Living Heritage Podcast Ep099 The Story of the Spar - The Wreck of the Hazel Pearl

Outside the Ella Freeman Heritage House in Champney’s West sits a curious artefact. Passersby might think it only an old piece of wood, but locals know it was the spar of the wrecked vessel Hazel Pearl. This spar was accidentally brought ashore by fisherman Wayne Freeman when it became tangled in his capelin seine several summers back. Documentary producer Rebecca Nolan presents a special episode which tells the full story of the Hazel Pearl - where the ship came from, and how it ended up at the bottom of Trinity Bay.

Rebecca Nolan graduated from Department of Folklore at Memorial University in May 2017. She has been doing radio for two years and has held radio internships with both NPR in the United States and CBC in St. John's. Photo of Li Xingpei measuring spar in Champney's West by Michael Philpott.

Download the MP3

Get a pdf copy of the booklet here:
The Story of the Spar: An Oral History of the Hazel Pearl

Lighthouse Cross Stitch Workshop

Have you ever wanted to learn how to cross stitch but had no idea where to start? Well now is your chance to learn! The Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador has added a second cross stitching workshop which will take place on Tuesday, February 13 from 7:00-8:30 p.m in the Newman Building (located at 1 Springdale Street).

HFNL folklorist Katie Harvey (and owner of Queen Stitch NL) will teach you all the basics of cross stitching, while marrying the stitching lesson with the history of the Heart's Content Lighthouse. You will leave this workshop with all the materials needed to finish your cross stitch.

The workshop is $30 and space is limited. To register click here.

Man Carrying Rabbits #FolklorePhoto

Photo courtesy The Rooms Provincial Archives.

Here is a photo of an unknown man carrying several dead rabbits as he walks along the railway tracks on the west coast of Newfoundland. The photo was taken around the early 1900s. Snaring rabbits is a popular winter activity within the province. People say it is best to snare rabbits after a fresh snowfall.

There are many different ways to prepare rabbit. I remember my mother bottling it, making it into stew and roasting it when I was a child. How do you prepare rabbit?

-Katie Harvey

#CollectiveMemories Monday - Knitting in Conche with Gertrude Hunt

Gert Hunt demonstrating her knitting skills in Conche, Newfoundland.
Photo by Lisa Wilson. 2010. Photo courtesy of MUN's DAI.

As part of the Collective Memories project the ICH office is showcasing community material which has been placed on Memorial University's Digital Archives Initiative. Check out this interview from May 17, 2010, Lisa Wilson interviews Gertrude Hunt of Conche, Newfoundland. Gertrude discusses knitting, life in Conche, her family, making quilts, working in the Conche fish plant, working in Alberta, and social change in Conche.

The ICH office is helping communities place previously recorded materials online. If your community has material you would like to make publicly accessible reach out to the Heritage Foundation at 1-888-739-1892 ex.2 or ich@heritagefoundation.ca

Traditional snowflake pattern mittens with the cuff.
Made by Gertrude Hunt, Conche, Newfoundland.
Photo by Lisa Wilson. 2010. Photo courtesy of MUN's DAI.

Living Heritage Podcast Ep098 Croatian Tales of Long Ago

Ivana Brlić-Mažuranić might not be the first name you think of when you think of fairy tales, unless, of course, you had a magical Croatian childhood like photographer and researcher Bojan Fürst.

Bojan is the Manager of Knowledge Mobilization at the Leslie Harris Centre of Regional Policy and Development, Memorial University of Newfoundland. Bojan leads the Harris Centre's knowledge-brokering team, connecting community needs with the resources available at the university.

Recently, Bojan has been working to translate some of the literary fairy tales of Croatian author, poet, and essayist Ivana Brlić-Mažuranić, who has been praised as one of Croatia’s best writers for children, and whose work utilizing traditional Slavic names and motifs been compared to Hans Christian Andersen and JRR Tolkien, though her work is not widely known by English-speaking audiences. Today, we’re working to fix that, and delving into the enchanting fairytales of Ivana's imagination and Bojan’s childhood.

Download the mp3

#CollectiveMemories Monday - Whitbourne recollections with Winnie Gear

32.04.002: Whitbourne. "Whitbourne 1937" a view of Whitbourne.
Geography Collection - Historical Photographs of Newfoundland and Labrador.
Memorial University of Newfoundland. Libraries. Archives and Special Collections Division.

As part of the Collective Memories project the ICH office is showcasing community material which has been placed on Memorial University's Digital Archives Initiative. Check out this interview which is part of a series of filmed oral histories, collected in 2005 by the Baccalieu Trail Heritage Corporation, from over 40 elders who grew up in the area. The Baccalieu Trail HeritageCorporation is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to preserving, promoting and protecting the heritage of the Baccalieu Trail Region. This project includes memories of living and working in the area, going to school, children’s games, home remedies, the first modes of transportation, supernatural beliefs, traditional industries and calendar customs and celebrations. This interview is with Winnie Gear of Whitbourne, NL. The interviewer is Linda Cooper. The camera was operated by Robin Baker. The video was edited by Mike Ryan and Darrell Barrett.

The ICH office is helping communities place previously recorded materials online. If your community has material you would like to make publicly accessible reach out to the Heritage Foundation at 1-888-739-1892 ex.2 or ich@heritagefoundation.ca

Lassy Tarts #FoodwaysFriday

Lassy Tarts. Photo by Maureen Power.

This recipe was collected by Maureen Power from Margaret Decker who was born and raised in Joe Batt's Arm. Margaret uses molasses in her pie crust to make them darker and for added flavour. Her recipe is as follows: 4 cups of flour 2 ½ tsp. cloves 2 ½ tsp cinnamon 1 tsp of ginger Mix together Cream 1 cup of butter. ¼ cup of molasses . Mix together. 2 tsp of baking soda and ¼ cup of tea . Stir in dry ingredients. Roll out on flour board Fill with jam and bake for 20 min. In moderate oven. -Katie Harvey

Living Heritage Podcast Ep097 Folklife Meets Fandom

In this episode of the Living Heritage Podcast, folklorist Dale Jarvis sits down for a geek-out session with Grace Shears, the Risk Manager at AbbyShot Clothiers Limited in Mount Pearl. Grace holds the advanced level certificate in Health, Safety and Environmental Processes through the University of Fredericton, NB. She is a former Military Veteran and has also served as a volunteer with the Canadian Red Cross on the Disaster Management team. In 2014, Grace joined the AbbyShot team and has been dedicated to quality control, product development and supply chain management.

 AbbyShot is a privately held Canadian corporation founded in July 2002. Its garment designs are styled after clothing worn in movies, anime series, TV shows and computer games, including Doctor Who, Outlander, and Firefly. Grace is a contributor to the empowering energy and culture of AbbyShot. We talk about the work of AbbyShot, and how they are using traditional skills and knowledge to craft three of their most recent products related to the Outlander television series, plus a chat about Doctor Who, the world of conventions, Grace’s own Newfoundland family connection to the Isle of Skye, Scotland, and the AbbyShot blog.

Download the mp3

Want to hear more from Grace and Dale? They are both part of the Cosplay, Coffee, and Contemplation event organized by our friends at Admiralty House Museum on Saturday, January 20th. The event is free, but preregistration is required, so click here!

###

The Living Heritage Podcast is about people who are engaged in the heritage and culture sector, from museum professionals and archivists, to tradition bearers and craftspeople - all those who keep heritage alive at the community level. The show is a partnership between HFNL and CHMR Radio. Past episodes hosted on Libsyn, and you can subscribe via iTunes, or Stitcher. Theme music is Rythme Gitan by Latché Swing.

What's happening in heritage - January 2018

We are back in full swing for a new year safeguarding the built and intangible cultural heritage of NL. In this edition: we review the Adapting Heritage conference held in 2017; investigate hobby horse traditions; look at the ongoing restoration of the Harbour Grace railway station (above); explore a new mobile oral history phone app; dig into the history of the Crocker Root Cellar in Bradley's Cove; provide a brief history of samplers in NL; profile the restoration of the Petites church; and invite you to a special workshop on Czech gingerbread!

Download the newsletter in pdf format here