2008-Cover-NL_0609-Cover-NFLD 7/9/20 1:36 PM Page 1
Vol 33 • No 03
$4.99
August 2020
Cedar Plank BBQ Cod
DIY Fairy Garden
The Toll of Tuberculosis
Picnic Recipes
2008-Cover-NL_0609-Cover-NFLD 7/10/20 10:41 AM Page 2
2008_Index_0609 index.qxd 7/8/20 11:50 AM Page 1
2008_Index_0609 index.qxd 7/8/20 11:50 AM Page 2
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 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 Darlene Whiteway 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 Customer Service Associate Kathleen Murphy Customer Service Associate Nicola Ryan
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, NS, NB, PE $45.99; ON $45.19; QC, SK, MB, AB, BC, NU, NT, YT $41.99. US and International mailing price for a 1-year term is $49.99.
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
2008_Index_0609 index.qxd 7/8/20 11:50 AM Page 3
56
hike to new heights
Contents 40 scam alert!
AUGUST 2020
40 Don’t Get Scammed! Seniors are regular targets of mail, phone and internet scams. Here are some tips to help folks avoid the traps. Dave Long
56 Lessons Learned on the Trails Fourteen days, 17 trails, 222 kilometres, countless amazing views and one dog bite Connie Boland
104 Down To Earth Interested in “Repeaters”? Learn how to plan and plant a perennial garden. Kim Thistle
114 The Toll of Tuberculosis While the world grapples with the COVID-19 threat, a generation remembers an earlier virus that led to social isolation, hospitalization and death. Daphne Belbin Tumlin www.downhomelife.com
August 2020
3
2008_Index_0609 index.qxd 7/8/20 11:51 AM Page 4
Contents
AUGUST 2020
homefront 10 I Dare Say A note from the editor 12 Letters From Our Readers Fond memories of streetcars, picking up painting, and wondering what a visit to NL is like these days
20 Downhome Tours Downhome readers explore Newfoundland and Labrador
12 pandemic painting
22 Why is That? Why do we sometimes see “floaters” in our eyes, and why do bees have stripes? Linda Browne 24 Yes, B’y A thumbs up to local people and organizations doing good things 26 Life’s Funny Accent? What accent? Cal Lander
24 good on ya!
27 Say What A contest that puts words in someone else’s mouth 28 Lil Charmers Summer of Bubbles 30 Pets of the Month Out & About 32 Reviewed Denise Flint interviews author Heidi Wicks and reviews her new novel, Melt. 34 What Odds Paul Warford makes himself at home 4
August 2020
30 ruff life 1-888-588-6353
2008_Index_0609 index.qxd 7/8/20 11:51 AM Page 5
44
crafting treasures
50
36 Sealed with a Kiss How Downhome played into this couple’s unique love story Ashley Miller
search for meaning
38 Why There’s No Place Like Home Alec Bruce
features 44 Saltwater Joys When the pandemic put the brakes on his tile business, he turned to crafting driftwood treasures that must be seen to be believed. Linda Browne 50 Hex Marks the Spot Kim Ploughman explores the folk art tradition of hex signs on outbuildings.
explore 62 The Long Way Round
62
two-wheel tour www.downhomelife.com
Adventurer Dennis Flynn’s solo cycling journey to the four corners of the island of Newfoundland
68 Travel Diary Search for a resting place: the Sabena Airlines crash site Doug Follett August 2020
5
2008_Index_0609 index.qxd 7/8/20 11:51 AM Page 6
Contents
AUGUST 2020
72
shore to please
72 Boil Ups on the Beach Readers share their favourite coastline cookout spots. Janice Stuckless
home and cabin 80 Stuff We Love Patio party essentials Tobias Romaniuk 82 Room to Be Together Removing walls and installing happiness, a renovation story Tobias Romaniuk and Holly Costello
82 installing happiness
88 Nan’s Fairy Garden Interior designer Marie Bishop takes us on a tour of the backyard fairy garden she created to delight her grandchildren.
6
August 2020
1-888-588-6353
2008_Index_0609 index.qxd 7/8/20 11:51 AM Page 7
108 everyday hero
92 The Everyday Gourmet Cedar Plank BBQ Cod Andrea Maunder
96 Everyday Recipes Picnic Picks
reminiscing 108 Flashbacks Classic photos of people and places
109 This Month in History The oldest living man in the Commonwealth About the cover This white sandy beach in Burgeo is one example of the paradise found right here in this province, and has us dreaming of how wonderful a “Stay Home Year” vacation could be. Donna Warren photo
Cover Index Homemade Stuffed Crust Pizza • 92 Top 10 Summer Reads • 30 Isolated & Loving It • 44 Stay Home Year • 66 Q&A with MUN’s New President • 38 Gardening Tips for Newbies • 100 Legend of Trapper Tom • 76
110 Visions & Vignettes Adventures with two young scalawags in an imaginary outport of days gone by Harold N. Walters 118 Newfoundlandia Johnny Burke: The Life Between The Notes Chad Bennett 124 Marketplace 128 Mail Order 132 Puzzles 144 Photo Finish
www.downhomelife.com
August 2020
7
homefront 08-25_Homefront - Letters 7/8/20 11:45 AM Page 8
Meet the sweet Cakes, a love story started through Downhome 20 years ago. p. 36
Find out where a load of diamonds are rumoured to be hiding in central Newfoundland. p. 68
November
Enter the 2021 Calendar Contest You could win a trip for 4 with O’Brien’s Whale and Bird Tours! Downhomelife.com/calendar
8
August 2020
Need a recipe? Find endless favourites at EverydayRecipes.ca and join our online foodie group: Facebook.com/groups/ EverydayRecipesDownhome.
1-888-588-6353
homefront 08-25_Homefront - Letters 7/8/20 11:45 AM Page 9
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
August 2020
9
homefront 08-25_Homefront - Letters 7/8/20 12:04 PM Page 10
i dare say
This one’s for you, Katherine. If you’d ever met her, you’d never forget her. She had a thousand-watt smile, a heart that beat with generosity and kindness, a sense of right and wrong in the world and no fear of addressing it. She had a secure sense of self not seen in many 25-year-olds. Katherine joined our team last September, and her family has told me this was her dream job. Well, she was a dream assistant, let me tell you. She was earnest and hard-working, always ready to take on any task. She loved talking to readers, going through and picking submissions for the magazine, and writing stories. Katherine was becoming a better storyteller with every article she wrote, which she did in an authentic Downhome voice and style. She understood what we do here and what readers want. And while she took her responsibilities very seriously, she was a joy to be around. She made me laugh every day. Then on a sunny and warm June day, Katherine was with dear friends, hiking as she loved to do, when everything stopped. She was still writing the next chapter when her book suddenly ended. This month’s issue is dedicated to the memory of our Assistant Editor, Katherine Saunders. She was a beautiful bright light that will shine on forever in our memories of her and the stories she shared. Janice Stuckless, Editor-in-chief janice@downhomelife.com
10
August 2020
1-888-588-6353
homefront 08-25_Homefront - Letters 7/7/20 2:12 PM Page 11
Actually, our icebergs are just the tip of the iceberg.
Explore magical Twillingate with its coastline, icebergs, whales and endless trails. And after a hard day’s play, we invite you to a soft night’s stay at the award-winning Anchor Inn Hotel, Alphabet Fleet Inn and Hodge Premises.
Twillingate.com | 1-800-450-3950
homefront 08-25_Homefront - Letters 7/7/20 2:12 PM Page 12
Canoe Club Every year since 2004, the Men’s Canoe Club of St. James Anglican Church in Cambridge, Ontario, has done a multi-day excursion into Algonquin or Killarney Park. Frequently, I am the only Newfoundlander on the trip; and, for me, the chance to get out of a southwestern Ontario city and into the woods for a few days with a group of great friends is almost as good as a trip home. Toutons prepared on a camp stove and a splash of Screech in the evening coffee helps to give everyone a little taste of Newfoundland. Due to COVID-19, however, this year’s trip, if it even happens, will be unlike any of the previous 15. Park closures and re-openings, group size limitations and social distancing rules are all having an impact on our plans. At the time of this writing, faith and optimism keep us moving forward with the hope that we will gather around the campsite and pass around the latest issue of Downhome once again – properly sanitized, of course. Robert Lilley Cambridge, ON
For reasons none of us wanted, this will be a summer to remember. Here’s a photo Robert shared of the Canoe Club from a pre-COVID event: (left to right) Robert, Allen, Dale, Rod, Doug (a true lover of toutons, holding the Downhome), Neil, Steve, Roy, Mark, Mike and Hans. 12
August 2020
1-888-588-6353
homefront 08-25_Homefront - Letters 7/7/20 2:12 PM Page 13
St. John’s Streetcars I am looking at the edition with the St. John’s streetcars (April 2020), and I just wanted to say that I used to ride that streetcar many times from one end of the city to the other. I lived on Military Road across from Government House, and I remember a lot of rides back and forth from the east to the west. Also when I was very little, I sat on the streetcar tracks a number of times and got in trouble… I was thrilled to see the streetcar again.
RECENT TWEETS
Cheryl (Harnum) Telford via voicemail
Thanks for getting in touch, Cheryl. If anyone else would like to comment on something they read in Downhome, please call 1-888-588-6353; email us at editorial@downhomelife.com; or write to Downhome, 43 James Lane, St. John’s, NL, A1E 3H3. We love getting letters!
www.downhomelife.com
Tabitha Stokes @TabithaStokes82
Lazy summer days complete with @downhomelife ... #nansblanket... #summertimedrink... #screenedporchlivin... all in my favourite place of all #terranovanl
August 2020
13
homefront 08-25_Homefront - Letters 7/7/20 2:12 PM Page 14
find corky sly conner Hidden somewhere in this issue is Corky Sly Conner.
Can you find him? Look carefully at all the photographs and in the text of the stories. If you spot Corky, send us your name, address and phone number, along with a note telling us where he’s located. Your name will be entered in a draw and the winner will receive a coupon worth 25 Downhome Dollars redeemable at our store, or through our website.
Send your replies to: Corky Contest
Congratulations to Edwin Foley of Tilting, NL, who found him on page 74 of the June issue.
43 James Lane St. John’s, NL, A1E 3H3
mail@downhomelife.com www.downhomelife.com *No Phone Calls Please One entry per person
Deadline for replies is the end of each month.
I Dare Say Janice, I loved your “I Dare Say” column this month (July 2020). I can relate to every word you said. Some people have a mid-life crisis, but personally I get my “yearly Newfoundland withdrawal crisis,” and the only way to overcome it is to go back for my yearly Newfoundland “fix.” Not sure if it’s going to happen this year! Janice, keep on lovin’ where you live... there is beauty everywhere you look. Stay safe, healthy and happy. Cal Belbin Oakville, ON
Thanks, Cal. Life is a precious, finite thing. We can’t waste a day waiting for a better tomorrow.
Newfoundland in a New World Greetings from Ontario! Hope everyone is doing well now that the pandemic restrictions are easing up. No 14
August 2020
matter where we are on the map, we’ve all been cooped up a little too long, and some of us are daydreaming of past vacations that went beyond our backyards. For me, I’m thinking of the trip I took to Newfoundland a scant three years ago, back when there was no need for masks or social distancing or uh-oh-did-someone-just-cough panic. It’s almost surreal that we could board a crowded airplane bare-faced, the only masks neatly stowed out of sight for emergency oxygen. Equally bizarre is that not only would we share an armrest and ask a stranger to pass along our pack of peanuts, but we were all breathing the same contained air, droplets and all. I’ve been a mainlander all my life, without a real passion for travel. But, for the first time ever, Newfoundland called to me in the summer of 2017. Today the mere thought of travel is Continued p. 16 1-888-588-6353
homefront 08-25_Homefront - Letters 7/7/20 2:12 PM Page 15
homefront 08-25_Homefront - Letters 7/7/20 2:12 PM Page 16
What is This Thing?
I found this by my dad’s fishing stage. It’s forged steel. I’m wondering what it is and what it was used for. Jerry Kean Brookfield, NL
Anyone know what this is or was? Let us know and we’ll share the answer in a following issue. Email us at editorial@downhomelife.com or write to Downhome, 43 James Lane, St. John’s, NL, A1E 3H3.
foreign. There’s more adventure and thrill-seeking trying to buy cereal at your local store in this crazy new world. I sometimes think back to the wonderful experiences and sights and people I encountered out East, and I wonder how you folks are faring these days. You, who are famous for crowded pubs, friendly folks and codkissing tourists. That kind of closeness is taboo these days. You just don’t know where that cod’s lips have been. So, really, what is happening to the tourism industry out your way? Are you folks enjoying the respite from all the Come From Aways? Or would you rather sidle up to us at the pub again? Elbow to elbow on George Street… as long as we cough into our own elbow. Who is discovering your charming rural communities these days? Who is marvelling at the grand expanse of Gros Morne Park? Who is surveying the city of St. John’s from the godlike view from Signal Hill? Surely the wildlife is enjoying the absence of gawkers and the constant tromping of tourists… The whales have always had an entire ocean to play in. Now it must seem even bigger. True bliss. I imagine that even edible sea life might be happier getting to see their cousins and brethren more often in their natural habitat rather than on a 16
August 2020
tourist’s dinner plate. If they had emotions, that is. And what of those marvelous small businesses in Newfoundland? I’m thinking of the B&Bs I stayed at in St. John’s and Ferryland, where I got a picture-perfect breakfast in At Wit’s End and a lovely morning serenade by the owners at Dunnes’. How are they managing these days? I think of the picturesque town of Trinity, already tiny throughout much of the year. To have it robbed of tourists who delight in the retelling of East Coast history is truly a shame. I so enjoyed the walking tour, the plays I saw at the Rising Tide Theatre, the recreation of Newfoundland history by actors in traditional garb. Armchair tourists are a mixed lot these days. Some are appreciating the relative stillness of the new world, the break from routine, the slowing of the pace. But I would imagine that Newfoundlanders must miss the tourists. Not just to boost the economy, but also because they genuinely seem to enjoy the chats and the sharing of fun and food and memories. I’m sure we’re all familiar with photos of famous landmarks before and during the pandemic. Places like the Taj Mahal, the Eiffel Tower and the canals of Venice are enjoying a Continued p. 18 1-888-588-6353
homefront 08-25_Homefront - Letters 7/7/20 2:12 PM Page 17
Meet Kula and Twinkle Star If you’re looking for a socially distanced activity and some inspiration, head out to South River (between Cupids and Clarke’s Beach), where you’ll come across a pasture with Newfoundland Ponies who spend the summer there grazing. The pasture is run and maintained (yes they drove all the stakes in the ground themselves and did all their fencing) by a volunteer group in the area called the “Newfoundland Pony Pals Project.” They run events, including pony rides for children, to educate people about the Newfoundland Pony and its importance in the history of the province. This year, due to Covid, they had to cancel all their events, which is also their main source of fundraising. On the pasture in South River, two special girls can be seen – always close together. Newfoundland Pony mare, ‘Kula’ was born in Whitebourne in 2001 as part of the Newfoundland Pony breeding program. In 2001, she was adopted by the Hierlihy family of South River after her owner moved to the US.
She has been an important part of the Hierlihy family ever since. In 2013, with the help of NL Pony expert, Liz Chafe, Kula was bred with Newfoundland Pony stallion ‘Dawson Star’ and the following spring on May 21, 2014, a beautiful foal named ‘Hierlihy’s Twinkle Star’ was born. Both these ponies are owned by Byron Hierlihy and his family, who do all they can to preserve the breed, which is listed as Critically Endangered by Rare Breeds Canada. To find out more about the Newfoundland Pony Pals Project, you can follow them on Facebook. You can also reach Byron Hierlihy at byronhierlihy@yahoo.ca.
homefront 08-25_Homefront - Letters 7/7/20 2:12 PM Page 18
smog-free breather now that the constant crowds and noise and engines have halted. But Newfoundland... You’ve got a lot of space. And you’re always so welcoming. I’d like to think you miss us a little. And even if you don’t, I just want you to know that we miss you. So stay safe, folks. We’ll see you soon. Betty Midgley Oshawa, ON
Oh we miss you, too, Betty. Healthwise, we’ve fared better than most with this virus. At press time for this issue, we’ve just joined the “Atlantic
bubble” and have begun welcoming travellers from the Maritimes. But it’s not the welcome we’re used to. No hugs at the airport; no lineups to kiss the cod or the puffin’s arse on George Street; no live music or bustling festivals. There are still smiling faces, though mostly hidden behind masks (upside: there’s much more meaningful eye contact these days). And there are still boat tours, B&Bs, restaurants, pubs and shops operating, just doing things a little differently. We’re all doing our part to be safe, stay healthy and support each other, so we can return full force in 2021.
Brushing up on Skills I just started painting several weeks ago. It’s a new found talent I never knew I had! It’s a great pastime during these unprecedented times. Janet Grace Pouch Cove, NL
Nice job, Janet! In this issue, we have the story of a temporarily outof-work tile installer who turned his creative eye to driftwood art (p. 48). We love hearing from readers and finding out what they’re up to. What new thing have you tried in 2020? Email your project pics and your COVID-19 story to editorial@downhomelife.com; or submit your photos and story online anytime at DownhomeLife.com; or write to Downhome, 43 James Lane, St. John’s, NL, A1E 3H3. 18
August 2020
1-888-588-6353
homefront 08-25_Homefront - Letters 7/7/20 2:12 PM Page 19
homefront 08-25_Homefront - Letters 7/7/20 2:12 PM Page 20
homefront Downhome tours...
Newfoundland and Labrador
Just Beachy
Sadie Peyton put down her Downhome magazine long enough to snap this photo in White Cape Harbour, Griquet. Also called Upper Griquet, White Cape Harbour is sheltered by Four Ears Island. It’s a section of St. Lunaire-Griquet, which also encompasses Garden Cove, Sleepy Cove, Joe’s Cove, Fortune and Gunners Cove. In the early European settlement days, White Cape Harbour was the chosen site for the Methodist church and school (c. 1880s). 20
August 2020
1-888-588-6353
homefront 08-25_Homefront - Letters 7/7/20 2:12 PM Page 21
Trip Back in Time
It was a few years ago that Pamela Smith of Goulds, NL, took this staycation at Woody Island Resort, “a fantastic place for anyone who wants to get away from the fast pace of life,” she writes. A small island in Placentia Bay (3 km by 1.5 km), Woody Island was settled by Europeans in the early 1800s, and mostly abandoned by full-time residents in the 1970s. Woody Island Resort offers an outport experience, from boat rides and berrypicking to home-cooked meals and songs around the campfire – with none of the online distractions of modern life.
Chillin’ at the Cabin Bridget Leonard of Ferndale, NL, enjoys a getaway at her cabin in Davis Cove, Placentia Bay.
For about 100 years, this little outport was inhabited by families making a living at the inshore cod fishery. Most of its residents moved to larger communities in Placentia Bay in the 1960s, but Davis Cove remains a popular cabin spot – especially among those, including the submitter, with family roots there. www.downhomelife.com
August 2020
21
homefront 08-25_Homefront - Letters 7/7/20 2:12 PM Page 22
Expert answers to common life questions. By Linda Browne
Why do we sometimes see those funny little floaters in our eyes? Is it a bird? Is it a plane? Nope, it’s a floater! Surely, you’ve experienced this phenomenon at some point in your life. You gaze up into the sky and spot what you think is perhaps a distant crow, but when you try to take a closer look at what appears as a small black dot or squiggly line, it darts away. Floaters are small bits of material within the jelly-like substance of the eye (called the vitreous) and they’re quite common, says Dr. Colin Mann, an ophthalmologist in Bridgewater, NS, and president of the Canadian Ophthalmological Society. “What we’re actually seeing when we see floaters are things that cast a shadow onto the back of the eye from inside the eye,” he explains, adding that floaters are most noticeable under bright lighting conditions, like when you look up at a clear sky or at a light-coloured wall when the sun is shining on it. As we age, the vitreous shrinks and separates from the retina, sometimes causing floaters to appear. “The vitreous is essentially, over a lifetime, like reverse Jell-O. When you’re a child or a teenager, the vitreous is almost all semi-solids, like set Jell-O. And when 22
August 2020
people are 95 or 100 years old, their vitreous would be almost all liquefied, so it undergoes a change over their lifetime,” Dr. Mann explains. “As little pockets of liquid start to form in the vitreous, then those areas... can cast a shadow on the back of the eye. And what happens at some point is the liquid part sort of breaks through to the back, between where the retina is and what’s left of the semi-solid vitreous, and so the semisolid vitreous has sort of shrunk down and pulls away from the back of the eye. And that’s a normal event that happens in pretty much everyone at some point.” Sometimes, when the vitreous tugs on the retina, it can also produce little flashes of light. Dr. Mann says while this usually doesn’t cause any problems, “sometimes it can tug hard enough to make a hole or a tear in the 1-888-588-6353
homefront 08-25_Homefront - Letters 7/7/20 2:12 PM Page 23
retina… And if that’s the case, then often you have lots of flashing lights and you have lots of new floaters, sometimes dozens of little pinpoint ones. That’s a bit more of a concern.” When floaters first appear, people
tend to be quite aware of their presence, but over time, Dr. Mann says, the brain gets used to them and tunes them out. But if they’re really getting on your nerves, simply move your eyes up and down to get them to settle.
Why do bees have stripes? Bees are perhaps nature’s hardest little workers, and it’d be difficult to get by without them. In fact, according to the Research Excellence Cluster on Bee Health, Impact and Value in the Environment (BeeHIVE) at the University of British Columbia (UBC), “Honey bees are some of the world’s most important pollinators. A significant proportion (perhaps up to one-third) of the crops we eat rely on insect pollination.” The group also states that in Canada, “the economic harvest value attributed to honey bee pollination is estimated to be up to $5.5 billion per year.” Bees are pretty calm little creatures that only sting when they feel threatened, and they’ve developed some pretty cool defence mechanisms to warn potential predators – their bright stripes being one of them. According to Dr. Leonard Foster, BeeHIVE member and professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at UBC, “It is thought that bees developed stripes along with their stings, as a visual clue to would-be predators who eventually would associate stripes with something that stings, and therefore not try to eat them,” he writes via email. “Other insects that do not have stingers then developed stripes to take advantage of this, too.” But it may not just be their stripes that serve this protective function. A
2010 study from the UK, published in the Journal of Zoology, suggests that other aspects of a bee’s behaviour, like the bumbling way in which they fly and the deep buzzing sound they make, may work in tandem with their stripes to keep them from becoming a predator’s snack. Paul Dinn of Adelaide’s Newfoundland Honey Inc. (which operates Adelaide’s Honey Bee, Pollinator and Wildflower Reserve in Goulds) notes that unlike wasps and other insects that can sting multiple times, once honeybees sting, they die. “Bees don’t normally sting... if you’re walking through the woods and all of a sudden you get stung by something, and you’ll probably get stung a couple of times, you’ve probably gotten too close to a wasps’ nest,” he says.
Do you have a burning life question for Linda to investigate? Turn to page 9 for ways to contact us. www.downhomelife.com
?
August 2020
23
homefront 08-25_Homefront - Letters 7/7/20 2:12 PM Page 24
homefront
Designed to Help Inspired by those who risked the most while the rest of us sheltered in place after March 2020, Colin Adey of Twillingate, NL, expressed his gratitude with a sketch. His hand-drawn artwork features front line workers – doctor, nurse, paramedic, cashier, truck driver, which he’s having printed on clothing and selling online through Teespring. “It’s unreal the job that [frontline workers] have done. I mean, they risk their lives every day… to keep everybody safe,” he says. In addition, he’s donating 20 per cent of the profit from his sales to the Janeway Children’s Hospital in St. John’s. The Janeway’s annual
telethon, their biggest fundraiser normally held in June, was postponed this year, and Colin would like to use his clothing project to help. Check out his design and clothing options at Adeysduds.com.
STAY HOME YEAR 2020 Sign maker Dennis Blackwood of Corner Brook, NL found a way to really drive home this year’s motto, thanks to COVID-19. He designed Stay Home Year 2020 licence plates, a twist on a piece of Newfoundland and Labrador nostalgia, in that they were inspired by the treasured 1969 Come Home Year plates. That summer, thousands of expats made a special trip home and, you might say, NL tourism as we know it was born. In addition to the licence plates, he’s selling his design on T-shirts, keychains and more swag through his company, Blackwood Signs and Graphics. 24
August 2020
1-888-588-6353
homefront 08-25_Homefront - Letters 7/7/20 2:12 PM Page 25
All in the Same Boat
Hearts for Hope
Pandemics can make some unexpected bedfellows. Fierce competitors for many years, two Bay Bulls tour companies have joined forces in what are challenging times for tourism. Gatherall’s Puffin & Whale Watch and O’Brien’s Whale & Bird Tours are working together this summer with their GO Tour joint operation. “Faced with the current COVID-19 situation, both companies have come together, in true Newfoundland style, to offer unforgettable experiences in our province. The O’Brien’s and Gatherall’s (GO Tours) feel that working together we can continue to offer our customers a safe, high quality tour,” they said in a joint statement on Facebook. Guests will take to sea aboard an O’Brien’s boat, crewed by both companies, and will be served by Gatherall’s onshore facilities.
The Kinette Club of Mount Pearl, NL – associated with Kin Canada, a national non-profit service organization – has raised more than $10,000 to help neighbours who’ve been struggling financially due to COVID-19. “Our current project is Hearts for Hope, the purpose of which is to help the hungry, homeless and hurting in our community as a result of the ongoing pandemic hardships,” says member Kim Smith in a recent press release. They set up a Facebook page (MPKinettes.HeartsforHope2020), and use it to sell hearts personalized by the donor and displayed online and in the community at business partners Sobeys and Ooh La La Pet Spa. “Our goal is to reach as many of the vulnerable seniors and families in our community, and the organizations that help those in need [as possible],” says Kim.
www.downhomelife.com
August 2020
25
homefront 26-47_Homefront 2 7/7/20 2:45 PM Page 26
homefront life’s funny
Accent? What accent? When I worked part-time in a marine supply store here in Ontario, one of my pleasures was meeting folks from Newfoundland. Both my parents had Newfoundland roots, and I had spent many summer days there as a youngster. So I especially loved to engage those with a Newfoundland accent in conversation, which brought back so many memories. On this one day in particular, I overheard a Newfoundland accent. I approached the gentleman and asked where he was from in Newfoundland. He replied, “How did you know I was from Newfoundland?” “Your accent, of course. I recognized it immediately because my parents are both Newfoundlanders,” I said. His reply was classic. “You know, b’y, you’re right, but I never had an accent ’til I came to Ontario.” Cal Lander Orillia, ON 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. 26
August 2020
1-888-588-6353
homefront 26-47_Homefront 2 7/7/20 2:45 PM Page 27
size a t a h “ W friggin’ of a udder!” trout, m gle ony En –T
Say WHAT? Downhome recently posted this photo (submitted by Jennilee King) on our website and social media platforms and asked folks to imagine what this child might be saying. Tony Engle made us chuckle the most, so we’re awarding him 20 Downhome Dollars!
Here are the runners-up: “Get the iron fry pan, brudder got us some lunch!” – Laura Oxford “What? We really eat the worms if we don’t catch a fish?” – Marie Smith “We found my goldfish!” – Robin Cuff
Play with us online! www.downhomelife.com/saywhat
www.downhomelife.com
August 2020
27
homefront 26-47_Homefront 2 7/7/20 2:45 PM Page 28
homefront lil charmers
Summer of
Bubbles
Caught in a Bubble Sophie Smith gets right into bubble-blowing during a visit to Adams Cove, NL. Mike (Sophie’s dad) Via email
Bubble Blast This is five-year-old Hunter Gollop, having some good, clean fun with soap bubbles in his great-aunt’s yard. Jackie Rice Paradise, NL 28
August 2020
1-888-588-6353
homefront 26-47_Homefront 2 7/7/20 2:45 PM Page 29
Bubble Boy Jack Halley, 13 months, enjoys a warm sunny day at the cabin. Stephanie Halley-Harris NL
Own Little Bubble Michael Oram of Hare Bay, NL, eyes his bubble, willing it not to pop! Cindy Keats Carbonear, NL
www.downhomelife.com
August 2020
29
homefront 26-47_Homefront 2 7/7/20 2:45 PM Page 30
homefront pets of the month
Westies on a Wharf This trio basks in the sun during an August walk in Canning’s Cove, NL. Ena Young Musgravetown, NL
Out & About Beagle Beat Marley is sitting pretty during this rest stop on today’s walk. Melisa Troy Goose Cove, NL
30
August 2020
1-888-588-6353
homefront 26-47_Homefront 2 7/7/20 2:45 PM Page 31
SnifďŹ n’ the Sea Breeze Maggie enjoys the beach in Point of Bay, NL. Dennis Snow Carbonear, NL
Along for the Ride Chinook takes in a sunset in Labrador City. Dominique Andrews Labrador City, NL
www.downhomelife.com
August 2020
31
homefront 26-47_Homefront 2 7/7/20 2:45 PM Page 32
homefront
reviewed by Denise Flint
Melt Heidi Wicks
Breakwater Books $22.95
Cait and Jess have been friends since they were eight. Now they’re both pushing 40 and married with children; Cait, the wilder one, has a little girl and Jess has two boys. But change has crept over the horizon. Can their friendship survive? Through flashbacks, Melt, the debut novel of Heidi Wicks, tracks the two women’s relationship over the years, both with each other and with everyone else important in their lives, to answer that question. Wicks has written a sharp and funny novel that runs the gamut from the sublime to the ridiculous. Is Jess about to jeopardize everything that makes life worth living by embarking on an affair with an old flame? Did Cait’s daughter just rub a booger on a piece of crystal at a funeral reception? Occasionally she goes a little overboard, like she’s been double dared to ramp it up. Does your ex-husband’s new girlfriend really have to be the obnoxious child care worker at your daughter’s day care? Isn’t running into your still sexy ex while going out to dinner with your husband bad enough without then being seated side by side? However, the occasional bit of overkill is a relatively minor complaint. At its core, Melt is about family and friends, and how our view of those most important elements in our lives both changes over time and remains exactly the same. One small word of advice. Pay attention to the chapter headings. They include some wicked puns, including “Wretch and Release” and “Wind Warning in the Wrecked House.”
32
August 2020
1-888-588-6353
homefront 26-47_Homefront 2 7/7/20 2:45 PM Page 33
Q&A with the Author Denise Flint: The relationship between the two main characters in Melt seem to mirror, to a degree, what’s going on in their romantic lives. Do friendships go through the same stages and stresses as romantic relationships? Heidi Wicks: All relationships, whether they’re parental, romantic or platonic, go through their own ebbs and flows. They all have periods of stress and joy, especially long-term relationships. We change as people; sometimes people get closer and sometimes we drift apart. The difference in romantic relations as opposed to others is that that level of intimacy can make conflict much more intense.
ther from your own experiences. The key is connecting to humans and you’re always thinking about other people and trying to put yourself in someone else’s shoes, and that applies whether you’re writing about someone like you or someone of a completely different gender or profession.
DF: How do you choose your characters’ names? HW: For this book in particular, to be
DF: Melt is very spatially rooted in St. John’s. How important is a sense of place to your work? HW: Hugely important. It doesn’t
honest, not a lot of thought went into it. Melody Angel I pictured as artsy and free spirited and needed an artsy name. The child character, Maisie – there’s a connection to a book called What Maisie Knew, about a child’s parents divorcing. Cait was kind of a funky character, so something short seemed to suit her, whereas Jessica needed something a bit more romantic and feminine sounding...
matter if the space is one room in one house or a whole city. Creating a world is vital to creating the characters. You need to be able to smell, see and taste what the characters are smelling, seeing and tasting...
DF: Do you think the pandemic has made a permanent change in society? How have you been dealing with it? HW: ...I’ve noticed the level of kind-
DF: How much do you draw on your own experiences when writing? HW: It depends on the story, I suppose, but I think everything I write starts from something that I’m going through or a feeling I have, whether directly related to me or the news or what a family member or friend is going through. You start to sculpt it into a story requiring drama and a plot point and resolution; it becomes more and more fiction and shifts furwww.downhomelife.com
ness between people. I’ve continued to work full time, and in meetings the boundaries between home and work no longer exist. Your pets and children are popping in and out of the screen. People always asked how your kids are, but they were asking to be polite. Now they ask how “are you doing?” as if they’re checking on your soul... The world is not functioning at the same speed. This is a recalibration and we’ll all be kinder to each other after this. That’s my rose-coloured glasses. (This interview has been edited for length.) August 2020
33
homefront 26-47_Homefront 2 7/7/20 2:45 PM Page 34
homefront what odds
help your self-conscious By Paul Warford
I was perplexed but quiet as questions nagged the back of my skull: Hadn’t Jane (and, presumably, her mother) known these people since she was a little kid?
34
August 2020
At Robert’s, there was Tropicana. The juice was new to the Newfoundland market at the time; pricey. Our house never had Tropicana, a form of abuse I discovered as soon as that Florida-squeezed goodness first touched my tongue. (Later in life, I learned that my mother bought six 2L cartons of milk at a time to accommodate the amount my brothers and I drank, so I got over the lack of Tropicana.) I’d let myself in through his family’s front door, greeted immediately by the sharp-crack barks of their miniature Schnauzer, Frisky. Removing my sneakers, I’d listen for cues to determine the location of his family members. His father, a very hard-working doctor, was usually asleep in the front room. His mother might be folding laundry upstairs. Robert would likely be in the basement – a carpeted haven filled with his video games, a pool table and the permanent stink of pre-teen boys enjoying their childhood. With my footwear removed and Frisky scampering away from lack of interest, I’d immediately enter the kitchen and open the fridge. Robert’s mother would walk in then, exclaiming, “Hello, brudda Paul!” with her thick Butlerville accent. The fact that I was facedeep in her fridge before greeting her son – or even verifying he was home – never seemed to cross her mind. My first serious girlfriend came from Nova Scotia, and she returned home with me for her inaugural Newfoundland visit during Christmas of 2002. I was 20. I led her to the brick twostorey house directly opposite my parents’ home, keen to introduce her to Robert’s family. As I entered the house, Jane stopped me, horrified, and asked, “Aren’t you going to knock?” I couldn’t help it as I laughed in her face. Of course I wasn’t going to knock. Why would I make Elizabeth get up when she didn’t have to? 1-888-588-6353
homefront 26-47_Homefront 2 7/7/20 2:45 PM Page 35
Back on the mainland, I’d go clubbing with Jane and her pals. We had lots of laughs over the years. Yet I still raised an eyebrow when Jane’s childhood friends made their way to us one weekend after her mother volunteered to drive us all into the city. The doorbell would chime to announce them one by one, and Jane would find them standing on the mat, patiently awaiting entry. I was perplexed but quiet as questions nagged the back of my skull: Hadn’t Jane (and, presumably, her mother) known these people since she was a little kid? And we knew they were coming over and we knew the agreed time, so why did they keep ringing the doorbell? The formality baffles me to this day. I’ve since upgraded to a wife, but she, too, is a mainlander. Now, between you and me, she continues to insist she doesn’t qualify as a CFA because she’s from Prince Edward Island, but we know better. “‘Island’ is in the name!” she reminds me whenever the subject comes up. I agree that PEI was an island at one time... but then they built that bridge. And any piece of land connected to its associated continent is not an island. Really, once the Confederation Bridge was paved and the tolls were opened, they should’ve renamed the province Prince Edward Isthmus (but don’t tell my in-laws I said that). The first time I brought Andie to Newfoundland, she assumed we’d be
www.downhomelife.com
getting a hotel while visiting my family, which I obviously considered insane. Why on earth would we need a hotel when we were going home? So now it is she who is baffled, as she continues to adjust to my parents reminding her to help herself to the food, the wine, the household amenities. They remind her to stop apologizing. She feels as though she needs to say “sorry” when she opens a cupboard or asks for a glass of wine. She considers herself an inconvenience when she oversteps these social boundaries. She’s not used to the expectation now imposed on her to simply ignore her instincts by ignoring the boundaries as well. As the years go on between us, the insistence to always be comfortable is slowly making her less uncomfortable. Meanwhile, I sit and watch this dance as my wife performs the steps more deftly with each visit. I understand now that the more she learns about my family, my oldest friends, even the employees at Powell’s supermarket, the more she comes to understand that she was welcome before she even got here. 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
August 2020
35
homefront 26-47_Homefront 2 7/7/20 2:45 PM Page 36
homefront
By Ashley Miller
Thanks to Downhome, this NL couple’s romance was signed, sealed and delivered 20 years ago.
“We love telling our story,” begins Lisa Cakes over the phone from her home in Noggin Cove, NL. “I’m getting emotional just thinking back on it.” With this year marking two decades since Lisa met her husband, Jeremy, they’re reminiscing about the start of their sweet love story, set in motion by Downhome. Then in their early 20s, both Jeremy and Lisa had made letter writing somewhat of a hobby. In April 2000, Lisa responded to Jeremy’s request for a pen pal in “New Friends Across the Miles,” a monthly page in what was then called the Downhomer. “Every time I’d get a letter from him I’d be so excited,” beams Lisa. Her experience receiving and replying to Jeremy’s letters was a little different than you might imagine, however. “Lisa is totally blind,” says Jeremy, a fact she revealed to him in her very first letter. Lisa recalls hanging on every word as a loved one read each of 36
August 2020
Jeremy’s letters aloud to her. She’d then type her replies, print them and have someone help with mailing. Through their letters, they quickly discovered they had much in common. She loved his sense of humour and caring nature; he loved her upbeat personality and perpetual positivity. “We bonded right away, just through the mail,” says Jeremy, who was living in his hometown of King’s Point at that time, a three-hour drive from Lisa’s Noggin Cove home. Eventually, the pen pals connected by phone. “We used to talk for hours. I’d say we drove his mother off of her head,” laughs Lisa. “I was just comfortable talking to him from the beginning.” Five months after her first letter to Jeremy was postmarked, they 1-888-588-6353
homefront 26-47_Homefront 2 7/7/20 2:45 PM Page 37
arranged to meet in person. Lisa’s parents accompanied her to Gander, only an hour away, where Jeremy had begun attending the College of the North Atlantic. They met in September 2000, just outside the Country Kitchen restaurant. “As soon as I saw her, the first thing that came in my mind was how beautiful she was,” says Jeremy. Lisa recalls being struck by Jeremy’s voice, so sweet sounding, during that first meeting. A few days later, during a stroll around Cobb’s Pond Park, they shared their first kiss. “When he told me that I was the first person he had met that was blind, I was surprised… it’s almost like he knew exactly what to do, how to guide me,” says Lisa. “He actually said to me, ‘Which do you prefer: The elbow or the hand?’ He wanted to know how I wanted to be guided, if I wanted to hold his hand or his arm.” For Jeremy, Lisa’s blindness is just another aspect of the woman he loves more and more each day. “Even though she’d been dealing with this disability – for lack of a better term, even though we really don’t like using that word – her whole life she was very optimistic, very outgoing; a very positive, uplifting person,” says Jeremy, who credits his wife with helping him, once a shy introvert, come out of his shell. Less than a year after they became pen pals, Jeremy proposed, and on August 17, 2002, they were married. Their only child, a daughter, arrived in 2004. The Cakes, as sweet as their name, are still living out their happily ever after in Noggin Cove with their teenaged daughter, Hannah; their cat, Twister; and Lisa’s guide dog-turned www.downhomelife.com
pet, Carmen (now enjoying retirement after eight years of loyal service). The couple loves going for walks and enjoying movies together. Lisa is an avid sports enthusiast, playing everything from shotput to basketball and bowling, and sometimes travels to participate in competitions hosted by the Canadian Council of the Blind. Of course her sweetheart, Jeremy, is always by her side to cheer her on.
Lisa, Jeremy and their daughter, Hannah As they prepare to mark their 18th wedding anniversary this month, and 20 years as a couple in September, they’re enjoying looking back on the remarkable circumstances that led to their meeting. “I believe it was God, along with the Downhomer, that brought us together,” says Lisa. “I’m a firm believer in that.” Did Downhome play a part in your love story? Tell us about it! Email editorial@downhomelife.com or write to Downhome, 43 James Lane, St. John’s, NL, A1E 3H3. August 2020
37
homefront 26-47_Homefront 2 7/7/20 2:45 PM Page 38
homefront guest column
Why There’s No Place Like Home By Alec Bruce
I gave her my last copy of this magazine – the January number with the snow-covered boats on the cover – and she looked at me as if I had handed her the last winning lottery ticket in creation. She was desperate. She was a private nurse in Halifax. One of her patients, a man who was near the end of his life, wanted to read recent tales of Newfoundland and Labrador; one final whiff of beloved home from the pages of Downhome. But she couldn’t find even one used, dog-eared edition anywhere. All the bookstores and newsstands in the COVID-shuttered city were empty. Then again, what was she expecting? For weeks, we Nova Scotians had obeyed our Premier Stephen MacNeil’s directive to “stay the blazes home,” “self-isolate,” duck and cover, and keep out of harm’s way. But he could have declared just as easily, “stay the blazes where you’re at.” After all, it wasn’t exactly “home” we were thinking about when we left the company of others and retreated into our
38
August 2020
houses or apartments. It was shelter. Yet, listening to this anxious angel of mercy on my front lawn, it occurred to me that, over the preceding two months cooped up in this perfectly pleasant domicile we bought in the north end of Halifax in 2018, I’d never thought more about “home” in my entire life. Mostly, though, I’d thought about the places that came before, in cities and towns across eastern Canada, where the shades of people my wife and I knew and loved still dance till dawn. There were the Nobel-Westells, who arrived at our downtown Toronto house one steamy summer night in 1987 to show us how to grill a ricestuffed brook trout, before realizing the almond shaped mini-potatoes on the side plate were actually freshly
1-888-588-6353
homefront 26-47_Homefront 2 7/7/20 2:46 PM Page 39
hatched June bugs. We ate macaroni and Cheez Whiz instead, and played the spoons to Stan Rogers’ “Fogerty’s Cove” till our fingers bled and the sour mash ran dry. There were the CunninghamTowses, who descended on our family homestead in Guysborough County one fine spring day in 1993, just in time to see me burst the main water line. They gathered over wine and stilton and a seemingly endless loop of Bob Dylan wailing “A Hard Rain’s AGonna Fall” while I patched the pipes with duct tape and carpenter’s glue between bites of day-old pizza. And farther back, deeper in time, at the homestead, there were the Guysborough kids from nearby farms who’d come to read, of all things, my father’s second-hand bookstore find: the 1969 pamphlet, How to Stay Alive in the Woods by Bradford Angiers. Augmented by the arduously long subtitle, “A Complete Guide to Food, Shelter and Self-Preservation That Makes Starvation in the Wilderness Next to the Impossible,” it was a revelation for 13-year-old boys who, until then, did not know that “rabbits are unusually easy to clean. One method is to begin by pinching up enough of the loose back skin to slit it by shoving a knife through. You can then pull the animal open just below the ribs and flip out the entrails, retrieving heart and liver.” We may also have wanted to excise “the small waxy gland between each front leg and the body.” Or maybe we didn’t, but we appreciated the enthusiastic advice, nonetheless. I had remembered all these things as a series of moving pictures that were part fact, part fabrication. But, in strange and compelling ways, all of them were more authentic and www.downhomelife.com
meaningful than the rooms I now wandered in my Halifax house under lockdown – where no visitors alighted, no moments ignited, and no fond recollections would never breathe urgent life into the word “home.” Perhaps it’s a Maritime or an Atlantic Canadian thing – this notion that wherever we find ourselves in the world, we never lose the sense that we belong somewhere else, to someone else, in our minds. Maybe, the ebbing and flowing tides that have carried generations of us to points away have trained us to appreciate the difference between a street address and a state of mind – between mortar and memories. Or, more likely, it’s a human thing. The Swiss writer Herman Hesse once wrote: “One never reaches home. But where paths that have an affinity for each other intersect, the whole world looks like home, for a time.” I can’t say those words came to me as I dug out the magazine for the nurse who had tracked me down through a mutual acquaintance. But I could see that we had an affinity and that the desperation was already clearing from her brow. She hoped that, with this gift, she might help the man in her care feel better about being isolated and away – that by reaching out on his behalf to help him remember the kindness and compassion of the people he’s known in his life, she might make him feel truly at home. In fact, I thought, she must know that she already has. Alec Bruce is an award-winning journalist whose bylines appear in numerous Canadian and international publications. He lives in Halifax. Brucescribe.com August 2020
39
40_AntiScam_0609 index.qxd 7/7/20 6:39 PM Page 40
features
Seniors are regular targets of mail, phone and internet scams. Here are some tips to help folks avoid the traps. BY DAVE LONG
Scams against older adults
are on the increase throughout North America. Older adults must tread carefully when responding to phone calls, email offers and official-looking letters. The RCMP estimates that Canadian older adults lost more than $98 million in 2019 to criminals through frauds and scams. Worldwide losses to scammers are estimated in the billions of dollars.
40
August 2020
1-888-588-6353
40_AntiScam_0609 index.qxd 7/7/20 6:39 PM Page 41
Why do scammers target older adults? Trust
Older adults were brought up in an age when trust and politeness reigned. Today’s scammers are criminals who use trust as a weapon to cheat and steal from their victims.
Assets Older adults are likely to have savings, own property and have solid credit. Scammers know where the wealth is and will do anything to steal it.
Technology Many older adults are easy targets for scammers using “spoofing” software to make fake phone calls masquerading as police, courts, tax authorities or other organizations.
Don’t be a target be informed!
Scammers use the telephone, email, text messages and oldfashioned letters to manipulate victims to part with their money in an endless parade of schemes. Recognize the common RED FLAGS of many scams:
An unexpected call from someone claiming to be a government official Government agencies do not make surprise phone calls. Just HANG UP. If they call back – hang up again. Don’t believe the number on your caller ID is for real. Independently verify the identity of any “official” calling you on the phone.
Someone is asking you to pay fines or fees, or send money using a money order or prepaid gift card Legitimate organizations will never ask you to pay anything with a gift card or money order. No government agency will ever ask you to pay a fee or a fine with a prepaid credit card or gift card.
www.downhomelife.com
August 2020
41
40_AntiScam_0609 index.qxd 7/7/20 6:39 PM Page 42
A surprise phone call from a grandchild who has been jailed, hospitalized or kidnapped You will hear from a person that may sound like your grandchild – it isn’t. Hang up. Call your grandchild or family member yourself to see if they are okay.
You have won a prize, a fortune, or find yourself in a deal that is too good to be true If something seems too good to be true, it’s usually a scam. Call a friend, relative or law enforcement to discuss your good fortune before doing anything.
A sudden, threatening situation, scaring you into sending large sums of money quickly to keep you or a loved one from being harmed Many scammers will use threats of violence to get you to send money. Victims are told not to call police or tell anyone about the situation. If you receive a phone call with any kind of threat, call the police immediately.
A new romantic relationship started on an internet dating service Older adults visiting internet dating sites are especially vulnerable to scammers. Warning signs of romance scams include: • a desire to communicate through text messaging • efforts to quickly establish trust • your new romantic partner suddenly needs to travel far away • a series of odd accidents, arrests, business troubles, all requiring you to lend or send your money by wire transfer
MORE MONEY IS LOST IN ROMANCE SCAMS THAN ANY OTHER TYPE OF FRAUD. If you suspect you may be involved in a romance scam, talk it over with a friend or family member.
Be Scam Aware! Follow these simple rules: 1. Never give any personal information, bank account information or government pension information over the phone or internet unless you initiated the contact and/or you are sure the website is secure. 2. Be careful what you download. Don’t consent to prompts. Check your security settings, use antispyware and install a firewall. 42
August 2020
3. Prizes/sweepstakes/lotteries don’t require taxes or fees upfront. Do not purchase items to win, or pay money to win money. Any enclosed cheque with an offer is most likely fake. 4. Never send money through Western Union, MoneyGram, cash or a prepaid card without confirming with whom you are speaking. Never send money using a prepaid credit card or gift card. 1-888-588-6353
40_AntiScam_0609 index.qxd 7/7/20 6:39 PM Page 43
5. Don’t allow strangers into your home who are offering reduced fees for utilities, security systems or home repairs, and don’t show them your bills (that’s how they get your personal information). 6. Give to charities known to you, and keep your donations local. Don’t be bullied into making quick decisions. Call the charity to ask how much of your money will go to recipients or visit www.charitywatch.org. 7. Avoid making emotional buying or investment decisions. Resist immediate decisions, and don’t be bullied. When in doubt – HANG UP. 8. Never order medical supplies through the mail, automated calls or over the internet. Speak with your doctor. 9. Report suspected scams to the RCMP at 1-888-495-8501, or call your local law enforcement agency.
Fighting scammers every day The Royal Newfoundland Constabulary (RNC) aims to build safe and healthy communities in Newfoundland and Labrador. In order to do this, information sharing is key – if
www.downhomelife.com
something happens to you or a loved one, please report it to the RNC. In the past, the RNC has issued scam advisories to protect the public, using information reported by people who recognized the signs of a scam. To report a crime that has occurred in the RNC jurisdiction, call 709729-8000 or visit www.rnc.gov.nl.ca and submit a report under the “Services” menu. Even if you do not wish to make a complaint, contacting the Constabulary will help them keep pace with new scams. Finally, when you contact the police, you may be directed to call the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at 1888-495-8501. This government agency collects information on fraud and identity theft, and can provide details on past and current scams affecting Canadians. Dave Long is a scam prevention outreach worker at Lifespan, a nonprofit that provides information, guidance and services for older adults and caregivers (www.lifespanrochester.org). He’s retired from US Customs and Border Protection. Dave and his wife Pat live in Fairport, NY, and are frequent visitors to NL.
August 2020
43
44_driftwood_0609 index.qxd 7/7/20 3:02 PM Page 44
features
When the pandemic put the brakes on his tile business, Topsail resident Mike Batten put his creative energy to work, crafting driftwood treasures that must be seen to be believed.
44
August 2020
1-888-588-6353
44_driftwood_0609 index.qxd 7/7/20 3:02 PM Page 45
into the blue sky on a nice day and picked out shapes of dancing butterflies, or perhaps dragons, angels or birds in flight among the puffy white clouds? Or perhaps you’ve seen the weathered visage of an old man in a granite cliff face staring back at you while on a hike. There are so many cool shapes, figures, colours and contours to discover when you head out into the great wide open. You just have to open your eyes. Mike Batten sees shapes in driftwood. And his incredible creations are truly something to behold.
www.downhomelife.com
August 2020
45
44_driftwood_0609 index.qxd 7/7/20 3:02 PM Page 46
The COVID-19 pandemic has allowed Mike more time for beachcombing with his family, finding new materials and inspiration for his creations.
Do You See What I See? Mike has always been a beachcomber at heart, and growing up right next to the saltwater in Foxtrap, Conception Bay South, there was no shortage of coastline to explore. “My childhood home was right next to the beach, literally a 30-second walk. My whole life, me and my buddies were always hanging out on the beach, having fires. And beachcombing was always something that I was fascinated with because there’d be days I’d find, like, it could be a basketball, it could be an old lobster pot, just any old relics that were washed up,” he says. “So, I’ve always been on the beach and every time I see something neat or anything somewhat attractive, I’ll always take it and put it in a book bag and take it home, and just kind of collect it.” 46
August 2020
Over the past year or so, Mike began picking up pieces of driftwood from the beach in Topsail (where he now lives) and the surrounding area, bringing them back to his workshop with the intention of doing something with them later. Eventually, he amassed about 15 storage tubs filled with pieces of various sizes, shapes and colours.
1-888-588-6353
44_driftwood_0609 index.qxd 7/7/20 3:02 PM Page 47
A tile installer with his own business, Mike’s work came to a screeching halt when the COVID-19 pandemic reached local shores. All of a sudden, he found himself with more time to explore, and it wasn’t long before inspiration came calling. From the pieces of driftwood that previously lay scattered along the beach like piles of old bones, his lively creations started to take shape, in jigsaw puzzle fashion. “It all started off with finding pieces that look like a particular object. I was walking on the beach one day and I found a piece that looked just like the side of a seagull. I
www.downhomelife.com
don’t know if everybody would see the same thing that I’m seeing, but as soon as I saw it, I was just like, wow, that kind of looks like a feather,” Mike says. “So if one particular piece, and by piece I mean a full object, has 50 pieces of driftwood, it was pretty much inspired by one or two pieces… So, it could be something as simple as a wing, and then I’ll find another piece that looks like a neck and I’ll just fasten it together.”
August 2020
47
44_driftwood_0609 index.qxd 7/7/20 3:02 PM Page 48
Driftwood Delights The very first piece that Mike crafted was a two-dimensional moose head from a piece of brown, weathered driftwood. “It kind of looked like fur, the grains of the wood were kind of lifted off the wood. And there was a knot in the wood that was poked out. So as soon as I’d seen it, I said, ‘That looks just like the eye of a moose,’” Mike recalls. He posted a picture of his creation on Facebook and it wasn’t long before the comments, and enquiries as to what else he could make, came rolling in. He ended up selling the driftwood moose head to a woman in Vancouver, BC, and he’s since received many requests from others to create particular pieces. “The response I got was overwhelming... and I was kind of like, okay, well, maybe I’m onto something here,” says Mike, who now sells his pieces under the name Topsail Driftwood. Mike’s driftwood sculptures have taken many forms, including a humpback whale, a lobster, an octopus, a fish jumping out of the water, a feeding pelican, a mare head (constructed from driftwood and a large, 48
August 2020
rusty nail that Mike discovered on Fogo Island), and the famous codfish that’s so closely tied to Newfoundland and Labrador’s history and culture. He also lovingly crafted a lifesized driftwood tribute to his old dog, Blue, a black Lab that passed away in November. All his pieces exude an energy, despite their static forms, that flows from shape to shape in a dance that imbues them with life. The thought process and creativity he harnesses to make them, he says, isn’t so different from what he draws on for tile installation, when he creates backsplashes and tile work with particular patterns. Mike estimates he’s made about 30 driftwood sculptures between March and June of this year. It takes him anywhere from a couple of hours to a couple of weeks to create a piece, depending on its complexity. The codfish turned out to be the most challenging piece he’s worked on. “It was the first three-dimensional object that I made. So the challenge of creating something that has to be perfect on all sides... I found that was very difficult,” he says. “Sometimes when you’re trying to 1-888-588-6353
44_driftwood_0609 index.qxd 7/8/20 11:53 AM Page 49
make something and it isn’t really coming together, it can be a bit frustrating. So when it gets to that point, I’ll just walk away from it and the next day is a new day.” While things have been slowly getting back to business as usual, including Mike’s day job, he doesn’t plan on pausing his driftwood art. In fact, he hopes to hit up some craft fairs in the future and, eventually, work up to creating even bigger pieces. What he’s done so far, he suspects, “is only the tip of the iceberg of what I’m going to do.” For Mike, nothing beats walking along the beach, breathing in the salty sea air (sometimes with his new four-legged friend, Moose, a yellow Lab) and picking up the pieces just waiting to be brought to life.
“There’s something fulfilling about finding something that most people would literally walk over, or just kick, or just throw it in a beach fire. To turn something that’s literally garbage into something that could potentially end up in someone’s living room or cottage, to me that’s very rewarding,” he says. “Especially when you look at pieces of wood that you might see, like, a rusty nail sticking out of it, you’re just like, where did this come from? Was that a piece of a lobster pot? Or was it a piece of someone’s boat? Who knows...? Because that piece of wood definitely has a much longer story.” To see more of Mike’s work, visit him on Facebook or Instagram @TopsailDriftwood.
Announcements
www.downhomelife.com
August 2020
49
54_Doors_0609 index.qxd 7/7/20 3:07 PM Page 50
features
Kim Ploughman explores the folk art tradition of hex signs on outbuildings.
Dana Blackmore photo
50
August 2020
1-888-588-6353
54_Doors_0609 index.qxd 7/7/20 3:07 PM Page 51
Eye-catching and charming, they can seduce almost any roving photographer to stop and snap. Doorways of rural outbuildings around Newfoundland and Labrador are adorned with these mysterious symbols. What do they mean? According to Andrea O’Brien, outreach officer and provincial registrar of the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador (HFNL), painting door decorations on outbuildings is one area of provincial folk practice that, unfortunately, has not been studied. Still, she has her own informed thoughts on these designs, which are called “hex marks.” To begin with, hex marks, mostly five-point stars, have adorned American barns since the beginning of colonization, particularly in the Pennsylvania area and in farming settlements with German heritage. These symbols appear to invoke good luck (or perhaps more precisely, ward off bad luck), as it relates to the magical protection of barn animals. In Newfoundland and Labrador, the marks are more common in some regions than others, and are mostly seen on fishery structures. For example, along the northeast coast of the island, in places like Tilting and Joe Batt’s Arm on Fogo Island, almost every stage has a door decoration – usually a circle. On its website, the Town of Fogo Island (which consists of 11 communities) highlights the historic
Bernice Goudie photo
www.downhomelife.com
August 2020
51
54_Doors_0609 index.qxd 7/7/20 3:07 PM Page 52
Dwyer Premises of Tilting. Its stage is adorned with a circular ornament and a horseshoe: “The white circle provided a sparkle in the evening, against the red background, and helped members of the household find their way towards the stage in the evening dusk. The horseshoe’s purpose was to provide good luck during the fishing season.” On the Great Northern Peninsula, in places settled predominantly by Irish Catholics, crosses are a common motif. Crosses and calvaries were common cultural landmarks in the French Petit Nord region on the eastern side of the peninsula, including Conche, as Breton fishermen who came here for centuries were profoundly religious.
Theories and beliefs O’Brien says while there isn’t a lot of research material on hex marks in NL, there are plenty of theories about their origin, including that “they may have had supernatural connotations in relation to keeping away evil spirits,” she says, though she doesn’t necessarily agree. “I think by the time settlers arrived here and 52
August 2020
brought the tradition with them, they may have been used simply because they were a part of a shared tradition that had been passed down through generations.” O’Brien explains that one of the few references available on hex markings in the province suggests they had a practical, not supernatural, use: they helped fishermen find their buildings in the dark. But she’s not totally on board with that either, saying, “It is rather far-fetched to think that men 1-888-588-6353
54_Doors_0609 index.qxd 7/7/20 3:07 PM Page 53
who could find fishing grounds through sophisticated methods of triangulation would get lost in their own yards.” In her book, Strange Terrain: The Fairy World in Newfoundland, author Barbara Rieti shares a different folklore perceptive on hex markings: “I would suggest these are Newfoundland examples of a much broader tradition of protection against witchcraft and the evil eye, and against supernatural figures, which in European countries, and around the world, is signified by horseshoes on doors, holed stones hung on a thread, an eye painted on the prow of a fishing boat, or various kinds of amulet worn on the body.” She further theorizes, “Since in Newfoundland, and elsewhere, it’s often considered unlucky to speak openly about the fairies, people may well be reluctant to come right out and say what the marks mean, or what they are, as a protection.”
Door decorations in Newfoundland art Whether a nod to tradition or a superstitious talisman, hex marks are part of Newfoundland and Labrador culture. They are prevalent
www.downhomelife.com
enough to become a significant feature in artwork by some of Newfoundland and Labrador’s esteemed artists, including Reginald Sheppard and David Blackwood. In Blackwood’s hometown of Wesleyville, a shed (belonging to Ephraim Kelloway) featured a standard horseshoe and a bleached whale fragment shaped like a small boat. With Blackwood’s creative eye and vision, this humble outport door shot to fame, making appearances in several of Blackwood’s works. According to local art historian Beth Pratt, Blackwood has been painting this iconic door throughout his career in various media and sizes, and continues to do so today. “I know it [the door] was painted various colours over the years based on what colours were left over from boat painting [and] what the community gave to Kelloway.” The door, which now sits in Blackwood’s studio in Port Hope, ON, was part of Blackwood’s 2012 exhibition at The Rooms in St. John’s, NL, called “Black Ice” (also the title of a book of his prints), which honoured Newfoundland outport life. In several of Blackwood’s paintings, including “Home from Braggs
August 2020
53
54_Doors_0609 index.qxd 7/7/20 3:07 PM Page 54
Island” (2008), a glowing white circle beckons to the door. In a 2010 review of Blackwood’s long-standing spiritual and creative journey with Kelloway’s door, fine art appraiser Ken Forsyth makes reference to the hex markings: “The crude talismans that Ephraim Kelloway used to decorate his door were simple fishermen’s charms, meant to
Traditional and recent markings Regardless of their mysterious origins, these symbols today appear to be a predominantly decorative choice and their designs have evolved. Traditionally, circles, stars, crosses and geometric patterns were the trending images. Today’s markings include anchors, maps of Newfoundland, hearts, roosters and codfish.
Artist David Blackwood’s “Home from Braggs Island” prominently features a traditional hex mark on a stage door. ward off evil and misfortune at sea. The horseshoe, a universal symbol of good luck, hangs protectively over the half-model cut-out of the ship. The painted circle below it is a pale after-image of the white disc of the sun, one of the most ancient invocations used to drive away evil spirits.” Forsyth further muses, “The constant appearance of these elements in the ‘Door’ works is perhaps meant to invoke some sort of protective magic, or remind us of the ritual origins of art as a form of divine incantation.” He adds, “They certainly underline the artist’s awareness of the ancient spiritual forces summoned in folk art – the conjuncture of magic and meaning.” 54
August 2020
O’Brien shares a final comment on those engaging displays. “The most likely explanation for the origin of door decorations on outbuildings in the province is the essential human impulse to fancy things up or to add a little bling to otherwise plain buildings. Essentially, it is part of the universal human desire to decorate things.” So, the fairies may be let off the hook, after all, for invoking the curious practice of affixing images on doors in outport Newfoundland and Labrador. Still... you can never be too careful with those mischievous imps – best to protect oneself and keep those magical and charming hex marks mounted for them and us to see. 1-888-588-6353
54_Doors_0609 index.qxd 7/7/20 3:08 PM Page 55
60_Hiking_0609 index.qxd 7/7/20 3:20 PM Page 56
explore
56
August 2020
1-888-588-6353
60_Hiking_0609 index.qxd 7/7/20 3:20 PM Page 57
We did a lot of hiking,
my Significant Other and I, in 2019. But this two-week period, trekking through Newfoundland and Labrador’s central region and along the East Coast Trail, was spectacular in its simplicity. There was no rhyme nor reason to the trails we chose. We had a vague idea of where we wanted to go and the places we wanted to see. We had a tent, solid hiking boots, insect repellent, sunscreen and homemade cherry pound cake defrosting in the cooler.
King’s Point www.downhomelife.com
August 2020
57
60_Hiking_0609 index.qxd 7/7/20 3:20 PM Page 58
Little Port Lighthouse Trail
On the Caribou Trail, in King’s Point, we sat side-by-side on a picnic table, watching the sunrise. We stood beneath Long Point Lighthouse as day passed into night over Twillingate; the sunset colours were magnificent. Terra Nova National Park satisfied our challenge to complete our longest single day hike to date, The Outport Trail, 35 kilometres return. We discovered other new-to-us trails at Rattling Brook, Springdale, Triton and Brighton. My imagination swam with images of Cressie, the lake monster rumored to live in Crescent Lake, Robert’s Arm. We were greeted by a minke whale at Chance Cove. The geyser on the Spout Path was bested only by humpbacks breaching offshore as we trekked along the East Coast Trail. Hikers are courteous and friendly, 58
August 2020
brought together by a love of nature and a desire to be in the outdoors. Some like to test their stamina on strenuous trails, others choose gentle or moderate pursuits. Whatever lures us there, COVID-19 has necessarily changed the way we approach trails in 2020. Katie Broadhurst, coauthor of Hikes of Newfoundland, says physical distancing happens naturally in the outdoors while doing most sports, and reminds hikers to be diligent. “Most people are respectful and will work together to step aside,” the avid hiker says. “Right of way protocol is people climbing uphill have the right of way. People coming down should stop and move aside for the climbers. If the climber stops, they are giving up the right of way.” The wonderful thing about hiking is the room for everyone, including 1-888-588-6353
60_Hiking_0609 index.qxd 7/7/20 3:20 PM Page 59
2020 Hiking Etiquette If you have been exposed to or have any of the symptoms of COVID-19, stay home. Maintain physical distancing, no group interaction. Unless you are passing someone on a trail, maintain a distance between yourself and other hikers. When passing another hiker, step as far to the side as possible. Some trails are too narrow to maintain a twometre distance side by side. If you cannot do this along the length of the trail, don’t use the trail. Visit trails in small groups; split larger parties into smaller groups. Be courteous to other hikers. Walk, ride or cycle in single file in the middle of the trail, even when wet or muddy. If a person is climbing up a hill, they have the right of way if you are climbing down. Bike riders yield to both hikers and horseback riders; hikers yield to horseback riders.
www.downhomelife.com
pets. The rules around pets on hiking trails vary. In some areas, dogs are not permitted; other areas stipulate pets must be kept on a leash. Hikers should check with specific parks and municipalities for information on current policies. Daisy, our beautiful SPCA dog, travelled with us before she retired from hiking. Wherever it was safe to do so, and we were not staying out overnight, she trotted along. We were mindful of the heat and aware of rocks that might nick her paws. We understood that not everyone is comfortable around animals. On a leash, Daisy was safe from moose and other animals, and restrained from running off into the tuckamore. According to the provincial Animal Health and Protection Regulations, dogs must be kept on a leash in any outdoor area where people may encounter your pet without their consent. Daisy was resting at home when I was bitten by a leashed dog last summer. We were enjoying the Alexander Murray Hiking Trail in King’s Point – a study in construction and design. The looped trail includes
August 2020
59
60_Hiking_0609 index.qxd 7/7/20 3:20 PM Page 60
more than 2,000 wooden stairs over eight kilometres. We were at the summit, taking photos of breathtaking scenery, and chatting with two people hiking with dogs on tight leashes. I moved from sitting to standing, and one of the dogs lunged against its restraint, grazing my leg and breaking the skin. In the immediate aftermath, I was too shocked to feel pain, or anger. The owner of the dog apologized and dragged the animal away. She said it had aggression issues. I swiped blood from a
Alexander Murray Hiking Trail
Hiking
with Pets In her book, Hikes of Newfoundland, Katie Broadhurst says pets should always be leashed out of respect for other users and especially near a community. Always clean up after your pet – no one likes dog poop on the trails. Be aware of your surroundings. Wild animals are unpredictable and they may charge your dog if disturbed. A blaze orange vest for your dog is an excellent idea, especially if you’re venturing into the woods during hunting season. Under Newfoundland and Labrador’s Animal Health and Protection Act, having a dog off-leash in an area frequented by wildlife is a ticketable offence. A dog shall be kept safely tethered or penned up at all times unless it is: • held on a leash by a person capable of restraining its movements
• being used by a person to work in a lawful manner with sheep, or • kept or used for a purpose, i.e. as a service animal, and under conditions prescribed by regulation.
rapidly swelling quad with an antiseptic wipe. The slow hobble back to our car was painful. Staff at Green Bay Community Health Centre patched up my leg, administered a tetanus shot, and ensured I had materials to keep the bite clean. Our hiking trip continued. A year later, I am still not comfortable around unfamiliar dogs. 60
August 2020
Jordan Coady photo
1-888-588-6353
WHER TO STAY
• being used by a person for the purpose of lawful hunting
WHER TO STAY
60_Hiking_0609 index.qxd 7/7/20 3:20 PM Page 61
St. Christopher’s Hotel Port aux Basques
Days Inn Stephenville
Cape Anquille Lighthouse Inn Cape Anquille
Hotel Port Aux Basques Port aux Basques
Dreamcatcher Lodge Stephenville
Codroy Valley Cottage Country Doyles
1-800-563-4779 info@stchrishotel.com www.stchrishotel.com
1-877-695-2171 • 709-695-2171 info@hotelpab.com www.hotelpab.com
Pirate’s Haven ATV Friendly RV Park, Chalets and Adventures Robinsons
1-800-329-7466 • 709-643-6666 Daysinn.sville@nf.aibn.com www.daysinnstephenville.com
1-888-373-2668 • 709-643-6655 dreamcatcher14@eastlink.ca www.dreamcatcherlodge.ca
709-649-0601 paulandruth@nf.sympatico.ca www.pirateshavenadventures.com
1-877-254-6586 • 709-634-2285 info@linkumtours.com www.linkumtours.com
1-877-655-2720 • 709-955-2720 info@codroyvalleycottages.ca www.codroyvalleycottages.ca
62_BikeTour_0609 index.qxd 7/7/20 3:43 PM Page 62
explore
62
August 2020
1-888-588-6353
62_BikeTour_0609 index.qxd 7/7/20 3:43 PM Page 63
I stood in the setting sun
at the most easterly point of Newfoundland (and North America) and basked in the reality that my journey was done. My glory moment was interrupted by a Cape Spear National Historic Site employee. The Commissionaire said politely, with equal parts curiosity, humour and mild admonishment in his voice, “You weren’t planning on dipping your wheel in the waves or anything like that were you? For a variety of reasons I don’t need to elaborate, that would be a very bad idea.” Clearly he’d seen his share of celebratory marathoners looking to make a ceremonious gesture at the ocean’s edge. But being a Newfoundlander and knowing full well the danger posed by the waves here, I assured him I had no such intention. I simply wanted to appreciate the end of what I’d informally dubbed my Extreme Compass Points Bike Tour to visit iconic lighthouses near the most northern, western, southern and eastern points of the island of Newfoundland. Not counting distances travelled in planes, ferries and small open boats, it ended up being hundreds of zigzagging kilometres alone on bicycle through some of the most remote and beautiful places I have ever seen. All photos by Dennis Flynn
www.downhomelife.com
Points North
My adventure began soon after my flight landed at St. Anthony airport on the Great Northern Peninsula on August 12, 2005. I was only a few kilometres into my first ride when a huge bull moose strolled across the road in front of me. I’d heard that the moose were more common than the people in this area, still I was surprised. It was in St. Anthony that I met a Viking on a motorcycle. Well okay, not a real Viking, but he had the long hair, bushy beard and battle regalia for the part. Turns out the gentleman named Wayne was a Viking impersonator at the Norstead Viking Settlement attraction near L’Anse aux Meadows. He gave me the inside scoop on a tiny pocket beach hidden nearby, where I pitched my tent for August 2020
63
62_BikeTour_0609 index.qxd 7/8/20 11:54 AM Page 64
Above: Quirpon Island Right: Reminders of Viking visits in L’Anse aux Meadows
the night and watched the Northern Lights weave tapestries of light on ink-black velvet skies. They danced in wide bands of fluorescent green and wisps of pink as if God were washing out His palette of colours at the end of the day and the contents were drifting down into the sea. Not a bad first impression of a place. Next day, I visited the former residence of Dr. Wilfred and Lady Anne Grenfell, now a museum, and took the short hike at Teahouse Hill. Grenfell had a teahouse built on the hill so residents of his Mission could enjoy a cup of tea and soak in the wonderful view. While the original structure burned down, the cornerstone remains. Near the summit are the gravesites of the Grenfells. I cycled on to Quirpon and used it as base camp for several day trips to 64
August 2020
nearby attractions: L’Anse aux Meadows UNESCO World Heritage Site, Norstead, Cape Onion, and the Burnt Cape Ecological Reserve with its famous limestone barrens, rare flowers and the surreal “cannonball holes” sea caves. I got to help make fire and then bread in a massive outdoor French oven. The very friendly Nelson Roberts took me in his speedboat to Quirpon Island and dropped me off in the cove nearest the lighthouse at Cape Bauld – which, for my trip, I settled upon as the northernmost lighthouse associated with the island portion of the province. I hiked Quirpon Island, exploring old graves, the remnants of a top-secret WWII radar base, shipwreck sites, and beautiful little nooks and crannies carved by the sea. At the lighthouse I discovered that 1-888-588-6353
62_BikeTour_0609 index.qxd 7/7/20 3:43 PM Page 65
visitors from around the world had spontaneously left foreign coins in wishing-well fashion at the base of the light. I have never seen this custom anywhere else. On the return boat ride with Nelson, we were escorted by sea gulls, eagles and killer whales.
Points West
With Cape Bauld and Quirpon behind me, the bike ride of 403 km down the Northern Peninsula to the TransCanada Highway began in earnest. As the days rolled on, I pushed past Deer Lake and the remarkable vistas of Marble Mountain and Corner Brook overlooking
The lighthouse at Cape Anguille
the meandering Humber River; past Pinch Gut Lake and Stephenville Crossing; and eventually to Doyles and the turnoff into the rolling farmlands of the Codroy Valley and the lighthouse at Cape Anguille – the
www.downhomelife.com
most westerly point of my journey. Cycling through Millville, I saw sheep dotting the landscape and was reminded that this area was once renowned for agriculture and wool production. As a tiny boy in the spring of the year, when my paternal grandfather and uncles would shear sheep in Bay Roberts, I would delight at helping push the wool down into bags and bundles to be sent by train to the almost mythical sounding Codroy Valley. As I watched the sun set over Cape Anguille lighthouse, the appeal of the place was evident.
Points South
On August 29, I made it to Rose Blanche, with its famous granite lighthouse, in time to catch the afternoon sailing of the ferry to Grand Bruit for the start of my southwestsouth coast trip. After a whistle stop at the tiny village of La Poile, it was on to Grand Bruit for the night. I pitched my tent behind the United Church near the waterfalls for which the outport was named (from the French for “big noise”). Five years after my visit, the last permanent residents moved from this enchanting, yet remote place. Next day I rode the ferry to Burgeo and then to Grey River, where I spent another night. There I was surprised to meet another lone cyclist. We wound up travelling together on the ferries to Francois, McCallum and
August 2020
65
62_BikeTour_0609 index.qxd 7/7/20 3:43 PM Page 66
Above: The falls in Grand Bruit. Right: Dennis (right) meets a fellow cyclist in Grey River. then Hermitage in the Coast of Bays. From there we made the hard and hilly push by bike to Pools Cove, to catch yet another ferry to Rencontre East. After camping there for the night, we took an early morning ferry to Bay L’Argent on the Burin Peninsula. Then we were back in the saddle again, biking to Swift Current and finally setting up camp near Goobies. An early rise and push brought us through Whitbourne, Avondale and down the Salmonier Line into Deer Park. This region is populated by cabin owners, and that night I stayed with friends of my new biking buddy. This is where our joint journey ended. He was continuing northeast to St. John’s, but I still had a southernmost lighthouse to see. On September 4, I arose early, and put about 150 km before reaching Cappahayden on the Irish Loop after dark. During that day I’d managed a side trip to Cape Pine, near St. Shotts, to photograph the lighthouse and hike the shipwreck path out to the southernmost point of New66
August 2020
foundland. The tent went up fairly quickly, and I climbed in and went to sleep without much preamble.
Points East
That brings me full circle to September 5, 2005. After a gentle-paced ride of 100 km up the Southern Shore, through Renews, Ferryland, Mobile, Bay Bulls, The Goulds, Petty Harbour-Maddox Cove and Blackhead, I reached Cape Spear, the easternmost point not only in the province, but also in North America. It was over almost without realizing it, but I will never forget that late summer adventure of 2005, the time I definitely took the long way round.
1-888-588-6353
62_BikeTour_0609 index.qxd 7/7/20 3:43 PM Page 67
68_PlaneCrash_0609 index.qxd 7/7/20 3:49 PM Page 68
explore travel diary
Search for a
RESTING PLACE A couple’s most memorable ATV trip, to find an old plane crash site and the cemetery for the lost souls BY DOUG FOLLETT
68
August 2020
1-888-588-6353
68_PlaneCrash_0609 index.qxd 7/7/20 3:49 PM Page 69
I have always been the adventurous type,
and ever since I met my wife, Mona, we’ve done most of our travelling by quad. (I did, however, climb Blue Mountain on the Northern Peninsula.) By quad we’ve travelled across the island, to Bonavista and Argentia, and followed a lot of logging roads to Newfoundland’s interior. I even travelled to Great Harbour Deep by snowmobile. I am always looking for a challenge. One idea came to me when I read the book Charlie Baker George, by Frank F. Tibbo. It’s the story of a Douglas DC4 that crashed south of Gander airport on September 18, 1946, with 44 people aboard. The book, reprinted in 2005, told how parts of the Sabena Airlines plane were still at the crash site, and that there was a leather briefcase full of diamonds owned by diamond dealers making a trip to New York for an exhibition. I was intrigued; I had to travel there. I used Google Earth to get a rough idea of where it was on the map. In September 2013, Mona and I put our truck camper aboard, hooked on our trailer, drove our 2010 Can-Am 500 2up aboard the trailer and off we went. After about five hours driving from the Grand Bank area, we were going through Glenwood. We then turned south and drove 30 kilometres till we crossed over the Northwest Gander River Bridge and saw a nice grassy area, www.downhomelife.com
A Sabena Airlines Douglas DC4, similar to the aircraft that crashed near Gander in 1946
August 2020
69
68_PlaneCrash_0609 index.qxd 7/7/20 3:49 PM Page 70
great to set up camp. There we spent the night. Next morning, we took the quad on the road we saw to our left after crossing the old bridge. From the information we had gathered before the trip, we thought this was the best route to take. We followed it until we crossed the Southwest Gander Bridge. At this point, the GPS showed that we were heading away from the general area. But very soon we came upon a four-way intersection and took the road that seemed like it headed where we thought we had to go. At first it was a road good enough for a motor vehicle, but soon we were pushing alders aside to keep from ruining my quad’s windshield. More than a few kilometres went by like this, and it seemed like a lot more because we were travelling less than 10 km/h. We were contemplating calling off the trip when we saw an old wooded sign with “Sabena” written on it, pointing to an opening in the woods. I got off my quad and climbed the small embankment. I saw a narrow path that was basically a dried up brook. We decided it was too rough for the quad, so we started hiking, half in the brook and half along its narrow banks when there was room enough. We walked for about 40 minutes in very damp, humid conditions with nothing in sight. Again, we were talking about calling it a lost cause, but I, as usual, said, “Let’s go one more kilometre.” We had gone about 100 metres when I, in the lead, stopped suddenly. Mona asked, “What’s wrong?” 70
August 2020
Doug checks his GPS at the Sabena sign and the small brook path leading to the crash site.
Doug’s wife Mona stands beside a large section of the DC4’s fuselage.
Doug Follett stands in the wilderness cemetery, remains of the crashed DC4 behind him. 1-888-588-6353
68_PlaneCrash_0609 index.qxd 7/7/20 3:49 PM Page 71
“We are here,” I said. She looked around and saw nothing. “What do you see?” “Nothing.” “Well,” she said, “How do you know?” “You know I don’t believe in this nonsense,” I said, “but I swear I can smell it, and I have an unusual feeling about me. We’ve got to go a little further; I know we’re here.” We walked about another 30 metres and the plane came in view – and then the cemetery. It was mind blowing. Here in the wilderness was a still largely intact plane and a large graveyard with plaques, headstones and crosses. Never mind that there could be millions of diamonds lying in the marsh beneath our feet. We strolled around
www.downhomelife.com
taking pictures and taking it all in until we had to leave in order to get back to camp before dark. It was more relaxing travelling back, as we knew the going would only get better as we went. We saw some caribou along the way. In what seemed like no time, we were back at camp, sat around a fire and talking over where we had been and what we had seen. It was such a unique experience, we still say it was our most memorable. Even though we were partially prepared for what we came upon, it was still an eye opener. It must have been surreal for two Newfoundland caribou hunters, Abbott Pelley and Bruce Shea, the first people to come upon the crash site the day after the plane went down.
August 2020
71
76_BoilUpBeaches_0609 index.qxd 7/7/20 3:52 PM Page 72
explore
72
August 2020
1-888-588-6353
76_BoilUpBeaches_0609 index.qxd 7/7/20 3:52 PM Page 73
If you grew up in a place with a nice beach where you could gather around a warm fire, sharing food, drinks and laughs, you’re pretty lucky. I grew up in Twillingate – boy, was I blessed! Brownie Beach, French Beach and Spillar’s Cove; Robin’s Cove, Ragged Point and Fifield’s Cove (my personal favourite); Salem’s Cove (a.k.a. Solomon’s Cove or other names depending on pronunciation), Back Harbour, Wild Cove and the old Spencer’s Park – and these are just the few that I frequented and can name. And what constitutes a boil-up depends on the person and the foodstuffs you brought. When we had beach fires as teenagers, it was more likely a lunch of chips and pop (or “wobbly pops” as we got older). It could be as simple as classic wieners and marshmallows; as genuine as freshly caught trout, mussels or periwinkles; or as complete as a Jiggs dinner, pease pudding and all. We asked our Facebook friends to recommend their favourite boil-up beach, and we scrolled through DownhomeLife.com looking for readers’ beach boil-up photos. Here are some of the best ones we found from all over Newfoundland.
Topsail Beach This is a favourite spot for residents of Conception Bay South and visitors from “town.” There are firepits and picnic tables, and an unbeatable sunset view over the islands of Conception Bay. Olga Carpenter photo www.downhomelife.com
August 2020
73
76_BoilUpBeaches_0609 index.qxd 7/7/20 3:52 PM Page 74
McKay’s Beach Located in beautiful Bay St. George, McKay’s is between Robinsons and Jeffrey’s. Iris Woodworth-Watson photo
Cape Ray From sand dunes to big beach rocks, the Cape Ray seashore has something for everyone. For instance, it’s a good place to cook up toutons and tea on the rocks. Wayne Osmond photo
74
August 2020
1-888-588-6353
76_BoilUpBeaches_0609 index.qxd 7/8/20 11:55 AM Page 75
Searston Beach This sandy stretch of beach in Codroy Valley is a natural habitat for the endangered piping plover, so watch where you walk and set up your fire. Sherry Jones photo
Clam Cove This cove near Cape Race marks one of the deadliest spots in Canadian shipping history. In 1863, the SS Anglo Saxon ran aground here in heavy fog. She broke apart on the rocks and sank, killing 237 of the 445 people aboard. Amy Clark photo
www.downhomelife.com
August 2020
75
76_BoilUpBeaches_0609 index.qxd 7/7/20 3:53 PM Page 76
Britannia Beach Britannia is one of several communities on Random Island, in Trinity Bay near Clarenville. This is a popular area for recreational boating, especially sail boats. Lori Janes photo
Jersey Harbour Where there may have been plenty of fires on this beach in its heyday, you’re more likely to have this place to yourself now, as Jersey Harbour (near Harbour Breton in Fortune Bay) was resettled in the 1960s. Bonnie Goguen photo
76
August 2020
1-888-588-6353
76_BoilUpBeaches_0609 index.qxd 7/7/20 3:53 PM Page 77
Middle Cove Beach When the capelin roll on the northeast Avalon Peninsula, this is one place they’re likely to come in. For some, there’s nothing like a freshly caught capelin cooked on the fire. Roy Snow photo
Sally’s Cove Local legend has it that Sally’s Cove was named after a woman, Sally Short, who was escaping her husband with her children and they were shipwrecked here. It is located within the boundaries of Gros Morne National Park. Johanne Barefoot photo
Crescent Lake Keep an eye out on the water while enjoying a beach boil-up here in Robert’s Arm. An elusive monster named Cressie is rumoured to lurk beneath the surface. Pansy Snow Roberts photo
www.downhomelife.com
August 2020
77
76_BoilUpBeaches_0609 index.qxd 7/7/20 3:53 PM Page 78
76_BoilUpBeaches_0609 index.qxd 7/7/20 3:53 PM Page 79
80_stuff-add byline-J.e$S_0609 index.qxd 7/8/20 12:12 PM Page 80
HOME and Cabin
stuff we love
by Tobias Romaniuk
patio party essentials FINE ART PRINT WINEGLASSES Sometimes, like when you’re moving between playing a game of washers and chatting with the patio crowd on a sunny summer day in the backyard, it can be easy to lose track of which drink is yours. Put an end to that with these distinctive wineglasses, printed with an original painting by NL artist Keli-Ann Pye Beshara. Choose your favourite or collect all eight designs. www.kapb.ca
AUK ISLAND WINE You’ve got a new wineglass with an image of your favourite painting – now you need something to put in it. Made in Twillingate from berries harvested in the wilds of Newfoundland and Labrador, Auk Island’s selection of wines pairs well with hours spent relaxing on the patio. Moose Joose, a blend of blueberry and partridgeberry, is one of the more popular offerings. Need something you can sip all afternoon? Try it with your favourite Sangria recipe. Available at NLC stores in NL or online at aukislandwinery.com Need a Sangria recipe? Check out everydayrecipes.ca
80
August 2020
1-888-588-6353
80_stuff-add byline-J.e$S_0609 index.qxd 7/8/20 12:12 PM Page 81
HANDCRAFTED DINNERWARE Complement the sounds of Rocketman coming from the outdoor speaker with these retro rocket plates by St. John’s-based ceramics artist Maaike Charron. The plates are part of Maaike’s production line, Sgraffito, named for the ceramics technique of carving designs into the clay before it’s fired. “It’s a nostalgic line for me, inspired by my mother and grandmother,” writes Maaike on her website. maaikecharron.com
SAUCY POTS Handcrafted in St. John’s, these 14-ounce mugs with cheeky sayings will hold a can of beer and look good doing it. Plus, there’s something about sipping a beer from a handmade mug that makes it taste better than straight out of the can. In addition to a selection of ready to go phrases, like “hard ticket,” “yes b’y” or more colourful language, Saucy Pots also offers a custom lettering option to make your own phrases, up to 25 characters in length. saucypots.me
CHARCUTERIE BOARD Add a bit of fancy to your day boil with a meat and cheese selection served up on a handmade serving tray, or charcuterie board. We’re particularly fond of the way Karen’s Woodworking creates striped boards using the natural colour variations of woods. These boards, made in Karen’s Portugal Cove workshop, are a beautiful way to present a selection of meats from Chinched or the Newfoundland Sausage Company paired with cheese from Five Brothers Artisan Cheese. facebook.com/Karenswoodworking www.downhomelife.com
August 2020
81
82_WestCoastReno_0609 index.qxd 7/7/20 3:58 PM Page 82
HOME and Cabin
82
August 2020
1-888-588-6353
82_WestCoastReno_0609 index.qxd 7/7/20 3:58 PM Page 83
room to be together Removing walls and installing happiness, a renovation story
Story by Tobias Romaniuk and Holly Costello Photos by Candace Kennedy
There was a time,
not so long ago, when homes were built with separate rooms for separate uses. Then open concept floor plans came along and disrupted all that, with the main floor of a house being mostly one large room. No longer would a family cook in one room, eat in another, then relax in yet another. Removing walls allowed for more social interaction – you could chat with the person on the couch while you puttered about in the kitchen – and has been credited with bringing families closer together. With homes tending to last for several decades, of course these compartmentalized main floor layouts are still common, especially in more established neighbourhoods. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that everyone likes them. Take, for instance, the owners of this Corner Brook home, who have lived here since 2007. Prior to the renovation, it was an average-sized split-level house with separate kitchen, dining and living rooms, plus hallways connecting the rooms and the main floor bedrooms. All those walls and hallways meant a lot of wasted space. There had to be a better way. www.downhomelife.com
August 2020
83
82_WestCoastReno_0609 index.qxd 7/7/20 3:58 PM Page 84
The homeowners, having made the decision to renovate rather than move into an open concept home, called in designer Holly Costello relatively early in the process. “Which was great,” says Holly, “because it gave us lots of time to plan the design out properly and look at all the options, so we didn’t have to rush anything.” After two years of planning, owners Todd and Marlo Doman had a good idea, conceptually, of what they wanted. Marlo says their main objective was to get more of an open feel to the space. 84
August 2020
1-888-588-6353
82_WestCoastReno_0609 index.qxd 7/7/20 3:58 PM Page 85
The home now has an open concept living area with clearly delineated spaces for cooking, dining and lounging. By removing the walls, Holly gave the homeowners a layout that worked well for both entertaining and having some quality family time, while also giving the homeowners a new kitchen with all the storage they needed and a functional layout that works well for this family of four.
www.downhomelife.com
August 2020
85
82_WestCoastReno_0609 index.qxd 7/7/20 3:58 PM Page 86
The entryway of this split level home also got an upgrade, with patterned floor tile and walls wrapped in white shiplap. To create a sense of continuity, the tile pattern is repeated in the kitchen’s coffee nook.
A custom made, solid wood, farmhouse style dining table anchors the dining space, while also providing separation between the kitchen and living areas. By using a custom made table, Holly found a dining solution that felt proportional to the space, while also fitting in with the home’s new look and feel without being overbearing. Speaking of the kitchen, it was completely gutted, redesigned and rebuilt, and the focus on functionality makes for an enjoyable cooking experience. With Shaker-style cabinetry and subway tile backsplash, it’s
86
August 2020
1-888-588-6353
82_WestCoastReno_0609 index.qxd 7/7/20 3:58 PM Page 87
also a pleasure to look at. Having the kitchen open to the dining and living areas also makes it better for entertaining, “which is what we wanted,” says Marlo, “to be able to view our children from the kitchen area and to be able to converse with friends no matter where they were upstairs.” The kitchen has become the family’s new favourite feature of the home, with the butcher block top to the island being especially loved. For Marlo, an avid coffee drinker, the coffee nook is also a favourite. But the best part of the new kitchen layout is the ability for the family to now all be in the kitchen at the same time without tripping over each other. “Because it extends into our dining room and living room,” says Marlo, “I love that we can all be together doing what we want as a family, and still feel connected but not crowded.”
www.downhomelife.com
August 2020
87
88_FairyGardens_0609 index.qxd 7/7/20 4:00 PM Page 88
HOME and Cabin
Nan’s Fairy Garden Interior designer Marie Bishop takes us on a tour of the backyard fairy garden she created to delight her grandchildren.
88
August 2020
1-888-588-6353
88_FairyGardens_0609 index.qxd 7/7/20 4:00 PM Page 89
Fairies...
enchanted, mystical, magical creatures. With a history dating back to the 13th century it’s no wonder we still revere their presence in the garden. Whether you have young children, grandchildren or want to revisit your own childhood, opening the door to your imagination will give the fairies permission to lead you into their world. Their magic is hiding in the trees, under mushrooms and down in the moss. You just have to be still, listen, open your eyes and mind, and it will find you. A few years ago, I bought myself a chainsaw and decided to cut a trail in the wooded area next to our house. What I discovered was a quiet, peaceful place with rock outcroppings; beautiful fir, spruce, birch, dogberry and maple trees; along with an array of alders, ferns, mushrooms and mosses. It was magical, and not just for me. Everyone who wandered through there felt the same energy, the grandchildren in particular. We knew right away it was where the fairies lived. It became obvious that the only thing missing in this magical place were fairy doors: entryways into the enchanted underworld of the tree roots. I was given two beautiful, stained, wooden fairy doors by a friend, which of course, inspired me to make more. They make a very easy DIY project, and a great pastime over the long winter months. These sweet little pieces of art can be as simple or intricate as you like. You can use Sculpey clay (found at Michael’s, Wal-Mart and Amazon), hardwood floor samples, cedar shingles, scraps of plywood – anything that will survive the elements. Cedar shakes www.downhomelife.com
August 2020
89
88_FairyGardens_0609 index.qxd 7/7/20 4:00 PM Page 90
or shingles are best (they don’t need to be top quality). They’re very durable and inexpensive, and you can find them in the lumber department of any building supply store. The average fairy door is approximately 4"-5" high x 3"-3.5" wide. But I’ve made some as big as 7" high x 4" wide. Keep in mind they look best if
they’re tucked into a tree root or a space between rocks that can be chinked up with moss. Once you have your material, simply cut the shape – which could be a rectangle, a rounded or pointed gothic style, or a completely circular Hobbit style. Painting and decorating them is the fun part. I’ve used stain, paint and a combination of both to create a number of different effects. The small jars of acrylic paint from the dollar store are fine, but I’ve also used cans of spray paint and wood stain. For embellishment you could use old pieces of jewelry, odd earrings, small feathers and all sorts of dollar store 90
August 2020
finds. Remember, fairies love shiny things and they are very proud of their spaces. So if you do a good job on the doors, they will become permanent residents of your garden. I decided to add a few woodland features to the garden, such as rabbits, mushrooms, butterflies, dragonflies – and fairies, of course. You could also hang a few paper lanterns and some wind chimes, and add a few potted plants for more colour and interest. Even if your garden isn’t very big, a few whimsical accents and a fairy door or two will create an invitation to sit and dream. My fairy garden became such a hit, it inspired me to host a Fairy Garden Party last summer. Our extended family has produced a brood of little ones over the past few years, and there’s no escaping their excitement and wonder when they walk among the fairies. We set up a dining tent, prepared a table full of treats and loot bags, and handed out fairy wings to all who came – children and adults alike wore them for the entire afternoon. I’m hoping it will become an annual event. What I didn’t realize at the beginning of my garden project was just how much my grandchildren would love it, and this is the best year yet. They become the characters they see; they pretend to be the fairies. Their laughter, squeals of delight and lightfooted chases through the trees fill the woods with magic. It’s been such a gift for me to witness the innocence, joy and vivid imaginations of all the children who wander through. I’m hoping the gift for them is the smile it will bring when they recall the memories of Nan’s Fairy Garden. 1-888-588-6353
88_FairyGardens_0609 index.qxd 7/7/20 4:00 PM Page 91
94_EG_0609 index.qxd 7/7/20 4:02 PM Page 92
HOME and Cabin
the everyday gourmet
Cedar Plank
BBQ Cod 92
August 2020
1-888-588-6353
94_EG_0609 index.qxd 7/7/20 4:03 PM Page 93
the everyday gourmet By Andrea Maunder
Andrea Maunder is the owner and creative force behind Saucy & Sweet – Homemade Specialty Foods & Catering.
www.downhomelife.com
I am sitting on the deck with my cappuccino on a spectacular summer morning as I write this month’s column. There are birds, breezes and bees. I guess it feels so luxurious because Newfoundland summer weather is never assured nor timely. We have all experienced sunburn in May and parkas in July, depending on the year. Whenever we get that first sunny, barely double-digit temperature day of summer, the urge to fire up the barbecue seems almost primordial… we just gotta grill something. The first nice day in early June, I was too late getting to the market for steak. Clearly everyone else felt the pull of the flames, too, and the meat department in June looked like the toilet paper aisle in March. Our hearts were set on grilling, and remembering I had uncovered a few cedar grilling planks in the pantry, I thought about the classic of cedar-planked salmon. Finding no salmon, trout, char or halibut, it seemed we would have to settle for sausages (which are still delicious, of course, especially with my homemade sauerkraut), but then I spotted some really nice-looking cod. I had never thought of the combination of cod and cedar before now. My mouth began to water as I thought about the balance a bit of spice, acid and creaminess might bring to the smoke and resiny aromas of the wood. Memories of a creole sauce on top of blackened tuna I had eaten in New Orleans decades ago inspired me to grab some cream, shrimp and tomatoes, too, before heading to the checkout. It turned out to be the most delicious cod I have ever eaten. Truly. It was juicy and succulent, beautifully perfumed by the cedar and kissed by the smoke from the charred underside of the plank. The creole sauce is rosé – so it has both tomatoes and cream, is nicely spicy and the shrimp (and stock from the shells) adds both decadence and complexity. My partner, Christopher, did the grilling (giddy with the first grill of the season, and especially so because we had just replaced the old rusted BBQ), while I made the sauce. August 2020
93
94_EG_0609 index.qxd 7/7/20 4:03 PM Page 94
The wood must be untreated, so buy the planks from the BBQ section of your supermarket or hardware store – they’re prepped for grilling. You’ll need to soak the planks in water for at least an hour (up to three is even better), so they don’t catch fire completely on the grill. Place them in a pan of water, weighted down so they are completely submerged. The planks will char on the grill, though – and that’s the flavour
you’re after. We have made this dish several times now. We even served it al fresco, on one of those rare, balmy Newfoundland summer evenings, to some of our bubble people. Our friend Loyola, from a fishing family and a true seafood afficionado, pronounced it the best cod he ever had. High praise, indeed. Grab yourself some cedar grilling planks and see if you don’t think so, too.
Cedar Plank BBQ Cod with Shrimp Creole Sauce 2 lbs cod fillets Presoaked cedar grilling planks – enough to accommodate the cod in a single layer 2-3 tsp olive or vegetable oil 4 bay leaves 4 sprigs fresh thyme (we use homegrown lemon thyme) 1 lemon – cut four thin slices to top the fish, throw the stem ends in the stock pot, reserve the other half to squeeze into the sauce Salt and pepper to taste 1 lb shrimp, 31-40 size, shell on For the stock 1 tbsp veg oil Shrimp shells Skin and stem ends from the onion you’ll use in the sauce Skins and stem ends from the garlic you’ll use in the sauce 2 bay leaves 2 sprigs fresh thyme 1 tsp fennel seeds 1/2 tsp chili flakes 94
August 2020
1/2 tsp whole peppercorns 2 tbsp white wine or dry vermouth 1 cup water For the sauce 1 tbsp oil 3 tbsp butter 1 small onion, finely diced (about 1/3 cup) 1/2 stalk celery, finely diced 1/2 a small green pepper, finely diced 2 cloves garlic, minced 2 sprigs fresh thyme (or 1/2 tsp dry) 1 tsp paprika 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper 1 tbsp tomato paste 2 tbsp flour 1/3 cup white wine Strained stock 1 cup diced tinned tomatoes with juice 1/3 - 1/2 cup 35% cream Salt and pepper to taste Hot sauce to taste Chopped fresh parsley to taste 1-888-588-6353
94_EG_0609 index.qxd 7/7/20 4:03 PM Page 95
Pat planks dry just before using and preheat the BBQ. Prep the fish: check for bones and cut into 4 portions. Drizzle both sides with a touch of olive or vegetable oil, and season with salt and pepper. Place the fillets on the cedar, tuck a bay leaf under each and top each with a sprig of thyme and slice of lemon. Set aside while you make the sauce. The fish takes 10-15 minutes, so you can put it on the grill after you’ve made the stock for the sauce. Or you can make the sauce first and then cook the fish; just slide the raw shrimp into the warmed sauce a minute or two before serving and give them a stir to cook through. Make the stock: Peel the shrimp and set them aside. Remove the skin and stem ends from the garlic and onion. In a small pot, over high heat, heat the oil and add the garlic and onion skins, lemon stem ends, shrimp shells, thyme, bay, fennel seed, chili flakes and peppercorns. Stir a couple minutes with a wooden spoon and bash down the shrimp shells. Add the wine and let it bubble for a moment, then add the water. Stir and reduce heat to simmer while you prepare the shrimp and vegetables for the sauce. (Note: If you only have shell-off shrimp, you can skip the stock making and add 1/2 cup water to the sauce instead.) Make the sauce: Chop the onion, celery and green pepper into small dice, and mince the garlic. Slice the peeled shrimp lengthwise and set aside (if shrimp are quite large, you might want to cut them again laterally so they disperse in the sauce). In a large non-stick frying pan, heat oil and butter over med-high heat. Add www.downhomelife.com
vegetables and sauté until they start to soften. Add garlic, herbs and spices; sauté a minute or two more. Add tomato paste and stir a minute. Add flour and stir 2-3 minutes until vegetables are coated with flour. (Add more oil or butter if you need to during this process.) Season with salt and pepper. Add wine and stir to burn off the alcohol, scraping up whatever is stuck to the pan bottom. Add tomatoes. Strain the stock through a fine sieve into the frypan (or add 1/2 cup water if not using stock). Stir to help the flour-coated vegetables incorporate and the sauce will begin to thicken. Let simmer a few minutes more if very watery. Add cream and let reduce a few minutes. Add lemon juice to taste. Check seasoning and add salt, pepper and hot sauce to taste. If too acidic, you can add a pinch of sugar. Add shrimp and heat through just before serving. (This recipe makes plenty of creole sauce and you can freeze any extra. It freezes beautifully and is delicious on nearly everything – steak, chicken, pork, other seafood, pasta, or even grilled bread as an appetizer.) To cook cod, place prepped planks on the BBQ over med-high heat. Close the lid. It will take about 12 minutes to cook, depending on the thickness of your cod. Test it by pressing with your finger to see if it flakes. Serve immediately with a couple of spoonfuls of the creole sauce. Top with a little freshly chopped parsley if you like. We served it with grilled corn and a grilled veggie medley, both simply seasoned. Rice or potatoes would be good, too. Serves 4
August 2020
95
98_ER_0609 index.qxd 7/7/20 4:05 PM Page 96
HOME and Cabin
everyday recipes
Picnic Picks We selected some of our favourite summertime recipes from EverydayRecipes.ca to create this menu for a picnic you can enjoy in your backyard, at the park or on your favourite hiking trail.
Creamy Chicken Pasta Salad 1 lb fusilli, cooked, rinsed and drained 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked and chopped 2 cups small broccoli florets 1 orange bell pepper, chopped 1/2 cup cheddar cheese, cut into chunks
Dressing 3/4 cup vanilla Greek yogurt 1 cup buttermilk 2 tbsp mayonnaise 1 tsp white vinegar 1 tsp lemon juice 1/2 tsp salt 1/8 tsp ground black pepper
Make the dressing first. Whisk all the dressing ingredients together. Taste, and add more salt and pepper as needed. Place dressing in the fridge. In a large bowl, combine chicken, broccoli, pepper and cheese. Mix in pasta. Pour half the dressing over the pasta and gently toss to combine. Add rest of dressing and toss again. Chill for at least 2 hours before serving.
96
August 2020
1-888-588-6353
98_ER_0609 index.qxd 7/7/20 4:05 PM Page 97
Lemon Sun Tea 5 cups water 4 tea bags (your favourite kind) Zest from one lemon 1/2 cup lemon juice
Simple syrup 2 cups sugar 1 cup water
Make simple syrup first Mix together the sugar and water, and bring to a boil. Allow it to boil for 2 minutes, then set aside to cool. Mix together the 5 cups of water, tea bags and zest. Stir and pour into a large, clear jug. Place the mixture in a sunny window or cover the jug and place it in direct sunlight outdoors. Allow it to sit for about 4 hours, stirring occasionally. Remove the tea bags and squeeze the excess tea into the jug. Add the lemon juice and 1 cup of the sugar syrup you made earlier. Mix well. (You can keep leftover syrup in a mason jar in the fridge for later use.) Yield: approx. 2.5 L
www.downhomelife.com
August 2020
97
98_ER_0609 index.qxd 7/7/20 4:05 PM Page 98
Cold Plate Wrap Potato salad filling 1 cooked potato, mashed 1 boiled egg, mashed 2 tbsp mayonnaise Pinch each of salt & pepper
Cheddar cheese, sliced Black forest ham, sliced Roast beef, sliced Tomato, sliced Shredded lettuce 12-inch white tortilla
Mix all ingredients of the potato salad to a spreadable consistency. Spread salad over about half the tortilla. Top with layers of cheese, ham, roast beef, tomato and lettuce. Fold ends and tightly roll up tortilla. Cut roll in half and secure roll with a toothpick. Keep chilled until ready to serve.
98
August 2020
1-888-588-6353
98_ER_0609 index.qxd 7/7/20 4:05 PM Page 99
Granola Bars 2 cups rolled oats 1/2 cup dates, chopped 2 tbsp dried cranberries, chopped 1/4 cup dried apricots, chopped 2 tbsp golden raisins
2 egg whites 3 tbsp honey 3/4 tsp cinnamon 1/8 tsp nutmeg Pinch of salt
Preheat oven to 325°F. In a large bowl, mix together oats and dried fruit. In a separate bowl, mix together the egg whites, honey, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt, and whisk until very frothy. Add the egg mixture to the dry ingredients and mix until thoroughly combined. Press into a parchment-lined 8"x 8" cake pan. Bake until the granola is firm and starting to turn golden (about 20 minutes). Remove from oven and cool in the pan for about 10 minutes. Turn out onto a cutting board and cut into desired bar sizes/shapes. Finish cooling on a rack. Yield: 12-16 bars
www.downhomelife.com
August 2020
99
98_ER_0609 index.qxd 7/7/20 4:05 PM Page 100
Sweet and Spicy Nuts 4 1/2 tbsp white sugar 2 1/2 tbsp brown sugar 1 tsp kosher salt (or other coarser type salt) 1/2 tsp cinnamon 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp ground cumin 1/2 an egg white 1 1/2 tsp water 8 oz pecan halves
Preheat oven to 300°F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper or grease well. In a medium bowl, mix sugars, salt and spices until well blended. In another small bowl, whisk egg white and water until white and frothy but not yet forming peaks. Toss nuts in egg white mixture and transfer to sugar bowl. Toss well to coat and spread evenly, in a single layer, on baking sheet. Bake for 30 minutes, stirring at the halfway point, until puffed, crisp and fragrant. Let cool, and before completely cool, break apart any nuts sticking together.
100
August 2020
1-888-588-6353
98_ER_0609 index.qxd 7/7/20 4:05 PM Page 101
Lemon-Cream Marshmallows 7 tsp gelatin powder 1/2 cup lemon juice 1/4 cup water 2 cups sugar
2/3 cup corn syrup 1/4 cup water 1 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped 1 lemon, juiced and zested
Mix the gelatin, lemon juice and water in a mixing bowl. Set aside to bloom. Mix the sugar, corn syrup and water in a heavy-bottomed pot; bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Stir gently just until the sugar is dissolved. If any sugar remains above the level of the liquid, wash down the sides of the pot with a pastry brush dipped in cold water. This is important so the mixture doesn’t crystalize. Once the mixture boils, boil hard for one minute. Remove from heat and, with the mixer running on high (using the whisk attachment), slowly pour the hot sugar into the gelatin down the side of the bowl, trying not to touch the whisk. Once all the sugar is in, add the vanilla bean seeds and zest, and turn the mixer on high to whisk for about 6-8 minutes. The mixture will be very fluffy and sticky. Line a loaf pan with plastic wrap. Spray the wrap with cooking spray. Transfer the mixture to the pan and, using lightly greased hands, press the marshmallow into the pan so that it is evenly spread. Allow to cool and set at room temperature for about 2 hours. Lightly dust your counter with icing sugar, take the marshmallow out of the pan, remove the plastic and cut into the desired size. Dust with icing sugar if it gets too sticky to handle. Yield: 6-8 servings
www.downhomelife.com
August 2020
101
82_PlanEscape_0609 index.qxd 11/28/19 4:54 PM Page 88
2021CalContestDPS_0609 index.qxd 7/8/20 12:02 PM Page 103
CONTEST ENDS August 31, 2020 Submit your favourite photos of scenery, activities and icons that best illustrate the down-home lifestyle. We’re looking for a variety of colourful subjects – outports, wildlife, laundry lines, historic sites, seascapes, hilltop views, and so much more – and photos from all four seasons. In addition to free calendars and a one-year subscription to Downhome for all those chosen for the calendar, one lucky winner will receive a free trip for four aboard O’Brien’s famous whale and bird boat tours!
What are you waiting for? Submit today, using one of these ways:
by mail: Downhome Calendar Contest 43 James Lane St. John’s, NL A1E 3H3 online: www.downhomelife.com/calendar Must be original photos or high quality copies. Digital photos must be at least 300 dpi, files sizes of about 1MB. We can’t accept photocopies or photos that are blurry, too dark or washed out. Include a self-addressed stamped envelope if you want your photos returned.
106_Down_to_Earth_0609 index.qxd 7/7/20 4:08 PM Page 104
HOME and Cabin
down to earth
Repeaters by Kim Thistle
We hear a lot of funny things while working in a garden centre. One that will stick with me forever will be the lady who came in looking for “Repeaters.” Hmmm… *blank stare* “You know the ones… They come back every year.”
Ah, yes, perennials. Plants for the “serious” gardener. It is thought that because they reappear each year that they are easy. Being a perennial gardener is anything but easy. It takes skill and perseverance to have a beautiful perennial garden; you can work at it over a lifetime and never get it quite right. Having a beautiful perennial garden separates the gardeners from the decorators. Annuals have their place, but they are three dimensional – texture, colour, size. Perennials offer time, the fourth dimension. They age as we do, displaying the virtues of the seasons. Here’s a little perennial checklist to get you in the mood:
To begin with, perennials only bloom for a short time, generally two to three weeks. So you have to plan your garden or else you will have everything in bloom for three weeks of the summer and green foliage for the rest of the year.
Next, you have to plan for height. It is very disappointing when you realize that you have planted your teeny, tiny primroses behind your Trollius (globeflower). 104
August 2020
1-888-588-6353
106_Down_to_Earth_0609 index.qxd 7/7/20 4:08 PM Page 105
www.downhomelife.com
August 2020
105
106_Down_to_Earth_0609 index.qxd 7/7/20 4:08 PM Page 106
Then there is the width at full growth. How often do I hear a cus-
My 10 Favourite Perennials Iris The Siberian iris comes in beautiful colours, but looks good even when it is not in bloom. The beautifully straight leaves give height and dimension to the garden, and they stay that way for the entire summer.
tomer say, “I must be doing something right, my hostas are huge!” That’s probably because they bought the variety that grows to a large size. Every plant has a size at maturity that has no relationship to its size at the time of purchase. My husband, the landscaper, talks about the “hula hoop” test. Imagine a hula hoop that’s the diameter of the plant at maturity… now plant in the middle!
Without a doubt, the most magnificent of them all. Be sure to brace it with a decorative support. It is almost guaranteed to pour rain just as these beauties are coming into full bloom, and the rain will flatten them.
Consider weeding. Since perennial beds cannot be dug up every summer, weeds have a chance to hunker down and wind themselves around the roots of your perennials, making them almost impossible to eradicate. Weeding will be an ongoing process for the rest of your life. Embrace it! It’s way cheaper than therapy and you can see the finished product of your efforts.
Lavender
Finally, there is dividing. When
Peonies
What is a garden without lavender?
Sage
A must for attracting hummingbirds and hummingbird moths.
Echinacea The contrasting colour of the centre and the petals is perfection itself. Crocosmia ‘Lucifer’ The best red perennial there is.
Clematis You need at least four that bloom at different times. Hostas People either love them or hate them. I am one of their cheerleaders. Foxglove If fairies are real, this is where they would live. Delphiniums What border is complete without the height and colour that a delphinium offers? 106
August 2020
perennials get old, they often stop blooming or die out. Then they have to be dug up, divided into smaller pieces and replanted. Each piece is reborn and the process starts again.
Why make the effort? Perennial gardening is not for the faint of heart. It is, however, right up there in the top two most rewarding types of gardening. The other being vegetable and herb gardening, where you become your family’s “super hero” provider. You may ask, if it is this much trouble, why do I bother? Well… • Beginning a perennial garden is like starting with a blank palette and turning out a magnificent masterpiece. The sense of accomplishment 1-888-588-6353
106_Down_to_Earth_0609 index.qxd 7/7/20 4:08 PM Page 107
when you feel you have gotten it right is wonderful. • It’s an exercise for the mind as well as the body: a mix of biology, chemistry and physics, but once you are hooked, you will never want a “paint by numbers” garden again. • Physically, it is like a day at the gym but with a total body workout. It promotes flexibility as well as strength. • It’s therapeutic. Some people like playing a musical instrument or picking berries to relax. Others like weeding their gardens, then sitting back at the end of the day and enjoying the perfection they have created. • Perennials contribute to wildlife through pollination. At a time when bees and other beneficial insects are disappearing, you can offer them a food source by planting flowers that attract and feed these insects. • Perennials are an environmentally sound choice, as they do not need much in the way of fertilizer and, once established, do not need to be watered except in periods of drought.
When choosing perennials, here are some things to consider: Foliage Since they only bloom for a short period, it’s essential to have a nice leaf structure that holds up well all summer. Some perennials, such as oriental poppies, are exquisite when in bloom, but the plant dies back very quickly after blooming. Plant these behind shorter perennials that will cover up them up as they wither. Growth habitat Many perennials, such as evening primrose, spread uncontrollably. They are beautiful when planted in a large space where www.downhomelife.com
spreading is not a problem, but can be a nuisance where neatness is desired.
Size Choose for size and sturdiness. If you want a tall blue flower for your back border and you live in a windy area, monkshood, with its sturdy stems, would be a wiser option than the delicate delphinium. By the same token, both monkshood and delphiniums might be far too tall for what you need and, in this case, you would be better choosing a shorter plant such as salvia or lavender. Colour and timing Think about bloom time and combinations. You might want a blue and pink together, so you choose a peony and a monkshood, only to find that they don’t bloom at the same time. You would be better to choose a blue iris as, chances are, it will be blooming at almost the exact same time as the pink peony. Be patient with your efforts and truly embrace this quote from garden author, Janet Macunovich: “Be pleased with your real garden, don’t pursue the perfection of a picture. What you see in a photo lasted only as long as the shutter snap.” Got a gardening question for Kim? Email your query to her at downtoearth@downhomelife.com. Kim Thistle owns a garden centre and landscaping business on the west coast of the island. She has also been a recurring guest gardener on CBC’s “Crosstalk” for almost three decades. August 2020
107
110_Flashbacks_0609 Home Front.qxd 7/7/20 4:10 PM Page 108
reminiscing flashbacks
Medical Service by Sea “This is a photo I took of Captain Peter Troake on the wharf in Princeton, NL,” the submitter writes. “It was in the 1960s and I was a teenager at the time. In the background is the MV Christmas Seal, a floating x-ray unit of the Newfoundland Tuberculosis Association. Peter Troake was the captain of [this vessel] for many years and was a very well known and liked person.” Marjorie (Prince) Yetman Princeton, NL
70s Kids Sherri Wells and Neil Knight posed for this photo while playing at Victoria Park, St. John’s, in the summer of 1978. Gennie Philpott St. John’s, NL
108
August 2020
1-888-588-6353
110_Flashbacks_0609 Home Front.qxd 7/7/20 4:10 PM Page 109
Unknown Men
This photo was found 30 years ago blown up against a soccer field fence in Mount Pearl, in the area of the old arena. “I have no idea who these men are, but they do resemble each other and may be brothers,” the submitter writes. “It is such an interesting picture that I framed it and had it hanging in my basement ever since. I just couldn’t throw it away.” If you recognize anyone in this photo, please contact Downhome. See page 9 for the best ways to reach us. Donald Jacobs Mount Pearl, NL
This Month in History On August 15, 1955, Mr. Thomas Sugg of Twillingate, NL, celebrated his 110th birthday. At the time, he was the oldest known citizen of the British Commonwealth. Sugg was born and raised in Twillingate. He was a fisherman who never married. In 1932, the year he turned 87, he moved into the Home for the Aged and Infirm in St. John’s, located where Victoria Park is today on Water Street. To celebrate his momentous birthday in 1955, the home threw him a party and ordered a massive cake with 110 candles. The party was covered by the Daily News. Sugg was bedridden in his old age, but that didn’t stop him from enjoying himself at his party. According to the newspaper, he was “in excellent health and had smiles for everyone.” Thomas Sugg died on May 16, 1956. Today, the Lower Little Harbour Trail on Twillingate Island passes by the site of his former winter home. 1-888-588-6353
August 2020
109
112_vv_0609 Home Front.qxd 7/7/20 4:11 PM Page 110
reminiscing visions & vignettes
Gnat, do you mind…
Vaccinations? By Harold N. Walters
Her voice as serious as a cheerful voice could manage, Miss Britt said, “Children, on Friday the doctor is coming from Clarenville to give each of you a needle.” Harry felt biver-to-the-bone fear for the second time since June, when parents in Brookwater started pounding into their youngsters’ heads the probability of a crippling disease – infantile paralysis – being in the air. Or perhaps the water. “Listen,” Ma said, holding Harry’s elbow to stall him from rushing out110
August 2020
side, “don’t you dare go down on the beach and get wet after school.” “Ma…,” Harry said, pulling free, “we always goes wobblin’ on the last day of school.” Quicker than Granny caught the weasel, Ma clamped Harry’s shoulders, hoisted him off his feet and shook him like a rag-a-muffin. 1-888-588-6353
112_vv_0609 Home Front.qxd 7/7/20 4:11 PM Page 111
“Pay heed, Harry,” she said, “stay off the beach. I don’t want you catching polio.” Since spring broke, Harry’d been hearing talk of polio, a disease that frightened the light out of parents’ eyes, a disease that Ma had warned him about dozens of times. He started to grasp the extent of the fear when Ma told him that Otto Cook’s brother from over in the Bogs caught polio and it crippled him. But Harry didn’t understand exactly how polio was contracted – perhaps nobody in Brookwater did at the time. His head cracking like Whip Wilson’s bullwhip at the ends of Ma’s arms, Harry realized Ma was scared to death of her children catching polio. He tried to promise he wouldn’t venture down on the beach, despite tradition, but his jaw clattered too much for his tongue to take the risk. “Ma…Ma…Ma,” he said, like a sheep bleating. On the way to school, his neck and jaws aching, the inside of his cheek rendered raw as a result of being bitten during one of Ma’s more vigorous shakes, Harry said to Gnat, “That friggin’ polio comes in cases.” “What?” said Gnat. “Polio comes in cases. I heard it on the radio: two new cases in Conception Bay, three new cases in Placentia Bay.” Gnat’s face screwed up like a question mark. “I b’lieve them cases drives ashore like crates washed overboard. That’s why we idden suppose to go down on the beach. Our mothers is afraid we’ll come across a case and catch it.” “I ’low you’m foolish,” said Gnat. “You’m tangled up. Cases just means 1-888-588-6353
another person got sick.” Harry glared at Gnat. Was it possible that Gnat was right and he himself had arrived at a stump-stund conclusion? “Anyway, no wobblin’ today,” he said. “I don’t ’low,” said Gnat. Summer dragged its feet through Brookwater that year. Only the most disobedient youngsters went wobbling or got soaked in the Big Brook. Only once – or perhaps twice – did Harry risk Ma’s wrath or risk affliction from a disease that sounded like one of those biblical plagues Reverend Bottle sometimes blared about from the pulpit. “Aunt Chook told me she saw you down on the beach,” Ma said at the supper table one day. “What did I tell you?” she continued, brandishing her handy wooden soup spoon, a utensil the size of a small birch that she waved to emphasize the strength of stern parental love. Harry stogged his gob with a doughball and wisely held his tongue. The proximity of Ma’s soup spoon to his topknot caused Harry to feel that spine-freezing fear of both his unusually riled Ma and polio. He nearly choked on the doughball… … and now, at the end of September, Miss Britt had frightened him again. Harry felt like he’d shuffed his head inside the church bell. Miss Britt’s voice echoed: “The needle you will get on Friday is a vaccination. It will prevent you from getting polio.” Harry’s panicking noggin fastened on “needle” and “Friday.” For frig sake, it was only Monday yet. Nobody else seemed afraid of the impending needles, or threatened by the … What had Miss Britt called it? August 2020
111
112_vv_0609 Home Front.qxd 7/7/20 4:11 PM Page 112
… the vaccination. Spud Spurvey rolled up his shirtsleeve and made a muscle. “Here’s the spot to stick it,” he said, slapping his bicep. Gnat grinned fearlessly. Sally and Ugly Maude joined half a dozen other girls and jabbered curiously about the doctor’s impending visit. Jabbered, thought Harry. Jabbered. Jabbed. Jab… like a needle puncturing tender bay-boy flesh. Fear maddened Harry. He shuffed away from his desk and bolted out the door. Miss Britt raised her eyebrows. “I ’low he’s short taken, Miss,” said Gnat. In a fearsome state worse than Little Piggy’s, Harry ran all the way home, where he jumped into his bed, boots and all. “Harry?” said Ma when she found him bundled up in his blankets. “Needle,” Harry croaked, shaking like an ague suffer in a Charles Dickens story. “I know,” said Ma. “Thank God. Now you won’t get polio.” Ma laid a comforting hand on his chest, yet it failed to stop Harry from shaking like a boy freed from the paralysis of a nightmarish visit from the Old Hag. Harry remained haunted all week. He imagined Ma’s knitting needles piercing his arm. He didn’t read his comic books because he fancied Indian arrows could turn him into a pincushion. To distract himself at school, he leafed through The Great Big Book of Wild Animals, but slammed it shut when he came to the pictures of bristled porcupines. Harry knew nothing about phobias, not that it mattered. Time Friday morning dawned, Harry was on the verge of having a fit. 112
August 2020
“Chin up, my son,” Ma said when he left for school, a motherly stab at quelling his shakes. Enjoying his buddy’s misery, Gnat chanted, “This is the day we gets the needles,” and danced taunting circles around Harry, who scuffed his feet all the way to school. Harry slumped in his seat while Miss Britt and her other students tidied the classroom, readying for the doctor’s visit. The doctor arrived at 10:30 on the dot. Harry gaped as the porch door swung open. A man bigger than The Mountie, with a puncheon tub belly and dressed in a long, white doctor’s coat the size of the sail on Uncle Sim’s green punt, filled the doorway. The Doctor strode to the front of the room and lodged a doctor’s satchel bigger than a suitcase on Miss Britt’s desk. A nurse lugging bags and bundles followed. The heels of Harry’s rubber boots drummed on the floor. A voice rumbling like a thunderstorm rolling in from The Bights said, “Everyone get in line.” Miss Britt clapped her hands to organize the students in single-file groups. At the tail end of the line, Miss Britt gestured for him to join. Harry clenched his jaw to prevent his teeth from gnashing. He nearly collapsed when he realized the instrument the nurse prepared and handed to The Doctor was the needle – a cylindrical outfit Harry swore was the length of a bicycle pump. “Who’s first?” The Doctor hoisted the needle and squirted some fluid from its tip – a tip as blunt as a galvanized nail. Sally bravely stepped forward. Harry watched in horror. As the 1-888-588-6353
112_vv_0609 Home Front.qxd 7/7/20 4:11 PM Page 113
nurse swabbed Sally’s arm, Harry’s teeth ceased chattering, but scalding pressure commenced to build in his guts. When The Doctor slid the needle’s brutal point into Sally’s pallid skin, Harry’s shakes abruptly ended, but hot steam boiled from his belly into his chest. After The Doctor emptied – surely a quart! – of serum into Sally’s tiny arm, Harry’s overloaded gorge cracked. When Sally stepped aside, her bright green eyes glistening, Harry snapped. “STOP!” he howled, for himself and Sally. Everything froze like a snapshot. Movement and sound recommenced when The Doctor, evidently ignoring his physician’s oath, roared, “Bring that boisterous boy next.” “Bide still,” The Doctor said, holding Harry’s shoulder with one viselike hand. His other hand wielded the pump-sized syringe. Harry’s eyes rolled like the saucerorbs of a spooked pony. The nurse’s swabbing of his arm rekindled 1-888-588-6353
Harry’s quaking. He knew he should have kept his mouth shut, and now he would be punished for disrupting The Doctor’s procedures. That’s how Harry saw what was coming: punishment. With a rapier thrust, like Errol Flynn pinning a pirate to the mainmast, The Doctor reeved the needle into the meat of Harry’s arm until it grated on bone. Then he leaned on the plunger and filled Harry’s arm with … … well, something good actually. Nevertheless, Harry succumbed and swooned into unconsciousness. Mind those vaccinations, Gnat? They effectively slew the polio dragon, eh b’y?
Harold Walters lives in Dunville, Newfoundland, doing his damnedest to live Happily Ever After. Reach him at ghwalters663@gmail.com August 2020
113
116_TDPandemic_0609 Home Front.qxd 7/8/20 11:55 AM Page 114
reminiscing
While the world grapples with the COVID-19 threat, a generation remembers an earlier virus that led to social isolation, hospitalization and death. By Daphne Belbin Tumlin
114
August 2020
1-888-588-6353
116_TDPandemic_0609 Home Front.qxd 7/7/20 4:15 PM Page 115
The sun had been up since five o’clock,
but our old house, perched on the windy cliff, was still freezing cold two hours later when I awoke on that June morning in 1949. All my mother had to do was strike a match and, within minutes, there would be a roaring fire that would heat the whole house. My father had left piles of kindling and wood splits beside the kitchen stove before he left for St. John’s a month earlier. I could hear soft humming coming from downstairs. There was a melancholic tone to it that gave me the shivers. I recognized the hymn my mother was humming right away. If you hasten off to glory, Linger near the Eastern Gate, For I’m coming in the morning, So you’ll not have long to wait. I jumped out of bed and peeked through the round hole above the wood stove just as the latch on the front door lifted. It was my mother’s friend, Adelaide. She approached my mother, who stood by the cold stove making tiny stifled sobs, quick and jerky like she wanted to cry real hard but then changed her mind. Until a few months ago, she and Adelaide had talked and laughed all the time, but now they just whispered.
1-888-588-6353
August 2020
115
116_TDPandemic_0609 Home Front.qxd 7/7/20 4:16 PM Page 116
“Father said he’s just skin and bones now,” I heard my mother say. I could feel the sadness jump up through the grate and cling to me like a wet woolen mitten. Who was just skin and bones, I wondered? Adelaide knew, because she said, “I knows he is, my dear.” I knew that Uncle Alford, my mother’s brother, had been sick with tuberculosis for almost a year and no one could visit him. But it was almost summertime now, when he was supposed to sit outside in the sunshine and breathe the tuberculosis-healing fresh air. One day last week I heard my Brothers, Alford grandfather say, “Tuberculosis is (above) and Alick quenching life’s energies all over the Palmer both died island,” adding, “and the face of from tuberculosis death is everywhere.” I didn’t know what that meant, but I did know that Uncle Isaac Belbin’s chilUncle Alford died that day, June 17, dren – Sally, Louetta, Hilda, Bennett 1949, with laboured breathing and a and Andrew – had all died of TB and beatific smile, travelling the last mile that my father had said, “Aunt Sarah of the way in just skin and bones. He went right off her head after that.” was only 18 years old and had been I went back to bed where my siscut off from his community for the ters, Evelyn and Eleanor, were still last year of his life. My mother could sleeping, and I crawled in beside barely speak. If sadness were ice, them until my mother called us to get she’d still be frozen. She had not even up and get ready for school. The first been allowed to spend the last few thing we had to do when we went days of his life keeping a bedside vigil downstairs was drink that awful mixbecause she couldn’t risk becoming ture of raw eggs and milk. “It will infected with the wracking coughs help to prevent ‘the sickness,’” my and bloody sputum of tuberculosis. mother said. My grandparents, Ronald and Annie “Is that the sickness that’s killing Palmer, tormented by the deatheverybody in Newfoundland?” I asked. watch, were powerless to weaken the “Don’t ask questions,” my mother tight grip of Uncle Alford’s mortality. replied. I didn’t want to drink the On the day of the funeral, I walked mixture, but I didn’t want to die with my sisters into the Pond Path, either. but we were still not allowed into our 116
August 2020
1-888-588-6353
116_TDPandemic_0609 Home Front.qxd 7/7/20 4:16 PM Page 117
grandparents’ home. From the side of the road, we watched Uncle Alford’s flower-laden white casket being loaded onto a horse-drawn wagon. It seemed as though the whole world died when Uncle Alford was buried next to his brother, Alick, and his sister, Evelyn, who had also died of TB. Grandmother Annie tried to ease her pain by singing.
lowered one by one into the grave along with his three children. Nothing in Grandfather’s often heartbreaking life had prepared him for the grief he felt when his youngest son died. If sorrow had been flesh it would have been a bird, because that day it flew around Grandfather and would not leave.
Safe in the Arms of Jesus, Safe on His Gentle Breast, There by his love o’er shaded Sweetly my soul shall rest
It seemed as though the whole world died when Uncle Alford was buried next to his brother, Alick…
She lived in a future world. It was the only safe place to be. Annie’s hope of resurrection kept her alive that June afternoon. She believed that the day would soon come when she would meet all her children again. She set her eyes heavenward and sang lowly. There’s a land that is Fairer than day And by faith we can see it afar For the Father reigns over the way To prepare us a dwelling place there. In the sweet by and by we shall meet on that beautiful shore Life’s misfortunes turned many people as hard as a church pew, but Grandmother Annie Palmer’s misfortunes just made her more resolute in her faith. When the funeral was over, Annie went home and began the process of stripping and disinfecting the house where her beloved son had died. Unfortunately, Grandfather could not access Grandmother’s kind of faith. When the last light in his son’s eyes was gone, Grandfather’s light went out, too. His hopes had been 1-888-588-6353
Two months after Alford’s death, Grandfather could no longer live with the memories that haunted him day and night. So, at age 59, he and Annie, along with their 14-year-old daughter Pansy, moved across the country to Corner Brook. They left behind the fresh, fierce wind that blew in off the Atlantic Ocean and the sweet smell of wild roses that grew along the Pond Path in front of the house, where the presence of their dead children still lingered. And they left behind their daughter, my mother, Ida. After that, a new kind of isolation began for my mother, one of loneliness. She struggled with how to live with the loss of her family for four years until she, too, finally had to leave. We followed our grandparents to the mill town of Corner Brook. It was as far away from the sad memories as we could get. August 2020
117
120_Newfoundlandia_0609 Home Front.qxd 7/7/20 6:21 PM Page 118
reminiscing
Johnny Burke The Life Between the Notes by Chad Bennett
Johnny Burke Jr.
was born into a comfortable tangle of street corners. The year was 1851. This was old St. John’s, a place of thick lives and rich memory, where the full scope of life fell within the toss of a stone. Bring me back to my home Where I first saw the light, To the home of my boyhood so dear; To the land I love and I hail with delight, Where I never felt trouble or fear.
118
August 2020
1-888-588-6353
120_Newfoundlandia_0609 Home Front.qxd 7/8/20 11:56 AM Page 119
“Hey Mister. Got the time?” Johnny shielded his eyes with a hand as he squinted up into the tall man’s face. His pocket watch flashed in the sun. “It’s ten past five, young man, suppertime.” “Oh, I’m late! Gotta go, Jimmy,” Johnny said to his friend. “Will you help me tomorrow?” James “Jimmy” Murphy and Johnny Burke had been as thick as frozen molasses ever since they were hatched, and would remain so the rest of their lives. “Yes, Jimmy!” Johnny called back, his words disappearing over his shoulder. “See you tomorrow!” he promised as he ran up the hill. Children flowed from every corner. When not at school, they earned a crust by doing deliveries, shoe shines, sweeping street crossings, running errands, and a whole host of other odd jobs. Now they all raced home for supper. Johnny shot past the cobbler’s and carriage maker’s, furniture maker’s and cooper’s, smith’s, tailor’s, baker’s and grocer’s. They all plied their trades among the houses, and Johnny lived at the heart of the action on Prescott Street. “Where have you been?” His father had always insisted on supper beginning at 5 p.m. sharp. “Sorry, Pa. I was down the patch helping Jimmy and lost track of time.” The patch was Johnny’s corner, Duckworth and Prescott. All
corners belonged to Johnny to some small degree, but the patch was special. “Look at the state of ya,” his mother said, shaking her head. “Now am I to believe that James Murphy is in constant need of your help to sweep a street crossing? Can he not hold a broom his own self?” Johnny considered for just the right amount of time (he had that knack). “Well, I don’t rightly know, Ma, but I’d hate to find out. Could be a right awful mess down on the patch.” His mother smiled despite willing herself not to – Johnny had that effect also. “Go get cleaned up and I’ll fix up a plate,” she said. Johnny returned to the table, having left most of the city in the washbasin. “Well,” his father began, nursing a mug of tea, “we’ve all shared our days. It’s your turn, Johnny. What did you find today?” Johnny shovelled in a few spoonfuls of stew before assuming the practised posture of the refined storyteller. He looked around the table, taking them in one at a time: his father, the ship’s captain John Burke Sr.; his mother, Sarah Burke (nee Rutledge); older brother William, who had grown three feet in Johnny’s estimation since going to sea with his father; little sister Annie; and baby brother Alexander. He smiled at them all and waited for them to smile
Johnny Burke, 1903
1-888-588-6353
August 2020
119
120_Newfoundlandia_0609 Home Front.qxd 7/7/20 6:22 PM Page 120
in just the right way. “Where should I begin? OK yes, how about getting into the Arena to see the new setup for the boxing matches next week?” “And how exactly did you get into the Arena?” “Well, Jimmy knows a guy, who knows a guy, whose older brother snuck us in around back. It looks great. Mind you we didn’t get the full tour, as an overly eager constable informed us that the sidewalk was in urgent need of our attention.” And then they made the constable, And then they made the clout, And then they made the hobnail To boot the small boy out. “After that, a crowd of us went down to see the Portuguese play football. They played barefoot in the streets and competed one ship against the next.” William cut in, “How long will the White Fleet be in town?” “Not long,” his father responded. “They’ll reprovision and head out, probably no more then a few days.” “After that,” Johnny continued, “we ranged up a few finger piers to get a glimpse of Captain Kean’s new ship, and wow, she’s a beaut – even the sails sparkle.” “Yes, she seems a fine craft,” his father said. “Came with a fine price, too. We’ll see this coming season what she’s really worth.” And so the conversation went, sharing stories, smiles, company, and later some songs and music. This would be one of the last such evenings, and far too few. In the summer of 1865 the Nautilus, the 120
August 2020
ship captained by John Burke Sr. and crewed by William, would be lost with all hands. As they sailed out that day A husband dear, a loving son The pride and beauty of our land Who knew no dread or fear None thinking as they left their homes, That death was drawing near. This crack in the world ended Johnny’s childhood. His mother Sarah would be forced to open a small grocery store in the ground floor of their home on Prescott Street as a means of support, and pulled Johnny out of school to help her run it. At the age of 14, Johnny Burke became a grocer. They would get by until another major shift would throw everything in doubt. Around the year 1871, Sarah died, leaving 20-year-old Johnny the head of the household with two younger siblings to raise. This could have been an unravelling of lives so hard won, a complete tragedy, but it wasn’t. The three Burke children rallied around one another. In a way that would have made Charles Dickens proud, the Burke children helped raise one another. Through a force of will, wit and talent they kept themselves fed, clothed and sheltered. Johnny became a poet, actor, singer, playwright, songwriter and theatre operator. He began a publishing company from his Prescott Street home. With the help of his sister and brother, he printed broadsheets of his songs, which were sold for two to five cents 1-888-588-6353
120_Newfoundlandia_0609 Home Front.qxd 7/7/20 6:22 PM Page 121
apiece on every street corner in town by children like he once was. After the sensational success of his first musical comedy, “The Battle of Foxtrap,” in 1881, Johnny Burke became the man of his time, charting the social course of his town. His lyrics became at once playfully lighthearted and socially provocative. With “Kelligrew’s Soiree” he highlighted the widening gulf between the rich and the poor, and at the same time managed to take the air out of their airs. If you want your eyeballs straightened Just come out next week with me, You’ll have to wear your glasses At the Kelligrew’s soiree. The Great Fire of 1892 saw Johnny rise in the face of tragedy once more. This time it was on everyone’s behalf, as he used humour to ease anxieties and razor-sharp wit to criticize the fire department’s handling of the crisis. The Firemen soon arrived, And on me they soon contrived, To get a stream of water on my head; I woke from my repose With my nose across the hose, “Oh for mercy’s sake,” says I, “Don’t kill me dead.” My mouth was open wide, Faix, I feel pain inside, When a stream shot down my throat I gave a bawl; Faix bedad! I’m half afraid that I swallowed Bull-joint, branch pipe, hose and all. 1-888-588-6353
Prohibition in 1917 would give rise to a signature stamp of events. A smart steamboat from Canada Three weeks ago came down With booze enough stowed in her hold To paralyze the town; As no one ever saw her come, And now the town is asking Who shipped this foxy rum. Even the rise of the car squirmed under Johnny Burke’s thumb. Then they made the motor car So they can run them well, And then they made the gasoline, And then they made the smell; Then they made the dusty streets the motor cars to glide, Then they made the crutches For the lame to jump aside! After the Great Fire, the three Burke children rebuilt their home on Prescott Street, which still stands today. None of them ever married or had children, but Johnny, Annie and Alexander took care of each other for the rest of their days. Johnny Burke, in a bowler hat and a voluminous moustache, was said to have been a natural born comedian with the gravitas of Mark Twain. His mere shadow on stage was enough to ensure a successful show. No event, big or small, in old St. John’s was ever over until Johnny Burke had his say, and his voice continues to resonate today: That’s how they showed respects to Paddy Murphy How they showed their honour and their pride. August 2020
121
DH_subAdDPS-3_0609 Home Front.qxd 5/8/20 11:40 AM Page 126
OVER $20s in saving ! by joining
Now more than ever a Downhome membership is a great value. Not only do you save over $20 off the cover price, you receive: 1 Year (12 issues) OF DOWNHOME
Free WALL CALENDAR Free EXPLORE TRAVEL GUIDE 2 Issues INSIDE LABRADOR †
††
†††
}
All for just
$39.99*
12 issues for $39.99* or 36 issues for $99.99*
Save up to $90 when you sign up for 3 years! Delivered with December’s issue. ††Delivered with June’s issue. Canadian mailing only. ††† Delivered February and August issues. *Plus applicable taxes
†
Tony McGrath photo
DH_subAdDPS-3_0609 Home Front.qxd 5/8/20 11:40 AM Page 127
Sign me up for a Downhome membership Name:____________________________________________________________________________ Address:__________________________________________________________________________ City:__________________________________________ Prov/State: ____ Country: _______________ Postal Code: ____________________
Phone: (
) _________________________________
E-mail: __________________________________________________________________________ ❏ Cheque Enclosed*
❏ Credit Card
❏ Invoice Me
❏ I would like to send a membership as a gift.
❏ Moving? Update address below.
Please send Downhome magazine to who I have listed below.
Card#:_______________________________________________________ Expires: ______ /______ Name:____________________________________________________________________________ Address:__________________________________________________________________________ City:______________________________________ Prov/State:_________ Country: _______________ Postal Code: ____________________
Phone: (
) _________________________________
SIGN GIFT CARD FROM: _______________________________________
* Valid in Canada on a 1-year term. Total inc. taxes, postage and handling: for residents in NL, NS, NB, PE $45.99; ON $45.19; QC, SK, MB, AB, BC, NU, NT, YT $41.99. US/International $49.99. ** Valid in Canada on a 3-year term. Total inc. taxes, postage and handling: for residents in NL, NS, NB, PE $114.99; ON $112.99; QC, SK, MB, AB, BC, NU, NT, YT $104.99; US/International $140.99.
Send to Downhome, 43 James Lane, St. John’s, NL, A1E 3H3 or call 1-888-588-6353
ORDER ONLINE TODAY!
visit www.downhomelife.com/membership
2008Mktplace_0609 Marketplace.qxd 7/8/20 11:22 AM Page 124
Chapel Arm, NL $99,000 Beautiful View of Trinity Bay 3Bd/1Bath Bungalow + Basement Apartment. 90 kms from St. John’s. MLS # 1213674
Contact Tim at Royal Lepage 709-682-6609
Howley Cottage 1700 Sq. Ft. Garage 2000 Sq. Ft. On One Acre. $249,900
lorna-pike@hotmail.com 1-587-435-0587
FOR SALE • DEER LAKE • Former Birchview B&B
• $179,000 • 3 Bedroom/4 Bathroom plus separate building with loft apartment Serious Inquires Only
Call: 709-635-3116
Discount Storage St. John's, NL
709-726-6800
Downhome Real Estate Ad prices start at $50 for a 1 column x 1 inch colour advertisement. This size fits approximately 20 words. The smallest size of advertisement with a picture is $100 for a 1 column x 2 inch advertisement.
709-726-5113 • 1-888-588-6353 advertising@downhomelife.com 124
August 2020
1-888-588-6353
2008Mktplace_0609 Marketplace.qxd 7/8/20 11:21 AM Page 125
M
Movers & Shippers Moving you from Ontario and Newfoundland... or any STOP along the way!
DOWNEAST CONNECTION 709-248-4089 905-965-4813
FIVE STAR SERVICE Without The Five Star Price! ★ Local & Long Distance Moves ★ Packing ★ Door-to-Door Service Across Canada ★ Replacement Protection Available ★ NL Owned & Operated
Hawke’s Bay, NL (collect calls accepted) downeastconnection@yahoo.ca
Over 30 years Experience
709-545-2582 Cell: 709-884-9880 Tel:
clarenvillemover@eastlink.ca www.clarenvillemovers.com
www.downhomelife.com
709-834-0070 866-834-0070 fivestarmoving@outlook.com www.fivestarmoving.ca
A&K Moving
Local & Long Distance Service
Toll Free: 1-855-545-2582
MOVING INC.
Over 25 Years Experience in the Moving Industry
Clarenville Movers Your Newfoundland & Alberta Connection
Voted CBS Chamber of Commerce Business of the Year
A Family Moving Families Professionally and economically Coast to Coast in Canada Fully Insured
Covering all Eastern & Western Provinces and Returning Based from Toronto, Ontario Discount Prices Out of NL, NS & NB Newfoundland Owned & Operated
Newfoundland Owned & Operated
35 Years in the Moving Industry
Contact: Gary or Sharon King
Andy: 416-247-0639 Out West: 403-471-5313
Toll Free: 1-866-586-2341 www.downhomemovers.com
aandkmoving@gmail.com
August 2020
125
2008Mktplace_0609 Marketplace.qxd 7/8/20 11:21 AM Page 126
restaurant & shopping directory
126
August 2019
1-888-588-6353
2008Mktplace_0609 Marketplace.qxd 7/8/20 11:21 AM Page 127
2008 mail order_Mail order.qxd 7/7/20 6:25 PM Page 128
GREAT GIFT IDEAS!
NL Whale, Seagull, Puffin, Sailboat T-Shirt (S - XXXL) Navy #45193 Maroon #45200 $19.99
Bayman T-Shirt (S - XXL)
#79057 | $19.99
Ladies’ V-Neck NL Moose (S - XXL) #61373 | $19.99
Ladies’ NL Map Sweatshirt (S - XXL) Blue #79093 Rose #79087 $44.99
Stud Puffin Bib
Kids’ Let’s Go Wild T-Shirt
One size
(2,4,6,8)
#47821 | $11.99
#79245 | $13.99
Townie T-Shirt (S - XXL)
#79063 | $19.99
Ladies’ St. John’s Rowhouses T-Shirt (S - XXL) #76486 | $19.99
Kids’ Earthquake Moose T-Shirt (S - L) #79036 | $15.99
ORDER ONLINE: www.shopdownhome.com
2008 mail order_Mail order.qxd 7/7/20 6:25 PM Page 129
MORE SELECTION ONLINE www.shopdownhome.com
NL Distressed Ballcap #77621 | $24.99
NL Checkered Flag Map Ballcap #43452 | $19.99
NL Moose Plaid Ballcap #75546 | $19.99
NL Moose in Forest Ballcap #56753 | $19.99
Ladies’ NL Cap Mesh Back #79346 | $19.99
Ladies’ NL Cap #77619 | $24.99
Adult Salt ‘N’ Pepper Cap
Large #23903 Medium #23904
$26.99
Infant Salt ‘N’ Pepper Cap Grey #28067 Pink #49655 $17.99
TO ORDER CALL: 1-888-588-6353
2008 mail order_Mail order.qxd 7/7/20 6:28 PM Page 130
GREAT GIFT IDEAS!
Newfoundland Tea Towels • $6.99 ea Puffin #65131 Moose #65083
Plush Puffin #78675 | $17.99 ON SALE $9.99
Rowhouse Handpainted Coasters #59827 | $24.99
Lighthouse #48612 Sailboat #48614
Plush NL Dog #43618 | $19.99
Rowhouse Handpainted Mailbox #47594 | $99.99
Rowhouse Handpainted Keyrack #59826 | $24.99
Kitchen Sayings #65130 Lobster #48613
Plush Moose with Pal #59174 | $19.99 ON SALE $9.99
Rowhouse Handpainted Napkin Holder #59832 | $23.99
Rowhouse Handpainted Wineglass #72979 | $16.99
ORDER ONLINE: www.shopdownhome.com
2008 mail order_Mail order.qxd 7/7/20 6:28 PM Page 131
MORE SELECTION ONLINE www.shopdownhome.com
Numbers in NL Bonnie Jean Hicks #75941 | $9.95
Rhymes from the Rock Bonnie Jean Hicks #58304 | $9.95
Atlantic Puffin: Little Brother of the North Kristin Bieber Domm #31799 | $9.95
Down By Jim Long’s Stage: Rhymes for Children and Young Fish - Al Pittman #78212 | $12.95
You’re Some Crooked Necie #56489 | $12.95
Saku’s Great Newfoundland Adventure - MarieBeth Wright #78024 | $16.95
Our Best Seafood Recipes: From the Readers of Downhome #58362 | $10.99
Our Best Berry Recipes: From the Readers of Downhome #55888 | $10.99
TO ORDER CALL: 1-888-588-6353
Newfoundland Desserts Galore #17117 | $8.95
2008_Puzzles_1701-puzzles 7/7/20 6:34 PM Page 132
puzzles The Beaten Path
Joe Mitchell 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
A
K
E
C
X
T
m
H
T p
n
H S
U
J
L
m
X K
S
H
M E
A
C
T
Q
R
R
m
H
n
n
H
m E
Y U
A
K
J
M X L K X
S
J
S
p
H
S
T
M
L
H
E
T
U
S
M
L
L
S
c E p T
S
n
Y L Q
M T
c T p
S
D S
Y A U
M Y
M
Last Month’s Community: Eastport 132
August 2020
1-888-588-6353
2008_Puzzles_1701-puzzles 7/7/20 6:34 PM Page 133
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
August 2020
133
2008_Puzzles_1701-puzzles 7/7/20 6:34 PM Page 134
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: • Home of a popular craft brewery • Famous Skerwink Trail starts here • One of 12 communities in Trinity Bight • Located in Robinhood Bay • Named for the first boy born here
Last Month’s Answer: Rose Blanche
Picturesque Place NameS of Newfoundland and Labrador
by Mel D’Souza Last Month’s Answer: Goobies 134
August 2020
1-888-588-6353
2008_Puzzles_1701-puzzles 7/7/20 6:34 PM Page 135
In Other Words Guess the well-known expression written here in other words.
Last Month’s Clue: One cent to give for your notions In Other Words: A penny for your thoughts This Month’s Clue: By the epidermis of your fangs In Other Words: __ ___ _____ __ _____ ______
A Way With Words
HEAD HEELS
Last Month’s Answer: Head Over Heels
This Month’s Clue
DREAM ANS: ______ ____
Scrambled Sayings
Rhyme Time A rhyming word game by Ron Young
1. A penny used is a ____ _____ 2. To choose fast is to ____ _____ 3. A conceited face is a ____ ___ Last Month’s Answers 1. stun gun, 2. wet pet, 3. mouse house 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 F E H H N L U N O O
A E A B E D C E E E P E C A D N R O H I G H E F R E S R Y O R S U L R S O T V Y U X Y S X Y T U
N D A F D B L P O E L F Y O R S N R I T S O S
Last month’s answer: When the peace treaty is signed, the war isn't over for the veterans, or the family. It's just starting. www.downhomelife.com
August 2020
135
2008_Puzzles_1701-puzzles 7/7/20 6:34 PM Page 136
Rhymes 5 Times Each answer rhymes with the other four
1. server 2. critic 3. eventually 4. crocodile 5. icebox
____________ ____________ ____________ ____________ ____________
STUCK? Don’t get your knickers in a knot! Puzzle answers can be found online at DownhomeLife.com/puzzles
Last Month’s Answers: 1. whine, 2. dine, 3. refine, 4. undermine, 5. feline
Tangled Towns by Lolene Young Condon and Ron Young
Unscramble each of the five groups of letters below to get 5 Newfoundland and Labrador place names.
Sound out the groups of words below to get a familiar expression. For best results sound the clue words out loud!
1. UTBEATA
Debts Europe Hen Yen _____ ____ _______
3. NAPWIRE
Ham Errands Crude Arrive Her _____ ___ ___________ Last Month’s 1st Clue: Eggs Purr Hey Shunned Eight Answer: Expiration date Last Month’s 2nd Clue: May Gun High Tough Fit Answer: Make a night of it
2. LENHEY RORUBAH 4. WRATCGHTIR 5. CLABK CLETIK Last Month’s Answers: 1. Brunette Island, 2. Jersey Harbour, 3. Rencontre East, 4. Belleoram, 5. Saint Jacques
A nalogical A nagrams Unscramble the capitalized words to get one word that matches the subtle clue. 1. COALS OVEN ~ Clue: known to blow their tops 2. MEATIER NOUN ~ Clue: always reaching for the top 3. NEXT EMPIRE ~ Clue: worth a try 4. PRETTY WIRE ~ Clue: holds the keys to communication 5. THE URN ~ Clue: has a passion for pursuits Last Month’s Answers: 1. carriage, 2. pitcher, 3. hammock, 4. playground, 5. bubble 136
August 2020
1-888-588-6353
2008_Puzzles_1701-puzzles 7/7/20 6:34 PM Page 137
Four-Way Crossword F o re Wo rd s • B a c k Wo rd s • U p Wo rd s • D o w n Wo rd s By Ron Young
Unlike regular crosswords, in Four-Way Crossword each letter is not necessarily related to the letter in the adjacent row or column, but is part of one or more words in some direction.
1-3: limb 1-10: lawmaker 1-41: lamp 1-91: beacon 2-22: make mistake 3-33: caprine animal 5-25: dine 8-38: rear 10-8: decay 10-60: rationality 10-100: logical 11-14: press 13-16: burden 16-14: Sol 16-20: extra 17-19: equal 21-24: grandmother 21-26: grandfather 26-29: canvas 26-96: hygienic 31-33: strike 33-35: faucet 35-65: walkway 36-16: donkey 38-35: jump 40-37: bargain 41-44: trollop 41-46: plaid 43-73: angry mob 44-24: beret 44-46: beige 44-94: jerk 46-66: louse egg 49-29: friend 49-69: tavern 50-47: ajar 51-91: mansion 52-22: duo 54-52: pelvis 55-58: fastened 60-57: naked www.downhomelife.com
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
60-80: capture 62-92: put on 66-62: toss 66-86: pitch 70-100: capable 70-66: concerning 73-93: golf start 77-57: payable 77-74: information 80-77: tack 84-81: oceans 84-86: knight’s title 86-88: groove 90-88: allow 95-65: beside 95-91: in which place 99-69: action word
99-96: intensely 100-91: all over Last Month’s Answer
P L A A E S R EK DR I OEN NNU A T I B E T L A I EMP
G A R A I N F A L L
I AR I S T I D E E P E AMH G A N F I CORD UR T R E E N I A F AR A N WO R F R G L O WO I L ARDO OYME N T August 2020
137
2008_Puzzles_1701-puzzles 7/7/20 6:34 PM Page 138
The Bayman’s
Crossword Puzzle 1
2
by Ron Young 3
4
5
7
6
8
9 10
11
12
16
13
14
17 18
19
20
21
22
24 26
27
28
29 33
36
37 40
34
35
42
45
31
39
41
August 2020
30
38 43
46 48
138
23
25
32
44
15
47 49 1-888-588-6353
2008_Puzzles_1701-puzzles 7/8/20 12:13 PM Page 139
ACROSS 1. lie 3. expression of surprise 5. kitten sound 7. Coal Bin’s friend in Different Strokes 9. soaked 10. fabulous, for short 11. “Was it overfishing or oversight, the ocean __ __ _____” (3 words) 14. either 16. NL anthem 18. “We’re so far away but we think of home and ___ _______ __ out to you” (3 words) 24. certain denomination 25. knock out (abbrev) 26. insecticide 28. sheep sound 29. retiree 32. ALC gambling game 33. shed (colloq) 35. Lady __ – the People’s Princess 36. cinder 37. “Don’t show your teeth _____ you can bite” 40. in other words (abbrev) 42. stripping bark 44. repulsed 47. “A good day __ clothes” 48. tiny bit 49. “But come _____ they never will, for now I’m sixty-four” DOWN 1. “A hereby, hefty, breezy lot of men ____ ____________” (2 words) 2. “Put your hat and jacket on, tell your mother you won’t __ long” 4. buddy 6. “The boats are tied up at the wharf, they ___ __ ___ ____ June” (4 words) 8. scan www.downhomelife.com
11. reindeer of Newfoundland and Labrador 12. wind direction (colloq) 13. actor Pitt 14. reading, ‘riting. ‘rythmetic (abbrev) 15. bathroom 19. United Nations (abbrev) 20. school association (abbrev) 21. “far as ____ a puffin flew” 22. downhill or cross-country 23. “There’s more meat on ____ Friday” 27. PC operating system 29. sturdy 30. opposite SW 31. “With the wind in the ______ asinging a song” 34. “She’s not lazy, she was born _____” 38. bird bed 39. a Columbus ship 41. “A wild bird never laid a tame ___” 43. Coal Bin from Different Strokes 45. “Up __ the woods or going out the bay” 46. Toogood Arm (abbrev) S A Y I N G J A C K H O W A R E
I D E S O S O O F A A L B
R O W E D A S H O R E F R O M M Y
ANSWERS TO LAST MONTH’S CROSSWORD O R E L N D C B A E M M P A T L A T T R E E N
L E A S K P L Y I C H E D
A D D I L N L I F T E T H Y M E L C C E P O P I L D I L D O D E
August 2020
O F B A Y B O L A O T O N O 139
2008_Puzzles_1701-puzzles 7/7/20 6:34 PM Page 140
DIAL-A-SMILE © 2020 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. _ _____ 2 69663 ___ 226
___ 733
__ 47
___ 946
____ 7297
_______ 8476844
_ _ _ ___ _ 6 4 7 746 4
_ 2
__ 43 _____ 96636
___ 568
Last Month’s Answer: I cook with wine, sometimes I even add it to the food.
CRACK THE CODE
©2020 Ron Young
k
Each symbol represents a letter of the alphabet, for instance =T Try to guess the smaller, more obvious words to come up with the letters for the longer ones. The code changes each month.
_ y
_ _ _ T _ _ T _ _ t ; 7kC 7kC d
_ _
_ _ _ _
m n7 d
T _ _
_ _ _ _ T _ _ T ihC ykC bk _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ C n y i b b 7 m y7 KN _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ t y7 C 7 x ; H n7
nb
kZ C
T _ _ _
kZ nb
_ _ _ _ _ p ;h N d
Last Month’s Answer: Intelligence without ambition is like a bird without wings. 140
August 2020
1-888-588-6353
2008_Puzzles_1701-puzzles 7/7/20 6:34 PM Page 141
Food For Thought
© 2020 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.”
muffin =
_ _ _
Kve
missing =
power =
_ _
_ _
yskz
cellar = _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ K k c pce z
m
ignite =
velvety =
_ _ _ _ _
pIwwz
_ _ _
zw c _ _ _
zw c _ _ _
kc c _ _
zs
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
v yzI pmz c _ _ _
c ws
_ _ _ _ _ _ _
Ieqymp c
_ _
Ik
_ _ _ _ _ _
kpssz w
_ _ _
_ _ _
esz
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
ksp c z wIe w’ _ _
Kc
_ _
mIp
sq _ _
zs _ _ _
Kvz
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
ksp c z wIe w
Last Month’s Answer: The luck of having talent is not enough; one must also have a talent for luck. www.downhomelife.com
August 2020
141
2008_Puzzles_1701-puzzles 7/8/20 11:04 AM Page 142
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 THE MUSGRAVE HARBOUR LOOKOUT
Last Month’s Answers: 1. Hair; 2. Bar stool; 3. Barman; 4. Mainsail; 5. Jacket; 6. Shoe; 7. Bottle; 8. Shirt; 9. Ceiling fan; 10. Lamp; 11. Dart; 12. Mat “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.
142
August 2020
1-888-588-6353
2008_Puzzles_1701-puzzles 7/7/20 6:34 PM Page 143
HIDE & SEEK HOUSE PETS
The words can be across, up, down, backward or at an angle, but always in a line.
KOI LIZARD MOUSE PARROT PARAKEET PIG
BUDGIE CANARY CAT CHINCHILLA COCKATIEL DOG FERRET FROG GECKO GERBIL GOAT GOLDFISH HAMSTER HEDGEHOG IGUANA A J G O A T C V G B Y K A Z J V G Q
T D L Z Q W R A F H R F W A I W O S
S G Q N N T C F S P E F T V S T L F
C A J I S G H J R Q U D E O K E D T
G Z T S D O S C H P J M G G S I F G
D I O O L D T T T M R H C E S I I F
C D X R E E D N I E R A E R N K N I
Last Month’s Answers
A Q I J V J E A Z A Y C N R H P S Y
www.downhomelife.com
T L F G Y Z R W V O Z K R B H O H B
I X L J U A F H H F Y A E I F E G C
B I F I N A I X E L T S O L S R T P
B G V T H O N R P N S U N W T O O Z
A E U D M C R A V M O N R O R R U G
S H A B O G A M O U C J B B O U X X
R L Y O C E N L I Z A R D R V V U R
G O A G A N D E R B E H V B S T F Z
Q E N M B H U R O N D S W A L O I H
A W U W T L W I F X C Q A W J O J T
RABBIT RAT SCORPION SNAKE TARANTULA TURTLE R P O A P H R O Q D A B O Z O H Q S
A E K C B L P Q L P R S K Q M Z U Y
Y S L V A G I P H P A P X N O F Q H
K E E Z M W A O T O I G L J E P U O
R E O D D I C I N W B C E J E U D S
E P A R A K E E T C O P E V K T N A
Y D L V I E S O N K U F J R Y M E F
G N I L L I T T E N J N I O X N C C
V D Q H D R M Z L E I T A K C O C N
W B O I I S V E I R E O Y G A H B S
E B Q Y J E C A J T F G P C S F O C
M P N N I V I Q A X R H F U R S M Y
U G C L T A L S O T I Y L I C A M Y
G E N Y H T I I Z Y U S G G G I U J
A E L O Y A H E B A T K W D I R N Y
V I Z O K U R O M B W A O W V G J D
W E O I A G J I J V A Z S V M G S O
C R Z N I S V G I E F I F P P G N J
K T X N B L V A O O H H X J X H P K
A N Q N U M L S D X N C J R I V A O
T G I E Y O H T D B J V G S R R D R
P P K E H U G H X P W A N J T B G U
Q U B F S A B N F U A Q O E O O H K
I H O D C H N A R K Y L X W Z P E B
D C O R C N T B U I U Y Q W U J E A
S V I K K H J A M T B C X T U E K W
S I T E H T T A X M G B J V X R R W
K K E B W Z Q S K Q J F I N O Q C L
Y R A N A C D K X O S G V L P M C Y
August 2020
I I N A W S K C X T F O Z J J C Q Q
V F A D O G J A E K Y U V Y J D F Y
E N X O O K C E G P P R Y Z T B W X 143
2008photo Finish_0609 Photo Finish 7/8/20 11:27 AM Page 144
photo finish
You Can Take the Girl Out of the Bay…
This is August Willcott, 8, in High Prairie, Alberta. “You can take the Newfie out of Newfoundland, but she will find the Alberta bog/mud hole,” the submitter writes. Leah Willcott High Prairie, AB
Do you have an amazing or funny photo to share? Turn to page 9 to find out how to submit. 144
August 2020
1-888-588-6353
2008-Cover-NL_0609-Cover-NFLD 7/9/20 1:36 PM Page 3
2008-Cover-NL_0609-Cover-NFLD 7/9/20 3:39 PM Page 4
