Make and Break Engines: Running the Past Into the Future

- The Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador -

- recognizes iconic marine engines in 2012 Provincial Folklife Festival - 

There is a sound that was once ubiquitous to the waters in Newfoundland that has sparked the interest of the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador (HFNL). Putt-putt; putt-putt – the sound of Make and Break engines once filled the skies from dawn to dusk as busy fisherman worked to sustain their families and their island.

This summer HFNL wants to restore the interest that Newfoundlanders once had in these rhythmic engines. A series of oral history interviews, to be conducted throughout the island, will lead up to the 2012 Provincial Folklife Festival in Bonavista, which will focus on the iconic marine engines. Events for the festival will be held on Saturday, August 4 in Bonavista, as part of the town’s inaugural Church Street Festival.

Joelle Carey is a public folklore intern with HFNL and a graduate student in Memorial University’s Department of Folklore.

“By working on this project we hope to promote the marine history of the province,” says Carey. “It’s a great opportunity to get people talking about these engines that are such an important part of life in Newfoundland and Labrador.”

The oral history project will take the form of interviews conducted by Carey throughout the summer months. These interviews, along with pictures of the motors found, will then be added to Memorial University’s Digital Archives Initiative. This archive will be accessible to the public online.

The Heritage Foundation has secured the partnership of Parks Canada through association with Ryan Premises National Historic Site in Bonavista.

“Through the many conversations I have had in organizing this event, I am repeatedly inspired by the glazed-eyes that come over people and the small smiles that appear on their faces as they recall their particular fond memories of times spent on or near the water,” says Pat Carroll, with Parks Canada.

“The Ryan Premises National Historic Site of Canada is honoured to be a part of this event,” says Carroll, “and to have a role in the celebration and rejuvenation of one of the resounding traditions of Newfoundland and Labrador, Atlantic Canada and of the whole of Canada.”

The festival events will take place in Bonavista on August 4 and will include a Make and Break flotilla and a parts swap.

HFNL would like to hear from anyone with memories or an interest in Make and Break engines. If you are interested in getting involved by sharing your stories or if you have an engine, please email joelle@heritagefoundation.ca or call, toll free, 1-888-739-1892 ext. 5.

Two online fora for NGO work on the Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage

At the UNESCO NGO meeting this morning in Paris, two online resources were referenced to help NGOs network with each other:

The NGO Forum To the Convention on Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage

and

The Intangible cultural heritage and civil society Facebook page

If you are part of a  heritage organization doing work on ICH, check them out.

Paris Notes: ICH Researchers Forum and UNESCO General Assembly on ICH

I arrived in Paris yesterday, and since then have had a day and a half of interesting meetings and conversations already.

I got here in time Sunday to take in the second half of the Forum of ICH Researchers meeting at la Maison des Cultures du Monde. The first panel session was on community participation in the safeguarding of ICH under the Convention, chaired by Toshiyuki Kono. There were several different papers presented, but the two that interested me particularly were the papers given by Win van Zanten, an ethnomusicologist from the University of Leiden, and Marc Jacobs, the director of the Flemish Interface Centre for Cultural Heritage.

Van Zanten looked at some of the short films on the UNESCO website for Intangible Cultural Heritage (see some of them here). He argued that they were important because they increase the visibility of ICH, but thought that they could do more to document the tradition in relation to community, and that the larger social context could be better documented. He also raised the idea of showing the film back to community, filming their reaction, and include their comments.

Jacobs presented on heritage communities and safeguarding programs, and argued that the critical success factor to safeguarding programs is the presence of a cultural broker, someone who can walk the community through the processes involved in an ICH project. He argued that these mediators are crucial for building bridges, and providing followup that goes beyond pure documentation. It was music to my ears, and a validation of the work we are undertaking with the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador, particularly the project-based training model we are working on, and which we will hopefully be doing more with later this year.

The second panel session was on identifying priority areas for research, facilitated by Harriet Deacon, Hon. Research Fellow at the University of Capetown. I've followed her excellent posts on Twitter @the_archive for a while now, so it was nice to meet her in person. Misako Ohnuki, Deputy Director of the International Research Centre for ICH in Asia and the Pacific Region, who I'd also only ever met online, was first up, talking about documentation as a tool for safeguarding the ICH of communities. Then Deacon and Chiaro Bortolotto talked about their impressive project to document and track current published research on ICH. It was noted that there are gaps in the research, with a large amount of grey literature that has not been documented, and a growing body of practical handbooks, guides and suchlike documents being produced by NGOs which are not part of the academic literature.

The meeting ended with a decision that the Forum should meet again, annually if possible. I'll keep you posted on developments.

This morning was the start of the fourth session of the General Assembly of the States Parties to the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage at UNESCO Headquarters. It was a fascinating day, with some very interesting comments made by a variety of state party representatives.

One of the topics up for debate was whether there should be a ceiling placed on the number of nominations the secretariat can examine each year for the Convention's Lists, which include the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding, and the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. The presentations were insightful and at times passionate. The general consensus was that a ceiling on the number of nominations is necessary because of the time and resources required to properly assess each nomination. But there was also a general sense that the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding not be limited, as it represents traditions under particular threat.

There is also a listing of programmes, projects and activities for the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage considered to best reflect the principles and objectives of the Convention, a list which seems to be somewhat undersubscribed, and it was suggested that due to the small number of listings, a cap not be placed on that list either.

A need for best practices led to many state party representatives talking about the importance of safeguarding ICH, stating that the listing of traditions is less important within their jurisdictions than the active safeguarding of those traditions to ensure they continue at the community level. Many state parties returned to this theme over the course of the day: Austria noted the importance of UNESCO capacity-building initiatives in safeguarding ICH, Cuba talked about the need for ICH training at regional level; Jordan expressed the importance of community-level work in safeguarding ICH; and St Lucia stressed that listing is less important to some regions than the work inventorying and safeguarding. 

All in all, a fascinating day, and a remarkable first look, for me, at how the ICH General Assembly works.

The day ended with a rather remarkable presentation from Mongolia, mixing traditional ethnic costume, high fashion, traditional (and very modern) music, dance, throat singing, gymnastics, contortionism, and hand-balancing. All in a day's work, really.

Sleep, soon, perhaps, with another three days yet to come, and the ICH non-governmental organizations' meeting first thing tomorrow morning!

Two more baskets: a creel and a picnic basket from Carbonear

My obsession with Newfoundland baskets continues... I've got a series of photos sent to me by Frank Parsons of two baskets which he inherited from his father. The first, a creel, or trout basket, was bought in Carbonear in the 1950s, possibly the late 40s. The date of the picnic basket is more uncertain, but it dates to the 1950s at least. A query for Carbonear natives: which shop would have sold these, or items like this?

If you have an idea, email me at ich@heritagefoundation.ca 

Putt-Putt-Putt-Putt: Looking for memories of "Make and Break" Engines

There is a distinct sound that can be heard on the waters around Newfoundland and Labrador, putt-putt, putt-putt; the sounds of an antique “make and break” engine cuts through the air. At one time this sound was ubiquitous to small fishing communities throughout the province, but now the rhythmic chugging of the make and break is to be cherished when heard.

Make and break inboard motors were among the first technological advances to help revolutionize fishing in Newfoundland and Labrador. They allowed fishermen to save their strength for fishing, not wasting it on paddling or hauling sails as they had done before. Most often installed in trap skiffs, the hull was first cut to accommodate water intake and output, which helped cool the engine. The large motor was then bolted to the inside of the boat, usually in a motor house, with the propeller advancing through the stern, driving the vessel forward. These dependable, sturdy, single cylinder, gasoline engines have been called many names, and while make and break is the most common, putt-putt engine, one-liners, or pik-a-puk, are all used to describe the same type of engine.

Do you, or someone you know, have a make and break engine? If so, we would love to hear from you! The Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador is looking for running engines and stories from their owners. If you have an engine or a memory to share, please email joelle@heritagefoundation.ca or call, toll free, 1-888-739-1892 ext. 5.

A 1950s trout basket, bought on Water Street, St. John's.

I couple days ago, I got an email from Leslie (Les) Winsor, of Mount Pearl. He had seen some of my posts about the basket research we were doing, and had a trouting basket to share.

Les's father Francis (Frank) was from Central Street, his father before him from Carbonear. Les didn't have a lot of information on where the basket originated. It was probably bought in the late 1940s or early 1950s at the Sports Shop on Water Street, one of the few places to buy that type of equipment, according to Les.

If you know anything about this type of basket, or have a memory of buying one on Water Street, email me at ich@heritagefoundation.ca

Look to the skies! The Hindenburg over Newfoundland - a research project

Dirigible over Brigus [1935], PANL VA 6-87

From 1936 to 1937, the German dirigible, LZ 129 Hindenburg made 14 flights over Newfoundland. Researchers at Memorial University are trying to recount and record these trips and are looking for first and second hand stories of the Hindenburg flying over Newfoundland and Labrador. Documents show that the Hindenburg was spotted over Brigus, CBS, Corner Brook, Cupids, Fortune, Lamaline, North West River, Pouch Cove, St. Anthony, St. John’s and Stephenville.

If you or someone you know remembers the Hindenburg passing overhead, have heard stories of it, know of other communities where it was spotted, or have pictures, please email historicaviation@gmail.com so that this amazing piece of Newfoundland history can be recorded and saved.

"This video might also be of interest to you," notes archaeologist Lisa Daly. "It's taken near Cape Race on the final flight of the airship."

Hindenburg survivor, German journalist Leonhard Adelt, wrote:

"On the third day we sighted Newfoundland. Binoculars and cameras appeared, and my wife’s delight grew when the white dots along the coast turned out to be icebergs. The captain ordered the ship to fly low and steer toward them. Very slowly we passed over the most beautiful, which looked like a magic marble statue. The sun came out and laid a double rainbow around the airship. The giant iceberg turned into a monument of sparkling brilliance. We glimpsed the foothills, the lighthouse on Cape Race, the limitless forests of the hinterland. Then the coast sprang back and we floated, a gray object in a gray mist, over the invisible sea."

And, if you haven't seen it, check out this original footage from the British Pathe archive. It shows impressive shots of the Hindenburg flying over its landing ground at Lakehurst, New Jersey, and then  footage of the famous crash.  View it on YouTube here.

Media Relations Workshop for Heritage Non-Profits June 2nd.

The Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador is hosting a workshop to help you improve your knowledge of media relations and your ability to get the word out about your organization.

We often depend on the media to disseminate information, promote events and cover our news stories of interest to the public. However, in many non-profits, it is not feasible to have a dedicated resource for public and media relations and this role falls to other people within the organization who may not have media experience.

This workshop will instruct you: how write or improve your media releases, how to pitch stories to the media; and how to improve your ability to work with the media overall. 

When:            June 2, 2012

Where:          1 Springdale St., St. John’s, Boardroom, Heritage Foundation of NL

Time:             10:00 a.m. to Noon

Cost:             $25/$15 for students

About the instructor:

Sandy Woolfrey-Fahey has worked for several local non-profit and corporate organizations including the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador since receiving her Bachelor of Public Relations from Mount Saint Vincent University (BPR ’01). Currently, her main role is as a stay-at-home mom with her three little boys while still doing PR consulting.

Sandy is a creative thinker and approaches communication projects with this mind-set. With regards to media relations, she understands the media’s needs and is eager to share some of the tricks of the trade with you!

Registration:

Space in the workshop is limited, so pre-registration is required. To register, call Joelle at 709-739-1892 ext 5, or email joelle@heritagefoundation.ca.  If paying by cheque, cheques must be made payable to "Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador."

Just in time for Victoria Day Weekend: A Newfoundland trout basket

This year, we've been doing some research on basket making traditions, and yesterday, I got an email from Dan Mercer, who was looking for someone to repair his father's old trout basket.

The basket was purchased from Leckie's LTD here in St John's "in the very early 1970s."

The basket is fairly typical of other designs I've seen, such as this one from Tor's Cove, this one from Flat Bay, and this one from Pouch Cove.

Dan says he's used the basket for many years, and it is now in need of some repair work. If you have any leads on who might be able to do that sort of work, email me at ich@heritagefoundation.ca.

Call for Applications to the Canadian Commission for UNESCO's Youth Action Group

I've just returned from the Annual General Meeting of the Canadian Commission for UNESCO in Ottawa. While there, I made a presentation to the Youth Action Group (YAG) on UNESCO's 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, and on the work we are doing to safeguard ICH in Newfoundland and Labrador.

I was impressed with the passion and the impressive volunteer and work histories of the YAG members I met, and I'm certain that they have a great deal to contribute toward's UNESCO's goals of building a culture of peace, the eradication of poverty, sustainable development and intercultural dialogue through education, the sciences, culture, communication and information.

The Canadian Commission for UNESCO is currently looking for interested young Canadians, between the ages of 15 and 30 years old, to become new members of its Youth Advisory Group.  This year, in order to increase geographic representation of members throughout Canada, the Canadian Commission for UNESCO is specifically looking to recruit in Newfoundland and Labrador. As well, the YAG currently does not have any members interested in the theme of archives. Indeed, members interested in Information and Communication in general are fairly rare at the moment. 

The original deadline of May 15th has been extended to May 25th, so if you are interested, get your application in today.

• More information here
• Download the application here

A story of spoons digs up an old memory of The Grange, Whitbourne

A while back, I posted an article on tablespoons, which prompted this note from Edwina Suley of Carbonear.

My mother worked at The Grange in Whitbourne and was a housekeeper, a cook’s assistant, sometimes the cook and general all 'round maid there. As for the work there, it was a joy she told me, since Fraser Bond was only there for short intervals, otherwise it was just mom and the head housekeeper. When Fraser was at The Grange there was always the round of dinners and entertaining. So she learned much about the etiquette of serving food. As a young wife and then a mother, she brought all of this knowledge to our meagre household.

About the spoons with the bowl shape, I learned from my mother that these were used specifically for cream soups. Soup was always to be spooned away from you. To spoon the last remaining soup from the bowl one very subtley placed the forefinger near the rim close to you and ever so slightly tipped the bowl away from you. Thank you for taking me back to all of the wonderful stories my mother told me....all because of a spoon you have made my day. Thank you.

The Grange was Sir Robert Bond's home in Whitbourne. Image above courtesy of the Centre for Newfoundland Studies Archives (Coll - 237), Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, Newfoundland.  You can read a bit more about the house on the Town of Whitbourne website.

Heritage Foundation Announces 2012 Fisheries Heritage Preservation Grants

The Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador (HFNL), is pleased to announce that applications are now being accepted for the 2012 Fisheries Heritage Preservation Program. This provincial granting program is designed to assist in the preservation of fisheries-related structures throughout Newfoundland and Labrador.

“The Fisheries Heritage Preservation Program has proven to be one of our most popular and successful programs. Indeed, the results of the preservation program are very impressive,” says George Chalker, Executive Director, HFNL.

“Traditional fisheries buildings have defined the look of our coastal communities. Significant inshore fisheries infrastructure throughout the province, including flakes, stages, and fishing premises, are under threat. Much of this remarkable heritage is being lost with each passing year, and much more of it is threatened. Once they vanish, they cannot be replaced,” says Chalker.

The Fisheries Heritage Preservation Program may provide funding to individuals, communities and non-profit groups to restore stages, stores, net lofts and other buildings associated with the Newfoundland and Labrador fishery. Assistance will be provided for the preservation and restoration of heritage features using original materials.

Grants will be available for up to $2000 per property, or up to $10,000 for community-based projects involving multiple structures. Priority will be given to communities which have not received fisheries heritage funding in the past.

The deadline for applications is Thursday, May 31, 2012.

Download guidelines and application forms at www.fisheriesheritage.ca or phone 1-888-739-1892, ext.4.

Job Posting: Summer Student wanted for historic plaque project

The Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador (HFNL) is a non-profit heritage organization dedicated to the conservation of historic structures. HFNL is currently looking for a summer student to work on a research project gathering information about the organization’s historic plaque program. For many years, HFNL has been placing historic plaques on registered heritage structures throughout the province. Many of those are missing, out of date, or in need of repair. The student will be conducting telephone interviews with property owners across the province to identify what buildings have historic plaques and what condition they are in, and compiling a spreadsheet and report on the state of the historic plaque program.

The student should have a background in history or folklore, with an excellent telephone manner, good organizational and computer skills, and an interest in heritage conservation. The position will be based in St. John’s.

Students must meet ALL these criteria:
- Must be a Canadian citizen, permanent resident or refugee under Immigration Refugee Protection Act; and
- Must be planning to attend a post-secondary institution on a full-time basis in the coming academic year; and
- Must have been registered as a full-time student in the previous academic year; and
- Must be between 15 and 30 years old (inclusive); and
- May NOT hold another full-time job (30 hours per week or more) while on the SWASP placement; and
- May NOT be attending classes full-time while on the SWASP placement.

This position is pending approval of funding. If approved, it will cover a 280-hour community service placement (normally over 8 weeks), and the student will:

- Receive a $1400 Tuition Voucher, redeemable at any recognized post-secondary institution upon completion of 280 hours; and
- Receive a $1400 stipend over the course of the placement.

Email your resume and cover letter to:

Mr. Dale Jarvis
Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador
ich@heritagefoundation.ca

Deadline: Wednesday, May 2nd.

The Riddle of the Newfoundland and Labrador Fish Stage

The Newfoundland Historic Trust is holding its Annual General Meeting
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
7:00 pm
Hava Java Upstairs, Water Street

Followed by a presentation by Dr. Gerald Pocius
"The Riddle of the Newfoundland and Labrador Fish Stage"
7:30pm

Dr. Pocius is University Research Professor at Memorial University of Newfoundland, where he has taught since 1977. Among his many accomplishments, he has recently been named a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. By looking at how everyday things are used Dr. Pocius has produced studies both sensitive and rigorous, earning him international standing as a scholar. His publications include A Place to Belong, Textile Traditions of Eastern Newfoundland, and A Field Guide to the Vernacular Architecture of St-Pierre et Miquelon.

All are welcome to attend - Please feel free to circulate

Deborah O'Rielly
Executive Director, Newfoundland Historic Trust
www.historictrust.ca
709.739.7870 Tel. 709.739.5413 Fax

Photo of Pete Porter's Stage, Change Islands, courtesy HFNL

Vintage sepia photos of a lost industrial Newfoundland

The United Church archives has recently scanned about 850 photos from the Max Dawe collection. Max Dawe was a United Church minister who travelled around Newfoundland in a small boat in the 1930s and 1940s.

"He took some great photos," says volunteer Linda White. "Most are identified. Many not."

The photos will eventually be posted on Memorial University's Digital Archives Initiative, but you get a sneak peak here, and can help in the identification process.

If you know anything about either of the two photographs posted here, send me an email at ich@heritagefoundation.ca.

Help unmask these accordion-playing Newfoundland Mummers

These two pictures were snapped by artist/photographer Dominique Hurley at the Mummers Parade, and I'm hoping some of you can help. She is looking for permission to use these images, and needs consent from the mummers themselves.

She writes:

"Do you, by any chance, know who these two accordion-playing mummers are? And if not, do you have a way of getting word out that I need help identifying uncovering their identity? If so, please ask people to contact me via my website at www.DominiqueHurley.com."

In which a folklorist spends his day off researching the history of spoons

Admire if you will, in their fitted red case, these 1912/13 silver Walker & Hall soup spoons. I love them. I appreciate a proper soup spoon, with a deep, rounded bowl. When I'm dining out, and someone serves me soup and then presents me with a tablespoon with which to eat it, I always feel slightly cheated. That happened to me earlier this week, at a higher-end restaurant in St. John's. The soup was lovely. The spoon left me cold.

Most people would just go home and forget about it, but material culture geek that I am, I realized that I had no idea why people insist on tablespoons over soup spoons, or why we even have something called a tablespoon at all. And that I truly needed to know.

So, I spent my holiday Friday drooling over websites like the California Academy of Sciences collection on the history of eating utensils and this silver collector's website on the history of spoons.  I read the Wikipedia articles on soup spoons, tablespoons, dessert spoons, and teaspoons. And I came to the realization that while I love spoons, and although I am a proud owner of all of the above (plus a couple of lovely serrated grapefruit spoons), that I am nowhere near as obsessed as this guy.

To save you the work of reading all of these sites, here it is, cutlery lovers, in a nutshell. 

Before about 1700, people generally brought their own spoons to the table. From about 1700 the place setting became popular, and along with it came new words: "table-spoon," "table-fork," and "table-knife." 

Tea drinking had been introduced to England around 1660. Because tea was rare and expensive, tea cups (and spoons) were small. Around 1710, the East India Company started importing tea from China, and as tea prices declined, the size of teacups and tea-spoons increased.

The 1700s saw the development of all kinds of spoons, including the coffee-spoon, and dessert-spoon (roughly equal to two tea-spoons, or half a table-spoon). By the time of the publication of the first Oxford English Dictionary in the mid 1800s,  the hyphen had been dropped, and "tablespoon" became the common spelling. Presumably the use of "table-forks" fell off the table at some point, so to speak.

By the end of the 19th century, the soup spoon had developed. The tablespoon, which had been used for eating soups and suchlike, was elongated and was thereafter primarily used for serving, rather than eating. In the UK, the dessert-spoon and soup-spoon began to displace the tablespoon as the primary implement for eating from a bowl, at which point the name "tablespoon" took on a secondary meaning as a much larger serving spoon.

At some point in history, the meaning of "tablespoon" diverged, depending on which side of the Atlantic you were on. By the end of the 20th century, in much of English-speaking North America, a tablespoon was the largest type of spoon used for eating from a bowl. In the UK and most Commonwealth countries, a tablespoon was still the type of large spoon usually used for serving. With the spread of American cooking books, and the typical use of tablespoon and teaspoon as a measurement system, the older meaning of tablespoon as an eating spoon is apparently enjoying a revival in the UK.

So why has the use of the soup spoon fallen out of favour in North America? I still don't know. But here, halfway down the page,  is a nice picture of an old teaspoon from a Beothuk site on the Exploits River to keep you busy, while I continue to investigate.

As for the spork? There I dare not go.

Video of Nova Scotia Mi'kmaw basketmaker Rita Smith

This past March, as part of our Rooted In History basketmaking forum, we were lucky enough to have Nova Scotia Mi'kmaw basket maker Della Maguire as a participant, who was in Corner Brook teaching an ash basket workshop along with Margaret Pelletier.

Della's parents, Abe and Rita Smith, shown above, were both noted basket makers (you can read more about them here and here) as well as being champions for Mi'kmaw culture. Della gave us a recording about her mother's basket making that was originally filmed for the children's television program Sesame Street, a recording which was then re-aired following her mother's death in 1996. We have Della's permission to post it here, and hope you enjoy!

Top four YouTube resources for oral history and folklore interviews

Over the past couple weeks, I've been doing a number of workshops introducing people to the art and techniques of doing oral history and folklore interviews. Along the way, I've shown a few YouTube videos to illustrate certain points.  For those of you who haven't been able to take in a workshop, I'm presenting my top four favourites below.

1) Why do Oral History?

The first is from the Minnesota Historical Society. Why is oral history important? What is oral history? How is it different than a simple interview? This is the first of a series of video podcasts prepared by the Society that addresses some of these issues.





2) How do you record an oral history interview?

Prepared by the East Midlands Oral History Archive based at the University of Leicester, I've used this video several times. I like how it presents the material in a "Do and Don't" fashion, which is great for a workshop.

3)  How do you get interesting answers?

In this video, Traditional Arts Indiana shares tips and suggestions for folklorists conducting fieldwork. The video discusses how to get complex answers instead of a yes/no response, an important trick for interviewers to know. I love the work that Traditional Arts Indiana is doing, and like the Minnesota Historical Society, they've produced a series of videos for folklore interviews.

4) What can I do with the information I collect?

This is one of my favourite YouTube videos that show what can be done with oral history material. Beautifully shot and edited, Jewish Care's Pearls of Wisdom campaign aims to highlight the value and importance of older people in today's ageing society. According to its YouTube page, it "challenges people, especially younger people, to alter their perceptions of this elder generation, presenting them as wise, funny and worthy of their attention."

In which a folklorist develops a fondness for vinyl siding.

In the heritage community in Newfoundland and Labrador, the general consensus is as follows: Vinyl Bad; Wood Good. We've seen a lot of fabulous heritage buildings in the province covered up with vinyl, resulting in a loss of heritage character and fine wooden detailing. Vinyl, to some architectural historians anyway, is The Enemy.

For every rule, there is an exception.  Today I opened an email from librarian Beverly Warford to find some pictures of vinyl siding that made me squeal with folkloric excitement. Yes. You read that right.

One of the things I love most about intangible cultural heritage is that it is in a constant state of evolution. Culture is not static; it is ever-changing. People adapt to changing times and materials, constantly. This is as true now as it was in the historical period. As a folklorist, it means there is always something new for me to study.

Over the past few months, followers of the ICH blog will know that we've been working on a project to highlight basket making traditions. In a sense, the culture of basket making in Newfoundland and Labrador is one of innovation. Mi'kmaw basket makers in Newfoundland were influenced by mainland Mi'kmaq, who in turn had been influenced by European settlers, as well as Black Loyalist and freed slave basket makers working out of African traditions. Mill workers in Corner Brook, Grand Falls-Windsor and other towns took English and American style baskets and made them their own, utilizing local materials. Inuit grass basket makers in Labrador were possibly influenced by Moravian craft traditions. The list goes on.

Mill lunch baskets were primarily made of woven wood, quite often birch, but Newfoundlanders, being Newfoundlanders, got creative with the materials they used. Once plastic salt-beef buckets were introduced in the later half of the 20th century, craftsmen started to cut strips of plastic for weaving. Others broke down hockey sticks to get the wood they needed.

And in the community of Pleasantview, near Point Leamington, the late Mr. Herbert Brett started using vinyl siding. His son, Rick, also carried on the tradition for a short time.

Mr. Brett's lunch basket is very similar in style to the wooden lunch baskets made by other Central Newfoundland basket makers like Angus Gunn and Alfred Menchenton, with the same curved wooden handles and hinged wooden lid. But instead of the baskets being fully wooden, Brett cut up different coloured vinyl siding into strips to weave the sides of the baskets, making baskets in a variety of styles: lunch baskets, round baskets, picnic baskets, even Easter baskets. We'll be adding all of these to our basket collection on Memorial University's Digital Archives Initiative. But for now, here are a few samples, with thanks to Bev and the Brett/Stuckless family for sharing! Love it or hate it, you'll never look at vinyl siding the same way again.

Capturing Craft Photo Contest deadline is March 30th. #nlcraft

The Craft Council of Newfoundland and Labrador invites people across the province to participate in a special craft event as part of their 40th Anniversary celebrations. The Capturing Craft Photo Contest is a province-wide event encouraging the public to take a photo of their favourite craft item, local craft shop or a craft they're making themselves and share it with the Craft Council.

Deadline for entries is 4pm, March 30th, 2012.

Says spokesperson Jennifer Barnable, "Craft is everywhere in Newfoundland and Labrador. Every household has it, whether it's the coffee mug you use in the morning, the scarf you wear on a wintry day, the art on your walls, or the mat you put your boots on. We encourage people across the province to share their love of craft with us as we celebrate craft."

Photos with brief descriptive captions can be e-mailed, Facebooked or Tweeted to the Craft Council until March 30th. Four fine craft prizes will be announced on April 2nd. For full contest details and rules are outlined at http://www.craftcouncil.nl.ca/news/capturing-craft-photo-contest/

Take a peek inside a Newfoundland mill worker's lunch basket.

"You would never go into another man's lunch basket."

It was a refrain we've heard more than a few times over the past few weeks from current and retired mill workers from Corner Brook to Grand Falls-Windsor. Lunch baskets were not something you would poke around inside, certainly not without the owner's permission. Doing so wasn't just considered rude; it could lead to blows if you were not careful.

This afternoon we hosted the second of our Tea 'n' Baskets events, with today's workshop taking place at the Mount Peyton Hotel in Grand Falls-Windsor. It was a great success, with lots of baskets, and lots of public sharing of memories and stories.

On this occasion, we were allowed to take a look inside the baskets, and indeed, people were delighted to let us do so. A couple folks went to the trouble of packing a lunch, wrapped up in what were known as "samples" - the ends of paper that men would take home from the mill.  I was even lucky enough to be given a bottle of moose by Mr Dave Peddle.

So have a peek below at what's inside a mill worker's lunch basket. Some are full, some are empty, but they each tell a story. Keep your hands off the moose, though, unless you are looking for a scrap. That's mine.

Meeting Mr. Menchenton, Norris Arm basket maker

One of the interesting parts of the research we've been doing on baskets and basket makers is getting to know more about the real men and women behind the baskets.  Here in Grand Falls-Windsor, we've learned about basket makers like Angus Gunn and Everett Janes, and this week, we met the daughter of Mr. Alfred Menchenton.

Alfred Menchenton was a name we'd come across before, and we even have one of his baskets already documented on Memorial University's Digital Archive Initiative (DAI). He was a jack-of-all trades: a woodsman, a carpenter, a builder of logging camps, model-maker, and a prolific crafter of lunch baskets for workers at the mill in Grand Falls.

In the September/October edition of "The Rounder" for 1981, reporter Glen Fiztpatrick wrote, "Over the past couple of years, Mr. Menchenton has become an expert. He made 250 baskets last year and sold them all and could have sold more if the time was available to make them."

The same reporter had found Mr. Menchenton's baskets in the Grand Falls tourist chalet, and had gone looking for the creator. He tracked him down at his shed in Norris Arm North.

"He was in the process of preparing the long narrow strips of birch and pine which were hung along the walls, in readiness to be made into baskets later this winter," wrote Fitzpatrick. "His equipment included an electric table saw and an electric planer, necessities, he said, to produce the smooth strips used to construct the sides. He assembled the saw himself, building the table in which it was placed, and bought the planer second hand."

Over thirty years later, Mr Menchenton is no longer with us. But his daughter and her husband drove us out to that same shed, and there, untouched, was the scene as the reporter had described it. All his tools were still in place, and pieces cut out, ready to make a new basket. Strips of wood were fixed into a form to provide the curve needed for basket ends and handles.  The table saw he built was still sitting inside the door, and the walls were festooned with tools, jigs, pieces of wood, and the snowshoes he had also apparently been adept at creating. One expected Mr. Menchenton himself to walk in, and pick up his work where he had left off.

Mr. Menchenton won't be about our Tea 'n' Baskets event tomorrow at the Mount Peyton Hotel in Grand Falls-Windsor, where we are inviting owners of baskets to come, show, and tell about their histories. Even though he won't be there, we are hoping some of his baskets will be.

Sun kinks and moose on the tracks! Clayton Tipple remembers Newfoundland train derailments

We went off this morning to interview Mr Clayton Tipple about his lunch basket, and ended up having a great discussion about his life on the Newfoundland railway.  The full interview will be posted on Memorial's Digital Archives Initiative, but for now you can listen to a short clip where Mr Tipple remembers a noteworthy train derailment near Flat Bay, and talks about the various things (like "sun kinks" and moose) which would cause a derailment.






Photo by Nicole Penney.

Cape Breton Mi'kmaw elder Margaret Pelletier on the Spirit of Basket Weaving

"I think with me, there is a spirit within me that makes the basket. I always told my mother that. It's like I can make the basket, I'm just the physical form. You probably feel like that if you are a basket weaver. You are just the physical form that is there, but you have to have that spirit within you that moves your hands and makes the basket, and you're not actually making it yourself. And I think if we had more people that felt like that, I think we'd have so many basket weavers. But I really would like to increase as many basket weavers as we could, because it is really such a fine art, and it is so nice to do."

 - Clip from an interview with Margaret (Margie) Pelletier, a Mi'kmaw elder and basket maker from Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, Canada. Recorded at Grenfell Campus, Memorial University, Corner Brook, Newfoundland, Canada, on 17 March 2012 by Dale Jarvis.

Mr Roy Oke's Baskets, Corner Brook, Newfoundland

A photo of Mr. Roy Oke, retired millwright, Corner Brook, circa 1980s, with his mill lunch basket under his arm, carried the traditional way men would carry their lunch baskets. This was Mr Oke's second basket, which he purchased for $15 from a man from Humbermouth. His previous basket, with a fully woven bottom, had started to wear out, so he bought this second basket, which had a wooden base. More photos below, including folklore co-op student Nicole Penney posing with Mr Oke's daughter, Paula Price.