Living Heritage Podcast Ep053 On the road

Andrea McGuire is completing her MA degree in Folklore at Memorial University. She is currently in the throes of writing her master’s thesis on hitchhiking traditions in Newfoundland and Cape Breton. In her thesis, she is looking at how trust, in its many variations, influences the way hitchhiking is practiced, and the way hitchhiking stories are told.

In this episode of the Living Heritage Podcast, we discuss why Andrea chose hitchhiking for her thesis, how she conducted her research, the difference between short and long distance hitchhiking, how gender effects hitchhiking, the stories people tell and the techniques they use, the brief history of hitchhiking in Newfoundland, and examples of the hitchhiking stories she has heard.

Listen on the Digital Archive:

http://collections.mun.ca/cdm/singleitem/collection/ich_oral/id/691/rec/1

The City of St. John's Volunteers: Ruby Hann

Ruby Hann with her Volunteer Award. Photo taken by Terra Barrett.

Ruby Hann was born and raisedin downtown St. John’s. She is a mother of three and a proud grandmother of many.

Ruby began volunteering at the Miller Center at the Senior’s Resource Center when she retired about thirty years ago. She has always had a great deal of respect for seniors.

One woman in particular has been an inspiration for Ruby: Ivy, another senior volunteer, who had a massive stroke which left her paralyzed on one side and unable to speak. According to Ruby, Ivy came back to the Senior’s Resource Center dances and began learning to speak again.

When Ruby is at home, her door is always open. “They know here if my door is closed I’m either gone out, or I’m having a shower, or I’m having a nap.” She is well-known at Kenny’s Park Apartments, where she has sometimes been mistaken for the building superintendent because of her helpful nature and involvement with the community.

As for aging, Ruby embraces her life as an older person: “I’m a very happy senior, and I’m very proud that I’m a senior, actually. People say ‘how old are you?’ and I say ‘I’m eighty!’ Ah! ‘You’re not eighty!’ Yes I am, unless they made a mistake on my birth certificate! But that’s me.”

“I feel for other people - differently. You know, I have always sympathized with people but now I can see. Me being a senior, I can see.”

Heritage Update - New Perlican, Windsor, Champney's West & Fisheries Heritage

In the September issue of the Heritage Update: we have news on heritage programs in the town of New Perlican; an update on the architectural history work we are doing on the Salvation Army Citadel in Elliston; a report on the wreck of the Hazel Pearl in Champney's West; we announce our planned oral history fieldwork in Windsor; and we are looking for communities interested in documenting their fisheries heritage and fixing up old fishing stages (with a $10,000 grant to support restoration).

Download the pdf here

Contributors: Andrea O'Brien, Michael Philpott, Terra Barrett and Heather Elliott.

Looking for a past issue of the Update? They are all online as part of Memorial University's Digital Archives Initiative. You can browse through them here. 

Living Heritage Podcast Ep052 What is a Planner?

Ken O'Brien is the Chief Municipal Planner for the City of St. John's, involved with land-use planning, rezonings, heritage planning and environmental planning. He graduated from MUN in 1986 with a B.A. in Religious Studies and a minor in Math (having tried Engineering first), then attended Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, graduating with a Master's in Urban and Regional Planning in 1991. He likes history and old buildings and is a member of the Canadian Institute of Planners.

In this week's episode of the Living Heritage Podcast, we discuss what a land use planner does and what they study, the importance of the social history of buildings, his work with the city of St. John’s, changes in the past 20 years, the benefits of heritage regulations, St. John’s storm doors, the Atlantic Planners Institute and the Planners’ Plate series, how community members can get involved with planning, mapping community assets, the oddities of downtown St. John’s, and growing up in Georgestown.

Listen on the Digital Archive:
http://collections.mun.ca/cdm/singleitem/collection/ich_oral/id/690/rec/1

The City of St. John's Volunteers: Linda Furey

Linda Furey. Photo taken by Terra Barrett.

Linda Furey was born in Torbay and attributes her interest in community work to her family. According to Linda, her mother was always involved in the neighbourhood and local churches:

“Mom always had a houseful. On the weekends the women would all get together and we all had to do our share of whatever had to be done. I used to help out with the churches when they’d have a dinner on. I was about 18 when I started.”

Helping out really does seem to run in Linda’s family. Her volunteer initiative has been an inspiration for her grandson, who, like her, has learned the importance of showing respect through service to others.

“My grandson will help anybody. He helped out when they had the parade on Armistice Day - there was a man trying to get into the church, and because that man couldn’t get up over the steps he went over and said ‘Use me as a walker.’ He’s 15 now, and he comes and spends the weekend with me.”

“Since I moved in here I’ve been pretty active, I haven’t stopped. I like the mingling with people. I like company. I’d have a houseful if I could! I like the fun and the enjoyment of it all. Especially the dinners and that, I’m amazed, how they all jump up to dance as soon as the music starts!”

Request For Proposals (RFP) - Municipal Museum Plan & Heritage Evaluation

The Town of Torbay is issuing a request for proposals (RFP) to identify qualified consulting firms to examine and present recommendations on the future of the Torbay municipal museum.

The Town seeks a firm with specific past experience in the research, preparation and delivery of reports for municipal museums, and cultural or heritage focused organizations.

Copies of the RFP and all inquiries relating to it, can be requested from the Town by emailing bparsons@torbay.ca.

Contract award is dependent on government funding approval.

Proposals will be accepted up until 12:00pm (NST) Friday September 30, 2016 and must be mailed in marked “Attn: Municipal Museum Plan & Heritage Evaluation” to the following address:

Town of Torbay
1288 Torbay Road
PO Box 1160
Torbay, NL
A1K 1K4

Living Heritage Podcast Ep051 Archiving the Arts

Colleen Quigley holds a Masters degree specializing in Archives from University of Toronto and is Acting Head of Archives and Special Collections at Memorial Libraries. Her primary responsibilities include managing the vast treasures of the division’s Performing Arts Collection, which included North America’s largest online performing arts poster collection. In addition to archival work Colleen is also a trained dancer, with a degree from York University, who performs and choreographs regularly.

On this week's episode of the Living Heritage Podcast we discuss how Colleen started working with archives, her work with ANLA and a dance think tank which moved Colleen into the archives world, her work with the Archives and Special Collections at Memorial University including their poster collection, the STAGE project, and some of Colleen’s favourite collections.

Listen on the Digital Archive:

http://collections.mun.ca/cdm/singleitem/collection/ich_oral/id/688/rec/1

Wooden Boat Heritage 2016 is Looking for Youth Ambassadors!

Are you a youth? Do you enjoy heritage? Education? Working within your community?

We have the perfect opportunity for you!

The Wooden Boat Museum of Newfoundland and Labrador is hosting Wooden Boat Heritage 2016 from October 4th-6th in St. John's and Petty Harbour, and we're looking for volunteers! You'll be Team Leaders during the Heritage Skills Challenge, moderators during brainstorming sessions and, of course, active participants throughout the whole conference. We want your voices to be part of the conversation!

We are looking for people who can commit to both Wednesday, October 5th, and Thursday, October 6th, and who are available for the full day. Volunteers will have free registration to the conference.

If you're interested, please click here to learn more and register!

Looking forward to seeing you at this unique conference. It promises to be an exciting time!

The City of St. John's Volunteers: Kat de Metz

Kat de Metz volunteering with one of the horses

Originally from Newfoundland, Kat de Metz is an animal lover who grew up in Colorado Springs, Colorado. She credits her family for instilling in her the desire to care for creatures big and small.

“I think I was born into it. My grandmother Metz and Uncle Ed homesteaded in Alberta, where she was in charge of the two big draft horses. I look like her and I’m petite and strong also. I’ve never had a fear of animals, only respect.”

Kat told us all about her experiences caring for animals in B.C. She has rehabilitated family pets, livestock, and wild animals alike. Her wards have included everything from cats and dogs to horses, toads, and birds of all kinds. She told us what it was like to work with raccoons:

“They’ve got little, almost human-like hands with little opposable thumbs, and they are quite grabby! They’re very intelligent, and we had double locked entrances, because if they saw how you got in they would know how to get in and get out - they’re very smart! They would remember it and go ‘Ah, I can do that!’ Little hands, you know…”

Kat is presently working on a related novel, The Dragon of Tessier Place. It’s a story about Peter Easton, a certain dragon, and modern day domestic violence.