Friday, September 23, 2022

Living Heritage Podcast Ep218 Mentor-Apprentice Program: Boatbuilding with Jerome Canning and Chris Hogan

Photo Caption: Jerome Canning and Chris Hogan in Chris' workspace. Photo by Heritage NL.

In this episode we talk with mentor Jerome, and apprentice Chris who are two participants of Heritage NL’s Mentor-Apprentice Program. With over 40 years of experience, mentor Jerome Canning is a master boat builder. A well known craftsman across the island, Canning has completed over 100 wooden boats during his career. Apprentice Chris Hogan is an experienced carpenter and woodworker with a long-held desire to explore the unique craft of wooden boatbuilding.

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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.

Tuesday, August 23, 2022

Pouch Cove Clifton Lodge SUF #46 Adaptive Reuse Report: Looking Back and Possible Futures

Check out what we did in Pouch Cove when we were working with the community in planning for the restoration and adaptive reuse of the Pouch Cove Society of United Fishermen’s (SUF) #46 Clifton Lodge! 

Image: Clifton Lodge building from the Northeast side.

We have been working with the Pouch Cove Heritage Society and the community of Pouch Cove to come up with adaptive reuse ideas for the old SUF Hall, Clifton Lodge, that would be a benefit to the community. Most recently, we created and published a report - “Pouch Cove Clifton Lodge SUF #46 Adaptive Reuse Report: Looking Back and Possible Futures.” This was created following a public meeting with Heritage NL, the Pouch Cove Heritage Society, and the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts & Recreation. 


During this meeting we encouraged members of the community to identify their memories of the SUF Hall, what is missing in the community, and what they would like to see become of the building. The report details the results of the meeting, an accumulation of historical research on the Pouch Cove SUF Hall #46 Clifton Lodge, memories and stories from the meeting attendees, and concludes with suggestions and examples for the future possibilities of reuse based on the values of the community. 


To read the report and learn more about the project click this link:

Monday, August 22, 2022

Mosquito School House and Blundon House Receive New Historic Plaques

On Friday, Heritage NL visited two of our registered heritage structures on the Baccalieu Trail, Mosquito School House in Bristol's Hope and Blundon House in Bay de Verde.

Blundon House in Bay de Verde
Mosquito School House in Bristol's Hope

Built-in 1896, Blundon House is the last remaining merchant house in Bay de Verde and one of only a few on the lower North Shore of Conception Bay. Originally owned by local merchant John Blundon, the house's exterior accents, ornate detailing, and separate servants' quarters set it apart from other houses in the community through its upper-class owners. His son James later inherited the house.


Community of Bay de Verde

Blundon house was donated by Dorothy Blundon, the widow of James Blundon, to the Town of Bay de Verde in 1996, 100 years after it was constructed. It is now preserved and used as the Bay de Verde Heritage House, where it is open to visitors in the summer. Blundon House was designated a Registered Heritage Structure by the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador in 1997.


New Blundon House Plaque

Mosquito School House in Bristol's Hope also received a new plaque. This one-room schoolhouse was built around 1823 and was used as a school for over 100 years. Originally built by the Colonial and Continental Church Society, the schoolhouse was located next to the local Methodist church (later United), which was later demolished.


Mosquito School House exterior


Mosquito School House Interior

The exterior of Mosquito School House has recently been restored, and the interior is representative of a traditional Newfoundland one-room school house. Mosquito School House was designated a Registered Heritage Structure by Heritage NL in 1988.


New Mosquito School House Plaque

Thursday, August 18, 2022

Drake House Receives New Historic Plaque

Earlier this month Drake House in Arnold's Cove received a new historic plaque presented by past Heritage NL chair Dave Lough. 


Drake House in Arnold's Cove

While Drake House has been located in Arnold’s Cove for over 50 years and serves an invaluable function as a community museum, it was originally built in the 1890s in the now resettled community of Haystack. Haystack was part of the government-sponsored resettlement program implemented in Newfoundland and Labrador between 1954 and 1975 that resulted in the resettlement of almost 260 communities and the relocation of over 27 thousand people. Drake House, through its history and its current role as a museum, preserves the heritage of our province and teaches us about this important part of our history. The house is also a good example of late 19th century outport architecture built using local, traditional materials.


Frank Drake outside Drake House circa 1941


In 1969, Frank Drake reluctantly had Drake House towed to Arnold’s Cove to its current location, ending permanent settlement at Haystack. The Drake House was designated a Registered Heritage Structure by Heritage NL in 2003 due to its social and aesthetic significance. 

Drake House in Haystack

The new plaque reads: This house was built in the Placentia Bay community of Haystack by brothers
George and John Drake. George's son, Frank, became Haystack's last resident following resettlement in the 1950s. He stayed until 1969 when the house was moved to its present site. The house continues to tell the story of resettlement as a community museum.

Drake House plaque



You can learn more about Drake House here.

Friday, August 12, 2022

Traditional Games scheduled for the Change Islands Squidathlon

The Change Islands Squidathlon is scheduled for Sunday, Aug 21, 2022. This annual event includes afternoon events that are reviving games played in the past on the island. This includes Change Islands style ball, piddly, and skittles. For more information check out the Squidathlon of Change Islands Facebook Page

Change Islands style Ball (1:30pm) : A popular island game played more regularly in the past with local aspects such as no second base and no foul balls with the ball pictured below.

Change Islands style ball

Change Islands style bat and ball

Piddly (3pm) : Piddly, also known as Tiddly in some communities, will be back.

Skittles (3:45pm) : Peter Porter, Olde Shoppe Museum, as a young boy recalls seeing Skittles being played behind the SUF Hall. Rules in the old country vary however and we plan to reintroduce a version by a local replicating nine skittle pins similar to the one on display in the museum. As the ball aka cheese we have officially adopted the use of turnips.

Skittle pin from the Olde Shoppe Museum.
Recreated skittles pins, and a turnip for ball or cheese.

If you are interested in learning more about Piddly (also known as Tiddly) you can check out this short video from the 2017 Carbonear World Cup of Tiddly:



If you want to learn more about children's games in Newfoundland and Labrador check out the Provincial Historic Commemorations Designation page all about Traditional Games of Newfoundland and Labrador. You can read through two commemorations research papers, and read the booklet Looking Back: Games We Played. 

Monday, August 1, 2022

Heart and Hand Loyal Orange Lodge Receives New Historic Plaque

Heritage NL presented a new historic plaques on Sunday to the Heart and Hand Loyal Orange Lodge in Green's Harbour as part of the communities Come Home Year opening celebrations.

Heart and Hand Loyal Orange Lodge in Green's Harbour 

Heritage NL chair Dr. Lisa Daly unveiled the Heart and Hand LOL plaque following the completion of recent restorations on the Loyal Orange Lodge. 

Dr. Lisa Daly speaks at Green's Harbour Ceremony

Partially funded by a Restoration Grant by Heritage NL, work was completed to preserve the structures roof, windows, and exterior walls. More information about the Heart and Hand Lodge is in our most recent Heritage Update here.

Heart and Hand prior to restorations in 2013

The Hand and Heart LOL #9 was originally constructed between 1895 to 1898 in Green’s Harbour by local members of the Loyal Orange Lodge as a site for their organizations meetings and for community events. Throughout the years the building has also been used as a polling station during provincial and federal elections, for writing public exams, and as a judicial courtroom. The Heart and Hand LOL was designated a Registered Heritage Structure by Heritage NL in 1995 due to its social and aesthetic significance. 
Heart and Hand Lodge with new plaque

More information is available about the Heart and Hand Lodge here.

Tuesday, July 26, 2022

Burgess Property Plaque Unveiling and Open House

On Sunday, July 17th, Heritage NL presented several historic plaques to the Burgess Property in Whiteway, which was followed by an open house of the property.

Several Burgess Property Outbuildings

The Burgess Property was designated a Registered Heritage Structure by Heritage NL in 2020 due to its historic and aesthetic value, and for its connection to the Burgess family, who were the first permanent settlers in Whiteway (then Witless Bay, Trinity Bay). Following the recent restoration of the Burgess Property structures, Heritage NL was proud to present them with a historic plaque.

Burgess Root Cellar with historic tools

The new plaque reads: “Burgess Property is a collection of structures built and operated by the Burgess family over six generations. The arrangement of the property’s component buildings speaks to settlement patterns in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, while the structures themselves are good examples of the diversity of residential and working buildings of the period.

Charles (1818-1898) and Sarah (1828-1894) Burgess arrived in Whiteway (then Witless Bay, Trinity Bay) from Carbonear with their three children in 1862. By 1871 the Burgess family comprised eight of the community’s twelve inhabitants. Though early Burgess men were recorded as fishermen, the family was active in several lines of business including sail-making, sawing lumber, boat-building, and barrel-making. Naomi Burgess (1850-1934), daughter-in-law to Charles and Sarah, was a midwife who practiced from the property.

Historical barrel-making artifacts
were on display at the open house.

The Burgess buildings are located between Jimmy Rowe’s Pond and Trinity Bay, the former a source of fresh water and ice and the latter a source of income. The cluster of related buildings speaks to the diverse functions of outport family premises and the sources of income they often drew on. The structures are largely utilitarian with no decorative trim. The house is differentiated from the outbuildings by the use of clapboard rather than wood shingles. The form of each speaks to its function and evolution over time. The large door of the mill indicates use for loading material while the store addition to the stable has a lower roof slope and different roofing material. The present house was built circa 1902 for Naomi and Henry Charles (1852-1915) Burgess after the previous house was destroyed by fire, though exact dates of construction for the outbuildings are unknown.”

New Burgess Property Plaque

Each building of the Burgess Property is also being presented with an individual plaque include the stable and store (built by 1897), the root cellar (built during late 1800’s), the fishing stage (built circa 1900), the house (built 1902-1903), and the saw mill (built 1916-1919). 

Burgess Stable

The event was opened with a speech by the chair of Heritage NL's board, Dr. Lisa Daly and a ribbon cutting completed by the youngest generation of the Burgess family.

Dr. Lisa Daly 

Numerous members of the Burgess family were present to answer questions and historic artifacts associated with the property and community of Whiteway were on display.

Heritage NL like to extend a special thanks to the Burgess family for allowing the public a chance to explore the outbuildings of the Burgess Property.

Learn more about the Burgess Property here and here.



Thursday, July 21, 2022

Heart’s Content Rendell Forge Opening Hours July 27 – Aug 5, 2022

Rendell Forge

Heart’s Content Rendell Forge Opening Hours July 27 – Aug 5, 2022
Our blacksmith for this summer, Sarah MacAulay, is currently doing training in Ontario and will be opening the forge July 27, just in time for Come Home Out Of It activities in Heart's Content. Please see the following schedule and share with friends!

Sarah MacAulay, Blacksmith Apprentice.

(Note: The Rendell Forge, Main Road, Heart’s Content, has been recently restored by the Heart’s Content Mizzen Heritage Society and Heritage NL with financial assistance from the provincial government’s Come Home Year 2022 funding. It will be closed from July 2-26 for blacksmith training and will be open to the public during the following times. Watch for more openings for later in August.)

July 27, 2-6 pm

July 28, 10-3 pm*

July 29, 10-1pm

July 30, closed

July 31, 2-6 pm (3-4 pm demo basic hooks and points) 

August 1, 9-4 pm (11-1 pm demo one prong fire poker) *

August 2, 11-1 pm (demo basic knife blade)

August 3, 11-1 pm (demo scroll work/decorative spiral work)

August 4, 11-1 pm (demo fire poker)

August 5, 11-1 pm (demo fine work- hair pins)

*The forge will be closed from 1-2 pm for lunch each day

To learn more about the history of the Rendell Forge, and the Rendell family of blacksmiths read our fieldnote about the forge here!

Ian Gillies and Sarah MacAulay. 

Ian Gillies, Blacksmith Mentor.

Friday, July 15, 2022

Headstone Cleaning in Blackhead Cemetery

Yesterday our team headed out to the Roman Catholic Cemetery in Blackhead for a little introduction to headstone cleaning. We were joined by some volunteers from the Blackhead One Room School and Church Building which is just next door to the cemetery. To learn more about the St. Joseph's Chapel and it's heritage designation click here!

First we wet the headstones with water. Here Dale is using a garden sprayer to make sure to cover the whole stone with water before starting. 

Dale spraying a stone with water.

Next we mixed up a mix up a sprayer with 50% water and 50% D2 Biological Solution. D2 is biodegradable and safe to use on a range of surfaces including headstones to remove stains from mould, mildew, algae, lichens, and air pollutants. We also found out yesterday that it works well to remove bird poop as well! Here Lara is spraying a stone with the D2-water mixture. 

Lara spraying a headstone with D2 and water.

Next up we used *soft* bristle brushes (never metal) to make soft circular motions to clean the stone. We are extremely careful with the amount of pressure we place on the stone so we don't move or break the base. Lara is doing a demonstration for the group here.

Lara is carefully brushing the stone.

Here is a photo of the group hard at work!

Group cleaning headstones in the Blackhead cemetery.

Here are some before and after photos from our first headstone cleaning workshop in July 2021. This workshop was led by Robyn Lacy and Ian Petty of Black Cat Cemetery Preservation. You can see how the cleaning has brightened the stone and removed lichen. Over time the D2 will continue to work to brighten the headstone in the sun and deter further growth on the headstone.