Living Heritage Podcast Ep183: Grates Cove Part 2

In this episode, we’re back for Part 2 with Terrance and Courtney Howell from Grates Cove Studios. Terrence and Courtney 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. In this episode, Terrance and Courtney talk about the history of the community and that elusive characteristic that makes Grates Cove such a unique and special place.

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.

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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.

The Death of Mrs. Leah Rendell, Heart's Content, 1913

Yesterday, we posted a story by Ted Rowe about the Rendell Forge and a picture as it was in 2003. Above is a photo I took of the same building.  You can see the roofline has changed, and the siding was replaced with cedar shakes (shingles). The trees have grown up dramatically behind the building.

The other photo that Ted shared was of the Rendell boys at the time of their mother's funeral in 1913. Below is a copy of the article that ran in the Evening Telegram, 1913-09-30:

We will have more on the Rendell Forge in the future! 

There Would Be None Left Around to See: Wriggle Fences with Kevin Andrews #MakerMonday

For #MakerMonday we'll be profiling some of the people practicing traditional skills on the Baccalieu Trail.
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Kevin Andrews of New Perlican learned how to make wriggle fence by helping his uncles and grandfather make their own. Eight years ago, he and his wife Bonnie made one of their own to show their kids how it was done.

I just wanted to show the kids the type of fences that were around the community 40 and 50 years ago because there's none left here now. So I just made an 8 foot section, that's all. Just for them to have a look at it and just see the work that was involved.

He says that there is a fair bit of work involved in constructing a wriggle fence, but that it is worth it to preserve this knowledge for future generations. It is also what he calls a "long time fence." A wriggle fence will last up to 20 years.

Kevin Andrews' wriggle fence. Photo by Dale Jarvis.

Kevin likes that the wriggle fence is cost effective. The wood is harvested locally. He uses spruce or var for the wriggles and rails, but he says whatever wood bends easiest is a good choice. It also only uses four tools, so it does not require a lot of specialized equipment. He says all you need is an axe or power saw for cutting the wriggles, a hammer or wooden mallet for driving in the posts and wooden dowels used to secure the rails in place, an auger or drill for making holes in the rails for the wooden dowels, and a pocket knife for sharpening the wooden dowels so they can be used as nails.

If you're curious on the steps to making a wriggle fence yourself, listen to Kevin describe how he built his own.

Heritage Foundation NL · Kevin Andrews - Wriggle Fence

We took the wriggles and we come out and you need some rails too for to weave the wriggles in around. You need one on top, one in the centre, and one on the bottom. So you take the wriggle and you bend it, and you go in through the centre one from the top and come out through the bottom one, and that applies the wriggle out facing you. Then the next one you put in, you put it in on the opposite side of the centre piece and the three rail fence, and you weave it the opposite way and put it in through the centre and come down and come out through the bottom. So, each one, every second one goes the same way. There's no nails involved because, well, years ago they had no nails, so they used to make wooden dowels and they'd nail the rails onto the fence, drive the wooden dowel in through the rail and into the stake and weave the wriggles in the way I just told you, and you end up with the wriggle fence. But now, in the beginning you got to put the stakes down in the ground first. 6 or 8 feet apart, however wide you want it. And then you start from there after you get the stakes down in the ground. You drive them down through with a wooden mallet. And then you start from there and put your rails on and then after the rails on then come with the wriggle fences which you weave in through. I done 8 feet and it took me 8 hours, so it was roughly an hour a foot for to build the fence.

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

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.

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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

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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.
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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.










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