How to make an inexpensive lightbox for photographing artefacts!

We are heading out to Spaniard's Bay tomorrow for our Heritage Craft Show-and-Tell (July 17th, 2019) and we've asked people to bring a hand-made craft object to show us. So, today, Rachael Green and I made a cheap lightbox so we'll have something to use to photograph people's treasures.

We bought an inexpensive transparent plastic tote, some white posterboard, two sided tape, parchment paper, and two cheap LED lamps. Total cost: about $32.  Terra Barrett found this DIY instructable here (we used a plastic tote instead of a cardboard box so it less likely to get banged up as we travel around).

Before:

And after:

Some sample "treasures" we photographed, using my iPhone, as a test:

Thoughts? Suggestions? Possible tweaks? Comment below, or email dale@heritagenl.ca

Living Heritage Podcast Ep155 Adler’s Chocolate Factory, Bay Roberts

Scan courtesy of QEII Library, Archives & Special Collections Dept.
Collection: 3.08.064 - A. Adler of Canada Ltd. 

Have you ever had a nut king? Do you know what a silver mint is? Did you know chocolate and candy were produced in Bay Roberts in the 1950s? Listen to this podcast to learn about Adler’s Chocolate Factory in Bay Roberts. Terra discusses the research she has completed at the Archives & Special Collections Dept in the Centre for Newfoundland Studies, and the interviews with two women who worked at the factory, Irene Mercer, and Margaret Sparkes. Tune in to hear about the work the women did, the uniforms they wore, and the friends the made. If you know about stories about the chocolate factory let us know at livingheritagepodcast@gmail.com.

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 HeritageNL and CHMR Radio. Theme music is Rythme Gitan by Latché Swing.

Heritage Craft Show-and-Tell July 17th

How many people do you know who can run a birch broom, weave a basket, or turn a wooden rolling pin? At one point, makers of these types of objects were commonplace in Newfoundland and Labrador. Today, it seems that fewer people have the knowledge of how to make the tools, objects, and crafts of yesteryear.

Heritage NL and Spaniard's Bay Heritage Society are celebrating heritage crafts, and want to see what family treasures you might have in your cupboard. On Wednesday July 17th, at 7pm, bring something you or your ancestors made to the Heritage Craft Show-And-Tell at the Wesley Gosse Heritage Museum. Folklorist Dale Jarvis with Heritage NL will be on site to chat with you about your object, and Craft Council of Newfoundland and Labrador researcher Rachael Green will answer your questions about the Craft-at-Risk project.

Nothing breakable or bigger than a breadbox please.
A free event, with mug up to follow.

Heritage Craft Show-And-Tell 
Wednesday July 17th
7pm
Wesley Gosse Heritage Museum
6 Church Hill, Spaniard's Bay

Facebook event listing:

https://www.facebook.com/events/321708925447391/

Can't attend, but have an object you want to show off? Send us a photo!

photo: Model of 17th century British battleship, 

carved out of ivory by Harvey Taylor, resident of Raleigh, Great Northern Peninsula. 

Harvey Taylor was listed as being 45 years old and the father of 6 children in the Census of 1935. 

source: The Rooms,  International Grenfell Association fonds,  Ottawa Business Office, 

St. Anthony office, File MG 63.2192, Item A 58-70, 1932.

Southside Memories with Helen Fogwill Porter

Helen Fogwill Porter. Photo courtesy of CBC NL: https://bit.ly/2XGNTtK.

Do you have memories of growing up in St. John's? Have you heard stories of the longshoremen of the southside?

Join us this Sunday, July 14, at the community room in the St. John's Farmer's Market for a discussion with Helen Fogwill Porter. Folklorist, Dale Jarvis, will led the discussion with Porter, a local writer, and activist on growing up on the Southside Road in St. Johns, Newfoundland, during the 1930s and 1940s.

This Memory Mug Up is a partnership between Heritage NL, the St. John’s Farmer’s Market, and the St. John’s Storytelling Festival. The event will take place on Sunday July 14th from 2-3 p.m. at the St. John’s Farmer’s Market, 245 Freshwater Road.

Southside Memories is a free and informal story sharing session, where people gather, have a cup of tea, and share memories. Bring a memory from growing up, or come out to listen to Helen's stories of the Southside of St. John's.

For more information please contact Terra Barrett with the Heritage NL toll free at 1-888-739-1892 ext. 5 or email terra@heritagenl.ca

Helen Fogwill Porter. Photo courtesy of CBC NL: https://bit.ly/2LL6O42.

More on Helen Fogwill Porter:
Helen Fogwill Porter was born in 1930, on the Southside of St. John's, Newfoundland. Porter began writing in the 1960s, starting with articles, short stories, and poetry. Her memoir Below the Bridge, published in 1980, is based on her youth growing up on the south side of St. John's. She still resides in St. John's, Newfoundland, today.

Her first novel January, February, June or July won the Young Adult Canadian Book Award from the Canadian Library Association in 1989. She was given the Newfoundland and Labrador Arts Council's lifetime achievement award in 1993. Memorial University of Newfoundland granted her an Honorary Doctorate of Letters in 1997. She was awarded the Order of Canada in December 2015, and the same year a footbridge spanning the Waterford River was dedicated to her.

Porter is a member of the Writers' Union of Canada, and served on the boards of PEN Canada and the Writers Alliance of Newfoundland and Labrador. Porter was also a founding member of the Newfoundland Writer's Guild. Porter taught creative writing with Memorial University Extension Arts and worked with the Visiting Artists' Program of the Newfoundland Teachers' Association. Porter was heavily involved in the women's movement in the early 1970s. She was also a founding member of the Newfoundland Status of Women Council and ran for election to the Canadian Parliament as a New Democratic Party representative four times. In 2003 The Helen Porter Fund was established to help women NDP candidates.

Remembering the Pouch Cove SUF hall

SUF Parade, Pouch Cove, 1955

Do you remember the concerts and times at the old Society of United Fishermen's hall in Pouch Cove? Did you dance there, or have a reception there? Do you know someone who was a member, or remember parades? Come celebrate the history of the SUF, meet former members, have a cup of tea, and maybe even sample some traditional sweets!

Bring any old photos, member's certificates, or SUF memorabilia, and the Pouch Cove Heritage Society will take photos or scan it, to help record the important place of the SUF in Pouch Cove history.

Thursday, July 18th - Remembering the old SUF hall
7:30pm, Anglican Church Hall, Pouch Cove

Organized by the Pouch Cove Heritage Society and Heritage NL.
Free event

Facebook Event Listing
https://www.facebook.com/events/370007783714726/

Take the NL Heritage Craft at Risk Survey!

How many people do you know who can run a birch broom, weave a basket, or make a tea doll? At one point, makers of these types of objects were commonplace in Newfoundland and Labrador. Today, the practitioners of these heritage crafts seem to fewer in number, with fewer people having the knowledge of how to make the tools, objects, and crafts of yesteryear.

Heritage NL and the Craft Council of NL are concerned about this loss of traditional know-how, and are working together to compile a list of makers, craft producers, and skills in decline.

The Heritage Craft at Risk survey is a joint project of the two organizations, which aims to assess the current viability of traditional heritage crafts in NL, and to identify those crafts which are most at risk of disappearing. The project also aims to create a list of heritage crafts in NL, accompanied by information about each craft and whom may practice it.

"Living in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean our craft producers have spent years using their heritage of English, Irish, French, and Indigenous ancestors to grow their creativity and developed a true sense of place that is one of a kind,” says Rowena House, Executive Director of the Craft Council of NL.

“Newfoundland and Labrador has such a unique and diverse range of craft skills that supports some of the best craftspeople in the world,” she adds. “These skills will only survive if they continue to be taught through each generation. They provide a tangible link to our roots, and they are part of our shared heritage.”

With the survey, organizers are asking craft producers, makers, and builders to provide feedback on the current state of the heritage craft form they are most familiar with in Newfoundland and Labrador. The survey covers topics such as the number of makers currently practising specific skills, and issues limiting the health of craft in NL.

Organizers hope that the future Heritage Craft at Risk List will help safeguard, document, and stimulate production of contemporary, traditional, and Indigenous craft. They are looking for feedback from anyone at any level of practise, from professional or amateur craft producers, and from traditional makers of objects ranging from snowshoes to dry stone walls.

“When people think of craft, they often think of things like knitting or rug-making,” says Heritage NL folklorist Dale Jarvis. “We certainly want information on the health of those traditions, but we are just as concerned with things like tinsmithing, fly tying, or making komatiks and slides.”

Interested makers and craft producers can take the survey online at www.heritagecraft.ca, at one of the public sessions to be held over the summer, or by calling Rachael at the Heritage Craft At Risk toll-free hotline at 1-888-739-1892 ext 6.


Public Sessions
Monday, August 12th
7pm Anna Templeton Centre, Duckworth Street, St. John’s

Wednesday, August 14th
7pm SUF Hall, Winterton

Register for the public sessions online at:
https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/heritage-craft-at-risk-public-sessions-tickets-64797180110

A Brief History of the Evening Telegram at 275 Duckworth Street

The Evening Telegram offices have been in several locations over their 140 year existence, including 275 Duckworth Street. The building was home to the telegram from the mid 1950s to 1981. During this period of time, the Telegram mainly operated from 275 Duckworth Street but the mailroom was located on 154 Water Street. It is the longest running daily newspaper in the province!

With approximately 120 workers, on October 31st, 1981 the Evening Telegram operated at 275 Duckworth for the last time. The 81-year-old printing press printed its last ever copy, its successor being a new 80 page Goss press. Because of this, the last published newspaper at 275 Duckworth had a different style from any published afterwards. During its last week of operation here, the six-section Hoe press turned out more than 230,000 copies of The Telegram.

Did you or one of your relatives work at 275 Duckworth Street, St. John’s? If so, you are invited to a party! To celebrate the history of their new home at 275 Duckworth Street, the Craft Council of NL is hosting a building reunion in partnership with Heritage NL.

Thursday, August 1st
3pm-6pm Cocktail reception
The Salt House
171 Water Street, St. John’s

7pm Reunion
Craft Council of NL Gallery
275 Duckworth Street, St. John's

Get your free tickets here:

https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/275-duckworth-reunion-tickets-63656748047

July Heritage Events - Memories, Mats, Photos, and Crafts!

We have a month full of events, workshops, and all-around fun stuff planned for July!

Saturday July 13th - Heritage Day in New Perlican
2pm, Veteran's Memorial Community Centre, New Perlican

12th Annual Heritage day! New designations, winners of the photo contest, and Dale Jarvis will present (briefly!) on the ongoing St. Mark's Cemetery research.

Sunday July 14th - Memory Mug Up at the Market - Southside Memories! 
2pm, St. John's Farmers Market Community Room

We are hoping that the lovely Helen Fogwill Porter will be with us to share memories of growing up on the Southside of St. John's. If you're from that part of town or not, come listen and share your memories of earlier times.


Monday July 15th - Old Christmas Photo Scanning Party
2pm-5pm, SUF Hall, Heart's Delight-Islington 

Bring along your scrapbooks and photo albums and we'll scan your Heart's Delight-Islington Christmas photos for you. We'd love to see photos of your old Christmas tree, family shots, concerts and times, jannies, your favourite gift, and especially photos of the old SUF and Orange parades!
Facebook event.


Wednesday, July 17th - Heritage Craft Show-And-Tell 
7pm, Wesley Gosse Heritage Museum, Spaniard's Bay

Bring something you or your ancestors made to the Heritage Craft Show-And-Tell at the Wesley Gosse Heritage Museum. Folklorist Dale Jarvis with Heritage NL will be on site to chat with you about your object, and Craft Council of Newfoundland and Labrador researcher Rachael Green will answer your questions about the Craft-at-Risk project. Mug up to follow.
Facebook event


Thursday, July 18th - Remembering the old SUF hall
7:30pm, Anglican Church Hall, Pouch Cove

Do you remember the concerts and times at the old SUF hall in Pouch Cove? Did you dance there, or have a reception there? Do you know someone who was a member, or remember parades? Come celebrate the history of the SUF, meet former members, and maybe even taste some fudge. Bring any old photos, certificates, or SUF memorabilia, and the Pouch Cove heritage society will take photos or scan it, to help record the important place of the SUF in Pouch Cove history.


Monday, July 22nd - Cemetery Transcription and Best Practices Workshop
9:15am - 4pm, Logy Bay Middle Cove Outer Cove Museum

This combination workshop/documentation project will instruct participants in how to transcribe grave markers, and provide advice for towns or heritage groups thinking about planning a historic cemetery project.
$35 - Register here


Wednesday, July 24th - Tea With Hookers!
1pm, Livyer's Lot and Tea Rose, Placentia West Heritage Committee 

Bring your favourite hooked mat for a show-and-tell, and have tea and a conversation with some of Placentia West's best rug and mat makers.
Facebook event

Saturday, July 27th - Traditional Boat Launch
2pm, on the South West Side of Heart's Delight,
between George Reid's wharf and Richard Hebbes wharf.

Join the folks of Heart's Delight-Islington for the traditional boat launch of local heritage boatbuilder Edwin Bishop's new wooden motorboat. Also, if you have a boat that was built by Edwin Bishop, we'd like you to bring it out, and have it in the harbour for the launch on that day.
Facebook event


Thursday, August 1st - 275 Duckworth Street Reunion
7pm, 275 Duckworth, Craft Council of NL Gallery

Did you or one of your relatives work at 275 Duckworth Street? If so, you are invited to a party! To celebrate the history of their new home at 275 Duckworth Street, the Craft Council of NL is hosting a building reunion in partnership with Heritage NL.
Free, tickets available here.  or through the Facebook event here

Cemetery Transcription and Best Practices Workshop July 22

Cemetery Transcription and Best Practices Workshop

This combination workshop/documentation project will instruct participants in how to transcribe grave markers, and provide advice for towns or heritage groups thinking about planning a historic cemetery project.

The morning session will cover the DOs and DON’Ts of planning a cemetery project: Andrea O'Brien (Heritage NL) will provide an overview of how municipalities can designate and protect historic cemeteries; while Dale Jarvis (Heritage NL) will talk about how to record inscriptions, tombstone symbols and stone types, and how to fill out cemetery marker forms. In the afternoon session, participants will assist the Logy Bay-Middle Cove-Outer Cove Museum in collecting tombstone information at the St. Francis of Assisi RC Cemetery.

Participants will walk through the cemetery looking at the evolution of the memorials and tombstone motifs over time, and then will work to record contemporary grave markers as part of the Museum’s ongoing project to maintain a database of cemetery inscriptions.

Full day workshop, breaks, water, lunch included

Monday, July 22nd, 2019
9:30am - 4:00pm
Logy Bay-Middle Cove-Outer Cove Museum
744 Logy Bay Road, Logy Bay
$35

(backup rain date: Tuesday, July 23rd, 2019)

Spaces limited, pre-registration required. Registration deadline Thursday, July 18th.

Book your spot here.