer

I was a crew chief on the series Road To Avonlea and Wind At My Back, both Sullivan productions on CBC about 16 years ago. It was not part of my job but the set decorators used Purity products on the shelves in any shots of the stores in these series. They were used because of there dated labels. -Frank Noseworthy 

I remember going to my Nan's house and there were always some peppermint knobs, in a little glass dish, tucked away in the kitchen cupboard. I loved it when she took that dish down and gave me one. Little did I know, these peppermint knobs were often there quite a while and would get pretty soft. I actually didn't know until I was much older that peppermint knobs were a hard candy! I liked them better Nan's way anyway.-Nicole Penney

If you'd like to read more about Purity Factories Limited check out this great little piece from The Collegian, 1933 (pp.25-27) that describes a tour of the factory. 

The Daily News, Jan.1, 1956

Thank you so much to everyone who sent me their Purity memories and ephemera.

Merry Christmas and have a happy and prosperous New Year! 

It wouldn't be Christmas without Purity

A few days ago I set my mind to writing a Christmas blog entry and it was suggested that I write about Purity Factories products. I thought this a fantastic idea! Purity products like syrup, peppermint knobs and Jam Jams are a big part of the Christmas tradition in Newfoundland and Labrador. If you doubt the importance of Purity at Christmas time all you need to do is think back to the Christmas of 2010, when the factory was on strike. People nearly went frantic at the thought of not having their hard tack for Christmas Eve fish and brews. And what would the poor ol' mummers drink? Why it's a well known fact that Purity syrup is the preferred refreshment of mummers province wide. And a Christmas without peppermint knobs? I shudder to think of it!

 The Daily News. Dec.11, 1948

I went to work looking for some old Purity archival images or old Purity ephemera, such as ads, posters, or even old product packages. I surprisingly found very little besides old newspaper ads. Considering Purity was first started in 1924, I figured I'd have no trouble finding some things. But alas! I found very little and feared my blog entry would be near impossible to write.

Burke's popular songs. St. John's: Long Brothers, 1929.

The Evening Telegram, 1936.

But then, just as my hopes were fading I thought to myself, "this is the season for giving after all!"
So I'm asking for your help with this one. If you have any old Purity stuff tucked away take it out, dust it off, snap a few pictures and send them my way. Help make Christmas come early at the ICH office!

The Daily News.  Dec.11, 1948

I would also love to hear your memories of Purity products at Christmas time. What Purity items make Christmas for you?

You can reach Nicole with your Purity pictures and memories at:
nicole@heritagefoundaiton.ca
or call: 1-888-739-1892 ex.6

Mummers Parade Saturday in St. John's, Sunday in Clarenville

Well, the Mummers Festival is banging to a crescendo this weekend!

On Saturday, Dec 15th, we have the Rig Up, the Parade itself, the Mummers Jam, and new this year, Mummeroke!

Remember, we want you to be IN the parade! This is a participatory event, and anyone can dress up and join in.

Also new this year, the Clarenville Mummers Parade and Jam, happening Sunday, Dec 16th.

If you are curious, you can look at the St. John's parade route on Google Maps, or listen to the CBC Radio Noon Crosstalk on mummering.

www.mummersfestival.ca

Call for papers - Practicing Folklore

Practicing Folklore

The theme of practice suggests an underlying impulse within our sometimes disparate folklore and ethnographic projects. The theme acknowledges culture as enacted and admits the idea of rehearsal as a significant aspect to signifying actions and texts. Practice also informs the pragmatic element of our discipline, highlighting researchers, writers and teachers as workers and labourers. Finally, the theme suggests an open-ended view of culture, texts and research that underpins some of our best scholarship.

We encourage paper submissions that work within the conference theme or address the ongoing UNESCO 2003 convention on Intangible Cultural Heritage. As usual, proposals dealing with other topics are welcomed. Applications for panels and workshops are strongly encouraged. The Folklore Studies Association of Canada welcomes scholars and practitioners from all disciplines with projects of interest to folklorists and ethnologists to apply.

Corner Brook, NL June 17-19, 2013


PLEASE NOTE, IN ORDER TO BE CONSIDERED:
• All applicants must email their abstracts to John Bodner (jbodner@grenfell.mun.ca). Please indicate any AV needs. Be sure to include your title and your strict maximum 100-word abstract for your formal presentation (in English and French if possible, or simply in your first language) along with your name, department, institutional affiliation, and contact information by February 28, 2013. Abstracts longer than 100 words will be returned for review.

• Hard copy/surface mail submissions of abstracts will not be accepted.

• Only members paid up for the calendar year 2013 and preregistered for the conference may have their submission considered (http://www.acef-fsac.ulaval.ca/en/joining-fsac/). Students and unwaged: $30 membership plus $75 conference registration; regular members: $60 plus $150 conference registration. Membership fees can be sent through PayPal on the ACEF/FSAC website. Cheques for conference registration are to be made out to ACEF/FSAC and sent to:

Richard MacKinnon
P.O.Box 5300, 1250 Grand Lake Road,
Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada
B1P 6L2

Did you know? A Little Tidbit About Heritage Animals

 "The Newfoundland Pony has long been a proud part of Newfoundland's culture and history. These ponies interbred for over three centuries until the Newfoundland Pony that developed was perfectly suited to the rough Newfoundland environment." 

Did you know?

The Newfoundland Pony was the first and only animal to be given status as a heritage animal by the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador. In December of 1996, the province passed new legislation that calls for the protection of heritage animal such as the pony.This protection is seen through the support and breeding of animals that have been an important part of the province's history. For more information on the designation of the Newfoundland Pony please see the Heritage Animals site hosted by the Department of Natural Resources. 
-Lisa

Cemetery Workshop: post mortem

This past Tuesday the Intangible Cultural Heritage Office put off a workshop focused on cemeteries in Newfoundland and Labrador. The workshop was held at the Johnson's Geo Centre and looked at the art, archaeology, history and heritage of graveyards in this province. The workshop was a great success and very well attended by members of the community who had varying interests on the topic, from the restoration of headstones to municipal heritage designations for cemeteries. 

The workshop was broken down into two sessions. During the first session Gerald Pocius discussed the origins of Newfoundland headstones and the symbols and epitaphs used on them. Martha Drake discussed archaeology and the Portugal Cove Cemetery and Melanie Tucker gave an overview of Stonepics, a database of over 30,000 photographs of headstones collected from cemeteries across the province. Dale Jarvis also gave a presentation on lych-gates which are elaborate roofed gates that traditionally were the sheltered point at which the coffin was set down at a funeral to await the clergyman's arrival. 

The second session focused on the conservation and heritage of cemeteries.  Andrea O'Brien discussed municipal heritage designation for cemeteries, followed by Annie McEwen who discussed her experience making headstone rubbings in Port Royal, Long Island, Placentia Bay. Lastly, Lisa Wilson described the conservation project which took place at that same cemetery in Port Royal during the summer of 2012. 

After the workshop we asked participants to fill out a form and give us feedback on the workshop. Here are some of the comments we received:

I really enjoyed learning about the databases that exist, in addition to the slide presentation by Gerald Pocius. 

The grave stone rubbings and the restoration of the Port Royal Cemetery was amazing. I would love to do this myself!

I find cemeteries to be fascinating windows into history, and NL seems to have some wonderful sites. 

I enjoyed the variety of topics addressed and the different presentations.

Enjoyed all aspects of it. Really enjoyed the graveyard rubbing session and the Stonepic presentation. Lisa's presentation of restoration was awesome! 

This was a well thought out and amazing workshop on cemeteries!!!

Loved it!!

We'd like to thank all those who attended our workshop and give a big thank you to our speakers for their interesting and informative presentations. 

Check out the ICH page for updates on upcoming workshops and please feel free to get in touch and let us know what kind of heritage workshops you would like to see us put off in the future. 

Lloyd and Pat: Heart's Content Heritage

Lloyd and Pat Smith live within the Heart's Content Heritage District. They also happen to be on the local heritage committee and have knowledge on the history of this region. I was lucky enough to spend the day with them and learn about their life experiences here. Lloyd was born and raised in Heart's Content while Pat is initially from Carbonear, yet both of them consider Heart's Content home. Lloyd showed me a photo of the house he grew up in. His family home, which is no longer standing, was built in the 1920s. It was a duplex that functioned not just as their home, but as a boarding house as well. Lloyd told stories of his mother feeding the 10-child family as well as multiple boarders at the same time. She would make sure that the people living under her roof always had something to eat--including a packed lunch for the boarders who would go off to work during the daytime. Lloyd and Pat recalled just how busy she was, and how she never seemed to need to take any naps. She worked very hard in her life and lived to be over 90 years old. "Hard work doesn't kill anyone," is a phase that came to mind for all of us.

A framed photo of Lloyd's family home, brought down in the late-1980s.

Two more images of Lloyd's family home--same house, two different eras, particularly noticeable from the vehicles parked alongside the building.

After living and working away, Pat and Lloyd came back to Heart's Content to settle down. They built a house across from the cable company staff houses in a spot that has a view of the harbuor. Right where their house is now, there used to be a car garage that people would have their cars serviced in. This is not the only building that is now gone: also gone is the Anglican church that was once in behind where they live, the hospital in the corner lot, and the Parish Hall across the way. Lloyd and Pat were able to tell me many stories about the people and places in their community. They added some of this information to a map--a collection of important memories that I will using while doing a few different Heart's Content community mapping projects this winter/spring.

Memory aids for/from my interview with Pat and Lloyd.

Pat and Lloyd allow me to photograph them (in front of Lloyd's giant record collection).

Thank you for inviting me into your home to share so many lovely photos and stories. And to everyone else in Heart's Content that I've visited, thanks for welcoming me into your community. I hope to speak with many more people over the next few months, so please stay tuned.

-Lisa

New Perlican Thinks About Cemetery Restoration

As we come up to next week's Cemetery Workshop (Dec. 4th, 1-5pm), I am going to post about a cemetery visit I recently had that really made me think about best practices for cemetery restoration work. Yesterday I traveled to New Perlican to have a visit with three members of the town's Heritage Society.  There is a cemetery in their community that has been neglected for a very long time. The residents have been keeping an eye on it, but they would like to do some conservation and restoration work in the near future. The cemetery is likely from the early-to-mid-1800s and as far as this group knows, there is no living resident who can remember a church once being up on that hill. All of the people who would have seen it in their youth have now passed away. The cemetery itself is very interesting. There are 8-10 headstones (some broken, others still standing) that clearly show where there are graves. It is thought that there are many more headstones that have fallen and been buried by layers of moss. On other parts of this large hill, there are clear examples of stone makers which suggest grave locations. These are scattered over a large area, but it is quite easy to pick them out. They look different than natural rocks-- they were buried in an intentional way with portions of the rock rising above the ground, much like headstones. Eileen, Max and Lorraine gave me a tour of this space and explained some of their restoration plans. They have some hurdles ahead, but with the dedication they have, there will surely be some successes.

Lorraine, Eileen, and Max showing me the St. Mark's Cemetery.

Buried and broken headstone in the cemetery. Date of stone unknown.

Two rocks thought to show the 'head' and 'foot' of a grave.

Some of the questions that came up included: how should headstones be fixed and protected without causing more damage? How can we tell if there is a grave if the headstone is now gone? How can we record what is still here? It is great that the New Perlican heritage group is asking such questions. They understand how important it is to document and protect what we have from the past, while we still have it. Overall, it was a fantastic visit and I hope to provide them support in the spring and summer as they embark on this restoration journey.

A final photo before signing off: here is a broken headstone that is now under the careful watch of the this New Perlican Heritage Society. This was pulled from the local garden of Percy Critch. It is thought to be a headstone from 1758 for a woman named Jane London-- a fascinating find to say the least!

-Lisa

Harbour Breton tombstones, and moving graves in Argentia

I've a couple cemetery-related gems today. HFNL board member Doug Wells sent me a few snaps of historic tombstones from the oldest cemetery in Harbour Breton (Church of England). I've posted them below. One of the oldest markers is the slate gravestone of Sarah Chapman (1769-1831), the final photo posted here.

Also, new on Memorial's Digital Archives Initiative is this intriguing map of the new cemetery built to house remains exhumed as part of the construction of the United States Air Force Base at Argentia during World War II.  I don't know much about that story, but it sounds intriguing! If you know more about it, send me an email at ich@heritagefoundation.ca.  The list of names includes some fascinating entries, including "Young Man from the Plot of Richard Healy" and "Teresa Sampson (Mistaken for another person by relatives)" and "Michael Smith - Age 80 & Another Body out of same Plot under Big Rose Bush." I'd love to know the story of Teresa!