Thursday, July 6, 2017

The Goats of New Perlican Booklet Launch


The Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador and Heritage New Perlican present a booklet launch at Veteran's Memorial Community Centre, New Perlican on Saturday July 8, 2017 at 1:00pm. This launch is part of the community's 10th Annual Heritage Day Celebrations.

"The Goats of New Perlican" is the first booklet in the Oral History Roadshow series produced by the Heritage Foundation. This booklet focuses on the memories of goats in New Perlican and includes stories about laughing goats, stinky bucks their stubborn nature, using goats to haul wood, the benefits of goat milk, and keeping goats as pets!

"They would all roam the roads," described Susie Smith. "You would never know when you would go for a walk in the road at night and no lights on the pole you would never know if you were going to bump into a goat or a horse or a cow or something on the road."

Smith was one of several residents of New Perlican who was interviewed as part of the oral history project completed by HFNL in conjunction with Heritage New Perlican.

“This booklet developed as a result of an event in New Perlican in May 2016,” says Terra Barrett, a researcher with the foundation. "At this workshop the topic of goats kept coming up again and again. So after discussions with Heritage New Perlican we decided to record stories about the goats of New Perlican."

"The Goats of New Perlican" is part of the foundation’s Oral History Roadshow. This project is an initiative of the Intangible Cultural Heritage Office of the HFNL made possible with assistance from the New Horizons for Seniors program. The Oral History Night Roadshow will see us travel from community to community, hosting a series of Oral History Nights, open-mic storytelling sessions led and inspired by seniors in that community.

The booklet launch at New Perlican's Heritage Day is open to the public and will include light refreshments. There will be copies of the booklet for sale by Heritage New Perlican available at the launch as well as a PDF version which will be placed online. For more information please call Terra Barrett at 1-888-739-1892 ext. 5 or email terra@heritagefoundation.ca.

Monday, July 3, 2017

#CollectiveMemories Monday - Great Fire of 1892

Women making hay at Ross' farm, Quidi Vidi.
Series Item E 6-7. Parsons Family Collection.
S.H. Parsons and Sons sous fonds. Summer 1911.
Photo courtesy of The Rooms.
On April 19, 2017, as part of the Collective Memories project, I interviewed Roberta Bugden about her memories of growing up in St. John’s. She told stories about riding the street car twice for the price of one trip, buying braces of rabbits from Mercer’s and fish from the harbour front, and her father’s work as a buyer for the Royal Store.

Roberta also told stories about her grandfather Ross’ move to Newfoundland from Scotland and recounted stories her mother, Queen Victoria (Ross) Young, had told her about the Great Fire of 1892. The Ross family farm was located on the North Side of Quidi Vidi Lake adjoining Mount Carmel near the temporary accommodations built by the government after the Great Fire of 1892.

Roberta was born August 16, 1931 and her mother was Queen Victoria (Ross) Young born March 23, 1885. In the following clip Roberta describes her mother’s memories of the Ross farm and of the Great Fire of 1892. Roberta's full interview can be found on Memorial's Digital Archives Initiative.

Tilts put up in [Bannerman] Park to shelter the poor who had been burnt out.
Series VA 152, Item VA 152-53. June 1893.
Photo courtesy of The Rooms.
~Terra Barrett

Saturday, July 1, 2017

Memorial Day Service in Portugal Cove 1962

028.03.160 Memorial Day Service Portugal Cove NFLD Sunday July 1 1962.
Photo courtesy of The Portugal Cove-St. Philip's Archives
In April, I digitized a set of 35mm slides for the Town of Portugal Cove-St. Philip's. The slides are included in the Allen and Pearl Squires fonds, which contains photographs, WW2 correspondence, and other material that accompanied a monetary donation which funded the community library. The photographs where taken on two separate summer trips, in 1954 and 1962, to visit Allen Squires hometown of St. Philip's and surrounding communities. With Allen's background in the 166th (Newfoundland) Field Regiment Royal Artillery, they took photographs of multiple war memorials around the Avalon Peninsula, including a Memorial Day service in Portugal Cove. The photographs show the large crowd in attendance, the Portugal Cove War Memorial, St. Lawrence Anglican Church, and the surrounding homes and landscape.  


028.03.158 Memorial Day Service Portugal Cove, NFLD Sunday July 1 1962.
Photo courtesy of the Portugal Cove-St. Philip's Archives.  
One of the images shows the parade heading towards the memorial, and the photographer. Pearl Squires labeled the slide as "Mr. Churchill World War I Veteran in Front,” however the man in the center has been identified by relatives as Archibald Greeley. Two men carry flags at the head of the parade. To the left is the Civil or Pilot Jack and to the right is a Royal British Legion flag. 

028.03.162 Memorial Day Service Parade Portugal Cove. Sunday July 1 1962.
Photo courtesy of the Portugal Cove-St.Philip's Archives.
The Portugal Cove War memorial can be seen in the pictures with many wreaths and the Union Jack flying. Members of the community can be seen sitting on the rocks behind the memorial, and talking to one another. Can you identify anyone in the photographs?

028.03.163 Memorial Sunday Service Monument Portugal Cove. Sunday July 1 1962.
Photograph courtesy of the Portugal Cove-St. Philip's Archives. 
For more information on the Portugal Cove-St. Philip's Archives, contact the Town of Portugal Cove-St. Philip's Heritage Programs and Services Coordinator Julie Pomeroy.

~ Kelly

Wednesday, June 28, 2017

First Day on the Job - Fieldwork, Architecture and Running on Fumes

My name is Katie Harvey, and I began work as the Historic Places Intern with the Heritage Foundation yesterday.

I arrived at the Intangible Cultural Heritage office yesterday morning dressed for a day in the office. I underwent a tour of headquarters, and before I knew it I was on the road to Heart's Content. We were delayed only slightly by the fact that I had to return to my house to change out of my high heels and add copious amounts of sunscreen to my almost translucently white skin. As you may imagine, I was not expecting to be out in the field on my first day, but it was a welcome surprise.

I spent my first day bathing in sunshine in the beautiful heritage district of Heart's Content. My colleague, Eddy, and I reviewed some of the already-designated buildings within the town.

Western Union Operator's House in Heart's Content. Photo by me.


Being out in the field, I was reminded why I love my work so much. Surrounded by old buildings, I felt at ease; sensing the history these buildings had survived and been witness to throughout their existence.

Documenting the church. Photo by Eddy O'Toole.


The trails and tribulations of course existed. From completing paperwork for two of the wrong houses to nearly running out of gas in a highly stress-inducing and unintentional act of initiation, the day did not pass without obstacles.

Despite these minor inconveniences, I think it was the perfect first day of work. As I've learned from my training as a folklorist, it is essential to remain flexible, and be sure to always maintain a sense of humour.

Tuesday, June 27, 2017

"This Is Going to Be a Bad Night for St. John's" - The Great Fire of 1892 #Folklorephoto


View of the city from Duckworth Street east after the fire of 1892. Photo courtesy of MUN Archives and Special Collections (05 01 006) 
"This place is going to burn down, my boy," he remarked jovially, to an acquaintance: "go home and pack your little bundle." Still, people believed Water Street perfectly safe. I went into tea and was greeted with the news that all west of the Episcopal cathedral was burned. Scotland Row, the range of houses in front of the cathedral, was then burning. People were gradually becoming panic-stricken. I remarked to my landlord at tea: "This is going to be a bad night for St. John's." - Our Great Fire, By An Eye-Witness in the Morning Despatch July 19th 1892 
This July marks the 125th anniversary of the Great Fire of 1892, which destroyed much of St. John's and is remembered as the worst disaster to befall the city. The City's commemorative activities will take place on Saturday, July 8th and Sunday, July 9th, 2017.  Visit City of St. John's for scheduled of events.

Monday, June 26, 2017

#CollectiveMemories Monday - Steve Best, Train Dispatcher and Telegraph Operator

A 19-61. Stalled! Winter scene on the Newfoundland Railway [191-?]. Originally published by Ayre & Sons (St. John's, N.L.). Courtesy of The Rooms Provincial Archives.

One of the interviews recently digitized for Admiralty House Museum and Archives was with Steve Best, a resident of Mount Pearl. Best talks about his childhood growing up in Gambo, telling stories about his family, school, and pastimes. He also talks about moving to the growing community of Mount Pearl in the 1970's. 

Best also talks about his work with the Newfoundland Railway, as a telegraph operator and train dispatcher. He tells stories about the accidents that occurred on the railway, both minor and major, and the problems snow created on the railway.   

To listen to the interview with Steve Best visit Memorial University Digital Archives Initiative.

~ Kelly

Friday, June 23, 2017

Looking for traditional NL dancers and dance groups!


Hello, my name is Jane Rutherford and I have been doing Newfoundland and Labrador set dancing for 30 years. Now I'm a graduate student at Memorial University and doing research on traditional NL set or square dancing - like the Lancers or the Square Dance. I'm trying to find where in the province people are still doing this style of dancing - in any way, shape or form. If you would be interested in sharing your dance experiences with me, I would love to chat. But I'm also interested in simply learning where people are dancing. Through my research, I hope to find information and resources to help people continue to enjoy traditional Newfoundland dance.

 

Here's a video from Fogo Island of the type of dancing I'm interested in:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tp4VxdnnB3M

For more information, or to share information about traditional dancing in your community, please contact me!

jane.rutherford@mun.ca
709 237-1297

Thanks!

Jane Rutherford
Candidate, MA Ethnomusicology
Research Centre for Music, Media and Place
Memorial University of Newfoundland

photo: Decade Dancers, Grand Bank

Thursday, June 22, 2017

Living Heritage Podcast Ep078 Seals, Culture, and Craft


Clare Fowler grew up on Bell Island. She spent time working in fish plants and other food processing plants before moving to Ontario in 1999 to do the Chiropody Program at the Michener Institute for Applied Health. She moved to St. John’s in 2004 and worked for a decade before switching gears and following her passions for art and craft. She completed the Textile: Craft and Apparel Design program with College of the North Atlantic in 2016 and is now a full time crafts person and maker with an open studio at the Quidi Vidi Village Craft Plantation. Her body of work focuses on the use of seal fur and seal leather.



In this podcast, we talk about Clare's journey as a craftsperson and maker, her work with seal fur and leather, the craft program at the Anna Templeton Centre in St. John’s, National Seal Products Day, and future work on seal art and documenting and learning bark tanning and sealskin boot making on the Northern Peninsula.

Visit Clare Dawn Couture on Facebook

Listen on the Digital Archive:


Wednesday, June 21, 2017

"We didn't live in a place where there were stores" - Interview with Keith Hillier




Portugal Cove-St. Philip's Memory Mug Up
Keith Hillier, interviewed by Emma Lang. 

Keith Hillier was born in 1954 and grew up in Campbellton Notre Dame Bay. Today he is retired and lives in Portugal Cove-St Phillips. His mother, Violet Melina—known as Lina—was from Shoal Harbour and his father, Wesley George Hillier—George—was from Campbellton. They met when Lina came to Campbellton to teach school. Her family was well off with her father serving as the Roadmaster for the Bonavista Branch of the Newfoundland Railway. This afforded Lina the chance to attend the Normal School in St. John’s for three years to train as a teacher, more training than many teachers in Newfoundland and Labrador received. George Hillier was a carpenter originally working in the lumber industry building camps and later building public buildings in Central Newfoundland.
Father was a—well, when he was younger he worked in the lumber woods, and then he, I guess he was recognized in there at building camps and what not, as being a very good carpenter or whatever, so eventually he wound up being a carpenter and being foreman of a crew of carpenters, building hospitals schools, churches, and apartment buildings and whatever in the Central area.
He [George Hiller] didn’t work home, he worked in Buchans most of his life, which is, now is probably an hours job, but back then when it was gravel roads it was probably three hours drive from Campbellton…. But he didn't come home every weekend, he only came home, sometimes he came home every weekend sometimes he could go months. And, I kinda think, way back, when times weren't as good, he probably may have been away as long as six months at a time. Which is not uncommon around Newfoundland—if you left the place you were living in to work. So what was that like growing up with him gone. Well you know if you grow up without something you really don’t know you don't miss what you didn’t have
Like his father, Keith Hillier was interested in hand-on work.
Keith Hillier (KH): No, I didn't [like school] I couldn't stand it! [laughs]

Emma Lang (EL): Any particular reason?
KH: I don’t know what the reason would be, I was too hyper to be sitting in a seat for hours. It wasn't interesting. I mean, the subjects that were taught in school, I can't say that any of them interested me that much. Geography was perhaps the, geography and math was perhaps my most interesting subjects. English and French and history, if you had to read, I wasn't that interested in it.

EL:…what would you have rather been doing?
KH: Well I've always been a person that's been hands on and I’ve been very involved in a lot of things that require use of your hands, more creative. What would I have been doing?... I was fascinated, when I was growing up, the woman across the road used to sew and she had a sewing machine. And it was one of those where you put your feet on it and it goes around like, goes up and down with your feet. Now, I was just fascinated with the thing on the sewing machine bobbing up and down. I would sit on the corner of her daybed, you know? Right here going along and see her sewing and watch that for hours almost. But anyway, I became interested in sewing,
Mr. Hillier attributes his interest in sewing and cooking to his own creative interests and to exposure to these crafts he received while spending time as a child with his grandmother and mother.
I had a grandmother lived next door to me, so she was always into the, we'll say the women's stuff, and my father was away so I didn't get much exposure from him to the more manly stuff. But even if I did, I wouldn't have, perhaps been interested in it anyway. because, you know I just have a more of an interest in arts and crafts types things and wood working, once I got older, where I could have tools and buy the wood and what not. so, I became interested in carpentry work and I’ve been interested in it perhaps more so than anything for the best part of my life. I've been involved in renovating houses and building houses and that type of thing. but when I was a kid I was more involved, and I was interested in cooking and being in the kitchen and I’m still interested in all that.
Mr. Hillier taught himself how to sew, he said with a big laugh, “my mother couldn't sew on a button, right! she was more of a cooker and baker that was more of her thing and that what she enjoyed doing most.” But she was willing, with some prodding, to help him pursue his interests.
…we didn't live in a place where there were stores. It was a small town. There were stores, but you’d order a lot of things from catalogues. and I’d want her to be ordering fabric from a catalogue so that I could make curtains, say, or drapes for a bedroom and if I kept on enough, [laughs] and nagged enough [laughs] it just might happen. 
Today Mr. Hillier lives in a house with drapes he made himself, and continues to make things by hand.

This interview was conducted as part of a Collective Memories Mug Up project conducted by Memorial University students enrolled in FOLK 6740: Public Folklore, Winter 2017. If you would like to listen to the full interview click here
Photo: Julie Pomeroy, Town of PCSP, with Keith Hillier.