Memory Mug Up - Bell Island U-boat Attacks & Sinkings, July 20

The two German U-boat attacks in 1942 sank four ore ships off Bell Island and left 70 sailors dead. Do you have memories or family stories you can share of the attacks or the sinkings? Or of the care of the survivors or the funerals for the dead? If so, then we would like to invite you to a Memory Mug Up at the Bell Island Community Museum on Friday, July 20 at 7:00 p.m.

The Memory Mug Up is an informal story-sharing session, where people gather, have a cup of tea, and share memories. The goal of the program is to help participants (especially seniors) share and preserve their stories.

Join folklorist Dale Jarvis of the NL Heritage Foundation and members of the Bell Island Heritage Society for an evening of memories. This event is part of a larger project which the Bell Island Heritage Society is working on with the Shipwreck Preservation Society of Newfoundland & Labrador, to create a new website on the WWII sinkings and how they affected Bell Islanders.

To register for the Memory Mug Up, please call Teresita McCarthy at 709-488-2880 or email bellislandhs@nf.aibn.com

Facebook event listing

Living Heritage Podcast Ep117 Virtual Museums and Memory Mug Ups

Terra Barrett is a public folklorist with the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador. This week, Terra talks about a Virtual Museums Canada project in Grand Falls-Windsor, which will make oral histories and photographs from the town available online. Terra and Dale also talk about Memory Mug Ups, including a Mug Up in Grand Falls-Windsor and another on Bell Island, along with some tips and tricks for collecting stories. As part of her next project, Digital Storytelling, Terra will help community members tell stories by collecting and digitizing their photographs.

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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 are hosted on Libsyn, and you can subscribe via iTunes, or Stitcher. Theme music is Rythme Gitan by Latché Swing.

New Broadcast Intern joins the Living Heritage Podcast

Good morning, Newfoundland and Labrador! You might not hear my voice on the radio, but this summer I’ll be at the ICH office bringing you the latest on heritage and culture in our province. We’ll be talking to artisans, craftspeople, musicians, and more about festivals, food, farmers markets, and regattas (just to name a few!). Throughout the summer, I’ll be looking to chat with people who practice all kinds of culture, from crafts to music and more. If you or someone you know wants to be on the Living Heritage Podcast, email Natalie at livingheritagepodcast@gmail.com.

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. We talk about their work, their passions, and the day-to-day safeguarding of culture, history, and tradition.

Hillview School Memories Mug Up

Hillview Memory Mug Up.

On Tuesday, July 3rd Dale and I headed out to Hillview and their 50+ Club Centre to a community Memory Mug Up on school memories. We were invited by the Southwest Arm Historical Society to facilitate the event.

Twenty seven community members attended the Mug Up and shared stories from their school days as both students and teachers. Several people had memories of attending or teaching in one room schools with outhouses, while others attended larger schools in St. John's or Grand Bank that were fancy enough to have indoor plumbing! One person told a story of how in his mother's time if they wanted a day off school they would simply clog the chimney and the students would be free for the day. Another woman remembered walking to school and passing the piano rock which her and her sisters would "play" each day. Several people discussed children's games including tidley (or pidley), and marbles.

Do you have a memory that stands out from your time in school? Let us know in the comments below!

Hillview Memory Mug Up.

Tuesday's #FolklorePhoto: Textiles in St. Lunaire-Griquet

Louise Bussey poses with her patchwork leaf quilt, St. Lunaire-Griqeut. Photo by Lisa Wilson. 2010.

Today's Folklore Photos come from St. Lunaire-Griquet collection on Memorial University's Digital Archives Initiative. St. Lunaire-Griquet is scenic community located about twenty minutes north of St. Anthony on Newfoundland's Great Northern Peninsula. It is a community of approximately 1000 residents, spread across a region that was once two distinct communities. During the 1950s, sudden development in the area precipitated the conjoining of St. Lunaire and Griquet into one incorporated town-site. Unlike the vast majority of GNP communities, St.-Lunaire-Griquet has always seen a continual rise in population rather than a decline, with exception to the cod moratorium years, which invariable saw many people leave their homes to pursue work elsewhere. It is often said that the local post office marks the spot where the two communities come together.

The French began visiting this region as early as the 16th century, in order to exploit the renowned cod fishery. Despite the early arrival of these seasonal fishermen, the vicinity was not officially mapped until 1784, when the infamous French sailor Liberge de Granchain pursued the undertaking. He is still remembered for his work in the area, by an island near St. Lunaire Bay that bears his name. Granchain Island still holds evidence of the French presence, by the archaeological remains of French bread ovens that can be observed on the site.

The St. Lunaire-Griquet inventory is part of a founding collection for the Great Northern Peninsula Textiles Archive and Learning Center. This project, based in Conche, NL, is an on-going initiative to document and preserve the textile-based crafts that are being created on Newfoundland's Northern Peninsula. The items in this collection were gathered between May and July of 2010 and include photographs of textile craft objects such as embroidered and pieced quilts, knitted items, and Grenfell-style coats. This inventory also includes audio clips of craftspeople discussing their particular textile-based skills and practices.

If you want to learn more about this collection click here and if you want to listen to an interview with Louise Bussey about textile projects including quilts and parkas click here.

An embroidered Grenfell coat made by Louise Bussey, St. Lunaire-Griquet. Photo by Lisa Wilson. 2010

Close-up of a patchwork Canada goose quilt made by Louise Bussey, St. Lunaire-Griquet. Photo by Lisa Wilson. 2010

Heritage Update Summer 2018 - Documenting Traditional Places and Skills

In this summer edition of the Heritage Update newsletter, we are focusing on traditional skills and knowledge around our historic places. Jerry Dick writes about an oral history project to document the knowledge of traditional artisans and carpenters; Terra Barrett writes on “Remembering the Merchants of Main Street" -- a Windsor-based project which is part of the Virtual Museum of Canada’s Community Stories investment program; and summer intern Keith Burgess writes on the designated St. James Anglican Church in Battle Harbour Labrador.

Download the pdf here

Mother M. Bernard Clune #FolklorePhoto

Photo courtesy The Sisters of Mercy. 

This week's #FolklorePhoto is of Mother M. Bernard Clune. She was the nun who purchased Sir Little's property that eventually became Littledale in 1883-1884.

Living Heritage Podcast Ep116 Pigeons, podcasts, and public history

Today on Living Heritage, we’re talking pigeons, podcasts, and public history with the staff of the Admiralty House Communications Museum in Mount Pearl. Our guests are Sarah Wade, and Lauren Lambe. Sarah Wade is museum manager and holds a BA in History/Archaeology, and an Honours in Applied Museum Studies from Algonquin College. Lauren Lambe is the museum’s collection assistant and is currently completing her Masters in Public History from University of Western Ontario. Together, they have created "Pigeon Post" -- a podcast produced by staff at Admiralty House. Through storytelling as well as oral history interviews, this podcast aims to keep the history of Admiralty House alive, while also focusing on elements of the community of Mount Pearl.

Download the mp3


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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 are hosted on Libsyn, and you can subscribe via iTunes, or Stitcher. Theme music is Rythme Gitan by Latché Swing.

Tuesday's #FolklorePhoto: Seal Skin Slippers

Doreen Noseworthy poses with a pair of sealskin boots that she made, Green Island Brook. Photo by Lisa Wilson. 2010.

Today's Folklore Photos come from The Straits collection on Memorial University's Digital Archives Initiative. The Strait of Belle Isle is a geographic region on the northwest coast of Newfoundland's Great Northern Peninsula. Colloquially know as 'The Straits,' this coastal strip runs from the community of Plum Point in the south, to Eddies Cove East at the northernmost tip. 

Between these two locales, several small communities dot the coast. Families first arrived at The Strait of Belle Isle in the 1880s, to exploit the salmon fishery and perhaps set up a base for the fur trade. Early inhabitants were there seasonally, but by 1884, permanent settlers arrived and began fishing for cod, herring, and began sealing practices as well. Although resources may have shifted in value, abundance and importance, over the years, the local drive to work the land and sea has remained consistent. While the cod fishery ultimately saw its demise in the 1990s, forms of this industry continue to fuel the local economy today. In Anchor Point, for instance, many of the residents continue to work as fish harvesters, or alternately in the shrimp plant, which employs upwards of 150 people each season.

The Straits inventory is part of a founding collection for the Great Northern Peninsula Textiles Archive and Learning Center. This project, based in Conche, NL, is an on-going initiative to document and preserve the textile-based crafts that are being created on Newfoundland's Northern Peninsula. The items in this collection were gathered between May and July of 2010 and include photographs of textile craft objects such as sealskin boots, Newfoundland Quilts, knitted socks, and embroidered cloth. This inventory also includes audio clips of craftspeople discussing their particular textile-based skills and practices. Straits communities present in this collection include Green Island Brook, Pines Cove, Bird Cove, Black Duck Cove, Eddies Cove East, Anchor Point, Sandy Cove, and Flower's Cove. Flower's Cove, due to its comparably large population, has been given its own community inventory on the DAI.

If you want to learn more about this collection click here and if you want to listen to an interview with Doreen Noseworthy about the process of making seal skin boots, slippers, and mittens click here.

Doreen Noseworthy demonstrates how to make sealskin boot pleats, Green Island Brook. Photo by Lisa Wilson. 2010.

Doreen Noseworthy demonstrates how to make pleats in sealskin, Green Island Brook. Photo by Lisa Wilson. 2010.