Reframing and Extending Tradition: Intangible Cultural Heritage and Public Folklore in Newfoundland and Labrador

Last year, I was asked to write an article on the role of brokers and mediators in enacting Newfoundland and Labrador's Intangible Cultural Heritage Strategy. That article was included in a special edition of the folklore journal Volkskunde, which has now been released online.

My article outlines three approaches where ICH safeguarding strategies in Newfoundland and Labrador utilize guided facilitation by professional folklorists: community-based training initiatives; safeguarding ICH within heritage districts; and, the development of public programs as part of folklife festivals.

You can download and view the article in pdf format here.

Or you can download the entire journal here.

Taking in Strangers - Quebec and Newfoundland Stories with Louise Moyes

TAKING IN STRANGERS - Quebec and Newfoundland Stories

MARCH 17-21, 2015 @ 8pm at the LSPU HALL
Call the Hall 753-4531 or Book online at rca.nf.ca
Tickets $28/ $22 seniors, students, artists, groups of 5+

On the road from Montreal to St. John's via ‘forgotten coasts’, Louise Moyes finds threads of Newfoundland and Quebec, home and the road, deceptions and truth. Kept company by a ‘bag lady’ beloved by many, Louise weaves "a bit of history and a lot of humanity" (The Telegram) in this one-woman tour de force.

"A series of priceless gifts...a delicate blend of movement, monologue, music and sound. A great evening of entertainment." (The Telegram)

Taking in Strangers is based on interviews with residents of the isolated south coast in Newfoundland and the Lower North Shore of Quebec (into Labrador), by way of Montreal and St. John's.

An updated version of a show that sold-out at the LSPU Hall 15 years ago (and has since been performed in Quebec, Vancouver, Germany, and Brazil and toured NL schools), Taking in Strangers reflects on themes of rural development, homelessness and mental health, woven through funny and moving stories on everything from quitting smoking and how to have fun in an ice storm, to the tragedy of losing one's child . The beloved 'bag lady', the proud and beautiful Marilyn (Trixie), accompanies Louise throughout this story of their 15 years on the road between St. John's and Montreal.

On Tuesday March 17, stay for the artists and rural community developers panel: Anne Troake, Tom Gordon, John Fisher, moderated by Michael Clair, with the theme: Re-imagining Rural NL: “Making our rural communities viable into a bright and vibrant future.”  Co-sponsored by Municipalities Newfoundland and Labrador

Well done, Mr. Ackerman - a cherished memory from Cupids

On Tuesday, Peter Laracy took some time out to talk to us about having fun when he was a kid. Here he is at the beautiful Cupids Legacy Centre, telling us a story about getting from his home in Cupids to Harbour Grace to play on the hockey team.

Peter's interview was part of the Hoist your Sails and Run project about traditional Newfoundland and Labrador play and games. If you're interested in knowing more about this project, please give me a call at 739-1892 ext 3 or email me here.

Our Multicultural Province - An Engaging Evening at The Rooms, 7pm March 11th

Our Multicultural Province
The Rooms

9 Bonaventure Avenue
St. John's, NL
7pm, Wednesday, March 11th, 2015

Free event.

Did you know that Newfoundland and Labrador has a growing multicultural community? Immigrants have brought diversity and the opportunity to experience other cultures, their food, their music, and their art. Come hear the stories and challenges of people who have chosen to make this province their home.

Presented by The Rooms in collaboration with the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador.
Folklorist Dale Jarvis will introduce you to three talented and engaged people making a home in St. John's: Zainab Jerrett, Hadi Milanloo, and Hazel Ouano Alpuerto. Come have a chat, and learn more about our growing and changing community.

Zainab Jerrett is the Executive Director of Tombolo Multicultural Festival Newfoundland and Labrador Inc. She is also the owner of two businesses: Multi Ethnic Food Kitchen; and the annual International Food and Craft Expo shows in St. John's, CBS, and Paradise. Zainab is originally from Nigeria but immigrated to Canada in 1992 to do PhD in Folklore at Memorial University of Newfoundland. She obtained her PhD in Folklore at MUN in 1998. She has been married to a lovely Newfoundlander from 2000 to the present.

Hadi Milanloo was born in the north of Iran, in a family for whom music was of great importance. He started to play the setar when he was 13. Having finished a BMus and an M.A at the University of Tehran, he and his wife, Saeedeh, moved to St. John's in December 2013 in order to pursue their studies at Memorial University. Saeedeh studies Folklore and Hadi is in the Ethnomusicology programme.

Hazel Ouano Alpuerto is a Filipino-Canadian living here in St.John's. She is a Psychiatric Registered Nurse by profession and is working with Eastern Health. She is also the Philippine Honorary Consul General, whose role is to oversee fellow nationals requiring assistance.

Photo of Zainab Jerrett by Martin Connelly/The Scope.

Young Heritage Professionals Panel - audio podcast #YHF2015

We are still abuzz here at the Intangible Cultural Heritage office after the wonderfully successful Youth Heritage Forum 2015 held this past Saturday at The Lantern here in St. John’s.

One of the highlights was the young heritage professionals panel. Six talented and inspiring young women spoke about their work in the heritage sector, and then took questions from moderator Alanna Wicks and the assembled crowd.

You can download the full, unedited audio of the panel as an MP3 here or visit archive.org for other audio formats.




Bios of the presenters in the order of speaking:

Crystal Braye - Crystal received her Bachelor of Arts in Cultural Anthropology from Wilfrid Laurier University in 2008 before completing her Masters of Arts in Folklore at MUN. During her time at MUN, Crystal’s work focused on documenting root cellars for the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador, with additional research on Newfoundland’s “Screech-In” customs and mummering traditions. She is presently on the board of directors for the Mummers Festival and has been working as a folklorist for the Wooden Boat Museum of Newfoundland and Labrador since 2012.
Follow The Wooden Boat Museum on Twitter @WoodenBoatNL

Nicole Penney BA, MA. - Nicole is a folklorist and archivist living and working in St. John’s, Newfoundland. She has been working within the heritage community since 2004 and holds a BA in Folklore / English Literature and an MA in Public Folklore from MUN. Nicole currently works full time at the MUN Medical Founders' Archive, part-time on The Rooms reference desk and sits as vice president and education committee chair on the Association of Newfoundland and Labrador Archives board of directors. She is a strong advocate of community-level projects and inter-generational activities and regularly assists with educational activities that combine art and archives.

Follow Nicole on Twitter @AuntTriffie

Katherine Harvey - Katie is a 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.
Follow Katherine on Twitter @katieaharvey

Aimee Chaulk - Aimee is the editor of Them Days magazine, an oral history quarterly about Labrador, and the de-facto archivist at Them Days Archives. She received her Hon.B.A. from the University of Toronto, in English and Mediaeval Studies. She also attended Ryerson University’s Magazine Publishing program. Aimee is on the ANLA Executive, is a co-founder of the Tamarack Camera Club, and organizes community events in her spare time. You may have seen her breastfeeding and canoeing at the same time in Metrobus shelter ads.
Follow Aimee on Twitter @themdays

Dr. Lisa M. Daly - Lisa has been working in the heritage sector since 2001, first with the Provincial Archives of Newfoundland and Labrador, then Parks Canada, and now as a tour guide, both independent and with Wildland Tours. She holds a B.A. in archaeology from MUN, a M.Sc. in forensic and biological anthropology from Bournemouth University, and has just completed a Ph.D. in archaeology at MUN. Her study focus is aviation in Newfoundland and Labrador. Up to now, most of her academic work has focused on World War II aviation in Gander, Goose Bay and Stephenville, but she has also done some work on pre- and post-war aviation history in the province. She is also collecting stories and images of the Hindenburg as it flew over Newfoundland.

Follow her work on Twitter @planecrashgirl or her blog, www.planecrashgirl.ca.

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.
Follow Caitlyn on Twitter @CaitlynBaikie

Robyn Pike will be live-tweeting the Youth Heritage Forum! Follow along at #YHF2015

Our Youth Heritage Forum 2015 starts tomorrow, and we'll be live tweeting the event. You can follow along using the hashtag #YHF2015, and follow our @ICH_NL twitter account. 

To do this, we have recruited a pro to help us out!  Robyn Pike will be the person behind the tweet stream tomorrow, and we are delighted to have her help. Robyn is the President of the Newfoundland and Labrador Historic Trust. She received her B.A. from Memorial University in History and Newfoundland Studies. She's currently enrolled in the University of Victoria's Diploma in Public Relations program. Robyn works as a Social Marketing Consultant with Eastern Health's Health Promotion Division. 

We asked Robyn why she is passionate about heritage:

I spent five summers working as an interpreter at the Rorke Stores Museum in Carbonear and the Newman Wine Vaults Provincial Historic Site while I was attending MUN. Getting to share the stories of this place with visitors from here and abroad during my first summer encouraged me to pursue a History major and it all just went from there. I was employed by the Trust when I worked at the Newman Wine Vaults and I joined their board of directors a few years later. Holding on to our built heritage and adapting it for new uses during a period of huge economic development is near and dear to my heart.

Tune in tomorrow!

Children's Songs and Rhymes

Sandra Antle (second from left) tells onlookers Don Antle, Andrea McGuire, Sharna Brzycki and Marg Connolly about a game she used to play. Photo by Jillian Gould

During the final Hoist your Sails and Run session, tradition-bearer Sandra Antle set down to remember some of the songs that she and her friends used to sing. Rhymes were part of skipping, clapping, and ball-bouncing games. She remembers this one about quarreling mothers:

My mother and your mother 
Lived across the bay,
And every night they picked a fight 
And this is what they'd say:
Icka Backa Soda Cracka
Icka Backa Boo
Icka Bakca Soda Cracka
Out goes you.

And this rhyme with a nautical theme:

I'm a little Dutch girl
Dressed in blue.
Here are the things I
Like to do;
Salute the Captain;
Bow to the Queen;
Turn my back
On the submarine.

Some circle games require the players to reenact the song. Take, for example, The Farmer in the Dell:

The farmer in the dell,
The farmer in the dell,
Hi-ho, the daireo,
The farmer in the dell,

The farmer takes a wife...

The wife takes a child...

The child takes a dog...

The dog takes a bone...

At the beginning, one person - the "farmer" - stands in the middle of the circle, and then chooses a "wife" to come stand in the circle with them. The "wife" chooses a "child," and so forth. As the song continues,

The farmer leaves the wife...

The wife leaves the child...

The child leaves the dog...

The dog leaves the bone...

the players step back into the outer circle one by one as they are called. Finally the player who has been chosen as "the bone" is left in the middle and the game can begin again.

What rhyming or singing games do you remember?

The launch of the booklet Looking Back; Games We Played will be at MacMorran Community Centre at 10am on Tuesday, March 24th. All are welcome. Please be in touch with me at 739-1892 ext 3 or by email for more details on the Hoist your Sails and Run project.

Two community approaches to oral history programs - #oralhistory

I'm always keeping an eye open to see what other community organizations and towns are doing with oral history and the collection and sharing of local stories.

Today, two different oral history projects ended up in my inbox, and I figured I would share them.

The first is from the community of Waterford, Ontario. Local freelance writer Brenda Dredge has been collecting local stories and writing them up in the community newspaper. In a February 27th article entitled "Oral history of bygone Waterford businesses," Dredge documents how she sat down with two residents, Bob and Marg Mason, to talk about the history of small businesses in the Southern Ontario town. She writes,

"While I have always known Waterford was once a thriving little business centre - thanks to stories told by my late maternal grandparents - I did not fully realize just how thriving it really was. The Masons were able to 'walk' me down Main St. and list all of the businesses that once operated there."

You can read Dredge's full article here.

Meanwhile, in Orlando, Florida, the College Park Neighborhood Association’s Historical Committee has been busy organizing what they call "Oral History Nights." College Park is a a distinct neighborhood within the city of Orlando. It derives its name from the many streets within its limits that were named for institutions of higher learning such as Yale, Princeton, and Harvard. Journalist Michael W. Freeman explains that,

 "Oral History Nights are special events sponsored by the committee, when they invite longtime residents to gather and talk about what the neighborhood was like in past decades, and recall College Park as they remember it growing up."

You can read the full article about Oral History Nights here.

I love the idea of Oral History Nights, which is very similar in some ways to the "Mug Up" program developed by our colleague Martha MacDonald at the Labrador Institute.  

If you know of a community in Newfoundland and Labrador doing something creative with local oral histories, give me a shout at ich@heritagefoundation.ca.

Youth Heritage Forum 2015 Guest Speaker - Aimee Chaulk

 Guest Speaker: Aimee Chaulk

Aimee Chaulk is the editor of Them Days magazine, an oral history quarterly about Labrador, and the de-facto archivist at Them Days Archives. She received her Hon.B.A. from the University of Toronto, in English and Medieval Studies. She also attended Ryerson University’s Magazine Publishing program. Aimee is on the Association of Newfoundland and Labrador Archives Executive, is a co-founder of the Tamarack Camera Club, and organizes community events in her spare time. You may have seen her breastfeeding and canoeing at the same time in Metrobus shelter ads.  

Why are you passionate about heritage?

Looking back, my love of (obsession with) Laura Ingalls Wilder’s books was probably an indication that I would be editor of Them Days someday—they’re basically an extended Them Days story about the American Midwest. I’ve always been interested in people’s stories and the way things were done, in how those things have changed and how they’ve stayed the same. On a personal level, working in heritage has been a way to explore and deepen my appreciation for my roots. I love the way it has also widened my social circle—despite my youth, I’m practically an honorary member of the Friendship Centre’s 55+ club! Learning traditional skills is a great way to close the generation gap.

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

Keep up to date, join our Youth Heritage Forum Facebook Event!  

Saving Our Stories - Oral History Workshop in Norris Point March 20th

The ICH office is hitting the road! I'll be running a community oral history workshop at the Bonne Bay Cottage Hospital, 2-6 Hospital Lane, Norris Point, on March 20th, 2015. The workshop is being organized in Norris Point by the Bonne Bay Cottage Hospital Heritage Corporation.

It is free to attend, but you need to register in advance.

Contact: Joan Cranston; Coordinator; 709-458-2875 (daytime); or 709-458-8032 (cell); or email jcranston@nf.sympatico.ca.

Facebook event listing here.

Jacks and Paper Dolls

This past Tuesday was our third and final session playing and talking about games at MacMorran Community Centre. While the folklore students peeled off to finish their interviews with tradition bearers, the rest of us took advantage of the pack of jacks, tiddlywinks and pick-up sticks that were brought in.

The knack of jacks came back to Martha Oliver pretty quickly. In fact, she schooled us with her opening moves. The trick in the video below was to determine who got to go first... whoever dropped the fewest jacks had the advantage.

Jacks, she said, was mostly played on the floor indoors, where the ground was flat and the ball wouldn't bounce off in unpredictable directions.

Also done indoors, especially in the lead-up to Christmas, was the making of paper dolls or paper angels. We found some paper, borrowed some scissors from the grown-ups in the office, and made a ton of them.

Student Sharna Brzycki displays her first paper angels. Not bad for a first try!

The students are now hard at work putting together for the content for Looking Back; Games We Played, the booklet that will come from these sessions and interviews. Keep an eye out for a launch coming up soon!

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

King William was King George’s son

I wrote an article in The Telegram a while back about traditional Newfoundland children's singing games.  It included a version of "King William was King George’s son." 

Colin Burke, now of Port au Port, sent me his version, which was sung in St. Jacques, Fortune Bay, circa 1950-1952.

King William was King George’s son,
Of all the royal race he’d won.
Upon his breast a star he wore
Pointing to the government’s door *
Come choose you east, come choose you west,
Come choose the one that you love best.
Down on this carpet you must kneel
As the grass grows in the field,
Kiss your partner if you please
Now you may rise up off your knees.

Burke notes: 

* (or maybe government store, which is what I seemed to hear)I was about six or seven years old, and there was a “government store” at the government wharf.

The King William in question is probably William IV (William Henry; 21 August 1765 – 20 June 1837) - King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death, the third son of George III. The image above is William in dress uniform painted by Sir Martin Archer Shee, c.1800, from the book The National Portrait Gallery History of the Kings and Queens of England by David Williamson

UPDATE: 6 March 2015

Gloria Marguerite Bobbitt from Harrington Harbour, on Quebec's Lower North Shore, writes:

The people from Newfoundland must have brought the song/game over to Harrington Harbour when they came over here. We always played it in the summer time. Here is our version. 

King William was King George's son,
Upon the royal racy run,
Upon his breast he wore a star,
In the kissing time of war.
Come choose to the east,
Come choose to the west,
Choose the very one you love best.
Upon this carpet you must kneel,
As sure as the grass grows in the field,
Kiss your partner as your sweet,
Now you may stand upon your feet.

Brown Bag Lunch - Public Sector Folklore Panel Wed, Feb 25th.

Interested in what Memorial University graduates are doing with their folklore degrees? 

This brown bag lunch will be a panel with three public sector folklore graduates - Nicole Penney, Alanna Wicks and Crystal Braye Dinn, who were all part of the first cohort of MA students who graduated from the Department of Folklore's cooperative education stream in public folklore.

This panel is being organized by Dr. Jillian Gould of the Department of Folklore, and Dale Jarvis of the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador.

The three Memorial alumni will discuss their experiences with the program, and how they have found employment since graduation.

The panel will take place Wednesday February 25th, 12:30-1:30 in Education 4051.

• Facebook event

Youth Heritage Forum 2015 Guest Speaker - Nicole Penney

Guest Speaker: Nicole Penney  

Nicole Penney is a folklorist and archivist living and working in St. John’s, Newfoundland. She has been working within the heritage community since 2004 and holds a BA in Folklore / English Literature and an MA in Public Folklore from Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador. Nicole currently works full time at the MUN Medical Founders' Archive, part-time on The Rooms reference desk and sits as vice president and education committee chair on the Association of Newfoundland and Labrador Archives board of directors. She is a strong advocate of community-level projects and inter-generational activities and regularly assists with educational activities which combine art and archives.

Why are you passionate about heritage?

I'm passionate about heritage because of the potential it has in the areas of education and public outreach. People thrive on a strong sense of community and I enjoy bringing traditions that belong to a group back to them, in the form of workshops and public events. I have a particular interest in archives and public programming and firmly believe in their potential as a way to bring older and younger generations together. Our heritage teaches us so much about ourselves and the direction we are headed in, while also bringing us together to feel connected through a shared experience.

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

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

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.

Youth Heritage Forum 2015 Guest Speaker - Crystal Braye

Guest Speaker: Crystal Braye

Crystal Braye received her Bachelor of Arts in Cultural Anthropology from Wilfrid Laurier University in 2008 before completing her Masters of Arts in Folklore at Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador. During her time at MUN, Crystal’s work focused on documenting root cellars for the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador,  with additional research on Newfoundland’s “Screech-In” customs and mummering traditions. She is presently on the board of directors for the Mummers Festival and has been working as a folklorist for the Wooden Boat Museum of Newfoundland and Labrador [WBMBL] since 2012. Crystal is responsible for WBMNL’s cultural heritage research which includes the documentation of traditional design, construction and use of wooden boats in their unique community contexts and the collection of stories and experiences of the people who built and used wooden boats throughout the province.

Why are passionate about heritage?

My passion for heritage comes from my interest in understanding the ways our culture (including our customs, beliefs and practices) shape our everyday experiences and perceptions of the world around us. Through an understanding of our tangible and intangible cultural heritage, we can gain new insights on contemporary experiences and develop appreciation for the simple things in everyday life we too often take for granted.

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

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

Up and running with Play and Games

On Tuesday, February 3rd, Hoist your Sails and Run got off to a fine start. Folklorists and folklore students met with 8 tradition-bearers at MacMorran Community Centre to talk about where they grew up, what their neighbourhoods were like, and how they used to have fun.

We talked about alleys (marbles), jacks, skipping rope, Bonfire Night, and getting up to mischief. We shared memorable Christmastime traditions, remembered the old shops in downtown St. John's, and the events they found most exciting as children. Teresa Boland remembers watching for the Peanut Man: a man dressed head to toe as a peanut with a top hat and monocle who delivered bags of salted peanuts to waiting children on special occasions.

We even played a few schoolyard games ourselves, and we topped the morning off with a delicious lunch of sandwiches and chicken soup, made by Marg Connolly, who has lived in the community for 77 years.

Next week, we'll meet again to look over childhood photos, and the folklore students will pair off with tradition bearers to do the interviews that will become the content for the booklet. Keep an eye on this blog for updates as we start to put the pieces together!

For more information about Hoist your Sails and Run, contact me here or at 709-739-1892 ext 3.

Youth Heritage Forum 2015 Poster

Check it out! The poster for Youth Heritage Forum 2015, March 7th, 2015. Poster designed by Graham Blair Designs

Registration form can be downloaded here!

Youth Heritage Forum 2015 Guest Speaker - Lisa M. Daly

With the Youth Heritage Forum just weeks away it's time we get to know a bit about our guest speakers! We'll be profiling one of our youth speakers each week leading up to the forum, and to get the gears turning I asked each of them why are you passionate about heritage? 

Guest Speaker: Lisa M. Daly

Lisa M. Daly has been working in the heritage sector since 2001, first with the Provincial Archives of Newfoundland and Labrador, then Parks Canada, and now as a tour guide, both independent and with Wildland Tours. She holds a B.A. in archaeology from MUN, a M.Sc. in forensic and biological anthropology from Bournemouth University, and is in the process of completing a Ph.D. in archaeology from MUN. Her study focus is aviation in Newfoundland and Labrador. Up to now, most of her academic work has focused on World War II aviation in Gander, Goose Bay and Stephenville, but she has also done some work on pre- and post-war aviation history in the province. She is also collecting stories and images of the Hindenburg as it flew over Newfoundland. In her free time, she loves to explore the beauty and culture of the province. Follow her work on Twitter, @planecrashgirl, or her blog, www.planecrashgirl.ca.

Why are you passionate about heritage?

I am passionate about heritage because it is who we are. Our culture, history, landscape, etc. it all shapes us as individuals and as a people. Exploring heritage allows us to learn about ourselves and our neighbours, and gives us the opportunity to bring new people into that culture. Wherever I go, I  try to imerse myself in a community as best I can, and I try to give that experience to visitors as a tour guide. The challenge is to do that when exploring on a tour bus. As an archaeologist, I am fortunate to get to talk to people about the history and stories of an area. Sometimes what I find in the material culture doesn't agree with those stories, but it certainly leads to great discussion and doesn't take away from the importance of those stories to the community.

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

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

For more information about Youth Heritage Forum 2015 contact Alanna at 1(888)739-1892 [Ext 5] or by email alanna@heritagefoundation.ca 

About to hoist sail!

The smiling faces ready to collect memories!

It's here! It's here! Hoist your Sails and Run is about to take off!

On Tuesday, we introduced Jim Crockwell of the MacMorran Community Centre to the MUN Public Folklore Class. Jim gave us a great presentation about the history of the centre, the services they offer, and the community that avails of them: all useful context for the students about to go in. We covered some last-minute logistics and questions, and we are ready to go!

Hoist your Sails and Run begins this Tuesday, February 3rd! Watch this space for updates as we start the conversation about play and games with tradition-bearers!

If you're interested in joining us or in sharing your memories of play and games, please contact me at 739-1892 ext 3 or by email.

Youth Forum News, Memories of Childhood, and Fisheries Architecture

In the January 2015 edition of the Intangible Cultural Heritage Update newsletter: Alanna Wicks invites youth aged 18-35 to the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador's first Youth Heritage Forum, set for March 7th, 2015 in St. John's; Sharon King-Campbell interviews Berkley Reynolds about his memories of growing up in Salmon Cove, as part of the Hoist Your Sails and Run games research project (including a fabulous story about cheating time in order to squeeze in an extra hour of cards); Memorial University of Newfoundland is seeking organizations who would be willing to host interns through the Department of Folklore's public folklore co-op MA programme; and Dale Jarvis provides an overview of the Fisheries Heritage Preservation Program and its work to safeguard the vernacular architecture of the traditional fishery in the province.

Contributors: Dale Jarvis, Sharon King-Campbell, Rebecca Newhook, Alanna Wicks.

Download the newsletter in pdf or other formats.

Photo: Berkley Reynolds, circa 1955. Courtesy Berkley Reynolds.

Co-op intern possibilities for Newfoundland and Labrador non-profit organizations

Memorial University Master of Arts, Folklore co-op students are seeking full-time, paid work terms of at least 12 weeks duration from May to August. Co-op folklore students work in a wide range of areas including archiving, curating, cultural documentation, tourism, culture and economic development and festivals/public events.

Do you have a project or program that a public folklorist could contribute to over the summer?

Organizations that hire co-op students are eligible to apply for a wage subsidy to cover up to $6/hr of the student’s wage. More information is available at http://www.mun.ca/coop/employers/funding/. Applications are now being accepted from small business and non-profit organizations.

Contact Rebecca Newhook on (709) 864-4098 or rnewhook@mun.ca for more information.

Making an indoors in the outdoors

In December, I asked Vida Edwards about indoor games she played when she was growing up in Trout River. This was her answer:

 “Let’s face it, when you’re growing up in Newfoundland and you have a little small house and it’s six and seven kids and the house is probably I’m thinking maybe 900 sq feet, you don’t have a lot of space, (…) you don’t want to be inside.”

She has a point: indoor space was at a premium. So some children built themselves some outdoor space that still provided a bit of shelter from our fine Newfoundland weather.

The Dictionary of Newfoundland English has an entry for just such a structure; “copy house” is defined as “a little house built by children.” Paula Roberts remembers one in particular in Clarenville:

“We built a fort up behind Randy’s house and I remember he was nailing from the top and I was nailing from in the fort, and I stood up and one of the nails wasn’t driven in and I drove the nail into my head.”

Aside from that memorable incident, Paula and her friends spent most of their time pretending to be baking, making mud cakes and serving them to guests on plates made of wooden planks.

Photo provided by PANL

In the winter, of course, the building materials changed, but the idea was the same. Paula recalls digging out from mounds of snow left in their yard by the plow. She says,

“Building snow forts was mostly what we would spend our time at. In the same area that you’d be making up the mud cakes and everything in the summer, you’d be building snow forts, and creating benches, and everything.”

Winston Fiander’s snow houses in Coomb’s Cove were even more sophisticated.

“We used to make the walls perpendicular, and then we’d get pieces of lumber and put across the top, and put snow on top of the lumber,” he said. They’d care for and maintain their houses all winter long, and hope that it stayed cold.

“Of course you had to be careful now when you got a mild spell because the thing would collapse on ya. Weren’t allowed to go in there.”

If you built a play or copy house, or a snow house, and would like to share your memories, please consider participating in the Hoist your Sails and Run project (see here), filling out our online survey (here), or contacting me at 739-1892 ext 3 or by email here.

PSA: Youth Heritage Forum, March 7th

The Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador’s Intangible Cultural Heritage office is looking for youth representatives from local heritage organizations and community groups to attend our upcoming Youth Heritage Forum. We hope to bring together youth, ages 18-35, from various backgrounds to discuss heritage and what they would like to see happen in this field in the future.

Heritage organizations and community groups in the Avalon Region are invited to nominate 1-2 youth representatives to attend.

If you are a youth passionate about heritage and would like to become involved please contact Alanna Wicks at 1-888-739-1892 [Ex 5] or email to alanna@heritagefoundation.ca

Listen to Alanna speak with VOCM's Paddy Daly:

Bringing Together Youth and Heritage

Hello out there!

My name is Alanna Wicks and I’ve just come on with the ICH Office as the Youth Heritage Forum Coordinator. My background is in Anthropology and Folklore and since finishing up my MA in Public Folklore in 2012 I have spent my time working and volunteering with archives and community groups in St. John’s, NL and Halifax, NS.

I’ll be hanging out around the ICH Office for the next couple of months organizing an exciting new forum for the youth of our community to come together and talk about heritage and what that word means to them. Being a youth in this community myself (30 is just around the corner!) I know that there are many more individuals like myself that have a great interest in what’s happening in and around our community and would love a place to talk to like minded folks about just that.

The Youth Heritage forum will bring together individuals, aged 18 to 35, from various backgrounds to hear from their peers who are working and involved in the field of heritage, and to engage in an informal discussion about heritage and their place in the community. We want to hear what young people think and feel about heritage and what they would like to see happen within this area in the future. Participants of the forum will also be invited to discuss the creation of a new youth heritage committee that would meet in the future to discuss what’s happening in the field of heritage and to stay informed about opportunities, projects, events, and so on.

The Youth Heritage Forum will take place March 7th, 2015 at The Lantern, 10am to 2pm.

Entertainment and lunch will be provided.

If you’re interested in join the forum or would like more information please contact me at 739-1892 or alanna.wicks@gmail.com

Research question: Esquimaux murdered at Keatulik Island

I had an interesting research question this week. A colleague came across this entry, on the Newfoundland's Grand Banks webpage "1926 News and Events of the Year from The St. John's Daily News"

The page lists a short death notice from May 11, 1926.  The item reads, simply, "An Esquimaux Tuite murdered at Keatulik Island."

The Daily News for 1926 is not yet scanned on Memorial University's Digital Archives Collection, and I've not verified that the spelling on the website is a correct transcription.  

Does anyone have suggestions about the location of Keatulik Island? Somewhere in Labrador, perhaps? Or do you have some thoughts on the word "Tuite"? Is it a person's name, or does it refer to a group of people? 

If you have thoughts or theories, email me at ich@heritagefoundation.ca

- Dale Jarvis

Building your own fun

Have you ever made yourself a toy?

I bet you have. I bet you've made a kite, or a spinning top, or a model boat. I bet you've tied a loop of string for Cat's Cradle, or picked out a good stick for a bat before playing ball.

I made a top out of paper this morning. 

See? It spins and everything!

A few decades ago, in most of this province, toys weren't available in stores year round, if ever. Kids had to make their own.

Winston Fiander grew up in Coomb's Cove, Fortune Bay, and he had a few tricks up his sleeve when it came to making his own fun.

"We used to make these slingshots. (...) you'd take a piece of line (...) looped, and in the base of that loop would be a couple of pieces of line where you could support a rock. And so we would have it rigged so that you put your finger through a loop in the end of the line, and you caught a hold of the line with your finger and thumb, and you just put a rock in it, and you'd wind it round and round and round and then you'd let it go. (...) And it would go, geez, it's amazing how far the rock would go."

When we got to talking about hockey, he told me he and his friends had a puck to play with, but they made their own sticks.

"We used to make them out of wood. Well, you know how they used to make timbers for boats (...) you just go into the woods and you find a stick that looked like a hockey stick (...) bent already and you chop it off and bring it home and shave it down a bit and there you are, you got a hockey stick."

Paula Roberts, from Clarenville, did some quite ambitious building with her friends:

"Somebody threw out a baby buggy once, and I remember... we took the wheels off of that and made the wickedest go-carts."

And then, they hit the jackpot of scavenged building (and bouncing) materials.

"Somebody had thrown out a mattress, and we tore the mattress apart, and all the springs that were inside the mattress, we took and attached them to our feet, and made like bungee, springy things. (...) I'd say for about two weeks we were occupied by tearing up that mattress. But the wood that was inside the mattress we used for the go-carts."

If you'd like to take part in ICH's Hoist your Sails and Run project, or talk to us about toys or game equipment that you once made, please drop me a line here or by phone at 739-1892 ext 3.

Starting the New Year with play and games!

It's a snowy old day here in St. John's, and as I watch the snow blow in diagonals from the warm side of the windows in the quiet ICH office (Dale is being an Intangible Cultural Heritage rock star in ASIA, and I'm sure he'll tell you all about it when he gets home), I am thinking about how much I used to love weather like this. You remember: back when the snow meant sliding and snowmen and forts and snowball fights, instead of shoveling the driveway 3 times in a 24-hour period and falling down twice (TWICE!) on your way in to work.

The view from ICH today. Good luck out there, City of St. John's truck.

But then I got excited, because I realized that the good old days I was just thinking of are some of the same days that we get to talk about in the Hoist your Sails and Run project, and that project is just ramping up!

I've been doing some interviews with the folks who have already filled out our survey about play and games (you can too! Click here), and I haven't had one yet where we didn't talk about sliding. Everyone seems to remember sliding on the perfect hill, whether they were on a wood slide borrowed from their father, or a discarded plastic bag, or a pilfered pizza pan.

We're going to be meeting on Tuesday mornings in February at MacMorran Community Centre, and talking about sliding and any number of other ways we used to play!

If you're interested in becoming a part of this project, please email me or be in touch by phone at 709-739-1892 ext 3, and tell me your sliding memories!