Monday, February 20, 2017

Notice: Marjorie Mews Memory Mug Up - Wednesday, February 22nd

Marjorie Mews Public Library.
Share Your Stories at the Memory Mug Up!

Which of your memories would you like to preserve for future generations? What are your dearest childhood memories? What advice would you give your 18-year-old self? If you have answers to these questions, you are invited to attend the Memory Mug Up!

The Memory Mug Up is an informal story sharing session for seniors, where people gather, have a cup of tea, and share memories. The Heritage Foundation of NL will be hosting three Memory Mug Up events for seniors this February.

The goal of the program is to help participants share and preserve their stories. Whatever story is important to you, whether it a personal story, a story about a family member, or a story about your community, the Memory Mug Up program can help you to preserve and share it.

The event is free! You bring a memory of growing up, we’ll supply the tea and biscuits, and we will all have a chat. Following the sessions, those who are interested can set up a time to have their stories recorded and archived by one of our story collectors.

Marjorie Mews Memory Mug Up
Wednesday, February 22nd, 2:30pm
Marjorie Mews Public Library
12 Highland Drive, St. John’s

The Memory Mug Ups are part of the Collective Memories Project, an oral history initiative which invites seniors to record their stories and memories for archiving and sharing. It is a project of the Intangible Cultural Heritage Office of the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador (HFNL), the Provincial Advisory Council on Aging and Seniors, the Interdepartmental Working Group on Aging and Seniors, and is funded through the Department of Seniors Wellness and Social Development.

For more information on how you or your community organization can get involved, email Dale Jarvis at ich@heritagefoundation.ca or call (709) 739-1892 x2.

Friday, February 17, 2017

Living Heritage Podcast Ep068 Queen Bee of the NL Beekeeping Association


Catherine Dempsey is a Newfoundlander by Choice, having spent 35 years living life and enjoying the special culture of her adopted home. With a background in book selling and teaching, and two decades promoting the history and heritage of the province, Catherine now lives on four acres in Flatrock, raising a garden, chickens and bees. Catherine is also the President of the Newfoundland & Labrador Beekeeping Association, which encourages those interested in keeping bees to work together to learn best practices, and to protect the province’s honey bees from pests and diseases.

In this podcast, we talk about how Catherine got interested in bees, bee species, hives, keeping bees, the association between bees and gardening, tips for people getting started in bee-keeping, and the politics of introducing new bees to the island of Newfoundland.

Listen on the Digital Archive:


Thursday, February 16, 2017

Share your heritage week story with #NLheritage



The third week of February is Heritage Week, and the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador wants you to share your local heritage stories on social media using #NLheritage.

“Social media is a great way to share what is happening with heritage in your community,” says Dale Jarvis, the province’s folklorist. “Tweet a heritage activity, Instagram a heritage building, share some aspect of local history that you love, and tag it using #NLheritage.”

The Heritage Week hashtag #NLheritage can be used by anyone to share stories, celebrate where you came from, and promote pride in the built heritage and intangible cultural heritage of the province.  The campaign starts Monday, February 20th, 2017, and continues all week.

Questions?  Call Dale Jarvis at 1-888-739-1892 x2 or email ich@heritagefoundation.ca

Tuesday, February 14, 2017

#Folklorephoto Did You Make or Get Any Handmade Valentines This Year? Embroidered Heart Quilt Panel by Clara Tucker.


Clara Tucker of St. Anthony was interviewed by Lisa Wilson in 2010. Mrs. Tucker discussed her methods used in her sewing, knitting, crochet, and quilting projects.

You can listen to the interview with Clara Tucker and view photographs of some of her projects at the MUN Digital Archives Initaitive

Monday, February 13, 2017

The Mount Pearl Public Library Memory Mug Up

This morning was the second in a series of Memory Mug Ups events, this one taking place at the Mount Pearl Public Library. Memory Mug Up's are an informal gathering where participants have a cup of tea and share memories of their lives. In this case the focus was memories of Mount Pearl and the group told stories ranging from the 1950's to the 1990's. We talked about the various shops and hangouts, amenities available in the community, the Mount Pearl Curl, transportation, and other aspects of life in the area. We also shared memories of where people grew up before they moved to Mount Pearl, including childhood games and rhymes. One interesting coincidence was having participants who realized they had lived in the same house on Blossom Avenue, one having sold the home to the other in the early 1970's! 


The Memory Mug Ups are part of the Collective Memories Project, an oral history initiative which invites seniors to record their stories and memories for archiving and sharing. Our next Memory Mug Up will take place at the the Marjorie Mews Public Library in St. John's on February 22nd from 2:30 to 5:30.

For more information on how you or your community organization can get involved, email Dale Jarvis at ich@heritagefoundation.ca or call (709) 739-1892 ext. 2

#CollectiveMemories Monday - Linda Kane and Terra Nova Motors

Linda Kane and Terra Barrett.
Back in December Kelly and I met up with Linda Kane at the Cupids Legacy Centre. Linda had given the ICH office a box of unidentified reel to reel tapes she had found in her father's collection of materials. Linda thought the materials were related to Terra Nova Motors where her father worked from the age of 16 or 17. Through our partnership with Memorial University's Digital Archives these reels were digitized and placed online.
Inside the Terra Nova Motors Showroom.
Kelly and I met with Linda to do an interview about her memories of Terra Nova Motors.  Linda brought pictures and memorabilia to jog her memory and this material was also digitized.  This includes some advertisements including the one shown below as well as photographs of the building, the cars and the showroom.  There is even a photo of Linda and her sister Marilyn seated in the back a car in the showroom.  Linda's father, Clarence Reid, was a manager and as such the girls spent time in the showroom on Sundays when their father did the books.  When I asked Linda what stood out the most about the showroom she said, "Probably the smell of the cars and the leather.  Vinyl wasn't the prominent thing back then.  It was nice clean cars with chrome."
Clarence Reid pictured in an advertisement for Terra Nova Motors.
If you want to learn more about the showroom or Terra Nova Motors you can listen to Linda's interview here or the reel to reel audio here. I've also included an excerpt from one of the reels of the Terra Nova Motors from the 1970s as well as Linda singing the jingle she remembered from the 1950s.

1970s Terra Nova Motors jingle from digitized reel to reel tapes.
Linda Kane singing 1950s Terra Nova Motors jingle.

~Terra Barrett

Friday, February 10, 2017

Living Heritage Podcast Ep067 Cod Sounds




Lori McCarthy grew up in the small fishing community of Bauline, of about 200 people, on the east coast of Newfoundland and Labrador. The traditional foods of her childhood feed her passion to tell the stories of her province through its people, culture and food. Out of this passion she started Project NL Food, a province-wide endeavour to visit various communities and speak with generations of people that hold their culture close to their heart. Lori also owns and operates Cod Sounds, a company which is devoted to celebrating the province’s unique foods with travellers and locals alike through hands on experiences like beach boil-ups, mussel picking and berry picking.

In this interview, we talk about how the Project NL Food got started, traditional recipes, family foodways, the barter system, hunting, teaching, workshops, and food tours.


Listen on the Digital Archive:

Wednesday, February 8, 2017

Portugal Cove-St. Philip's Memory Mug Up - Friday, February 10th


Share Your Stories at the Memory Mug Up!
Do you have knowledge of the Picco's Ridge plane crash of 1978? Can you describe the place names in the community? How about the names of the gullies and pond? What can you tell us about the Bell Island Connection? If you have answers to these questions or have memories of growing up in Portugal Cove-St. Philip's, you are invited to attend the Memory Mug Up!

The Memory Mug Up is an informal story sharing session for seniors, where people gather, have a cup of tea, and share memories. The Heritage Foundation of NL will be hosting three Memory Mug Up events for seniors this February.

The goal of the program is to help participants share and preserve their stories. The town is particularly interested in information about place names, cemeteries, names of local ponds, fishing history and families, the 1978 plane crash, Bell Island connections, and ghost stories. We would love to have a chat with you about your memories of the community!

The event is free! You bring a memory of growing up, we’ll supply the tea and biscuits, and we will all have a chat. Following the sessions, those who are interested can set up a time to have their stories recorded and archived by one of our story collectors.

Portugal Cove- St. Philip’s Memory Mug Up
Friday, February 10th, 10:00am
Recreation Center (next to the Town Hall)
1119 Thorburn Road, Portugal Cove- St. Philip’s

The Memory Mug Ups are part of the Collective Memories Project, an oral history initiative which invites seniors to record their stories and memories for archiving and sharing. It is a project of the Intangible Cultural Heritage Office of the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador (HFNL), the Provincial Advisory Council on Aging and Seniors, the Interdepartmental Working Group on Aging and Seniors, and is funded through the Department of Seniors Wellness and Social Development.

For more information on how you or your community organization can get involved, email Dale Jarvis at ich@heritagefoundation.ca or call (709) 739-1892 x2.

Tuesday, February 7, 2017

#Folklorephoto A 'Cathedral Window' Quilt by Joan Smith


A beautiful detail of a 'Cathedral Window' quilt made by Joan Smith and used in her home. In 2013, the Heritage Foundations Lisa Wilson interviewed Joan and her husband George, primarily about growing up in Heart's Content. While at their home, Lisa took photos of some examples of Joan's quilts and hooked rugs. The interview and photos are part of the Heart's Content section of the ICH-Avalon Peninsula Fonds on MUN's DAI .

Click on the link below to listen to the interview:
Smith, Joan and George 1. Interview about growing up in Heart's Content.