Downhome January 2019

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DIY Storm

Vol 31 • No 08

$4.99

January 2019

CHIPS & DIPS!

The Year in Weird Talking in Emoji

10 Ways to Slay Winter!

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life is better Published monthly in St. John’s by Downhome Publishing Inc. 43 James Lane, St. John’s, NL, A1E 3H3 Tel: 709-726-5113 • Fax: 709-726-2135 • Toll Free: 1-888-588-6353 E-mail: mail@downhomelife.com Website: www.downhomelife.com Editorial Editor-in-Chief Janice Stuckless Assistant Editor Elizabeth Whitten Special Publications Editor Tobias Romaniuk Art and Production Art Director Vince Marsh Graphic and Web Designer Cory Way Illustrator Mel D’Souza Illustrator Snowden Walters Advertising Sales Senior Account Manager Robert Saunders Account Manager Barbara Young Marketing Director Tiffany Brett Finance and Administration Senior Accountant Karen Critch Junior Accountant Marlena Grant Operations Manager Alicia Brennan Operations Manager, Twillingate Nicole Mehaney

Warehouse Operations Warehouse Operator Josephine Leyte Distribution Sales & Merchandising Joseph Reddy Sr. Customer Service Associate Sharon Muise Inventory Control Clerk Heather Lane Warehouse Associate Anthony Sparrow Retail Operations Retail Floor Manager, Water Street Jackie Rice Retail Floor Manager, Avalon Mall Carol Howell Retail Floor Manager, Twillingate Donna Keefe Retail Sales Associates Crystal Rose, Emma Goodyear, Ciara Hodge, Jonathon Organ, Nicole French, Elizabeth Gleason, Janet Watkins, Melissa Wheeler, Rebecca Ford, Darlene Burton, Natalie Engram, Erin McCarthy

Subscriptions Sr. Administrative Assistant Amanda Ricks Customer Service Associate Drew Ennis Customer Service Associate Keri St. Croix Founding Editor Ron Young Chief Executive Officer / Publisher Grant Young President Todd Goodyear Chief Financial Officer Tina Bromley

To subscribe, renew or change address use the contact information above.

Subscriptions total inc. taxes, postage and handling: for residents in NL $39; AB, BC, MB, NU, NT, QC, SK, YT $40.95; ON $44.07; NB, NS, PE $44.85. US and International mailing price for a 1-year term is $49.00.

Canada Post Canadian Publications Mail Sales Product Agreement #40062919 The advertiser agrees that the publisher shall not be liable for damages arising out of errors in advertisements beyond the amount paid for the space actually occupied by the portion of the advertisement in which the error occurred, whether such error is due to the negligence of the servants or otherwise, and there shall be no liability beyond the amount of such advertisement. The Letters to the Editor section is open to all letter writers providing the letters are in good taste, not libelous, and can be verified as true, correct and written by the person signing the letter. Pen names and anonymous letters will not be published. The publisher reserves the right to edit, revise, classify, or reject any advertisement or letter. © Downhome Publishing Inc. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without permission of the publisher.

We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada.

Printed in Canada Official onboard magazine of

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124 into the woods

Contents

JANUARY 2019

62 The Psychology of Habits Do you want to start your New Year off right? We talk with the experts about how to make healthy habits stick – for the long run. Linda Browne

102 Make Your Own “Storm Chips” Next time you stock up for a storm, bring home the ingredients for these delicious, easy to make, homemade chips and dips.

124 Horses & Slides

102 storm food

www.downhomelife.com

Architect and author Robert Mellin recalls hauling wood by horse in Tilting.

Tobias Romaniuk

132 A Perilous Rescue at Sea A routine sail from Halifax to St. John’s was interrupted by a frantic call from a ship in trouble. John Williamson

January 2019

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Contents

JANUARY 2019

homefront 10 I Dare Say A note from the editor 11 Contributors Meet the people behind the magazine

12 Letters from Our Readers

24

that’s strange!

A reader reunited with her grandfather’s accordion, lamenting the loss of rural NL, and digging into the Regatta boats’ Devon connection

22 Downhome Tours Explore Antarctica with Downhome 24 Stranger Side of 2018 28 Why is That? Why is champagne the drink of celebrations? And why do we sometimes feel like we’re falling as we drift off to sleep? Linda Browne 30 Life’s Funny Foot, Meet Mouth Eileen Cook

32

kool kiddies

31 Say What? A contest that puts words in someone else’s mouth

32 Lil Charmers Winter Wonders 34 Pets of the Month S’now Place Like Home

36 Submission of the Year YOU pick the winner!

42 Blast from the Past Remember…

Step-ins?

4

January 2019

42 step it up

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44 Reviewed Denise Flint interviews Susan M. MacDonald and reviews her latest book, Treason’s Edge.

46 What Odds Paul Warford’s some sick

48 Beat That Lonely Feeling Carla MacInnis Rockwell

58

‘figure’- tively speaking

50 The Mind of a Cod Why being a Newfoundlander and not living there is a hard thing to do Erin Woodrow

features 54 Old Times Revival Author Jenny Higgins brings archival images and stories to light Elizabeth Whitten

58 Trying to Talk Emoji Tobias Romaniuk

76 seize the season

66 Running in the Family Just try and keep pace with the Powers Dennis Flynn 70 Floating a New Hobby Elizabeth Whitten

explore 74 What’s on the Go Exciting events happening in Atlantic Canada

76 Ten Ways Our Readers Slay Winter!

80

80 Bigger and Better Theatre Newfoundland and Labrador turns 40 this year and breaks ground on a new theatre space. Elizabeth Whitten

scripted success www.downhomelife.com

January 2019

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Contents

JANUARY 2019

90

silent solitude

84 High Hopes for the Hill While the provincial government seeks proposals from potential buyers, skiers and staff continue to stand by Marble Mountain. Samantha Martin

90 Travel Diary G. Tod Slone seeks solitude in Round Harbour.

94 Changing of the Guard After three decades, the volunteer committee of the Brigus Blueberry Festival has disbanded, and it did so with a generous spirit. Dennis Flynn

96 Stuff About What does NapolĂŠon Bonaparte, Sixteen Candles and artist Christopher Pratt have in common?

84 lift needed

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122 vintage cool

food and leisure 98 Everyday Gourmet Versatile Fruit Compote Andrea Maunder

112 Whale of a Time Woodworking 114 Down to Earth New Year, New Plans Ross Traverse

reminiscing 122 Flashbacks Classic photos of people and places About the cover This photo of Newfoundland ponies grazing on a hill was submitted by Stan Mac Kenzie.

One time, horses and ponies freely roamed the outports, where they were valued workers. For more, turn to p. 124.

123 This Month in History The first time lights were turned on in NL

Cover Index

The Northern Ranger Ron Young

DIY Storm Chips and Dips! • 102 Make and Break Habits • 62 Perilous Rescue at Sea • 132 Hard Working Horses • 124 The Year in Weird • 24 Talking in Emoji • 58 10 Ways to Slay Winter! • 76

136 Unity in Champney’s West Terra Barrett

138 Boulevard and the Bay 140 Mail Order 146 Real Estate 148 Puzzles 160 Photo Finish

www.downhomelife.com

January 2019

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Imagine finding a cheesie worth $25,000! And other weird news from 2018. (p. 24)

Harry Hibbs CD Giveaway Head over to Downhomecontests.com and enter to win a copy of the CD Off The Floor, Songs From The Harry Hibbs Shows.

Contest is open Jan. 7-18, 2019.

8 January 2019

Are emoji the new hieroglyphics? p. 58

YOU Pick the Winner!

Visit www.downhomelife.com/soty between January 8-18, 2018, and vote for the Submission of the Year (see related story p. 36.)

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Submission Guidelines and Prize Rules

You could WIN $100!

Every reader whose PHOTO, STORY, JOKE or POEM appears next to this yellow “from our readers” stamp in a current issue receives $10 and a chance at being drawn for the monthly prize: $100 for one photo submission and $100 for one written submission. Prizes are awarded in Downhome Dollars certificates, which can be spent like cash in our retail stores and online at shopDownhome.com.*

Submit Today!

Send your photo, story, joke or poem to

Downhome 43 James Lane St. John’s, NL, A1E 3H3 or submit online at:

www.downhomelife.com *Only 1 prize per submitter per month. To receive their prize, submitters must provide with their submission COMPLETE contact information: full name, mailing address, phone number and email address (if you have one). Mailed submissions will only be returned to those who include a self-addressed, stamped envelope. Downhome Inc. reserves the right to publish submissions in future print and/or electronic media campaigns. Downhome Inc. is not responsible for unsolicited material. www.downhomelife.com

January 2019

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i dare say There’s something about winter nights.

Todd Young photo

Have you ever stood outside on a dark winter evening, when the wind is feather light and the snowflakes gently fall? It’s like the snow on the ground and in the air muffles all noise, the world has gone still, time has stopped, and you are the only witness. It gives me such a powerful feeling of calm that sometimes I like to drift into that memory when I need a moment’s peace.

The stars are so much brighter, too, in the winter.

Ever notice that? I think it has something to do with the cold air. Sometimes I’ll stand there in the driveway transfixed, my neck craned back and my eyes gathering all the twinkling starlight in their range. Until I hear a snowblower start up and I’m like, “Right! I was shovelling.” (If I can, I prefer to save the shovelling until after dark, just so I can enjoy the night air.)

Skating on the pond and sliding on the hill, even building a snowman, have a special kind of magic when you’re under a blanket of stars or lit by a silver moon. Laughter travels farther as it slices through the darkness. As a teenager, I recall winter nights during a heavy snowfall, when there wasn’t even a plow out, we would be out walking the empty streets, feeling like we owned the place.

Life is often hectic, and it’s always too short. So on those winter nights, when the universe pauses, I’m going to bask in the quiet and savour the memory.

Thanks for reading,

Janice Stuckless, Editor-in-chief Janice@downhomelife.com

10 January 2019

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Contributors

Meet the people behind the magazine

Carla MacInnis Rockwell

A writer and disability rights advocate, Carla MacInnis Rockwell lives in Williamsburg, New Brunswick, with her two dogs. She got her start as a freelance writer years ago, penning short stories and columns that cover almost any topic, from baking to the issues faced by adults with disabilities.

“The messages that I share are messages that people are appreciating because they see that I’m living that life.

I know what it means to be physically challenged; I know what it means to be isolated; I know what it means to have gone through death – all those things that are relevant in today’s world,” she says.

In this issue (p. 48), Carla writes about the isolation experienced by elders in our communities, sometimes made worse when they hold themselves back. “They don’t want to bother anybody; they don’t want to impose themselves on anybody and reach out for help,” Carla says. “But that’s the very thing they need to be doing, and they need to be doing it without fear that they’re gonna get a no.” www.downhomelife.com

Betty Pryor

Originally from Gander, NL, Betty Pryor left home for work in 1981. She wound up in PEI and these days she calls Miltonvale Park home.

In 2013, Betty embarked on her dream trip to Antarctica (see her photos on p. 23). Getting there meant a plane ride to Chile and another to Argentina, stopping in Buenos Aires and Ushuaia, the southernmost city in the world. From there, it was a boat ride to her final destination, Antarctica.

She saw lots of penguins, she says, but was disappointed to miss out on seeing an emperor penguin because they live far from the area she visited. “We kept looking on ice pans to see if one was a stray that came across,” she says.

Betty’s favourite memory of the trip was a cruise through the Lemaire Channel. “That was very spectacular.

I probably took the most pictures just going through that channel.”

Best of all, the weather was nicer while she was in Antarctia than it was back home, she laughs. While PEI was shut down by snowstorms, she didn’t even have to wear mittens!

January 2019

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Downhome at Custer’s Last Stand

We are avid Downhome fans and have been buying the magazine since its beginning. On our travels across Canada and the USA in recent years we always pick up a few extra copies on the Marine Atlantic ferry and share them with people we meet along the way. Most people, of course, know about Newfoundland and some have visited; however, there are always a few who have no idea where we are from, so we are more than pleased to tell them about our beautiful province and leave a magazine with them.

We had one copy left when we took this photo at the Little Big Horn Battlefield Site in Montana. This was a very interesting place to visit. The photo shows the location of Custer’s Last Stand and the black grave marker is where Custer’s body was found.

Gerald & Ruby Legge Via email

Thanks for spreading the word far and wide about Downhome, and Newfoundland and Labrador. We are now Gerald & Ruby Legge fans!

12 January 2019

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Glad I Took the Ferry!

I am born and raised in Saskatchewan, but the East Coast is where I belong, I think! My husband, mother and I just came back from the most delightful trip to the Maritimes. We flew into Quebec City, then drove through New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and PEI, and then took the ferry to Newfoundland.

On the ferry is where we found this wonderful magazine! Soooo much to read, great articles, photos and puzzles. (I still haven’t found Corky yet, but I’m working on it!) It was so good that when I got back to Saskatchewan I went online and subscribed! It’s the only magazine I subscribe to! And I definitely look forward to getting it in my mailbox every month now!

Janet Borschowa Weyburn, SK

We’re glad you took the ferry, too, Janet! Welcome to the family.

Lamenting the Loss of Rural NL Dear David; I live in Connecticut now, but spent a couple of years in Newfoundland when I was in the Navy. I was at Argentia Navy Base from 19751977. I was there when cod were plentiful! I loved Newfoundland and her wonderful people. How true what you say. It is so sad to see the cultural decline, and especially the fishing industry, by the local folks. I remember seeing cod on drying racks behind just about every house as I drove up Trinity shore all the way to Red Head Cove and down the other side. I have been back since, but it wasn’t the same. I still order hard bread from Newfoundland because I like “fish & brewis.” I have wonderful memories that will stay with me: Bell Island, the www.downhomelife.com

Black Bird song, trout fishing, rabbit hunting, eating moose, camping, cod jigging and, of course, Harry Hibbs!

May God bless the good folks of Newfoundland, and Newfoundland herself – she is truly a gem to be treasured!

Danny Delancy Connecticut, USA

This is in response to a letter by David Boyde of Twillingate, lamenting the loss of our fishing culture and heritage. It was titled “Who Will Fight for Rural Newfoundland,” and was published in the April 2018 issue.

Mystery Tool The “Mystery Tool” [December issue] is a timber scribe commonly used by surveyors, for the most part, to make identification letters and/or numbers on corner posts of surveyed sections in the forest. It’s also used for scribing items on boards or other items of wood. I have used one many times.

John Sinclair Pictou, NS

Thanks for identifying that for us, John.

Correction In December’s story “Living His Best Life,” we incorrectly stated that this was Douglas Elton’s first trip outside NL. Downhome apologizes for the error.

January 2019

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find corky sly conner Hidden somewhere in this issue is Corky Sly Conner.

Can you find him?

Look carefully at all the photographs and in the text of the stories. If you spot Corky, send us your name, address and phone number, along with a note telling us where he’s located. Your name will be entered in a draw and the winner will receive a coupon worth 25 Downhome Dollars redeemable at our store, or through our website.

Send your replies to: Corky Contest

Congratulations to Ellen English of Barss Corner, NS, who found Corky on page 41 of the November issue.

43 James Lane St. John’s, NL, A1E 3H3

mail@downhomelife.com www.downhomelife.com *No Phone Calls Please One entry per person

Deadline for replies is the end of each month.

Reunited with My Grandfather’s Accordion I want to tell you the results of my letter in the October issue of this magazine, wherein I stated I was searching for my grandfather’s accordion. I never met my grandfather; he died while I was still searching for who I was. Being an adopted child is never easy, but when the truth is hard to find and the years pass by, you begin to think you will never get to the bottom of anything.

So within a few days of the appearance of my request in your magazine, I received an email from some kind people in Isle aux Morts, Wilson and Marilyn Green, who said they knew where one of my grandfather’s accordions was. It was a few houses down from them with a gentleman named Tom Kinslow. Apparently my grandfather, Nathan Walters (Cabby 14 January 2019

Walters was his nickname), had given the accordion to Mr. Kinslow many years ago. Well, I sort of froze up.

After searching for so long, the thought of having something that my grandfather – and my grandmother, too – had actually had in their home and touched and played was almost beyond the realm of my comprehension. For those of you who are not adopted, when you find a small piece of your history it is so overwhelming to know that you do exist and you do come from somewhere.

So after a couple of weeks, I finally got up the nerve to contact Mr. Kinslow. He was very kind and, while straining to catch every word he said (I am not yet used to the accent!), it became clear that he loved the accordion and had known my grandfather very well. He did not wish to part with it and I accepted that.

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Later that day, I was down the road at a very small church helping some friends put together a hymn for a special service. It was entitled “Praise God for all His Blessings.” About the middle of the hymn, my cellphone went off and I went to the foyer of the church to take the call. It was Mr. Kinslow. He was asking for my address. I had forgotten that he had said he would send me some photos of the accordion, so I said to him, “Oh, are you going to be able to send me some pictures of it?”

His reply was, “No, my darlin’. I am sending you your grandfather’s accordion.”

I just burst into tears until finally his wife came on the phone and told me, “Stop that right now, my dear.”

Today it has arrived. I have not put it down since I opened the box. After about an hour of playing, I found my fingers on the button keys were getting sore from rubbing against the “hole” that the button sticks out of. It was like a warm voice in my head said, “Don’t press the keys so hard,” so I eased up and, oh my, it was a lot easier and not painful at all. I like to think my grandfather was watching and knew I needed some help, which I truly did!

I have been overwhelmed by the kindness of people I do not know and have never met: the Greens and, particularly, Mr. Kinslow. And the other night I found out that the Greens are actually related to me via my grandmother, Maggie Walters (Dominey).

How cool is that? This is a small piece of the puzzle of who I am, and what a wonderful piece it has turned out to be. Next summer I hope to journey to Isle aux Morts and meet these kind people and see my grandparents’ www.downhomelife.com

Found on Facebook Wayne Osmond Our Granddaughter Hayley Osmond using her Coupon she earned by submitting a photo to the Magazine. She used it at the DH Shop in the Avalon Mall recently towards a new Hoodie.

graves and walk the town where they lived and raised their family...

Thank you to the Downhome for running my request, and I shall indeed “Praise God for all His Blessings.”

Heather Smith Tatamagouche, NS

We love happy endings. Thank you, Heather, for telling us about yours.

Anyone else need help being reunited with a person or thing of significance in your life? Think that maybe our readers could help? Write a letter to the editor at Downhome, 43 James Lane, St. John’s, NL, A1E 3H3, or email editorial@downhomelife.com.

January 2019

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Nursing Pin I graduated from The General Hospital School of Nursing as a Registered Nurse in 1986. About 15 years later I realized that my school pin had broken; that is, the front plate had fallen off and was lost. No one in Newfoundland knows anything about repairing it, and the school closed shortly after I left there. Since the pin has primarily sentimental value (gold-plated metal), it doesn’t make sense to pay a jeweller to create a replica. However, I really miss having a school pin. Would anyone in the Downhome readership know of a pin – possibly from a relative – that would need a new home? I enjoy visiting antique shops when I travel and frequently see nursing pins offered for sale.

Sharon Moores Digby

Here is a photo of the surviving portion of Sharon’s pin, and a drawing of what it looked like originally. The piece that fell off was the figure of “The Lady with the Lamp.” Anyone who can help Sharon is invited to email her at sdigby50@gmail.com or call 407-758-0498.

Regatta Boats Dear Ron and Janice; I thought you would both be interested to read the attached response to me as editor of The Link from Marion, a longstanding member, who now lives in Devon, about the Regatta Boats article in July’s Downhome. … “In the article, it says that the NL boat design was influenced by the English racing boats via H.H. Rendell.

Assuming that H.H. is related to the other Rendells with NL links, the family was from the Coffinswell-Newton Abbot area of Devon. When sailing to NL, ships sometimes called at the Isles of Scilly, which is now the home of the pilot gig racing. In the west country, 16 January 2019

the boats weren’t chasing whales, but the pilots were racing to get the trade of the visiting ships... and the boats had other uses, too, for rescue work, trade and perhaps smuggling. Apparently, the earliest recorded gig dates from 1666, when it rescued the crew of the Royal Oak, which was wrecked on the Bishop’s Rock, according to an article in The Pilot, autumn 2007, no. 291 (online). The same article also refers to Ann Glanville and the Saltash Amazons.

“This leaves the question as to whether or not the whale boats or the pilots’ gigs came first?

“Ann Glanville may have been the Continued page 18 1-888-588-6353

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Newfoundland Ponies came through in the 9th annual ride-a-thon in Toledo, Ontario and helped to raise $6,800 for the Canadian Guide Dogs for the Blind. The money will provide a dog to someone who is visually-impaired, and bring a new puppy into the training program!

Newfoundland Ponies Captain Sweetapple, ridden by Amber Henry, and Pallas Athene, ridden by Korrine Affleck, impressed the many riders they encountered along the trail.

This year’s ride-a-thon saw an amazing 95 riders taking part.

The 19-kilometre trail included a “Sleepy Hollow” trail as a way to celebrate Halloween and add a little fun to the ride. The day ended with a dinner, which gave the riders an opportunity to connect and make new friends.

The Toledo Ride-a-Thon started in 2009 to help St. Joseph Catholic School in Toledo fundraise for a new play structure. What started out as a small ride founded by sisters Kelly Brownson and Lee Ann Gilligan, has grown into an annual community event.

To date, they have donated a total of $33,873 to various local charities.

Participating in fundraisers like the ride-a-thon is an excellent way to create awareness for our wonderful Newfoundland Ponies. Their hard working and easygoing nature shone through and prompted many people to ask questions about the breed. Awareness is like the sun.

When it shines on things, it can transform them.

We encourage anyone with a Newfoundland Pony to get out there and share the story of this amazing breed.

(Top right) The ride-a-thon begins.

(Middle right) Korrine Affleck and NL Pony Pallas.

(Bottom right) Saddling up for a great cause.

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RECENT TWEETS

instigator of women’s gig racing, but on the Teign, women were engaged in rowing races, rather than men, in the 1790s; for as described by Fanny Burney, the men were in NL. However, the women won only pink ribbons, not cash. Elsewhere, I have read that women rowed the ferry boats between Teignmouth and Shaldon, and Teignmouth and Newton Bushell (Newton Abbot), for the same reason…”

Ian Andrews Via email

Bird’s Eye Inc. @birdseyeinc When Nature decides to paint a beautiful picture in your kitchen window.

Ian is the founder and honorary secretary of the Wessex Newfoundland Society and editor of The Link, a quarterly magazine for members. Downhome has a longstanding friendship with The Link that gives the publication permission to reprint articles from Downhome that would be of interest to their members.

In a recent poll on DownhomeLife.com, we asked:

In a game of NL Fear Factor, what would you be best at?

Drinking the juice in a Vienna sausages can 39%

Eating cod britches 19%

None of the above!

26%

Shooting turrs from the bow of a moving speedboat 10%

Paunching a moose 6%

Visit DownhomeLife.com and chime in on our newest poll:

If we reintroduced the NL penny, whose face should be on it?

18 January 2019

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life is better Winter boats in Dunfield Bernice Goudie, St. John’s, NL

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homefront Downhome Tours...

Antarctica

Watching the World Go By

These friends from St. Anthony are on a cruise and having a time as they sail through Antarctica’s Lemaire Channel.

Submitted by Janet Patey, St. Anthony, NL

The Lemaire Channel is situated between Booth Island and the Wilhelm Archipelago. It’s one of Antarctica’s treasured cinematic tourist destinations and bears the nickname the “Kodak Gap.”

22 January 2019

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Antarctic Adventure Betty Pryor of Miltonvale Park, PEI, posed for this photo at Argentina’s Brown Station at Paradise Harbour in Antarctica.

Brown Station is the Argentine Antarctic base that serves as a scientific research station. Established in 1951, it was named after Admiral William Brown, the Irish-born Argentine founder of the country’s navy.

Down South

Another spot Betty Pryor visited on her trip was Port Lockroy, one of the most popular tourist stops in Antarctica.

The British military established Station A here during the Second World War, and it was an active research station until 1962. Decades later it was revived as a museum and the world’s most southerly post office. www.downhomelife.com

January 2019

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homefront

A Clean Getaway

When police were called to a suspected daytime home invasion in Nova Scotia, they found no evidence of a crime. In fact, they likely wouldn’t have gotten any fingerprints from inside even if they tried. It’s because the two women seen by a neighbour entering the house weren’t robbers, they were cleaners. They had mistaken their client’s address and entered and cleaned the wrong house! (The door was unlocked, as the cleaners were told their client’s house would be.) They were done and gone before police arrived.

’Tis Not the Season!

May snow is said to be good for sore eyes. But June snow? That’s can’t be good at all. The calendar said it was summer, but on June 26 (five days before July!) it was very wintry in central and western Newfoundland.

In Gander, 2 cm was recorded on the ground, while snow-covered streets, driveways and patios were also reported west to Corner Brook and southwest to Burgeo.

24 January 2019

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Herd in the Schoolyard Three-in-One

You’ve heard of a turducken? A chicken stuffed inside a duck inside a turkey and cooked as one? This summer, a family fishing for cod off Greenspond caught a cod, which was eating a cod, which was eating a caplin!

A few cattle made their way to school one day in Pouch Cove, NL, after busting through their fence on the farm down the road. Seems they sought greener grass in front of Cape St. Francis Elementary.

The cows were eventually returned home, no harm done, and the school had fun “milking” the whole situation on social media.

If I Were 20 Years Younger…

A 69-year-old man in the Netherlands is willing to give up his pension if the courts will allow him to legally change his age to 49, so he can get better employment, a better home, a better car – and better dates on Tinder.

Want Fries with Your Politics?

Before he was named leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of NL, Ches Crosbie was leading a news story about sweet potato fries.

While he was still campaigning to be leader, a party newsletter was emailed out containing this wedge fries recipe and it got people talking. Apparently, Crosbie likes to whet people’s appetite with more than just political speak.

www.downhomelife.com

Surprise! It’s a Wildfire!

When the kids say a party is “lit,” it usually means it’s a great time, but this gender reveal party in Arizona wasn’t just lit, it was on fire. No really, there was a fire. When the expectant dad shot at a target that was meant to explode in a puff of pink or blue smoke, it also started a grass fire that destroyed 45,000 acres and took two weeks and about 800 firefighters to put out.

Drunk as a… Raccoon?

When officials were called to deal with possibly rabid raccoons in a West Virginia neighbourhood, they found they weren’t dangerous – they were drunk. Apparently they had been feasting on fermented crabapples. The cops put them in the drunk tank to sober up, then released them back into the forest.

January 2019

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Say Cheese!

A cheesy contest left a Glovertown, NL couple with the biggest smile on their faces. Leverna Parsons and her husband Dwight were snacking on a bag of Cheetos at home one night when Dwight pulled out a funnylooking cheezie.

They dubbed it The Running Man and entered it in a Cheetos online contest. It won the weekly prize of $2,000, then the grand prize of $25,000, plus their cheezie is on display in the Cheetos Museum.

No-Fly Squirrel

There is such a thing as a flying squirrel, but this wasn’t one, at least not on this day. A flight from Florida to Cleveland was delayed when a passenger had to be removed from the plane due to her companion. The lady had told the airline she would be flying with an emotional support animal, something the airline would allow. However, when the animal turned out to be a squirrel, the flight team decided that was nuts and returned her and her squirrel to the terminal.

Big Bang Theory

It was the explosion heard round the city on an otherwise quiet Saturday night in St. John’s, NL. The loud boom was determined to be a result of blasting operations at Robin Hood Bay. Low cloud cover amplified the sound.

Tower of Terror

Low-lying sections of a small Greenland village had to be evacuated in July, over concerns that a 10-million-ton iceberg grounded just off the coast could break up and cause a devastating tsunami. Rising about 90 metres above sea level, it towered over homes.

Fortunately, the village was spared and the iceberg began to drift away about a week later.

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Killer Moves on the Dance Floor

An off-duty FBI agent had some s’plainin’ to do after his gun discharged at a dance club in Denver. He was trying to pop some moves and accidentally popped a cap in a bystander’s leg when his gun fell out of its holster during a backflip, hit the floor and discharged. While the victim recovered in hospital, the officer faced the music in court.

Out of This World

When is a doorstop not a doorstop?

When it’s a rock that flew through space and crash landed on Earth in the 1930s, and then was found and used for 30 years to hold a door open in Michigan. The meteorite came with the house when the current owner bought the property in 1988. He decided this year to have it appraised.

Turns out it’s worth $100,000.

Each Their Own Everyone’s Talking Turkey To A Japanese man threw an expensive They’re not natural to Newfoundland, so it’s no wonder tongues got wagging when live turkeys were spotted in the metro St. John’s area close to Thanksgiving. There were three or four photographed on the Clovelly Golf Course, on an east end road and strolling downtown by the Four Sisters brick houses on Temperance Street. At least two of them turned out to be owned by a local resident.

www.downhomelife.com

wedding for friends to witness his marriage to the love of his life: a hologram. The digital dame is perfect for him, he told reporters, because she’ll never cheat on him and never die.

She’s simply better than the real thing.

He’s not the only single who’s virtually fallen in love. The company that makes these holograms has issued 3,700 marriage certificates; none of them are legally binding.

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Expert answers to common life questions.

By Linda Browne

Why is champagne the drink of celebrations?

Like many folks around the globe, you might be planning to ring in the new year by popping the cork on a nice bottle of bubbly. But while champagne has long been associated with good times and making merry, its signature sparkle wasn’t always embraced.

“Initial responses to the natural sparkle in the regional wine [which comes naturally from a combination of the harvesting and cellaring of barrel wine late in the year] was skepticism. Some feared that it was a trick to cover up bad wine,” says Dr. Kolleen M. Guy, associate professor with the Department of History at the University of Texas at San Antonio and author of When Champagne Became French: Wine and the Making of a National Identity.

So how did the bubbly beverage become the unofficial drink of celebrations? For that, we raise our glass to the royal courts of Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries, where champagne “came to have a reputation as part of the debauchery, seduction and intrigue that was part of the life in these courts,” Guy says.

“There are many stories of how aristocrats believed that women were made more beautiful and men more witty after consuming a glass or two of 28

January 2019

champagne,” she adds.

With the onset of the French and American revolutions, royal rule was out and more conservative values were in, leading champagne manufacturers to give the beverage a makeover of sorts, Guy says, by swapping its earlier salacious associations for a more refined image.

“By the Victorian Era, the wine makers had managed to remake the image of champagne to associate with more respectable behaviours like toasting a wedding, toasting the birth of a child, or christening a ship. It kept a reputation for celebration [and] came to be seen as an essential part of family and community rituals,” Guy explains.

Today, thanks to clever marketing and its place in popular culture, champagne has come to represent the good life that many dream of achieving.

“The wine carries a prestige that marks it as special, and people aspire to recreate that cachet in their own lives.”

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Why do we sometimes feel like we’re falling as we drift off to sleep?

You’ve likely experienced this scenario before. After a long day you hit the hay, close your eyes and as your breathing slows and you’re on the verge of drifting off into peaceful slumber… your body starts convulsing and you get the sensation that you’re falling to your death à la Sly Stallone’s friend in Cliffhanger.

While it can be a disconcerting feeling, “hypnic jerks” or “sleep starts,” as they are technically called, are essentially harmless and relatively common. In fact, according to Dr. Judith Davidson, psychologist and scientistclinician in behavioural sleep medicine at Queen’s University and author of Sink Into Sleep, about 70 per cent of people have experienced this phenomenon.

“These body jerks are very brief [75250 milliseconds]. They occur as we are just drifting off to sleep,” in stage one, which is the transitional stage between wake and sleep proper. “They are often associated with an impression of falling, although sometimes people experience pain or tingling, hear banging or see flashes of light,” Davidson says.

There are several theories as to why this phenomenon occurs, one being that it’s a natural reaction of the body and nervous system as it winds down for sleep. Another suggests that as we fall asleep, our brain takes our muscle

relaxation to mean that we’re actually falling and, as a protective mechanism, signals them to tense up.

“The biological mechanisms are not entirely clear. As we fall asleep, our muscles relax. This relaxation process gets overridden by sudden excitation of the brain structures that control movement. There is a sudden flexion or extension of the body or part of the body,” Davidson says. “It is generally benign and seen as one of those interesting phenomena that doesn’t seem to have a ‘reason.’”

Hypnic jerks, Davidson says, are a normal thing to experience and only pose a problem if they happen so frequently or intensely that they regularly interrupt sleep. “[They] appear to be more likely with fatigue, stress, sleep deprivation, vigorous or intense physical work or exercise, and excessive use of stimulants such as caffeine and nicotine,” she adds. “So if you want to lower the likelihood of having one, you would avoid these situations.”

Do you have a burning life question for Linda to investigate?

Turn to page 9 for ways to contact us. www.downhomelife.com

?

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homefront life’s funny

Foot, Meet Mouth I’m 95 years young now, and when I was an even younger office worker there was a clerk in an adjoining office who had the last name of “Pretty.”

A new clerk by the name of “Knott” was hired and when the introduction was made in our office, the boss said, “One is Pretty and one is Knott.” True story.

Eileen Cook Sydney Forks, NS

Do you have any funny or embarrassing true stories?

Share them with us. If your story is selected, you’ll win a prize! See page 9 for details.

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“Check. I swear I didn’t eat the budgie bird.”

– Danette G. Rowsell

Say WHAT? Downhome recently posted this photo (sent in by Alexandra Drover) on our website and Facebook page and asked our members to imagine what the cat might be saying. Danette G. Rowsell’s response made us chuckle the most, so we’re awarding her 20 Downhome Dollars!

Here are the runners-up: “Your mother’s moving in? When did we decide that?” – Wayne-Rosalind Taylor “Drop the tuna and nobody gets hurt!” – Jennifer Sadie Batten “I said, ‘Do NOT wake me until Friday!’” – Paula Romaniuk

Want to get in on the action?

Go to www.downhomelife.com/saywhat

www.downhomelife.com

“Like” us on Facebook www.facebook.com/downhomelife

January 2019

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homefront lil charmers

winter wonders Driving in Style Sisters Lily and Zoey take their GT out for a quick spin.

Samantha Gidge Bridgeport, NL

Winter Ready Jack Frost might nip at his nose, but it won’t keep this little guy from enjoying the outdoors.

Holly Walsh Paradise, NL

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Tub of Fun Four-year-old Mireya discovers the best way to build a snow fort is with a salt beef bucket!

Juanita Young Edmonton, AB

One Step Forward

Snowshoeing is one of this little girl’s favourite winter activities.

Sherrilynn Penney Westport, NL

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January 2019

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homefront pets of the month

True Snow Cat

S’now Place Like Home

Fritz is loving the outdoors this year.

Darlene Joe Conne River, NL

Creature Comforts Even indoors, Mac’s prepared for the cold weather.

Steven Lockyer Lamaline, NL

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Rockin’ & Rollin’

Rudy the golden retriever is having an awesome time in the snow.

Barbara Critch Mississauga, ON

Powdered Pup This is Dayton, snowcovered after attempting, and failing, to climb a four-foot-high snowbank.

Kerri Miller Calgary, AB

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homefront

If the 12 issues of 2018 were a photo album of our readers’ lives, you all had a pretty awesome year, filled with fun and adventures. We really enjoyed going back through them all, recalling the funny, sweet and beautiful photos you shared. The editors picked out the 12 best submissions from all eligible categories. Now we turn the judging over to you.

Browse the Top 12 submissions on the following pages. Then, beginning on January 8 and until January 18, visit our website at www.downhomelife.com/soty and vote for your favourite submission. The one that earns the most votes will be declared Submission of the Year. That submitter wins a free one-year subscription to Downhome and an iPad Mini! The winner will be announced online and in the March 2019 issue.

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Sweethearts on Snowmobile Trudy Driscoll Saint-Augustin, QC

Winter Wanderer Dominique Andrews Labrador City, NL

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We Love Thee, Frozen Land Julian Earle Twillingate, NL

Diving with Downhome Connie Wettlaufer Cambridge, ON

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Sweet Teeth Jane Pear Fort McMurray, AB

A Reel Fisherman Dana Walsh Labrador City, NL

Tossed and Found Wayne Stacey Channel-Port aux Basques, NL

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January 2019

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Colours of Burin Jim Costello Mount Pearl, NL

Wild Walk in the Park Corey Clothier Corner Brook, NL

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Contemplative Cat Tamara Woods West Bay, NL

Moove a Little Closer Mandy Gulliver-Brown St. John’s, NL

Land O’Plenty Pumpkins David Brophy Conception Bay South, NL

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January 2019

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homefront

Remember… Step-ins?

For something rarely seen and hardly talked about in conservative, polite company, women’s underwear have been called by many names: panties, lingerie, bloomers, drawers and step-ins (pronounced sometimes as stip-PEENS). If you thought step-ins was a unique Newfoundland and Labrador term, you’d be wrong. Turns out, what sounds like a colloquial term was actually the proper name for the 1920s fashion evolution called the step-in, for rather than having to haul it over your head like a chemise, you could simply step right into it.

These soft, airy undergarments that snapped at the crotch were ideally suited for the flowy flapper dresses of the day.

We asked our facebook friends what seemingly uniquely NL words they use(d) for clothing, and here are some of their responses: “Back in the old days in Labrador a blouse was called a middy and an apron was called a pinny.”

“Back in my days, the blue flannel underwear were called bloomers.”

Bernice Costello Henderson

Tinlaw Martin

“Cardigan was called a sweater coat.”

“Ladies over coat, I guess, was called a raglan.” Greg Hunt “Mom would knit us some cuffs for the winter!” Edna Doyle 42

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Shirley Brown

“My uncle used to call a pullover vest a slip-on.” Michelle Payne 1-888-588-6353

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“Logans were winter boots.� Nina

“A wool cap is called a tam.�

McLean Rowe

Wallace N Venus Vivian

“Tank tops are singlets in Newfoundland.� Nancy Adams

“Wool cap is also called a stocking cap.� Tara Randell

“Men’s green rubber boots were ‘unemployment boots,’ and when they were worn out and cut off at the ankle – ‘piss pumps.’� Don Hiscock

“Neck warmers are called dickies.�

“We used to call hooded sweatshirts kangaroo jackets, I guess because of the front pouches!� Christine Mary Butler

Kelly Collins

“A pair of mittens years ago were referred to as cuffs; a small blanket tied around a child’s head and tied around to the back was called a cloud; a white inside sleeveless shirt worn next to the body was called a singlet.�

“Trigger mitts.� Sarah Stockley

Sandra Luscombe

“Rubber boots were called gully jumpers.� Mandy Butler

“What you call vamps we call bed socks.� Jeanette Lodge

“Rubber boots were called gaiters.�

“Long underwear were called longjohns, or married men’s underwear.� Patricia Catherine Wall

Diane Sullivan

-JWF -BSHF

XXX MBCSBEPSXFTU DPN www.downhomelife.com

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homefront

reviewed by Denise Flint

Treason’s Edge Susan M. MacDonald Breakwater Books $15.95

Treason’s Edge is the final book in Susan MacDonald’s Tyon Collective trilogy, a science fiction series for young adult readers. The three main characters are teenagers with special powers who are co-opted into a covert galactic organization to fight against a mysterious enemy known as “the Others.” It’s all very exciting.

The world was in big trouble at the end of book two, and the situation appears to be disintegrating rapidly as the events unfold in book three.

This isn’t a story the reader can just pick up. Reading the first two books is a must. As well as the galactic goings on, Riley, Alec and Darius are having problems in their personal lives, something that can’t help having an impact on the way the somewhat screwed-up teenagers act in response to the apocalyptic events going on around them. Sometimes that works out; sometimes, not so much.

There’s so much action packed into the story that it can feel more like an old movie or television serial than a book. (Does anyone else remember Buck Rogers or Flash Gordon?) Every chapter brings a new crisis, and it occasionally seems as if the many characters are just there to move the plot along. But if that is the case, move the plot along they do. And that’s not necessarily a bad thing. This isn’t a character study; it’s a rollicking yarn where people get into trouble and then, you hope, get out of it again.

(And don’t be surprised if more books and more harrowing adventures turn up in the future.)

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Q&A with the Author Denise Flint: What draws you to young adult fiction?

Susan M. MacDonald: Well, I love the audience, the enquiring minds of kids and teens who are open to trying new things because they’re not so set in their ways. I find them a much more open and interesting audience, and they’re at the stage of life where they’re figuring out who they are.

That has so much change and exploration that, as a writer, it frees you up to do so much.

DF: What draws you to science fiction?

SM: I work in the sciences and the

whole idea of science, which is the questioning of why and how something happens, I find fascinating.

[Science fiction] answers the question of how the universe works or how it could potentially work. I find that very liberating as an author because you’re not limited. You can do a lot more of those ‘what ifs.’ What if a bomb fell? What if an asteroid fell?

You can extrapolate in so many ways.

DF: How do your two professions as a medical doctor and a writer complement each other, or is it the exact opposite?

SM: It’s more than just the science.

My field of medicine has a very demanding emotional burden that goes with it, so being a writer gives me the ability to escape from that into a world of fantasy. The decisions that I make writing don’t have serious consequences, but in the work I do on a daily basis they have very serious consequences, and there is a very strong www.downhomelife.com

burden you carry when you work in palliative care. [Writing is] a break; it’s healthy.

DF: Did you set out knowing there would be multiple books or did that just happen?

SM: I had planned the entire arc in my

head, but the first book was written so that it could be a standalone. It’s incredibly difficult to get published these days, regardless of the genre. It is rare for a publishing house to take a chance on someone new, and bless them because the majority of us are not going to be the next Lisa Moore or Stephen King, so they rely on their stable of established authors while taking a chance on someone like me… I was supremely lucky to get a publisher and editor who believed in the series and was willing to take on the second and the third book.

DF: You’re a late bloomer as far as writing is concerned. How did that come about? Why now?

SM: It was something that I always

wanted to do, but I knew it was something that was very difficult to make a living at and I’m never going to be a Giller Prize-winning novelist. The bigger part of me wanted to be in a profession where I helped people, and I saw medicine as the place where I could do that… and I had to wait until my kids were old enough to not clamour for my attention every five minutes. I admire the young writers who have the conviction that they are good enough to do this full-time. I didn’t have that.

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homefront what odds

it’s going around

By Paul Warford

I actually It’s going to be a struggle this month, readers. I’m some sick. The foreign microbes and don’t get sick bacteriums found their way into my nethers and don’t want to leave. I’ve spent the last three that often. they days on the couch. The only solid food I consumed This surprises on Friday was the pulp in my orange juice as I moaned, and called the dog to lay near some people guzzled, my feet and keep them warm. I had to skip a day because of work.

As it turns out, my What Odds was due on I tend to look Friday, which I forgot because I was so busy walsickly. lowing. The world of monthly publication waits for no man, and when I told Janice, “I’m sick!” she just said, “Get it in.”

That’s a joke.

My brother got mono when he was in high school. I still remember the pills he had to take: these great, green, goose egg capsules that looked like they contained Mr. Clean or some sort of liquified neon. He only spoke in whispers for months.

They say mono is the “kissing disease,” but it sure seems like an unbalanced punishment.

I actually don’t get sick that often. This surprises some people because I tend to look sickly. Sure, Friday was rough, but I’ve had a lucky track record, medically speaking. No allergies, no asthma, no croop or whooping cough. Past girlfriends have stated their surprise at my tendency to make it through the winter without so much as a sniffle. Even when I do catch colds, they tend to vacate the premises after a couple of days with minimal symptoms.

While in the process of “getting over” a cold in the past, I’ve often wondered if there really is something to be said for mind over matter: I’ve spent so many years believing I’m not one to get sick that it’s manifested into a reality, whereby I don’t get sick that often. Maybe. Maybe that’s a long shot.

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The common cold is the sort of malady that’s going to spawn all sorts of superstitions. If my hair is wet and I’m going outside, I make sure to cover the noggin, thanks to Nan. Nan knew that wet hair in wet weather meant sickness. “Put a stockin’ cap on or you’ll get a cold!” she’d warn when I was younger. I’d fuss and roll my eyes as she’d hand me one of the dozens she’d knitted and kept on hand. I hated wearing the hats because they weren’t “cool.” Kids can be so dumb.

For example, when I was in high school I went to the Bay Roberts playground with some friends during a downpour. We were old enough that my mother couldn’t really tell us we had to stay inside, though she definitely thought we should.

“You guys are nuts! You’re all going to get colds,” she scolded.

We brushed her wisdom aside with the ease that comes naturally to 16year-olds who know everything. Mom just wouldn’t understand. We had to do it once we got the idea into our heads. The outing made us feel carefree, rebellious, even a little romantic, maybe, rocking on a swing set in the pouring rain. We had a great time, laughing and shoving each other, our T-shirts stuck tight to our torsos… and we all got colds. There’s nothing more damaging to the teenage ego than a mother being able to say, “I told ya so.” If I had that day back again, though, I’d still go on those swings.

Now, food poisoning, that’s another story. Raise your hand if you’ve ever www.downhomelife.com

been through that unforgettably queasy experience. Wow. What a rough couple of days that was. The food poisoning happened in Halifax, where my wife Andie and I lived above our landlords in a small one-and-ahalf bedroom. Turns out it was the nuts. See, I was picking up groceries a few days beforehand and I noticed this three-pack of nuts, the little tins that you lay out for Christmas. In fact, they were in Christmas packaging. They were dirt cheap and I said, “What a deal!” Now, I’ll be honest with you, readers, I may have eaten the majority of the cashew can by myself in one sitting, but even gluttony shouldn’t be answered with this sort of misery.

I was some sick. Thought I was done for.

Weeks later, I was riding a Halifax metro bus, and I noticed a nearby woman had the exact same three-pack of nuts on her lap. I couldn’t very well leave the bus without saying something. “Uh, just to let you know, I bought those nuts and they made me violently ill.” Her reaction suggested she planned to eat them anyway. Perhaps they were a gift.

Well, I’m going to steep some tea.

Y’know, after talking to you guys, I feel better already.

Paul Warford began writing for Downhome to impress his mom and her friends. He writes and performs comedy in Eastern Canada.

Follow him on Twitter @paulwarford January 2019

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homefront guest column

Beat That Feeling

By Carla MacInnis Rockwell

Across the country,

loneliness has reached epidemic proportions. According to many studies in recent years, it’s a bigger risk than smoking or obesity. That doesn’t surprise me at all. In fact, it saddens me to know that people have become so isolated right under our very noses.

Health professionals are becoming more tuned in to subtle signs of trouble, asking specific questions to elicit responses that tend to shine a light on the true nature of what’s going on in the day-to-day world of their patients. This is especially important when treating folks who live on their own without ready access to family or a solid network of friends in the

“The feeling of being isolated is an essentially human feeling. It does not simply signify the fact of being alone. Loneliness is different from solitude. We may choose solitude; we may be alone and happy, because we know that, in other respects, we belong to a family, a community, the universe, and to God. Loneliness is a feeling that we belong to nothing, that we are cut off from everything and everyone, and that we are of no value.” – Jean Vanier

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community. Isolation amongst seniors is pervasive; those of advanced age, into their 80s and early 90s, who are able to physically maintain their home are so intent on proving they can do it that they balk at the very idea of help.

Sadly, family and friends may stop asking. Don’t do that. Keep checking in and pay attention for clues that may indicate there’s a problem with your loved one or your neighbour.

As holidays approach, a season of social gatherings, many people who live alone wonder what they will do.

Well, to start, if you have a particular skill, like sewing, call your local church and offer to make costumes for their Christmas play.

Offer to serve for or at least attend church or service club meals.

Baking is a great way to connect and a tangible way to share of yourself. If you make a fabulous pumpkin pie or mince pie, don’t keep that to yourself. Fire up the oven and bake a few for the next community social gathering. You don’t have to stay long if you don’t want to.

Loneliness is an easy trap to fall into, with self-worth taking a hit as the drive to get out there and participate goes flat. Sometimes it’s a byproduct of illness. Often, people who are unwell physically just don’t have the energy to be out and about. That doesn’t mean they don’t want to be involved or to have human contact. Many conditions and diseases are so fatiguing that they really do suck the life out of the person.

Perhaps you live alone and feel lonely, but you are still physically able to visit with someone on your block who is alone, too, but can’t get out to socialize. If you’re a shut-in more by

choice than by circumstance, you can make a difference in the life of someone who has no choice. Have you ever considered becoming a friendly visitor to the hospitalized person, perhaps reading the newspaper with them?

Even visiting in the cafeteria of a nursing home is a way to connect with those who don’t always have enough “people contact.” The bonus is that it helps break the back of your own selfimposed isolation.

Recently, I had a telephone chat with a grand old gal in her 70s and living alone. She wanted to know what services might be available to connect her to the community. The computer

Loneliness is an easy trap to fall into, with self-worth taking a hit as the drive to get out there and participate goes flat.

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that once kept her connected was broken and she couldn’t afford a replacement. That got me thinking about what steps the business community might be able to take to enhance connection of the elderly, shut-in or medically compromised who struggle to participate in their communities. Maybe businesses could donate their old, but still usable equipment to those on fixed incomes.

That said, virtual friends can’t replace the benefit of live, breathing ones. Just because someone lives alone, it doesn’t mean they have to be lonely.

Carla MacInnis Rockwell is a freelance writer and disability rights advocate living outside Fredericton, NB with her aging Australian silky terrier and a rambunctious Maltese.

She can be reached via email at carmacrockwell@xplornet.ca January 2019

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homefront in your words

The Mind of a Cod Why being a Newfoundlander and not living there is a hard thing to do

By Erin Woodrow Canmore, AB

On a humid, overcast

and foggy Friday night, I threw my line into the ocean. We were situated just offshore from Portugal Cove, NL. It was only a matter of minutes before my jigger hit the ocean floor with what I imagined to be a thud. Soon the courting would begin.

There was nothing overly fancy about this process: a large, weighted, three-pronged barrel tied to a line, thrown into the ocean with not a morsel of bait on the end. Still, the cod would bite, time and time again. So why then, were these baitless, simplistic hooks so appealing to the cod who frequented these shores? I don’t know, but I could identify with those cod all the same.

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I couldn’t always rationalize the draw and deep connection I had to The Rock, but it was something my heart could always so deeply comprehend. Over the years my head and heart have battled since my departure, very much like this act of what we Newfoundlanders call “jigging.” Since leaving there has always been an internal battle flickering inside, an unsettled score that has lingered in my subconscious, gently coaxing me back to our salty shores. Regardless of how far I travelled or how long I stayed away, the friendly shores of Newfoundland always welcomed me back with wide and open arms, the people relentlessly smiled and greeted me warmly, the connections remained deep and hugged tightly to my heart.

During my university years, I was lucky enough to have spent time studying and working abroad. My worldly travels triggered an itch that I needed to scratch, so when I graduated I bid our isolated island adieu to seek out new adventures. With a great job opportunity on the table and a new city and province to explore, I packed my bags and booked a one-way ticket out West, and set out to begin a new chapter of my life. However, I told myself that I’d be back in a few years to make Newfoundland my home once again. The ebbs and flows that life brought would keep rerouting and delaying my plan, but from a distance my love for Newfoundland grew, as did my comprehension of why I struggled with the lure of that threepronged, baitless hook called home.

On the surface, Newfoundland is a massive rock lifted up from the ocean depths with spectacular cliffs, rocky shores and pebbled beaches. Its location in the North Atlantic brings rough waters, high winds, dreadful weather and frequent storms. It is a less than desirable place to live (from this perspective). The island’s weather, isolated structure and rugged exterior thus tells a story of survival of our people, and why the culture that took root and blossomed here is one where we care for our neighbours, openly welcome strangers and are forever

Newfoundland is and has always been a little different… an authentic people and place being true to who we are…

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bonded to each other because of the weight we tie to the meaning of “Newfoundlander.”It took a hardy type – a type similar to our friends in the north – to make this island a home. It also required a community, courage and hope that this land would provide a better life than the one previous.

I was lucky enough to be several generations down the line of my ancestors who chose to settle on the island. It wasn’t long before Newfoundland began to develop an identity distinct from their colonial country, and a sense of pride and honour to call this unique and rugged isle their home. Most of my parents’ generation, and many since, have considered themselves Newfoundlanders first and Canadians second, as we could all recall that many NewfoundJanuary 2019

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landers fought very hard to remain standing on our own two feet as a nation unto itself.

Newfoundland is and has always been a little different – a bit behind the trends of the time. We are not necessarily the ugly duckling or a black sheep, just an authentic people and place being true to who we are with little to no regard for what others have to say.

On the surface, Newfoundland is a massive rock lifted up from the ocean depths with spectacular cliffs, rocky shores and pebbled beaches.

Although there was nothing remotely glamorous about growing up on the island, it suited me just fine. I had every opportunity I could have wished for and considered myself one of those generations that got to have the “better life” that our forefathers had so selflessly worked towards. The lines that divided social classes were blurred in those days, as money amongst most families seemed rare, and crime levels were low as only the 52

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most desperate would dare to steal from their neighbour. Kids played in the woods, families and communities huddled close together to keep each other warm, and spirits remained lifted with hearty laughs – true in both good times and bad. Both the island and its people weren’t without their wounds, but the struggle that has been endured over the years speaks to the fight that is ingrained in us.

There is a silent code amongst Newfoundlanders that only we understand. We find each other under the most unforeseen circumstances, like a magnetic force that binds us together, no matter the nature of the relationship. We exchange inconspicuous nods upon our serendipitous meetings, as if to warmly accept and acknowledge that, although strangers, we recognize each other. It is a culture of connection, of acceptance and warmth, where you are made to feel at home in each other’s presence, no matter the logistical distance from the island.

I will likely, for at least some time, continue to endure the struggle of what it means to be a Newfoundlander and not live there. I am happy enough where I live now that I can set my struggle quietly to the side, yet never forget or fully let go. For many Newfoundlanders, including myself, being from this place is one of life’s greatest gifts. It is a place that’s hard to leave and impossible to forget, and its meaning is tattooed onto our very existence. The draw of Newfoundland is not always so easy to perceive on the surface, similar to the baitless hooks we use to jig for cod. But if you look a little deeper, it becomes clear why I, and many others, keep biting, time and time again.

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before the wind can blow me away, I make it to the safety of Memorial University’s Henrietta Harvey Building, located in the heart of the St. John’s campus. Following the helpful signs, I take a left through a corridor and head downstairs to the Maritime History Archive and into the world of very old documents that provide a window into the past.

I’m here to meet Jenny Higgins for a quick tour of the archives. While I quickly forget the way we came in, she navigates the maze of shelves with ease. This place has been a frequent haunt of hers for several years. As a writer and researcher for the Heritage Website (www.heritage.nl.ca), she wrote about Newfoundland and Labrador’s history, from Resettlement to the Voluntary Aid Detachment to mining and political reform.

Jenny’s also a former journalist, the creator of a mini-documentary series, as well as an accomplished author with two award-winning books and another on the way.

Archival photos are a big part of her storytelling method, she tells me.

“Sometimes it can just be an image that strikes me; I want to tell the story using this image as the window into whatever this story is.” If somewww.downhomelife.com

thing grabs her imagination, she’ll follow it.

Jenny’s journey to becoming a writer has taken a few interesting turns. It was in her third year of studying biochemistry at MUN that she was drawn to writing, she says.

“And I took an English elective, fell in love with it and I did both degrees.

And then I went off and did my grad work in English. And then I went back again and did journalism.” In 2005, she went to work for the CBC. “Journalism taught me to write. It really refined my writing skills, you know. I loved it,” she says. When an opportunity came up to write for the Heritage Website in 2006, she leapt at it. “You can’t say no to that chance to dig into stories for more than a day.”

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Jenny Higgins spends countless hours in the archives, finding gems of history and bringing them to life in books, videos and online articles. want to tell that story,’ you know?

When I went in to the archive, that’s what pulled me in the most, I think.”

That Heritage Website job allowed her to delve into a myriad of topics, as long as it aligned with the school curriculum, which was pretty broad, she says. While it was based out of the Maritime History Archives, Jenny pulled information from wherever she could, including MUN’s Archives and Special Collections, and The Rooms.

One of the projects she championed was a series of mini-documentaries where she’d create short videos featuring archival photos. “Everything came together – my radio training, my archival experience,” she laughs. “I had to be the narrator, the editor, the writer, everything. But I did have tremendous support for all of my ideas from the archive.

But it’s fun, like wild west-kind of storytelling.”

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Heritage Website, under contract. “If they hadn’t invested in me, I would not have my career today as a writer.” Recently, she took on the role of interim director of MUN’s Writing Centre, while still working as a freelance writer.

Of course, there are challenges when it comes to working with archives. There have been times when Jenny has had to reconcile herself to disappointment when she couldn’t track down a file. Or she’ll find a document that’s really interesting but can’t follow up, like a photo without any context. It can also be an issue of just not knowing where to look because materials can be in several different archives, like a tiny town in Ireland she’ll never know about.

“It can be frustrating just because it’s impossible to catalogue all the archives in the world, and often the information is just everywhere, you know?” Jenny says.

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From the Web to the Page Jenny is also a published author and her first book, Perished: The 1914 Newfoundland Sealing Disaster, came out in 2014 and went on to win the Democracy 250 Atlantic Book Award for Historical Writing. It follows the tragedy that befell 77 sealers who died on the ice.

The story behind the sealing tragedy fascinated her, particularly the images in the archives. “I think I just like stories about people finding themselves in dangerous situations; it’s kind of like the frontier, or the ice fields were our frontier.”

The idea came to her while researching an article on sealing, when she realized it could be a series of articles, and then it occurred to her to create a documentary. “And then I’m like, you know what? A book,” she recalls.

Heritage Website articles are typically 1,200 words long in an encyclopedia-style with a few images, and as she researched the seal hunt, “I saw this giant wealth of fantastic documents associated with it that I really couldn’t incorporate into my writing, but a book would let me do that.”

Flipping through Perished is a feast for the eyes. Its pages are filled with pullout materials so readers can get a closer look. “It was the perfect way to tell the story and to bring the archives out that inspired me, put it into the hands of other people,” Jenny says. For example, readers can hold a replica of the sealing ticket those sealers used over a century ago.

Jenny followed the success of that book two years later with Newfoundland in the First World War, which was awarded the Newfoundland and www.downhomelife.com

Labrador Book Award for Non-fiction. What both her books have in common is how she focuses on the people and their stories, not battles or finances. “I can’t follow the money. I find it difficult,” Jenny says.

“I can follow the people. I love telling stories about people. That’s how I understand history.”

At the moment, Jenny is working on her third book. She’s teamed with artist Jennifer Lee Morgan for Agnes Ayre’s ABCs of Amazing Women, named after the Newfoundland botanist, artist and suffragist in the early 20th century. Jenny’s always wanted to write something for kids and her previous books had a lot of death, so this time she aimed for something lighter for a younger audience. “And I thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be great to teach young people about all these women in our history that we just never hear about?’”

It began as a way for her to explore the lives of people who didn’t make it into her previous work, she explains.

“Newfoundland is filled with all these gems and stories.”

While she couldn’t find a suffragette for every letter, she included remarkable women like photographer Elsie Holloway, and women from previous centuries.

Through her articles, videos and books, Jenny’s helping bring NL history and heritage to the forefront, retelling these stories in interesting and accessible ways. “I’m a little bit selfish as a storyteller,” Jenny admits.

“If it interests me, I want to tell that story. And those are the stories you’re gonna tell well because you’re interested in them. So maybe that’s why people find it interesting, because the creator is interested, too.”

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Written communication,

it seems, has come full circle, from the pictographs of the earliest known writings to the emoji of today. As emoji use became popular, there inevitably rose concern that our English language was being lost to this tech trend. The main points of the anti-emoji crowd were largely variations of “those darn kids” mixed with “things are changing and I don’t like it” and not actually based on any concrete evidence. I, myself, wondered are emoji actually anything like the pictographs seen in the hieroglyphs of ancient Egypt? And is there any way that emoji could actually replace written language? I decided to find out.

After musing that language had come full circle, I wanted to test my theory by trying to use only emoji in my text messages. My wife, the wonderful and understanding soul that she is, agreed to play along. All of our text messages would be only in emoji. It would be a good way, I figured, to see what sort of challenges ancient Egyptian writers had when trying to put their thoughts into writing using pictographs. Nevermind that I had a severe misunderstanding of what hieroglyphs were or how they were used. From ignorance comes enlightenment, or something like that.

I realize this may not be the best way to see what Ancient Egyptian writers experienced, and I’m fairly certain “What do you want for supper?” isn’t carved in stone on some pyramid wall, but forget all that for a minute.

Here’s what I learned: communication – speech, text, www.downhomelife.com

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whatever – is about getting across an idea or thought. With writing, words are the medium, not the message. In my case, images were the medium.

I had lots of images to use, I just needed to figure out what I wanted to say. My first text in this experiment – a house, a clock, a happy face – was sent at the end of the work day. It was time to go home. I received a thumbs up reply. So far so good.

And while we were able to successfully communicate, it was a limited communication that largely relied on knowing the other person well enough to guess what they meant.

But what if the reader doesn’t know the writer or the context of what is being written?

That’s the case with Fred Benenson’s emoji translation of Moby Dick.

More accurately, the translation was done by crowdsourced workers, and Fred edited it. The book is published with both emoji and English text, which allows readers to see how the emoji relates to the writing. For the most part, guesses at what the emoji translation might mean are far from what the text actually says.

Why didn’t an emoji-only translation of classic literature work? Well, maybe it’s because English is a language and emoji isn’t. Gretchen McCulloch is a linguist specializing in the language of the Internet. In an essay posted online she says, “Calling emoji language is like calling a whale a fish,” and that while there are similarities, the two aren’t the same thing.

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language, not a replacement.

Hieroglyphs, unlike emoji, are a form of writing used to express a language. They are, in an oversimplified way, a bunch of images that mean something if you know how to read them. The hieroglyph writing system combined images with other characters to convey meaning, much the way we use emoji in text. And that’s about where the similarities end. Hieroglyphs are, in fact, nothing like emoji.

OK, emoji aren’t like hieroglyphs.

Got it. So what are they like?

Well, they’re written expressions of emotion, right? Sort of. Although any real parallels between “emoji” and “emotion” are just another coincidence of the English language. Emoji is a mashup of two Japanese words that translate as “picture” (e) and “character” (moji). Emoji began, like so many cool tech things do, in Japan, where it was used on mobile phones. It was then put on the operating system of Apple and Android phones in 2010, releasing emoji upon the world.

Like the whale and the fish, emoji and written language have a symbiotic relationship. Like hieroglyphs, they can be tricky to interpret without context. And while emoji aren’t the end of language as we know it, their use is the next step in the evolution of written communication. They are neither good nor bad, and while mostly used for fun, they do have a real benefit in their ability to convey emotion and meaning behind the accompanying text.

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life is better Winter fun in Isle aux Morts Karen Simon, Margaree, NL

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Are you a chronic nail biter? Have a smoking habit that just won’t quit? Or perhaps your waistband feels snug after eating, drinking and making a little too merry over the holiday season? Whatever your vice you, along with countless others, likely have plans to leap into 2019 with your best foot forward.

The New Year represents a chance for a fresh start and, for many people, this means an earnest attempt at adopting good habits and bidding adieu to the bad ones. And as well-intentioned as your New Year’s resolutions might be, you may find that year after year, they just don’t stick.

Whether you want to whip yourself into shape, ditch the junk food or lose the booze, making and breaking habits is something many of us struggle with. But with a clear picture of what you want, along with time and effort, you’re well on your way to making positive changes for the long haul.

What’s a Habit?

You may have seen it defined a few different ways, but according to psychology, a habit is an action that’s triggered automatically by something in our environment (called “contextual cues”). Eventually, the action is repeated enough times in response to the cue that it becomes second nature. Think of putting on a seatbelt (action) when you get into a vehicle (contextual cue), or perhaps placing your keys into a bowl (action) when you enter your house (contextual cue) – we don’t have to think about these things, we just do them.

So much of our everyday behaviour is habitual. In fact, according to the Society for Personality and Social Psychology (SPSP), studies show that about 40 per cent of our daily activities are performed in almost the same situations every day.

“Generally as human beings, we know that we function best whenever there is a structure, whenever there is a routine. We know that helps to drive our day-to-day activities, responsibilities, and it’s also healthy as well,” says Dr. Katy Kamkar, clinical psychologist at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto.

“Now there are healthy habits that obviously we want to engage in... as well, we can come into a time in our life, or certain situations and contexts, when we find that we are engaging in what we might call unhealthy habits... Often we see habits as learned behaviours, which is great news, because anything that is learned, we can also work on undoing the learning.” www.downhomelife.com

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Recipe for Success To form a good habit, cues and consistency are key. For example, say you want to get fit. In order to accomplish this goal, you might choose to go for a walk every morning (action) after you eat breakfast (contextual cue). Eventually, after consistent repetition, the act of going for a post-breakfast stroll becomes second nature.

“Choose a cue in the environment that will elicit a specific behaviour.

For example, taking the stairs every day when you arrive to work, meditating for 10 minutes as soon as you arrive home at the end of the day, or writing in a journal right before bed.

The more reliable the cue in the environment, the more likely it is that the habit will form,” says Eamon Colvin, a PhD student in Clinical Psychology at the University of Ottawa.

While many of us might have ambitious goals, Colvin says it’s best to start small and choose something simple and sustainable.

“Since habits are automatic, if you choose an effortful behaviour, it is less likely that a habit will form,” he says.

“For example, imagine that I want to be active each morning before I leave for work. If I decide to run a marathon and bench press 300 lbs every morning, I’ll probably be unsuccessful. If, instead, I do 10 push-ups before my morning shower, I’ll likely have more success. Over time, the push-ups will become automatic and I can add in other activities.”

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In addition to keeping it simple, be specific, Colvin adds. “Saying ‘I want to start a jogging habit’ is not enough. Once again, you will need to decide on a reliable cue in the outside world that will prompt you to do it.”

He says, “Jogging could be broken down into: ‘I want to go for a run around the block each morning before work.’ This is better, but a bit more planning could improve your chances of forming the habit. You would also need to form the habit of ‘putting my running shoes by my bed’ each night, as a reminder.”

When it comes to kicking bad habits, Colvin says, developing skills in mindfulness can go a long way in helping to identify cravings and learning how to deal with them.

“Also, going ‘cold turkey’ rarely works because a growing body of research is showing that willpower is a finite resource,” he says.

“Sometimes, breaking bad habits really means forming a new, good habit. Consider someone who wants to stop eating junk food late at night. While one solution may be learning to substitute the junk food for a better option, another could be forming a new bedtime habit routine which involves going to bed early.”

Paying attention to your behaviour, especially around what stressors lead to the unhealthy habit in question, Dr. Kamkar adds, is also important.

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awareness: location and time, thoughts related to the habit, emotions related to the habit... can be very helpful.”

The 21-Day Myth You may have heard it said that it takes 21 days to form a new habit. So you want to become a runner? Just beat the street for 21 days straight and then you’ll be lacing up your sneakers without having to give it a second thought. If only it were that easy!

While setting aside time to regularly practise whatever it is you want to accomplish is a good thing, you’ll likely need more than 21 days before the desired behaviour becomes routine.

The 21-day rule can be traced back to Dr. Maxwell Maltz, a plastic surgeon in the 1950s who noticed that it took about 21 days for a patient to adjust to their new visage, or for an amputee to adjust to the loss of a limb. Intrigued, Dr. Maltz noticed that it also took himself around 21 days to form a new behaviour. In 1960, he published his findings in a book titled Psycho-Cybernetics, and over time, the 21-day rule became the mantra of self-help gurus everywhere. However, changing behaviour is not that cut and dried.

“It’s important to have realistic expectations. We all know that whenever we want to instill healthy changes, we need patience and time,” says Dr. Kamkar.

When it comes to the process of setting and meeting goals, everyone goes about it their own way. What www.downhomelife.com

might work for one person, might not necessarily work for someone else. Having flexibility is key and, Dr. Kamkar adds, placing undue pressure on ourselves with a specific timeline doesn’t help.

“If it works, great, and if it doesn’t work, then we’ve become hopeless and we lose our motivation. Or we engage in negative self talk or self blame, and we can become demoralized and then it defeats the purpose.”

So how long does it actually take to form a new habit? A study published in the European Journal of Social Psychology by Phillippa Lally (a research psychologist at University College London) and her team found that it took their subjects anywhere from 18 to 254 days (or 66 days on average).

So if your new “thing,” whatever it may be, isn’t exactly sticking after three weeks, don’t sweat it. And if you happen to miss your morning walk one day, or you have that cigarette after you’ve sworn off smoking, don’t be too hard on yourself – just get back on the horse.

“Theoretically, choosing a cue which stands out and can be linked only to the new behaviour, and consistently performing the new action every time the cue is encountered, should be the most efficient way to form a habit,” Lally writes in an email to Downhome.

“But the odd slip up won’t put you back to square one, and it’s important not to give up.”

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By Dennis Flynn

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Donna and Tara at the finish line of the BMW Berlin-Marathon

Only the roar of the crowd

is louder than the pounding of feet on pavement as more than 40,000 runners advance along the course of the 45th annual BMW Berlin-Marathon on September 16, 2018. Among those triumphantly crossing the finish line are two Newfoundland women who stayed the course together so they could finish side by side, each marking a milestone at either end of their running careers. Making it even more memorable, they are mother and daughter.

For mom, 56-year-old Donna Power, finishing this race secured her membership in an elite running club. She is now a Six Star Finisher, meaning she has completed all six of the world’s major marathons: Boston, New York, Chicago, London, Tokyo and Berlin. Daughter Tara, 27, will always remember this as her first marathon race.

I had the chance to chat with Tara, Donna and her husband, Henry, at their Paradise, NL, home before they left for Germany.

Donna tells me that running is something she picked up later in life. “In 2002, a friend of mine wanted some help and companionship to run the Tely 10, so I did that and got addicted to it. I have done the Tely, I think, 16 times now and still enjoy it,� she says. The first marathon she ever ran, in Ottawa, her time was so good she qualified for the Boston Marathon.

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Tara and Donna Power with some of Donna’s awards from previous marathons On the other side of this story is Tara, who never ran much growing up but was inspired by her mom to begin training more seriously a few years ago. She says with a smile, “Berlin will be my first marathon ever. To get the chance to do it with my mother as she finishes her last world major is something pretty special.”

Tara adds, “She has already promised she is going to stay with me every step and not leave me. Who gets that kind of support on any run, let alone their first marathon?”

Donna’s husband, Henry, a triathlete himself, says, “This is a very emotional and meaningful thing for 68

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NL Six Star Finishers* Ian Royle Paul Lahey Rosemarie “Doot” James Yvonne Martin Jeanie Pardy Donna Power *As of September 2018

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our family. Donna is incredibly quiet about her accomplishments, but she is a very positive person and inspires and helps a lot of people in the running community behind the scenes.

For instance, for years she has been organizing the group runs for many, many folks on the weekends – but she does it from my email account because she is so shy, so I end up getting all the credit.

“When Donna started running, she changed all our lives for the better.

She encouraged us to start running as well, for our health, our mental and physical well being, and to join her on the shorter runs. Now we all love it and have made the best of friends and travelled the world through running and attending these events. Myself and Tara, we can’t keep up with Donna, of course, when it comes to marathons, but I always love to go to these races and cheer her on – I joke that I am her personal water boy. And this time around in Berlin I have not one, but the two most important women in my life to cheer for. I can’t say enough how proud I am of them both.”

As Donna looks ahead to the upcoming Berlin race and beyond, she says, “After I am done with the last major marathon I will keep running, for sure. But I may be a bit more selective on the marathons and do them a bit closer to home. Henry has been very supportive, as this was something I really wanted to get done for a long time. So while I will be very happy, I’ll be a bit sad at the same time to have the Six Majors behind me.” However, it’s ending on a high note, as she says, it’s “a nice way to finish it with my daughter as she starts out.” www.downhomelife.com

Major Marathons By the Numbers 15

runners registered for the first Boston Marathon, held in April 1897 (10 finished)

52,000+

runners finished the 2018 TSC New York City Marathon, the world’s largest.

1.7 million estimated number of spectators cheering on runners in the Bank of America Chicago Marathon every year

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Guinness World Records made official at the 2018 Virgin Money London Marathon – including Fastest Marathon on Stilts

2007 first year the combined Tokyo Marathon was held; previously (since 1981), the capital city of Japan hosted two marathons held in alternate years

2:01:39

new record time set at the 2018 BMW BerlinMarathon by Kenyan runner, Eliud Kipchoge January 2019

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Floating a New Hobby

By Elizabeth Whitten

On a cool winter day, Andrew Riggs is getting ready to

head out the door for a walk through the woods near his home in Burin, looking for the perfect trees to harvest. “And you know what? Now that I’m getting ready to go in the woods, it’s going to rain. Now will you believe that?” he jokes.

Now 77 years old, a few years back Andrew decided to start a new hobby: boat building. A steelworker who earned a living in Marystown, he’d never built a boat before his first project. There’s not much overlap in those skills, so going from steel to wood was a big change.

“I just wanted to try ’er, that’s all, just try ’er,” he says, adding, “The hardest work of that is finding the stuff in the woods.” A lot of his time is spent looking for the ideal trees to

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turn into timber. “You’ve got to find a lot of crooked wood,” he says, “You’ve got to do a lot of walking to get crooked wood in the woods.

Spruce and juniper, that’s all I cut, eh.”

The first boat he built was completed in 2015, a 27-foot trap skiff named Our Star after his late granddaughter, Siobhane. All in all, it took him a little over a year, not including all the time spent tracking down the tools and supplies. Pleased with the result

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Andrew (left) and his son Dean, in the boat that Andrew built. of his first attempt, in 2017, he finished his second boat: Delainey Siobhane, a 24-foot punt. He estimates boats like his haven’t been built in Burin in the last 80 years.

When they christened the second boat, Andrew and his family held a big party to celebrate, with 50 to 60 people showing up, he recalls. There was a band playing music, plenty of drinks and food – two turkeys were even cooked for the occasion.

While he’s the boat builder on these projects, Andrew is the skipper of neither. Both boats went to his sons. Our Star went to Bryan, Siobhane’s father, and the second boat was given to his son Dean.

Dean lives in Espanola, Ontario, where he teaches. He towed the boat from Burin to its new home, and he now sails Delainey Siobhane on Lake Huron, where most folks are on the water in fibreglass boats. The Delainey Siobhane draws her share of curious looks. “They never saw a boat like that before, eh?” says Andrew with pride.

Wooden boat building is a dying skill, Andrew knows, and when he looks about now, “there’s not too many at that now, eh.” When Andrew began designing his first boat, he didn’t seek out the advice of other builders and instead went about figuring it out on his own. “I drawed ’er out on my basement floor, right… I just figured it out, drawed it out, and it looked alright,” he says. When it came to assembling both boats, he used only galvanized stainless-steel screws, deciding not to use nails as people would have used in the past.

Andrew is already planning a third boat that he hopes to start work on in the spring. When asked if he intends to finally keep a boat for himself, he dismisses that idea. “No, no, I don’t want ’er, I’m not gonna keep her.”

And this time, he’s going to make an even bigger boat. “That’s going to take me a lot of time to get it out of the woods,” he figures. By Andrew’s recollection, he started boatbuilding when he was 70, “and I’m gonna be 80 when I christen the big one!”

Left: Andrew’s second boat, a 24-foot punt, loaded and ready to travel to her new home in Ontario www.downhomelife.com

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We’re wasting no time preparing for the next

Downhome Calendar, . . . and neither should you!

Submit your best photos of scenery, activities and icons that illustrate the down-home lifestyle. We’re looking for a variety of colourful subjects – outports, heritage animals, laundry lines, historic sites, seascapes, hilltop views and so much more – and photos from all four seasons.

In addition to free calendars and a one-year subscription to Downhome for all those chosen for the calendar, one lucky winner will receive a free trip for four aboard O’Brien’s famous whale and bird boat tours!

Here’s how to submit: Online: www.downhomelife.com/calendar By mail: Downhome Calendar Contest 43 James Lane St. John’s, NL A1E 3H3

Digital photos must be at least 300 dpi, files sizes of about 1MB Must be original photos or high quality copies. We can’t accept photocopies or photos that are blurry, too dark or washed out. Include a self-addressed stamped envelope if you want your photos returned.

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January 1

January 4

St. John’s

Marble Mountain Resort

Start the new year on the right foot – or the left foot – with a run through the streets of St. John’s, to make good on that resolution to be more active.

Resolution Run road race begins at 10 a.m. in Bowring Park.

Sacrificing old ski gear in a bonfire while asking the gods of snow for a bountiful season of powder is a longstanding tradition at ski resorts, and Marble Mountain is no exception.

They’ll have a bonfire lit during the Toques and Goggles party, where they’ll also be playing ski and snowboard videos on the big screen.

January 3-5

St. John’s Now in its 19th year, the Feast of Cohen brings together a wide mix of local musicians to play from the songbook of the late, great Leonard Cohen. The songs have been stylized and interpreted by organizer Vicky Hynes, who will be accompanied on the LSPU Hall stage by the likes of Jill Porter, Lori Cooper, Sean Panting and more. Other performers include The Beautiful Losers, Mick Davis, Rachel Cousins, Quote The Raven, Mark Manning and more.

January 9-12

Corner Brook The Wintertide Music Festival brings four classical chamber music concerts in four days to Corner Brook. Chamber music refers to pieces written for small ensembles – duos, trios and quartets, in this case – originally intended for performance in a chamber, or room, of a palace.

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January 25-26

St. John’s

January 12-13

Happy Valley-Goose Bay Figure skaters of Labrador will put their best skate forward as they compete in the Skate Canada Newfoundland and Labrador Divisionals. The judged event is a precursor to the SCNL provincial skating championships in Gander on Feb. 15-17.

Jump in your time machine and head to the ’70s, destination Disco Town, where Kelly-Ann Evans and Friends sing disco songs accompanied by the Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra, led by conductor Marc David. The NSO East Port Properties Big Band Show: Stayin’ Alive is playing at the Arts and Culture Centre.

Kelly-Ann Evans

January 16 – February 22

Various locations Rising Tide Theatre and the Arts and Culture Centres bring you Revue 2018, a theatrical commentary on the year just past, from a distinctly Newfoundland and Labrador perspective. The annual show began in 1984 with a three-night run and has since grown into a weeks-long, cross-province tour.

For performance dates and tickets, visit www.artsandculturecentre.com.

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January 29

St. John’s Based in Finland, vocal group Rajaton have played around the world. This month, they return to St. John’s to delight audiences with their harmonies for one night only at Holy Heart Theatre. The group, whose name translates to “boundless,” have a multi-genre repertoire, from classical to pop.

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Winter came early this year, much to the delight of die-hard snow fans in Newfoundland and Labrador. In November, a full month earlier than usual, skiers, snowmobilers and snowshoers were heading into the back country and over the hills of the west coast and Labrador with glee.

We know that snow and cold isn’t for everyone, but even those who don’t like being outside in the weather find comforts to enjoy that only winter brings. It’s the season of snuggling under blankets on movie nights, gathering to cheer on our favourite team during Hockey Night in Canada, relaxing and reading in front of a roaring fire, or escaping to a luxurious beachside resort down South.

Recently, we browsed the thousands of submissions on our website, DownhomeLife.com, to see how our readers have been spending their winters over the years. Here are examples of 10 very Newfoundland and Labrador ways that Downhome readers make the most of our winters.

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Have a Boil-Up

Norma Mesher Knight knows the delights of a boil-up in the Labrador woods.

“Nothing better than a good ol’ boil up. Smoked char with fried flummies, washed down with Tetley tea,” she writes.

Sneak off on Snowshoes

Snowshoes require no real training to use, no gas to run, no trails to follow, and they’re so quiet that you can hear the swish of your snowpants and the squeak of the snow. Here, in a photo sent to us by Beulah Drake, are Sandra, Annie and Gina, enjoying a beautiful day snowshoeing on a trail near Harbour Breton. www.downhomelife.com

Try Icefishing

Dressed warmly, icefishing on a frozen pond can be an enjoyable way to spend a beautiful winter’s day – especially if you’re lucky to catch a trout that you can then cook up over a fire at pondside.

Check out Leah’s reaction to catching her first winter fish, sent to us by her grandmother, Helena Burt, of Newstead.

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Take to Your Skates

Many a Newfoundlander and Labradorian had their first skate on a frozen pond or harbour. There is nothing like a skate under the stars or a game of shinny hockey with friends. These NHL wannabes made a rink on a roadside pond in Lamaline (Rosemarie Foote photo).

Build a Snowman

This is classic fun for all ages. Some people get really creative building extensive forts, making sculptures of famous characters and whatnot, but a simple snowman with a carrot nose, button eyes, and your hat and scarf still puts a smile on the neighbourhood. Check out this one Mark Petten made with his family outside their house in Foxtrap.

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Strap on Skis

Cross-country and downhill skiing are two exhilarating ways to get some exercise, while soaking up the sunshine and scenery. There are several cross-country ski clubs and alpine ski hills (also good for snowboarding) in the province. Here’s a photo snapped of Roberta Buchanan’s day on the slopes at Marble Mountain a few winters ago.

Break Out the Slides

The slog up the hill dragging your toboggan is always worth the rush of flying back down. A day can be well spent, and a starlit evening, laughing and shrieking as you zoom down the hills of snow – making the hot chocolate at home afterwards all the sweeter!

“Love this pic of my two kids [Brooklyn, 11, Blake, 3] enjoying a night of sliding over the holidays in Salmon Cove,” writes Christa Kane of Renews.

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Explore by Snowmobile

Due to all the wide open spaces, wooded trails, ponds and hills, and many months of snow and ice, this province is a snowmobiler’s paradise.

Backcountry snowmobiling, in particular, takes you places you might otherwise never see. This is a photo Jaala Wheaton of Carmanville sent to us, taken as they returned from an amazing trip to Blue Mountain on the Northern Peninsula.

Make Your Getaway Cosy Up by the Fire

Let the wind howl and the snow fall – you don’t care if you’re settled by a roaring fire, snug in your home. These are some of the best winter evenings.

Just ask Lucy here, who claimed her spot in front of the woodstove. Photo

by Michelle Williams of Portugal Cove-St. Philips. www.downhomelife.com

OK, so snow is not your thing. But winter is still an exciting time, if you’re one of the thousands who look forward to their annual mid-winter break in the warm and sunny Caribbean! This is Linda Inkpen, catching up on some Downhome reading while hove off in Haiti. On the day this photo was taken, Linda says, her friends and family back home in Burin were being buried under 30 centimetres of snow!

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FOR THE LAST 40 YEARS,

Theatre Newfoundland and Labrador (TNL) has been a vital part of the local arts scene, devoted to putting on excellent productions on the west coast of the island. They’ve brought audiences classics like Romeo and Juliet, and locally written plays like The Known Soldier, about Victoria Cross recipient Tommy Ricketts.

“Our focus is on telling the Newfoundland story, and so it’s about developing works based on our local history and culture and people. And it’s about developing young artists in this region,” says TNL general manager Gaylene Buckle.

TNL is currently embarking on a new production: their own purpose-built theatre complex with modern amenities. Construction is currently underway in Cow Head, with opening planned for this spring. It will have everything they need and almost double their past seating capacity to 178 people. There will be a stage, rehearsal/studio space, a dressing room, box office, as well as storage facility for props and equipment.

Artist’s rendition of the new TNL facility being built in Cow Head.

All images courtesy TNL

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TNL performers have been playing for packed houses since 1979.

Fundraising for the approximate $8.5 million needed for this project is being organized through the Set the Stage Campaign, chaired by former premier Brian Tobin. In addition to support from private and corporate donors, the federal government is supplying $3.7 million and the provincial government is putting forward $500,000.

Talks for a new theatre have been around since 2003, Gaylene says. Up to that point, TNL had been operating one show a night, performing at the Warehouse Theatre, and then at Shallow Bay Motel the next day with the SS Ethie Dinner Theatre. At the time they couldn’t build a new space, so they doubled up their nights to meet demand. Audiences could go to the dinner theatre and then head on over to the Warehouse for another performance. It worked for a while, but in 2010, they started having to turn people away at the door, so they got serious about a new space.

“Right now, our Warehouse Theatre seats 92 and the Shallow Bay Motel’s conference room can seat anywhere from 92 to 97, depending on the show.

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But for the past number of years we’ve been turning away quite a few people, particularly from the conference room shows,” Gaylene says. TNL has been at the Warehouse Theatre since 1997 and will continue to work out of there.

But the new theatre will replace the need for the Shallow Bay Motel’s conference room.

Another pressing reason for the new theatre is because TNL has to rent space for everything from rehearsals to set construction, and space is not always readily available.

They’d often end up storing equipment in basements and on trailers.

Says Gaylene, “We waste an awful lot of time because of the inefficiencies of our spaces.”

DECADES IN THE MAKING A lot of the stories TNL brings to life on stage are based on local history.

And they don’t just stay on the west coast: they tour the province and others parts of the world. In fact, the group was recently on a three-week tour in England and Scotland per1-888-588-6353

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forming Our Frances, a play written

by Berni Stapleton based on the life and letters of Frances Cluett, a First World War nurse.

Our Frances “is just a beautiful show,” Gaylene says. “And that’s the sort of thing we do: we tell our stories to ourselves, then we tell them to the world as well. And it’s all about… keeping our stories alive through stage.”

TNL got its start back in 1979, but its story predates that by a few years.

Maxim Mazumdar, founding artistic director of TNL, had visited the province to adjudicate a theatre festival and fell in love with the west coast. In the summer of ’79, he started the Stephenville Theatre Festival and soon after formed TNL. In 1995, TNL was approached by Ed English, who was then working with the Department of Tourism. He was looking for ways to increase tourism in the Gros Morne area, and around this time dinner theatres were taking off all over the world. “So he asked about the possibility of us creating a dinner theatre,” Gaylene recalls. “Of course, we took up the challenge and created a dinner theatre called the SS Ethie, and performed it in August 1995 in Cow Head for two nights. It pretty much sold out.” It was such a hit that TNL hosts the dinner theatre to this day.

The next year, meetings were held across the Northern Peninsula to guage interest in a professional theatre festival. Feedback was positive, so in 1996, they held the first Gros Morne Theatre Festival in Cow Head.

Today, TNL is a vital part of the arts scene on the west coast and even has an active youth theatre program for kids ages six through 18. It’s helping develop young people’s artistic www.downhomelife.com

skills, and often their kids go on to study theatre and come back to work with TNL. So not only is TNL developing stories, they’re also developing the artists who tell those stories, Gaylene explains.

Behind the curtain is a dedicated team, with five people on staff plus, during the year, they can have 50 people on contract, ranging from actors, directors, designers and stage managers, to technicians for lights and sound, as well as extra staff.

A scene from Our Frances, which recently toured the UK “TNL has really become an important platform, not only for the stories that we tell and the history that we’re able to preserve through our plays, but [also for] the artists,” Gaylene says. “There’s an awful lot of artists in Newfoundland and Labrador and in Canada… who get to continue to work professionally in the arts due to what we do.”

To learn more about this project or to donate to the cause, visit www.setthestagetnl.ca.

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Marble Mountain

has been a topic of much discussion on the island, especially amongst those on the west coast who hold this ski resort, located in Steady Brook on the Long Range Mountains, as an essential piece of their lifestyle puzzles. Last June, the provincial government, which has operated the resort since 1988, issued a Request for Proposals to divest its ownership of Marble Mountain.

As the largest alpine ski resort in Atlantic Canada, with an average 16 feet of natural snow each year, this little slice of winter heaven is one of the island’s best-kept secrets. For most of the province’s population, however, this ski mecca’s location is a difficult one to access to even begin to enjoy all it currently has to offer.

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Of its many hurdles, Marble Mountain costs an arm and a leg to travel to, whether by car or plane from across the island, or by plane or boat from other parts of the country, even from just a neighbouring province.

Of its many hurdles, Marble Mountain costs an arm and a leg to travel to, whether by car or plane from across the island, or by plane or boat from other parts of the country, even from just a neighbouring province.

In addition, with less than 20,000 people in the closest city, and that being an aging population, with no other larger population pool less than a seven-hour drive away, Marble just doesn’t have enough people to draw from. Canada’s other ski resorts don’t have this problem.

David Sturge, who first skied Marble when he was 11 and visiting from Labrador, and has worked at the resort as ski patrol and as a ski instructor for the past 16 years on and off, says that when you look at any of the old blueprints for Marble Mountain, it was intended to be a full resort and it got scaled back.

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be huge for the hill. “From a user’s point of view, we’re all hungry to see growth,” David says. “But the charm of Marble right now is no lift lines; it is everyone sitting back and knowing each other.”

David has been to many ski hills and resorts across the country and can see the potential that lies just down the road from where he lives in Pasadena. “Marble is a great hill,” he says. “Although conditions and winters can be unpredictable weatherwise, the friendship and sense of community is always consistent.”

He says the answer to Marble’s future success is not simple.

“Although Newfoundland does not have a strong ski culture, it does have a consistent membership of locals and tourists. The answer lies in diversifying the activities, I believe – maybe things like mountain biking, fat biking, sliding, restaurants, bars, events, concerts.”

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island so much. “At the end of the day, Marble is amazing. The hill is amazing. The atmosphere is amazing. The lodge is amazing,” he says, with obvious adoration. “There’s lots of stuff that can be done. But if you want to do that stuff, you need money.”

Richard Wells, a Corner Brook native, is the sales and marketing manager at Marble Mountain and brings with him a degree in ski resort

potential here, and truthfully, that’s why I moved back.” He says that if the 54,000-square-foot lodge, with its post and beam construction and cathedral ceilings, were located on a Rocky Mountain peak, it would be the top ski lodge in the country. And that is just one of the draws.

“We’re trying to get more than just skiers and snowboarders here,” he adds, noting that there are few resorts in the world that make money

If the 54,000-square-foot lodge, with its post and beam construction and cathedral ceilings, were located on a Rocky Mountain peak, it would be the top ski lodge in the country.

Alli Johnson photo

operations and management. Having visited more than 20 Western Canadian ski resorts during his schooling, and having worked at Marble Mountain in every aspect from janitorial to events to building to ski patrol, Richard sees huge business potential at the resort.

“When people get here, I think it’s the culture that leaves smiles on their faces,” he says, adding that the struggle is getting the people to the mountain in the first place. “I see the www.downhomelife.com

off chairlifts alone. With 253 acres of explorable terrain, 40 runs, two terrain parks, and a world-class lodge, the setup at Marble is ideal for development and growth, he says.

“We want to get to the point where we’re no longer taking a handout from the government,” says Richard, adding that he believes over the year they’ll be taking the steps to get there. He would like to see other businesses, like Marble Zip, rent space from the resort for things like a January 2019

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Mark says a canteen mid-mountain or at the top of the lift would be a great draw for people, and boast an exceptional view.

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swimming pool or a splash pad or a driving range or another attractive, crowd-pleasing activity.

Local skier Karen Ryan feels the same way. “I always throw it out there that we are incredibly fortunate to have that resource on our doorsteps, no matter if you’re a skier, snowmobiler, or someone looking for a beautiful venue,” says the Corner Brook resident. “It’s got such great potential to be a recreation hub here on the west coast – summer, winter and shoulder seasons. And wouldn’t it be awesome if it were a small business incubator to generate other streams of revenue? With a little creativity, finding spaces for startups in food, beverage and brewing could be a win-win for everyone.”

Born and raised in Corner Brook, Karen and her sister learned to ski when Karen was nine, with their Girl Guides group. They both went on to work as ski instructors in their teens and Karen worked full-time at Marble as a 20-something adult. “Marble 88

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was my first true love,” she laughs.

“I think we have fantastic natural terrain. At other hills, it strikes me how much larger and nicer Marble’s lodge is.”

Karen, who now works in IT and is also a member of Canada Ski Patrol, skis as much as she can throughout the season with her kids, aged 12 and 15. “In Atlantic Canada, most hills have a large population base at their disposal,” she notes. “Unfortunately, we’re not in that position. For us, I think finding the balance of product, price and population is still a work in progress.”

As far as privatization goes, she’s not sure how she feels about it. “I’m not opposed to it, but I’d like to see it done with local interests in mind…

Overall, I really just love the place and hope it can be a success.”

Mark Pottle moved back to the west coast – after living in Canmore, AB, and then in St. John’s – simply to be near Marble Mountain. He skis every day of the season if he can. “Marble is 1-888-588-6353

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such a hidden gem,” says the builder, artist and owner of Westcoast Woodworks, from his workshop just a fiveminute-drive down the highway.

Mark has seen his share of resorts and villages at the base of ski hills and knows this hill can be so much more. “They need a village,” he says.

“People want to show up, park their vehicle, and they want to ski,

picture shuttles taking people to and from the hill from Corner Brook and the airport, making it a convenient adventure for everyone.

With so much local love, and the Request for Proposals by the province out to anyone interested, Marble Mountain’s future looks bright. While they wait to find out the future of the property and if

Alli Johnson photo

eat and drink.”

Mark says a canteen mid-mountain or at the top of the lift would be a great draw for people, and boast an exceptional view. He sees mountain biking trails as another way to draw people to the hill, although he admits to being biased as a mountain biker himself. He also thinks the snowmobiling race that happens at the end of the season would make a popular monthly event. He says he can www.downhomelife.com

privatization will indeed happen, Richard says they are working on diversifying their offerings and attracting different groups of people to the resort. He has spent a lot of time planning the list of events that will be offered this season, which include, but are not limited to, a freeride competition, family tubing night, a Shriner’s cardboard box derby, and old favourites like the Slush Cup and Race the Rock.

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As I return to these northern towns – and always

I seem to return – familiarity strikes a very pleasant feeling of nostalgia. Add to that, the silent stillness to be alone, absolutely alone, in an old outport community. That beauty I found in Little Paradise, Petites and Grandois… all seemingly off the tourist track. I had been to Round Harbour, on the Baie Verte Peninsula, several times before, but didn’t experience the solitude then because, well, the first time a summer resident was also there. The second time, I was with someone who brought me there by boat from Snook’s Arm. But this time, I was all alone.

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This home, with its furnishings and view of the cove, would make a suitable museum.

Round Harbour was officially resettled. In fact, so was Snook’s Arm, but the latter still had a number of people returning each summer.

Round Harbour didn’t, and the three-kilometre road from the highway was no longer being maintained by the government. The road was rocky and rugged, and seemed narrower since my last visit, as the shrubs continued encroaching on it. I had been warned by my friend Lloyd, a local, to park at the top of the steep hill leading into the village because there wasn’t much place at all below it to gain momentum for the uphill return drive.

Finally I arrived on the top of that hill where I could glimpse the village below. I parked, grabbed my camera and walked down the steep hill to the great beauty of Round Harbour. Ah, the silence! Only my footsteps could be heard.

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noticed a little square that I guessed to be a graveyard. So, I turned right and headed in that direction up a hill, past the church, schoolhouse and several houses. The rubble road turned into a pathway bordered with lots of wild raspberries, so I ate away.

I talked out loud to myself because whenever I am in the woods in Newfoundland, I seem to have a severe case of bearophobia. I held a can of bear spray in my other hand.

At the graveyard, I walked among the stones, taking a few photos. It was all overgrown with shrubs and grass, though a young woman had been buried there only last year.

Then I headed back down the path, picking and eating more raspberries.

I entered the first house, where so much stuff had been left behind: dishes and clothes and even framed photos of the former inhabitants.

Then I entered the school, looked over the blackboard and the trophies still on a shelf. The church was locked, as were many of the other 1-888-588-6353

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Above: The village was deserted as the author followed the path past homes, a church and a school (top), where a shelf still held trophies awarded to past students. www.downhomelife.com

houses. Down the hill, I turned right and entered another unlocked house, looked around, then walked over to two iconic houses at the path end. Its windows and doors were gone and it was far too damaged to enter.

I walked back, past where a fire had burned down a shed or two, and traipsed over the dilapidated boardwalk. The green house with yellow trim seemed like the best preserved.

Its front door had been broken down, though, so I entered. Left behind were coffee, tea and plenty of dishes and clothing – even some old canned food. There were also old Downhome magazines and books on Newfoundland. There was a great view from upstairs of the two iconic houses across the harbour. The house, which was still furnished, would make a great museum of the past.

I headed back over the wooden boardwalk, then up the steep hill to the car. I took one last look down towards the village, grateful for the time I had alone with it, and slowly drove away.

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After three decades, the volunteer committee of the Brigus Blueberry Festival has disbanded, and it did so with a generous spirit.

Story and photo by Dennis Flynn In late October, there was a special gathering in the small, historic town of Brigus, NL. A crowd met at the recreation centre to witness a changing of the guard, marked by gifts to deserving charities from the outgoing volunteer committee behind the longstanding Brigus Blueberry Festival.

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Left: Outgoing committee members of the Brigus Blueberry Festival pose with the local organizations they chose to gift with their remaining funds.

“I can’t stress enough that the Blueberry Festival itself is not ending. It will continue on with a new group and I am sure will be successful in the future. The original committee is dissolving after 31 years of service, and I am very thankful to them all and anyone who helped out in any way,” said Byron Rodway, chair of the outgoing committee (which included Barry Gosse, Goldie Broughton, Ken Broughton, Ed Roberts and Lillian Rodway).

He added with a smile, “It is a bit of a bittersweet moment. The Blueberry Festival, for most folks, is a labour of love.”

The festival committee was a notfor-profit group, charging a modest entry fee of $2 to cover expenses for the outdoor event and save a little for rainy days – literally.

“We were pretty lucky and it only happened a few times over all that duration that we got rained out, but that is one of the challenges of organizing outdoor events in Newfoundland and Labrador,” Byron said.

A cornerstone of the festival – which, appropriately, takes place in the heart of the town – has been supporting local charities. “Something the festival always did, whenever we could, we cooperated with and donated to local charities here in the Brigus area,” said Byron. “That’s why we are here tonight, to conclude our committee business and donate approximately $34,000 to such

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groups doing good work in the area.”

With that, the total amount the committee has donated from its start in 1991 to its close in 2018 is $75,000.

Those who were on the receiving end of this final act of community generosity included local churches of various denominations, the Trinity Conception Placentia Healthcare Foundation, the Children’s Wish Foundation, Ronald McDonald House, O’Shaughnessy House, the Avalon North Wolverines Ground Search & Rescue, the RSCC #249 Effie M. Morrissey Sea Cadets, several school breakfast programs, the Baccalieu Trail SPCA and Beagle Paws. All of them expressed surprise and deep gratitude for the assistance.

Canon Father Gerald Westcott of the Anglican Parish of the Resurrection in South River echoed what many felt, saying, “The Brigus Blueberry Festival Committee, over 31 years, have served their community and surrounding region with distinction. The festival has included and involved many organizations, and the festival has benefited many organizations. As the former committee dissolves, giving way to a new Brigus Blueberry Festival Organization, it is very appropriate and beautiful that the former committee can still give new life to the community organizations that it has served by dispersing its assets to other charitable organizations. Thank you for your service, and thank you for your gift.”

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explore stuff about

Newfoundland The SS Newfoundland, skippered by Capt. Wes Kean, was a central figure in the greatest sealing disaster in the province’s history. In March 1914, 78 sealers from that ship died after being stranded on the ice floes in a snowstorm.

It is their water-resistant coat and webbed feet, plus their size and strength, that make Newfoundland dogs so well suited for lifesaving water rescues. In fact, it’s been written that Napoléon Bonaparte was rescued by a Newf after the exiled emperor was knocked overboard in rough seas.

Ever wonder what happened to actor Michael Schoeffling, the actor who played Molly Ringwald’s crush, Jake, in Sixteen Candles? He’s been living in Newfoundland, Pennsylvania, with his wife and two children, where he makes hand-crafted furniture.

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In the 1980s, at the height of the Trivial Pursuit craze, Tudorbrook Products Inc. in St. John’s, NL, came up with the local solution: Newfoundlandia, “for those who know Newfoundland and for those who want to know it better.” Released in 1986, its original categories included Arts & Culture, People & Politics, History & Geography and, of course, Townie Trivia.

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The Royal Newfoundland Regiment, currently a reserve infantry unit of the Canadian Army, can trace its history back to the 1700s. Best known for their sacrifices at Beaumont-Hamel in the First World War, the Regiment is also noted for its aid in defense of Canada in the War of 1812.

The current, official flag of Newfoundland and Labrador, designed by local artist Christopher Pratt, was first flown on Discovery Day, June 24, 1980.

The Newfoundland Time Zone is tied to the province’s status as a dominion when global time zones were being established (late 1800s to early 1900s), and its location in the North Atlantic. The provincial government floated the idea of switching to Atlantic Time Zone in 1963, but public opposition shut it down.

Newfoundlanders love their card games and have passed many a night playing Growl or 120s, Kings or Queens. Last year, a game designer with ties to the province created a Newfoundland Jam card game. Players try to collect ingredients to complete their recipe, while hoping to avoid a thieving raccoon (a nod to his mainland home).

Before they were top-selling chocolatiers, the couple behind the Newfoundland Chocolate Company were moulding things from clay. They met in a pottery class. www.downhomelife.com

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food & leisure the everyday gourmet

Versatile Fruit Compote

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the everyday gourmet

By Andrea Maunder

Andrea Maunder, locovore, wine expert and pastry chef, is the owner and creative force behind Bacalao, a St. John's restaurant specializing in "nouvelle Newfoundland" cuisine. www.bacalaocuisine.ca

www.downhomelife.com

I love the idea of taking the time to make

something delicious, but I love it even more when it’s something that I can use in a number of ways. Fruit compote is one of those things for me.

I enjoy jam but find most commercial products are too sweet, so being able to control the sugar by making my own is wonderful. I also prefer it a little looser, easier to spread, as opposed to very thick pectin-set jams. So my compotes are perfect for toast or with scones.

But I also love them on cheese and crackers, as a filling for baked tart shells, over ice cream and stirred into my plain or Greek yogurt. And depending on the kind of fruit I use, I have paired compote with savoury food: apple, apricot or pineapple with pork; partridgeberry or cranberry with chicken; blueberry or raspberry with beef; tropical fruit with fish or seafood etc.

(Jelly is a whole different taste sensation and texture – and maybe another column. Stay tuned!)

The great thing about making your own compote is that there is no concrete science or formula as there is with pectin-set jams. You many know pectin as the powder or liquid (Certo is a popular brand) that helps to set preserves. It occurs naturally in fruit and is extracted for canning use. Some fruits are very high in naturally occurring pectin (apples, citrus skins).

Pectin relies on the right ratio of sugar to acid (pH level) to set properly, which is why pectinset preserves tend to be sweeter. All you need to remember when making fruit compote is that it will thicken as it cools, and that you can adjust the sweetness or acidity to your taste (by adding sugar or citrus juice). Some fruits produce more water and some have more natural pectin than others, but all of this is easy to adjust as you cook your compote – you’ll see it happening, and you can taste as you go.

Blueberries and rhubarb release a lot of water, so you don’t need to add any to start the cooking. Stone fruit, such as peaches and plums, have some pectin, but a moderate amount of January 2019

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water at the beginning will help get it going. Bakeapples, raspberries, strawberries and blackberries have more juice and pectin, so a little water helps. Cranberries, partridgeberries, quince, guavas, pears, apples and gooseberries have lots of pectin, so they will really thicken as you cook – and you’ll need to add water to adjust the thickness to your liking.

The plate in the freezer trick: People sometimes wonder why I have a few small plates in my freezer.

It’s so I can quickly check the “set” of my preserves. If you aren’t sure about the end texture of your compote, you can pull a plate from the freezer and spoon a small amount of compote onto it. Leave it for a minute until completely cool and then drag your finger through it. Then either cook your compote longer to evaporate more liquid to thicken it, or add water to thin it. As always, taste to see if you need to adjust the sweetness or acidity.

I have often combined fruits to use up what’s in the fridge, with delicious results – so feel free to do the same.

And I add dried fruits to fresh as a

wonderful way to add flavour and texture. One more note: all apples don’t behave the same way when cooked. McIntosh, Delicious and Gala apples break down into an applesauce texture when cooked; whereas Granny Smith, Cortland, Honeycrisp, Fuji, Pink Lady and Paula hold their shape. Feel free to make compote with any apples you have, but know that the texture may be different. A mixture of apples is a great way to go.

This month’s recipe is for apple and golden raisin compote. It’s a great guideline since you’ll see how the raisins plump and add sweetness, how the apples break down and thicken the compote, and how a little spice and lemon juice bring all the flavours together. Compotes are so forgiving, you really can’t go wrong.

Just rely on your eyes for texture, tastebuds for sweetness and your creativity for flavour. Oh, and always add just a pinch of salt to balance the sweetness.

I think this is the shortest set of directions I’ve ever written, because the actual recipe is really up to you.

Apple and Golden Raisin Compote 3 Honeycrisp (or similar) apples, cored, peeled and chopped into 1-inch cubes

1 tsp cinnamon

1 McIntosh (or similar) apple, cored, peeled and chopped into 1-inch cubes

Pinch salt

1/2 cup golden raisins

1 tbsp lemon juice 1/2 cup water

1/2 cup white sugar

In a medium, heavy-bottomed saucepot over medium heat, place all the ingredients. Simmer, stirring frequently, until thickened – about 15-20 minutes.

Taste as you go for sweetness and acidity. Observe for texture and adjust. Place in a jar or covered bowl, allow to cool, then refrigerate and enjoy on toast, with pork, in yogurt, over ice cream etc. Keeps for a couple of weeks.

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everyday recipes.ca

This time of year, when there’s bad weather in the forecast, everyone races to the store to stock up on “storm chips.” It’s how we Atlantic Canadians hunker down until it’s over. Save yourself a trip next time, and make these delicious chips and accompanying dips at home!

Beet Chips & Hummus Beet Chips 3 beets, 3" diameter, washed 1 1/2 tsp celery salt 1/2 tsp black pepper

Hummus 1 (19 oz) can chickpeas, drained 4 cloves garlic 1 tbsp lemon juice 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 1/2 tsp ground cumin 1/2 tsp celery salt 1/4 tsp black pepper

For the chips Set deep fryer to 300°F. Mix celery salt and pepper together and set aside. Slice the beets 1/8" thick. Once the deep fryer is to temperature, drop the beet slices in and fry for 3 1/2 minutes. Remove them from the fat to a cooling rack and very lightly dust them with the salt and pepper mixture.

Cool.

For the hummus Place all the ingredients in a food processor fitted with an ‘S’ blade and blend until smooth, scraping when necessary. Yield: 2-4 servings

All of our recipes are brought to you by the fantastic foodies in Academy Canada’s Culinary Arts program, led by instructor Bernie-Ann Ezekiel.

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For printable recipe cards visit

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Sweet Potato Chips & Smoked Salmon Dip Sweet Potato Chips 2 sweet potatoes, 4" long, peeled 1 tbsp vinegar 4 L cold water Coarse kosher salt

Smoked Salmon Dip 1 1/2 cups cream cheese 1/2 cup sour cream 3/4 cup Swiss cheese, grated fine 1/2 tsp black pepper 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 3 tsp fresh garlic, minced 1 cup leek, sliced thinly 4 oz (by weight) smoked salmon

For the chips Set the deep fryer to 300°F. Slice the sweet potatoes 1/8" thick and soak them in the water and vinegar for about 10 minutes. Drain thoroughly, pat dry to remove excess water and deep fry for 2 1/2 minutes.

Remove chips from the fat to a cooling rack and very lightly dust them with the kosher salt. Cool.

For the dip Mix together the cream cheese and sour cream, until very smooth. Add the Swiss cheese and black pepper. Heat the oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat. Quickly sautĂŠ the leek and garlic until they just start to become golden. Remove from heat immediately and transfer to a clean bowl to cool. Flake apart the smoked salmon and stir it into the cheese mixture. Add the cooled leek and garlic; mix well. Yield: 2-4 servings

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For printa recipe ca ble rds visit

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Spiced Tortilla Chips & Caramelized Onion Dip Spiced Tortilla Chips 8 (12") flour tortilla wraps

Spice Blend: 2 tsp cumin, ground 1/2 tsp coriander, ground 1/2 tsp garlic powder 1/2 tsp onion powder 1/2 tsp smoked paprika 1 tsp chili powder 1/2 tsp black pepper 3/4 tsp celery salt 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Caramelized Onion Dip 1 cup cream cheese 1/2 cup fresh Parmesan cheese, grated 1/2 tsp salt 1/4 tsp black pepper 1 cup onion, minced 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 3 cloves garlic, minced

For prin table recipe cards visit

For the chips Preheat the oven to 325°F. Mix together all the spice blend ingredients and use a pastry brush to “paint” one side of the tortillas with the spiced oil. (Don’t use too much. The tortillas should only have a very light coating, and not be at all wet.) Stack the tortillas and cut them into triangles. Spread out the triangles on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and place them in the oven for about 20 minutes. Check after 15 minutes to ensure they are not burning. They should be dried out and crispy like a cracker/chip. Cool.

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For the dip Preheat oven to 400°F. Blend together the cream cheese, Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper. Set aside. Heat the oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat and add the onions. Cook them until they have turned a deep brown. Remove the pan from the stove and add the garlic, stirring until it stops sizzling. Add this to the cheese mixture. Mix well and spread in a small casserole dish or oven-safe dish. Bake for about 10 minutes, until the mixture has softened and warmed through. Yield: 2-4 servings

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Corn Chips & Layered Dip Corn Chips 1 cup corn flour 1/2 tsp cumin 1/4 tsp paprika 8-9 tbsp water 1 tbsp vegetable oil

Layered Dip 1 cup cream cheese 1 cup sour cream 1/2 cup mayonnaise 2 tsp Spice Blend (use leftover blend to season your tacos/fajitas): 2 tsp cumin, ground 1/2 tsp coriander, ground 1/2 tsp garlic powder 1/2 tsp onion powder 1/2 tsp smoked paprika 1 tsp chili powder 1/2 tsp black pepper 3/4 tsp celery salt 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 1 cup salsa 1 cup old cheddar, grated

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Corn Chips Sift dry ingredients together. Add water and oil; mix until you get a soft dough (it should hold together in a ball, but won’t be elastic like bread dough). Let sit at room temperature, covered, while you prepare the dip.

Once dip is made (see next set of instructions), preheat the deep fryer to 350°F. Form dough into little balls about the size of a golf ball. Flatten each ball between two pieces of plastic wrap to about 1/8" thick. Lightly coat a frying pan with non-stick spray and fry the flattened pieces of dough until they are starting to brown on both sides and have cooked through (you’ll need a gentle hand to remove them from the plastic wrap in one piece – they’re delicate).

Remove them from the pan and cut into random chip-sized pieces. Deep fry these pieces until they are golden brown and crispy (about 3-4 minutes). Drain, cool and serve.

Layered Dip Blend the cream cheese, sour cream, mayo and 2 tsp spice blend until you get a smooth mixture. Spread this mixture on your favourite serving tray (or an 8"x8"glass baking dish). Top with salsa and then with grated cheese. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate until serving. Yield: 2-4 servings

ble For printa s rd a c e ip c re visit

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food & leisure crafted home

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Zack Dawe makes serving boards and butcher blocks

under the name Newfoundland Timber Works. It began as a hobby, something to occupy his time in the evenings, after his day job at a local cabinet-making shop was done.

The look of walnut was what got him started in woodworking. Every once in a while, he says, a walnut butcher-block countertop would come through the cabinet shop. “I was in awe of the beauty of walnut butcher blocks.”

That led to a desire to make his own, so he took home some scraps, glued them together and made a board. “It turned out pretty good,” he says. “Not as good as they are now, but pretty good.”

He gave away the first few to friends and family, and their positive responses were the encouragement he needed. “That’s when the idea of starting my own business got in my head,” he says. So he sat down with a friend and came up with a business name, then a logo, and then turned that logo into a branding iron that marks each piece he makes.

His latest order, a 30-somethinginch long serving board in three parts, made like a jigsaw puzzle, is for a customer in British Columbia who found him on Instagram (@timberworksnl). This segment of customers, those who don’t know him but like his work that he displays online, is growing.

For the micro businessperson – a guy like Zack, selling items he makes during evenings in the shed as a side gig, while relying on a full-time job – the internet has created new business

possibilities in unexpected ways.

Take, for instance, Pinterest, and how that platform has led to projects. In his workshop, several examples of Timber Works products are displayed on a pegboard wall. Pointing to a circle cheese board, he says that one and a couple of others on the wall were made after a customer asked if he could make something similar to what they saw on Pinterest.

But his most popular product is a design he came up with himself: a whimsical interpretation of a whale, which can be used as a serving board for meats and cheeses or as a cutting board. “Everybody is loving the whale,” he says.

The appeal of Timber Works products is, in part, due to material. The whale is made from cherry wood with its interesting grain pattern. Other boards use planks of walnut, a dark wood that also has interesting grain patterns. Still others are a mix of reds and browns, with strips of walnut, purpleheart, padauk, maple, ash and oak to create functional, artistic pieces.

“A lot of time people take these charcuterie boards and, yeah, they use them when people come over for entertaining, but a lot of people use them as a decoration for their kitchen, too,” says Zack. “They look good on a backsplash; they look good as a centrepiece on a table.”

Left inset: Zack Dawe in his home workshop, where he designs charcuterie boards as a side gig. www.downhomelife.com

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food & leisure down to earth

New Year,

New Plan Chores for gardeners in January

By Ross Traverse

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As the New Year rolls around, gardeners start thinking about plans for the coming growing season. Even if the weather is not suitable for outdoor gardening activities, there are many chores that can be done to help reduce the work during the busy spring planting season.

Order seed catalogs

The traditional seed catalogue is still a reliable source of information for gardeners. It not only provides descriptions of plants, but also contains useful information on techniques for growing. Of course, the pictures in the catalogues are staged to show plants at their best, so you should keep in mind that not all the plants you grow will look like the pictures.

Remember that most retail seed companies do not produce their own seed. They buy from large seed producers around the world. Seeds can be shipped without quarantine restriction, but it is best to buy from Canadian sources to avoid custom charges. A combined order with friends can help save on shipping and handling charges.

Nowadays, seed catalogues can be easily ordered over the internet at no charge, and some companies just have an online catalogue where you can read the plant descriptions as well as place an order. This is very convenient! www.downhomelife.com

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Seed with over 50 per cent germination is worth saving for planting in the spring.

Test your old seed

The cost of seed has been steadily rising, so it is best to save any surplus seed for another year. The seed should be stored in a cool, dry, dark place. It is important that the seed be kept very dry, so store seed packets in an airtight container with a package of anti-desiccant (these often arrive packaged with electronics).

The ideal storage temperature is just above freezing, around 2°C. Before you buy new seed you can easily test any old seed you have stored. First, count out a specific number of seed so you can calculate the germination percentage later. If you have lots of seeds, you can count out 50 or 100 seeds for easy calculation of germination success or failure. Fold up a paper towel on a saucer and saturate it with water.

Sprinkle the seed evenly over the surface of the paper towel. (Soak large seeds, such as peas and beans, in water overnight before putting on the paper towel.) Cover the saucer and paper towel loosely with a plastic bag. Label it with the variety and the date. Put it in a warm place (2428°C). It doesn’t have to be in the 116

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dark. Maybe the top of the refrigerator would be a good place, so you can check it after a few days. Some seed will germinate (sprout) in four or five days, whereas others will take a week or more. You can tell when germination has started by observing the tiny, white root emerging from the seed. Four or five days after the first seed germinates, count the ones that have germinated, then calculate the percentage of germination.

Seed with over 50 per cent germination is worth saving for planting in the spring.

Grow sprouts and micro greens

Many of us are familiar with Chinese bean sprouts in Chinese food. These sprouts are the germinating seed of the mung bean. Many other seeds can be used to produce sprouts, including seeds of alfalfa, mustard, green peas and barley.

Sprouts can be grown in any climate because they are grown inside at room temperature, anytime of the year. They can be an excellent, practical source of nutrition in northern climates. What is amazing about 1-888-588-6353

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sprouts is that they have the nutritional value of meat and mature in 3-5 days from the start of sprouting.

The sprouting seeds are nutritious because they produce their own enzymes and, as a result, are easily digested. They do not require soil or sunshine. They contain nearly as much vitamin C as tomatoes, plus they produce no waste because even the spent sprouting water can be used to feed houseplants.

greens. Containers with drainage holes in the bottom are filled with 5-10 cm of sterilized potting soil.

Small seed are sprinkled on the surface, whereas larger seed are covered with a thin layer of soil to about twice the diameter of the seed. The soil should be kept moist at all times. The micro greens can be harvested any time after the first pair of true leaves open. These delicious, nutritious micro greens can be produced anytime of the year and are especially appreciated during the winter.

You can buy the seed for micro greens as a blend or as individual varieties. Some of the popular ones are pea shoots, arugula and chard.

Start transplants

Growing sprouting seeds is easily done on a kitchen counter. All you need is a wide-mouth, large mason jar with a screen cover made of plastic or metal. A tablespoon or so of the dry seed is soaked in clean, lukewarm water overnight and then rinsed with lukewarm water. The sprouts are flushed with water three or four times a day until the sprouts have reached the desired size.

Detailed instructions usually come with the package of seed.

Micro greens are like sprouts that have been taken one step further in growing. These are usually grown in soil or other media, not water.

Artificial light or natural sunlight is necessary to produce these micro www.downhomelife.com

Some plants for transplanting in the garden can be started as early as January. Onions and leeks benefit from an early start. They are easy to grow because they can be kept cut back to produce large transplants to plant in the garden in May. Herbs like parsley, thyme and rosemary can be started really early, especially with artificial lights.

If you have bulbs that you didn’t get planted last fall, you can still salvage them by planting them in containers and storing them in a cold frame or greenhouse. They will develop roots and can be transplanted into the garden as soon as the ground thaws in the spring. Make sure you keep the soil moist.

Ross Traverse has been a horticultural consultant to gardeners and farmers for more than 50 years. downtoearth @downhomelife.com January 2019

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with Ross No More Moss Q: I am looking for help with my lawn. I have three large patches of moss in the backyard (no shade and no excess water there), and now I’ve found two patches on my front lawn.

Should I add extra lime there or till it up and remove it altogether? I am reading that lime doesn’t affect moss. I would really like to stop it from spreading. – Patricia Connors

Rotten Tomatoes?

Q: Hi Ross; I have a problem with my tomatoes, so I am sending you a picture for you to see the problem. – Alex Luscombe, Lewisporte, NL A: Alex, the problem with your tomatoes is caused by a deficiency of calcium. It is commonly referred to as blossom end rot.

Calcium deficiency is induced by a lack of calcium in the soil and allowing the soil to dry out between watering. The soil should be kept moist at all times. Calcium is supplied by mixing powdered lime with the soil before planting.

Lime takes a long time to react, so it is best to mix the lime in the soil in the fall. Calcium nitrate fertilizer well help stop the condition during the growing season. The addition of composted seaweed (kelp) will also help prevent the problem.

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A: Patricia, you are right about the use of lime. It does not kill moss, but it helps the grass grow better, and the grass will compete with the moss if it is limed and fertilized on a regular basis. The other important thing is to leave at least 3 inches of grass height after you finish mowing. When the grass is cut too short the moss will move in. You should use a fertilizer like 15–15–15, or a similar ratio, two or three times a year. It should be applied just before rain at the rate of 2 lbs/100 sq. ft. Lime should be applied every fall at the rate of 10 lbs/100 sq. ft.

Any patches of moss that are growing in the lawn can be raked out and the area reseeded. Lime and fertilizer should be raked into the soil before sowing the seed.

Moss plants are spread by spores that blow around in the air. The only practical way of controlling moss is to have the grass growing better than the moss.

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When to Water

What’s Bugging My Plants?

Q: These black shiny bugs are eating my roses, and they are hoppers. I have done a soap and water solution, but some still remain. Can you identify and recommend a solution?

– Margaret Tetford A: Margaret, I think this insect is a species of flea beetle. They can be easily controlled by spraying with a pyrethrin-based product. Ambush is one of the most common brand name insecticides that is safe for humans and warm-blooded animals. Please follow the directions carefully, and it is best sprayed in the evening because this chemical breaks down in daylight.

Maple Mystery Q: Hope you can satisfy my curiosity. There is a red maple tree growing on the property adjoining mine.

After a while the leaves will all turn green, but now the top leaves are turning a brighter red. Is this normal? – Rosalind Whitten, Goulds, NL A: Rosalind, there are many different varieties of maple. From your description, I think this may be a variety called Deborah. www.downhomelife.com

Q: Hi Ross; We live in an apartment building and many of us are fortunate enough to have a small plot to grow some vegetables. The other tenants who share the garden gather every evening to water it (except on rainy days). In my opinion, we do not need to water every night. We have lots of above ground foliage and not so good veggies under the soil. In your opinion, do you think there might be too much watering?

– Garland Snelgrove, Dartmouth, NS A: Garland, watering plants is as much an art as it is a science. One way to judge if the soil needs water is to dig down into the soil to determine if it is dry or damp. Usually it is not necessary to water every day, but when you do water you should saturate the soil so that it penetrates into the root zone. You should use a soluble fertilizer like 20–20–20 every 10 days or so during the early part of the growing season.

Got a gardening question for Ross? email him anytime at downtoearth@downhomelife.com

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life is better Sunrise in Rigolet Eldred Allen, Rigolet, NL

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reminiscing flashbacks

Hard at Work These two men are drying fish in Job’s Cove, date unknown.

Frances Buckley St. John’s, NL

Small’s Stage Taken decades ago in Tizzard’s Harbour, New World Island, NL, the stage and long building in this photo belonged to Sandy Small, the submitter’s great-great-grandfather.

Known to be small in stature, he was big on energy and in his lifetime built 108 boats.

Colin Cramm Grand Falls-Windsor, NL 122

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Out for a Ride Sam Beckett and his friends would often go cruising around town.

Here they pose for a group photo after driving up to Cabot Tower on Signal Hill in St. John’s sometime in the 1940s. If you know the identities of any of these other men, you can email Eric Beckett at beckett.gerri5@gmail.com.

Eric Beckett Mount Pearl, NL

This Month in History Since 1830, Government House in St. John’s, NL has been the vice-regal residence for governors and later, lieutenant-governors. Known for his love of ceremony, Sir Thomas John Cochrane had the home designed to resemble Admiralty House in Plymouth, England. Over the years the house has had new additions and, according to The Encyclopedia of Newfoundland and Labrador, in 1888 the St. John’s Electric Light Company bought a new machine that created indoor light. On January 1, 1889, Newfoundland and Labrador’s first electric lights were turned on at Government House.

Switches were installed in every room, along with 165 lamps, and the chandeliers went from being powered by gas to electricity. Through the years, the residence has been renovated to keep up with current technology. Most recently, in 2018, wireless internet was installed.

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reminiscing

Life used to be slower, with a connection to the land

derived from necessity. Food came from the ocean, and warmth came from the woods, as did homes, boats and barns. Harvesting trees was winter’s work, usually done by men with the aid of horses and Newfoundland ponies. It’s a scene that, once upon a time, was commonplace across Newfoundland and Labrador, until ATVs and snow machines replaced true horse power.

In Tilting, on Fogo Island, people were still using horses in the late 1980s, when architect Robert Mellin moved to the town for research.

These days, he’s an architect and an associate professor at McGill University in Montreal. We recently chatted about his memories of going into the woods with horses and ponies, and of differing ideas of comfort.

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Robert arrived in Tilting during a time of transition, when there was talk about town of putting an end to open grazing by requiring livestock be kept in fenced pastures. That change would be legislated a couple of years later, and it would be the end of horses and ponies as work animals in Tilting.

In the winter of ’88, though, horses 1-888-588-6353

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All images reprinted with permission from Robet Mellin’s book, Winter in Tilting.

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Pat Mahoney with his horse Molly in Kinsella’s garden were still a large part of life, and Robert wanted to experience the Tilting way of gathering wood.

“When I first started to do research on Tilting,” says Robert, on the phone from Montreal, “I thought it would be a good idea if I tried to participate in as many activities as I could.”

He was always interested in exploring the countryside around the community and had an invitation to go out with Neil McGrath and his brother Andrew, who still had a horse at the time.

Tilting, for those unfamiliar with Fogo Island, is in a relatively barren part of the island; although beautiful, it isn’t suitable for wood harvesting. They had to head south, down the slide paths. The slide, with its two 126

January 2019

runners, took skill and experience to use, since it wasn’t as agile or as steady as the bobsled, which had an additional pair of runners up front that could turn, making it much easier to navigate a heavy load.

“There was always the potential for injury, especially when using the oldfashioned slides,” says Robert. “Most people were using the sleds, which are a two-piece contraption, when I was going in on the paths, but the older slides were one piece and you’d have a bit more precarious balancing problem for the centre of gravity of those, especially when you were turning, so you really had to know what you were doing.”

Despite the dangers, Robert found it quite enjoyable. “It was a great 1-888-588-6353

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winter pastime,” he says. “You get to know the place names, especially.

People had knowledge of every place along the slide paths. They knew the names; some of the stories they remembered of events that took place; they knew of the hazards, the weather, what to watch out for. I was always interested in that local knowledge of how people knew the forest, barrens, ponds.”

To these men, the land was full of

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variation and distinct places, but to Robert, it all looked much the same.

He admits he would have gotten lost had he been on his own.

“I remember the experience of going in early in the morning, then having a little lunch in the woods, or boil up,” Robert says. “Any day that was a fine day you’d try to get out into the woods and, at least in relation to Tilting, people had to go a fair distance. It might take you an hour to

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walk in or even an hour and a half.

You could get a ride on your horse to go in, but walking out took quite a bit longer.”

It was a lot of work, involving trail maintenance in addition to wood harvesting. Snow machine tracks tend to do a good job of packing down and smoothing out a trail, but when horses are the main trail users, a bit more maintenance is required to ensure the paths are passable.

“There were a few places where it was a bit precarious,” says Robert, “where you had to go across a stream or a bridge, where you had to do what they call boughing the ponds. People would do that to help each other: they would put little trees on the path across a pond so you wouldn’t go astray.”

Slide hauling was a necessary winter activity – no wood meant no heat – but for Robert, it was more about enjoying the outdoors and getting to know the landscape.

“For me, it was just a lot of fun, something interesting to do in the winter. I liked being around the horses; I liked learning about the place names. I was just impressed, in general, by how active people were, that they would be willing to go out and to go so far to gather their wood, almost any chance they would get in the winter.”

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Robert’s first time ever getting firewood was in Tilting, so he was learning everything at once – how to handle the horse, how to safely cut down trees, how to navigate the path with a full load of wood on the sled, and how to navigate his way through the woods without getting lost. But if you were from Tilting, this is all knowledge gained from a young age.

“Kids went out at an early age,” says Robert, “learning the paths, the place names, how to handle the horse, safety. It’s something you grew up with, same as fishing. You take responsibility at an early age.”

There was a lot to learn, and some of it took practice to build skills.

“There’s a fair amount of skill to it,” says Robert. “You had to know about the balancing of the load, about the places where there were hazards. But you could very quickly get into trouble and have everything beat up or destroyed… It wasn’t without its risks, put it that way.”

There’s an old joke that mistakes are avoided by experience, and experience is gained by making mistakes.

In the woods, a mistake could mean a load of wood tipped over on the path.

It was an activity that required having one’s wits about them.

“Sometimes you would have to stand on a runner to balance a load, you had to be aware of how much 1-888-588-6353

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Neil McGrath with his horse, Brandy, and dog Shadow material you had, what your horse was capable of, and what the conditions are. You certainly learned by experience,” says Robert.

Comfort, its own reward Far from Tilting, in McGill’s lecture halls, Robert says he tells his students that, for some people, comfort is defined differently.

“Most of us, when we think of comfort, we think about central heating,” he explains. “We think about being able to do things easily without much challenge. And what I experienced in Tilting is a different idea of comfort – that in order to really appreciate comfort you also had to have some challenge, some discomfort, or it just didn’t seem like it was worth it.”

The people of Tilting didn’t mind working hard, says Robert, and they 1-888-588-6353

didn’t mind the occasional bout of discomfort. It was just a part of a life spent out on the land or at sea. In a way, people are able to find comfort in what we would otherwise consider an uncomfortable situation.

For instance, the comfort of letting the house get a little colder, says Robert, of not heating the whole house and wearing several layers of clothing indoors. “And I find somehow that’s a bit healthier, myself, to have a little bit of a challenge, a little bit of resistance, that not everything is so easy.”

To read about slide hauling as told

by Tilting residents, and to see more of the watercolour paintings by Robert Mellin shown here, pick up his book, Winter in Tilting, published

by Pedlar Press.

January 2019

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reminiscing

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A PERILOUS RESCUE AT SEA A routine sail from Halifax to St. John’s was interrupted by a frantic call from a ship in trouble.

Photos and story by John Williamson • Halifax, NS

ON THURSDAY MORNING, MARCH 2, 1939, I awoke aboard RMS Newfoundland, sailing home to St. John’s, NL from Halifax, NS. Over six years I had made several of the 36-hour voyages to Halifax for orthodontic treatment. So at age 14, I was quite a seasoned traveller, unconcerned that a winter storm made this trip a rough, cold voyage with spray freezing where it hit the pitching, rolling ship. I looked forward to home, family and solid ground. But as I saw the dim gleam of the sun coming through my porthole, I thought, “Hey! Something’s wrong!”

My cabin was on the port side, and since we should then be sailing north, I should not see the rising sun.

We were going south! Why? I hurriedly dressed and learned that we were responding to an SOS from the SS Ranger, a 68-year-old wooden, three-masted sealing vessel.

En route to the Gulf of St. Lawrence for the annual seal hunt, she had

begun taking on water from heavy seas that washed over her. As her pumps clogged, rising water flooded the engine room, stopped the engine and put the ship in grave danger of foundering in heavy seas.

We steamed back around Cape Race, and off the Burin Peninsula we sighted the helpless Ranger. Until we got close, we could see her only

Left: SS Ranger in St. John’s harbour with a broken bowsprit.

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The deck of the SS Ranger taken from the bow of the SS Imogene

when both ships crested on the massive waves. The men aboard the Ranger had been without any heat for a day, and water was rising faster than their bucket brigade could overcome. The Ranger’s Captain Badcock, reluctant to abandon ship, was glad when Newfoundland’s Captain Murphy offered a tow to shelter. A line was fired by rocket to the Ranger, the sealers hauled in and made fast a heavy cable, and the tow began. But very soon, huge seas rising between the vessels forced them apart and the heavy cable snapped, dashing hopes of a tow.

Capt. Murphy was determined to save the men aboard the Ranger and decided on a risky attempt. Manoeuvring close to the Ranger – so close that the Ranger’s bowsprit broke off 134

January 2019

on the Newfoundland’s side – he had a lifeboat lowered with a crew to row to the Ranger. That was an astounding feat of seamanship and boat handling. Suspended from the davits, the rescue crew waited until the roll of the ship and a rising wave lifted the smaller boat so they could let go and push off into the huge seas. Led by Chief Officer Roland Handley, and given some lee by the Newfoundland, they rowed close by the stern of the bucking Ranger. Eighteen men bravely jumped from the ship into the rescue boat.

I watched as those men climbed a rope ladder up the side of the Newfoundland. Wet, frozen, hands bleeding, yet all smiles as they climbed.

The boat crew made another valiant attempt, but wind and waves were 1-888-588-6353

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The author and his sister, Mary, aboard the SS Ranger in St. John’s Harbour

too strong and they could not again reach the Ranger. The lifeboat and crew returned safely aboard the Newfoundland.

News then came that SS Imogene, Bowrings’ new, powerful, steel-hulled sealing ship, was coming to help.

When she arrived, she successfully floated a heavier line downwind on a barrel to the Ranger. While the Newfoundland made some lee, a tow started and succeeded in getting the Ranger safely into the protected waters of Trepassey Bay. All well, the Newfoundland made for St. John’s.

Meanwhile, when my parents awoke on Thursday morning, Dad reached for the bedside phone to ask Bowrings when the Newfoundland would be docking. As Dad asked, Mother eagerly awaited the answer.

Imagine her horror when Dad, upon hearing of the Ranger’s plight, suddenly sat bolt upright exclaiming, “Sinking?” making her think that the Newfoundland and her John-boy were on the way to Davy Jones’ locker.

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As we docked late Saturday morning, a crowd waited on the pier, including reporters eager to speak to all on board. Interviewing Capt.

Murphy, they hoped to elicit a tale of raging tempest, danger, hardship and heroism. But neither he nor First Officer Handley would admit to anything beyond, “All in the day’s work.” When they asked me, I told how awed I had been by the skill of the captain and crew, the courage and seamanship of the boat crew, and the forbearance of the men of the Ranger. I shall never forget what I saw, heard and felt.

Meanwhile in Trepassey Bay, repairs were made to the Ranger, and she and Imogene steamed to St. John’s, arriving late Saturday night.

On Sunday, Dad, my sister and I visited both ships at the Bowring Brothers South Side berth. Seeing the quiet, vacated Ranger, it was hard to imagine how she had been tossed about by the storm, and the freezing ordeal experienced by the 150 men on that crowded ship.

January 2019

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reminiscing

Champney’s West harbour. 2015.

Photo by Dale Jarvis.

Collective Memories

Unity in Champney’s West Sense of community with Benjamin Hiscock

By Terra Barrett

“Everybody in this community here, everybody knew when

someone else had trouble; you didn’t need a telephone. If somebody got destitute, instead of a fundraiser they went around door-to-door and gathered food and took it to them. If there was somebody that got sick, nobody had to tell them they were sick. They needed somebody to stay up at night, they stayed up [and] took care of them. There was unity in the community. But, today, when television came and telephones came and cars came, it changed the community a bit. But it is still a nice community, very nice community. People still help each other out and try to do things to help each other…”

These are the words of Benjamin Hiscock, born in Champney’s West on December 2, 1932. Ben, who was named after the doctor who delivered him, grew up as the youngest child in the family. The sense of unity found in Champney’s West is what stands out most in Ben’s memories and stories of the town, which he 136

January 2019

says had 274 residents when he was a child, compared to the 50 or so people who live there today. He recalls Christmas, in particular, as a time when everyone would put aside any issues and come together.

“Christmas was when everybody got together. Everybody’s house was visited. They would come around and 1-888-588-6353

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Ben Hiscock of Champney’s West. 2015.

Photo by Dale Jarvis.

sing carols in your house. Everybody drank together. That was the time of the year everything was put to one side. That was a good time.”

Ben also shares his recollections of his slightly mischievous childhood, including memories of stealing tubs to burn on Bonfire Night and the time he fixed a hole in a coin in order to buy a cookie at the local store.

“One of my earliest memories, I suppose. There was no money, very little money, and I was a boy maybe six or seven years old... and this other friend of mine, a good friend, came along and reached into his pocket and said, ‘I’ve got a penny here, a cent with a hole in it, and I took it to the store,’ he said, ‘and the man wouldn’t take it. Would you like to have it?’ I said, ‘Yes, I’ll have it.’

“So I took the penny and went home, and I starting thinking how

am I ever going to get that hole closed in that penny because I want to buy a ginger snap with it. When I want to solve a problem I stay awake all night, even now. I went to bed that night and I started thinking, well, how can I do it without doing any damage to that penny to get the hole closed? So out in my father’s shed there was a fair sized rock, so I went out in the shed the next day and thought about it and I said, ‘…If I put that penny on that rock and took a hammer and tapped, and tapped, and tapped and tapped around, would I close that hole?’ So I got at it.

I don’t know how many hours I was there. Finally the hole closed!...

“There was a little store, and when that hole closed I was gone, passed in the penny and got the ginger snap that I wanted! So that’s how scarce money was, too.”

The Collective Memories Project is an initiative of the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador to record the stories and memories of our province. If you have a memory of old-time Newfoundland and Labrador to share, contact Dale Jarvis at ich@heritagefoundation.ca or call 1-888-7391892 ext 2 or visit www.collectivememories.ca.

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reminiscing

between the boulevard and the bay

The Northern Ranger

By Ron Young

The Ranger Recently the MV Northern Ranger would take made its final voyage up the coast of Labrador, after 32 years of service. It is being replaced by a us on our new vessel run by a different operator. I remember northward trip another Ranger, this one’s namesake, the SS Ranger. It was built in Scotland for up the coast to Northern Newfoundland Railway (later Canadian National where the Railway, now Marine Atlantic) and serviced spooky old coastal Newfoundland from 1936-66. It replaced the Prospero of the famous Alphabet Fleet. Some house in the big years ago, I wrote about my first voyage on the field at Port Northern Ranger. I though this would be a good Saunders time to revisit that column: awaited us. I made my first trip on a coastal boat when I was five-and-a-half years old. I have some recollections of that trip, but my mother told me most of what I know over the years.

From the time I was born we lived in Twillingate with my grandparents. My dad worked away a lot, but we never joined him. The jobs were always around the Central Newfoundland area and he would simply come back home when one job was finished, then leave when another one came up.

One time, Dad and Mom’s brother, Uncle Cyril, found work as cooks in the Bowater’s woods operation at Hawke’s Bay on the west coast of the Great Northern Peninsula. Our families were to join them to live in an old rented house in the nearby community of Port Saunders. The train took Aunt Mary; my cousins, Cameron, Edward, Jean and Myra; my 18-month-old sister, Josephine; Mom and me to Corner Brook, where we were to join the coastal vessel Northern Ranger. The Ranger would take us on our northward trip up the coast to where the spooky old house in the big field at Port Saunders awaited us.

The year was 1949, and neither family had very much money. The cost of the train tickets plus 138

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“When we finally boarded the ship that evening, we were all hungry; but when the steward asked if we had had our supper, Mom and Aunt Mary told him that we had. Their pride would not allow them to say the reason they weren’t having supper was because they had no money.” staying at a boarding house in Corner Brook for two days, paying for meals, some of which were quite meagre, had depleted our money. There was no money left for food on the coastal boat.

As worrisome as it must have been for the two women, we kids had no knowledge of the journey being a hardship of any kind. The way Aunt Mary, the adventurous Scottish war bride, and Mom, the fun-loving Newfoundlander, carried on and laughed about all the things they encountered, even the problems, one would think they were on a great adventure. In retrospect, I think they were. It was their way of playing the cards life had dealt them.

When we finally boarded the ship that evening, we were all hungry; but when the steward asked if we had had our supper, Mom and Aunt Mary told him that we had. Their pride would not allow them to say the reason they weren’t having supper was because they had no money.

Later, when Aunt Mary was exploring the ship, she saw a sign that said meals were free if the fare was more than $10. Ours was. It didn’t take the sisters-in-law long to locate the steward and tell him that the children were “a bit hungry now” and maybe we would have something to eat after all. The steward opened up the kitchen to the eight hungry travellers.

Apparently we had a better meal that 1-888-588-6353

day than we’d had in a while.

It was in Port Saunders that I encountered the skin condition then known as “the Itch.” As a matter of fact, all 10 of us were infected with the disease, and we were all continually scratching for some period of time. Mom and Aunt Mary believed we caught it from blankets borrowed from an old man who lived in the same garden as we did.

It was in Port Saunders that I first saw oxen. There were several oxen in the fenced-in field next to our house, and one day several of us watched through a window as Cameron, who was about 14 at the time, started walking across the neighbour’s garden. He hadn’t walked very many steps when he saw an ox running at him. Cameron took off in a sprint and we all watched as he catapulted over the fence just as the ox came to a crashing halt right behind him.

In the spring we got a telegram from my grandmother. She was sick and wanted Mom back home with her. So we moved back to Twillingate.

Whatever was wrong with Gram at that time, she got better and lived to be 99.

Ron Young is a retired policeman, published poet and founding editor of Downhome. ron@downhomelife.com

January 2019

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Announcements In celebration of my husband’s life

Maurice W. Randell 1935 – 2016 Love from his wife Margaret.

“I miss you a lot.”

Photographed here with his grandson Max Wentzell

146

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Movers & Shippers SAMSON’S MOVING Let our Family Move Your Family Home

Newfoundland, Ontario, Alberta and All Points In Between Newfoundland Owned & Operated Fully Insured, Free Estimates Sales Reps. in Ontario and Alberta

FIVE STAR SERVICE Without The Five Star Price! ★ Local & Long Distance Moves ★ Packing ★ Door-to-Door Service Across Canada ★ Replacement Protection Available ★ NL Owned & Operated

Call Jim or Carolyn - Peterview, NL 709-257-4223 709-486-2249 - Cell samsonsmovers@yahoo.ca www.samsonsmovers.ca

Clarenville Movers Local & Long Distance Service Your Newfoundland & Alberta Connection Over 30 years Experience Toll Free: 1-855-545-2582 Tel: Cell:

709-545-2582 709-884-9880

clarenvillemover@eastlink.ca www.clarenvillemovers.com

Voted CBS Chamber of Commerce Business of the Year

MOVING INC. 709-834-0070 866-834-0070 fivestarmoving@outlook.com www.fivestarmoving.ca

Over 25 Years Experience in the Moving Industry

Movers and Shippers Prices start at $175 for a 1 column x 2 inch advertisement. Call to book your space today!

(709) 726-5113 1-888-588-6353

A&K Moving Covering all Eastern & Western Provinces and Returning Based from Toronto, Ontario Discount Prices Out of NL, NS & NB Newfoundland Owned & Operated 35 Years in the Moving Industry

Andy: 416-247-0639 Out West: 403-471-5313

aandkmoving@gmail.com

Discount Storage A Family Moving Families Professionally and economically Coast to Coast in Canada Fully Insured Newfoundland Owned & Operated

Contact: Gary or Sharon King

Toll Free: 1-866-586-2341 www.downhomemovers.com

St. John's, NL 8x20 unheated storage units.

709-726-6800

Moving you from Ontario and Newfoundland... or any STOP along the way!

DOWNEAST CONNECTION 709-248-4089 905-965-4813

Hawke’s Bay, NL (collect calls accepted) downeastconnection@yahoo.ca

February 2019 Ad Booking Deadline December 21, 2018 www.downhomelife.com

January 2019

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puzzles

The Beaten Path

By Ron Young

Photo by Doreen Fish

Block out all the letters that are like other letters in every way, including shape and size. The letters that are left over will spell out the name of the above place name in letters that get smaller in size.

M M K H

T p

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Last Month’s Community: Harbour Breton 148

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Sudoku

from websudoku.com

Skill level: Medium

Last month’s answers

?

Need Help

Visit DownhomeLife.com/puzzles for step-by-step logic for solving this puzzle

www.downhomelife.com

January 2019

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Downhomer Detective Needs You

A

fter more than two decades on the Urban City Police Force, Downhomer Detective has come home to rid Newfoundland and Labrador of a new threat – cunning thief Ragged Rick. A real braggart, the slimy criminal sends DD a blurry photo of his surroundings plus clues to his whereabouts just to prove he’s always a step ahead. DD needs your help to identify where in Newfoundland and Labrador Ragged Rick is hiding out this month.

Use these 5 clues to identify where Ragged Rick is now: • Located between Caplin Cove and Butter Cove • One of the earliest ports visited by English fishermen in the 1600s • Home of the South West Arm Historical Society • Areas of the community include the Point, the Bottom and Squid Holes • Drodge, Peddle and King are common surnames here

Last Month’s Answer: Fortune

Picturesque Place NameS of Newfoundland and Labrador

by Mel D’Souza Last Month’s Answer: Foxtrap 150

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In Other Words Guess the well-known expression written here in other words.

Last Month’s Clue: Exist extensively and succeed In Other Words: Live long and prosper This Month’s Clue: Invert a virgin frond In Other Words: ____ ____ _ ___ _______

A Way With Words THE TREE GIFTS

Last Month’s Answer: Gifts under the tree

Rhyme Time A rhyming word game

by Ron Young

1. A lengthy tune is a ____ ____

This Month’s Clue

2. deluges with blooms _______ with _______

GONE SEAS

3. make a blizzard ___ a ____

ANS: ____ ________

Scrambled Sayings

Last Month’s Answers 1. take the cake 2. Fanta for Santa 3. delay the sleigh

by Ron Young

Place each of the letters in the rectangular box below into one of the white square boxes above them to discover a quotation. Incomplete words that begin on the right side of the diagram continue one line down on the left. The letters may or may not go in the box in the same order that they are in the column. Once a letter is used, cross it off and do not use it again.

; C F E A D A A H A M F A F F A A H A A G H F E E D H I I N O F O I I H L D A U I V E M M M T O R R S S I F E N N

D D I M A E T T O E N Y Y O Y E U

Last month’s answer: People will survive and they will find happiness.

Happiness only comes when you’re not looking for it. www.downhomelife.com

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Rhymes 5 Times Each answer rhymes with the other four

1. novel 2. gaze 3. alcove 4. con 5. agitated

___________ ___________ ___________ ___________ ___________

Last Month’s Answers: 1. reported, 2. deported, 3. sorted, 4. comforted, 5. thwarted

STUCK? Don’t get your knickers in a knot!

Puzzle answers can be found online at DownhomeLife.com/puzzles

Tangled Towns

by Lolene Young Condon and Ron Young

Sound out the groups of words below to get a familiar expression.

For best results sound the clue words out loud!

Eigth Reap Ease Hoot _ _____ _____ ____ Ape Hack Awful Eyes _ ____ __ ____ Last Month’s 1st Clue: Us Her Cure Lures Awe Answer: A circular saw Last Month’s 2nd Clue: Inn Tooth Hen Heir Answer: Into thin air

A

nalogical

A

Unscramble each of the five groups of letters below to get 5 Newfoundland and Labrador place names.

1. NUOTM MRELAC 2. TECHSMILL ORKOB 3. LAIDARMS ACBEH 4. MARINESOL 5. ARICHTORT Last Month’s Ans: 1. Placentia, 2. Argentia, 3. Jerseyside, 4. Dunville, 5. Cuslett

nagrams

Unscramble the capitalized words to get one word that matches the subtle clue.

1. CLAIM TOIL INPUT – Clue: times and times again 2. TUBS SUET IT – Clue: teacher’s understudy 3. DIARY IN COT – Clue: where everyone looks for meaning 4. TAD ONION – Clue: it’s a given 5. RISE IVY NUT – Clue: where you live and learn Last Month’s Ans: 1. stadium, 2. imaginary, 3. snowstorm, 4. apologize, 5. candlestick 152

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Four-Way Crossword F o re Wo rd s • B a c k Wo rd s • U p Wo rd s • D o w n Wo rd s

By Ron Young

Unlike regular crosswords, in Four-Way Crossword each letter is not necessarily related to the letter in the adjacent row or column, but is part of one or more words in some direction.

1-3: decay 1-91: think over 2-22: paddle 3-33: ensnare 4-44: irritate 5-7: ignited 5-75: also 7-47: preference 7-57: sampled 10-1: respirator 10-100: spiteful 11-14: make 16-46: note 19-16: froth 19-49: enemies 21-25: grump 21-51: dupes 22-24: sought election 22-25: status 22-52: behind 27-7: reclined 28-30: charged particle 30-26: racket 33-35: Edgar Allan 33-36: ode 40-37: gouge 41-44: dark blue 43-41: vehicle 43-73: blowhole 45-47: suffering 45-75: intelligent 51-81: team 56-26: eternal city 56-52: big brook 58-8: hammertoe 58-38: baked item 60-51: taximen 60-58: truck front www.downhomelife.com

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62-92: finished 65-62: soil 68-70: baby 70-65: adds 73-93: beverage 76-74: born 76-79: close 77-79: auricle 82-85: tidy 83-85: devour 87-85: shack 87-89: torrid 91-71: crimson 91-96: rationality 91-100: logical 94-96: offspring 96-76: sister

96-98: capture 97-57: forwards 98-68: ship 100-97: Napoleon isle Last Month’s Answer 1

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R E P E E K E T A G

E N A G U H T U N U

C O G A G R E T F A

U G E L A O H O U R

P ERAT UAERO RMFM I ER I OL VENO S OP ER I C AMA R RNE ER RUNTO ANT EE

E T A R E N E G E D

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The Bayman’s

Crossword Puzzle 1

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by Ron Young

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ACROSS 1. “Long may your big ___ draw” 4. woman’s name 5. defraud 6. Wonderful Grand Band (abbrev) 8. “We ___ coming, Mr. Coaker, from the east, west, north and south” 9. salt in St. Pierre 10. skin of a hagfish 14. runs 17. Van Nuys Airport (abbrev) 18. happen 19. hurts (colloq) 20. mailed 22. ferry stop between Burgeo and Grey River 25. tire pressure measurement (abbrev) 27. knock out (abbrev) 28. bread riser 29. father 31. fjord 32. sloping 34. seine 37. ___ liver oil 40. queen of hearts 41. insect killer 43. vacant 44. Highway Traffic Act (abbrev) 45. lymph node 46. snake 47. small sound 48. New York (abbrev)

7. “Lukey’s boat was painted _____” 11. dog sled (colloq) 12. ballicatter 13. no carbon required (abbrev) 14. Registered Retirement Savings Plan (abbrev) 15. outer wrap of a shotgun shell 16. hazardous rock in boating (colloq) 19. urge on a dog team (colloq) 21. small child 23. a forest in Scotland 24. mother 26. lightly burned 29. sell wares 30. NL joke collector Clouston 33. stroll casually (colloq) 35. dines 36. “With he’s underwear stuffed and his ____ door undone” 38. lively 39. “And her ____ they shone like diamonds” 42. faucet 1

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www.downhomelife.com

O

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P

DOWN 1. “____ ___ _____ ____ _ Sailor” – popular song (5 words) 2. marriage vow 3. pancake (colloq)

ANSWERS TO LAST MONTH’S CROSSWORD

B

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DIAL-A-SMILE © 2019 Ron Young

Pick the right letters from the old style phone to match the numbers grouped below and uncover a quote which will bring a smile to your face. ___ 367 ___ 843

___ 843

____ 2378

_____ 46873

’

__ 86

_ __ _ 6 68 3

____ 7328

’

__ __ _ 96 85 5

__ 46

____ 4283

___ 364

___ 843

Last Month’s Answer: I’m looking to buy a new boomerang. How can I throw the old one out? ©2019 Ron Young

CRACK THE CODE

z

Each symbol represents a letter of the alphabet, for instance =S Try to guess the smaller, more obvious words to come up with the letters for the longer ones. The code changes each month.

_ _ _ _ _ L Rp ;

H

_ _ _

OB;

_ _ _ _ S

7 ; ;7z

_ _ _ _

\hO\

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

m HL m ;Op; 7

_ _ S _ QHz

\

_ _ _

OB;

_ S _ _ _ _ _ _ ;z ; ;Q; 7

\

Last Month’s Answer: Lord, grant that I may always desire more than I can accomplish 156

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Food For Thought

© 2019 Ron Young

Each food symbol represents a letter of the alphabet. Find the meanings to the words then match the letters with the food symbols below to get a little “food for thought.”

lever =

bullfighter =

_ _ _

of c

placid =

mischievous =

_ _ _ _

`e Vd

justice =

_ _ _ _ _ _

`e i

_ _ _

nv[

i vn

_ _ _ _ _

`efhY

_ _ _ _ _

h[eVn’ _ _ _ _

oVe c

i e mz vnc _ _ _ _ _ _

nv fv]Y

b mhz[

][

_ _ _ _ _ _ _

tosses =

_ _ _ _ _

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_ _ _ _ _ _ _

denehvf

_ _ __

b mYn _ _ _

nv[

_ _ _ _ _ _

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][

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][

_ _ _ _

z ed[

Last Month’s Answer: The good and bad things are what form us as people; change makes us grow. www.downhomelife.com

January 2019

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Different Strokes

Our artist’s pen made the two seemingly identical pictures below different in 12 places. See if you can find all 12.

ERN AND COAL BIN ENTERTAIN FRIENDS IN THE KITCHEN

Last Month’s Answers: 1. Snowflakes; 2. Igloo; 3. Lamp; 4. Toy bag; 5. Sled; 6. Santa’s arm; 7. Santa’s beard; 8. Belt buckle; 9. Downhome magazine; 10.

Antler; 11. Rudolph’s nose; 12. Reindeer’s leg.

“Differences by the Dozen”- A compilation of Different Strokes from 2002 to 2014 (autographed by Mel) can be ordered by sending $9.95 (postage incl.; $13.98 for U.S. mailing) to Mel D’Souza, 21 Brentwood Dr., Brampton, ON, L6T 1P8.

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HIDE & SEEK MOVIE TITLES

The words can be across, up, down, backward or at an angle, but always in a line.

AVATAR BATMAN BEETLEJUICE BRAVEHART CABARET CASABLANCA EVITA FARGO FROZEN GLADIATOR GODZILLA GOODFELLAS GREASE JAWS MALEFICENT Z Y V Z R P Z F O U G A O C O K F H

Y N S V A O E O D Y Q R U G M Z W S

B G W N T B T C O T F U E M R Z W G

Q S N J A N F A B T N T U A B A L F

J S O D T J C D I F O I H N S V F R

H V O X O A Q B B D B P I E B E O V

SCREAM SHREK TITANIC TRANSFORMERS TWILIGHT ZOOTOPIA

MINIONS PLATOON PSYCHO RATATOUILLE ROCKY SCARFACE I Y E Z N A Y Y O T U N O C O C C G

Last Month’s Answers

X W T Y U W H N W E A N I A A F R O

www.downhomelife.com

W P A L I S O G E X T L T A T F G P

U C L A L J J T M N R M G K I Q A Y

B Y P L L K L V E J A F T A V D S Y

R Z N D E E M C I N H R I O E X P T

S Y C C J D I B S H E O U G R I K V

Z R L S H O N E B Z O V L E E I A Z

E G Y U A F C S U D V Z Q D S T A S

Q R P J Q E L H M M J P G Q C Z E Q

W E P C S X F E A A Z N R P N Q Q X

K D I U E S H R K N A E Q C T U N H

P B A D P H H N M T A A T X N A L E

Q W E D J T N S N R S N R C O B P J

M C E L L R A P T L R N A P W O U J

P A D T V I H I O B E F B E I D A C

K R L C C C M U E A B T K I P G U W

E P A J E Z K B C V B R N Z I E U H

A T G X L R N T E N S P A G W E F W

Q S K V E X V M C A N I E W Z A Y A

C M V K J L B T L S F Z Z N L A Y S

R I I P Y A K H I N U N R Y Z H E K

E A P C N E O R R A A E G F H Z B N

S R E M R O F S N A R T I U I M G A

B E S I H C P L O L R A J N G T N E

P U L P O E A F C I L P S U U G X J

C B V F U M T T C O N M C E G J N Y

E L T L B Q R B I M Y P Z F Y V Z V

A P A T C E L R L E C L S Y N X Y P

U I I N A J P E P S Y C H O H D F K

E T A X E C R E Y D Z E Y W I O E U

E S O R K R U R M Y C I F I J A G V

G G N E G O O D F E L L A S T L B E

O I G D G D S K Y A K G W D C I U H

N O M E L A O C S Z R C H H D P D V

C D R A A L L I Z D O G G P Q R D T

U E R Q K P K I O O V A Z R U M V X

S P E A R M I N T T U A C B N U N J

A C T Q T B C U C N C A B A R E T R

M U Z N O U G A T N C R L J D K L C

M A R S H M A L L O W H V S U I H B

S V D D W I M H Y K C O R P K O Q P

January 2019

D S I Y R R E B E U L B Y O K X N M

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photo finish

Gnome for the Holidays

With his warm woolly toque and winterized cart, this garden gnome is season ready.

Margaret Martin Lord’s Cove, NL

Do you have an amazing or funny photo to share?

Turn to page 9 to find out how to submit.

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