The Rendell Forge, Heart's Content - guest post by Ted Rowe

Rendell Forge, 2003, courtesy Ted Rowe

The Rendell Forge, Heart's Content by Ted Rowe

The Rendell family of Newfoundland has its origins in Somerset, England.  Blacksmith Charles Rendell moved to Heart’s Content from Trinity in the early years of the 1800s and settled at the northern end of Rowe’s Bank, where he provided the ironwork for the vessels coming off the stocks at Rowe shipyard.  Descendents of Charles Rendell produced an unbroken line in the blacksmith trade in Heart’s Content for three generations.  His four sons Charles, Giles, James and John all took up the trade.  Son Charles was also Heart’s Content’s first constable, appointed in the 1830s, and was prominent in the Loyal Orange Association.   Bela, son of Giles, operated this forge with his son Jim in the 1920s.  When business fell off during the depression years Jim moved his family to Hants Harbour.  In 1941 at the age of 60 Bela went to Scotland as a blacksmith with the Newfoundland Overseas Forestry Unit.  He returned to Heart’s Content at the end of the war and continued with the forge in the 1950s, turning out grapnels, horseshoes and custom ironwork.  Following his death his son Ray worked the operation on a part-time basis.

 The Rendell brothers at the time of their mother's funeral in 1913.
From left to right Bela, Tolson, James, Giles, Charles

Living Heritage Podcast Ep181: Grates Cove Part 1

Photo courtesy of Courtney and Terrance Howell.

In this episode, Terrance and Courtney Howell, owners of Grates Cove Studios, talk about the adaptability of Newfoundlanders during uncertain times, the natural beauty of the Baccalieu Trail, and the history of Grates Cove. Courtney and Terrance moved to Grates Cove over a decade ago and started their studio. The business has grown since and they also have a restaurant featuring Newfoundland, Cajun and Korean flavors, offer accommodations, and harvest their own seaweed to make their seaweed lotion. You can also sign up for cooking or art classes during your stay. Listen to hear more about one of the most ruggedly beautiful spots in on the island.

This episode is part of a special series about the Baccalieu Trail region of Newfoundland and Labrador. Join us as we explore the hidden gems of the Baccalieu Trail- from stories of phantom ship sightings to local art and history.

###

Living Heritage 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.

St Andrew's Cemetery Workshop

Today, Dale and I were invited to give a cemetery documentation workshop in the St Andrew's Cemetery in Harbour Grace. St. Andrew's is a small Presbyterian cemetery that is tucked back behind a park with trees that were planted and possibly imported from Scotland. You almost wouldn't notice that it was there if you weren't looking for it!

Entrance to St. Andrew's Cemetery, Harbour Grace. Photo by Katie Crane.

Despite the rain, we had a great group with representation from the Conception Bay Museum, the Harbour Grace Board of Culture, and the Port de Grave Peninsula Heritage Society!

A wonderful turnout for the cemetery workshop. Photo by Katie Crane.

We walked people through how to use the Billion Graves app to record the headstones in the cemetery. We also talked about common headstone materials and Dale gave his "Don't Be At It" talk about historic headstone conservation.

With so many volunteers, recording this cemetery went very quickly. You can check out what they accomplished today on the Billion Graves page for St. Andrew's Cemetery.

St. Andrew's Cemetery was sometimes referred to as the Merchants Cemetery as many of those interred within had some connection to the Merchant families of Harbour Grace.

One notable grave in the cemetery is this cast iron marker to Captain Bert Holst, the captain of a Norwegian schooner who took ill and died suddenly in 1871.

Captain Bert Holst's cast iron headstone. Photo by Katie Crane.

I found Captain Holst's death notice in the Harbor Grace Standard from December 6, 1871 on the Digital Archives Intiative.

Captain Holst's death notice. Harbour Grace Standard 1871-12-06. Courtesy of the Digital Archives Initiative.

Also buried in this cemetery is the artist Joan Parsons Woods.

Joan Parsons Woods headstone. Forever Potting. Photo by Katie Crane.

She studied art at l’École des Beaux Arts in Montreal, and she sculpted memories from her life and poured her love of Newfoundland into the clay. Her sculptures were purchased by the Historic Sites Society and displayed for the 500th anniversary of John Cabot's arrival in an exhibit called A Place Called Home which toured the island. Learn more about Joan Parsons Woods here.

We accomplished a lot today, and I think we had a lot of fun despite the rain. An old English folk saying that Dale brought up today is particularly apt: "Happy is the bride the sun shines on. Happy is the corpse the rain falls on."

And I think I know why Dale felt so at home at this cemetery...

Jarvis headstone. Photo by Katie Crane.

If your community is interested in running a cemetery workshop, get in touch! dale@heritagenl.ca

I Guess I Was a Fighter: Growing Up in Heart's Delight-Islington with Sadie Rowe

Sadie Rowe, originally of Heart's Delight-Islington, is a natural storyteller. She says she grew up in a time before smart phones and tablets, and found joy in buying candy for a penny and catching connors on the wharf, and playing hide and seek in the barrels inside Mr Aaron Rowe's cooper shop.

Here are some of her reminiscences about growing up in Heart's Delight-Islington!

Heritage Foundation NL · Sadie Rowe - Small As A Teacup

When I was born, I was only a pound and a half, and they could set me in a teacup. And people came from all over to see me. There was a gentleman from Heart's Delight who was from the Southeast side and he was home from Boston, and he came to see me and to take a picture because he said, "If I tell somebody this, they won't believe it." So, he said, "I just hope the picture comes out!" When I was born the midwife said that she placed me in a dresser drawer and told mom that she would come down in the morning and bury me, because, she said, "there's no way she's going to live." So, mom said, "Well, if she dies, it won't be in a dresser drawer." And she took me and placed me inside her nightdress and kept me there for about two months, you know, off and on. Wrapped me in flannel, and she used to feed me with an eye dropper with a tiny drop of milk with a little tiny drop of cod liver oil and boiling water, and they would sterilize everything. And that's how I survived. I guess I was a fighter because I wasn't going to reach the finish line and not win the race! So mom said I just came ahead and everything was fine.

Heritage Foundation NL · Sadie Rowe - Sledding In The Garden

We weren't allowed to do anything on Sundays, and I remember once Sunday my mother and father had taken my younger sister and they went to visit, and Mabel and I had been in Sunday School. So, when we came home, out in our garden there was a real steep hill, and it had a really good sheet of ice. And Mabel and I thought, well, we'd take our sleighs and go out and slide. I came out over the hill flying and almost went through the fence, and I realised that Mabel was coming. She was younger than me. So, I realised she was coming down behind me. So, I said, "I have to stop her because she's going to be hurt!" Well, when she came down the hill, she slid off her sleigh, came down the hill on her belly, and the buttons off her coat came down ahead of her, and they were rolling down the hill! And I just rolled with laughter! I managed to catch her when she got to the bottom, and all the front of her coat was torn where the buttons were. Well, we knew we were in trouble. And we went into the house and waited for mom and dad to come home, and when they came home they looked at us and knew that there was something. And Mabel showed mom her coat. Well, we never ever got spanked anyway but mom took Mabel up in her arms and dad took me, and I saw both of them cry because the tears were rolling off of their face, not because her coat was torn but because they realised that we could have gotten seriously hurt that day. And we got a good talking to and we were told that we were never to do it again. And I don't think Mabel and I went out in that garden to slide after. It really sank in that what we did was wrong.

Heritage Foundation NL · Sadie Rowe - Think Twice Before You Mess With The Girl

The teachers always went home to lunch, but the basement door was always left open in case it rained. When we'd come back to go to school we were allowed to go in there and wait for school to open at 2 o'clock. So, I guess one day the boys decided to play a trick on us girls and decided to lock us out and we got wet. So, me and a few more girls decided that we would tie them in the basement. So, we found some twine and we tied them in, and the teacher came, and we all went in school but a lot of the older boys was missing. The teacher kept looking and listening and finally asked, "What's going on here today?" No one said a word, so they kept asking. Then we finally had to tell him what happened. He said, "Well! We have to let them out sometime!" So, seeing it was my idea, he said, "You go and let them out." When I opened the door, of course, they looked at me and they were very sheepish and very ashamed of theirselves. So, they all walked in school, and the teacher said, "I guess a lesson was learned here today. You boys, you'll think twice before you mess with the girls again!"

Do you have memories of growing up in Heart's Delight-Islington? We'd love to hear them. Get in touch at ich@heritagenl.ca!

Living Heritage Podcast Ep182 - Traditional Knowledge on the Baccalieu Trail

Researcher Katie Crane has been compiling a list of people along the Baccalieu Trail who have traditional skills and stories to share. In this episode, we hear from carver and knife-maker Edward Delaney, Kevin Andrews on how to build a wriggle fence, Edwin Bishop an what makes a good boat, Laurie Pitcher on sealskin, Michael Laduke about light and colour in stained glass, Gerry Strong on Newfoundland music, and the importance of Tickle Cove Pond with singer Ernie Pynn. Florence Hurley introduces us to fairy music, while Judy Symonds teaches us to cure arthritis, and Ralph Barrett explains the value of spider webs.

Download the mp3

###

Living Heritage 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.

This is Who We Are: Traditional Music with Ernie Pynn #MakerMonday

For #MakerMonday we'll be profiling some of the people practicing traditional skills on the Baccalieu Trail.
____________________________________________________________________________

Ernie Pynn of Carbonear started playing guitar with a band when he was in high school. He credits seeing Ryan's Fancy in concert at the stadium in Harbour Grace with inspiring him to play traditional music. He stopped playing music for a while, but resumed his interest when his son was in Cubs, and now he plays with his friends as the group Long Drung at senior's homes and fundraisers in the area.

Three generation of the Pynn family performing at the Wooden Boat Museum of Newfoundland and Labrador. Photo courtesy of Ernie Pynn.

One of the best things about knowing how to play traditional music is how it brings people together. Ernie says that one of the biggest opportunities he has gotten from knowing this skill is the chance to socialize and meet new people. He hopes that his music is able to bring a bit of pleasure to the people he performs for.

His favourite traditional songs to play are those that tell stories. He says that these songs teach us what life was like in the past, what was important, and connect us to our roots. Songs like Tickle Cove Pond give us a window into what was important in the past, and what skills were used.

Heritage Foundation NL · Ernie Pynn On Tickle Cove Pond

This is who we are, right? And when you think about a song like Tickle Cove Pond, I mean, most people are in cutting wood now with pick-ups and snowmobiles and...which is great. But every now and then you hear of someone going in with a horse and slide, right? And I don't know how familiar you are with Tickle Cove Pond but I mean, it's a song about someone cutting wood and goes through the ice with his horse and so on, right? But I mean, that's the way people lived. That's what you did. And if you didn't do that, you had a cold winter, right? I mean, that's life. Songs, music should be about stuff.

He enjoys sharing these songs and the love of traditional music with his grandson, who has been learning from his grandfather since he was 2 years old. He believes that sharing traditional music with children from a young age will help them to appreciate at it, and help them keep their culture alive. He says that the music is in them, they just need help bringing it out.










____________________________________________________________________________

Do you live on the Baccalieu Trail and practice a traditional skill or know someone who does? Fill out our survey!

A Beautiful Boat is a Cranky Boat: Wooden Boats and Snowshoes with Edwin Bishop #MakerMonday

For #MakerMonday we'll be profiling some of the people practicing traditional skills on the Baccalieu Trail.
____________________________________________________________________________

Edwin Bishop of Heart's Delight-Islington learned how to build wooden boats from watching his father. Boat building skills were passed down through generations, and he has been building wooden boats since he was a teenager. He estimates he has built around 36 boats to date. Last year, he launched what he swore would be his last boat but he is already building another one for his granddaughter. As he says, "Sometimes I think I'm just crazy about boats."

Boats built by Edwin Bishop. Photo courtesy of Edwin Bishop.

The hardest part about building boats, Edwin says, is choosing the design. Each boat serves a different purpose, so depending on what you want to use your boat for will influence which design you choose. Edwin loves to build boats that can accommodate sails. He and his wife have taken many sailing trips in boats Edwin has built. Listen to Edwin's advice on what makes a good boat below!

Heritage Foundation NL · Edwin Bishop On What Makes A Good Boat

I think what makes a good boat is the design. The shape of it and the design is what makes a good boat for me, right? I got a phrase that I use from my father that you probably heard before, too, "A beautiful boat is a cranky boat." Now, most people don't to have anything to do with a cranky boat because they figure they're not safe and so on, but for me, and I learned from my father, if you're going to build a boat make sure she can wear a set of sails, and make sure she's a little bit cranky because she'll be better as a sailboat. You know, the curves and the lines...I build all kinds of boats, but a round bottom boat for me is a real boat. The round bottom, a nice sheer curve on top, and when you look at her on the water she's round, and she's curved, and she's pretty. 

Edwin credits the Wooden Boat Museum of Newfoundland and Labrador for working tirelessly to preserve and pass on boat building knowledge, including his own. He said he has learned a lot from them, and is glad of the work they do bringing education about wooden boats to the younger generation.

He also makes traditional wooden snowshoes, steaming and bending the wood by hand and tying intricate knots. He began learning this skill because he needed to repair the snowshoes he owned. Once he got started, he found it was something he enjoyed. He does say that it is a complicated process, especially tying the knots. He recalls the first pair of snowshoes he made and how he woke up his wife and his visiting sister with his celebratory shouts when he successfully figured out how to tie the knots after working on them until the wee hours of the morning.

Moose hide snowshoes by Edwin Bishop. Photo courtesy of Edwin Bishop.

Edwin describes knowing how to build boats and make snowshoes as almost a spiritual experience. He says when he when he sees stuff coming out from his hands, it is like being given a gift, one that he is lucky to have. He also appreciates the way that these skills connect him, and also his grandchildren, to people who were living almost 100 years ago. He says being able to do the same thing that his father, and his grandfather did, is very important to him, and he hopes that others will continue to do the work to celebrate these skills and help future generations connect with them like he has.
____________________________________________________________________________

Do you live on the Baccalieu Trail and practice a traditional skill or know someone who does? Fill out our survey!

Cape Broyle Cleanup Project at the Immaculate Conception Cemetery

Last Friday, Andrea O'Brien and I were in Cape Broyle, talking to the Conservation Corps Green Team (pictured above) about their cleanup project for the Immaculate Conception Cemetery Municipal Heritage Site.

I gave a presentation with some basic tips on cemetery conservation work (I call it my "don't be at it" workshop) and Andrea talked about the history of the cemetery itself.

Immaculate Conception Cemetery has historic value as a physical record of Cape Broyle’s history, the cemetery markers serving as both historic records and artifacts on the landscape. It is the first known cemetery in the community, with the earliest headstones dating from the mid 1800s. Cape Broyle did not see year round settlement until the late 1700s, when seasonal fishermen and their families from Ireland’s southeastern counties settled there, including the Alyward, Grant, Kelly, O’Brien, Walsh and Whelan families. Irish immigration continued into the early decades of the 1800s, with the arrival of the Cashin, Coady, Dalton, Furlong, Hartery, Kent and Lahey families. For over a century, this cemetery was used by Cape Broyle and the neighbouring communities of Admiral’s Cove and Brigus South, providing a partial genealogical record for the three outports.

Residents buried there are noted figures in the community’s oral history and folklore. Among them are family members of Michael P. Cashin, who was Prime Minister of the Dominion of Newfoundland in 1919. Men who served in both World Wars from the Royal Newfoundland Regiment, Royal Navy, Merchant Navy and Forestry Unit are buried here, along with men who lost their lives working on the sea. Sailor John Yetman of St. Mary’s Bay, who was shot in Cape Broyle Harbour by the captain of an American Banker, is buried here and the well-known story of his death is often recounted in the community. 

After the presentations, we did a walk-through with the summer students, who have started work carefully clearing out brush from one corner of the cemetery. If you are in the area, drop by to see their progress!

One of the more mysterious grave sites is that Reverend Patrick Burke from Tipperary, Ireland. Fr. Burke was an assistant at Holy Trinity Parish in Ferryland and died there on April 27, 1849. His is the only box tomb in the cemetery, as well as the only monument with Latin script. Legend has it that upon hearing of Fr. Burke’s death his distraught family arranged transportation to Newfoundland. Under the cover of darkness, they removed the cleric’s body and brought it back to Ireland.

Other resources:

• Cemetery Do and Do Not Google presentation here
• Cape Broyle Roman Catholic Cemetery tombstone inscription records (from 1990, may not be up to date)

Living Heritage Podcast Ep180: Youth Initiatives with Rev. Anthony Nwoko

Reverend Anthony Nwoko of St. Patrick’s Parish in Carbonear  joins us to talk about his experience moving to Newfoundland, his work with the parish, and his recent youth initiatives. Reverend Anthony moved to Carbonear four years ago as part of a mission with the Roman Catholic Diocese of Grand Falls. He is a priest with the Society of Divine Vocations, a religious congregation founded in Italy in 1920 that works to foster vocations in the priesthood and religious life. Currently, there are six priests from Nigeria working in Newfoundland as part of this mission.

This episode is part of a special series about the Baccalieu Trail region of Newfoundland and Labrador. Join us as we explore the hidden gems of the Baccalieu Trail- from stories of phantom ship sightings to local art and history.

###

Living Heritage 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.