Youth Heritage Forum 2015 Guest Speaker - Caitlyn Baikie

Guest Speaker: Caitlyn Baikie

Caitlyn is from the province's most northern community of Nain, and has been living in the capital studying Geography and Aboriginal Studies at Memorial University for the past four years. With experience in both the Arctic and Antarctic, she has been participating in climate research for nearly a decade and has been attempting to communicate the effects it has on Inuit culture. An avid volunteer, lover of chocolate, political junkie, and a curious mind for the world we live in Caitlyn thoroughly enjoys exploring her own history as an Inuk and sharing it with those who are willing to share a bit about their own history.

Why are you passionate about heritage?

When I think about what has shaped me as a person so far in my young life, I think about my heritage first and foremost. As a descendant of Northern Labrador with roots in Northern Newfoundland as well, I am very lucky to come from regions in Canada that have rich history. At the age of eighteen I moved away from home for the first time, and though I was always aware of how unique Inuit culture is, I realized that the strong connection I have to my heritage shaped the way I view the world and my role in it. The way I understand the environment, sharing of knowledge, to everyday life, I realized came from my heritage. I have turned these realizations into my study, and passion which I enjoy sharing with those who are interested to learn more about the role of their own history in their own lives.

Want to hear more from Caitlyn? Join us for Youth Heritage Forum 2015!

Registration forms can be downloaded here! 
Keep up to date, join our Youth Heritage Forum Facebook Event!

Cat's Cradle, Chip Chip and Hopscotch

A picnic in May 1958. Ethel Benson with children Olga Pippy, Carol Clancy and Sandra Antle.
Photo courtesy of Sandra Antle.

Last week, as part of our Hoist your Sails and Run project, MUN Folklore students paired off with community participants for interviews, the fodder for the content of the upcoming booklet. While they were at that, the rest of us entertained ourselves by looking at old pictures, and playing with string and marbles, remembering the ins and outs of Cat's Cradle and Chip Chip (where one person holds a certain number of marbles in their closed hand and the other has to guess how many).

One of the students had thought to bring in some painter's tape, so that we could mark on the ground without spoiling MacMorran Community Centre's gym floor, and it didn't take us very long to get a round of Hopscotch going!

This Tuesday was in the midst of MUN's midterm break, but we're back at it next week! Keep an eye out for updates as we put the booklet together!

For more information about Hoist your Sails and Run, please phone me at 739-1892 ext 3 or email me here.

Help Solve the Carbonear Soper Photo Mystery

I'm on my way to the Heritage Saskatchewan Forum 2015, but have a quick stop in Toronto which is just long enough to allow me to blog about this mystery photo which arrived in my inbox today.

The photo was sent by Michael Soper, of Scarborough, Maine, but who comes from three generations of Sopers in Carbonear. Michael writes,

"I am guessing that they must be Sopers as identical pictures were at two Soper houses - George Soper on Soper's farm (son of George E. Soper) and G. Hubert Soper (son of William Henry Soper)."

Any thoughts? Email me at ich@heritagefoundation.ca, or leave a comment below.

Tuesday's Folklore Photo - Gosine's Grocery Store, Portugal Cove-St. Philip's

This week's folklore photo is of the former Gosine's Store, in Portugal Cove- St. Philip's. Katie Harvey, one of our youth speakers at our upcoming Youth Heritage Forum, collected the photo during her work as heritage researcher for the town.

Katie writes,

"This is a photograph of Gosine's Grocery Store which was located at 25 Hardings Hill in the 1950s. It was a two storey grocery store. The house that is in its location now is brand new, so unfortunately there is no trace of this store left."

The photo will be part of a collection of photographs and interviews from Portugal Cove- St. Philips, soon to be added to Memorial University's Digital Archives Initiative.

Youth Heritage Forum 2015 Guest Speaker - Katie Harvey

Guest Speaker: Katie Harvey

Katie Harvey is a 22 year old folklorist whose primary interest is museology. Since beginning her career in the heritage sector in 2009, she has worked in a variety of capacities with the Cupids Legacy Centre, The Rooms Provincial Museum, The Museum of Logy Bay-Middle Cove-Outer Cove and The Railway Coastal Museum. She obtained her B.A. in Folklore from Memorial University in 2014, and has plans to return to complete her M.A. in Folklore.

Why are you passionate about heritage?

Ever since I was a little girl I remember being fascinated with the past, and the ways in which we choose to preserve it. I'm passionate about heritage because it shows us the path which led to where we are today. It tells us a little bit about ourselves and those who lived before us. Our heritage is all around us, and can be studied in everything that we do. Museums are particularly interesting to me because they preserve artifacts and knowledge that might otherwise have been lost or forgotten. They offer a rare glimpse into the past, educating us in a variety of ways. It is so important that our customs, traditions and heritage are not forgotten, because it is a part of our identity, and we can always learn from it.

Want to hear more from Katie? Join us for Youth Heritage Forum 2015!

Registration forms can be downloaded here! 
Keep up to date, join our Youth Heritage Forum Facebook Event!

Join us for Heritage Day at the Fluvarium this Monday (Feb 16th)

The Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador (HFNL) will be celebrating national Heritage Day on Monday (February 16th), at 10:30 a.m., at The Suncor Energy Fluvarium, 5 Nagle’s Place, St. John’s.

Mr. Kevin Parsons, MHA for the District of Cape St. Francis and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Business, Tourism, Culture and Rural Development - along with representatives from the education and heritage communities and municipal and provincial governments - will join HFNL as the winners of this year’s provincial Heritage Places Poster Contest are announced. Over 1000 students from 50 schools across the province produced submissions for the contest. This contest was open to all schools in the province, and was organized through HFNL. The winning submission is featured on the Foundation's poster promoting Heritage Day in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Mackenzie Boyde, a grade 11 student at Marystown Central High School, Marystown, submitted the overall winning submission – a depiction of the Basilica Cathedral of St. John the Baptist Registered Heritage Structure and National Historic Site in St. John’s.

The winning submissions at the other grade levels are: 

Primary – Jakson Ganz, Grade 3, Immaculate Heart of Mary School, Corner Brook for his depiction of Bacalhao Island Lighttower Recognized Federal Heritage Building,

Elementary – Emma Tetford, Grade 6, Amalgamated Academy, Bay Roberts for her depiction of Western Union Cable Building Registered Heritage Structure in Bay Roberts and,

Junior High – Nathan Corrigan, Grade 8, Stella Maris Academy, Trepassey for his depiction of Cape Spear Lighttower Recognized Federal Heritage Building.

Judges for the event included Margaret Walsh Best, artist and art educator; and Debra A. Barnable, visual artist and consultant. Please visit our website at www.heritagefoundation.ca to view the winners.

The Foundation is also encouraging municipalities and heritage groups throughout the province to celebrate their heritage by holding a Heritage Day Proclamation and calling upon their citizens to celebrate their rich and diverse history.

Heritage Day is celebrated on the third Monday of February each year. It is an opportunity to explore the past and to discover what shaped our communities and our history.

The Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador is a non-profit organization which was established by the Provincial Government of Newfoundland and Labrador in 1984 to stimulate an understanding of and an appreciation for the architectural heritage of the province.

For Further Information Contact:

Andrea O’Brien
andrea@heritagefoundation.ca
1-888-739-1892 ext 4 1-888-739-1892 ext 1

Join us for "The Fishing Grounds of Cupids" sharing session

On Wednesday February 11th at 7 pm, the Cupids Legacy Centre will be hosting a sharing session on "The Fishing Grounds of Cupids". Please join us and bring along your stories and knowledge of traditional fishing in the Cupids area.

We look forward to seeing you and hearing about your fishing experiences!

Tuesday's Folklore Photo: Facey's Taxi Stand, Twillingate

It's been a while since we posted one of our Folklore Photos. So here is a gem, from Twillingate, showing the Facey's Taxi Stand.

The date on this is uncertain. I'm sure someone out there can offer some suggestions, either a Twillingate native, or a expert on vintage automobiles! If you have thoughts, email me at ich@heritagefoundation.ca.

Update 11 Feb 2015:

Helen White writes: ' The date of this picture I would assume would be 1931 or 32. The stand was owned by my Grandfather, Silas Facey who is the gentleman in the picture, the little boy is his grandson Walter Facey. Silas Facey died August 25th 1935 at age 69. He also owned the Tinsmith Shop across the road from the Stand."

Help find the missing words to "Here we go down, Sir Johnny Brown"

I recently wrote an article for The Telegram on singing games we used to play, about three traditional games: "Little Sally Saucer," "King William was King George's Son," and "Ring Around the Rosie." You can read more on "Little Sally" on author Leslie Lindsay's blog.

This morning, I received a response from Rosemary Thorne. Thorne now lives in St. John's, but was born in the early 1960s in Thornlea, Trinity Bay. She remembers playing Little Sally Saucer and Ring Around the Rosie.

Another song game she remembered was "Here we go down, Sir Johnny Brown," but she could not remember all the lyrics to the first verse of the song. Here is what Thorne remembers:

Here we go down, Sir Johnny Brown
This is the way to London town
.... here
.... by
Don't you hear your true love cry

On the carpet (carver?) here she stands
Take your true love by the hand
[Take] the one that you love best
Pick her out from all the rest

What a heck of a choice you made
You better be home and in your bed
Since you can no longer stay
Give her a kiss and send her away.

A quick internet search reveals little on "Sir Johnny Brown," but does turn up this fabulous query to the "Correct Manners" section on Page 13 of the Ottawa Citizen, for Monday, 1 February 1926:

Is the letter in question addressed to a real child named John Brown, or would Sir Johnny Brown be a name known to a child, presumably through some version of the rhyme related by Thorne? Does anyone have a memory of this rhyme or song? Any thoughts on the missing words? And who exactly is Sir Johnny Brown, Esq? 

Email me at ich@heritagefoundation.ca if you have a lead! And I'll have none of your "monkey-shining," please.

update 9 Feb 2015:

I found this counting-out rhyme, from Indiana, printed in 1888 in "The Counting-Out Rhymes of Children: Their Antiquity, Origin, and Wide Distribution - a study in Folk Lore" by Henry Carrington Bolton (noted American chemist, bibliographer of science, lecturer, folklorist, photographer, and one of the founders of the American Folklore Society):

Oh! Johnny Brown
He went to town
Three score miles and ten;
He went at night
By candle light
And never got home again.