Living Heritage Podcast Ep104 Behind the walls of the Simms House

Tyler Stapleton is a 24 year old Nautical Science Graduate from the Marine Institute. When not navigating the North Atlantic he is actively restoring his 1882 Registered Heritage Structure in Downtown St. John’s. The home was built in 1882 for draper George Taylor and sold to cooper Henry V. Simms in 1902. Simms ran a successful trade out of a shop once located behind the home and, by the time he died in 1947, owned several properties in the area. Simms played an active in his community, serving as Vice President of the Master Coopers’ Association and an organizer of the local prohibition movement.

In this episode of the Living Heritage Podcast, we chat about the history of the building, his process of research and restoration, and delve into some of the secrets of the Simms House.


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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 history 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.

The Knights of Columbus Hostel #FolklorePhoto

Photo courtesy The Rooms Provincial Archives.

While researching jukeboxes for our next Oral History Roadshow project, I came across this photo from the 1940s. It was taken at The Knights of Columbus Hostel which was located on Harvey Road. This was a popular hangout spot for service personnel during WWII. 

On December 12, 1942 a fire quickly swept through the building and resulted in the loss of ninety-nine lives. An "Uncle Tim's Barn Dance" was happening at the time.

Mutliculturalism Week and "Tales From Afar: Old Stories from New Residents" Booklet Launch

As part of St. John's Multiculturalism Week, last Thursday HFNL, in partnership with the Local Immigration partnership (LIP), launched a new booklet titled Tales From Afar: Old Stories from New Residents. 

We collected stories from new Canadians, recent immigrants, refugees, internationals students and log-time residents who have made Newfoundland and Labrador their forever home. They shared ghost stories, myths, legends, fairy tales - anything that had been passed down by word of mouth. These stories came from all over the world: Scotland, France, Germany, Croatia, Ukraine, Nigeria, Syria, Iran, China, Korea, Taiwan, Philippines, and the USA. We took these stories and arranged them into a booklet.

Nadia Sarwar. Photo by Terra Barrett. 2018.

Depute mayor, Sheilagh O'Leary, emceed the event. We had participants share their stories. We heard a tale about how one should never give up. We learned why chickens scratch the ground. We were treated to a traditional Korean drum and dance, and heard the story of the dreadful dried persimmon in both Korean and English. We learned about the importance of respecting your parents. And we heard the cautionary tale of Tiger Grandma.

Jae Hong Jin. Photo by Terra Barrett. 2018.

The day finished with some delicious, traditional Taiwanese food made by The Smiling Sisters. The event was a great success, and showcased the rich multiculturalism we have present in St. John's.

If you would like to read these stories in full, you can download a PDF version of the booklet by clicking here.

Dr. Dove #FolklorePhoto

This week's #FolklorePhoto comes from the Julia Ann Walsh Heritage Center's collection. This is a portrait of Dr. Dove taken circa 1940.

Dr. Terry Delaney explains, "Dr. Dove was the first doctor to work [at the Bonne Bay Cottage Hospital] when [it] was built, and his daughter, [Sue Dove], came to work here in the late ‘70s."

Living Heritage Podcast Ep103 Bollywood songs and Indian Music Stores

Dr. Jayson Beaster-Jones is an Associate Professor of Music in the Global Arts Studies Program at the University of California Merced. He received his B.A. in Music and Anthropology from Whitman College and his M.A. and Ph.D. in Anthropology from the University of Chicago. Jayson is ethnomusicologist whose work focuses upon the music industry of India. He has written two books, co-edited the volume Music in Contemporary Indian Film, published in the journals Ethnomusicology, Popular Music, and South Asian Popular Culture, as well as book chapters in several edited volumes.

Dr. Jayson Beaster-Jones.
Photo courtesy of University of California Merced.

Jayson visited St. John's in March to give a series of lectures at Memorial University as well as a public lecture and Bollywood music dance night presented by MMAP Centre. In this episode of the Living Heritage Podcast, we talk about Jayson's research in India on music retail stores as sites of cultural production, and Bollywood film songs and their musical and social meanings.

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You're Invited to "Tales From Afar: Old Stories From New Residents" Booklet Launch

The Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador, in partnership with the St. John's Local Immigration Partnership, invites you to join them for the launch of Tales From Afar: Old Stories From New Residents.

“This booklet is a collection of world folktales, myths, and legends, retold by those who have come from away to make Newfoundland and Labrador their home,” explains Dale Jarvis. “We heard from storytellers from Scotland, France, Germany, Croatia, Ukraine, Nigeria, Syria, Iran, China, Korea, Taiwan, Philippines, and the USA.”

The launch will take place on Thursday, March 22nd at 2:30 p.m. at the St. John’s City Hall (10 New Gower Street). Copies of the booklet will be available. Reception to follow.

If you are on Facebook check out the event and share it with your friends.

Please contact Katie Harvey for more information:

katherine@heritagefoundation.ca

1-888-739-1892 (ext. 6)

Presenting Shamrocks to Troops in Britiain #FolklorePhoto

Photo courtesy The Rooms Provincial Archives.

On St. Patrick's Day, 1944, D.J. Davies, Newfoundland's Trade Commissioner in London, presented shamrocks to officers and men of the 59th Heavy Regiment. Behind the officer carrying the box of shamrocks is the C.O. of the Regiment, Lt.-Col. R.C. Longfield.

The ceremony demonstrated in these photographs was held on St. Patrick's Day for Newfoundland troops in Britain. Newfoundland troops, who had been in Britain for nearly four years at the time, were inspected on St. Patrick's Day in the South Eastern Command. These troops were not part of the Canadian Forces in Britain but were a section of the British Army. Most of the men are of Irish descent and after the inspection were each presented with a piece of Shamrock to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. Officers of the Newfoundland Regiment were also present at the inspection.

Photo courtesy The Rooms Provincial Archives.

#CollectiveMemories Monday - Gardening in Keels with Joseph "June" Fitzgerald

Ann and Joseph "June" Fitzgerald in their garden in Keels. Photo by Kristin Catherwood. 2012.
Photo courtesy of Memorial University of Newfoundland's Digital Archives Initiative.

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. This interview with Joseph "June" Fitzgerald of Keels was conducted by Kristin Catherwood as part of the 2012 Folklore Field School. In the interview Joseph "June" discusses gardening in Keels, past and present. This includes reasons for gardening; garden locations; vegetables grown; necessity of gardening; enjoyment of gardening; gardening as a hobby; fertilization of gardens; soil preparation; cultivation methods; garden pests; and the gardening season. If you want to learn more about gardening click here.

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

#FoodwaysFriday - Main Arm Slob

Community kitchen workers. Photo by Terra Barrett.

When Terra and I were in Bonne Bay in January, we discovered that one of the meals the Cottage Hospital was best known for was called "Main Arm Slob." Neither of us had heard of this before, and so we asked one of the RNs, Susan Reid, to explain what it was:

"Main arm slob was just salt meat cut up in small pieces with onion, pepper, carrot, turnip and potato. It was cut up and I suppose it was cooked so the starch - it was almost white - would come out of the potato and it would thicken the sauce. But that’s what it was. We used to call it main arm slob because it used to be main arm - where you drive in [to Norris Point] was the main arm. And when it iced over you’d get the slob on it. So we used to call it main arm slob. That’s where the name came from."

The community kitchen will be serving this, and other traditional dishes, for lunch soon. If you are interested in trying some of the foods that were served in the Cottage Hospital stop by for a visit!

-Katie Harvey