An Evening of Georgestown Memories, Sept 10th. You're invited!

An Evening of Georgestown Memories. 

Monday, September 10th, at 7:00 p.m.

The Lantern, 35 Barnes Road

Georgestown resident and folklorist Dale Jarvis will facilitate a staged oral history event with past and current residents to discuss the neighbourhood they call home. Plus, refreshments!

In partnership with the Georgestown Neighbourhood Association, Heritage NL, and the Memorial University Folklore Fieldschool.

Facebook Event listing:
https://www.facebook.com/events/1880079538747418/

Photo credit: An exterior view of the store at Monkstown and Military Rds circa 1940s.

1.08.004, Memorial University

Arranged and Described by Linda White and Claire Jamieson

Archives and Special Collections Division, Memorial University of Newfoundland

Tuesday's #FolklorePhoto: Embroidery, and Knitting with Mary Bussey

Close-up of an embroidered panel for a quilt, St. Lunaire-Griquet. 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 Mary Bussey about textiles click here or to hear about changes to the Northern Peninsula click here.

Crochet pillow made by Mary Bussey's mother, St. Lunaire-Griquet. Photo by Lisa Wilson. 2010

A pair of slippers knitted by Mary Bussey, St. Lunaire-Griquet. Photo by Lisa Wilson. 2010

Grand Falls-Windsor Memories Mug Up - Bryan Blackmore

Storytellers on stage.

On Friday, July 13, as part of the celebrations for Salmon Festival the Grand Falls-Windsor Heritage Society hosted their second annual Memories Mug Up at the Classic Theatre on High Street. About a hundred audience members came out to listen to the six storytellers share their memories of growing up in Grand Falls-Windsor. The session was moderated by Mary Kelly, a recently retired teacher and member of the heritage society.

There were stories about growing up in during the Second World War, the newspaper industry, memories of High Street and Main Street, and stories about the paper mill. Today's story comes from Bryan Blackmore:

View of the Classic Theatre.

Notes on the history of Sou'Westers and Oilskins

A Canadian-manufactured Sou'Wester in the collection of the Wooden Boat Museum of NL,
Winterton, photo by Jeremy Harnum.

Last week, I wrote on the origin of the Newfoundland word “linkum” - a variant of the word “Lincoln” denoting a specific type of Sou’ Wester oilskin hat often worn by fishermen.

The word “Sou’Wester” itself has a somewhat complicated history, and today it can mean either a long oilskin coat worn especially at sea during stormy weather, or, in the usage related to linkums, a waterproof hat with wide slanting brim longer in back than in front.

One possible etymology (given by Wikipedia) is that the name has to do with the Sou'wester wind which is the prevailing wind in the seas around the UK. Interestingly, the word has similarities in other languages: in Dutch it is zuidwester; in German, südwester; and in Swedish, sydväst. The use of “South Wester” to describe both the cap and the coat date back to the early 1830s.

Below: Sou'Wester owned by Patrick Kinsella in the collection of the Logy Bay-Middle Cove-Outer Cove Museum, photos by Katie Crane. The label reads: Miner Weatherseal Black Diamond Made in Canada.

The use of linseed oil (a colourless to yellowish oil obtained from the dried, ripened seeds of the flax plant) to make oilcloth probably dates to the 18th century, when it was primarily used as an inexpensive floor and roof covering.

The journal Scientific American included this description of oilcloth in August 1869:

Manufacture of Oil Cloth 

The manner of making oilcloth, or, as the vulgar sometimes term it, oilskin, was at one period a mystery The process is now well understood, and is equally simple and useful.

Dissolve some good resin or gumlac over the fire in drying linseed oil, till the resin is dissolved, and the oil brought to the thickness of a balsam. If this be spread upon canvas, or any other linen cloth, so as fully to drench and entirely to glaze it over, the cloth, if then suffered to dry thoroughly, will be quite impenetrable to wet of every description.

This varnish may either be worked by itself or with some color added to it: as verdigris for a green; umber for a hair color; white lead and lampblack for a gray; indigo and white for a light blue, etc. To give the color, you have only to grind it with the last coat of varnish you lay on. You must be as careful as possible to lay on the varnish equally in all parts.

A better method, however, of preparing oilcloth is first to cover the cloth or canvas with a liquid paste, made with drying oil in the following manner: Take Spanish white or tobacco pipe clay which has been completely cleaned, by washing and sifting it from all impurities, and mix it up with boiled oil, to which a drying quality has been given by adding a dose of litharge one fourth the weight of the oil. This mixture, being brought to the consistency of thin paste, is spread over the cloth or canvas by means of an iron spatula equal in length to the breadth of the cloth. When the first coating is dry, a second is applied. The unevennesses occasioned by the coarseness of the cloth or the unequal application of the paste, are smoothed down with pumice stone reduced to powder, and rubbed over the cloth with a bit of soft serge or cork dipped in water. When the last coating is dry, the cloth must be well washed in water to clean it; and, after it is dried, a varnish composed of gumlac dissolved in linseed oil boiled with turpentine, is applied to it, and the process is complete. The color of the varnished cloth thus produced is yellow; but different tints can be given to it in the manner already pointed out.

An improved description of this article, intended for figured and printed varnished cloths, is obtained by using a finer paste, and cloth of a more delicate texture.

Source: “INVENTION.” Scientific American, vol. 21, no. 8, 1869, pp. 123–123. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/26037689.

If you have memories of someone making oilskins, or know of a traditional recipe from your community, call Dale at 709-739-1892 x2 or email dale@heritagenl.ca

Living Heritage Podcast Ep124 A Grand Time with Aidan O'Hara

In the episode, Aidan O’Hara and Rebecca Draisey-Collishaw talk about Aidan’s research on Newfoundland’s Cape Shore in the 1970s and “A Grand Time,” a series of homecoming events for Aidan’s research that took place in August of 2018.

Aidan is also the recipient of the 2018 NL Folk Arts Society Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of his work in Newfoundland. Born in County Donegal and now living in Longford, Aidan O’Hara is an award-winning broadcaster, writer, and historian. Through his travels for work and education, he also became an accidental collector of songs, music, and oral history. During the mid-1970s, Aidan collected over 130 audio reels-to-reels and tape cassettes of songs, stories, and music on Newfoundland’s Cape Shore.

Rebecca Draisey-Collishaw is an Archive Assistant for the Digital Collections with Irish Traditional Music Archive (ITMA). In this episode, Rebecca tells us about “A Grand Time” and about Aidan’s audio recordings, which have been digitized by the ITMA and are now available online here.

Download 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.

Dancing in Cape Broyle #FolklorePhoto

Photo courtesy Dot O'Brien.

This week's #FolklorePhoto is of a Halloween dance at the old Parish Hall in Cape Broyle. The style of dances that were popular at the time were jiving, waltzing and swing. This photo was taken in 1963.

Grand Falls-Windsor Memories Mug Up - Kay McDermott

Storytellers on stage.

On Friday, July 13, as part of the celebrations for Salmon Festival the Grand Falls-Windsor Heritage Society hosted their second annual Memories Mug Up at the Classic Theatre on High Street. About a hundred audience members came out to listen to the six storytellers share their memories of growing up in Grand Falls-Windsor. The session was moderated by Mary Kelly, a recently retired teacher and member of the heritage society.

There were stories about growing up in during the Second World War, the newspaper industry, memories of High Street and Main Street, and stories about the paper mill. Today's story comes from Kay McDermott:

View of the Classic Theatre.

Living Heritage Podcast Ep123 The Brewnettes: The Newfoundland Women’s Craft Beer Collective

The Brewnettes have been bringing women together over a pint since 2012, first as an online forum and now in the form of monthly meet-ups and events. The St. John’s-based group welcomes women with all levels of experience and knowledge, from professional brewers to those tasting their first pint of craft beer. In this episode, Terra Barrett talks with organizers Nicole Evans and Christina Coady. Nicole Evans is a Newfoundlander-by-choice, business developer and entrepreneur by day, and craft beer nerd by night. Through working with the Brewnettes and Port Rexton Brewing Company, Nicole has witnessed first-hand the power that craft beer has to bring people together, revitalize communities and support the evolution of the already strong culture of beer in Newfoundland. Christina Coady is co-owner and head brewer at Landwash Brewery in Mount Pearl, Newfoundland. In addition to running a brewery, Christina works with other Brewnettes to organize monthly meet-ups and events. Join the Brewnettes Facebook page to learn more about the craft beer community or attend an upcoming event.

Download 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.

Newfoundland word of the day: Linkum (and where it comes from) #heritageNL

This fabulous shot of a gentleman identified as Uncle Abe Mercer is from the International Grenfell Association photograph collection of lantern slides in the holdings of The Rooms (Item IGA 13-58). The original photograph was taken in 1931 by Fred Coleman Sears, and shows a man wearing rain gear, with sou'wester hat, or what in Newfoundland English one might call a "lincoln" or "linkum."

Here is what the Dictionary of Newfoundland English says about the word:

lincoln n also linkum. A fisherman's oilskin hat with elongated flap at the back; CAPE ANN, SOU'WESTER.

1936 DEVINE 115 He sold. . .oil clothing, which was a specialty and included south-westers, Cape Anns and 'Lincolns.' 1937 ibid 31 Linkum. An oiled hat (sou'-wester) worn by fishermen. 1970 Wooden Boats 20 Those three shipwrecked men clung to the rock from Saturday to Tuesday, without food and the only water they had to drink was rain water they caught in a lincoln. 1971 NOSEWORTHY 217 Linkum. A large water-proof hat worn by fishermen with a strap under the chin, a small rim in front, and a flap on the back to keep the neck dry. 1978 Evening Telegram 9 Sep. p. 14 A linkum is an oil hat with a long back on it to protect your shoulders.

Waterproofed cloth garments were used in the North Atlantic from the late 1700s, and what we think of today as the oilskins worn by sailors and fishermen were originally made from sailcloth coated with tar. Traditional black or "tarred" Sou'Wester hats were developed in the 1800s, but replaced the tar with linseed oil and lampblack. 

Scottish chemist Charles Macintosh patented a method in 1823 for binding two pieces of material together with rubber dissolved in naphtha, and the Mackintosh was born (the K was added later, apparently). But the rubber Mackintosh didn’t breathe, which made it unsuitable for certain types of work, and it stiffened when cold.

Gabardine was invented in 1879 by Englishman Thomas Burberry (founder of the Burberry fashion house) The original fabric was waterproofed using lanolin (and Burberry coats were worn by polar explorers such as Amundsen and Shackleton). It was a New Zealander, Edward Le Roy, however, who is said to have developed a more commercially-available (and yellow) material circa 1898, using worn-out sailcloth painted with a mixture of linseed oil and wax. This produced a waterproof, yet still breathable garment able to be worn in foul-weather conditions. 

Scientific American (Vol. 79, No. 11, September 10, 1898, p. 172) notes:

When a sailor's oilskins crack or get worn so that they are not waterproof, he oils them. They may need oiling two or three times a year. There are prepared oil dressings made for this use and pnt up in little tin cans. Some sailors use oils of one sort and another,and some sailors make a mixture of their own for a dressing. The sailor is likely to have a preference for some one brand of clothing and to stick to it. And he has his own ideas as to the best dressing for it, but he carries always with him a dressing of some sort. It is put on with a brush, the garments being hung up and painted with it.

But what of our linkums? Where did that particular word come from?

The catalogue and price list for Joseph H. Rowe & Company, manufacturers of genuine Cape Ann oiled clothing, horse and wagon covers, sou'westers and oiled hats, out of Gloucester, Massachusetts (circa 1892) note that their Lincoln Sou’ Wester retailed for $8 a dozen, though the catalogue advised that one could write in for discounts. The image below is taken from the catalogue:

It seems likely that the Newfoundland word “lincoln” and its derivative “linkum” comes from the Lincoln Sou’ Wester, though why that particular style of Sou’ Wester was called a Lincoln is yet (by me at least) undetermined. The catalogue also offered for sale "Rowe's Prepared Oil" (at $3.50/doz) to keep your lincoln in tip-top shape, which was warranted to dry, soft and pliable, and free from tact. It came in pint cans with a patent screw top, for your convenience.

If you have an old linkum in your collections, we'd love to see it, and if there are people who remember the process of making oilskin, please get in touch! You can call me at 1-888-739-1892 x2, or email dale@heritagenl.ca