Vol 32 • No 07
$4.99
December 2019
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12 Ways to Give Back
Meet the Mummers Santa’s Kangaroo?
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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 Katherine Saunders 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 Junior Accountant Marlena Grant Accounting Assistant Sandra Gosse Operations Manager, Twillingate Nicole Mehaney
Warehouse Operations Warehouse / Inventory Manger Carol Howell Warehouse Operator Josephine Collins Distribution Sales & Marketing Amanda Ricks Sr. Customer Service Associate Sharon Muise Inventory Control Clerk Heather Lane Warehouse Associate Anthony Sparrow Retail Operations Retail Floor Manager, St. John’s Jackie Rice Retail Floor Manager, Twillingate Donna Keefe Retail Sales Associates Crystal Rose, Emma Goodyear, Jonathon Organ, Nicole French, Elizabeth Gleason, Rebecca Ford, Erin McCarthy, Mackenzie Stockley, Marlene Burt, Marissa Little, Hayley Fitzgerald, Elizabeth Gauci, Beth Colbert, Kim Tucker, Heather Stuckless, Katrina Hynes, Tammy Keating
Subscriptions Sr. Administrative Assistant Ciara Hodge Customer Service Associate Kathleen Murphy
Founding Editor Ron Young
President & Associate Publisher Todd Goodyear
Chief Executive Officer/Publisher Grant Young
General Manager/Assistant Publisher 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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all ages party
Contents
DECEMBER 2019
40 Pinsent’s Take In a recent interview, Gordon Pinsent makes it clear he has no plans to call “Cut!” on his career. Janice Stuckless
54 Meet the Mummers A Boxing Day tradition delights young and old, performers and audiences alike. Dennis Flynn
66 Keeping a Light On
40 rowdy as ever www.downhomelife.com
Meet the Little Bay Islands couple hunkering down for life after resettlement. Ashley Miller
108 Readers’ Holiday Memories Favourite Christmas moments and traditions December 2019
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Contents
DECEMBER 2019
homefront 10 I Dare Say A note from the editor 11 Contributors Meet the people behind the magazine
12 Letters Soft serve upset, Come From Away in the UK, and NL beauty queens
20 Downhome Tours Explore the Arctic Circle with Downhome 22 Why is That? Why do we kiss under the mistletoe? Linda Browne
24 Life’s Funny Santa Proof Elizabeth James
25 Say What A contest that puts
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live in London
words in someone else’s mouth
26 Lil Charmers Christmas Cuties 28 Pets of the Month Festive Furbabies
30 Reviewed Denise Flint interviews Michael Crummey and reviews his latest book, The Innocents.
34 What Odds Paul Warford screens holiday movies
36 Poetic Licence Da Nite Afore Krissmas Gary Peddle
features 46 More Than a Good Yarn Knitting buddies release second book of Newfoundland patterns Marcia Porter 4
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28 Santa’s pet
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72 light it up
50 Twelve Ways of Giving A dozen ways to spread cheer in your community this holiday season Katherine Saunders
58 Christmas Critters The animals that make appearances in holiday traditions around the world Todd Hollett
explore 72 All Things Merry and Bright 12 days and nights of Christmas celebrations in Atlantic Canada Katherine Saunders
80 Lullaby for Little Bay Islands
58 he’s so fly
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An unforgettable night in a soon to be resettled community Dennis Flynn
84 Travel Diary A Little Bay of Tranquillity G. Tod Slone December 2019
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Contents
DECEMBER 2019
88
refreshing gift
food and leisure 88 The Everyday Gourmet Homemade Limoncello Andrea Maunder
92 The Ultimate Christmas Party Mix We reached out to our regular Everyday Recipes team, led by chef Bernie-Ann Ezekiel, our staff and our readers to create this collection of our favourite food and beverages that make a Christmas get together a real “down home” one.
104 Stuff About What do ship’s cooks, a peanut salesman and diapers have in common? 6
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92 down home delights
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116
on the naughty list
reminiscing 116 Visions & Vignettes Brookwater’s scalawags hatch a plan to trap fake Santa Harold N. Walters
120 Christmas on the Coastal Boat Kim Ploughman
124 A Missionary’s Last Flight Burton K. Janes About the cover This wintry outport scene is the artwork of Adam Young, who lives on Fogo Island, NL. Check out his colourful, whimsical prints – including this one, called “Crisp” – on his website: AYoungStudios.com.
Cover Index Little Bay Islands • 66, 80, 84 A Yarn with Gordon Pinsent • 40 Tales of Christmas Past • 108 12 Ways to Give Back • 50 Meet the Mummers • 54 Santa’s Kangaroo? • 58 www.downhomelife.com
130 Newfoundlandia The story of Old Christmas Day Chad Bennett 134 Between the Boulevard and the Bay Ron Young 138 Mail Order 144 Marketplace 148 Puzzles 160 Photo Finish December 2019
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The year we lost 22 days and found Old Christmas Day. p. 130
Knitting Book Giveaway Visit DownhomeContests.com Dec. 2-13, 2019, and enter to win a copy of Saltwater Classics. (See related story on p. 46.)
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Wonder what to serve at a NL Christmas party? Recipes begin on p. 92.
Visit Downhomelife.com/magazine to view the trailer for Gordon Pinsent’s new short film, Night Shoot. (See related story on p. 40)
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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
December 2019
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i dare say
“You all ready for Christmas?”
Todd Young photo
If I had a dollar for every time someone asked me that in the month of December, I’d be rich – and I still wouldn’t have my tree up or presents wrapped. I’m generally a very organized person; I live by deadlines. But for whatever reason, and even though it comes the same time every single year, I can’t get ahead of Christmas. It’s like time speeds up after Thanksgiving. One minute I’m handing out Halloween candy, the next I’m buying stocking stuffers. Does time speed up for me so it can slow down later for Santa to make it around the world in one night? It’s enough to make me hyperventilate into a gift bag. While I do feel the weight of the season as the chocolates disappear from the Advent calendar (which, by the way, I often don’t get around to buying until five days before Christmas and have to eat 20 chocolates right away to catch up), I’ve found a way to make my tardiness less stressful. I gave in to it and now it’s tradition. That’s right. Our tradition is to not tackle Christmas shopping until after December 1, no baking until midDecember, and no festive decorating before the 20th. And the tree goes up on Christmas Eve. And because it’s tradition, who dares to question or criticize it? And the other unwavering tradition: decorations stay up until after Old Christmas Day, January 6 (how long after that day can vary wildly – we almost had a Valentine’s tree one year). With my laid-back husband’s help, I try to stop watching the calendar and the clock as the holidays near and try to live in the moment. After all, it’s not the lights, the food or the ribbons and bows that we really cherish – it’s the moments. Wishing you a merry and mellow Christmas,
Janice Stuckless, Editor-in-chief janice@downhomelife.com 10
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Contributors
Meet the people behind the magazine
Linda Browne
Joseph Seaward
Linda Browne is a freelance writer who’s been contributing to Downhome for a decade. Her regular feature “Why Is That?” (see p. 22) tackles common life questions with answers from experts. She says, “As a naturally inquisitive person who loves trivia – including Trivial Pursuit! – coming up with questions is easy. I think of all kinds of weird stuff as I’m eating breakfast, brushing my teeth or lying in bed trying to get to sleep! But finding answers isn’t always so simple. It’s all about following the breadcrumbs. That often begins with a Google search to see what (if anything) has already been mentioned about the topic. Then I’ll usually poke around university websites to find experts in a related field or comb academic papers and journals to see what I can dig up. And if I’m lucky, I’ll come across published books that cover some aspect of the topic and reach out to the authors for more information.” Linda is from Dunville, NL, but resides mainly in St. John’s.
Joseph Seaward was born in Gooseberry Cove, Trinity Bay, NL, and now resides in Wolfville, NS. He’s a repeat contributor to Downhome. Joseph was educated at the Canadian Forces Air Navigation School and served for 24 years in the military. He has also worked with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and served as president of JoMar Books and the Atlantic Provinces Booksellers Association. He’s a past member and instructor with St. John Ambulance Society of Canada, and was chairman of the New Minas Village Commission in Nova Scotia. In this issue, on page 112, Joseph shares his memory of coming home to Newfoundland to surprise his family and meet his new baby sister at Christmastime. Joseph’s submissions often show his love for his siblings – in last month’s issue, he submitted a poem written by his late brother, Garfield Seaward, entitled “Why I Wear a Poppy.”
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Missed Opportunities
The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award allows young people to determine what they are passionate about, regardless of their background, culture or access to resources. I have enclosed this photo from a hands-on experience at cleaning squid at Prime Berth Historic Heritage Centre, Twillingate, in August. The whole group of young people took part and did an excellent job cleaning squid for my supper. Many thanks to Dr. John Hopkins and family for allowing us the opportunity to help those students from St. John’s have this cultural experience. It breaks my heart to see the loss of traditional freedoms that my generation enjoyed growing up in a small fishing village – many usurped needlessly by an overzealous fisherman’s union and an unknowing and uncaring government. Just for example, I would have loved to show those students the workings of a lobster trap, as there are many lobsters just near my dock. But DFO, who for years allowed me a lobster trap in an educational fishery, added the condition last year that I must modify any trap to make it impossible for any lobster to enter it. And this year no allowance whatsoever! Go figure! David Boyd Twillingate, NL
Thank you for sharing this photo and your concerns about fishery management as it relates to traditional rights and practices. 12
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Father Identified Several months ago, I contacted your office requesting any back copies of Downhome, August 2014 edition. My interest lay in the fact there was a photo on page 114 of a very annoyed driver standing next to a derailed trolley car. This man was my father, James Harvey. He was born on August 14, 1899, to Richard and Barbara Squires Harvey on South Side Road East, St. John’s. He went on to join the British Navy as a young man and served honourably throughout the duration of WWI. For his service, he received a medal from King George V for saving lives. After the war, he married Lucy Alice Neary and they raised six children. The family came to the United States in 1951. I want you to know how much those back issues were enjoyed. I sent one to my brother Calvert, and it happened to arrive during a weekend visit by his son and family. Cal proceeded to show two of his grandchildren, Megan (18) and Dylan (16), the picture of their great-grandfather. They were fascinated that his picture was actually published in a magazine. They were
Slut Story Stirred Memories Just finished reading the August copy of Downhome. What a great story on the slut. It took me back 60 plus years, when on summer holidays as kids we would go blueberry picking and sell our berries for 35 cents per gallon. My nan would pack two hearty slices of homemade bread slathered with molasses. Come noon we would stop and pick twigs to make a fire. Then we would fill the slut from a little babbling cold water spring coming out www.downhomelife.com
also very curious as to exactly what a trolley car was and how it functioned. The conversation led to many stories of the good old times in Newfoundland. Again, many thanks for your kindness. It has brought back wonderful memories to our family. Marguerite Harvey McVicker Ocala, FL, USA
Here is that photo again, for anyone who had been wondering who the man was. Any other readers want to share how a story in Downhome sparked a new conversation around the dinner table or brought back wonderful memories? Contact us anytime by emailing editorial@downhomelife.com; contact us online at Downhomelife.com/letters; or write to Downhome, 43 James Lane, St. John’s, NL, A1E 3H3.
of the granite rock; oh, so cold and tasty. To this day I have never tasted a cup of tea that tasted like that long ago slut brew. I also think Mr. D’Souza’s 30-year anniversary version of Different Strokes is the hardest puzzle. I have not finished yet – three whole weeks of tearing my hair out. Great job, sir! Cron Yetman Oakville, ON
Nice to hear from you again, Cron. December 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:
Congratulations to Mary Stuckless of North Bay, ON, who found Corky on page 135 of the October issue.
Corky Contest 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.
Come From Away in London In your July 2019 issue, you called for readers to share their experience seeing “Come From Away” in London, England. About 40 Newfoundlanders celebrating the 50th anniversary of MUN’s Harlow Campus attended “Come From Away” at the Phoenix Theatre in London on August 19, 2019, and enjoyed it immensely, even getting on stage after the show! (My wife Theresa and I had previously seen it in Toronto; it is well worth seeing as many times as possible!) John Kryski Cobourg, ON (formerly of St. George’s, NL)
With shows in New York, Toronto, Melbourne and London, and news of the show opening in Shanghai soon, theatre goers could make it a global challenge to see “Come From Away” in as many countries as possible! 14
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Cone Wars As I was participating in your Cone Wars challenge, my wife and I purchased a soft serve ice cream from the Irving Big Stop in Deer Lake, NL – my choice! The server Cheyanne was so pleasant as she presented me with this delicious twirly – a twist of the two [chocolate and vanilla]. As we got into the car to enjoy this special treat, my wife dropped hers off the cone and into the bottle holder on the car door! My mind immediately flashed back to 1964, when I was moving away from NL to go to the mainland to seek employment. I travelled from my hometown of Laurenceton to Notre Dame Junction to catch the train, the Newfie Bullet. Along the way, while going through Lewisporte, we decided to stop for a twirly. As I got in the car, mine fell off the cone and onto my nice new sweater that my older brother had just given to me as a gift. I was
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disgusted, as I had not only lost my treat, but also had to wear this stain all the way to Toronto. So your Cone Wars brought back a great memory for me, and a good laugh to boot! Calvin Perry Oshawa, ON (formerly of Laurenceton, NL)
Thanks, Calvin, for sending along this lovely picture of your soft serve server, Cheyanne.
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Found on Facebook
Katherine Brake Fancey My dad Stanley would have been pleased to have finally made it to the Downhome magazine, even if it was his grade 8 class pic!
Newfoundland Kindness For the past 25 years, my wife Holly and I have returned to Newfoundland to visit family and friends and to visit the many outstanding sites throughout the province. This year we drove there and took one of our grandsons, a 13-year-old, on our three-week adventure. We were driving on a rainy Sunday afternoon on the Viking Trail, about 150 kilometres south of St. Anthony. We were trying to avoid the many highway potholes, but unfortunately we hit a deep one and had a tire blowout. We did not have the correct wheel wrench to remove the blown tire. A few very kind drivers stopped to assist, but none had the correct tool either. To our pleasant surprise, a very kind gentleman named Brad Genge from nearby Anchor Point, going in the opposite direction from where we 16
December 2019
were heading, turned around and stopped to help us. He did not have the correct size socket wrench either, so he went home and returned with his many tools. Finding the right size socket, he proceeded to change our tire. We tried to pay Brad for his services, but he refused to accept anything and wished us a happy anniversary, which we were celebrating. The next day we went to Maurice’s Service Centre in St. Anthony to get a new tire and they did not have one in stock. The people at this service centre were so very kind and called ahead to a tire centre in Deer Lake that had the correct tire. Everyone we have come in contact with on our Newfoundland adventure have been so kind and considerate. We are so grateful to the local people who assisted us in our time of need. This is truly an example of the kindness and humanity of the Newfoundland people. Don Pottle Dunstable, Massachusetts, USA
It’s too bad about the pothole, Don, but it sounds like the locals “paved” the way to fonder memories of your trip.
Miss Canadian Petite I am from the small town of Branch, Newfoundland, and currently studying to become a paralegal. I recently travelled to Toronto this past August, to compete in the Miss Canada Globe pageant. The pageant consisted of a total of four categories – Miss Canada Globe, Miss Canada Petite, Miss Teen Canada, and Miss Teen Canada Petite – based on age and height. I competed in the category of Miss Canada Petite. During the regional competition, I was crowned Miss Petite Newfoundland 1-888-588-6353
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Now Availab le!
Happy Holidays from the
Newfoundland Ponies Searching for the perfect gift for the animal lover in your life? We have just the gift for you! Visit our new webstore at www.newfoundlandpony.com and order a beautiful 2020 calendar featuring adorable Newfoundland Ponies born this year! It's a key fundraiser, so please consider purchasing 1, 2 or 3 calendars to support this critically-endangered breed. They cost $12 each, or $10 each if you buy 3 or more. We thank you for supporting the work of the Newfoundland Pony Society. Newfoundlanders and Labradorians could not have survived without this hardworking, even-tempered, loyal pony which is uniquely ours. We owe it a great deal and we plan to continue to work hard next year to promote and preserve the breed for future generations. If you want to stay up to date with pony news, including exciting plans to develop the pasture near Hopeall in Trinity Bay in 2020, please consider becoming a member. Wishing you a joyous holiday season and healthy and a prosperous New Year. Miss Mattea of the Black Brooks. Proud owners are Cassandra and Devon Abbott of Wesleyville, NL. Top Right: Regal Tempest (colt).The proud owner is Dr. Jessica Boyd of Driftwood Acres, NL Below: Order your 2020 calendar now! Top Left:
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and Labrador 2019/2020. During the final night, I was crowned Miss Canadian Petite MesoAmerica 2020. The Miss Canada Globe pageant is something that had a huge positive impact on my life, as I had the opportunity to grow in numerous ways. I was able to create friendships that will last a lifetime, gain an incredible amount of confidence, have the chance to make a difference with my platform, and be a role model for youth and women across the country. I will be travelling to El Salvador in 2020, where I will be representing Canada, and I am so happy I have the chance to show others the beauty and culture of our country. I have always wanted to be a role model for youth and women, and being a titleholder is giving me that opportunity. I want to show that anything is possible if you work hard and never give up, and that you can accomplish anything you put your mind to. Never stop chasing your dreams. Ashley McGrath
Via email
Congratulations to you, Ashley, and to 22-year-old Shauna Griffiths of Ship Cove, NL. She was the 2018 Miss Canada Globe winner, and in October this year she was named third runner up in the Miss Globe pageant in Montenegro. Shauna has a kinesiology degree and will be studying fashion in British Columbia in the new year.
Guesses Still Coming In
We ran G.E. Pike’s photo in the October issue, seeking readers’ input in identifying these objects. We got a number of responses, but none of them sounded definitive. Here are some of the guesses sent to us:
“Maybe hooks, like large curved darning needles, to mend or make nets for fishing.” – Cliff Lush “I believe those are for carrying two pails over the shoulder. A pail is hooked on each end, and the hoop is placed on the shoulder. With two 18
December 2019
hoops a person could carry four pails at once.” – Peter Noel “Pretty sure it’s used for carrying dried salted cod fish.” – Danielle Yetman “Measuring the length for a curved lobster trap?” – Marian Ellis 1-888-588-6353
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SERVING THE COMMUNITY FOR 51 YEARS Carol Automobile Ltd. 55 Avalon Drive, Labrador City
709 944–2000 1–800–563–5555 www.carolauto.com
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homefront
Downhome tours...
Arctic Circle
A Visit to Santa
In August 2016, the crew of the CCGS Louis S. St-Laurent travelled to the North Pole. While they were there, they met Santa himself and showed him their Downhome magazine. The St-Laurent is an icebreaker based out of St. John’s, NL. The vessel travels to the Arctic every summer to assist with the transport of cargo to communities. She also transports scientists for research expeditions. This particular mission was for the purpose of mapping Canadian boundaries on the sea floor.
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The Long Road North
Bill Bursey travelled to the northern Yukon along the Dempster Highway to visit the Arctic Circle, with an August copy of Downhome to keep him warm – at least in his thoughts! The Dempster Highway passes through the Northwest Territories and Yukon. It connects the Klondike Highway in Yukon, about 40 kilometres east of Dawson City, to Inuvik, NWT. It is the only highway in the country that passes through the Arctic Circle, as most Arctic Circle communities in Canada are inaccessible by road.
The Extra Mile
David Vardy took his daughters’ letters to the North Pole to deliver them to Santa in person! The North Pole lies in international waters. Many countries conduct research there, including Canada, but no one country has claim to it. When David visited the North Pole, it was bright and sunny, which means the picture was likely taken during the summer when the sun never sets. In the winter, the sun never rises. Because the sun only rises and sets once per year, there is no established time zone at the North Pole. www.downhomelife.com
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Expert answers to common life questions. By Linda Browne
Why do we kiss beneath the mistletoe? Christmas is a time for visiting with family and friends; for stuffing yourself silly with cakes, cookies, syrup and other treats; for wrapping (and unwrapping) presents; and for making out with your beloved underneath a leafy green plant hung in the doorway. It’s no wonder most people seem so jolly this time of year! Kissing beneath the mistletoe is a funny little tradition that’ll make you hope Santa stuffed some extra lip balm in your stocking. But considering the fact that “mistletoe” essentially means “dung twig” in Old English (because most mistletoe seeds are spread via bird droppings) and that they’re parasitic plants, the romantic connotations may seem somewhat curious. So how did the whole smooching under the mistletoe thing come about in the first place? Mistletoes are evergreen and there are many varieties, including the Christmas (or European) mistletoe, according to the late Dr. Cynthia Friedman, in an article she wrote that appears on the Concordia University of Edmonton (CUE) website. Dr. Friedman was a scientist who studied mistletoe. She explained that the host trees of this particular mistletoe are often oak trees, which shed their leaves in winter. 22
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“Thus, in ye elden tymes, anyone stumbling across a mistletoe-bearing stand of oak trees in winter – perhaps even Christmas Eve – might be awestruck by the brilliant display of verdant plant life in an otherwise barren thicket. And indeed, such stumblers began to associate green mistletoe with Christmas, fertility, reproduction, and hence, well, the kissing. Not necessarily in that order...,” she wrote.
Mythology and Musicals
In his book, A Christmas Cornucopia: The Hidden Stories Behind Our Yuletide Traditions, writer Mark Forsyth (whose work focusses on the meaning and etymology of words) digs deeper. Several sources, he notes, trace the origin of the tradition back to the legend of Baldr, a Norse god who was killed by an arrow made of mistletoe. His mother, the goddess Frig, cried over the death of her beloved son and 1-888-588-6353
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her tears became the white berries of the mistletoe. In one version of the story, she used these to help bring Baldr back to life and was so overjoyed that she blessed the plant, declared it a symbol of love and promised a kiss to anyone who passed beneath it. But, as Forsyth writes, stories don’t always have such happy endings. “…If you dig out the Norse accounts of Baldr’s death (there are four of them), you’ll find that it’s just not true. Well, the first bit is. Baldr was killed by a mistletoe arrow. That’s it. The rest simply isn’t there. No tears become berries. And there’s certainly nothing in there about kissing. Instead, Frig is much more Norse about the whole thing. She finds the guy who made the arrow and tortures him for all eternity.” Then, Forsyth adds, there’s the widely-accepted explanation that American writer Washington Irving helped spread the tradition through his bestselling book, Old Christmas, which details Christmas customs he’d observed while living in England in the early 1800s – including kissing beneath the mistletoe. (Irving also noted that with each kiss, a berry would be plucked from the mistletoe, and when all the berries were gone, the smooching would cease.) “People on both sides of the ocean
read it as an instruction manual for the real, authentic, unpolluted, traditional Christmas, and then imitated it in their own homes,” Forsyth writes. However, Forsyth adds, while Washington later admitted to making some things up, a tune from the 1784 musical Two for One provides evidence of the existence of this custom with the lines: “When at Christmas in the hall the men and maids are hopping. If by chance I hear them bawl, amongst them quick I pop in. What all the men, Jem, John and Joe, cry, ‘What goodluck has sent ye?’ And kiss beneath the mistletoe, the girl not turned of twenty.” Forsyth also mentions the English apothecary and physician Sir John Colbatch, who wrote a book about mistletoe in 1719, followed by another. While Colbatch included everything he knew about mistletoe, including customs and superstitions associated with it, Forsyth says, “he doesn’t mention kissing. Not once.” Therefore, Forsyth concludes, this kissable custom must’ve started sometime between 1720 and 1784, “and I don’t know why, and I never will for certain,” he writes. “Although I can take a pretty shrewd guess that it involved a particularly lusty and inventive boy, and a particularly gullible girl.”
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
Santa Proof
My brother George believed in Santa Claus. When he was around 10 years old, he told the boys in school that Santa was bringing him a pair of skates. The boys laughed at him and said that there was no Santa – his father was Santa Claus. George didn’t believe the boys, so on Christmas Eve he tied his father to the bed to prove them wrong. His father had agreed to go along with it. In the morning, George rushed downstairs and, lo and behold, his skates were under the tree. He was so excited! He dressed, put on the skates and skated down to his grandmother’s house (streets were icy in 1937). He was shouting at the top of his lungs, “There is a Santa Claus! There is a Santa Claus!” He hadn’t tied his mother to the bed. Elizabeth James Grand Falls-Windsor, NL
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. 24
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“You better not cry because I have a fee, someone is watching ling ...” – Betty Field
Say WHAT? Downhome recently posted this photo (sent in by Jenay King) on our website and Facebook page and asked our members to imagine what this little guy might be saying. Betty Field’s response made us chuckle the most, so we’re awarding her 20 Downhome Dollars!
Here are the runners-up: “I saw Mommy kissing Santa Claus... and now I have to deal with this.” – Meg Noftall “I wonder if Santa is looking for another Elf?” – Cheryl Best “I said “toy”… not “BOY!” – Bonnie Warren
Want to get in on the action? Go to www.downhomelife.com/saywhat
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“Like” us on Facebook www.facebook.com/downhomelife December 2019
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homefront lil charmers
Frosty the Snowbaby
Little Benjamin and his moose buddy are in a festive mood. Mandy Cooper Alberta
Christmas Cuties Twinkle, Twinkle
Two-year-old Kinley looks out the window, eyes peeled for Santa. Krista Kelly St. Lawrence, NL
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Reading by Tree Light
Baby Anderson gets to stay up late and read about the best place in the world. Heather Rose Conception Bay South, NL
Darling Delivery
Little Miss Shauna brings home the family tree. Lorna Harty NL
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homefront pets of the month
festive furbabies Stylish Pupper
Eight-week-old Oliver is all dressed up for family supper! Greg Hodder Conception Bay South, NL
Ready for Santa
Baron models his festive PJs, hoping to get on the “good boy� list. Donna Piercey Fortune, NL
In a Tangle
Garfield helps decorate the house for his second Christmas. Wanda Lambert Torbay, NL
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Knee-Oh the Newf-Deer
The best reindog Santa could ask for! Kerri Miller Calgary, AB
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homefront
reviewed by Denise Flint
The Innocents Michael Crummey Doubleday Canada $32.95 (hardcover)
Michael Crummey’s latest novel, The Innocents, is the story of 11-year-old Evered and his younger sister, Ada, living alone together in a small cove somewhere on the Newfoundland coast sometime in the past. It begins with the death of their newborn baby sister, their mother and their father, and continues as the children grow to maturity with only each other to rely on. Hardship doesn’t begin to describe what the children go through. Perhaps the most heartbreaking part, though, is that they expect nothing else. Life is hard. That’s all they know. It doesn’t seem to occur to them that others elsewhere live completely different lives. Fortunately for them, help always seems to arrive just when things are at their most desperate, giving the children both another shot at making it through the next winter and a glimpse of the outside world they don’t really seem to believe exists. Crummey’s use of language makes for a very nuanced read as he juxtaposes words in the most interesting manner. Articles and events are described by the words Evered and Ada would have used, yet the children themselves and their situation are described with words and a sophisticated scrutiny they would never have encountered or understood. Thus, in one scene the narrator describes Evered’s hands as atonic, whilst Evered sees them as palsied. Some of the events are described so graphically it’s hard to read the words. The Innocents is not a book for readers with weak stomachs or sensitivity to animal suffering. 30
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Q&A with the Author Denise Flint: When did you know you were a writer? Michael Crummey: Well that’s a tough question; I still don’t know. My impression is that every writer feels exactly the same way. It’s something you have to prove to yourself every single day. It doesn’t matter how much or what you’ve written, the selfdoubt is pretty much a given. It just feels like it’s endemic to the writing community, that fraud syndrome – any day someone is going to let you know that they’re onto you – because your goals and ambitions always outstrip what you’re capable of.
DF: What does your writing day look like? MC: It really depends on what I’m working on, but for a novel I try to treat it like a job... I make myself write at least 500 words a day. Even if I delete 400 words the next day, I still have 100 I wouldn’t have had. I do it in the morning usually and do other things in the afternoon. But there are days I’m at it in the afternoon and evening as well if it’s going really well or really badly.
DF: This is a pretty grim story. Do you find it jarring to get up from the computer every day and return to your modern comfortable life that provides everything you need or want? MC: No, not really. I’ve been at this long enough to separate those worlds. I’ve always been amazed by the way some people were forced to live their lives, and I’ve always felt absolutely lucky to be born into the life I live. I www.downhomelife.com
remember Dad talking about fishing down on the Labrador in the ’30s and ’40s, and looking at me and telling me I never would have managed it. He meant I was born into different circumstances. I think that is part of the story of those two children. At the same time they are human beings who are interested in survival, but they’re also interested in beauty and joy, and they feel like their lives are worth living.
DF: What advice can you give writers just starting out? MC: I think the only real advice I have is to read as much and as widely as possible. I think reading is the only real way to know what makes a book work and how sentences and stories are put together. I don’t think it’s possible to be a good writer unless you’re a reader first.
DF: I know this is like asking someone about their children, but which is your favourite of all the books you’ve written? MC: Galore. I think that was the most fun I’ve ever had writing. I just couldn’t wait to get up every day. I went to bed thinking about the book, and I woke up thinking about it. I felt completely free writing that book, and in many ways I felt at the time that was the book I was meant to write and had been working towards for 30 years. I went through a really bad time afterwards and I didn’t understand why. It took months to figure out I was just missing the book. I have a full life, but I’d wake up and feel like I had no reason to get out of bed. December 2019
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Sponsored Editorial
Cain’s Quest returns in 2020 By Jackie Greenham
LABRADOR IS VAST.
Encompassing 294,330 square kilometres, it is nearly three times the size of the island portion of the province and is home to a mere six per cent of the entire provincial population. Living in Labrador is not always a walk in the park. In the winter, the weather is precarious, and in the summer the flies are, as they say, “murderous.” However, if you can see past these “inconveniences” and you look deep into the heart of the people and really appreciate the natural beauty of the land they live on, you will find something so unique that the appeal to explore is hard to ignore.
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Cain’s Quest Snowmobile Endurance Race is more than a professional sporting competition. It offers participants a rare opportunity to see, up close and personal, parts of Labrador that are scarcely travelled. Even if it is sometimes at speeds over 100 km/hour. Each race tells a different story with common themes of hardship, bravery, perseverance and camaraderie. The characters often remain the same though. It is the people and the volunteers at the checkpoints who display the warmest hospitality on the coldest of adventures. Cain’s Quest appeals not only to racers from outside of Labrador, but also to local residents. Mark Nui, from Natuashish, is one of those racers. Mark first signed on as a participant in 2008 and hasn’t missed a race since. “I love the feeling that comes with it, but it could just be the craziness,” Mark confesses. “It’s a sport that I love to do and it’s a way of life.” The race route takes in 13 different communities across Labrador. Mark’s teammate Dion Voisey, originally from Makkovik but now residing in Happy Valley-Goose Bay, says, “Cain’s Quest shows how beautiful yet rugged our land can be and how nice and helpful the people are.” The upcoming race on March 7, 2020, will see a record number of 50 teams – including two all-women teams – from four countries. It takes more than 500 volunteers to help organize the event and work the checkpoints. Locals will take care of and cheer on the racers as they come through each community checkpoint, delivering all the warmth and hospitality Labradorians are famous for. Mark and his race partner, Dion, will be out there, pulling skis, making repairs, fighting fatigue, navigating through the harshest terrain and braving the freezing temperatures. They will see the best and worst of Labrador, and they are going to have the time of their lives doing it. www.downhomelife.com
Mark Nui from Natuashish has been a part of Cain’s Quest since 2008. “I love the feeling that comes with it, but it could just be the craziness,” he confesses. “It’s a sport that I love to do and it’s a way of life.” Sheldon Tuck photos
Come to Labrador for Cain’s Quest 2020, or cheer the riders on from wherever you are at www.cainsquest.com!
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homefront what odds
silverbells, silver screens By Paul Warford
We get so busy Well readers, I was really beginning to think with shopping this might be our last Christmas together here by the What Odds fireside. Among the brisk hail showers and wrapping, of fall, I’ve been trying to think of a yuletide topic to and cleaning up shovel into, but I’ve already covered everything! family, being away from home, sledding, gift tinsel the cat has Food, selection – I’ve really run the gambit of plausible vomited, that it’s holiday themes. Earlier this week I thought I’d write easy to get about the Elf on the Shelf phenomenon to see if we could collectively get him down from there. Facedistracted from book parents cooked up the elf to encourage (bribe?) why we bother kids to behave, but hasn’t that always been Santa’s Wasn’t there already a well-established underwith all of this in job? standing between the two parties? Anyway, I can the first place. sum up my thoughts on the Elf on the Shelf in a sentence, as I just have, so we don’t need a whole piece on him. With nothing but coal in the ideas bin, I thought I’d have to bundle my bindle and leave the Downhome offices. But fear not, this Tiny Tim is around for at least one more season because I came up with something: movies! Everyone has a favourite Christmas movie! We get so busy with shopping and wrapping, and cleaning up tinsel the cat has vomited, that it’s easy to get distracted from why we bother with all of this in the first place. Ironically, fiction at this time of year helps keep us grounded; when we’re exhausted from a day at the mall and an evening of cooking geese, it can be a relief to change over from the news to see that The Grinch has just come on. A lot can be said for nostalgia at a time when our childhoods can seem so near and yet so far away. My friend is in a Christmas movie, did you know that? Okay, so it’s not a popular Christmas movie, but did you ever see The Santa Suit (2010)? Kevin Sorbo is in it; he used to be Hercules. Well, my comedian friend Paul Haywood plays the corrupt business guy with no Christmas spirit. I noticed him 34
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on the petite TV shoved into the corner of the kitchen one year, just past Mom’s shoulder as she prepared dressing. A lot can be said about a person based on their favourite Christmas movie. Mom always loved Miracle on 34th Street because Mom loves courtroom dramas. That’s a joke. I’d say Mom loves the movie because a retired primary teacher like herself probably appreciates a story about childhood innocence and belief in Santa Claus. My wife doesn’t believe in Harry Potter (luckily), but she treats the movies based on the megahit novels like Christmas films because she used to curl up and watch them with her sisters while snow fell soft on the backs of cattle across the grasslands of PEI. Some films are such unlikely Christmas candidates that you kind of forget that they’re holiday movies to begin with. Have you ever seen any of the Die Hard flicks? Those are technically Christmas films, and in the second one Bruce Willis blows up a plane. The Nightmare Before Christmas I’ve never watched because I’m not sure which season it’s meant for. From the same director there’s Edward Scissorhands, also a Christmas movie, but I think it tends to fly beneath the Santa sleigh radar because of its bizarre story and style. This Tim Burton classic is a favourite of mine, though. I think it’s a really beautiful tale. However, my all-time must-watch
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Christmas season movie experience would have to be Pulp Fiction. This story of two professional hitmen on a quest to retrieve a stolen item for their criminal boss has nothing to do with Christmas. Despite this, my brothers and I somehow got into the annual tradition of watching Pulp Fiction every Christmas Eve before bed, starting when I was about 12 years old. When you’re the youngest of three boys, quality time with your brothers can be scarce because they’re usually trying their best to avoid you. When I think of Pulp Fiction, I think of the three of us sitting and watching, quiet and together as a family. You grow to miss those times. The holidays aren’t about blowing up planes or Kevin Sorbo, they’re about staying close to those who mean the most, defining your holiday on your own terms. So I wish a very merry Christmas to you and your Netflix account this season, and we’ll see you in the new year. (I should mention as a disclaimer that Pulp Fiction is a wildly inappropriate film to show to any 12-yearold.) 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
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homefront poetic licence
T’was da nite afore Krissmas an’ all tru da town, Dere was nudding astir, not a sight nor a soun’. Da socks was all darned an’ hung up by da stove, In da hopes da ol’ skipper would come in tru da cove. Da youngsters was sleepin’ nice an’ warm in da sack, Havin’ dreams of all da stuff da ol’ skipper had in ’es pack. Wit’ da missus in ’er jammies an’ me in me longjohns, We was all sot for a mugup wit’ da kettle jus’ put on. Da light in da kitchen was all dat was lit, As I buttered me lassie bread up jus’ a bit. Den, b’ys oh b’ys what a racket we ’eared, Da missus jumped up in a fright, some afeared! I ran to da window an’ hove up da blin’, An’ had a gawk out da back to make sure all was fine. I tot maybe mummers was out on da go, But dere was nar sign at all, not a print in da snow. Or maybe da crowd from da pub come home late, And tripped on da wood arse, dey’d be in some state! 36
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Da moon was some bright an’ da snow all a glitter, T’was jus’ like me fadder’s bran’ new squid jigger. Den, wadda ya t’ink come outta da nite, But eight ’ardy moose haulin’ a punt, wadda sight! Wit’ a ol’ feller scullin’ as sharp as a tack, I knowed ’e was da ol’ skipper by da look of ’es pack. As quick as ya like all da mooses dey came, An’ I ’eared da ol’ skipper call each one by name! “Now, Rosey and Leia and Debbie and Bett, Look ’ere Judy and Myrna and Carol an’ Nett! “Like I told ya afore b’ys, yer all doin’ good, Now give ’er again one more time, like ya would.” Jus’ like da leaves in a gale when she blows, Shoots up in da air like a rocket, I s’pose. Dey let go for da sky wit’ all da mooses in front, An’ da ol’ skipper wit’ dat pack full of toys in da punt! Den quick as a wink dey was up on da roof. I could tell dey was dere by da sound of dere ’oofs.
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An’ jus’ when I turned an’ was lookin’ aroun’, Down da stovepipe da ol’ skipper come wit’ a boun’. ’E was dressed in ’es oilskins from ’es ’ead to ’es toes, Covered in soot from all da chimneys, I s’pose.
’E looked at me square an’ gimme a wink, An’ I said to meself, “I must be dreamin’, I t’ink! Den layin’ a finger up side of ’es nose, ’E nodded ’es ’ead an’ up da stovepipe ’e rose.
Wit’ dat big bag a toys dat ’e had on ’es back, ’E looked like a peddler jus’ openin’ ’es pack. ’Es eyes had a sparkle dat lit up da place, An’ ’es nose like a cherry sot right in ’es face.
I ’eared da punt’s keel scrapin’ da roof, An’ figgered da mooses was soon on da ’oof. I ran tru da door an’ out on da lawn To get a last look afore dey was gone.
Da gob on en small and hauled up like a bow, An’ a big fluffy beard dat was white as da snow. ’E had a ol’ pipe dat was shoved in ’es mout’, An’ it looked jus’ like fog wit’ da smoke dat come out.
’E jumped in da punt an’ laughed right out loud, Den dey took off straight up goin’ right tru da clouds. I bawled out to missus, “You can’t go, I know!” As I stood dere nar froze in da cold and da snow.
’E had a roun’ face an’ a girt big ol’ belly, Dat shook when ’e laughed like a bowlful a jelly. Sure ’e cut a fine figger, a jolly ol’ soul, An I started to laugh almos’ outta control. ’E said nar word but went right to da chase, Stuffin’ all a da socks in one frantic pace. Presents wit’ ribbons ’e put under da tree, For each a da youngsters, da missus an’ me.
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Den I ’eared en shout out as dey flid outta sight. “Merry Krissmas now b’ys, an’ to all a good nite!”
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life is better Fresh snow in Little Bay Islands, NL Michael Parsons, Litte Bay Islands, NL
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features
WE SHOULD ALL BE SO LUCKY to find someone to love us the way Gordon Pinsent loves theatre. It’s a “till death do us part” kind of love affair that has been celebrated on stage, on screen and behind the scenes since he was a teenager in the 1940s. At 89, he is still writing, acting and collaborating with other creators. In fact, he wrote and starred in a short film that had its Atlantic Canada debut at this year’s St. John’s International Women’s Film Festival in October. Titled Night Shoot, it costars veteran Canadian actress Sheila McCarthy and was produced and directed by Penny Eizenga. Gordon plays aging actor Branch, whose sense of play and dedication to his past characters reopens the heart of an embittered wardrobe mistress 40
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(played by Sheila). It’s a delightful short film with two stellar actors who spark up the screen. Branch is one of many characters in many stories that Gordon has written over the years, and Night Shoot is the second short film he’s worked on with Penny. In 2016, they debuted Martin’s Hagge, in which Gordon created a personification of depression, perhaps leaning on the “old hag” – what Newfoundlanders and Labradorians call sleep paralysis – for inspiration. 1-888-588-6353
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Gordon Pinsent, in a scene from Night Shoot
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Gordon with producer/director Penny Eizenga on the set of Night Shoot During a recent phone call, Gordon recalls how their partnership began. “She showed up while we were doing an excerpt from a series that might have been a series but never turned out to be one.” Penny expressed an interest in helping Gordon get some of his writings on film. “So there she was, producer-director coming onboard, and it made a lot of sense. I didn’t have to leave the house anymore,” he wisecracks. “She came up once a week and she’d indicate things that I’ve written that she thought would make interesting sidebars to my business, to what I do. Sure enough, we got a few made! And I was delighted!” He adds, “I get to sit there happily and be able to say I’m still working, rather than having been thrown out with the dust – or the groceries from yesterday – you know, that kind of thing.” He laughs and you know, even without being able to see his face, that his eyes are twinkling with merriment. Penny says, “I’ve read a lot of what he’s done, from a feature film to a poem, but the stories that appeal to me to do as a short film were ones 42
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that fit in with themes that I’m interested in, which is about faulted characters trying to find their voice, and I think Night Shoot fit that category. His [Gordon’s] character ends up winning over the heart of this jaded wardrobe mistress, who has basically shut herself off from the world from grief and pain, and I love that. I love that his sense of play, the character’s sense of play, pulled her out of herself.” Gordon admits that there is some of him in Branch, and some of Branch in him. “I’ve often gone by the batches of things that I have in my closet and I’ve said to myself, ‘Will they ever see the light of day?’” And like Branch, he’s curious about the lives of people or characters he’s only briefly experienced. “So basically, [Branch] was finishing the stories in life of people that would never get a chance and had no real finish from the standpoint of a life’s work kind of thing. And I think he was thinking of the way that would be in anybody’s life. You could look out the window and see people going by you would never meet in your life, and there’s a wonderful opportunity to 1-888-588-6353
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Penny Eizenga checks in on Gordon and co-star Sheila McCarthy. study that as a way of living.” This causes Penny to jump in with her own observation. “Gordon is a very curious person. That’s one of the things I’ve noticed about him, that he observes life, and that’s how he’s created so many interesting, intriguing, quirky characters. He remembers these things in little moments of observation, or connection to some obscure person he met somewhere in some bus station,” she says. “He has been such a great mentor and has helped me see greater expansion of character and looking deeper into character. Because that, to me, is one of his fortes, is noticing people and the little intricacies in
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someone’s character and what makes them intriguing. With Martin’s Hagge, one of the things that intrigued me, because I care a great deal about mental health, is how Gordon created this physical being for someone’s anxiety.” Gordon is quick to point out how Penny has benefited his life and ongoing career. “If I’m not going to complete most of the stuff that I’ve got piled up in the corner in the way of production, Penny would be perfect for that, to be able to polish up my ideas by just allowing me to ramble on... I’ve been a rambler and that’s fine, and she laughs. She’s laughing now,” he says, and right on cue, Penny
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can be heard laughing in the background. “I can stand to have another person say, ‘I like your work,’ you know,” he laughs. “She did say that, and I had to go back and read it myself and I said, ‘He ain’t bad! I’m going to get dressed again and go out of the house and see if I can continue this career until they drag me off. I don’t have to give it up.’ “It reminded me again, as I continued to work with her, that it ain’t too late. It’s not too late for me... I just feel as though I’ve got a long way to
ship and an almost father-daughter relationship that develops. And I haven’t seen anything onscreen like it in a while. I’m really excited about it,” Penny says. The movie is called A Far Cry – but that’s not the title Gordon had chosen for it. “The original title for it was far better than the script that I had written. It was called Violins Regardless. I’ve always loved that title. Nobody knew what it was about and that’s fine with me,” Gordon says. “I finally had to give it
IT’S NOT TOO LATE FOR ME... I just feel as though I’ve got a long way to go, and at least the feeling is there. Whether or not I do is something else again, and how I treat it.” go, and at least the feeling is there. Whether or not I do is something else again, and how I treat it.” When Penny came to St. John’s for the film festival and the screening of Night Shoot, she had another collaboration with Gordon on her mind. They’ve been working on her first feature film, developed from another of Gordon’s stories. While in Newfoundland and Labrador, she was planning to scout possible filming locations. “Yes, it is a piece that, to me, needs to be shot in Newfoundland. I think some of the austerity, and the beauty in the austerity, of the landscape is really important to the story about a woman who is escaping a violent relationship and hiding herself away in small-cove Newfoundland. No matter how hard she tries, she is discovered by this aging artist who, himself, is hiding himself away from his own loss of his wife and his grief. It’s a really beautiful story of friend44
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up because Penny got a funny look on her face when I said it the first time: ‘Where could we sell one ticket to that?’ Ah, well, there you have it, so we changed it. I used the title in something years ago, when I directed for the CBC. It was the title of something that had to do with a battered wife and it was called ‘A Far Cry From Home.’” When asked if he would be playing the aging artist in A Far Cry, Gordon mocked offense. “Am I playing the aging—?” he bursts out laughing. “You sound like every producer in Toronto: ‘Would you be young enough to play the aging character?’” Ageism in the entertainment industry is something both Gordon and Penny push back against. “It’s like there’s no interesting stories to tell about somebody once they hit a certain age,” Penny says,” and sometimes [they] just play the doting 1-888-588-6353
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Gordon and Sheila McCarthy in Night Shoot grandpa or the grandmother who has nothing to say, just there on screen. I just feel like we need to pay closer attention to people’s stories and they shouldn’t just disappear, and, in fact, their life is full of vibrancy and history that we should be capitalizing on.” So maybe Gordon will be cast as the young woman’s ex? “That’s an idea!” Gordon agrees, then laughs. “Don’t say that too loud because I’ll be doing it!” Gordon hopes that they can raise the capital and bring the movie production to Newfoundland and Labrador. “It’d be good for all of us,” he says. “I do manage to get home and play things now and then.” His tone is softer and wistful as he adds, “I still love it back there. It’s fabulous, just fabulous. No better people, I swear.” He may have been living away from home for most of his life, but he’s still a Grand Falls-Windsor boy who loves to have a good yarn. He says just the other day he ran into someone on the street who commented on his age, how they couldn’t believe Gordon www.downhomelife.com
was 89 years old. “I said, ‘How old are you?’ And we had a great discussion about age and so on,” Gordon says. What about retirement? Will he ever retire from working? “Retirement? No – not that I’m not getting tired, you know,” he quips. “I can sit and at least discuss with myself what I have left undone, and if I can still come up with a couple of good plans, why not? A good many people think it has very little to do with age, it has to do with, first of all, energy – that’s very important. And if I can find that, then I guess I’m going to stay in the same place until I’m satisfied with what I’ve done.” He says, “Life is still interesting. But it’s curious the emotions that take over when, in fact, it looks as though you are leaning towards giving it all up. I certainly have never wanted to use that as a truth. I didn’t want to say, ‘Well, that’s it for me.’ I wanted to be dragged off stage, that’s what I wanted… “I asked myself ‘Why not? Why can’t I just keep going?’” December 2019
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features
KNITTING BUDDIES RELEASE SECOND BOOK OF NEWFOUNDLAND PATTERNS.
By Marcia Porter
For selfish reasons,
I’m giving my mom a copy of Saltwater Classics, Caps, Vamps and Mittens from the Island of Newfoundland for Christmas. (Shhh, don’t tell her.) My mom’s a knitter, and I’m an appreciative wearer of knits. I’d like a pair of the Little Hearts Ease vamps, Brigus boot socks and A Star of Logy Bay cap, please. Oh, and I wouldn’t mind the Streely Maid Trio or the Harry Hibbs hat. This latest yarn from knitters Shirley A. Scott (aka “Shirl the Purl”) and her good friend, Christine LeGrow of Spindrift Handknits, is a cornucopia of colour, texture and story. With more than 150 colour photos, this book of caps, vamps and mittens is as appetizing as a collection of Newfoundland recipes. In fact some of the colour combinations look good enough to eat, like the berries that inspired their design. Others are so bright and 46
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AUTHORS CHRISTINE LEGROW AND SHIRLEY A. SCOTT Anja Sajovic photo
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fun, they could live in downtown St. John’s. “We wanted to broaden our scope and include other types of clothing, socks, hats, vamps and winter outerwear,” says Christine about creating a followup to their first book, Saltwater Mittens. That one was a runaway bestseller that earned Best Atlantic Published Book for 2019 from The Atlantic Publishers Marketing Association.
colour combinations and coming up with new ones. We are really keen on colour,” says Shirley, who is especially fond the of Little Hearts Ease diamond vamps that remind her of ones she received as a gift more than 20 years ago. “I could knit these day and night.” One of Christine’s favourite patterns in Saltwater Classics is her moose hat. “So many people had asked me for the pattern,” she says.
In their Great Vamp Debate section, they ask: What is a vamp, and when is a vamp not a vamp? In Saltwater Classics, folklorist Dale Jarvis sets the tone for the 200plus pages that follow. He writes: “Tradition is a curious thing… it comes from the past, but it lives in the present, carrying ideas into the future.” Shirley and Christine want their patterns to breathe, so they are broken up here and there by sprinklings of Newfoundland and Labrador folklore – bits of poetry, traditional song lyrics, colloquial terms and meanings. Their mission was not to create a museum piece, but to invigorate a living tradition, one that you can pass on to your own children and grandchildren, and have fun in the process. “We’ve had great fun in naming our 48
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“But the thing I find the cutest are the little Mockbeggar patterns; I really like making them.” This collection of caps, mittens and vamps will certainly look familiar to knitters and readers. You can’t help but feel nostalgic turning the pages, reminded of the hand knits that your mom or aunt or nan gifted you at Christmas. But there is a certain je ne sais quoi here in the colour and flare and the pairing of mittens, cap or vamps with landscape and the natural world. Saltwater Classics a loving homage to Newfoundland nans and all the women who came before, arriving from their old countries with little but memories, traditions and the odd garment. 1-888-588-6353
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“They were knitting in the dark by lamplight, using sheep’s wool they’d spun themselves from sheep they’d raised,” says Christine. “They didn’t have fancy dyes and they’d have to figure out these intricate patterns while feeding 12 babies and baking the bread.” In spite of their heroic efforts to keep families warm and fed, Christine and Shirley could find little information about the identities of these early knitters and tradition bearers. Even the Dictionary of Newfoundland English, their go-to language source for the rich vocabulary featured in Saltwater Classics, refers to knitting as a male occupation, as in the knitting of fishing nets. But the pair found a unique way to pay tribute to the nans. They created Nan at Your Side sections offering tips and techniques to accompany every pattern. “If Nan’s at your side, what could possibly go wrong?” says Shirley. There’s good humour and laughter throughout the pages of Saltwater
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Classics, but Shirley and Christine aren’t afraid to stir the pot. In their Great Vamp Debate section, they ask: What is a vamp, and when is a vamp not a vamp? They quote the Dictionary of Newfoundland English, which suggests the vamp is a short, thick oversock worn in boots or around the house as a slipper. However, in Bonavista proper, the ladies point out, a vamp covers the foot to the instep and has a very short, snugfitting ribbed cuff; while just up the road in Mockbeggar any hand-knit sock of any length is called a vamp. “In Saltwater Classics, we embrace all definitions and have provided patterns for several versions,” write Shirley and Christine, in the genial language of the knitter. “But the great vamp debate continues. It’s tangly.” That sense of fun is a running theme in this latest book; it’s what you might expect from these two, who continue building their fan base and, as Christine jokes, their worldwide “knit-work.”
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A dozen ways to spread cheer in your community this holiday season By Katherine Saunders
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At this time of year,
generosity goes around. We spend time with our loved ones, exchange gifts and make each other smile. Many people choose Christmas as a time to do something extra special, to give back and offer support where it is most needed. If you’ve been touched by the holiday giving spirit and are looking for places to share it, here are some that you may not have considered.
Host an ugly sweater FUNdraiser
Who doesn’t love an ugly sweater party? A nonprofit group in Vancouver, BC, called Now That’s Ugly started the #GetUglyGrantWishes party to fundraise for the Children’s Wish Foundation. The trend has caught on elsewhere, with companies and groups hosting parties and raising money. Get the family, the office, or the friend group together to dress in your ugly best and raise money for a great cause! Find out more at Nowthatsugly.com.
Give comfort
A growing movement is to make a care package with basic necessities to give to a homeless person (sometimes called a “blessing bag”). These can include healthy, non-perishable snacks; bottled water; socks, deodorant, soap, hand wipes and other small comfort items. You can keep the care package in your car for the next time you encounter someone in need of it. There are lots of articles available online with tips for how to make a care package.
Volunteer your time
Food banks, shelters and children’s charities get extra busy this time of year. Volunteering is a great way to give back to the community even if you’re strapped for cash, and it means a lot to the people who benefit from the help these organizations provide. In St. John’s, you can find places looking for volunteers at Volunteerstjohns.ca. Otherwise, search online or ask around for volunteer opportunities in your area.
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Support social enterprise
A gift that gives and gives
Many charities allow donors to make a contribution in someone else’s name. World Vision offers specific items you can buy for people in need at a variety of price points; for example, $20 can purchase emergency food for someone living through a natural disaster, and $100 can stock a medical clinic. When you purchase a donation gift, you get a card you can send your gift recipient to inform them of a donation made in their name. Browse the gift-giving catalogue at WorldVision.ca.
Open your home for the holidays
Have you ever thought about fostering an animal? There are lots of animals in temporary shelters who have not found their “furever” homes yet, but could use a space to spend the holidays. Organizations like the SPCA or Hoppy Homes small animal rescue are always looking for foster homes. Get in touch with your local shelter and ask about taking in a friend over the holidays.
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A social enterprise is a business that exists to generate revenue for a nonprofit organization. This year, consider supporting a social enterprise with your holiday shopping. Need clothes? Check out Neighbourhood, the thrift shop that supports Choices for Youth and employs at-risk youth. Looking for a holiday meal? The Hungry Heart Café is delicious and the profits support Stella’s Circle. These are St. John’s area examples; look for such enterprises near you.
Give a good night’s sleep
Sleeping Children Around the World is a charity that provides bed kits to children in developing countries. The $35 bed kits include a mat and bedding, a mosquito net, a backpack, school supplies, clothes and shoes. And, as much as possible, the items are sourced locally in the country where the bed kit will be used, to benefit that country’s economy. Learn more at SCAW.org.
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Donate Your Secondhand Furniture
Minimize waste and make a difference in someone’s life by donating your good-condition used furniture to organizations like Home Again Furniture Bank, who come to your house to pick up your furniture and bring it to someone in need. Find out more at Homeagainfb.ca.
Meet a Need
The Gathering Place in St. John’s, NL, helps vulnerable people with basic needs – food, clothing, medical treatment, socialization. They accept donations of clothing, kitchen items, hygiene products and bedding, as well as financial contributions. Or, you can help by volunteering your time and skills. They will find something for you to do! Kindnesswanted.ca.
Visit with a senior
Christmas can be a lonely time for some seniors, especially those who live away from their families or have no living relatives. Spend some time with someone to show you care, or donate a small gift like a pair of slippers or a new robe, to spread some love.
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Thank a retail worker
This time of year is the busiest for those working in shops, when they are spending extra time away from their families. And often, they bear the brunt of the public’s stress over the holidays. Show some kindness and say “thank you” to the person you meet at the register.
Make a party out of giving back
Organize a donation drive at work, or with friends and family. Pick a charity and provide the partygoers with a list of things most needed by that charity. Everyone brings a donation and stays to celebrate with food and drink and merriment because you’ve all helped make a difference this holiday season.
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A Boxing Day tradition delights young and old, performers and audiences alike. Story & photos By Dennis Flynn 54
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One would never suspect that Gay Phillips,
with her small stature and bright smile, is the head of a secret society. Likewise, Doug McDonald, with his red hair and glasses and gentle mannerisms, flies under the radar. But he, too, has a carefully guarded costumed identity that passersby could never guess. No, they are not Batman and Wonder Woman. They are much better than that. They are mummers. Not just any mummers, they are the founding organizers of the much-loved Colliers Mummers, an informal and intergenerational volunteer group that has been visiting and entertaining senior citizens and shut-ins at Christmastime in their rural hometown for more than 34 years. Gay, 55, and Doug, 54, both carry themselves as much younger, perhaps attributable to their joy in the more simple pleasures of life – a theme Gay raises when asked how she became a mummer. With a grin, she recalls, “It started for us back around 1985, when CBC-TV had a special on about mummers, and I thought to myself that would be a lot of fun to do.” Gay recruited two friends, Jeanine Walsh and Denise Poole, got dressed up and went mummering that Boxing Day. “I don’t remember how many houses we did that first year, but we went in and had a scuff with them and we would not talk or let them know who we were, but everyone loved it.” Every year, more people wanted to join their merry band. “It got so big at one point that we used to have two van loads of mummers with us,” Gay says. “That was quite a sight to see showing up in your yard. It was mostly all our family members and www.downhomelife.com
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friends. It died back a bit some years to four or five people, but myself and Doug never, ever stopped. We never missed it. There was only one year we went away to Ontario for Christmas, but we even did the mummers up there. We enjoyed it up there, but it was not the same as being here in Colliers. It is special and we will never miss it again.” Doug agrees, “We enjoyed our time in Ontario, of course, but I will never be outside of Newfoundland for Christmas and the mummers by choice again as long as I live. It is not about gifts and presents or expensive things; it is about friends and music and making great memories for us, giving a tradition of visiting to younger folks and, of course, entertaining our seniors, who absolutely love it.” He provides the music on his accordion, and sometimes they’re joined by fiddlers and ugly stick players. “We do the ‘Mummer’s Song’ and a few faster jigs, or if the people in the house have a special song we know they like, we try to do it. One older lady, Mrs. Grace, was 94 and I played her a special Irish song that she said took her back to being a tiny child in the old country, sitting on the flagstones outside her home. It made her tear up in a good way, and me, too.” Their mummer troupe has janneys of all ages, and sometimes it’s the littlest mummers who get the biggest laughs. Doug recalls one visit to the home of “Big John Whelan.” “He passed away a few years ago, but one time we went in and we had a number of small children dressed as mummers with us, and Big John said, ‘Let me get some candy for the youngsters.’ So he passed one little 56
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fellow two candy canes, one in each hand. Next thing we looked and the other little boy was coming with two salt capelin, one in each hand, that had been laid out as a traditional treat. It was pretty cool that one child wanted candy canes and the other wanted capelin.” He continues, “That’s what the mummers is: a beautiful combination of things of now and things of past. The old people like it because it brings them back to their childhood. The younger folks like it because it is fun and enjoyable. We are soon becoming the older generation ourselves, so I only hope that the next generation carries it on for others to experience.” One member of the Colliers Mummers, Julie Menacola of nearby Conception Harbour, is personally ensuring the next generation keeps mummering. She and her husband Stephen were living in Ontario when they started mummering during their visits home for Christmas, and the Boxing Day tradition continued after they moved back. “As the years went on we started to have a family, which now consists of three boys: Frankie (10), Benjamin (8) and Milo (4). We have always included them; as a family we love to do everything
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together. I remember the first year that we took the boys, one being a toddler and one an infant. I would incorporate the baby at the time into my mummer costume!” she recalls. “Our kids love Boxing Day and look forward to it every year to dress up, sing, dance and be silly. Now some of the houses that we visit even buy special treats or little gifts for them. Mummering and being part of the Colliers Mummers is a wonderful family tradition of ours, and hopefully we will continue for many years to come.” She adds, “The people who we visit absolutely love it and really appreciate it. They actually plan family gatherings at the time when they think we will arrive.” Some even dress up themselves. At one house, a man dressed as Santa surprised them with gifts for the youngest mummers. At another house, a woman was knitting in her rocking chair when the mummers came knocking, just like in the opening scene of the “Mummer’s Song” video. “This lady was very sweet and a great sport. She was setting the scene for her grandchildren who were visiting home for Christmas. So I think folks we visit definitely look forward to it as much as we love to go see them.”
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features
From turkeys and turtle doves to donkeys and kangaroos, the animals that make appearances in holiday traditions around the world
As a child, I remember my grandfather telling me
stories about how his mother would make sure to visit the barn on Christmas Day and give their farm animals a special Christmas treat. Animals, after all, are as much as part of this holiday as the presents and the decorations. Some of their connections make sense, others are just too fanciful to believe. I hate to break it to you, but reindeer cannot fly no matter how much Christmas magic is in the air. And there are a few even stranger bits of Yuletide mythology that could make your Santa hat spin. Read on as I shed some light on the origins of Christmas animals around the world.
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Partridge
The highly inconvenient gift of a partridge in a pear tree is commonly associated with the song, “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” where it is the first gift received from a true love. The true love in the song is meant to represent God and the partridge symbolizes Jesus. In fact, all the gifts in the song have religious significance.
Donkey
A holiday favourite is the story of Nester the long-eared donkey who just wants to fit in. It is based on the biblical tale of Mary’s trip to Bethlehem. However, according to the Pope, donkeys weren’t even near the manger during Jesus’ birth and they are not mentioned in the Bible as Mary’s transportation. In fact, until the 19th century, it was St. Nick who was typically shown riding a donkey or a horse-drawn sleigh. www.downhomelife.com
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Camel
Kings riding into Bethlehem on camels have become synonymous with Christmas. However, while the Bible mentions the “magi,” it does not mention camels. In fact, archaeologists claim that the desert dwellers didn’t arrive in countries like Palestine until the 10th century BC, long after Biblical characters used them. How they became a part of the Christmas story is unknown, but maybe it is because of the desert-like environment of Bethlehem.
Christmas Movie Animals Max the dog, The Grinch Snoopy the dog and Woodstock the bird, Charlie Brown Christmas
Hocus Pocus the rabbit, Frosty the Snowman
Caribou, Polar Express Gizmo, Gremlins Buzz’s tarantula, Home Alone 60
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Rudolph and Bumble the abominable snowman, Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer
Zero the ghost-dog, Nightmare Before Christmas
Topper the penguin, Santa Claus is Coming to Town
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The Ancient Wren
In several countries, including Ireland, Boxing Day is referred to as St. Stephen’s Day or Wren Day. An ancient tradition in these countries was for youths armed with sticks to form the Wren Boys Procession and
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beat the hedgerows until a small bird known as a wren was caught and sacrificed. It was then displayed on a decorated pole and paraded around to every household. A feather would be plucked and given to the homeowners as protection against witches. The origin of this primitive custom is very obscure, but it is thought that a wren alerted the guards when St. Stephen attempted to escape imprisonment, causing the death of the Christian martyr. In Greek mythology, the wren was considered the king of the birds, and killing the bird represented the end of the old season and the start of the new. This tradition is so old that it has nearly died out completely. However, it is still carried out by a dedicated few of Irish descent on Newfoundland’s Avalon Peninsula.
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Turtle Doves
Doves symbolize love, peace and loyalty. In the song, “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” the two turtle doves represent the Old and New Testaments. Doves have been depicted in early Christian literature as the manifestation of the Spirit of Christ’s baptism. They are mentioned in the New Testament, in which two are sacrificed during Christ’s birth, and they are featured quite prominently in poems and stories throughout history.
Kangaroo
Yes, you read that right! The Australian Christmas song “Six White Boomers” tells of Santa Claus giving his reindeer a well-deserved break once they reach the land down under. There he swaps his reindeer for white kangaroos to help deliver gifts to all the good little Aussie girls and boys. Boomer is a nickname for male kangaroos, who would probably be quite capable of carrying out the task of sleigh pulling – they can travel at 35 miles per hour and jump 25 feet in a single bound!
Christmas Inspired Animal Names The candy cane shrimp, Alpheus randall, is a red and white striped shrimp that resembles a candy cane. The Christmas tree worm, Spirobranchus giganteus, has two “crowns” that resemble red and white Christmas trees. 62
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Reindeer
Nothing evokes the magic of Christmas more than the image of eight, or nine, trusty reindeer pulling Santa’s sleigh through the night sky. The story of Santa Claus is largely based on St. Nicolas of Myra and Sinterklaas of Dutch folklore, both of whom travelled on a white horse. In Norse and Germanic mythology, Thor, God of Thunder, flies through the sky in a chariot pulled by two magical goats. It is possible that this may have inspired Santa’s sleigh, and reindeer were viewed as mysterious
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creatures linked to the land in Northern parts of Europe. However, the general consensus is that Western culture created flying reindeer when Clement C. Moore wrote his famous poem, “The Night Before Christmas,” in 1821. The original poem listed only eight reindeer, which most of us can name by heart, but what about the most famous reindeer of all? More than 100 years later, in 1939, a writer named Robert May created a character for a colouring book to be handed out to children when they visited Santa at a department store. The 20th-century addition to the team was the red-nosed, foggy night hero, Rudolph.
Talking Animals
One familiar legend claims that barnyard animals and pets gain the power of speech at midnight on Christmas Eve. It is thought that this tale stems from the belief that Jesus was born at exactly midnight, and that his birth led to various supernatural occurrences. It is speculated that the myth has pagan roots, and some point to the genuflecting oxen and donkey often depicted in the Nativity scenes.
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Turkey
Prior to the 16th century, goose, swan, peacock or wild boar were the choice Christmas meal. The consumption of turkey is a relatively recent tradition. Henry VIII is believed to be the first person to eat a Christmas turkey, although Edward VII made it fashionable to eat turkey on Christmas Day. It wasn’t until the middle of the 20th century that the gobbler overtook the goose, with about 10 million turkeys now being eaten at Christmas.
Mouse
When decorating your tree this year, it is almost guaranteed that you will hang at least one bulb that depicts a cute and festive mouse. This little critter found its way into our Christmas traditions when referenced in “The Night Before Christmas.” It doesn’t hurt that they are so darn cute. 64
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More Christmas Animals European Robin (UK) Sheep (Biblical) French Hens (UK) Geese (UK) Swans (UK)
Goat and Boar
Many Scandinavian Christmas decorations feature stylized goats made of straw to represent a real goat that would have been slaughtered for the festive feast. The Yule goat is also said to be a spirit that visits households to ensure Yule preparations are underway. The Norse, meanwhile, made an oath for the New Year over a pig to be prepared for the holiday feast, which occurred on the 12th night of Yule (January 1). This is possibly the precursor to making a New Year’s resolution.
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Birds (Denmark/Finland/Norway) Penguins (Western/Commercial) Polar Bear (Western/Commercial) Oxen (Biblical) Rooster (Latin America) Dogs (Western/Commercial) Bees (UK) Spiders (Germany/Poland) Owls (Unknown)
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features
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to be a quiet Christmas for Mike and Georgina Parsons. Poised to become the sole permanent residents of Little Bay Islands, they spent the fall watching their friends and family depart the remote Notre Dame Bay community that in February voted unanimously to resettle. Speaking to the couple in October, they say they suspect only a handful of residents – if any – will remain for the holidays as government readies to sever services to the community near the end of this year.
Michael Parsons photo
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“Even though they voted to leave, it’s heartbreaking to watch it, and it’s heartbreaking for them to leave,” says Mike, whose family arrived in Little Bay Islands when he was a toddler. It’s a move that’s been years in the making. With a population in steep decline since the 1980s, resettlement has been debated in this once-bustling fishing community for the better part of a decade. The Parsonses retired a couple of years ago, returning to Mike’s hometown to be a part of the community while it still existed. “I will miss the people here, but I have a connection to this place that’s just hard to explain,” says Mike, who previously spent two decades working as a software engineer in Ontario. That deep connection to the land and to the sea surrounding it, plus a penchant for solitude, is what fuelled the couple’s desire to stay put after the lights go out. And it drove them to find ways to sustain themselves once the electrical grid, plowed roads and ferry service to and from “mainland” Newfoundland become things of the past for Little Bay Islands. 68
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Party of Two
In preparation for resettlement, the Parsonses switched to solar power in September, a $17,000 system that’s served them well so far. They have a propane stove for cooking and a wood stove for heating. In addition to a robust stock of preserves (smoked fish, bottled moose etc.), they’ll have freshly laid eggs thanks to their new brood of chickens. And when the harbour isn’t jammed with ice, they have their own boats for getting to and from their island home. But for the most part, they plan to stay put. “I hate leaving here,” Georgina confesses. Originally from St. Mary’s Bay, she’s been smitten with Little Bay Islands since she first visited there with Mike in 2010. “I was just struck by its beauty,” she says of that first trip on a windy April day. “I remember making the comment, ‘I feel like I’ve gone back in time,’ and I meant that in a good way.” While some of their friends express their worry about loneliness and boredom setting in, especially during 1-888-588-6353
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Michael Parsons photo
the winter, the Parsonses aren’t concerned. They’ll use their snowmobile to forge paths for snowshoeing and walking their dog. And they’ll likely build a skating rink on the frozen harbour as they have in the past. “I can see myself reading by my fire, watching the storm through the windows,” Georgina says. Mike will spend his days much as he did when he was a youngster. “I really loved spending time by myself exploring the island. Even from a very small age, I would be gone from daylight to dark just basically roaming around,” he says. His favourite
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spot is a place called Ben Batt’s Cove. “You can snowshoe there in the wintertime when the bogs and everything freeze up… I have a little cabin there that’s kind of my sanctuary, where I go and spend time by myself,” he says. As the weather improves, the Parsonses expect some residents will return to their homes and cabins, and they’ll have neighbours once again. But they are keenly aware that things will never be the same. In many ways, things changed the moment resettlement became a discussion in Little Bay Islands.
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Mike and Georgina Parsons pose for a photo in Little Bay Islands, the latest Newfoundland and Labrador community to resettle.
“Resettlement has been the only conversation on this island for the last seven years,” says Mike. “And I am so tired of it right now… seeing what it has done to the fabric of the island.” Tension swiftly formed in the once tight-knit community among those who wished to stay and those who didn’t. (Previous votes fell short of the 90 per cent majority required for government-assisted resettlement.) Furthermore, people deemed ineligible to receive relocation funds (up to $270,000 per family) from the government now bitterly question the fairness of the qualification process. (Having recently returned, the Parsonses weren’t eligible to vote, nor did they receive relocation funds.) It’s a heartbreaking turn of events in a community where everyone once felt like family. “You couldn’t get a tighter knit place than what this place was,” says Mike. “I think some healing has started to happen. But I think there will be some rifts that probably won’t heal.” For Mike and Georgina, however, 70
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their former neighbours will remain, affectionately, “aunts” and “uncles” as they always have been.
Keeping a Light On
While they’ll have Little Bay Islands to themselves much of the time going forward, the Parsonses are determined to keep it alive in the hearts and minds of many. In September they launched a Facebook page to tell the story of the place and its people. They named it “Kintsugi,” after the Japanese art of using gold to mend pieces of broken pottery – a reminder that there is beauty to be found in something deemed broken, even a community. It’s important to them that Little Bay Islands’ resettlement, a historic moment for both the town and the province, be captured for posterity. “Most people here are very media shy,” says Mike. “They don’t want to talk to the press. So we kind of felt that maybe if we did it ourselves and started talking to people and posting things, we’d be documenting it.” They’re also using the platform to 1-888-588-6353
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share their experience going off-grid and living remotely. Maintaining the site will be something else to keep them busy during the long winter months and beyond. And with the coming holiday season, Mike will no doubt find himself reflecting on Christmases past in Little Bay Islands: A houseful of children waking Christmas morning; the smell of his mother’s Christmas cake wafting from the oven; his older brother, Steve, gobbling up any baking ingredient left in plain sight. But his most cherished holiday memory of all is one that brought the whole town together. “We had a Christmas concert at school. That was the highlight of the year for the entire community,” he says. While the students spent months rehearsing their performances, it was an adult who always managed to steal the show, says Mike. Year after year, old and young alike anticipated the thunderous arrival of local Ralph King, known to the children simply as Santa Claus. “He was like Mr. Energizer Bunny. He was hopping all over the place and getting us kids all riled up. Even talking about it now, the hairs on the
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back of my neck stood up,” says Mike, chuckling at the vivid memory. “I still can see him now. And he was only about 110 pounds soaking wet, but he was convincing.” With the Parsonses planning to stay for the long haul, there will likely be many more Christmases to come in Little Bay Islands and new memories to be made. “Little Bays Islands might be getting resettled, but it’s not going to die,” says Mike. In his mind’s eye, he can still see the very first ferry, an old converted schooner, that connected his hometown to the outside world. During our interview in October, he imagines what it will be like to watch the MV Hazel McIsaac (the ferry that’s serviced Little Bay Islands in recent years) pull away for the final time. “No doubt I’ll be crying,” says Mike, adding he’ll be honoured to document the historic moment for the rest of us. “It will be bittersweet. It will be the end of one era and the beginning of something brand new for us – something that we’re very excited about.” Follow the Parsonses’ journey at www.facebook.com/KintsugiLBI.
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explore
Katherine Saunders presents 12 days and nights of Christmas celebrations in Atlantic Canada, beginning with a magical transformation of the MUN Botanical Gardens in St. John’s.
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A lot of preparation, and a little Christmas magic, goes into one of St. John’s newest holiday traditions: the Merry and Bright Festival of Lights at the MUN Botanical Gardens.
Every December, the gardens and trails transform into a winter wonderland. Visitors walk through a tunnel of light and find new delights at every turn as they wind their way among the gardens. There are lots of special moments to enjoy – the greenhouse full of (battery-operated) memorial candles in paper bags, hot chocolate and snacks in the shed, a bonfire, and carollers on the path. It’s no wonder that visitors always leave with smiles on their faces and a “Merry Christmas” for the staff on the way out.
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The journey to that happy ending begins a whole 12 months before, when the Gardens staff and volunteers meet in January to discuss the most recent festival and start brainstorming on the next one. There is a crew of Christmas lovers that decides where everything will go, using photos from the previous year so that nothing goes in the same place two years in a row. In the fall, the decorating begins. One of the biggest challenges is making sure there are enough power sources for thousands of lights, including enough rechargeable bat-
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teries to go around. This year, they have added a new section of trail to the display, so there were new lights to be purchased. And to keep things as “green” as possible, they use all LED lights. Decorating started in October, and went into high gear in November after Halloween was over. This year, visitors can look forward to some new features, including a giant heart, a themed night in collaboration with Sci-Fi on the Rock, a “Santa’s Workshop” for families, and a synchronized light and music display – a project by ELFS (Engineering Light Festival Students), which
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counts towards their Electrical Engineering grade. The 2019 festival will be easier than ever to attend because it will run every night (weather permitting) from December 4 to 22. Tickets can be purchased online for any night (MUN.ca/botgarden). Parking is at the Marine Institute on Ridge Road, and a shuttle bus brings visitors to the Gardens and back. It’s a fun ride, says Kim Shipp, MUN Botanical Gardens director, as people often burst into carols on the bus! Proceeds from the festival support the Botanical Gardens’ educational programming throughout the year. Kim encourages everyone who can to come out to see the lights and have a delightful, festive evening. “We really have become one of the new traditions,” she says. “It is a wonderful space for the community to come together.”
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Merry and Bright by the Numbers 70,000 LED lights used 200+ candles lit each night 12 people on the team that designs
and builds the displays
6 weeks it takes to set up each year 17,000 visitors in 2018 19 nights that the Merry and Bright
Festival runs (weather permitting)
1 km length of the tour, taking about 45-90 minutes at your own pace
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First Night Celebrations Labrador City, NL
Boat Lighting Port de Grave, NL
There’s nothing quite like Christmas lights, and in Port de Grave, the community comes together every year to make a spectacle that people come from all over to see. The harbour is filled with boats of many shapes and sizes, and the owners light them up for the holidays!
Gingerbread Festival Chester, NS
The town of Chester, Nova Scotia, puts off an annual Gingerbread Festival. This year’s theme is “A Village Christmas,” and entries will be displayed at White Gate Inn & Restaurant November 29 to December 1. A lot of hard work goes into the creation of these beautiful houses, and it shows by the photos of past entries – some have to be seen to be believed! Look up “Gingerbread Festival Chester, NS” on Facebook.
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Every year, folks in Labrador City come together on New Year’s Eve for First Night Celebrations. This year’s theme is “First Night Family Fair.” The Labrador City Arena will be open 5-8 p.m. with fun games for the whole family. A fabulous fireworks display will top it all off. Get the latest on the Special Events page at LabradorWest.com.
Christmas-by-the-Sea St. Andrews, NB
In the seaside resort town of St. Andrews by-the-Sea, Christmas is a big deal. Their festival runs from midNovember until the New Year, and includes a Santa Claus parade and special events at local shops, the Algonquin Hotel and the museum. Learn more at Standrewsbythesea.ca.
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The Mummers Festival St. John’s, NL
This cultural festival aims to carry on the tradition of mummering in Newfoundland and Labrador with workshops and community events over the first half of December. This year’s festival runs November 30 to December 18, and the Mummers Parade is on December 14. All ages are invited to make their own costume and ugly stick, and stomp with the best of them! Visit MummersFestival.ca.
Festival of Lights Bay Roberts, NL
Bay Roberts goes all out for the holidays with their annual Festival of Lights. They have the largest Nativity collection east of Montreal, and not one but two Santa Claus parades. There will be mummering, Christmas light displays and a slew of holiday concerts.
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Wintertide Holiday Festival Charlottetown, PEI
The annual Wintertide Holiday Festival is a celebration of all things festive – wreath exhibits, concerts, religious services, craft fairs, food festivals, the list goes on. There are lots of events to choose from throughout December. Find the full list of events on the city’s website at Charlottetown.ca.
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Santa Shuffle Fun Run and Elf Walk Paradise, NL
The Santa Shuffle is held annually in communities across Canada – including Paradise, NL. Choose the 5 K run or the 1 K walk, dress festive and get moving! Funds raised help the Salvation Army provide support for local families. The Paradise event begins at 10 a.m. on December 7 at the Community Centre. Register at Santashuffle.ca.
Sleigh Rides at Lester’s Farm St. John’s, NL
A gentle snowfall, a sleigh, horses – what could be more magical? Lester’s Farm Chalet offers sleigh rides through the farm on a red sleigh pulled by two beautiful horses. They even have rides on Christmas Eve! LestersFamilyFarm.ca
Christmas Theatre and Music Everywhere!
Community theatres will be bustling with performances that celebrate the music and stories of the Christmas season. From classic and contemporary shows like “A Christmas Carol” or “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” to a local musician’s take on your favourite holiday carols, there is bound to be a memorable evening in store near you.
Check out a Craft Fair Anywhere near you
Craft fairs happen in church halls and community centres everywhere, especially leading up to Christmas. They’re an opportunity to find local gifts and meet people who use their creativity to make amazing creations. Jewelry, clothes, decorations, food, artwork – you can find something for everyone at a craft fair, and feel good about supporting local enterprises.
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explore
An unforgettable night with a composer, a classical singer and a local entertainer all based on a spin of a map and a random finger point.
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The attractive lady
with the long brown hair opens her mouth to sing and time stands still. Jaws drop, all chitchat and the clink of glasses stop as the room descends immediately into almost reverent silence. Accompanying this enchanting songstress is a young man playing, of all things, a ukulele. As astounding as this performance is, it is even more incredible that it is an impromptu show for a small gathering of unsuspecting guests in an outport inn. It’s August 2011, and we are in the back room of Aunt Edna’s Boarding House B&B in the remote community of Little Bay Islands, NL. My friend and I, on a cross-island hiking and camping trip, had spontaneously called up the B&B owner, Sharlene (Shar) Hinz, to see if she had a room to spare. We were lucky enough to secure last-minute lodgings in the charming two-storey, flat-roofed former merchant’s home, historically recorded as Oxford House. This evening, a local entertainer was performing for guests in the inn’s tearoom. At the end of his set, he asked if anyone else would like to www.downhomelife.com
get up and do a song. He looked at me first, and gestured to hand me a guitar since I seemed to know at least the chorus to a few songs he had played. But I quickly said, “I have a closing time voice. When I start singing, it’s time to close. Also, the only thing I can play is the radio.” So the question goes out to the others. Any takers? Silence. The entertainer lets the silence continue for a bit before thanking the audience and moving to pack up his gear. Then the young lady says, “My husband – he is very, very shy and will not say, but he plays.” December 2019
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Aunt Edna’s Boarding House B&B in Little Bay Islands “That’s OK,” the entertainer says. “We are all friends here. What does he play?” With admiration in her soft voice, she says, “Everything. He is a composer. He plays everything.” Trying to draw the young man out of his shell, the entertainer asks him where he’s from and what brought him to Little Bay Islands. They are from a city in the United States, and they are here on their honeymoon. They wanted to go somewhere far away, somewhere very different. A map was picked, a spin was made, a random spot was pointed at. It ended up being somewhere off the coast of Newfoundland. When they searched online for the nearest town and accommodations, they got Aunt Edna’s on Little Bay Islands. Nothing more, or nothing less, to it than that. After enough nudging, the young composer finally performed, and by the end he was enjoying himself so much it became almost a running joke, as the older man kept handing him ever more bizarre instruments, including the ugly stick, in a good82
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natured attempt to stump him. Finally the older man conceded to the wife with a laugh, “You were right. He really can play everything.” Then the husband says, “She is actually the talented one. Get her to sing and you will see what I mean.” Her closing number, a rendition of the medley “Somewhere Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World,” was amazing and something I will always associate with Little Bay Islands in the best possible way. That night will remain one of the singular greatest unanticipated shows I have ever seen, anywhere in the world, for any amount of money. Period. I’ve actually been fortunate enough to visit Little Bay Islands four times over the years to hike the trails, take in the view from Pole Hill and explore the coast on paddle board. During periods of fair weather, the sheltered coves create an idyllic setting for photographers and kayakers, and every trip I’ve always wished for a few more days of leisure to wander about. The remote community, long under 1-888-588-6353
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pressures both economic and otherwise, finally voted to resettle this year. After December 2019, the town of Little Bay Islands will cease to exist in its current format.
authentic Newfoundland and Labrador food, culture and hospitality on a resettled island. Likewise, the abandoned community of Great Harbour Deep on the Northern Peninsula, and
Little Bay Islands from Pole Hill
History in places like Little Bay Islands is a tenacious, trying thing. It does not go gently; it does not cease to exist with the simple switching off of the lights. Stories and songs linger on long after the tellers have departed, waiting only to be plucked from the soil and told and sung anew by fresh voices. Who’s to say what ventures may draw visitors and tourists anew to this most beautiful refuge in the years ahead? Look to places like Woody Island in Placentia Bay, where tourists flock to experience
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any number of outfitting operations to the most inaccessible parts of Labrador that draw adventurers from around the world for unique hunting, fishing, canoeing, kayaking, snowmobiling, camping, photography and other types of adventure travel experiences. Perhaps, as the young lady’s final song suggested, despite the current dark storm of resettlement it is still a wonderful world after all, and the sun may continue to shine on Little Bay Islands.
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explore travel diary
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There I was again.
Just nine months ago I’d visited this little community. But Little Bay Islands recently got the green light to resettle, and the short ferry to it wouldn’t be operating much longer. And so to town I drove, then parked by the bridge and sat a moment while the rain poured and poured. I opened a can of herring and ate. I then drank my large McDonald’s coffee bought that morning in Gander. When it finally stopped raining at about 4:30 p.m., I stepped out with camera in hand and walked over to the old shed and car wreck that I’d shot last time. With almost a year gone by and different weather, the whole ambiance of a place can sure change.
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I walked over to the Heritage House, which was always open and free. Last time I’d talked to the woman who owned it. She’d told me only 38 people lived in town and the school had closed five years ago. The house was packed with old stuff, from magazines and books, to clothes and photos. It was really quite nice to leave it open for strangers to get an idea what it was like once upon a time. Back outside I walked a bit more until it started pouring again, send-
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ing me back to the car for refuge. At 6:00 it stopped raining, and the sun looked like it was going to win. I stepped out again with the camera and walked and walked all around the bay. What great reflections on the water! I took photos of some old sheds and wharves. I went inside an old abandoned store, which was unlocked. I walked around the closed fish plant. In vain, I hunted for the wrecked shed in the water at the end of a little
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wharf that I’d photographed last time. Here today, gone tomorrow. Or rather, there yesterday, gone today. (A month later, comparing photos taken then with the recent ones, I discovered I’d actually photographed the stageless wharf.) Under sunnier skies, I walked farther than I had last time, over an old boardwalk through the woods and to Back Beach, where the coast was quite rugged. It was still quite light out at 9:00, when I returned to my www.downhomelife.com
car. I drove back to the ferry wharf, got into my sleeping bag in the back of the car and called it a night. (In my travels, sometimes I stayed in a B&B and sometimes in the car, which gave me plenty of flexibility.) Next morning the sky brilliantly woke and I drove back into Little Bay Islands for a few more photos before it would be time to board the ferry for one last ride away from this beautiful little community. Glad to say I was here. December 2019
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food & leisure the everyday gourmet
Homemade Limoncello! 88
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the everyday gourmet By Andrea Maunder
Andrea Maunder is the owner and creative force behind Saucy & Sweet – Homemade Specialty Foods & Catering.
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Have you tasted limoncello (pronounced LEE-moan-chell-oh)? It’s a gorgeous traditional Italian liqueur commonly served as a digestif at the end of a meal. Its intense, bright lemon flavour is created by infusing the aromatic essential oils from the lemon skin into alcohol and then sweetening with a sugar syrup. The best commercial brands are lightly sweetened. It has roots in Southern Italy, where beautiful varieties of fragrant lemons grow prolifically and nearly every family has their own jealously guarded recipe. With indulgent holiday eating this time of year, a drop of chilled limoncello at the end of a meal is the perfect foil. Limoncello is typically stored in the freezer and served without ice in a small cordial or shot glass. It also makes beautiful cocktails and is great in desserts. (Try a drizzle over vanilla ice cream.) There are few ingredients and the process is simple. You just need glass vessels and time for the infusion of flavours, and some pretty bottles with tight-fitting lids to store it in when it’s done. It makes a fantastic Christmas gift. Make up a big batch for the foodies on your list. I have included a variation of liqueur made with blood oranges and spices – gorgeous seasonal flavours. This one is fabulous added to hot chocolate, coffee or tea and can be used to make easy mulled wine by adding (to taste) to full-bodied red wine and warmed. (Tip: be sure to keep the
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wine below the boiling point or you will boil off the alcohol!) Limoncello is traditionally made with overproof neutral-flavoured alcohol, which is not available locally. So I have created a recipe using regular 40% vodka, which I think has just the right sweetness level. You can adjust the sweetness to your taste by making and adding more of the sugar syrup to the infused vodka, but remember that diluting the vodka too much could result in your limoncello ending up less than 30% alcohol, meaning it would freeze if
stored in the freezer. If you are in doubt, store it in the fridge, or do a little test by half-filling a mason jar, putting it in the freezer overnight and checking it in the morning to see if it froze or not. Select thicker-skinned, unblemished lemons – organic if you can find them. You will be using the skin, not the juice, so it’s better to avoid pesticides if you can. When I can’t get organic fruit, I just wash them well in warm water with a bit of natural dish soap, rinse them well and scrub them dry with a clean tea towel.
Limoncello Makes 2 cups (triple or quadruple the recipe for gift giving) 2 cups vodka 5 large lemons, washed well and dried
Select a glass container with a tight-fitting lid that holds at least 3 cups (24 oz), so you have space for the lemon zest and for shaking to encourage the infusion. Wash it and rinse it well with boiling water to sterilize it. Place the lid on loosely just to keep debris out and let it cool while you prep the ingredients. With a vegetable peeler, take, in long strips, all the yellow peel from the lemons. Avoid the white pith under the skin, which imparts a bitter flavour. (Reserve the juice for another use; you can freeze it in ice cube trays for later!) Place all the peel shreds in the jar. Pour in the vodka. Replace the lid, give it a couple of shakes and store it in a cool spot for up to two weeks to infuse. It
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3 1/2 ounces water 1 cup white sugar helps to shake the jar every day or two. My kitchen is cool, so I leave it on the counter so I remember to give it a shake. The vodka will take on a beautiful yellow colour. If you are short of time, there is quite a bit of infusion after only 3-4 days; but if you can, leave it for two weeks. On bottling day, make a sugar syrup by simmering the sugar and water in a small pot just until the sugar is dissolved (a couple of minutes). Scrape into a bowl and let cool completely. Meanwhile, wash and sterilize the pretty bottles you have for the finished product and set aside. Strain the infused vodka through a fine mesh sieve into a clean jug or measuring cup large enough to allow
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you to stir in the syrup. You can add the syrup in stages, if you like, allowing you to make it less sweet if that is your taste. As you add the cooled syrup, you’ll notice the vodka turn cloudy. This is normal – and actually desirable – because it indicates you have lots of the essential oil from the lemon peel in your infusion. Transfer to bottles and secure caps. You can drink it right away, but limoncello benefits from some time to age and mellow. So if you can store it in a dark, cool place for another week or so, even better. (Longer ageing is fine, too.) For gift giving, tie on a nice tag with a bit of twine or ribbon. For your own use, place it in the freezer, chill well and enjoy.
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Variation: Blood Orange Spice Use four large blood oranges (or regular thick-skinned naval oranges will work, too, though slightly less floral) along with two 3-inch cinnamon sticks, 6 allspice berries and 4 whole cloves. Use 1 1/2 cups vodka and 1/2 cup good brandy or Cognac.
Cocktail Ideas Limoncello-Ade 2 oz limoncello plus 2 tsp lemon juice, topped with 8 oz club soda over ice. Lemon Kiss 4 oz sparkling wine, 1 oz limoncello. Garnish with a few fresh berries. Lemon-almond Sour 0.5 oz limoncello, 0.5 oz amaretto, 1 oz bourbon, 1 tsp lemon juice; shake and serve over ice.
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food & leisure
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We reached out
to our regular Everyday Recipes team, led by chef Bernie-Ann Ezekiel, our staff and our readers to create this collection of our favourite food and beverages that make a Christmas get together a real “down home� one.
Cheeseball By Bernie-Ann Ezekiel Academy Canada
250 g cream cheese 2 tbsp sour cream 1/4 cup mozzarella, grated 1/2 cup old cheddar, grated 1/2 tsp ancho chili powder 1 tsp garlic powder 1 tbsp dried parsley 1/4 tsp black pepper 2 tbsp dried chives 3/4 cup sliced almonds, chopped fine
Mix everything (except almonds) together and blend thoroughly. Form into a ball and roll the ball in the almonds, pressing them onto the ball to ensure they stick. Cover tightly with plastic wrap. Refrigerate overnight. Serve with crackers or chips.
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Newfoundland Slush By Laurie Senior
1 can orange juice (frozen concentrate) 1 can lemonade (frozen concentrate) 1 can pineapple juice 7 1/2 cups boiling water 1 1/2 cups sugar 26 oz vodka
Boil water and sugar together. Remove from heat and let cool. Stir in orange juice, lemonade and pineapple juice. Add vodka and stir again. Transfer to a container with a tight-fitting lid (eg. small salt beef bucket) and put in freezer. Let chill at least overnight. To serve: fill a glass with 2 ice cream scoops of slush and top with 7-Up or Cola. Store slush in freezer between uses. Makes 1 gallon and can be stored in the freezer for up to two months.
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Spinach-Artichoke Dip By Bernie-Ann Ezekiel / Academy Canada
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 1 cup shallots, minced 1 tbsp fresh garlic, minced 1 tsp smoked paprika 1/2 tsp salt 1/2 tsp pepper 1 can water chestnuts, minced
1 can artichoke hearts, chopped 4 cups spinach (packed), chopped 1 cup mayonnaise 1 1/2 cups sour cream 3/4 cup Parmesan, grated
Preheat oven to 375°F. Heat oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Sauté shallots in oil until they are golden. Add garlic, paprika, salt and pepper. Cook for about 1 minute. Add water chestnuts and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Add artichoke hearts and turn the heat to high, tossing and stirring often to prevent burning. After about 1 minute, add the spinach and remove from heat (the residual heat in the pan should wilt the spinach in a minute or so). Allow the mixture to cool to room temperature before mixing in the mayonnaise and sour cream. Spread the dip in a shallow casserole dish and top with Parmesan cheese. Bake for about 15 minutes – top should be golden and the edges will start to bubble. Serve warm with crackers or chips. Yield: approximately 4 cups
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Honey Garlic Wings By Bernie-Ann Ezekiel / Academy Canada
12 chicken wings, cooked 2 tbsp shallots, minced 2 tsp extra virgin olive oil 6 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 tsp fresh ginger, grated 1/2 cup honey 1/4 cup soy sauce 2 tbsp rice vinegar
SautĂŠ shallots in the oil over high heat, until they just start to caramelize. Add garlic and ginger, reduce heat to medium-high and continue to cook for one minute. Add honey and when it starts to foam and bubble up, add the vinegar and soy sauce. Bring to a boil and reduce by half. Immediately toss the hot, cooked wings in the hot sauce. Let sit for five minutes, toss again and serve. Yield: 12 wings
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Monkey Bread By Bernie-Ann Ezekiel / Academy Canada
1 1/2 lbs bread dough (your favourite kind – I used white) 1 cup salted butter, melted
2 cups sugar 1 tbsp cinnamon 1/2 tsp Chinese five spice
Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a tube pan with non-stick cooking spray. Divide bread dough into golf ball-sized pieces. Mix sugar and spices together. Dip each ball in melted butter and then in the sugar & spice mixture. Drop each coated ball in random places around the pan, eventually covering all areas. Allow to rise in a warm area for about 20 minutes. Place in the oven and bake for about 30-40 minutes. If at 30 minutes, the top is a little too dark, reduce the heat to 325°F
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Ham & Cream Cheese Roll Ups By Tiffany Brett Deli ham, very thinly sliced A couple of bunches of green onion 1 tub cream cheese
for the remainder of the time. Immediately place a large round plate over the top of the pan and very carefully invert the pan (flipping it away from you) so the bread sits on the plate. When you lift the pan off, the spiced caramel will run down the bread. Allow it to rest for 5 minutes and serve warm.Yield: 8-10 servings www.downhomelife.com
Leave the cream cheese out on the counter until it’s soft enough to spread at room temperature. You’ll be spreading it on thinly sliced ham, so you want it to be smooth. Prepare ham slices by drying each piece with paper towel. If the slices are too wet, the cream cheese will not stick properly and will not roll into nice tubes. Prepare green onion by washing and removing roots, and cutting them to the same length as the ham slices. Spread a desired amount of cream cheese over one side of a ham slice. Place a piece of green onion on one end and roll it up in the ham slice. Repeat with rest of ham slices. Cut all the rolls into bite size pieces and place decoratively on a platter. Simple and delicious! December 2019
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BBQ Meatballs By Bernie-Ann Ezekiel / Academy Canada
Meatballs 1 lb ground beef 1/2 cup white onion, grated 1 tbsp fresh garlic, minced 1/4 cup oats 1 egg 3/4 tsp pepper 1 tsp salt
Sauce 1 small can tomato paste 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar 1/2 cup dark brown sugar 1 tsp Dijon mustard 2 tsp fresh garlic, minced 2 tbsp honey 1 cup water 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
Preheat oven to 350°F.
For the meatballs Mix all meatball ingredients together and very thoroughly blend them. Roll into 1"-2" balls and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until the meat is sizzling and starts to brown. Remove from the sheet pan and place in a casserole dish. For the sauce Blend all ingredients together and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook until the sauce is reduced to about 3/4 the original volume. Pour sauce over meatballs, cover and bake in the oven for 20-30 minutes. The sauce should reduce a little further and be bubbling when you take it out. Yield: 12-15 meatballs 98
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Peppermint Hot Chocolate By Bernie-Ann Ezekiel / Academy Canada
1/2 cup dark cocoa powder 1 tsp cornstarch 1/2 cup dark brown sugar 2 cups whipping cream 2 cups whole milk
1 tsp vanilla, pure 1/4 tsp peppermint extract Candy canes for garnish Whipped cream for garnish
Sift cocoa powder and cornstarch together and mix into the sugar. Gradually whisk in the cream, and stir it until the mixture is smooth. Add the milk, vanilla and peppermint. Place the chocolate mixture in a heavy bottomed saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil, stirring often. Allow to boil for about 20-30 seconds and remove from heat. Serve immediately with a candy cane and dollop of whipped cream. Yield: 2-4 servings
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Mom’s Pineapple Light Fruitcake By Bernie-Ann Ezekiel / Academy Canada
1 (19 oz) can crushed pineapple 8 oz (weight) raisins 1 1/2 cups butter, room temperature 1 1/2 cups brown sugar, lightly packed 1 tsp almond extract 1 tsp pure vanilla extract 5 eggs, beaten
3 1/2 cups flour 2 tsp baking powder 1/4 tsp salt 8 oz (weight) cherries, roughly chopped 8 oz (weight) mixed fruit 1/2 cup fine, unsweetened coconut 4 oz walnuts, chopped
Preheat oven to 300°F. Drain the pineapple, reserve the fruit and soak the raisins in the pineapple juice while you prepare the cake. In the bowl of a mixer fitted with a paddle, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the flavouring extracts. Beat in the eggs a little at a time, scraping and mixing after each addition. 100
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My Aunt’s Christmas Nacho Dip By Katherine Saunders
Sift the dry ingredients together and add to the bowl, mixing until just combined. Add in all the remaining and reserved ingredients (the pineapple, the raisins and the juice they were soaked in). Mix until everything is evenly combined. Pour into a greased and floured tube pan, and bake for about 2 hours. It is done when a knife inserted in the centre comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cake cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then turn out onto a rack to cool entirely. Yield: 1 fruitcake
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250 g cream cheese 250 ml sour cream 250 ml seafood sauce 2 cups shredded cheese, divided 1 bell pepper, diced (I use yellow or orange to have a variety of colours in the dip; use whatever you like) 1 tomato, diced 1 cup green onion, diced
Combine the cream cheese and sour cream until you have a smooth mixture. Spread thinly on a clean serving platter. This is the bottom layer of the dip. Pour seafood sauce over the cream mixture; spread evenly. Sprinkle 1 cup of shredded cheese evenly over the dip. Sprinkle on diced pepper, followed by diced tomato, then green onion. Top with the rest of the cheese. Keep refrigerated until serving. Serve cold with a side of nacho chips for dipping.
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Devilled Eggs By Bernie-Ann Ezekiel Academy Canada
6 eggs, hardboiled, cooled and peeled 3 tbsp mayonnaise 1 tsp whole grain mustard 2 gherkins, minced 1/4 tsp Worcestershire sauce 1/8 tsp smoked paprika 1/8 tsp salt 1/8 tsp pepper Capers, for garnish
Split eggs lengthways and carefully scoop hard yolks out into a small bowl. Add remaining ingredients to the bowl and mix until smooth. Place the filling in a piping bag with a round tip and pipe the mixture back into the egg halves. Garnish with capers. Keep chilled in the refrigerator until ready to serve. Yield: 12 devilled egg halves
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Newfoundland Hors d’Oeuvres By Janice Stuckless
1 can cocktail wieners (Vienna sausages) Cheddar or marble cheese Cocktail onions Sweet pickles (e.g. gherkins) Toothpicks
Cut cheese, pickles and wieners into same-size cubes (about the size of the pickled onion). Make each hors d’oeuvre by stacking a toothpick with cheese, wiener, onion and then pickle. Continue until all the wieners are used.
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Bacon-Wrapped Scallops By Janice Stuckless
1 pkg regular cut bacon 25-30 large sea scallops (fresh or thawed from frozen) Toothpicks (soaked in water to prevent burning)
Lay the bacon flat in a frying pan and cook just until some of the fat is rendered out (bacon is still soft). You may have to fry a few slices at a time so as not to crowd the pan or have your bacon curl. Drain and pat dry the bacon strips, then cut them in half. Pat scallops dry and wrap each one in a length of bacon, securing it with a toothpick. Turn oven to broil and move the rack to the top position. Lay baconwrapped scallops on a wire rack on a lined, rimmed baking sheet (to catch drippings). Cook under the broiler for about 5 minutes on each side, flipping when scallops start to brown. Watch them closely so they don’t burn.
www.downhomelife.com
Snowballs By Heather Lane
1/2 cup butter (softened) 1/2 cup milk 1 1/2 cups brown sugar 2 cups rolled oats 4 tbsp cocoa 1 tbsp vanilla 1 cup unsweetened coconut + extra for rolling
Combine butter, milk and sugar in large bowl. Stir in rest of ingredients and mix well. Scoop out tablespoonsize portions and roll into balls. Roll snowballs in unsweetened coconut and refrigerate for one hour. Yield: approx. 24 snowballs
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food & leisure stuff about
Slush Slush is an annual technology networking conference held in Helsinki, Finland. One of its cofounders in 2008 was working on the gaming app Angry Birds at the time. The 2018 event attracted more than 20,000 participants from 130 countries.
Newfoundland (or Newfie) Slush is a popular holiday beverage using frozen tropical juices mixed with rum or vodka. It’s often stored in cleaned salt beef buckets or ice cream tubs and served as a semi-frozen cocktail topped with soda pop.
The idea of a slush fund has roots in nautical history. Years ago in ships’ galleys, the cooks would skim off the grease (“slush”) from cooking meat and sell it to candle makers. The funds raised would be spent on the crew.
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Before he (along with his sister and mother) launched the Slush Puppie brand of flavoured ice drinks, Will Radcliffe made his fortune selling peanuts. 1-888-588-6353
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Slurpees are carbonated slush drinks, which have been around since the 1950s. They are sold exclusively at 7-Eleven stores. By sales, Manitoba has been the Slurpee Capital of the World for 20 years running.
Those hollow chocolate Santas we like to get in our stockings at Christmas? They’re made using a process called slush casting. Liquid chocolate is poured into a mould, and when the surface cools and hardens into a shell, the inner liquid is poured out.
www.downhomelife.com
The compound used in diapers to trap liquid is called slush powder. Its chemical name is sodium polyacrylate, and it can absorb up to hundreds of times its own weight in water.
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life is better Winter in Quidi Vidi, NL Jim Costello, Mount Pearl, NL
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READERS'
Holiday Memories This is the season of sharing, and in that spirit, Downhome readers have shared some of their favourite Christmas moments with us. We hope these stories bring you joy and stir up cherished memories of your own.
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THE HOLIDAY
Prank Duncan Gary Grant
This story
took place in Ottawa, Ontario, a few years ago and several of the participants have Newfoundland and Labrador connections. Two have subscriptions to the Downhome magazine. My mother, Claire, an excellent French Canadian cook, was in the final stages of preparing an 18-pound turkey for the 3-4 hour cooking cycle. Once in the oven, most cooks would check on the bird every half-hour or so to ensure the turkey was turning golden brown by basting it etc. Late in the cooking cycle, all hell broke loose when my mother said the turkey had shrunk! Screaming so loud she could be heard from Ottawa to St. John’s, she said, “I looked around and there it was, gone!” This brought everyone to the kitchen to see what the problem was. We looked in the oven and, sure enough, the turkey looked a third of its original size! My sister, Lisa told my mother maybe the bird had shrunk because she put a frozen bird, instead of a thawed one, in the oven. That statement went over like a lead balloon with the cook. Someone else suggested perhaps the bird was left in the oven too long. The heat in the kitchen got so intense that Lisa finally broke and confessed the truth. She and her husband Dale had bought a small pre-cooked chicken and replaced the larger turkey with it to play a prank on our mother!
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Gift
of
CHRISTMAS HOME By Sean Conway, Winnipeg, MB
Christmas has never
been the same since my mom passed in 1990. Her efforts at sheltering me from experiencing death growing up didn’t prepare me to face her loss. Yet, an annual joy going on 28 years has come from her passing. Christmas comes early to our home, in the form of a care package from our neighbours in the hometown I grew up in. Mr. and Mrs. Hulan, as I still call them some 50 years later, were George and Roma to my mom. Their home was nextdoor to our two-bedroom house that was tucked in behind Phil McCann’s garage in Stephenville, NL. Ours was a single-parent family, and Mr. and Mrs. Hulan were an
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extra set of parental eyes that kept watch over my brother and me while my mom worked at the local department store. We even got to go camping in the summer and cross-country skiing in the winter with them and their three daughters. And every year we joined the Hulans for Christmas dinner. My brother and I would give up playing with our gifts to dress nice (as Mom would request), don our winter coats and schlep across the yard to the Hulans’. I can still taste Mrs. Hulan’s pudding and sauce, the best stopper at any Christmas meal. I can’t recall when I first started receiving the “Gift of Christmas Home.” I was grown up and married. A few weeks before Christmas, a brown paper-wrapped box from Mr. and Mrs. Hulan arrived in the mail. Tucked inside was a Christmas fruitcake and a present for me and my spouse, Cindy. Jenna, our daughter, received a gift when she was born. And as our family has grown, so have the gifts in the box multiplied. This past year, Kenzie, our wonderful granddaughter, got her second Gift of Christmas Home. Mr. Hulan passed away two years ago. His job was packaging the Gift of Christmas Home. I don’t believe there is a man on earth who can design and construct a cardboard container to better protect its contents. I can’t recall any year when the cake was broken or the contents of 1-888-588-6353
the box exposed. However, there is a woman – his wife, Mrs. Hulan – who has taken over the task of packaging and would make the man proud. Last year’s gift for me was knitted grey wool socks. As I pulled on the grey bristled beauties, I wasn’t preparing to shovel the driveway – in my mind, I was getting ready to play road hockey or dressing to keep my feet warm for a toboggan ride with my childhood friends. I have received so many knitted treasures in past years, with the knit one-purl two ribbing memories from my childhood. The Gift of Christmas Home is a joy our family looks forward to every year. When it arrives, we get together to cut the packaging and pass out the contents. Breaking the cellophane tape releases the aroma of cloves from the cake trapped in the hermetically sealed container. Each person waits in anticipation to discover what reminder of my home Mrs. Hulan has knit this year. No one has ever been disappointed, only friends who can’t find the items locally. I will make a phone call on Christmas Day, as I have done every year since receiving the first package. My first question is usually, “What’s for dinner?” Followed by, “Are we having pudding? I will be right over.” December 2019
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THE CHRISTMAS
Baby By H. Joseph Seward
In 1949-1950,
three of my siblings died, including my only two sisters. We were living in Southport, Southwest Arm, NL, then. In October 1950, we moved to Clarenville, and shortly after I left the province. While I’ve visited on vacations, I’ve not lived there since. On October 19, 1954, I received a telegram telling me I had a new baby sister. I was determined to see her at Christmas, and make it a surprise for my family. I went to the local children’s store and purchased a white bunny suit, as an appropriate gift for a particular tiny person. Mom had written to me that she and Dad were naming the baby Janet Marie, for one of my sisters who had died. I wrote back and asked Mom to add the name Leonie for the youngest sister who had died. So she was named Leonie Janet Marie. I left for Clarenville on December 20, 1954. Travelling by train I arrived in North Sydney, Nova Scotia, and by ferry to Port aux Basques. There I boarded the eastbound train for home. The spectacular beauty of the west coast mountains and the panoramic view of the lakes and forest of central Newfoundland made for a pleasant journey to Grand Falls. From there I went to my berth for the remainder of the ride. The porter awakened me at 3:30 a.m. for a 4:00 arrival at Clarenville. I disembarked at the station and walked the short distance home. I walked through the unlocked door 112
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Christmas Flashbacks and deposited my luggage on the kitchen cot. I met Dad in the hallway; he was coming to see who was in the kitchen, thinking it was someone from Southwest Arm on their way home for Christmas. With a few words of greeting from Dad, it was time to see Mom, who gave me a hug and a kiss. In a bassinet lay my baby sister, Leonie Janet Marie (Sis). I again had a sister to love and admire. I have loved and admired her every day since. After breakfast and a short wait for the stores to open, Mom dressed Sis in the suit I had brought for her. Then I took her to some of the smaller stores to show her off. Christmas Day, everyone was up early and opened their gifts. After Dad’s special breakfast of fish and brewis, it was time for church. On arriving home after the service, I was met with the aroma of Mom’s Christmas dinner almost ready for the table. Lucky for me some things never change. The roasting turkey, covered with Mom’s special pudding, soon had me craving a huge helping. Christmas vacation passed too quickly, and it was time for me to return to Kentville, Nova Scotia. I hugged and kissed Sis goodbye and walked the short distance to the train station. It was a short, but enjoyable vacation that I will always remember. 1-888-588-6353
Cape Broyle Christmas There are nine of us O’Brien siblings. Here are the four oldest on Christmas Day 1960, in Cape Broyle, NL. (L-R) Eric, 2; Irene, 3; Denise (now White), 8 months; Ruth (now Frizzell), 4. Irene O’Brien Kentville, NS
My One and Only This is Mary French with her only child, Christine, during Christmas 1968. Mary was 28 years old at the time, and Christine was 3. Mary French Scarborough, ON December 2019
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The Greatest
Gift By Ed Power, Grand Falls-Windsor, NL
Christmas 1958
was one that will stay with me forever. Just two years before, our beautiful 18-year-old sister, Eileen, had been killed in a car accident. She was the kindest, gentlest person you would want in a sibling and did her utmost to help Mom and Dad provide for a large family. It was a devastating blow to me, a 10-year-old boy, shattering my fragile existence with the reality that nothing would ever be the same. She had, however, instilled in us the will to face all adversities head on, and she always said that “life was what you make it� and to never give up.
On this particular day, I was returning home from mass and eagerly looking forward to Mom’s delicious Sunday dinner. Suddenly, I heard the shrill sound of the fire siren and turned around to see where it was coming from. Everyone was running towards me and someone shouted that it looked like our house was on fire. I turned and ran as fast as my legs would carry me. I reached my home and found that it was, indeed, engulfed in flames. I saw Mom standing outside, still wearing her cooking apron and 114
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sobbing uncontrollably. Before anyone noticed and could stop me, I ran into the house and up the flight of stairs to the second floor. I retrieved the new coat and galoshes that Mom had bought me for Christmas and, fortunately, made it safely back outside. Mom hugged and scolded me at the same time for my foolhardy act. Soon after, we were joined by Dad and many of our neighbours. Together they tried to save some of the furniture from the burning house. When the fire truck arrived, there was not much that could be 1-888-588-6353
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done except save the basic structure. The house was gutted and most everything inside was lost. I cried, and as the tears fell to the ground, I noticed a muddy picture of Eileen. I picked it up and put it in my pocket. All of us who were living at home at the time were taken in by friends and relatives temporarily. For a while, I stayed with an aunt and uncle who already had a large family. After a few days, Mom came to tell me that a distant relative, a stranger to me, had offered to take one of us in until the house was rebuilt. Although she appreciated the kindness of her sister and her husband, she realized that they were struggling and thought that I should go. Next day I arrived at my new, temporary home, and received a warm welcome from Tony and Marion Walsh and their children. They made me feel like one of their own, and I realized how lucky I was despite what our family had gone through. Christmas Day came quickly and I missed my family dearly. I had never spent a Christmas away from home. But Tony and Marion had a beautiful way about them and did their best to make me feel at ease, and for that I will be forever thankful. That day they took me, accompanied by their own children, to see Mom and Dad and most of my brothers and sisters. In doing so, they had saved my Christmas and had instilled in me a strong belief in the goodness of humanity. As we celebrated, I put my hand in my pocket and touched Eileen’s picture. To this day, it is still one of my prized possessions. 1-888-588-6353
Christmas Flashbacks
1970 Kids Three siblings – Kelly, Baxter and Claudette – on a Christmas morning long, long ago. Claudette Russell St. John’s, NL
Deer Lake Darlings Group of kids from Spillway and St. Jude’s enjoying Christmas in the early 1960s. Gennie Philpott St. John’s, NL December 2019
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reminiscing visions & vignettes
Gnat, do you mind…
Santa Claus? By Harold N. Walters
“Everyone knows he idden really Santa Claus,” said Harry. “He’s just an old man dressed up.” “Old Man Farley, I ’low,” said Gnat. “P’raps,” said Harry. “Or Uncle Pell. Or, to really trick the youngsters, an old feller from Bun Town.” “Boys,” said Miss Brett, “don’t worry about Santa Claus. Help me stand this tree in the corner.” The day before, on his way home from Forkey Birch, Harve Hinker had propped a dark-green fir by the schoolhouse step. Miss Brett had the tree brought inside in the morning to 116
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have it decorated for the Christmas concert. Now she interrupted Harry and Gnat’s speculating and had them help Spud Spurvey balance the tree in a bucket of beach rocks and steady it with string tied to the wall. “Wonderful,” said Miss Brett. “Time to decorate.” 1-888-588-6353
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Like Santa’s elves selecting toys, two dozen youngsters pawed through boxes of delicate Christmas balls and crimped streamers they’d hauled out of the storeroom and started to dress the tree, hanging the familiar decorations in the exact locations as on last year’s tree. Amid the chatter of youngsters transforming the naturally naked fir into a festive indoor wonder that streeled tinsel icicles to the floor, Harry and Gnat continued to whisper. “If not from Bun Town, then someone from Horse Cove,” said Harry. “Or a total stranger, if there’s either one around,” said Gnat. “Boys,” Miss Brett chided when she realized Harry and Gnat weren’t hooking bells on boughs. Eventually, Miss Brett hoisted the smallest Primmer Class tot to place a large silver star on the tree’s tippytop. “Beautiful,” Miss Brett said. Reluctant to leave the glittering tree, most youngsters oohed and aahed at garland and dangling angels while back-pedalling towards the cloakroom to fetch their coats. Harry and Gnat, though, grabbed their jackets and scrammed. “I got an idea,” said Harry the second his boots hit the snowy ground. “I ’low,” said Gnat. “Tomorrow night after the concert, we’m goin’ to find out who’s disguised as Santa Claus.” “We is?” Gnat asked incredulously. “We is,” said Harry. Next morning, Harry and Gnat were late for school. “Sorry, Miss,” Harry said as they sidled in the door and scoochied into their seats. “Aunt Chook’s goat got out of his pen and we had to help her catch en.” 1-888-588-6353
“Umm,” said Miss Brett, struggling to preserve her Christmas spirit, since only five minutes ago she’d watched through the window as Harry and Gnat dodged up from the wharf lugging what looked suspiciously like a bundled-up net. “Honest to me Maker, Miss,” said Harry. Offering no confession, Gnat brushed his crow-wing bangs off his forehead and squirmed in his seat. The whole school spent the day practising for the evening concert. They sang popular Christmas songs, recited poems and rehearsed humorous skits. Harry ceased his conspiratorial conversation with Gnat when Sally sang “Silent Night,” her hands folded angelically. Harry believed a halo surrounded her golden curls. Indicating Harry’s rapture, Ugly Maude rolled her eyes at Gnat. Then Harry fumed when Olsen Tetford – the little frigger! – joined Sally and sang a version of “Let It Snow” that was bound to delight the whole of Brookwater come concert time. It was duckish when Miss Brett dismissed her pupils and urged them to hurry their suppers and hustle back to the school before folks began arriving for the concert. Harry and Gnat didn’t scravel home. Instead they darted behind the schoolhouse and squeezed into a thicket of gnarly spruce. Moments later they reemerged, arse-foremost, towing the bundled net Miss Brett had seen them lug up from the wharf. Fingers firmly gripped in the mesh, like thieves scoating away priceless Persian carpets, Harry and Gnat crossed the schoolyard and disappeared down the path leading into Druid’s Droke, December 2019
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the stand of 100-year-old black spruce between the school and the Shot Hole. “Santa Claus always comes this way when he leaves the school after givin’ out the presents,” said Harry “He do,” agreed Gnat. Later the Christmas moon rose over the Crow Cliffs, its jolly face beaming like an ornamental bulb. It shone down on Brookwater so brightly that flashlights weren’t needed to guide concertgoers to the schoolhouse, where desks had been shuffed against the walls and chairs had been placed in rows in preparation for the performances. Harry and Gnat were not among the youngsters swarming around the Christmas tree, pointing and poking at the presents their parents had piled underneath it. Folks found seats and even the glummest – Aunt Hood of the sour puss, for instance – smiled at the swarm squawking and squalling with anticipation. No one missed Harry and Gnat. Although Ma was on the verge of questioning her darling boy’s whereabouts when he and Gnat – furtively it seemed – slipped in from the porch and joined the crowd. No one noticed Harry nudge Gnat and point out Old Man Farley sitting at the back, beneath a portrait of young Queen Elizabeth. “T’idden he then,” said Harry. Although he didn’t say so to Harry, Gnat was kind of glad Old Man Farley was in the audience. He feared the old man might seek vengeance if he ever discovered who’d tailed out the trap in Druid’s Droke. When Miss Brett indicated, Harve Hinker turned down the kerosene lamps in their wall brackets until the 118
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stage lamps were the brightest in the schoolhouse. The moon, carefully keeping its beams from overpowering the dimmed lamps, bent its head and peeped through a windowpane. The concert was gem-dandy. Applause followed every song. Laughter and stomping cheered humorous recitations, especially when young Teddy Verge – renown in Brookwater for his nasal challenges – allowed his fingertip to creep into his nose during his recitation about a mouse that gnawed holes in Christmas stockings. Christmas merriment smothered Harry’s snort when Sally and Olsen Tetford topped their afternoon rendition of “Let It Snow.” The concert played for two hours or more. The level of oil sank even in the dimmed lamps. The moon clung to the eave to delay its drifting off towards the western horizon. During the finale, Harry and Gnat scuffed from foot to foot among all the youngsters crammed on the stage belting out “Jingle Bells,” knowing that Santa Claus – well, whoever was rigged up as Santa Claus, Harry thought – would arrive before the final refrain ended. As bellowed strains of “Oh what fun it is to ride” rang to the rafters, Santa Claus bounded in, ho-ho-hoing and his belt bells a-jingle. He stopped in front of the Christmas tree and thumped down his sack of … apples, as it turned out. “Ho, Ho, Ho,” Santa repeated as he reaching under the tree and commenced handing out gifts. “I knows that’s a fake beard,” Harry said into Gnat’s ear. “I ’low,” said Gnat. Studying the beard’s true nature, 1-888-588-6353
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Harry stared at Santa’s face as he accepted his gift. He ripped the wrapping off the cap gun he’d practically been bawling for since the toy pistols had appeared in Uncle Pell’s shop. Harry barely glanced at his gun; his eyes were glued to Santa’s chin, and before Gnat managed a practice toot on his mouth organ, Harry dragged him away from the crowd and out the door. In the moonlight, they booted ’er for Druid’s Droke to be on hand when Santa Claus left the schoolhouse and ran into their waiting trap. The pair of rapscallions lurked in the bushes and watched Santa jog away from the schoolhouse and approach the droke, and the length of bankline stretched bar tight across the path. Heedless of any impending peril, Santa trotted into the droke. When his soot-black boots struck the trip-line, Santa gasped. Possibly, he said a bad word when a web of netting fell from the trees and snared him like a giant spider’s prey. Suddenly, the night turned pitch black. Maybe the moon and stars, ashamed of brazen boys’ behaviour, blew out the sky-lights. In the dark1-888-588-6353
ness, Harry and Gnat tripped over sticks and roots as they untangled themselves from the bushes and stumbled to unmask Santa Claus. Positive they would find some man janneyed up as Santa, Harry was dumbfounded when they searched left and right, front and back, in the darkness and discovered a net as empty as a water haul. Santa Claus – the real Santa Claus? – had vanished. Mind that Santa Claus trap, Gnat? If Sherlock Holmes, magnifying glass in hand, had examined that empty net in broad daylight he wouldn’t have found a single trace of Santa Claus, not as much as a solitary fake whisker.
Harold Walters lives in Dunville, Newfoundland, doing his damnedest to live Happily Ever After. Reach him at ghwalters663@gmail.com December 2019
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reminiscing Downhome Memories
Kim Ploughman shares her mom’s childhood story of having to spend the holidays on the SS Northern Ranger.
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The year was 1953, and 15-year-old Marina Ploughman was heading back home to Port au Choix from St. John’s, where she had journeyed for a medical check-up. She had been previously diagnosed with TB (tuberculosis) spine and had spent several years at the Sanitorium in Corner Brook. The TB had left my mother with a slightly fused spine and a bag of fluid on her leg. She was travelling on the SS Northern Ranger, a coastal boat operated by the Newfoundland Railway (and later by CN). At 1,366 tons and 228 feet in length, the steamer boat would trek from St. John’s to Corner Brook on a two-week schedule, bringing with it passengers, sometimes mail and much-anticipated freight for the numerous communities where it made call. For a 15-year-old, travel on the coastal boat was an adventure; and travelling alone, it was likely a little scary. With just one outfit to call her own, my mother stepped aboard the large vessel in the busy port of St. John’s. But the normal two-week trip that she had prepared for was unexpectedly lengthened due to ice conditions and winter weather. She would instead spend nearly a month, including Christmas Day, at sea. Left: A young Marina Ploughman Above: The coastal boat SS Northern Ranger 1-888-588-6353
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Marina Ploughman was just a teenager when she spent Christmas travelling alone on a coastal boat. During her month-long trip on the ocean, my mother visited such places as Fogo, Lewisporte, Conche, Roddickton and St. Anthony. She took in the seascapes and the landscapes, as well as any excitement on the boat. To pass the time, she played cards and hung out with new friends she’d made. “I had fun,” she recalled to me. At one point, ice had them trapped in Battle Harbour off the south coast of Labrador. “The boat couldn’t go any farther,” recalled Marina. By the time the ship got free of the ice, they had to head straight for Corner Brook to refuel before finishing the 122
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trip up the Northern Peninsula. The boat arrived in Corner Brook on Christmas Day. Teenaged Marina was far from home, but not far from her family’s thoughts. Her father, Port au Choix merchant Ernest Billard, telegraphed a friend and her husband (Vange and Roland Cadet) in Corner Brook for a favour. The couple picked up Mom, bought her a white coat and took her to midnight mass. After church, it was back to the boat to continue her journey northwards towards home. One of the most memorable parts of her journey, my mother told me, 1-888-588-6353
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was when she received a new outfit from a rather legendary person. Her father had again taken to the telegraph looking for a favour – this time it was to a travelling salesman he knew well. He wanted to ensure his eldest daughter had something else beside her one outfit to wear on the boat. The kind man was happy to oblige, and so she was presented with a new dress by none other than Gerald S. Doyle. He was a famous businessman, folksong collector and founder of the “Doyle Bulletin� who spent a great deal of time travelling
by boat to hundreds of outports. My mother spent 31 days on the Northern Ranger. She finally arrived in Port Saunders on December 31, under a full moon. Her father was there to greet her and take her home. My mother passed away in August 2017. She loved to tell stories. She had a remarkable memory, recalling many happenings that took place over the years. The trip on the SS Northern Ranger was one of her favourite episodes of her life that she often shared with family and friends.
Happy 25th Anniversary
Mr. & Mrs. Winston Gregory will celebrate their 60th wedding Anniversary on Dec. 22nd 2019 6 Children, 14 Grandchildren and 6 Great Grandchildren will celebrate this special occasion with them
Love you Mom and Dad
Leo and Marian Tarbett Celebrating December 28th Love Marian
Happy Birthday
Leo Tarbett from Corner Brook, NL on December 28th Love from Family and Friends
Wallace & Florence Cribb Married in 1951
Celebrating their 69th Wedding Anniversary on November 12th Both born in Harrington Harbour, Quebec they have been living in Toronto for almost 70 years. 2 Children, 9 Grandchildren
Book your announcement today. Call 1-888-588-6353 1-888-588-6353
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reminiscing
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IT WAS THE CHRISTMAS OF 1958.
Dinner was almost ready. The clatter of pots and pans in the kitchen was matched by the sudden shrill jangling of the telephone. “Hello?” said Verne MacKinney, from his home in Springfield, Missouri. His sister, Beulah, a schoolteacher at Goose Bay Air Force Base in Labrador, was on the line. “How’s everything up in Santa Claus land?” Verne asked. “You’d better sit down. I don’t have very good news.” Verne’s mind immediately went to his mother, Rena, and his 29-year-old brother, Daniel, who were missionaries in Labrador. Their father, Paul, had died earlier that year. Verne’s thoughts were shattered by what Beulah said next. “Danny’s plane crashed yesterday afternoon…” A multitude of questions popped into Verne’s mind. Was Danny flying the plane? Did he lend it to someone? Or did somebody steal it and crash it? Was the bay frozen over? Did the aircraft sink? Beulah’s voice again, weak, seeking the right words: “… and Danny didn’t survive.” “Oh, no! Not Danny!” Verne exclaimed.
A DOOMED DELIVERY
Danny had attempted to fly to Cartwright on Christmas Eve to deliver gifts. The area was fogged in, so he returned to Happy ValleyGoose Bay at noon. There were other parcels and greetings to be dropped off at the Grenfell Mission Hospital and the school dormitory in North West River. Loading his plane, he left again, promising to be home about 3:30 that afternoon. Not long after, and without warning, the sunshine was swallowed up by dark clouds as a snow squall
rolled in from the northwest. When 3:30 came and went without any sign of Danny’s plane, his mother called the hospital nurse, who radioed North West River to see if he had stayed there due to the weather. That evening, Rena got word that Danny had left North West River that afternoon for the 20-minute flight home. Rena knew for sure then that something had happened to Danny’s plane. She called the American and Canadian Air Force base towers, informing them that Danny’s flight was overdue and he was missing.
Left: Danny MacKinney with his Aeronoca 1-888-588-6353
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Danny MacKinney and his sister, Beulah. Following an all-night search, and with the help of flares, Danny’s plane was spotted at daybreak on Christmas morning. A helicopter crew found his lifeless body under a broken wing of his crashed plane. Christmas without Danny? The thought was almost unbearable. His mother tossed and turned in bed. Unable to rest, she got up and opened her Bible at random. A verse seemed to leap out at her, describing her condition to a tee: “I water my couch with my tears. Mine eye is consumed because of grief.” Danny had prepared for missionary work in Labrador with four years of theological training; a summer in the Big Land sizing up the situation; three years back in the States learning to fly, repair and maintain a plane; earning money to buy and equip a plane; and raising financial support for his future endeavours. Now, 14 months later, Danny, along 126
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with his plane and plans, lay shattered on the ice. The newspaper account of the tragedy – “Pilot Killed, Plane Downed” – was filed from Goose Bay and appeared in the St. John’s Evening Telegram on December 27: “Daniel Clinton McKinney [sic], a United States citizen living in nearby Happy Valley, was killed Christmas Eve when his single-engine Aeronoca aircraft crashed 15 miles east of Goose Bay. The RCAF said McKinney [sic] was en route to Happy Valley from Northwest River, Lab., a 20minute flight, when the crash occurred.” Danny was buried in a plot of ground just below the corner of a cemetery in Happy Valley. In 1960, MacKinney Memorial Library was established in the town, in memory of a dedicated missionary who lost his life while bringing a bit of Christmas cheer to residents. 1-888-588-6353
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reminiscing
The Story of Old Christmas Day by Chad Bennett
A calendar would seem like
an unlikely source of change, yet it itself has changed many times. Each iteration weaves echoes of the past into the present, influencing our lives in subtle and unanticipated ways. Molly Henderson busied herself with closing up shop. Her little bakery had stood near Market House Hill for decades, the warm smell of molasses a landmark unto itself. It was Wednesday, September 2, 1752. Henry O’Reilly was waiting out front of her shop with his pony and cart. He had happened by quite a few times lately. “A ride home perhaps?” asked Henry, tipping his cap. “Alright, so long as you behave yourself,” smiled Molly. As she took his arm in hers, Henry sat two feet taller. “We’re too old for this foolishness, aren’t we, Henry?” asked Molly with a nudge. “Might be, might be,” Henry replied, a twinkle in his eye. “Although, today is September 2 and tomorrow will be September 14. Time appears to be a little more fluid right now.” Molly held his arm a little tighter. She would awake the next morning 11 days later, through no fault of her own. What happened? A law was passed in the United Kingdom, always a cringeworthy event. The Julian calendar had been 130
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in use from the start of Newfoundland’s written history. Julius Caesar created the calendar, Augustus refined it and John Cabot used it when he arrived in 1497. But from 1752, the Gregorian calendar, which was devised principally by German mathematician Christopher Clavius and approved for use by Pope Gregory XIII, takes us to the present. In Newfoundland, the 1752 law would change the month and day of New Year’s Day, make 11 days disappear, and shift the day that Christmas would fall on. And thus, Old Christmas Day was born. The law was dubbed the Chesterfield’s Act after Philip Stanhope, 4th 1-888-588-6353
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The majority of Western Europe and all of its overseas territories had made the switch in 1582. Most of Eastern Europe, among others, wouldn’t change until well into the 20th century. Earl of Chesterfield. It had two parts. First, it altered the calendar of England, the British Dominions and colonies, such that the new legal year began on January 1 rather than March 25 as it had always been. (Incidentally, this is why our taxes are due in April and not January.) The second part of the Act would mean that Great Britain, its Dominions and colonies would adopt the Gregorian calendar. The reason for the change was twofold. Firstly, the Julian calendar, in use since 46 BC, calculated that Earth’s orbit around the Sun took 365 and a quarter days. An extra day was added every fourth year, a leap year, to keep the calendar in line with the seasons. However, the Earth’s course around the Sun is 11.5 minutes slower than calculated. Such a small error, and yet over time even small things begin to matter. Every 1,000 years, the Julian calendar would go off track by eight days. By the time England, and by extension Newfoundland, stopped using the Julian calendar it had been in constant use for 1,797 years, so it was already at odds with the seasons. The second reason for switching calendars was far more down to earth: convenience. Other nations had already made the swap and it was becoming a hassle. In the words 1-888-588-6353
of an MP of the day, “[the continued use of the Julian calendar is] attended with diverse inconveniences, not only as it differs from the usage of neighbouring nations, but also from the legal method of computation in Scotland, and from the common usage throughout the whole Kingdom, and thereby frequent mistakes are occasioned in the dates of deeds and other writings, and disputes arise therefrom.” In fact, for a time it was possible to send a document from England to Western Europe and have it arrive before it was sent! The majority of Western Europe and all of its overseas territories had made the switch in 1582. Most of Eastern Europe, among others, wouldn’t change until well into the 20th century. Why the United Kingdom chose this moment in 1752 is open to speculation. Perhaps the French, who had already made the switch, looked far too pleased with themselves – that’s worked in other arenas. But where does Old Christmas Day enter into the cultural traditions of Newfoundland? To better understand that little gem, we need to clothe ourselves in the year 1752. At that time, although our numbers could swell to well over 100,000 during the summer, Molly and Henry were two of only around December 2019
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The solution was Old Christmas Day on January 6. This would allow everyone to embrace the future, celebrate on December 25, and yet still honour the past on January 6 with high carnival. To this day, many in Newfoundland and Labrador insist on leaving lights, decorations and tree up until the evening of January 6. 10,000 livyers in the colony at the centre-edge of the Western World. In order for the Gregorian calendar to re-sync with the seasons, they had to shift by 11 days. In order to adapt to the Gregorian calendar from the Julian, our lives needed to shift those same 11 days. We in Newfoundland went to sleep on Wednesday September the 2, 1752, and awoke on Thursday, September 14! No, we didn’t just sleep in for a very, very long time; we made the switch to the Gregorian calendar all in one go. After some initial angst over wages and rents and so on, which was eventually quelled by some creative accounting, life returned to normal – that is, until Christmas drew near. Molly and Henry were strolling the streets of Water and Duckworth back when they were still called Lower and Upper path and began to worry that because the year was 11 days short, Christmas would be celebrated on the wrong day. Christmas, in their view, needed to be 365 days from the last one; otherwise, it wouldn’t be right. “Don’t you dare take down those decorations until January 6, Henry O’Reilly,” Molly said crisply, pointing her finger. 132
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“I wouldn’t dream of it, Molly Henderson,” he assured her. “Well in that case, Henry O’Reilly,” said Molly, rounding on him before giving a wry smile, “there just might be hope for you yet.” “Really? In that case, perhaps I should find my way to the front of your shop again this evening.” “Perhaps you should, if you know what’s good for you.” And with that, Molly spun on her heels and entered her shop. The solution was Old Christmas Day on January 6. This would allow everyone to embrace the future, celebrate on December 25, and still honour the past on January 6 with high carnival. To this day, many in Newfoundland and Labrador insist on leaving lights, decorations and tree up until the evening of January 6. Maybe this year when you’re gathered around an old pot belly stove, or digital equivalent, give a thought to traditions past and raise a glass of syrup or maybe even a lassie bun to the 11 days that never were. Happy Holidays and have a very Merry Old Christmas Day. (And if anyone would like to celebrate Old New Year’s Eve, count me in – there is always room for one more holiday!) 1-888-588-6353
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reminiscing
between the boulevard and the bay
sleigh bells in my memory By Ron Young
When I think of Christmases past there are a number of sights, sounds and emotions that are still very real to me. The expectations of Christmas morning; the sounds of my grandfather, Jonas Cooper’s laughter; the smells of Christmas dinner, which although tantalizing, was often hard to get down after consuming quantities of candies and chocolates before the meal was served – just some of the moments that spring to mind. Then came the mummers. They sang and danced and told stories. Of course, grandfather Cooper would eventually guess who they all were. Among the mummers one Christmas were Uncle Stew Cooper, Hayward Cooper, Bill Stockley, Willie Cooper and Dick Stockley. The sound that rings clearest to me over the years is that of sleigh bells. Many people owned horses back then. We owned several ourselves, but not at one time. Old Harry was a bit on the cantankerous side and would bite you if he didn’t like what you were doing to him. After Harry, we owned Fanny. Fanny would kick you if you got too close to her hind quarters. Our last horse, Molly, was our favourite. Molly wouldn’t bite or kick and always seemed happy to be in harness and trotting over the frozen snow with a living and lively load on the sleigh behind her.
Aside from their regular work in the fields and the woods, horses had other Christmas-season uses back then. If someone went visiting and had too much Christmas cheer, after the evening of partying was over he only had to make it to the sleigh and snap the reins – the horse did the rest. The horse knew the way back by itself and the driver could even nap along the way. No one I know ever got arrested for drinking and driving in a one-horse open sleigh. The sight of a beautiful horse travelling in the distance across the frozen harbour is one that comes back to me now, and the clang-ajingle of the sleigh bells in rhythm with the cantering hooves is so real that I had to write a song about it. Stan Fiander, of Coombs Cove, has actually put these lyrics to music. Maybe someday he’ll record it.
Christmas By The Sea That festive time of year is fast approaching When thoughts of long ago come back to me Memories of youth and home and folks and loved ones An old-fashioned merry Christmas by the sea
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Decorations made by hand adorn the yule tree Handmade toys, and homemade clothes to wear Brought songs to lips and smiles to all our faces And happiness to hearts, for love was there. Chorus: I still recall the snowy sounds of Christmas The happy shouts of outport friends at play Across the years I hear the sounds of horses And jingle bells across the frozen bay I remember still the smells of Grandma’s kitchen That will haunt my appetite until I die The Christmas cake and syrup and the cookies Each tart and square and bun and homemade pie.
Yes that festive time of year is fast approaching When thoughts of long ago come back to me Memories of youth and home and folks and loved ones An old-fashioned merry Christmas by the sea Chorus: I still recall the snowy sounds of Christmas The happy shouts of outport friends at play Across the years I hear the sounds of horses And jingle bells across the frozen bay
Ron Young is a retired policeman, published poet and founding editor of Downhome. ron@downhomelife.com
This Month in History On December 9, 1929, Dr. Charles Joseph Howlett was elected Mayor of St. John’s, NL. Howlett was born in St. John’s on January 25, 1885. He worked as a dental surgeon and served as the head of the Newfoundland Dental Board from 1916 until 1929. Howlett ran for mayor to improve civic services in St. John’s and lobby for greater financial independence for the city from the Newfoundland government. As mayor, he successfully lobbied the Dominion government to allow St. John’s city council to generate its own funds through bank loans, and for council to control how district grants from the Dominion government were spent. He had Duckworth Street and New Gower Street paved in 1931, and he created the Civic Relief Committee in 1932. Howlett died of kidney failure on March 31, 1931, in hospital in St. John’s. Howlett Avenue in St. John’s is named after him. 1-888-588-6353
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GREAT GIFT IDEAS!
The True Meaning of Christmas Robert Hunt #78275 | $19.95
In Search of St. Nicholas Bruce Templeton #78217 | $19.95
Shiny and New Robert Chafe #76255 | $14.95
Sale!
A Newfoundland & Labrador Christmas Wish - Christmas in Newfoundland: Memories and Mysteries Necie (hardcover) #57326 Mike Martin Was $16.95 #77993 | $16.95
Now $8.95
East Coast Keto: Tips & Lessons to Help Simplify your Ketogenic Lifestyle - Bobbi Pike #78131 | $34.95
From Rum to Rhubarb: Modern Recipes for NL Fruits, Vegetables and Berries - Roger Pickavance #78130 | $24.95
PRICES IN EFFECT FOR DECEMBER 2019
• For larger images visit www.shopdownhome.com • While supplies last
Rock Recipes Christmas Barry C. Parsons #60474 | $22.95
Saltwater Classics Christine LeGrow and Shirley A. Scott #77729 | $29.95
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FOR MORE SELECTION VISIT: www.shopdownhome.com
Review
pg. 30ed
Man and Dog: Through The Newfoundland Wilderness Justin Barbour #78128 | $22.95
Into the Deep: An Exploration of Our Oceans Annika Siems & Wolfgang Dreyer (hardcover) #78210 | $34.00
Art and Rivalry: The Marriage of Mary and Christopher Pratt - Carol Bishop-Gwyn (hardcover) #78214 | $34.95
And the Tony Goes To... Newfoundland & Labrador on the World Stage - Scott Linehan #78023 | $19.95
Fire, Fog and Water: A Sgt. Windflower Mystery - Mike Martin #78211 | $19.95
The Place: A Novel Gary Collins #78129 | $19.95
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The Innocents: A Novel - Michael Crummey (hardcover) #78208 | $32.95
Orphanage: Life Changes Forever - David Wesley Sheppard #78215 | $19.95
The North Atlantic Right Whale: Past, Present and Future - Joann Hamilton-Barry #78127 | $19.95
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GREAT GIFT IDEAS!
Red Plaid Fleece Blanket 59" x 47" #63445 | $29.99
I’m a Catch T-shirt Newfoundland s - xxl #62884 | $19.99
Apron - Row Houses w/ front pocket #77462 | $14.99
Microfiber Drying Mat Row Houses #77465 | $6.99
Newfoundland Scarf #78144 | $12.99
Newfoundland Toque #78145 | $10.99
PRICES IN EFFECT FOR DECEMBER 2019
Moose Hoodie sizes - 2, 4, 6, 8 #75561 | $34.99
Tea Towel - Row Houses #77463 | $8.99
• For larger images visit www.shopdownhome.com • While supplies last
Newfoundland Gloves #78146 | $17.99
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FOR MORE SELECTION VISIT: www.shopdownhome.com Sale!
Stocking Mummers Parade #78001 | $12.99
Lumber Jack Toque #72936 | $9.99
Newfoundland Shot Glasses Clear #20214 Frosted #37399
$4.99 each
Fog Globe 5" #72874
Regular 31.99 Now $10.00
Sale!
Ornament - Santa Trapped in Lobster Pot #51422
Regular 15.99 Now $9.88
Bobbi Pike - Ornament Mummers Approach #52925 Party on Prescott #61203
$16.00 each
Ornament - Newfoundland Flag and Map #55608 | $11.99
Ornament - Light up LED Plays the “Mummer Song” by Simani Mummers Afloat #75783 | Mummers Come a Knockin’ #75784 Mummer's Sleigh Ride #75782 | Winter #56830
$13.99 each
TO ORDER CALL: 1-888-588-6353
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GREAT GIFT IDEAS!
Traditional Newfoundland Cooking Bags Pease Pudding Bag #35871 | $2.99 Vegetable Bag #60592 | $5.80 Pease Pudding Kit #35874 | $3.29 Fish 'n' Brewis Bag #35876 | $3.29 Extra Large Pudding Bag w/ Recipes #75944 | $3.79
Summer Savoury Savoury card w Recipe #22019 | $4.95 Savoury - 60g #34177 | $7.99 Savoury - 28g #34176 | $4.95
Tea Towels Any Mummers ’lowd In? #77316 | Lobster #48613 | Lighthouse #48612 | Puffin #65131
$6.99 each
PRICES IN EFFECT FOR DECEMBER 2019
• For larger images visit www.shopdownhome.com • While supplies last
TO
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Please make cheques payable to Downhome Incorporated and send to Downhome, 43 James Lane, St. John’s, NL A1E 3H3 Toll Free: 1-888-588-6353 • Fax: 709-726-2135 mailorder@downhomelife.com • www.shopDownhome.com
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FOR SALE BY OWNER Clay Cove • Southshore Glovertown, NL
THREE BEDROOM OCEAN FRONT HOME Surveyed Land Daniel’s Harbour, Northern Peninsula Photos available $65,000
Secluded 3 Acre Waterfront Property in Glovertown.
Contact 709-520-2178 LAND FOR SALE• Glovertown, NL
Call: 709-898-2452
FOR SALE BY OWNER
12-16 Main Street. 100 foot frontage and centrally located. View of the marina & walking distance to school, bank, grocery store & gas station.
Contact 709-520-2178 VACATION COTTAGE FOR LEASE
Building in Town Square Gander, Newfoundland 1st Floor, Commercial 1700 Sq.Ft. 2nd Floor, Residential 1700 Sq.Ft. 2 bedroom apartment with separate entrance. More pictures on request
EMBREE • CENTRAL NL
Enjoy your vacation in this cozy, ready to move in cottage with full amenities! Private, fully equipped, fully furnished, 2-bdrm with a BBQ, large deck, washer & dryer, quality bed and bathroom linens, dishes, toiletries, satellite and free WiFi. Just minutes to a sandy beach & ocean! $700/week or $120 daily (min. 3 nights)
Call, text or email today for availability!
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Attention Mechanics
OWN YOUR OWN BUSINESS! Includes all equipment, land and building. 3700 square feet, two bays with 10'x10' doors and an additional bay with 12'x14' door for servicing heavy equipment. Ample land is great for a parking lot. One portion of the garage was built in 1983 and features a new roof (2 years). Equipment includes wheel alignment machine, compressor, tire changing machine, muffler machine, lift and more. Open for over 65 years, this turnkey business has a loyal clientele with endless opportunities!
For more information contact Randell O’Rielly: 709.682.5121 144
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St. Fintan’s
New cabin 14'x16' on 2 acres. 1 km from the TCH on the road to St. Fintan’s with beautiful view of Crabb’s River. One of the best salmon pools on Crabb’s River. The best hunting in the area. Very private. Wood stove for heat, propane stove for cooking. Kitchen sink & counter top. Bathroom w/toilet & vanity. No electric or running water. Internet available. Restaurant 2 km away. Grocery store 5 km. Lot can accommodate 2 or more RV’S. $65,000.00 Firm
Don Gibbon 709-643-3843 • 709-649-1256
Downhome Real Estate Start at $50 for a 1 col. x 1" 709-726-5113 1-888-588-6353 For sale by owner, well-established business, located in Chapel Arm, Newfoundland
BUSINESS + HOME + GARAGE Fuel Pumps Hardware Propane Lottery
Grocery Automotive Walk-In Cooler Beer
2 Apartment, 1200 sqft home 3 Bed, 1 Bath / 2 Bed, 1 Bath Separate entry and parking Large 36" x 57" garage
January 2019 Downhome Ad Booking Deadline Nov. 22, 2019
Marketplace
CONTACT BARRY: (709) 699-6259 • P0WERSPETROLEUM@HOTMAIL.COM
www.downhomelife.com
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Movers & Shippers SAMSON’S MOVING
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Movers & Shippers Rates start at $175 for a 1 col. x 2" ad.
Call Today! 709-726-5113 Toll Free: 1-888-588-6353 Email: advertising@downhomelife.com
January 2019 Downhome Ad Booking Deadline November 22, 2019 146
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1912_Puzzles2_1701-puzzles 10/30/19 7:34 PM Page 148
puzzles The Beaten Path
Gene Greene photo
By Ron Young
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 community in letters that get smaller in size.
M
G
D
K
E
H
T p
n
T V
S
H
A
M
D
S
J
H
U
B J L Q x R A S
G L K
E
L
H
U
E
M
M
D
A p
S
R
H
I B V p x G B R n G Q n H T Q L p T
T B Q T x
L
n
M
T
U
H
K
E
L S
S
A J
S
T
V
D
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T I
Last Month’s Community: Carbonear 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
December 2019
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Downhomer Detective Needs You After 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: • Largest island in Conception Bay • Once the largest iron ore producer in the Commonwealth • Site of a deadly U-boat attack during WWII • Birthplace of Allan Hawco • Popular with divers and kayakers
Last Month’s Answer: Little Bay Islands
Picturesque Place NameS of Newfoundland and Labrador
by Mel D’Souza Last Month’s Answer: McIvers 150
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In Other Words Guess the well-known expression written here in other words.
Last Month’s Clue: In the case that you damage the thing, you are compelled to purchase said thing In Other Words: You break it you buy it This Month’s Clue: The entirety descends from this point forward In Other Words: ___ ___ _______ ____ ____.
A Way With Words WEAR LONG
Last Month’s Answer: Long underwear
This Month’s Clue
Aristotle Confucius Socrates ANS: _____ ____ ___
Scrambled Sayings
Rhyme Time A rhyming word game by Ron Young
1. To rob a dinner is to ____ a ____ 2. An overcast month is a ____ ___ 3. A crow’s safe place is a _____ _____ Last Month’s Answers 1. damper camper, 2. loud crowd, 3. choose shoes
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.
E A L A D A A A E R A O H A N D M E G O A M D H N H O H E K E T P R H N W N M T T S W S W S E X S S I N O W I O
E E B E A R I P F S I E A U O S L W I N S Y S O S T
Last month’s answer: The real man smiles in trouble, gathers strength from distress, and grows brave by reflection. www.downhomelife.com
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Rhymes 5 Times Each answer rhymes with the other four
1. temperature _______________ 2. big rodent _______________ 3. crowbar _______________ 4. Labrador _______________ 5. follower _______________
STUCK? Don’t get your knickers in a knot! Puzzle answers can be found online at DownhomeLife.com/puzzles
Last Month’s Answers: 1. banner, 2. manner, 3. canner, 4. scanner, 5. planner
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!
Hit Snowed Ice ___ __ ____ Ease Bees Items Elf ___ ______ _______ Last Month’s 1st Clue: Attire Reap Hairs Enter Answer: A tire repair centre Last Month’s 2nd Clue: Airy Ledges Purse Sun Answer: A religious person
Unscramble each of the five groups of letters below to get 5 Newfoundland and Labrador place names.
1. PCEA ANONMR 2. DILW GBHIT 3. ERGSNUN VCOE 4. HAIRGEL 5. WATERSVISIT Last Month’s Answers: 1. Musgrave Harbour, 2. Carmanville, 3. Frederickton, 4. Greenspond, 5. Clarke’s Head
A nalogical A nagrams Unscramble the capitalized words to get one word that matches the subtle clue. 1. AMAZE GIN ~ Clue: the other bathroom paper 2. BARGING DEER ~ Clue: second most popular man at Christmas 3. TAN IT IVY ~ Clue: always makes a scene at the holidays 4. IN OAT DIRT ~ Clue: yes, that again 5. ALOE SCOTCH ~ Clue: think inside the box Last Month’s Answers: 1. birthday, 2. curiosity, 3. editor, 4. chicken, 5. racetrack 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.
1-4: mail 1-10: chief mailman 1-51: mannerly 1-91: civility 2-22: grease 3-33: goad 3-43: reject 5-8: spar 5-95: bad luck 7-37: bargain 16-14: excavation 16-36: favourite 17-19: question 21-41: illuminated 23-43: vase 25-21: noggin 25-30: choose 33-38: beam 35-32: menu 35-95: great wealth 36-56: plaything 38-8: relax 41-45: Jay Silverheels 44-46: also 44-64: pitch 47-44: origin 49-19: yokel 49-46: brave one 50-44: cigar 52-56: journal 52-82: saucer 55-52: foray 58-28: measly 58-56: might 59-19: babe 59-89: penny 61-91: G-man Eliot 63-65: craft 64-61: precipitation 65-61: teach www.downhomelife.com
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65-70: cured hide 65-95: melody 70-68: lair 70-100: defy 73-43: ache 76-56: large inlet 76-74: purchase 76-79: cereal 77-79: sought election 81-85: shaven 82-85: bugle 86-89: baked item 88-86: rodent 91-100: cutlery 91-96: Lone Ranger’s horse 93-73: wave
97-67: caution 99-97: uncooked 100-10: exterminator Last Month’s Answer
T E RA UN MA P U E E T E I N NE GO
R E D N E T A C A V
R B O A K A P H R E
OR I S REAT EDAY GEAE AM I N L P LA OT I R N I P A EORG RNME
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The Bayman’s
Crossword Puzzle 1
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by Ron Young 3
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ACROSS 1. Society of United Fishermen (abbrev) 3. damage 5. market research online (abbrev) 6. European Economic Union (abbrev) 7. tattletale 8. flat as a _______ 12. “If St. Vitus Day is rainy weather, it will rain for ______ days together” 16. pothole 17. Unemployment Insurance (abbrev) 18. ____ skiff 19. carrying device that requires two people (colloq) 22. “Hurry ____!” 24. spy 26. “Go to grass and let the cows ___ you” 27. rural route (abbrev) 28. responsibility 29. “He’s __ skinny he could kiss a goat between the horns” 30. declared the victor 32. repetitive actions, often associated with autism 33. pondering 37. “How can I __ ar t’ing when I got nar t’ing to do ar t’ing wit’?” 38. type of music without instruments 39. children’s game 40. “It’s not _____ day that Morris kills the cow” 43. employs 45. before 46. Robert’s Arm (abbrev) 47. per (abbrev) 48. Shoemaker’s tool 50. “Three sheets __ the wind” 51. Cloudberries (colloq)
(3 words) 2. “My ship she lay anchored ___ ___ __ ___ ____” (5 words) 4. region 9. L’Anse __ Loup 10. mom’s sister 11. baby goat 12. “There was birch rine, ____ ____, cherry wine and turpentine” (2 words) 13. hello 14. “There’s a big one there that _ _____ I know” (2 words) 15. Murre (colloq) 18. sheep’s bleat 20. ever again 21. Shanawdithit’s people (old spelling) 23. seiners 25. Quidi Vidi ___ 31. “Go __ wit’ ya!” 34. not hers 35. “For Ronald is boss on the river, and _ ____ you he’s a man that’s alive” (2 words) 36. not any (colloq) 41. tub 42. jabber 44. myrhh 49. Whales Pond (abbrev) T H E S Q U I D J I G G I N
O A A G R E S S N A I L
ANSWERS TO LAST MONTH’S CROSSWORD
A R T P A R G S I N N O O K E D N I A R A F I B O U F R A P U T A G O DOWN T S S N A O 1. “When sun rays crown thy pine-clad S E P O N hills and ______ _______ ___ hand” T R E A T E D www.downhomelife.com
T E A S E S
R I D R E D A E D V E E S N O T I O S N A R G E
December 2019
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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.
__ 86 _ 2
_ _ ___ __ 2 8 872 28 _______ 7373863 ___ 227
___ 636
’
_ 4
____ 9327
______ 225533
___ 639
________ 46837467
Last Month’s Answer: My favourite machine at the gym is the vending machine.
©2019 Ron Young
CRACK THE CODE D
Each symbol represents a letter of the alphabet, for instance =N Try to guess the smaller, more obvious words to come up with the letters for the longer ones. The code changes each month.
_ _ _
pBJ _ _ _ _
C i xJ _ _ _ RzJ _ _ R
\
_ _
_ _ _ N _ _ C 0 x D RO _ _ _ N _ _ _ _ _ N
\ \ ; x\D tX JO \D _ _ _ N _ _ _ _ C \D H RzpD
_ _ _ _
H i JO
_ N
iD
_ _ _ RzJ
_ _ _ _
fpLJ Last Month’s Answer: To accomplish great things we must dream as well as act. 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.”
plant =
skulk =
_ _ _
benevolent =
tws _ _ _ _
liberate =
apl]
conceals =
_ _ _ _ _
_ _ _
_ _ _ _ _
sn}}a
_ _ _
yn}
l}a}dt} _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _
_ _ _ _
ynd y ow}t
tI p}d]mqY _ _ _
_ _ _ _
wq} ynd y _ _ _
yn}
_
Ipd mq y
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
yn} _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _
old-time =
nmo}t
yn}
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Y}q}lwpt
_ _
mt _ _ _ _
Y}yt
_ _ _ _ _ _
Yl}dt}
Last Month’s Answer: One can never consent to creep when one feels an impulse to soar. www.downhomelife.com
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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 AT AN OUTPORT SANTA CLAUS PARADE
Last Month’s Answers: 1. Stairs; 2. Day bed; 3. Calendar; 4. Coat hanger; 5. Door; 6. Collar; 7. Cards; 8. Bottle; 9. Hair; 10. Armrest: 11. Couch; 12. Curtain. “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 CHRISTMAS
The words can be across, up, down, backward or at an angle, but always in a line. ANGEL BIRTH BOUGH CANDLE CAROLLING CHARITY COOKIES DECORATIONS FESTIVE FIREPLACE FRANKINCENSE FRUITCAKE GINGERBREAD HOLLY ICICLES LIGHTS MANGER MERRY MISTLETOE
S F Y S Y H J K H P F O X D H J Q R
F N E L L R W U W G O M E T P V D C
Y W O S L E U M T R A H R M X E H K
S F Z I T O I S R N P I S W M A X S
B C K C T I H G G H B K B K R C B V
U G F M K A V E H A X L F I R O V E
TIDINGS WORKSHOP YULETIDE
MUMMER NATIVITY NAUGHTY POINSETTIA SANTA SLEIGH E Y E B W T B Q A O M B I U L T F C
Last Month’s Answers
Z D A E R B R E G N I G T U M O W K
www.downhomelife.com
O H H X N Y S O F P M Y H E U K W J
W Y G C E T G E C I N V N G M I Y E
J C U L S I N S X E R O Z E M E Q S
O W O F N V I D D P D E U H E S L I
H Y B H E I D W V U L Y P Y R R E M
L N N H G B E L V J S H B G O M A W
S U U B C T I X Z D T S O L C V C D
W A I O M O A L R B P M M U A E P M
N E O R B B L K R S P L A T I N U M
E K O I N A T K R H A K Z U A C E M
I B W C A E S D G A A Z N M K P G B
G L M P I N P S G N D T X P R C J Z
Q E B S R M I E E U C L B A H K E I
O T T U Q A A Z J N H S M R I J C G
Y T D M K G R U T Y S D O H O H E F
S E Z D D E H U Y G R P B O H H S J
R A E P U A T C Q M M O A O N G N K
A B W N N V A A E V K I H Q L F J Q
C S U Y R A N A C A A C D N J K B Q
E L K N I W I R E P J H M R G I Q U
T B N A A N M O I N N H T K L R M T
L Y X C Y J L S C E A C O U Q M T S
B D L H V U I V H D T I N G X P M Y
N V T I R C T O G S I R Q B I V U H
T N C H M O C K A Z N M S Y A Y E P
Q U N B U F Y M M N E G U D R N S H
K B F H F E R V E T E U N A N G M E
Y G E Q A W A F P T G C L N X U Y E
L R R Q R E N A A A A K A P T N B Q
I C I C L E S T S T H G I L G G H K
E U P R G K Y L G B M X V C Z R O Y
T B X Q L M I K N C M A E C K V G F
I U G T Z V T F R U I T C A K E I S
L L E H S G G E E O I I N N W Y I I
R A S P B E R R Y S N C D Y Q T X P
I M S N P I A N G E L X Z G P J V U
B P V I O L E T H D E A E C B V C H
S A G E T J C C I B D O R F H H R A
P I B S A S F Z D W Y O J I H S V V
December 2019
C P L E A V U G Y U Y S A B B I M Z
X T Q C V F O D W U M F E D Q R O V
M E D I T E L U Y W R M Z B C A G L 159
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photo finish
Holiday
Trappings
This lobster pot Christmas tree created a festive scene in the town of Salvage, NL one beautiful December morning. Janette Lambert Gander, NL
Do you have an amazing or funny photo to share? Turn to page 9 to find out how to submit. 160
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