The House on the Highway - Spaniard's Bay 1965 #FolklorePhoto

Graham Clarke’s childhood home, Conception Bay Highway, Spaniard’s Bay, circa 1965.

Photo courtesy Graham Clarke. Photo collected as part of the "Lassy Days Photo Scanning Pary" held Wednesday, August 8th, 2018 at the Wesley Gosse Heritage Museum. If this photo elicits memories for you, or if you'd like to arrange a photo scanning party for your community, contact Dale Jarvis at dale@heritagenl.ca

Living Heritage Podcast Ep131 Nasir Muhammed of Curry Delight Shares his Passion

Nasir Muhammad owns Curry Delight with his wife, Afiya Altaf. The couple has been serving up Pakistani and Indian cuisine at the St. John’s Farmer’s Market for the past four years and has become a favorite stop at the Market for many visitors. In this episode, Nasir talks about starting his own business while working full time, learning to cook from his mom, and the unexpected similarities between his engineering background and cooking great food. You can find Curry Delight at the St. John's Farmers' Market every Wednesday and Saturday, or on their website and Facebook.

This episode is part of a series showcasing the people and stories of the St. John’s Farmer’s Market, from farmers, to craft and food vendors, and more.

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.

Putting Heritage to Work: Exploring Development Opportunities in Heritage Districts

The Town of Carbonear is continuing with work to revitalize its historic business district. In this half-day session, business owners, heritage enthusiasts, students, and local citizens will network to discuss opportunities and needs for developing business and bringing new life to the heritage area. What are local assets and how can they best be utilized? Local entrepreneurs will give insight into their inspirations and plans for building art, craft, culinary, and tourism businesses that are heritage-friendly. 

Event facilitated by Heritage NL in cooperation with the Town of Carbonear.
Monday, November 5th 9:00 am - 12:00 pm
Princess Sheila Seniors Club Building
163 Water Street, Carbonear

Free event, but registration required.

That '70s Wedding! Harbour Grace 1976 #FolklorePhoto

Here is a blast from the past for you! Check out that wallpaper!  Wedding photo, Pike’s Hotel, Harbour Grace. 1976.

Front row: Cecil Clarke, Violet Clarke.

Back row left to right: Norma (Clarke) Churchill, Hedley Clarke, Elsie (Clarke) Parsons, George Clarke, Sadie Mercer, Graham Clarke, Jean (Clarke) Peddle, Mildred (Clarke) Smith.

Photo courtesy Graham Clarke. Photo collected as part of the "Lassy Days Photo Scanning Pary" held Wednesday, August 8th, 2018 at the Wesley Gosse Heritage Museum. If this photo elicits memories for you, or if you'd like to arrange a photo scanning party for your community, contact Dale Jarvis at dale@heritagenl.ca

Living Heritage Podcast Ep130 Zainab Jarrett on Cooking and Kindness

Zainab Jarrett (center) with three employees of the Multi Ethnic Food Kitchen at the St. John's Farmer's Market.

Zainab Jarrett is the owner and operator of the Multi Ethnic Food Kitchen. She sells multi ethnic food at the St. John's Farmers Market, including African food, Caribbean food, Indian food, Middle Eastern food and Asian food. She is also Coordinator of the new St. John's International Bazaar held monthly at the Farmers Market location, which supports new vendors and teaches entrepreneurial skills to recent immigrants. In this episode, Zainab also talks about her work with the We Care Foundation Newfoundland and Labrador and their most recent project; filling a school bus with books, school supplies, toys, and clothes for people displaced by Boko Harem.

This episode is part of a series showcasing the people and stories of the St. John’s Farmer’s Market, from farmers, to craft and food vendors, and more.

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. Theme music is Rythme Gitan by Latché Swing.

A mystery in the attic! Adventures in built heritage.

Last week, I got an email from a local acquaintance doing renovation work on their old house in St. John's. The email subject: "Mystery in my attic!" That is the surefire way to get my attention. They wrote:

"The opening to the attic is a small port, 20 inches square, but the only thing up there is a very large wooden box that is bigger than the opening; 69" long, 29" wide, and 20" deep. It seems to be lead lined, and has two long bolts attached on the outside short end. There doesn't seem to be a lid for it but the wood throughout is quite thick, so is likely very heavy."

I dropped by today, got a tour of the house, and then climbed the ladder up into the very short attic space, to try and photograph the very coffin-like mystery box. It turned out not to be lead-lined, but it did have a remnant strip of lead or zinc along one edge, so perhaps it was lined at one point. At the bottom of the box were a number of holes, which look like they were covered with some sort of flange or gasket, possibly to fit a pipe. Due to the confined space and angle, it was hard to get good photos, but this will give you an idea of the box:

My theory was that it was part of a cistern or water basin, possibly to power a gravity-fed flush toilet or shower. The use of the reinforcing rods might support this theory, if the box was meant to hold a heavy quantity of water. 

I came back to the office and did some searching, and while I can't say exactly where the box came from, it is very similar to two boxes I found in old catalogues, digitized as part of the rather fascinating Building Technology Heritage Library (BTHL), which is primarily a collection of American and Canadian, pre-1964 architectural trade catalogs, house plan books and technical building guides. If you are a buildings nerd, don't go there unless you have some time to kill!

The first example is from the circa 1912 Wood Tanks catalogue of the New England Tank & Tower Co, made of cypress. Note the rods:

The second is a slightly later example, from the  1937 "Wood Tanks Catalog No. 37" by the National Tank and Pipe Co out of Portland, Oregon:

Mystery solved (with no corpse to dispose of).

Argentia Naval Station #FolklorePhoto

Photo from Helen Griffin, Jerseyside, Placentia collection.

This week's #FolklorePhoto is of the naval station in Argentia. This was a naval base for the United States Army from 1941-1994. At the time, this was the tallest building in Newfoundland.

Living Heritage Podcast Ep129 Jams, Mustard, and Chutneys, Oh My!

This week, Natalie talks with Steve Curtis, owner of Condiments by Steve Curtis. Steve launched his condiments business is 2012 at the St. John’s Farmer’s Market. He had decided to take a break from the restaurant industry and began making chutneys, jams and mustard at home as gifts for friends and family. Now, Steve drives a Metrobus and spends his days cooking up condiments for his booth at the Market. In this episode, we chat about some mouthwatering food podcasts, local ingredients (including jams made with Newfoundland Distillery Company spirits), and what Steve is cooking up in the kitchen. You can find Steve at the St. John's Farmer's Market every Saturday.

This episode is part of a series showcasing the people and stories of the St. John’s Farmer’s Market, from farmers, to craft and food vendors, and more.

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. Theme music is Rythme Gitan by Latché Swing.

Tuesday's #FolklorePhoto: Textiles in St. Anthony Bight

Ruth Pilgrim holds a knitting project, St. Anthony Bight. Photo by Lisa Wilson. 2010

Today's Folklore Photos come from St. Anthony collection on Memorial University's Digital Archives Initiative. St. Anthony is located on the northeastern tip of Newfoundland's Great Northern Peninsula. This site was first given the name of 'St. Anthony Haven' in 1532, for the way in which the area operated as a safe landing point for fishing fleets. The region was initially settled based on the fact that there were rich cod fishing grounds in the vicinity, a move that helped to establish a productive fishery that would last for several centuries. Despite the eventual collapse of the cod fishery, St. Anthony has had many development successes, making it a vital service center for residents of the broader GNP region.

Another important feature of St. Anthony is the community's historic affiliation with the legacy of Dr. Grenfell. Wilfred Thomason Grenfell (1865-1940) - a British doctor-arrived in St. Anthony in 1892 as a medical missionary, sent by The Royal National Mission to Deep Sea Fishermen. Within a year of his arrival, Dr. Grenfell commenced building a medical system that eventually grew to serve the regions of Northern Newfoundland and Labrador. As his medical mission grew, his mandate expanded to include the development of schools, cooperatives, industrial work projects, an orphanage, and other social programs. One such program involved utilizing local textile-based craft skills to help sustain the region's economy. Grenfell style embroidered coats and hooked rugs with Grenfell inspired designs are being produced by residents of the Great Northern Peninsula to this day. These objects are now referred to as being a part of the 'Grenfell tradition' and can be seen and purchased at Grenfell Handicrafts, located in St. Anthony.

The St. Anthony 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 patchwork quilts, knitted items, and Grenfell-style hooked rugs. 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 Ruth Pilgrim about rug-hooking, knitting, painting, quilting, cross-stitching, and crocheting click here.

Hooked mat of a school house belonging to Ruth Pilgrim, St. Anthony Bight. Photo by Lisa Wilson. 2010

A caribou scene painted by Ruth Pilgrim, St. Anthony Bight. Photo by Lisa Wilson. 2010