Friday, January 13, 2023

Living Heritage Podcast Ep222 Mentor-Apprentice Program: Bark Tanning with Susan Furneaux and Nicole Travers

Bark tanned seal skin. Photo submitted by Susan Furneaux.

In this episode we talk with mentor Susan, and apprentice Nicole who are two participants of Heritage NL’s Mentor-Apprentice Program. Susan is a craft educator who has been working with and extracting local tannin sources for over 30 years in her natural dye practise. Susan began practising her skill in leather tanning in 2011, and has been traditionally bark tanning and producing viable leather for over five years. Nicole is an avid bead artist and has recently expanded her artistic interest into the craft of tanning. She has been tanning fish skins for over a year, creating fish leather items beaded with traditional Mi'kmaw double curve motifs, petroglyphs and hieroglyphs. Nicole prides herself on teaching others traditional skills and wants to aid in the revival of bark tanning skins.

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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.


Monday, January 9, 2023

Yarns and Yarns - a virtual knitting and storytelling circle around the North

 


Join us for the first Yarns and Yarns event - we’ll be live from St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada with the regular weekly knitting group at the St. John’s Public Library! Make yourself a cup of tea, tune in, and knit along as we hook up with friends and colleagues and have a virtual chat with Siun Carden about her woolly experiences from Shetland!  All knitters, story lovers, and textile enthusiasts are welcome. 

This is being organised by Heritage NL on behalf of the UArctic Northern and Arctic Island Studies Network linking island communities across the north. There will be others based in other northern islands in the coming months!

When: Jan 24, 2023 02:00 PM Newfoundland and Labrador (UTC/GMT -3.30)

Register in advance for this webinar:

https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_tCzmqrt0TSKwRN37ah2QXA

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.


Friday, January 6, 2023

Living Heritage Podcast Ep221 The Story of Marguerite Lindsay

Miss Marguerite Lindsay, 1918.
Photo courtesy of Lucy Anglin and the Genealogy Ensemble blog.

In this episode we talk with Lucy Anglin and Katie Crane who connected over research into Marguerite Lindsay. Marguerite was Lucy’s great aunt and her story caught Katie’s eye when she was researching for another project. We discuss their connection, their research, and tips on how to conduct research in online archives and genealogical websites.

Lucy is involved with a group that writes genealogy stories and contribute to the blog Genealogy Ensemble. She has written six stories about Marguerite's life and would like to make them into a small book with the pictures she has of Marguerite. Read a blog piece written by Lucy about Marguerite here!

The image below comes from the January 1924 issue of the Among the Deep Sea Fishers journal. Katie sent along several files relating to Marguerite and there are several results about Marguerite on Memorial University's Digital Archives Initiative. If you are intersted in learning more about Marguerite's story check out these results on the DAI

Among the Deep Sea Fishers, vol. 21, issue 4, pg. 146. January 1924.


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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.






Monday, December 12, 2022

Old Blackhead Methodist Cemetery Database Available

Heritage NL compiled a database of all occupants of the Blackhead Methodist Cemetery and is available below. 

A database of the individuals buried in the cemetery was created using a 1998 headstone survey completed by the Newfoundland and Labrador Genealogical Society and historical death records from the Newfoundland government. The database includes biographical information (first and last name, place of birth, date of death, age at death, etc.) and information about the headstones, if applicable (marker type and material, inscription, size, etc.). The database includes over 1000 entries.


Headstones at Blackhead Cemetery


Cemetery database here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1sh5u34yMCXDIhcIdCqIEf17OVqpwHh8paugXXjMxMHQ/edit?usp=sharing


Any errors or omissions can be submitted to info@heritagenl.ca

Friday, December 9, 2022

From Designation to Destruction - A Timeline of the fight to save the Bryn Mawr (Baird Cottage) Property, St. John’s




August 1993 - Steinhauer family applies to Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador for designation of Bryn Mawr as a Registered Heritage Structure

September 1993 - Bryn Mawr designated as a Registered Heritage Structure by Heritage NL

April 2016 - St. John's looking at heritage status for Bryn Mawr (CBC); Demolition permit application submitted for Bryn Mawr in St. John's (CBC); Rally to save Bryn Mawr heritage home in St. John's (CBC); Bryn Mawr Threatened by Demolition (Trident); NL Historic Trust Bryn Mawr Rally (Flickr)

May 2016 - Bryn Mawr owner will sue if city grants heritage status, son says (CBC); St. John's city council passes motion to give Bryn Mawr heritage status (CBC)

June 2016 - Designated a Heritage Building by the City of St. John’s

July 2016 - Controversial heritage property Bryn Mawr sold for $2 million (CBC)

January 2017 - Lawsuits totalling $8.7M against St. John's from former Baird Cottage owner, developer (CBC)

June 2017 - Bryn Mawr placed on the National Trust for Canada’s 2017 Top 10 Endangered Places List; Bryn Mawr Named to Canada's 10 Most Endangered List (Trident)

November 2019 - Heritage Property Baird Cottage at Heart of $8.7-Million Court Challenge (VOCM)

August 2020 - Proposed personal care home buildings would cushion Bryn Mawr heritage home in St. John's (Saltwire)

September 2020 - Personal care home near historic Bryn Mawr proceeds (Saltwire)

October 2021 - Supreme Court dismisses developer's lawsuit against City of St. John's over heritage designation (CBC); Historic St. John's property's potential not damaged by heritage bylaw, Newfoundland court rules (Saltwire); Capital City Reacts to Historic Structures Court Decision (VOCM)

February 2022 - Preserving NL’s Built Heritage is Key to Its Future (Independent)

November 2022 - Prolonged Legal Battle Leaves Heritage Property in Disrepair (VOCM)

9 December 2022 - Bryn Mawr Cottage in St. John's destroyed by fire (Saltwire); Mired in disputes about its fate, historic St. John's cottage destroyed by fire (CBC); Heritage building destroyed by overnight fire (NTV)

Wednesday, December 7, 2022

Adam's Cove Methodist School: A Social History

Introduction

The Adam’s Cove Methodist School Hall is a two-storey wooden community building in a vernacular Palladian style built in 1910 in Adam’s Cove, NL. It was designated as a Registered Heritage Structure by the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador in 2018 due to its historic, aesthetic and cultural value. The designation includes the school hall and its interior. It is located in the town of Adam’s Cove which amalgamated with the surrounding communities to create what is now Small Point-Broad Cove-Blackhead-Adam’s Cove.

Adam’s Cove School. Image courtesy of Heritage NL.

Construction and Building Description

The Adam’s Cove Methodist School Hall is a well-preserved example of a building type once found in several communities. It was designed by John Ayre in a vernacular Palladian style and built under foreman William Brennan. Palladianism is exemplified here by the hall’s symmetry, gabled roofs which resemble pediments, and Palladian window arrangements. Similar structures were built in Adam’s Cove, Blackhead, and Winterton. While many outport buildings served multiple purposes, this particular design is unique to the region. It is built atop an early concrete foundation with a relatively low-slope roof and is therefore representative of a transition period in local building practice.

Historical Context

This school in Adam’s Cove was built by and operated for its community. Fundraising and construction was organized by a local committee in collaboration with the Methodist church. Lumber was harvested on community-wide outings and funds came largely from canvassing residents. The completed hall was never owned by the Methodist Board of Education or the provincial Department of Education but was rented from the local committee. The school hall was operated this way for more than 100 years and in that time was a venue for school classes, Sunday school and prayer meetings, harvest festivals, auctions, garden parties, holiday concerts, and many other community events. It was used as a two-room school with classes held downstairs (and for a while upstairs) and events hosted upstairs, each room heated by their own potbelly stove.

Photo of children hanging in Adam’s Cove School, image courtesy of Heritage NL.

Recent History

Over the years since the school closed in 1967 it has managed to stay in relatively good condition and has been used as a community hub, maintained by a volunteer committee that is dedicated to preserving the history of the school and its importance to the community. Some of the events that are still hosted at the school hall are the Thanksgiving Harvest Festival, Christmas gatherings, and community meetings.

October 2022 Harvest Festival Display at the Adam’s Cove School. Image courtesy of Robert Hudson.

There have been few changes made to the building. The exterior changes have been the replacement of the wooden clapboard in the 1980s, asphalt shingles installed on the roof, the wooden window frames restored, the cornerstone being fixed, and the steps being repaired. The interior changes include the removal of a partition on the first floor, the covering of the pressed tin ceiling on the second floor, and new coats of paint. The original pressed tin can still be seen on the walls and a portion of the second floor ceiling.

(Left) Second floor with pressed tin walls, (right) second floor pressed tin ceiling. Images courtesy of Heritage NL.

Local Stories/Memories

The Adam’s Cove school hall committee in collaboration with Heritage NL hosted a Mug Up event on November 10th, 2022 to gather folks from the community to share memories and stories about the Adam’s Cove school. 27 people attended to share their appreciation for the school, which made the event a great success.

November 2022 Mug Up. Image courtesy of Heritage NL.

Some fond memories were told of both the school and the community as a whole:

-Drinking cocoa-malt, playing ball in the yard in front of the school

-Competitions to build the biggest fire and Halloween pranks

-Enjoying the concerts and dances hosted at the hall

-Burning milk on the stove in the school

-Lighting the fire with hard coal to heat the school, riding in the back of a truck going to boil-up picnics, and putting sods down chimneys as a prank on Halloween

-Riding a bike around the field behind the school

-Remembering Christmas dances, garden parties, and the harvest festivals

-Running around and playing soccer in the field behind the school

-Bean suppers hosted for fundraising by the Ladies Auxiliary

Conclusion

The long term plans for the Adam’s Cove Methodist School Hall according to the committee are to preserve the heritage of Adam’s Cove, use the space to host traditional community events such as harvest festivals and concerts, organize recreational and educational activities for the community, and more.

Sources:

Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador property file “Adam’s Cove – Adam’s Cove Methodist School Hall – FPT NL-3577.”

Personal Communication, November 2022 Mug Up.

Tuesday, December 6, 2022

New Fieldnote on the Fowler House in Brigus

Check out Heritage NL's new fieldnote on the Fowler House in Brigus written by Megan Webb below! Learn more about the history of the house through architectural changes, information about the people who lived there, and more in "Fowler House: A Historic Home in Brigus." 

Image of Fowler House taken. Photo courtesy of Heritage NL, 2017.

Fieldnote is available here. 

Thursday, December 1, 2022

New Fieldnote on the Methodist (United) Church in Jackson's Cove

Check out Heritage NL's new fieldnote on the Methodist Church in Jackson's Cove written by Dennis Knight below! Learn more about the early history of Jackson's Cove and the local Methodist church's construction in "A Handmade Church in the Arms of Green Bay: Jackson's Cove United (Methodist) Church, Green Bay, Newfoundland."



Methodist (United) Church in Jackson's Cove, Green Bay

Fieldnote is available here. 

Monday, November 28, 2022

The Formation of a Masonic Lodge in Twillingate: 1889 Meeting Minutes

This small book of meeting minutes circa 1889 is about the formation of a Masonic Lodge in Twillingate. It was given to Heritage NL to be documented. Included are the names of founding members, mention of scripture and prayer, appointment of roles to individuals, and monetary donations to fundraise for the building of the lodge. 


Take a look at the document on Memorial University’s Digital Archives Initiative by clicking the following link: https://collections.mun.ca/digital/collection/ich_cn/id/1163/rec/1