Vol 34 • No 06
$4.99
November 2021
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Recipes for Diabetes Awareness
Fall Gardening Tips 2022 Calendar Contest Winners
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life is better Published monthly in St. John’s by Downhome Publishing Inc. 43 James Lane, St. John’s, NL, A1E 3H3 Tel: 709-726-5113 • Fax: 709-726-2135 • Toll Free: 1-888-588-6353 E-mail: mail@downhomelife.com Website: www.downhomelife.com Editorial Editor-in-Chief Janice Stuckless Assistant Editor Nicola Ryan Editor Lila Young Art and Production Art Director Vince Marsh Illustrator Mel D’Souza Illustrator Snowden Walters Advertising Sales Account Manager Barbara Young Marketing Director Tiffany Brett
Warehouse Operations Warehouse / Inventory Manager Carol Howell Warehouse Operator Josephine Collins Retail Operations Retail Floor Manager, St. John’s Jackie Rice Retail Floor Manager, Twillingate Donna Keefe Retail Sales Associates Crystal Rose, Jonathon Organ, Elizabeth Gleason, Erin McCarthy, Marissa Little, Elizabeth Gauci, Kim Tucker, Heather Stuckless, Katrina Hynes, Lynette Ings, Stef Burt, Ashley Lane, Sarah Bishop
Finance and Administration Junior Accountant Marlena Grant Accounting Assistant Sandra Gosse
Subscriptions Customer Service Associate Cathy Blundon Customer Service Associate Courtney Ralph Customer Service Associate Loretta Goodyear
Operations Manager, Twillingate Nicole Mehaney
Founding Editor Ron Young Chief Executive Officer/Publisher Grant Young President & Associate Publisher Todd Goodyear 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
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the year ahead
Contents
NOVEMBER 2021
40 And the Winners Are… Find out whose photos earned their spot in the 2022 Downhome Calendar.
50 Natural Boat Builders A student of naval architecture was surprised to learn he was the latest in an esteemed shipbuilding lineage. Nicola Ryan
68 Hiking into History
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greatest generation www.downhomelife.com
The Trails of Valour in St. Lawrence provides not only a great workout, but also a glimpse into a defining moment of the area’s past. Linda Browne
104 Heroes Among Us Join readers in remembering their family members who bravely served in the Second World War. November 2021
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Contents homefront 10 I Dare Say A note from the Editor
NOVEMBER 2021
12 surprise!
12 Letters From Our Readers Newfoundlanders in Nunavut, hooked on hydroponics, and a perfect proposal
18 Pandemic Pictures Young people share their COVID-19 experiences 22 Downhome Tours Readers explore War Memorials with Downhome
24 Why is That? Where does the phrase “jump the shark” come from? Linda Browne
26 Life’s Funny Stress Test Sharon Hurd
27 Say What? A contest that puts words in someone else’s mouth
28 Lil Charmers Seafaring Sweeties
24 ayyyy!
30 Pets of the Month It Takes Two 32 Reviewed Denise Flint reviews New Girl in Little Cove and interviews the author, Damhnait Monaghan
34 What Odds Paul Warford takes us behind the scenes 36 Fresh Tracks Wendy Rose chats with Shantyman Séan McCann about his new album
28 fun at sea
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56 retracing a legend
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flags of honour
features 56 Following Farley A sailing couple explores Newfoundland’s south coast, retracing the path of a legendary writer. Linda Browne
62 Hometown Heroes How the Honour Our Veterans banner program remembers those who served. Connie Boland
explore 74 Picture Perfect The story behind one of the most photographed churches in Newfoundland and Labrador. Marie-Beth Wright 78 Our Viking Voyage Norway expats make a special visit to L’Anse aux Meadows Elsa Aase www.downhomelife.com
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Contents
NOVEMBER 2021
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eating smart
home and cabin 82 Stuff We Love Crafting Kits Nicola Ryan
84 Getting Cosy Interior designer Marie Bishop has tips on making a comfy place to cuddle up. 86 Todd’s Table Braised Beef Short Ribs Todd Goodyear 90 Everyday Recipes Diabetes Awareness Month
96 It’s Good to Go Wild Excellent excuses to skip fall yard work Todd Hollett 100 Down to Earth Questions and
82 get crafty
Answers for Fall Gardeners Kim Thistle 6
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a survivor’s tale
120 guy fox night
reminiscing About the cover This serene image of St. Luke’s Anglican Church in Newtown, NL, was taken by reader David Purchase. While the exterior of this church is very familiar to many, the rich history of it may be less known. Find out more beginning on p. 74.
Cover Index The Shantyman Returns • 36 Heroes Among Us • 104 Picture Perfect • 74 Recipes for Diabetes Awareness • 90 Fall Gardening Tips • 100 2022 Calendar Contest Winners • 40 www.downhomelife.com
114 Torpedoed! A firsthand account of being attacked at sea during WWII. Robert Hunt
120 Visions and Vignettes Adventures with two young scalawags in an imaginary outport of days gone by. Harold N. Walters
126 Puzzles 138 Classifieds 140 Mail Order 144 Photo Finish November 2021
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See the winners of our 2022 Downhome Calendar Contest! Page 40
Qualify for the Early Bird prize of the 2023 Downhome Calendar Contest Enter before November 30 at DownhomeLife.com/calendar
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Get started on your holiday crafts. Ideas on page 82.
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Puzzles Got You Stumped? Sneak a peek at the answers at Downhomelife.com/puzzles.
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Submission Guidelines and Prize Rules
You could WIN $100! Every reader whose PHOTO, STORY, JOKE or POEM appears next to this yellow “from our readers” stamp in a current issue receives $10 and a chance at being drawn for the monthly prize: $100 for one photo submission and $100 for one written submission. Prizes are awarded in Downhome Dollars certificates, which can be spent like cash in our retail stores and online at shopDownhome.com.*
Submit Today! Send your photo, story, joke or poem to
Downhome, 43 James Lane, St. John’s, NL, A1E 3H3 or submit online at: www.downhomelife.com *Only 1 prize per submitter per month. To receive their prize, submitters must provide with their submission COMPLETE contact information: full name, mailing address, phone number and email address (if you have one). Mailed submissions will only be returned to those who include a self-addressed, stamped envelope. Downhome Inc. reserves the right to publish submissions in future print and/or electronic media campaigns. Downhome Inc. is not responsible for unsolicited material.
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 43 James Lane St. John’s, NL, A1E 3H3
mail@downhomelife.com www.downhomelife.com Deadline for replies is the end of each month.
Congratulations to Ginny Barrett of Mount Hope, ON, who found Corky on pg. 81 of the September issue.
*No Phone Calls Please. One entry per person
www.downhomelife.com
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i dare say If this pandemic has taught us anything, it is that we are all connected. Think about it, a microscopic parasite travelled around the globe in a matter of months infecting millions just by hopping from person to person. A COVID-19 case in St. John’s, NL, could be traced back to someone in London, UK, a day or two before. The virus you got today killed someone in Rio de Janeiro a few weeks ago. As the infection spread, it brought countries together for a single cause, to defeat a common enemy. While governments, agencies and organizations funded and organized a response, individuals were asked to step up to protect themselves and others. Sound familiar? It might if you were alive during the First or Second World War. Family members and neighbours were volunteering for the front lines. Regular tallies of the injured and dead made headlines. News from faraway lands was hitting very close to home; what happened halfway around the world could ripple all the way to you. Regular citizens were asked to black out their windows, report any strange activity and send packages of support to boost morale. Everyone was encouraged to do their part to aid the fight for the greater good. This month as we remember those men and women who served and who died, honour their sacrifices and respect the privileges we have at their expense. When you’re asked to protect yourself, your children and your neighbour from a virus that threatens us all, step up. Get vaccinated, wear a mask, do your part. When this pandemic goes down in history, how do you want to be remembered? Thanks for reading,
Janice Stuckless, Editor-in-chief janice@downhomelife.com
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Newfie Proposal
With restrictions lifted, we finally had the chance to “head home” and visit family during August 2021. I was blessed to be able to travel with my spouse and his boys, and one of my sons and his girlfriend. It was going to be a great trip! The younger boys had no idea that one of their stepbrothers and his girlfriend were going to be meeting us in Newfoundland. For weeks, we worked hard trying to organize everything and keep the big surprise under wraps. We had rented two trailers in Norris Point for our first night. The plan was that the older siblings would hide inside our trailer and surprise the boys (they had left home a couple days earlier and drove to Newfoundland, while the rest of us flew into Deer Lake). The boys opened the door of the trailer and were speechless when they saw their special surprise inside. They were so genuinely excited! Our next stop, on our way to Conche, is one of our family favourites, The Arches Provincial Park. My son decided that this was the perfect spot to ask his girlfriend to marry him. Luckily, we were put in charge of pictures, which meant that we got to witness this awesome Newfie proposal from a distance. Once we were sure that she said YES, we got to play around and take some family pictures, too. Our Summer 2021 trip will always be a special one! Trena Byrne Vankleek Hill, ON
Congratulations on the happy event. Will there be a Newfie wedding, too? 12
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Pearson’s Peak Thank you for your piece in “Letters from Our Readers” on Pearson’s Peak in your October 2021 edition. I remember it well. I visited it on many occasions with my dad, as it is just west of Leech Brook, a popular swimming hole in Central. On our #ROADTRIP2021, my wife Diane and I drove from Fort McMurray to St John’s, through the Trans Labrador Highway and back through Port aux Basques. We visited the spot and the monument is no longer there. The reason, I understand, why it’s been taken down was because of the elements and it became a safety hazard for people visiting there. Two interesting points about this monument: 1) it was erected for the completion of the Trans-Canada Highway in Newfoundland, and 2) my dad worked with the Department of Transportation and he brought the stone from Clarenville for the erection of this monument. Also it was erected in honour of Prime Minister Pearson, and there would be signs that I remember across the island that said the following: “We will finish the drive in ’65 thanks to Mr. Pearson.” I remember seeing that jingle in an old book that categories hospitals, schools and road construction in Newfoundland, probably produced in 1967 to commemorate Confederation. Joe Champion Fort McMurray, AB (formerly of Grand Falls-Windsor, NL)
Do you remember the second part to that jingle, added later as satirical commentary on the perpetual highway construction? “Finish the drive in ’65; start the fix in ’66!” www.downhomelife.com
Newfoundlanders in Nunavut I am a public health nurse from Logy Bay, NL, and my colleague is a licensed practical nurse from Grand Falls-Windsor, NL, who lives in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. We have been travelling to communities across Nunavut with COVID-19 vaccines since January 2021, administering to the residents. Joan Veitch Via DownhomeLife.com
A genuine thank you to all the frontline workers during this ongoing pandemic. Vaccines have proven to be a game changer in this fight, so thank you, Joan and your team, and all the other healthcare professionals for working tirelessly to help protect everyone. In this photo from Joan, taken in September at Baker Lake Health Centre, are (l-r) Roger Gillard, paramedic, from Lewisporte, NL; Tracy Quinangnaq, clerk/interpretor, from Baker Lake, NU; and Alex Baggs, paramedic, from Lewisporte, NL. November 2021
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Spectacular Sunrise
Sometimes waking early has its perks – like witnessing this stunning sunrise over Trinity Bay from our home in Long Beach. Lynette Peach Long Beach, NL
What a gorgeous start to the day. Thanks for the photo, Lynette. This recently shared photo is one of thousands in our reader gallery at DownhomeLife.com, where you can lose yourself in all the Newfoundland and Labrador images and even add your own (and maybe see it published in the magazine someday).
Hooked on Hydroponics Of course I look forward to reading Downhome magazine as soon as it arrives each month at my home. I just now read with great interest the article entitled “Fresh Startup” [October 2021], about the Budden father-andson hydroponic farm. For the past three years, my hobby has been a small hydroponic grow room set up in my basement. On a much smaller scale, I have successfully grown tomatoes, beans, peppers, cucumbers and lettuce. I usually shut it down for summer months in order to grow outside. 14
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I am now in the process of getting things going again for the winter months. It’s a fantastic hobby, and I was delighted to read about the Budden Living Water Farm on a much larger scale. I wish them every success. Wally Collett Via email
Growing food is a rewarding hobby and, as you know, you don’t need a lot of space to get into it. Just think, with one tomato plant alone, you can produce one-third of your next BLT! 1-888-588-6353
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First Copy
Goose Bay
At the urging of my Newfie spouse, I bought my first copy of Downhome while on vacation. Loved it so much I now have a subscription! Sandra Robitaille Ontario
Welcome to the subscriber family, Sandra. Here’s the photo you sent of yourself with the September issue (your first subscriber issue!) at Wollaston Lake, ON.
Wonderful Magazine This letter is to acknowledge the wonderful magazine that has been created by your staff. The informative articles, recipes, gardening tips, historical data and stories, ponies and local colour add to the interest. I read 98 per cent of your magazine. The magazine on Labrador [Inside Labrador] is spectacular. Thank you for two wonderful magazines. I will be reordering in the future.
www.cafconnection.ca gbmfrc@nf.sympatico.ca P.O. Box 69, Station C Goose Bay, NL A0P-1C0 (709) 896-6900 ext.6060 (709) 896-6916 (fax)
%'.'$4#6+0)
;'#45
J.E. Molaro Via DownhomeLife.com
Thanks for your support. The big thing that sets us apart from other magazines is the incredible reader involvement. Please see page 9 to learn how easy it is to get involved and how you could be rewarded. www.downhomelife.com
November 2021
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Mystery Object
Shortly after we published the October issue with this photo from a reader in Bay Roberts looking to identify this strange found object, we heard from several readers who knew exactly what it was! Here are some of the responses.
I own one! It is inscribed with: “A Nutbrown Product, Made in England. REG.DES 780708, REG.DES 814552.” It is a cookie cutter and cuts beautiful oval cookies; just keep rolling. Marianne Crozier Via email
As I scrolled through the new October issue of Downhome, I paused at the “Unknown Found Object.” I could feel it in my hand and wondered why. My husband was waiting to look at the berry recipes, and I asked him why it seemed so familiar. He said it is for cutting cookies or pastry, about 4-inch circles, for making small meat pies or berry pies. A few years ago my husband gave me a similar device for cutting lattice for berry pies. (We have lots of chokecherries, highbush cranberries and wild apples ideal for pies.) Picture rolling pastry out on a big chopping board, then rolling the cutter across to quickly cut little pie shells and lids. Great idea. Peggy Hutchison Singhampton, ON
Dear readers, Would you like to comment on something you’ve read in Downhome? Do you have a question for the editors or for other readers? Submit your letter to the editor at DownhomeLife.com/letters or write to us at 43 James Lane, St. John’s, NL, A1E 3H3.
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Sponsored Editorial
Equestrian Canada national horse show judge, Jane Heatherington, visits with ponies at Government House.
What a Year it has Been! 2021 has been a great year for the Newfoundland Pony and it’s not over yet. We want to thank everyone who donated, adopted, visited a pasture, met a Pony, took out an NPS membership – and much more. Our Newfoundland Ponies stepped up when we needed them most and were a source of calm for many during the pandemic. Many people made it out to Government House grounds to see the 2 new members of the RNC mounted unit, Katie’s Rose and Cara’s Midnight. Beautiful Change Islands and the Pony Sanctuary there run by Netta Ledrew was also a popular spot this year. And of course, Cupids and the NL Pony Pals group had a record number of people trekking in to see the ponies on their pasture, including Greg Malone who enjoyed a ride on Stryder, owned by Tammy Webber. We are working on the electrical and well at the future Newfoundland Pony Heritage Park and can’t say enough about the awesome 37 Combat Engineer Regiment who did the fencing for us last summer.
Tyler Peckford with Newfoundland Pony, Frankie, in Georges Point, NL
There are pony owners across the province, in Canada and the U.S. who are doing so much to help preserve the Newfoundland Pony. They put in endless hours taking care of their animals, greeting visitors, paying vet bills and often helping in rescues. We want to recognise their efforts and hard work. It has been stated that “The Newfoundland Pony went from Necessity, to Nuisance, to Nostalgia in a matter of years.” We are working hard to preserve the pony and keep them here for future generations to enjoy, in their homeland, where they evolved. We need your ongoing support to do that. We hope to see you on a pasture soon and encourage you to get involved.
Doreen Wells gets up close with Newfoundland Ponies on the Swansea Pasture in Victoria, NL.
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This is the final installment of Pandemic Pictures. Thank you to all the young people under 20 who submitted their artwork and stories this year for this special look at how the COVID-19 pandemic affected you.
Carly Furlong, 9, Port aux Basques, NL
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Laura Green, Grade 4, Riverside Elementary, Clarenville, NL
Kiera Porter, Grade 4, Riverside Elementary, Clarenville, NL
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November 2021
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Andrie Ocampo, Grade 4, Riverside Elementary, Clarenville, NL
Joshua Blanchard, 6, St. John’s, NL
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Ryden McKay, Grade 4, Riverside Elementary, Clarenville, NL Ryden explains his art: “During the COVID-19 pandemic, you would have to carry a lot of stuff. For example, dealing with being in lockdown, not being able to see your family and go out and do things you’d normally do. The box that the person is carrying is showing the idea of feeling like you’re stuck in a box. Each colour represents all the emotions a person would go through. The blue means sad, the green means happy, the orange means so-so, the pink means glad, the red means mad, and the brown means bummed out. This artwork is using the famous techniques created by artist Keith Haring, but uniquely created by ME.”
Maria Blanchard, 8, St. John’s, NL
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homefront Downhome tours...
War Memorials
Canadian National Vimy Memorial Garry and Linda Cox of Parksville, BC, visited the Canadian National Vimy Memorial to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Great War.
Designed by Canadian sculptor and architect Walter Seymour Allward, the Canadian National Vimy Memorial in Givenchy-en-Gohelle, France, honours all Canadians who served in the First World War. Constructed from limestone, the two pylons signifying Canada and France are adorned with figures representing the universal virtues of faith, justice, peace, honour, truth and hope. 22
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Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial “My trip to Normandy, France was beautiful and emotional,” writes Ken Miller of Oklahoma. He’s pictured here at the American Cemetery and Memorial in Colleville-sur-Mer near the site of the D-Day landings.
Located on a bluff overlooking Omaha Beach, the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial covers 172.5 acres, and honours American troops who died in Europe during WWII. Dedicated in 1956, it is the most visited cemetery run by the American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC), with over one million visitors a year.
Florence War Cemetery Sandy and Cliff Peckford of Cobourg, ON, travelled to Italy in 2019. “We are at the grave of my dad, trooper Raymond Oates, at the Florence War Cemetery,” writes Sandy. “He was killed September 12, 1944, at the age of 22.”
The Liberation of Italy campaign involved Allied and Axis operations in and around Italy from 1943 to 1945. The Florence War Cemetery, a Commonwealth War Graves Commission site, is located near Florence close to the Arno River. Most of those buried in this peaceful place lost their lives in the fighting from July to September 1944. www.downhomelife.com
November 2021
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Expert answers to common life questions. By Linda Browne
Where does the phrase “jump the shark” come from? There are many odd phrases we use in our day-to-day, some of them slipping out of our mouths without us even realizing what we’re saying or why. For instance, have you ever noticed your favourite sitcom starting to decline in quality and lamented that it’s “jumped the shark”? What does shark jumping have to do with something losing its lustre? Unlike so many other idioms whose origins are often difficult to trace, we know exactly where this particular saying comes from, says Robert Thompson, trustee professor of television and popular culture at the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University in New York (and who the Associated Press has called a “pop culture ambassador”). Specifically speaking, it hails from the first episode of the fifth season of “Happy Days,” which aired in 1977. In that episode, the leather jacket-clad Arthur Fonzarelli, aka “The Fonz,” straps on a pair of water skis and literally jumps over a shark in response to a dare. The saying came into being in the mid ’80s, when University of Michigan student Jon Hein (who later 24
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became a radio personality and ended up working with “The Howard Stern Show”) and his roommate were discussing TV shows “and when they started to go bad, and they referred to that episode,” says Thompson during a recent phone interview. The phrase really started to pick up steam, he says, in 1997, when Hein created JumpTheShark.com, a website dedicated to tracing the moment when popular TV shows start to go downhill. (Hein later sold the website to TV Guide, to which it now redirects.) A few years later, Hein wrote the book Jump the Shark: When Good Things Go Bad (which, in addition to TV shows, looks at when musicians, sports teams, politicians and pop culture icons start to take a nosedive). He followed up that publication with 1-888-588-6353
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Jump the Shark: TV Edition, which 20 years earlier...when you mention further entrenched the phrase into the that episode of Fonzie, who’s supposed to be this cool guy, jumping public consciousness. As for how this saying crossed the over (a shark) on water skis, you could border and spread elsewhere (and say, yeah, that’s a pretty good descripwhy it’s still used today, four decades tion of when that show had gotten after the episode originally aired), it’s positively bizarre.” While the origins of so many other simply because it’s so efficient and idioms are lost to time, Thompson effective, Thompson says. “I think in this case, it described in a says, “this is still new enough that an awful lot of people who use quick three words something ‘jump the shark’ can that so needed a descripactually give you its tion. Everybody at origin story.” that point knew of a “Jump the television show shark” is one of that they used to those phrases like and then it that has crossed got really either generational bad, or weird, lines, with difor long in the ferent age groups tooth, or whatincorporating it ever, and someinto their vocabutimes it would have lary. Whether it will certain moments – become one of those they’d bring in a new classic idioms that child, for example. continues to be used They did it in ‘The The Fonz “Jumps the Shark” in the classic in the future, by peoBrady Bunch,’ they did episode of Happy Days ple who perhaps aren’t it in ‘The Partridge ABC Television familiar with where it Family,’ they did it on ‘The Cosby Show’ ...Everybody knows comes from, remains to be seen, that one of the properties of ongoing Thompson says. But one thing that’s series television is that it’s subject to not in question, he adds, is the phrase’s the ravages of time. Actors get older, versatility. Practically anything is at the premise wears out, change hap- risk of “jumping the shark” – even ourselves. And as someone who’s recently pens,” he says. “And I think when that phrase had a couple of visits to the doctor, and started to be used, for one thing, it was who finds it “harder and harder to get kind of cute. A lot of people in 1997 up because of my knees,” Thompson would have known about ‘Happy says, “I guess I must confess that I, too, Days,’ even though the show was on have jumped the shark.”
Do you have a burning life question for Linda to investigate?
Turn to page 9 for ways to contact us. www.downhomelife.com
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homefront life’s funny
Stress Test My husband woke up and found his arm was red and itchy. I told him I thought it was poison ivy. He said he hadn’t been near it, but he was complaining so much I told him to go to emergency and get them to check it out. I was returning from walking the dog when I met my husband in the driveway. He’d just returned from the hospital. I asked, “What did they say?” “The intern said it was shingles.” I said, “No way. Do you have pain?” “No,” he said, but he had stress, which can trigger shingles. “You don’t have stress!” I said. He said, “Yes I do. She just walked up the driveway!” Sharon Hurd Holland Centre, 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.
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ain?” g a s r e v o t f e L “ nchinton M. Me – Michelle
Say WHAT? Downhome recently posted this photo (submitted by Alick Tsui) on our website and social media platforms and asked folks to imagine what this baby gannet might be saying. Michelle M. Menchinton’s response made us chuckle the most, so we’re awarding her 20 Downhome Dollars!
Here are the runners-up: “No wonder you are so loud, you’re all tongue.” – Hernanda Perrier “I’m so hungry I could pick the food right outta yer teeth.” – Robin Cuff “Are you sure this is where your keys are?” – Steve Spracklin
Play with us online! www.downhomelife.com/saywhat
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homefront lil charmers
Picture Perfect This cutie is amazed by the fun-loving dolphins off Point May. Christina Pye Irishtown, NL
seafaring sweeties Icebergs Ahoy! Emily is tickled to see an iceberg for the first time. Jennifer Galliott via DownhomeLife.com
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Bird’s Eye View A friendly gull keeps William company as he checks lobster traps in Musgrave Harbour. Jocelyn Rogers Musgrave Harbour, NL
King Cod
Jonah’s smile is almost as big as the giant cod he hooked! Jonah Green Greens Harbour, NL
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homefront pets of the month
it takes two Double Trouble Rocky and Rambo are a knockout duo. Chelsea Brewer Sunnyside, NL
Royal Pair Queen Xeenie & King Xero show off their tartan bandanas. Nicole Marsden Corner Brook, NL
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Twice as Nice Marley and Parker curl up together for an afternoon nap. Kylie Goodyear St. John’s, NL
Trail Twinsies Charlie and Lucy enjoy a walk at Cobbs Pond Park in Gander. Jeanine Collins Grand Falls-Windsor, NL
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reviewed by Denise Flint
New Girl in Little Cove Damhnait Monaghan Harper Collins $23.99
It’s the 1980s and rural Newfoundland is both miles and worlds away
from urban Ontario. When Rachel O’Brien’s life crashes into pieces around her, the newly minted teacher and Torontonian fetches up in Little Cove, teaching French in a tiny outport somewhere around the bay. That’s the hook behind New Girl in Little Cove, Damhnait Monaghan’s debut novel. Rachel can’t help but display her utter ignorance when it comes to the culture and heritage of Newfoundland. Her Ontario-centred worldview automatically causes her to assume that her purpose is to make the children in her classroom conform to what she considers the right and proper way to do things, including how to speak English. Fortunately, like her students, Rachel can be taught. By the end of the book she has not only learned to appreciate the unique Newfoundland dialect and word construction, she’s learned that it is every bit as valid as her own take on English. And she’s learned not only how to adapt to her new home, but also how to love pretty much everything about it. She even manages to show some of her disaffected students the value of things they’ve taken for granted, or even disdained, in their own backyard. The best word to describe this book is probably charming. Some events that seem inevitable never occur and others peter out. Generally speaking, though, it’s a nice story with people the reader is happy to root for, and the satisfying conclusion wraps it up nicely.
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Q&A with the Author Denise Flint: Why did you decide to set a book in Newfoundland? What is your connection to Newfoundland? Damhnait Monaghan: I am originally from Ontario, but my mom and us four kids moved out [to Newfoundland] when I was in Grade 7 and then we moved back to Ontario, and then back to Newfoundland. I did my last year in high school there, and then I went to Memorial and then taught around the bay. I left and moved back to Ontario, but the thing about Newfoundland is that it sticks in your heart. I went back and visited quite a few times. I have family and friends there, and I always wanted to set a novel there. I did a creative writing degree in England, and I thought I really want to write about Newfoundland, but it makes a better story to make an outsider go there and not really get it, and then fall in love with it.
DF: How did you choose the time period? DM: I chose the time period for two reasons. [One,] that was when I lived and taught there, but also I felt that it would make a better story if Rachel wasn’t texting her friends and mother. She’s completely isolated and has to get along with these people in a really small, close-knit community.
DF: You say you started this story 10 years ago. What brought you back to it? DM: I started it as the dissertation for my master’s in creative writing – the first 10,000 words. I think it was partly imposter syndrome; and partly, www.downhomelife.com
when I did finish it, I queried a bunch of agents but ultimately it didn’t go anywhere, so I shelved it and started writing other things. But I really wanted to tell this story, and the character was talking in my ear all the time. So I went back to it in 2019, and made it much lighter; before, it was leaning towards literary fiction. I cut out a bunch of characters and made it focus on Little Cove and the characters there. The heart was still there, but the story really changed.
DF: How closely does the book mirror your own experiences in Newfoundland? DM: I would say it was inspired by my experiences. I did teach around the bay, but I wasn’t new to the province so I was very okay with the Newfoundland way of life. I lived in a boarding house, but that was different. As soon as the bell rang on Friday I left to go to St. John’s. There were things that happened to me that were in the book: I was asked to say “seal” in French, I had discipline problems, I loved the Newfoundland Dictionary. I didn’t save a dog or hook rugs.
DF: Does New Girl in Little Cove have a message? What is it? DM: I think the message is kind of like the importance of community and human connection, and I think maybe that has become more pertinent because of the pandemic. I had people write to tell me they found it comforting to read something where connection was important and getting along with your community is important. The importance of community, I guess. November 2021
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what odds
behind the scenes By Paul Warford
It’s kinda like summer camp for adults, but it’s also a little like prison.
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The windshield splinters as her body connects with it. She hits the car roof before toppling from the vehicle and landing crumpled on the asphalt as the car speeds away. I watch in awe on the cellphone screen, and after I ask to watch the video again, I can’t help but say, “I could never do your job.” Brianna Goldie is a model and a stunt woman. We’re chatting in a St. John’s parking lot while she’s waiting to do her next scene. I’m working on the film set as the COVID Compliance Officer, a small-but-mighty role needed for checking everyone’s daily temperature and handing out masks as needed. Brianna is here from Toronto to do a water scene. She tells me she did stunts for Suicide Squad – a pretty big deal Hollywood movie – and I’m obviously impressed. The car stunt in the video is one she did for a TV show on Global. She explains that the tricky part about the car stunt is rolling off the roof once she’s up there. If she doesn’t use her own momentum to roll from the top of the car, she’ll simply stay up there as the car keeps moving. She tells me that rolling off is the most dangerous part. She says, “If you do it wrong, you’re going under.” There’s a sombre silence for just a second after she says this. She’s a new mom, and obviously a brave one. I dispensed masks and took temperatures for two weeks. The work schedule was as ludicrous as it was lucrative; 12-hour days were a given, and more often I was “on set” for 13 or 14. After a few days, I tried to put the experience into words while chit-chatting with new co-workers. “It’s kinda like summer camp for adults, but it’s also a little like prison.” I never did quite get my finger on the pulse of it, and I suppose that’s because filmmaking is a one-of-a-kind thing. 1-888-588-6353
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Where else are you going to simultaneously work with electricians, dog trainers, divers and – hey, isn’t that the guy from “Will & Grace”? For weeks, all I did was sleep and exist in this bizarre purgatory, and I loved most every minute of it. I say “most” because one or two nights were typical chilly September evenings, and I was froze and waiting to go home. I learned a very important industry term on those days: “Window!” It means the last shot of the evening. Once that’s done, we all go home. Of course, we still leave at staggered times. The filming might be done, but there’s still a million-watt light suspended from a Skyjack across the harbour. Someone has to turn that off before we hit the hay. I don’t know how many watts it actually was, but it’s the brightest light I’ve ever squinted at; a “working light” to find our way in the dark. The large and talented team was composed of Newfoundlanders and Torontonians, all consummate pros in their own right, fused into one entity for the sake of getting this thing done. We filmed on the day Hurricane Larry came blowin’ into town. Eddie Sheerr told us all Larry would arrive around 9:00 p.m., so the crew made the decision to film up until then. Meanwhile, I’m thinking to myself, “These poor mainlanders don’t realize everything will be blowing away long before Larry actually makes landfall.” The joke was
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on me in the end. We made it all the way through the day without losing a single diffuser. It was then that I started to understand the immense pressure these producers must be under. There are actors and crew here from away. They need to be fed and accommodated and flown back. I’m sure you’ve had to reschedule a flight, or you know someone who has, so you know how expensive that can be. If they can’t get the shots they want in time, they’ll have to change the flight dates for dozens of people, plus more food, plus more accommodations… On the final day, I went to George Street with many of my newfound mainland friends: hair stylists, makeup artists and boom operators. We danced and drank with a shared satisfied exhaustion. Through the whole experience I found myself thinking of the filmmaking team I’m already a part of, those local spooky horror boys of Grind Mind. I gained what knowledge I could to “take it back to the Grind,” hoping the entire time this will one day be our career. Paul Warford began writing for Downhome to impress his mom and her friends. He writes and performs comedy in Eastern Canada. Follow him on Twitter @paulwarford
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fresh tracks
new music talk with Wendy Rose
Shantyman Séan McCann
“MY LIFE IN MUSIC has taught me that a song has the power to
change the world... one mind at a time.” Séan McCann delivered this impressive line to an interview with Memorial University in 2014, and in 2021, it still packs a pensive punch.
The first Great Big Sea show took place at McCann’s alma mater Memorial University in 1993, and nearly 30 years later, the legendary Shantyman continues to create. On September 6, 2021, he launched his latest musical offering. Shantyman is a full-length album of collected sea shanties, recorded with a stellar crew of internationally renowned musicians. The album opens with “Shantyman’s Life,” with heavy electric guitar riffs immediately dispelling any ideas of what you think you might know about sea shanties. There’s a different kind of heaviness to this opener – not the usual sadness one may associate with folk ballads of the sort. 36
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Next is a classic song for the seafaring folks, “10,000 Miles Away.” It has it all: nautical terminology, broken hearts, long-distance love, immeasurably hard work and shore leave excitement. The album’s third track, “Rolling Sea” surprisingly has a reggae vibe – perhaps a direct influence of Gordie Johnson of Big Sugar, a best-selling Canadian reggae-rock band. Johnson mixed the album and threw in some electric slide guitar to boot. Chugging along, simplistic whistling melodies get this song stuck in your head immediately. “Deep Blue Sea” brings softer vocal stylings, traditional fiddle and a merry musical interlude. “Chariot,” meanwhile, feels like more of a fun, funky singalong song that you’d hear in 1-888-588-6353
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THE AVERAGE WORKING MAN can connect to these sea shanties as they spin tales of perseverance, endurance, and the true-blue will to work hard to create something better for one’s self, one’s family or the world around us. an old-timey pub. “We’d be alright if the wind was in our sails,” McCann chants as the song begins, a sentence that rings true for many these past couple of years. “A shot in the arm wouldn’t do us any harm,” he continues, seeming to make a very direct reference to COVID-19 vaccinations. “Lonesome Sea” and “Go To Sea No More” predictably tell stories of a pelagic lifestyle, but have different deliveries; while ultra-catchy “Fire Down Below” is a droll, lustful number about a local lady. Fans of Rum Ragged’s “Ladies Man” will enjoy this one for sure. The album continues with alternative folk/pop song “The Bold Fisherman,” and finishes with “On The Water” – “Let the music set me free,” McCann sings on the chorus. One thing to note is McCann’s striking ability to have two distinct vocal stylings. Sometimes McCann sings softly, sometimes he shouts. This is especially impressive considering McCann’s well-known struggles with his voice, having undergone throat surgery in 2015. In a strange coincidence, this writer was actually one of the last people to www.downhomelife.com
speak with McCann prior to that surgery. While chatting about You Know I Love You, his then-new album and songbook, he shockingly joked about how legendary that interview would be if he ended up mute later – a highpressure day in the office for a somewhat green journalist. Yet, hard work and working together seems to be a bit of a theme on this album, and speaks to McCann’s decision to release this album on Labour Day. The average working man can connect to these sea shanties as they spin tales of perseverance, endurance, and the trueblue will to work hard to create something better for one’s self, one’s family or the world around us. McCann arguably is creating something intended for a worldwide audience with this album. During a year when sea shanties went viral on TikTok, McCann’s timeless tunes feel exceptionally relevant, and perhaps engaging to an entirely new (much younger) audience. Welcome to the sea shanty revival! Shantyman, is available digitally and on CD through Sean’s website SeanMcCannSings.com, and will not be available on streaming services. November 2021
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Q&A with the Artist
Wendy Rose: Your new album Shantyman, save for one original, features traditional tunes. What drew you to these particular songs and made you want to put your own spin on them? Séan McCann: I’ve been a fairly active folklorist for most of my adult life and was actually known as “The Shantyman” in Great Big Sea because of some of the great old songs I brought to the band. But folk music for me was always much more than just a collectible in a library archive. It was something very vibrant and alive. These songs have survived so long because they have great stories and strong melodies. Shanties, in particular, were designed to help people accomplish very difficult tasks by singing loudly together and in time. 38
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Conquering COVID has proven to be the most difficult challenge humanity has faced in centuries, and we will only be successful if we all work together. These songs helped me get through the winter, and I believe they have the power to help us with the heavy lifting as we all continue to move forward.
WR: This new album is described as being “forged in my home studio and recorded mostly remotely.” Can you tell us a little about that process, and how (or if) it differed from your usual recording style? SM: There’s nothing more fun than playing live in a room with other musicians, but that was simply not an option during our COVID winter, so 1-888-588-6353
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we decided to proceed digitally and individually across thousands of miles of WiFi connection. I recorded all the vocals, acoustic guitars, bodhráns and tin whistles in Ottawa, and sent those tracks over to Hawksley in Peterborough, who proceeded to add drums and bass and some other really cool sounds I would never have thought of. When he was done, I sent the new mixes over to J.P. Cormier to add some extremely cool Celtic/ Appalachian fiddles. And finally, I sent the entire kit and caboodle down to Austin, Texas, where Gordie (Big Sugarman) Johnson supplied some loud electric slide guitars and some even louder studio mixes. Shanties do not happen by themselves, and I’m really grateful for the energy and dedication all my friends brought to this labour of love.
WR: There are some big names included on this album – Hawksley Workman, Gordie Johnson of Big Sugar, Jeremy Fisher, J.P. Cormier... How did you and these artists work together while staying apart? SM: I researched, arranged and recorded the entire record in my home studio by myself in January/February, and my initial plan was to release this gritty little personal “pandemic project.” As the songs took shape, I began to realize I was actually making a real record and that the work deserved more than I could sonically supply by myself. A good singer knows that his/her job is to “serve the song,” so I reached out to the very best in what’s left of this music “business” to help me bring these great songs to their full potential. www.downhomelife.com
WR: After over a year and a half, it must feel somewhat strange to be heading on a Maritime tour in October... What kind of emotions are you feeling about getting back out on the road with crowds of fans? SM: I’ve been in recovery for almost 10 years, and the success of my sobriety has been largely due to the love and respect of the many who come out to support my solo shows and musical keynote performances. Music is strong medicine, and after the last 18 months of isolation, I feel like we really need music now more than ever to recover from the trail of negative mental health impacts COVID will inevitably leave in its wake. Personally, I just can’t wait to get back on stage and blow the faces right off the front row. I am the Shantyman. I was born to sing.
WR: Speaking of fans... Can we expect some Newfoundland dates later in the fall? SM: I love Newfoundland. Every time I get invited back East to perform, I always reach out to everyone I know in Newfoundland to see what might be done while I’m in the area. On my last visit in 2019, I volunteered to speak at the Provincial Youth Conference and shared my truth with the inmates and fellow addicts of Her Majesty’s Penitentiary, which is desperately in need of an upgrade. I would love to be invited back to do a Shantyman concert someday.
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And the Winners are... The photographers didn’t make this an easy job when Downhome staff assembled to choose the 13 winning photos for the 2022 Downhome Calendar. We were blessed with an enormous selection of scenes, landmarks, animals, people and activities, from all seasons and all over Newfoundland and Labrador. Thank you to everyone who entered. To our winners, congratulations! You will receive 10 complimentary copies of the calendar to share with friends and family, and a one-year membership to Downhome. And of course, bragging rights! Turn to page 48 to find out how you can be in the running for the 2023 Calendar Contest.
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Sandbanks Provincial Park Julie Baggs
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January Winner Ryan Premises National Historic Site, Bonavista Sheldon Hicks
February Winner Wreckhouse in Winter Kathy Savoury 42
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March Winner Sunset over Noels Harbour, Port au Choix Karla Gould
April Winner Inuksuk at Sandy Cove Beach, Elliston Cory Babstock www.downhomelife.com
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May Winner Bonavista Perspective Barry Langdon
June Winner Atlantic Puffin Harold Feiertag 44
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July Winner George’s Cove, Labrador Kim Russell
August Winner Harbour View of The Battery Stephanie Linthorne www.downhomelife.com
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September Winner The Root Cellar Brenda Voisey
October Winner Point Riche Caribou Trinda Hamlyn 46
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November Winner Evening Fire in Lobstick, Labrador Dominique Andrews
December Winner Christmas in Bareneed Robert Carter www.downhomelife.com
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We’re wasting no time preparing for the next Downhome Calendar, . . . and neither should you! 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, animals, laundry lines, historic sites, seascapes, hilltop views, and so much more – and photos from all four seasons.
And you could win right away! Downhome staff will select four 2023 Calendar Contest entries submitted November 1-30, 2021 to be put to a public vote at Downhomelife.com. The photo that receives the most votes will be turned into a postcard. The lucky photographer will receive 10 postcards and $50 Downhome Dollars, gift certificates that can be used like cash to purchase products from Downhome Shoppe locations and online at ShopDownhome.com.
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, file 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.
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features
A student of naval architecture was surprised to learn he was the latest in an esteemed shipbuilding lineage. BY NICOLA RYAN
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HOIST the sails
and steer your imagination back in time to New Harbour, Trinity Bay, 220 years ago. Boats of all sizes crowd the shoreline and Charles Newhook, master shipbuilder, and his crew are in the midst of constructing a new vessel. The scent of freshly chopped wood mingles with the salty breeze, and the noise of sawing and hammering fills the air. In those early days, skilled craftsmen like Newhook transformed the plentiful stands of timber into beautiful barques, brigs and schooners – ships for fishing, sealing and trading, perfectly suited to brave the wind and cold of the North Atlantic. Charles arrived in Newfoundland in 1779, and centuries later, his legacy lives on. Brian Newhook grew up about as far away from Trinity Bay as you can get on the island of Newfoundland. “I grew up on the southwest coast, over around Port aux Basques in a little town called Burnt Islands. My parents were teachers,” he says. And although he didn’t grow up seeing ships being built, he was often intrigued by the idea of how heavy materials could be fitted together to form something that floats. “Ever since my dad started asking me ‘What do you want to do?’” he recounts, “I had an interest in ships and building boats.” Brian followed that interest and went on to study naval architecture technology at the Marine Institute – a state-of-the art engineering program focusing on the design and construction of marine vessels and structures. It was through a series of coincidences there that Brian learned about his connection with the storied Newhooks.
The Fleetwing, a vessel built by Jonas Newell Newhook, an ancestor of Brian Newhook
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“I was in my second year of college when I read something about the Newhook shipbuilding heritage,” he says. “There’s so many careers, and so many paths that you can go down. For me to make my way into that field… I was like, look at that, I continue in the family tradition without even really knowing it.” Brian researched his shipbuilder ancestors, consulting Calvin Evans’ book, Master Shipbuilders of Newfoundland, Volume One, and work done by archives research officer N.C. Crewe in the 1960s, available online. The first Newhook, master shipbuilder Charles, arrived in Trinity to work for Benjamin Lester – the man in charge of the largest merchant trading operation in Newfoundland. By 1788, Lester’s firm had more than 20 fine vessels, although since ships were not regularly registered in Newfoundland, we don’t know any details about them. Three of Charles’ sons became master shipbuilders like their father. William built for the Robert Slade 52
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Brian Newhook’s research into his shipbuilding family tree led to the discovery of the headstone of master shipbuilder Charles Newhook in Trinity.
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KNOW YOUR BOATS
BARQUE A sailing vessel with three or more masts, fore-and-aft rigged on only the aftermost.
BRIGANTINE A two-masted vessel, square-rigged on the foremast and fore-and-aft rigged on the main.
DORY A small, flat-bottomed boat with flaring sides and a sharp bow and stern. Used especially in fishing with hand lines or trawls.
SCHOONER A fore-and-aft rigged vessel with two or more masts where the foremast is shorter than the main. Source: Wikipedia
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merchant firm; James built in Norman’s Cove; and Charles Newhook (II) continued the tradition at Lester & Garland for 30 years. Three of the younger Charles’ sons then became the third generation of shipbuilding Newhooks: Charles Newell Newhook, Robert Penny Newhook and Jonas Newell Newhook. Jonas built both the 303-ton barque Tasso (1854), the great rival for Michael Kearney’s famous Rothesay; and the Fleetwing (around 1857), regarded by many as the fastest and finest vessel that ever sailed. Along another branch of the family tree there’s another master builder Charles: Charles Newhook, son of William, sometimes referred to as “the bachelor” because he never married. He’s been described as the greatest of the many well-known shipbuilders in Trinity. Through a career spanning the 1840s to the 1880s, he built many ships including the Lizzie, the Henry Thomas, and the 53-ton schooner Marian. His work was so fine, one anecdote tells of Charles fitting a vessel with a new stern. It fit perfectly; not a single shaving had to be pared off. College-aged Brian didn’t know any of this. It took another little coincidence first. “While I was going to the Marine Institute, I was renting a house down on Military Road,” he recalls. “My landlord, when I first met him, said ‘Oh, you’re a Newhook. My wife is a Newhook. Who’s your grandfather?’” Turns out, the landlord’s wife was interested in genealogy and had been tracing the family tree all the way back to the first Charles. “The next month when he came to pick up rent, he had a copy of the family tree she had done off for November 2021
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me, with my line added.” Brian still sounds touched at the memory. Brian now works with Genoa Design International – a local company specializing in production design and 3D modelling services to shipbuilding and offshore industries since 1995. As one of the most sought-after production design firms in the North American shipbuilding market, Genoa is involved with the National Shipbuilding Strategy program for the renewal of the Canadian Coast Guard and the Royal Canadian Navy fleet, as well as crafting polar security vessels for the US Coast Guard. Brian beams when he talks about his career and the pride he takes in being part of a lineage of talented shipbuilders. And what about the next generation of master builders? “My son is in Grade 2,” Brian says, “and each year we get him to hold up a little board on the first day of school. One of the things we put on there is ‘What do I want to be?’ and he always says, ‘Naval architect like my dad.’” 54
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Above: Brian Newhook on the job at a shipyard. Below: The lineage of shipbuiding seems to be secure in the next generation as Brian’s son, Daniel, intends to follow in his father’s footsteps.
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features
Epworth sailing couple retraces the path of a legendary writer, exploring Newfoundland’s south coast. BY LINDA BROWNE
When Canadian writer Farley Mowat decided to buy a boat and sail around Newfoundland, he got more adventure than he bargained for, resulting in his hilarious 1969 book, The Boat Who Wouldn’t Float. As his story goes, he made his way to Muddy Hole, a small fishing village on the Avalon Peninsula. There he sought out an old-fashioned boat, “the kind of wooden boat that once was sailed by iron men,” he wrote. Instead, what he got was a small, smelly, two-masted schooner known as a “Southern Shore bummer” and painted in “the most repellent shade of green” – known by no other name than simply “She” or sometimes “That Bitch” by its previous owners (perhaps a premonition of what was to come). 56
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“It did not appear to me that the Hallohans had sailed her very much. I was to hear later that they had never sailed her and shared the general conviction of everyone in Muddy Hole that any attempt to do so would probably prove fatal,” Mowat wrote.
Author Farley Mowat and the Happy Adventure in a photo from the book The Boat Who Wouldn’t Float However, Mowat did manage to (somewhat) successfully set sail, travelling around the Southern Shore, Placentia and Burin bays, and the South Coast, as well as the French islands of Saint Pierre et Miquelon. He encountered many kind and generous people along the way who were eager to share a yarn, a cup of tea and copious amounts of food. 58
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While he made it through his journey alive, there were more than a few hiccups along the way. Mowat’s boat, ironically named Happy Adventure, after pirate Peter Easton’s ship, acted more like a submarine with its penchant for sinking. It leaked like a sieve, was plagued by constant engine troubles and seemed to have a mind of its own. “My cry was ‘Westward Ho!’ – and hers was, ‘Westward No!’ She would go east like a lamb, but west she would not go under any circumstances,” Mowat wrote at one point. So, why on earth would someone want to follow in Mowat’s seemingly foolhardy footsteps? For one local couple, an opportunity arose that was too good to pass up – one that has allowed them to see their home province in a whole new light. Anchors Aweigh Martine and Isaac Blue decided to chart a new course in life about 14 years ago, when they moved from Ontario to Newfoundland and Labrador. Sharing Mowat’s “predilection for the sea and ships,” they dreamed of owning a place on the water and one day having their own boat moored out front. That dream came true in 2009, when they bought a saltbox by the sea in the small Burin Peninsula town of Epworth. While settling in, their neighbours regaled them with stories about the time Mowat stopped by to get his boat repaired, tying up at a nearby wharf (the remnants of which can be seen from the couple’s home). So last spring, when Bell Canada’s Bell Fiber TV1 was seeking pitches for new shows, it 1-888-588-6353
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Martine and Isaac Blue on board the True North, moored just outside their home in Epworth. Linda Browne photo
didn’t take long for Martine, a filmmaker, to land on the perfect idea. “I thought it would be really fun if we retraced his route in The Boat Who Wouldn’t Float, and find out the stories that he didn’t tell. So it just clicked because there’s a connection there… and I’m a fan of his work, so I thought it would be really interesting,” she says. In the fall of 2020, the couple purchased a Catalina 30 sailboat, christened True North. This past July, they and their dog Finksi officially set sail on their grand adventure. Except, like with Mowat, things didn’t quite go according to plan. For starters, a tropical storm delayed their departure by a couple of weeks. When they finally made their way towards the Avalon Peninsula around the middle of the month (their first of three departures) their engine stopped dead, forcing them to spin around and head back home. www.downhomelife.com
Then the wind died out along the way, putting them perilously close to the cliffs. Luckily, Isaac was able to attach an electric trolling motor to their dinghy and lash it to the side of their boat, giving them enough steerage to keep clear of the rocks. That was just the beginning of their misadventures. By the time they reached nearby Lawn, their batteries, which were powering the boat’s electronics and their camera gear, started to run out of juice. They had a 100-watt solar panel to help them along, which would’ve been fine had they not also had countless days of RDF (rain, drizzle and fog). Returning home to fix their engine, the pair realized they would have to wait several weeks for parts. So, not wanting to waste any of the precious days of summer, they threw their dingy and paddle boards on the roof rack of their car and headed for Head of Bay D’Espoir – a six-hour drive November 2021
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that would be about a week’s journey by sailboat. Though, Martine laughs, “between waiting for weather windows when it’s nice to sail and issues with our boat, it would’ve taken forever.” They made their way to Conne River and got as far as Gaultois, an area that Mowat adored and which Martine and Isaac also fell in love with – so much so they ended up buying a second home there. “We had no plans to do any of that, and neither did Farley and Claire [Mowat’s wife, whom he met in Saint Pierre, and with whom the couple has since corresponded by mail]. They ended up buying a house in Messers, which is close to Burgeo, so it’s the same sort of thing... when we got off the ferry from Hermitage, I was like, ‘I want to live here and become a novelist,’” Martine laughs. (Coincidentally, the owner of the Gaultois Inn, where they stayed, is also from Ontario and was lured to the community by another of Mowat’s works, Bay of Spirits.) “It’s stunning and it’s magical,” says Martine. The Best-Laid Plans This fall, the couple will share all the ups and downs of their journey, and the Mowat stories they learned from locals on their stops, on their reality series “Floating After Farley” on Bell Fiber TV1. Martine says they have enough material for six episodes, and hope to pitch another season where they’ll venture to Fermeuse, Burgeo, the French islands and other signifi60
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Top: Martine, Issac and Finski pose for a selfie in Lawn. Above: Paddleboarding in Gaultois cant Mowat locations that they didn’t get to visit the first time. They just hope that True North will be up for the ride. “That’ll be the big drama,” Martine laughs. “It’s funny,” Isaac says, “because [in] Farley’s book, The Boat Who Wouldn’t Float, he just had tons of issues with his boat, too. So it’s kind of funny how our trip ended up mirroring his trip a lot.” 1-888-588-6353
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In the end, the route they took isn’t the one they had initially envisioned, but the best adventures are often the ones you don’t plan. “We sailed back and forth between here and Lawn a lot,” Isaac laughs. “You have to learn patience when you’re sailing. It’s not super fast, you’re not going to get there when you think,” Martine says. “I had all these things planned and I had to just keep letting them go.” She admits she’s shared a few choice words with True North (“I’m still mad at it,” she jokes). But between the engine failures and the many times their boat was tied up outside their door, there were plenty of bright spots, too. For one thing, True North has given them a fresh perspective on familiar places. And much like Mowat, they found salt of the earth people in every nook and cranny. “You really experience a community different when you come in under sailboat... our first spot was Little St. Lawrence. We hauled in and anchored there, and [have] driven through there 100 times, 1,000 times... I fell in love
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with the community as soon as I sailed in that little point,” Isaac says. “When we hauled into Lawn, it was the same thing. I never realized how nice the harbour was.” “And they wouldn’t even let us walk anywhere in Lawn. They would stop and say, ‘Hey, do you want a lift?’ to the store, to get water… So it was amazing that way,” Martine adds. “The people of Conne River, they were so kind… [when] they saw me shooting, they’d stop and ask me if I needed anything – it was just so cool.” So, considering all of True North’s faults, the choppy waves and swells that would make even the saltiest of souls turn green, and everything else that went wrong, would they do the journey again? Both give a resounding “Yes!” “As soon as I get that engine running, I’m sailing that boat to Gaultois,” Isaac says. “We want to explore it. And we haven’t finished Farley’s story,” Martine adds. “And just seeing things from the water is really phenomenal. It’s transforming.”
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How the Honour Our Veterans banner program remembers those who served BY CONNIE BOLAND
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Memorial banners are suspended from hydro poles in the town of St. Anthony, red poppies against a clear blue sky. A woman walks slowly on the roadside, pausing before each banner. Occasionally she takes a photo, wipes a tear from her cheek. Memorialized aloft are wives, husbands, sons and daughters. Royal Canadian Air Force. Royal Navy. Royal Newfoundland Regiment. The town at the tip of the Great Northern Peninsula is one of several in Newfoundland and Labrador honouring its veterans with colourful, custom-made banners. “My mother was a Royal Air Force veteran and a war bride; my dad was in the Navy in WWII, and one of my three brothers served,” says Godfrey Mitchelmore during a recent telephone interview. “So many young men and women went off to war and are still offering their services. This project is about showing our appreciation for the sacrifices they made and are still making.” Mitchelmore is a member of the committee organizing local participation in the ongoing national Honour Our Veterans Banner Program. The longtime community volunteer was an officer with 774 St. Anthony and Area Air Cadet Squadron, and the 795 Air Cadet Squadron in Iqaluit. Godfrey’s father, Richard Mitchelmore Sr., served with the British Royal Navy from 1940 to 1946. His mother, Doreen Mitchelmore, served in the British Royal Air Force from 1939 to 1942. The couple moved to Newfoundland and Labrador after the Second World War. www.downhomelife.com
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Mitchelmore heard about the Honour Our Veterans Banner Program from a friend in Ontario. “Whether or not they want to get involved is up to each individual family. This is a personal thing, a family decision,” he explains. “The response has been amazing.” Retired Royal Canadian Navy Captain George Forward, a member of Legion Branch 65, is one of the people spearheading the banner program in several towns in Conception Bay. Brigus is a municipality with a proud legacy of naval and military service. “Just how much we owe to those who served for what we have today often gets overlooked and compressed into a mere week of remembrance,” Capt. Forward says. “We wanted to present and acknowledge our veterans to the townsfolk and to the thousands of visitors we have each year.” Honouring Service and Sacrifice “For us, it’s not just ‘them’ who went to war; it’s members of our families, our neighbours and our friends,” Capt. Forward says. “Being such an old and historic town, some of our families can trace their presence in Brigus back hundreds of years. This program showcases the fact that our pretty little town, our wonderful place to live, did not happen by accident. We have what we have today not because some nameless army fought for it, but because our own sons and daughters stood up, put their boots on, shouldered a crushing responsibility and went to fight for what they had, what they wanted and for those they loved.” Continued on page 66
Right: Two of the soldiers remembered on banners in Brigus 64
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GUNNER SIMMS OF GEORGETOWN By Dennis Flynn
In Georgetown,
Conception Bay, I encountered the image of a man I’d never met, but whose presence is always deeply felt here, as it lives on in his 13 children and huge circle of extended friends. Larger than life WWII veteran, the late Thomas M. Simms, peers out from a banner on a pole strategically placed at the end of the Simms garden, just beyond the branches of the well-loved apple trees and in the lee of the original family home. Thomas (Tom) Simms served overseas as a gunner with the 166th (Newfoundland) Field Regiment Royal Artillery in harsh campaigns in North Africa and Europe. “Our family all love it, and it is very poignant and touching to see Father up there at home in the place he thought the most of,” says Tom’s youngest son, Jason Simms, about the banner. It was his sister, Maureen Bode-Harrison, who arranged to have the banner hung. In an email sent from her home in Calgary, AB, Maureen explains, “My father died suddenly on April 17, 1976 (at age 53), and most of his children were too young to even know him and what he did and what he sacrificed for them. He went to war at a very young age, and the older folks of Georgetown tell me he went as a boy and came back as a man. He learned his trade of repairing heavy equipment while in the army. He came back and married and spent the majority of his working life far, far away from his wife and children. The only time he was able to come home was right at Christmas and he’d be gone again in mid-January.” She continues, “Dad lived his life in barracks-like settings with other men and co-workers. The only communication was a letter each week from my mom, giving the update on the family and the news around home. We never knew when he would appear, but I remember getting up to go to school and there he would be with his green army work sack. As a child, I never realized how lonely Dad’s life must have been, to have such a large family and be so alone.” Maureen also explains how she had replicas made of her father’s medals, keepsakes to replace the originals that were misplaced long ago. It’s one of the services provided by the Royal Canadian Legion. Learn more about how to obtain replacement medals at Legion.ca. www.downhomelife.com
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Branch 65 initiated its program after seeing it unfold in the nearby town of Harbour Grace. Residents of Cupids, South River, Mackinsons, Georgetown and Marysvale were contacted to gauge interest. Capt. Forward did the research, and found photos, war records and other notable facts. The banner design was finalized.
WWI to present day. It’s amazing.” In St. Anthony, it’s not just residents who walk in remembrance from banner to banner. Tourists stop to look and ask questions about the project. Here the first banners were unveiled in 2020, with family members on hand, at the Royal Canadian Legion, and then hung from hydro poles on the Remembrance Day
“These banners provide a constant reminder that men and women from our small corner of the world went out and did great things for the betterment of all.” Retired Royal Canadian Navy Captain George Forward
“Those recognized fell into one of two categories: those who served and those who fell, thereby opening up the program to all veterans and not just those who gave their lives,” Capt. Forward explains. “We have veterans from the Great War up to Afghanistan, from all branches of the services including the Merchant Navy and those who fought for Newfoundland, the Empire and for Canada.” On the Northern Peninsula, Godfrey Mitchelmore also extended the program beyond his hometown. “I knew it was something we could do,” he says. “It’s truly incredible to look at the numbers of young men and women from this area who went to war. The tiny town of Main Brook has more than 40 veterans from 66
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parade route. Seventeen new banners will be unveiled this month. Capt. Forward agreed the program has far-reaching benefits. “I feel it’s incredibly important to realize the sacrifice that created a standard of living, freedom and happiness that is the envy of the world. These banners provide a constant reminder that men and women from our small corner of the world went out and did great things for the betterment of all.” He adds, “I personally have heard nothing but praise for the efforts of Branch 65 in this endeavour. We will have a total of 30 banners up, but there are still those on the war memorials of Cupids, Brigus and Marysvale that need to be recognized. There are still so many stories 1-888-588-6353
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to tell and so many more deeds to acknowledge. We need more sponsors to enable us to get more veterans recognized in this small way.” This November 11, in ceremonies live and virtual, veterans and service members will stand with those who benefit from their sacrifice. “For me personally, I feel pride,” Capt. Forward says. “Pride in seeing my grandfather, three great-uncles and men I knew in their dotage smiling with the confidence of youth from old photographs. Men who were just boys when they left their lives behind to join a cause so much bigger than themselves. I feel pride that men and women from Brigus were at Gallipoli, Beaumont Hamel and the Somme. I am proud that we did our bit in the skies over Germany, in the Battle of the Atlantic and at Normandy. “I am proud that we were at Kap Yong and Kandahar,” Capt. Forward adds. “I am proud that I am part of that legacy and, more so, proud that the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 65 and its president, Gerald Mercer, agreed to undertake this project.” More information on the Honour Our Veterans Banner Program can be found at: MemorialBanner.ca.
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The Trails of Valour in St. Lawrence provides not only a great workout, but also a glimpse into a defining moment of the area’s past. By Linda Browne
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Newfoundland and Labrador
is a hiker’s dream. Between the Avalon Peninsula’s popular East Coast Trail, scenic Rockcut Twillingate Trails, the awesome treks at Terra Nova and Gros Morne national parks, and the stunning walks along the Labrador Pioneer Footpath, there are more places to see the sights, and work up a sweat, than you can shake a hiking stick at.
A storyboard along the Chamber Cove Trail tells the tale of the USS Truxtun shipwreck. Linda Browne photo
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Above: Chamber Cove, site of the USS Truxtun shipwreck. Right: Archival photo of rescuers lowering themselves to the wreck of the Truxtun
On the Burin Peninsula, at St. Lawrence, the Trails of Valour provides not only the perfect opportunity to enjoy the great outdoors, but also an important history lesson about an event that’s helped define the people, as much as the landscape, over the past eight decades. In the early morning hours of February 18, 1942, a convoy of three American ships (two destroyers, the USS Truxtun and USS Wilkes, and the supply ship USS Pollux) were heading for the Argentia naval base in Placentia Bay when a fierce winter storm, coupled with a navigational error, threw them off course. Just after 4:00 a.m., all three ships went aground between Lawn and St. Lawrence. But while the Wilkes managed to break free several hours later, the Truxtun (at Chamber Cove) and Pollux (at Lawn Point) remained stuck and were eventually smashed to pieces by pummelling waves. 70
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Covered in oil and fighting through a blinding blizzard, some sailors managed to make their way through the freezing water and onto the shore. One of them was 18-year-old Edward Bergeron, who scaled the jagged, icy cliffs at Chamber Cove and followed a fence along the coast to Iron Springs Mine, where he alerted the workers to the Truxtun disaster. (They wouldn’t know about the Pollux wreck until later that day.) It didn’t take long for the people of St. Lawrence, Lawn and the surrounding communities to spring into action. Making their way through snow drifts and gale force winds, they spent hours hauling the remaining sailors up the cliffs to safety. Survivors were given hot food, and warm baths and beds. All told, while 203 men lost their lives, 186 survived. (Perhaps the best known survivor was Lanier Phillips of the Truxtun, who credited the people of St. 1-888-588-6353
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Left: The Chamber Cove memorial honours the people of St. Lawrence and Lawn for their dauntless courage and generosity, as well as those who survived and lost their lives during the Truxtun and Pollux disaster. Below: Along the Chamber Cove Trail, hikers can stop and explore the beach rocks, starfish and other coastal creatures at Little Salt Cove. Linda Browne photos
Lawrence for changing his worldview and went on to become a civil rights leader and the Navy’s first Black sonar technician.)
A Trek Through Time Today, the Bergeron Trail (which traces the route Bergeron followed along the coast to reach help) is one of three that make up the Trails of Valour, which honours the survivors, rescuers and those lost in the Truxtun and Pollux disaster – one of the worst in US naval history. Developed by the St. Lawrence Historical Advisory Committee in partnership with the Town of St. Lawrence, the trail system is easy to find. Signage throughout town leads www.downhomelife.com
to a gravel road where your journey begins. On the right, stop and look out over the old Iron Springs Mine site, where the women of St. Lawrence provided care for the frozen, oil-soaked sailors. After parking your vehicle in the lot, just a short distance away, cross the Miners’ Memorial Bridge to the start of the Trails of Valour proper. Expect to experience boundless beauty including breathtaking coastal views, wildflowers and berries (in season), and seabirds and wildlife. There are also plenty of rest stops and picnic tables along the way, where you can sit for a spell and soak in the scenery. Interpretive panels provide deeper insight into the people and places tied to the November 2021
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Above: Beautiful scenery awaits hikers on their way back along the Bergeron Trail. Right: A replica of the fishermen’s shack, where Edward Bergeron and others sought refuge, sits along the Chamber Cove Trail. Linda Browne photos
Truxtun and Pollux disaster. As you walk along, you can feel the strength and resilience of those men who fought to survive, the indomitable courage of the local men and women who came to their rescue, and the spirit of those who didn’t make it. “As people go on their walk, they can take in these storyboards and take in the views and get a sense of the whole idea behind the Trails of Valour, and what these men and other people went through,” says Paul Lambe, office manager and archivist with the St. Lawrence Historical Advisory Committee. The walk along the Chamber Cove Trail (approximately 1.5 km) passes by Little Salt Cove, the perfect beach for wave watching (and whale watching at times), and a replica of the fishermen’s shack where Bergeron 72
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and others sought refuge after scaling the cliffs. From there, hikers can climb the stairs to reach Chamber Cove (site of the USS Truxtun shipwreck) and the accompanying memorial site. Here, people can see “the ruggedness of the cliffs, the height of the cliffs, and imagine what they’re like in February in an icy storm; and how much trouble those sailors would have had to get up, and even the miners to get down and get the people out of there,” Paul says. From here, you can continue along the Lionel Saint Trail to the site of the Pollux shipwreck at Lawn Point (about 5.4 km one way). The trail is named in honour of a local store owner who, while surveying the wreckage at the “Pinnacle” at Chamber Cove (where many of the miners were already deep into rescue 1-888-588-6353
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efforts) deduced that the oil and debris coming from the west must be from another ship. Following the cliffs to Lawn Point, Saint and several others came upon survivors from the Pollux, who had climbed the cliffs to seek help. While some of the trail is natural, other sections have bridges and boardwalks that stretch over stunningly stark landscape before opening up to the coast and eventually, Lawn Point. From Chamber Cove, hikers can also opt to turn around and follow in the footsteps of Edward Bergeron via the Bergeron Trail along the coastline. Once you arrive back at the parking lot and drive a short distance back down the gravel road, take a short detour to the right to reach the beautiful sandy beach at Shoal Cove. A bit further down the same gravel road is the Cape Chapeau Rouge Trail (about 5.4 km). While not part of the Trails of Valour, it leads to the highest point of land on the south coast. Cape Chapeau Rouge served as a landmark for fishermen navigating Placentia Bay. Follow the boardwalk to the base of the Cape, where a steep climb to the top rewards you with
spectacular views of St. Lawrence Harbour, Chamber Cove, Red Head and more. On a good day, you can even see Saint Pierre et Miquelon. While much work has gone into developing the Trails of Valour and other nearby trails in recent years, Paul says they’re not finished yet. “Eventually, you’re going to be able to go to the Cape, and then come down partway, and then go across the marsh and along the coast all the way up to Lawn Point [about 16 km one way].” With almost 72 km of trails around St. Lawrence, he adds, “we’re trying to envision a loop system.” Even considering all the kilometres he’s put in hiking around the world (including Mount Kilimanjaro and Mount Elbrus, two of the Seven Summits), Paul says the Trails of Valour, and others in the area, offers a unique and special experience. “I’m always amazed by the coastline myself. Even all the years I’ve done it,” he says, “I still can go out and take it in any day of the week and just be amazed at the views and the ruggedness of the whole trail system along the coast.”
Spectacular views of St. Lawrence Harbour can be seen while hiking up the Cape Chapeau Rouge Trail. Linda Browne photo
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The story behind one of the most photographed churches in Newfoundland and Labrador BY MARIE-BETH WRIGHT
Serenely stationed on a neck of land where the water below and sky above are ever changing and often dramatic, St. Luke’s inspires photographers and artists from all over. Their enthusiasm to capture the elegant church in picturesque Newtown, NL, has cemented its fame near and far. Captain Carl Barbour, a Newtown native son, was a Naïf artist (self-taught folk artist) who painted the church and cemetery nearly 50 years ago. William Green, like me, a descendant of its founding families, is intrigued by St. Luke’s uplifting spire and clean lines. His colour and black-and-white sketches of this church and others appear in a popular collage he produced, and his 1983 drawing graces the cover of the St. Luke’s 100th anniversary booklet. More recently, Darrin Martin of Northside Studios captured St. Luke’s inspiring message in his uniquely colourful style. Avid photographers routinely make the trip to Newtown specifically to capture this image through their own lens. 74
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Harold Feiertag photo
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Many artists have captured St. Luke’s in Newtown, such as William Green (right) and Darrin Martin of Northside Studios. (below)
All these artists have made the exterior of this church an icon. But this house of worship, a designated provincial heritage structure since 2012, is more than just an objet d’art. It’s a beloved community space with a rich history. St. Luke’s Anglican in Newtown, Bonavista North, carries 126 years of service with classic dignity. The edifice is a monument to the skills of master builder Thomas Grainger of Port Union, assisted by many hours of labour provided by community volunteers. St. Luke’s is the successor to St. Matthews, the former Church of England structure on Pinchard’s Island (a prominent Outer Island nearby). With population shift in the late 1800s to Inner Islands, later Newtown, a new church was planned to avoid having to row to Pinchard’s Island for spiritual support. In 1880, a combined school-chapel was erected in the east end of Newtown and still stands on School House Hill. In the 1890s, with rapid population growth and religious zeal came the 76
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construction of St. Luke’s, a cemetery and a parsonage. Pinchard’s Island was resettled in the 1950s, so parishioners with names of Blackmore, Green, Gill, Parsons, Perry, Hall, White, Bungay and Tulk brought their worship to St. Luke’s in Newtown. Retired teacher Peter Hall prepared a meticulous history of St. Luke’s for its 100th anniversary in 1995. St. Luke’s bore witness to highs and lows in this outport community. Before completion, a service was held there to honor 23 sealers from Newtown who’d perished in the Greenland Disaster of 1898. Several decades later, on Good Friday 1940, the famed pot-bellied stoves heating the church came close to destroying it. Funneling collapsed near the roof and immediately flames could be seen shooting out. A bucket brigade saved the day. The Diocesan magazine reported, “Men from all parts of Newtown came running with their buckets.” The agility of men running up the 40-foot stairway to the tower 1-888-588-6353
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platform, then on to the roof was miraculous. The article goes on, “…The hero of the day was Abi Bungay… as he fearlessly ran back and forth on the roof ridge.” Archival material touts congregational leadership: bake sales, concerts, a penny reading, a school collection, a Christmas tree, a tea
The interior of St. Luke’s
meeting – all supported by local businesses, captains, sealers and fishermen. The Diocesan magazine praised the ladies of the congregation in April 1901: “The women are indefatigable in their exertion to do what they can for the church, and they have been eminently successful.” It was noted that fundraising was so www.downhomelife.com
lucrative that supplies for the church were often paid for up front. Dennis Gill, formerly of Newtown and now living on Pilley’s Island, lovingly penned an ode to his Newtown heritage. About St. Luke’s he wrote: There were some gusto singers whose voices echo on: Flossie Blackmore, Robert Hall and my dear Uncle Tom, And the organ music was wonderful, of course, Provided for so many years by our good friend, Gord Norris At St. Luke’s, all hands were there, For Evensong or Morning Prayer; I can say I am real proud That I am one of the St. Luke’s crowd. As a community storyboard explains, the St. Luke’s bell was hoisted to the tower in 1902 and soon found a mandate. In addition to welcoming suppliants to worship, the bell announced the end of two great wars and assisted those disoriented in foggy weather and snowstorms. In a climate of church decommissioning and merged worship, St. Luke’s carries on. While St. Stephen’s of Greenspond and the former St. James’ on Pool’s Island have longer histories, it is St. Luke’s of Newtown that adorns wall calendars and Facebook postings. An Internet search brings a cluster of images: St. Luke’s at sunset, in winter, with the graveyard in the foreground, mirrored in calm water and more. Last year’s 125th anniversary was victimized by COVID-19, but its 130th is a goal for 2025. November 2021
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Our
VIKING VOYAGE In 2013, Elsa Aase, her husband Mons, and their two poodles travelled by truck and 28-foot trailer from Prince George, BC to L’Anse aux Meadows, NL.
By Elsa Aase
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Our main reason for this trip
was to see a Leif Erikson statue that was to be erected at the northern point of Newfoundland, at L’Anse aux Meadows UNESCO World Heritage Site. My husband and I were both born and raised in Norway, but came to Canada just after we turned 20. But that’s another story. The Leif Erikson International Foundation of Seattle was erecting the statue on July 28, 2013 (a replica of the one in Seattle, which we saw in 1962). The foundation was asking for donations, and anyone who donated $100 would get their name chiseled on some tall stones brought over from Iceland and placed near the statue. We both did, as well as a bunch of people from our local Sons of Norway club. Being from Norway, we are interested in anything Viking. My husband, Mons, is actually a third cousin of Leif Erikson, about 35 times removed! That is written in a big, thick book of the family tree on his mother’s side. We are both from the area of Norway where the father of Leif Erikson, Erik the Red, came from.
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A certificate Elsa and Mons received for donating to the Leif Erikson International Foundation
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We had roughly calculated how much time we would need to get to L’Anse aux Meadows in time for the unveiling, but for some unknown reason, my husband’s blood pressure dipped so low that our doctor advised us not to leave. Three days later it was back to normal, so we left, but we missed the ceremony. The trip across Canada, plus the ferry ride from Sydney to Port aux Basques, and on to L’Anse aux Meadows took about two weeks. The ferry was lovely, almost like a cruise ship. They even had a movie theatre on board. The ride was pleasant, with a totally calm ocean. But a drawback for us was that our dogs had to stay locked up for the six hours it took to cross. Looking at the map, we had not realized how big the island of Newfoundland actually was. It took us a couple of days, with a side trip to Stephenville, to get to the north end. We could not go wrong, as the signs along the highway said “Viking Trail Route 430” with a Viking ship pictured on top. The road went through fields and forests, then along the ocean, past small, tidy fishing villages, one after the other. To the right side of the road, in the distance, were rows of high mountains. Our first morning in L’Anse aux Meadows we drove directly to the Viking village, called Norstead. There were many replica Viking buildings. We were warmly welcomed and shown around by people dressed in Viking costumes. A Knarr Viking ship was in one building, and in the others, people were demonstrating 80
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Some scenes from Elsa and Mons’ trip along the Viking Trail
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Elsa and the statue of Leif Erikson knitting, weaving and tool making. The shallow bay was littered with rocks, so we wondered how Leif Erikson in the year 1,000 could have gotten his ships safely in to shore. We found the Leif Erikson statue in a village nearby. It honours the locals who’d been of great help to Norwegian archaeologists Helge Ingstad and his wife Anne Stine. Ingstad and Stine, along with their daughter, had spent five years digging and finally proved beyond doubt that this was the place where Leif Erikson first landed on the American continent in the year 1,000 – way before Columbus. The place was perfect for the statue, as Leif seems to be looking at the ocean to the east. The beautiful Visitor Centre was about a mile away. Between there and the village with the statue was a trail across a big area of land, seemingly unused. But we were told that area is the actual place where the Viking village was originally. Since there is still a lot of digging going on; the replica village for the tourists to www.downhomelife.com
visit was placed a safe distance away. On both sides of the trail, the ground was bog-like. I took pictures of cloudberries growing there. They look exactly like the ones growing in the mountains of Norway, where they’re called “multer.” We saw two large moose running across the land not far from us. Behind the Visitor Centre was a metal statue of six Vikings, including a woman, carrying swords and spears, scouting something ahead. Next day we drove to the nearest town, St. Anthony, for some shopping and fuel. They even had a Tim Hortons there! After two days and nights we headed south again. At Deer Lake the road splits, with one going back to Port aux Basques, and the other going to the capital St. John’s. We contemplated going there, as we really would have liked to see that side of the island, too, but it was a 900 km drive. We decided to go back on the ferry we came on, as we knew the way home to Prince George was still a long one. November 2021
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stuff we love by Nicola Ryan
CRAFTING KITS
SEIZE THE CLAY Get your hands dirty and create a custom piece of pottery with a clay handbuilding kit from Clay Café. There are a variety of themes to choose from for all ages, and each kit comes with supplies, tools, instructions and a link to a step-by-step video. We love the set of festive mummers. ClayCafeAvalon.ca
HOOKED ON HOOKIN’ Try your hand at a traditional Newfoundland craft with a rug hooking kit from Molly Made Fibre Art Studio. Choose from different sizes and patterns with images including saltbox houses, wildlife, lighthouse scenes and local flowers. Each kit comes with everything you need: the image printed on evenweave backing, the wool, the frame, a handmade hook and more. MollyMadeFibreArt.com
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SMITTEN WITH MITTENS These ornament sewing kits from Fiber Lilly will warm your hands and heart. Stitch woolfelt mittens embellished with a starshaped snowman, hollyberries, skates, gingerbread and more to hang on the tree or give as special gifts. Each kit contains a pattern with illustrated instructions and materials to make a set of six little four-inch mittens. Sew cute! FiberLilly.com HOT STUFF Pyrography is an age-old technique where a heated metal pen is used to burn a decorative pattern into wood, great for engraving customized gifts and decorative items. This TRUArt solid wood burning kit is ideal for beginners. The plastic case holds 21 interchangeable multiuse tips, an instruction manual and a soldering iron-style pen. Amazon.ca
HOME BREW Designed by the brewing staff at Brewery Lane, each Barking Kettle kit includes quality ingredients like specialty roasted grains, fresh hops and pure malt extract to help you make great-tasting craft beer right in your kitchen. The instructions are easy to follow and no special equipment is required. Beer styles include Baymen Porter, Paradise Pilsner and Townie Pale Ale. BreweryLane.com/do-it-yourself www.downhomelife.com
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Getting Cosy Interior designer Marie Bishop has tips on making a comfy place to cuddle up.
Cosy blankets, thick rugs, cuddly cushions,
warmth from the fireplace – all the wonderful indoor things about November. The other thing is the list you’ve been keeping of all the movie suggestions, streaming series and books you’ve been waiting to dive into when summer ended. And what better place to do that than the most comfortable, snug, restful room in your house?
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Whether your binging area is the family room, TV room or den, the primary focus is the furniture and comfort is key. While visual appearances are important, there is something to be said for the “Archie Bunker” chair. We all have different requirements and comfort levels, not to mention body shapes, so finding the perfect lounging chair is a very personal quest. While furniture shopping, be sure to do the sit test: take note of the depth and height of the seat and the height of the back. Most of us like to rest our head, so a high back is critical. Otherwise you’ll have to slouch to be comfortable, which could result in not enough back support. On the other hand, if your room is designed for the whole clan, then the slouchy couch may be the perfect answer – a large sectional with deep seats and lots of throw cushions. Once settled into your comfy chair or sofa, make sure the lights aren’t too bright. Nothing ruins movie night more than the glaring reflection of lights on the screen. Some prefer a completely dark room to mimic a movie theatre, but soft ambient light is easier on the eyes and ensures some visibility for replenishing snacks. Consider a low-wattage bulb in a table lamp, or ceiling lights on a dimmer. The soft glow from a fireplace or woodstove can add ambience and extend a warm welcome on a cool evening. If your room can’t accommodate the fire element, a basket of warm, fuzzy throws can curb the chill.
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There’s such a variety of throws available at most retail shops this time of year: buffalo check, plaid, faux fur, wool, cotton, shearling. Add a few throw cushions and you’ll want to snuggle in for a long winter’s nap. If your feet happen to rest on the floor, you’ll want them to land on the soft surface of a rug. Again, so many options. Local or online, flat weave or fluffy, plain or patterned – cosy is key. A common mistake when
purchasing a rug is the size; most people buy one that’s too small. Measure the space. In a room 12' x 14', an 8' x 10' rug works well. And while you don’t need the rug to fit completely under the sofa or chairs, you will want it to tuck under the front edge by six or eight inches. Last on the list: a large coffee table within easy reach, or multiple end tables that allow for easy access to the popcorn bowl. Now you’re all set to tuck in for a cosy evening of entertainment and a fall filled with warmth and relaxation.
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Todd’s table
Braised Beef Short Ribs
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Todd’s Table By Todd Goodyear
When he’s not dreaming up or cooking up great food, Todd Goodyear is president and associate publisher of Downhome. todd@downhomelife.com
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I’ve been cooking at home for many years now and I’ve produced some decent meals – and yes, some not so decent meals. I’ve enjoyed learning by talking with friends who also enjoy the act of preparing a great meal and sharing together our hits and misses. When you try something for the first time, it can be a little unnerving but also very exciting! You know there’s a certain level of expectation – in my home there is, for sure – and the simple desire to “nail it,” as we like to say when it all comes together perfectly. I recently cooked some braised beef short ribs, with bacon and mushrooms. It was a winner! This recipe came together perfectly. The flavour in this dish was simply off the charts, and I would rate it as maybe one of the Top 10 meals I’ve ever cooked. I used boneless beef short ribs for this recipe, and next time I will try the bone-in ribs just to compare the difference, if any. I know we say that meat on the bone is usually tastier, but man, in this case that’s a tall order. I have to let you in on a little detail that I don’t think I’ve mentioned yet. About 80 per cent of my meals are not cooked in my kitchen. I often venture outside to cook on the BBQ, the smoker, the smoker grill etc. But when I cook inside, it’s most often in my shed! I like to call it my private cookhouse rather than just a shed. I use a smaller shed for storing things like the lawnmower and all things gas related in order to keep the cookhouse as much like a kitchen as possible. I’ve cooked so many meals out there over the past few years. I started by using a single induction cooktop, a butane burner and a propane camp stove. Just this summer I November 2021
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installed a four-burner propane range with oven, just like you would see in a cabin or home. Now there’s nothing I can’t cook in the shed. It’s pretty comfortable out there with my TV and a heat pump, so even on a hot summer evening or a freezing cold winter’s night, my cooking carries on. Most times I get all the ingredients and utensils ready in the house first. My friends and family get quite the charge out of me “cooking in the shed,” and after talking with other
home cooks, I found out I’m not the only one who cooks in their sheds, gazebos, covered patios etc. Maybe it’s the feeling it brings of being at the cabin or camping – and we all know how good food tastes there, right? If you’re one of us who likes to cook somewhere other than the house kitchen, send me a photo of you in your favourite cooking spot. I’d love to see your setup. Meanwhile, here’s that mouthwatering short ribs recipe I’ve been raving about.
Braised Beef Short Ribs Serves 4 6 thick-cut beef short ribs, cut in 3"-4" pieces 2 tsp coarse kosher salt 2 tsp fresh ground black pepper 3 tbsp olive oil 2 medium onions, chopped 2 large unpeeled carrots, chopped
3 4 4 3 3 6 2
celery stalks, chopped cloves of garlic, crushed cups beef or chicken stock bay leaves tbsp tomato paste or purée slices thick bacon, cut into small pieces cups fresh mushrooms, quartered
Preheat oven to 400°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Season beef with salt and pepper and roast in the oven, turning and browning on all sides. This browning will bring out delicious flavour. (Adding raw meat directly to the braising liquid and vegetables would be simply boiling the meat and would not produce anything near as tasty.) You could also brown the meat in a frying pan; I just find the oven cooks it more evenly with less mess. While beef is browning, heat a deep roasting pan on medium high heat and add olive oil. Once the oil is hot, add all the vegetables and sauté for 5 minutes or so. This combination of these three vegetables is called a mirepoix, French for “a mix of aromatics.” Add the crushed garlic and cook for another minute. Add the stock, bay leaves and tomato paste. Bring to a boil. Add the beef and beef juices to the roasting pan, cover and place in the oven. Turn the heat back to 325°F and set your timer for 90 minutes. Remove the roaster, turn over the beef and return to the oven for another 90 minutes – this time, uncovered. Check the meat after an hour and pierce with a fork or knife to check for tenderness. If the beef is really tender, maybe the last 30 minutes will not be necessary. You be the judge. 88
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Meanwhile sauté the bacon pieces in a pan over medium heat. When the bacon is almost crispy, add mushrooms and cook until softened and bacon crispy. Remove from the pan and keep warm. Remove the beef to a platter and keep warm. Pour contents of the roaster through a sieve into a smaller cooking pot while pressing with a spoon on the vegetables to squeeze out every last bit of the flavour. Cook over high heat to reduce and thicken the sauce. Add salt and pepper to desired taste. Plate the beef on individual plates, sprinkle with the bacon and mushrooms, and cover with the delicious sauce. I often will keep and use some of the bigger pieces of carrot if they are not too soft and add them to the plate. This has become one of my family’s favourite meals. It can be yours, too. Remember, cook with confidence!
Todd’s Tips Have patience and take the time to properly brown the beef. Using chicken stock with this beef dish is perfectly fine. Serve this dish over creamy mashed potatoes, if you don’t mind the carbs.
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everyday recipes
Diabetes Awareness
For Diabetes Awareness Month, we turned over our Everyday Recipes section to Diabetes Canada. They have provided the following message plus five delicious, healthy recipes.
For the close to 11.5 million Canadians affected by diabetes and those who care for them, Diabetes Awareness Month is a time to shine a light on the impact of the disease through the voices of those living with diabetes, health-care providers and supporters. This year marks the 100th anniversary of the Canadian discovery of insulin. Since the discovery, there have been huge strides and key advances in mapping and understanding diabetes and its complications. Insulin is a game-changer for those living with diabetes. However, it is not a cure. To honour the legacy of insulin’s co-discoverers – Banting, Best, Collip and Macleod – this month, Diabetes Canada is urging Canadians to take action to End Diabetes. Every action counts: helping dispel myths sometimes associated with diabetes; donating towards diabetes research; advocating for improved access to medications, devices and supplies; or attending an education session to enhance learning about diabetes management – all collective actions help get us closer to ending diabetes. Help achieve 100,000 actions to End Diabetes during the month of November and let Diabetes Canada know what you’re doing by visiting the website at Diabetes.ca.
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Shrimp Pasta 1 lb pasta (penne or rigatoni) 3 tbsp olive oil or soft margarine 4 small zucchini, julienned 1/2 lb mushrooms, sliced 2 lb large raw shrimp, peeled and deveined 3 cloves garlic, minced
1 large tomato, diced 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese 2 tbsp lemon juice Salt and pepper
In a large pot of boiling water, cook pasta according to package directions until tender but firm; drain and return to pot. Meanwhile, in a large nonstick skillet, heat 1 tbsp of the oil over high heat; stir-fry zucchini and mushrooms in the oil for about 3 minutes or until tender-crisp. Transfer to a bowl. In the same skillet, heat remaining oil over high heat. Add shrimp and garlic; cook, stirring, for 3 minutes or until shrimp is opaque. Add tomato and cook for 1 minute. Transfer shrimp and zucchini mixtures (including all liquids) to pot of hot pasta. Add parsley, cheese and lemon juice; toss to mix. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serves 8.
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Vegetable Frittata 4 eggs 1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley (or 1 tsp dried parsley) 1/2 tsp dried oregano 1/4 tsp garlic salt (optional) Pinch freshly ground black pepper
2 tsp margarine or butter 2 green onions, chopped 1/2 cup chopped broccoli, asparagus or green beans 1/2 cup chopped celery
In a bowl, whisk together eggs, parsley, oregano, garlic salt (if using), pepper and 1 tbsp water. Set aside. In a heavy skillet, melt margarine over medium heat. Sauté green onions, broccoli and celery for 4-5 minutes or until tender-crisp. Pour egg mixture over vegetable mixture and cook for 30 seconds. Cover and cook for 2-3 minutes or until set. Cut frittata in half and slide out of the skillet onto warmed plates. Serves 2.
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Salmon with Lemon-Ginger Sauce 4 2 1 1 2
salmon fillets, 5 oz each green onions 1/2 tsp fresh ginger root, minced clove garlic, minced tbsp low-sodium soya sauce
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tbsp fresh lemon juice tsp grated lemon rind tsp granulated sugar tsp sesame oil
Preheat oven to 425°F. Chop green onions (set aside chopped green tops for garnish). In a bowl, combine white part of onions, ginger root, garlic, soya sauce, lemon juice and rind, sugar and sesame oil to make the marinade. Place salmon fillets in a single layer in a shallow baking dish. Pour marinade over fillets; let stand at room temperature for 15 minutes or in the refrigerator for up to 1 hour. Bake, uncovered, in preheated oven for 13-15 minutes or until salmon turns opaque. Arrange on serving plates, spoon sauce over salmon and sprinkle with green onion tops. Serves 4.
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Linguine with Oven-Dried Tomatoes and Roasted Garlic 2 lb plum tomatoes 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, divided Salt and freshly ground pepper 3 large cloves garlic
3/4 lb linguine, preferably whole wheat 2 oz fresh mozzarella cheese, diced 2 tbsp chopped fresh basil 2 tbsp freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Preheat oven to 325°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Cut tomatoes into wedges (quarters for small tomatoes and sixths for larger ones) and place on the baking sheet, skin side down. Drizzle 1 tbsp olive oil over tomatoes, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Bake for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, or until tomatoes are slightly dried but still soft to touch. Be careful not to over dry. To prepare garlic, cut 1/4 inch off the top of the cloves. Drizzle with 1 tsp olive oil and wrap in double-thickness aluminum foil. Place in oven alongside tomatoes and bake for about 30 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool. Squeeze roasted garlic into a small bowl. Using a fork, mash it together with 2 tsp olive oil. Remove tomatoes from oven and allow to cool; cut into 1/2-inch pieces. Set aside. Cook pasta according to package directions; drain. In a large skillet, over medium heat, add garlic-oil mixture; add dried tomatoes and toss to coat. Heat until mixture is warmed through. Add cooked linguine and toss. Remove from heat. Add mozzarella and basil, being careful to distribute pieces evenly. Drizzle remaining 1 tbsp olive oil over pasta. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve garnished with Parmesan. Serves 6.
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Skillet Chicken Breasts with Tomatoes and Olives 4 (8 oz) boneless, skinless chicken breasts 1/8 tsp pepper 2 tbsp canola oil 1 small red onion, sliced 3 garlic cloves, smashed 2 tbsp chicken stock or water 1/4 tsp each salt and pepper
1 (14 oz) can diced tomatoes 1 sweet red pepper, chopped 1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives 2 cups cherry tomatoes (red, yellow and orange, if possible) 3-4 sprigs of fresh rosemary and/or thyme Lemon wedges, for garnish
Preheat oven to 375°F. Pat chicken breasts dry with paper towel and season on both sides with pepper. Warm canola oil in a 12-inch oven-safe skillet over medium-high heat. Sear the chicken for about 5 minutes per side. (Chicken will release easily from the pan when it’s ready to be flipped.) Remove chicken from the skillet and keep warm on a plate. Stir onion and garlic into the pan. If the pan is too dry, add another teaspoon of canola oil. Stir a few minutes, until fragrant. Add chicken stock or water and scrape the brown bits off the bottom of the pan. Stir in salt and pepper. Stir in canned tomatoes, red pepper and olives. Nestle chicken breasts into the sauce. Top with the cherry tomatoes and tuck in the sprigs of herbs. Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes, until a meat thermometer registers 165°F in the thickest part of the breast. Remove skillet from oven and let chicken rest for a few minutes. Serve chicken and sauce over whole-grain pasta, brown rice, quinoa or couscous. Garnish with lemon wedges. Serves 4.
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Wildlife technician Todd Hollett gives us excellent excuses to skip the fall yard work.
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Envision
Todd Hollett photo
looking at your backyard and seeing pretty insects fluttering about and small animals scurrying around, while the melodious song of an array of birds fills the trees. Sounds pretty idyllic, doesn’t it? The sad reality is that most yards aren’t designed to attract wildlife. In fact, our manicured, mowed and sprayed lawns are virtually deserts for wildlife, offering little food or shelter. However, this trend may be on the mend as thousands of Canadians are becoming concerned with the loss of our natural heritage and are taking steps to help and attract critters. If you’d like to join the movement, keep these things in mind: You need to be realistic in what you can achieve on your property, decide what type of wildlife you want to attract, find out what plants provide food and shelter, find out what animal species are in your area and develop a plan with their needs in mind.
Four Fundamentals for Success These four elements are critical to creating a welcoming environment for wildlife. First and foremost, all species have special food requirements that change with the season and maturity. Secondly, water is a year-round need for every living thing. Thirdly, shelter is very important as wildlife need cover and protection from predators and inclement weather. Finally, space is important, as most species have spatial or territorial needs.
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Habitat and Diversity The place where a wild animal lives is its habitat. Here they forage for food and water, find shelter and space to grow, mate and raise young, struggle to survive and eventually die. While habitat will attract a range of critters, it will probably not look tidy. An area that will bring species flocking, slithering, hopping or flying in will be pretty messy, but naturally messy. We have no lack of native species that are suited for the local climate, are resistant to disease and require no care. Leave wild plants in clumps, and with natural growth they will vary in size and height. A variety of trees, shrubs, flowers and grasses will provide shelter and food year-round and create several habitats, such as wet spots, trees, open spaces and tangled brambles and vines. If you don’t want to go full wild, leave edge habitats on your property borders, where one habitat type meets and blends with another. These edges will often flourish with wildlife. In time you’ll recognize the benefits of the unkempt look, but you may have to help your community understand the beauty of natural processes. Neighbours may not appreciate the abundance of rabbits, squirrels, bats, weeds and fallen leaves on your property.
Think Four Seasons Fall is the season of winter preparation for wildlife, as they work to store energy for winter survival or for migration. Fruit trees and shrubs such as red-osier dogwood, dogberry, raspberry and blackberry are fall dietary staples for robins, waxwings, purple finches and chickadees. The seeds of thistles and alders are eaten 98
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If you don’t want to go full wild, leave edge habitats on your property borders, where one habitat type meets and blends with another. These edges will often flourish with wildlife. by goldfinches and redpolls. The best thing you can do in the fall for wildlife is to skip the yard work altogether. Don’t rake up the fallen leaves; many creatures will use the leaf litter as a place to hide out for the winter, as it provides a food source and nesting material. Toads, frogs and many insects have adapted to hibernate under the insulating layer of leaves, as they protect them from cold and temperature fluctuations. Letting the leaves lie also creates a natural mulch to prevent weeds and to fertilize as they break down. Resist cutting back dead flowers and tall grasses, as the seeds are an excellent food source throughout the winter when other food becomes scarce. Winter is the toughest season on wildlife. Without reliable food sources, birds and other wild animals may perish. The best food plants are ones that retain fruit through the coldest months. Many birds enjoy the 1-888-588-6353
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fruit of highbush cranberry, crabapple, dogberry, multiflora rose and chokecherry. Yellow and paper birch drop seeds on the snow that are eaten by juncos and other finches, and nut trees such as hazelnut and chestnut are important to ruffed grouse and squirrels. Evergreen trees, such as spruce, fir and pine, retain needles on dense branches. These branches provide excellent winter shelter and food for grouse, other birds and mammals. Many insects will hibernate under the bark of these species. The warmer months of spring and summer provide plenty of food, and nesting and hiding spots for wildlife. Plum, chokecherry, pin cherry, raspberry, chuckley-pear, currents and gooseberries are all good sources of summer nutrition for birds and mammals. Flowers also provide a steady supply of nectar and pollen for insects and birds. Bushes and shrubs provide good shelter to escape predators and build nests, and are good hiding places for ground feeders such as sparrows and juncos.
Other Ways to Help Wildlife If you can do it, it is best to leave older trees in or near your backyard. If you can’t do that, consider installing nesting, roosting and bat boxes for the benefit of chickadees, nuthatches, woodpeckers, owls, swallows and bats. Nesting material can be left around, such as mud on the edges of flower beds, dead twigs, pine needles, feathers, dry grass, moss and plant fluff. Fallen logs and leaves make ideal homes for critters. As they get soggy and rot, mushrooms will grow, and animals such as salamanders and toads will lay their eggs in them. www.downhomelife.com
Beetles and ants burrow under the bark and lay eggs. Decaying logs are also a haven for toads and shrews because of the smorgasbord of bugs they can catch and eat. Native grasses offer more varied habitat and require little care once they establish themselves. They help control soil erosion, offer shelter and provide food in the form of seed heads.
Many creatures will use fallen leaves as a place to hide out for the winter, and it provides a food source and nesting material. Leaves also create a natural mulch to prevent weeds and fertilize as they break down. Water is essential for all life. If your property doesn’t have a natural water source, you can provide simple sources such as a shallow dish of water. Or add a container water garden, which is basically a small aboveground pond with both water and vegetation. It provides a place to drink from and for bathing. It can even become a habitat of its own, especially if insects and amphibians move in. November 2021
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down to earth by Kim Thistle
Your Questions Answered for Fall Gardeneres
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What happens if you plant your fall bulbs (tulip, daffodil, crocus etc.) upside down? It is often difficult to know which side is up when it comes to fall bulbs. Crocuses are among the more difficult to determine, as the top and bottom look pretty much the same. Rest assured that no matter which way you plant them, they will grow and bloom. The stem will emerge and very shortly after will change direction and reach for the light. As the roots emerge, the bulb will actually right itself and gradually turn over. It just goes to prove that plants are resilient and will do what it takes to survive. When in doubt, plant them sideways.
What happens if I don’t get a chance to plant my bulbs early in the fall? As long as bulbs can receive 8-12 weeks of cold, they will be fine. You can remove the snow off the ground and plant them in December if your fingers can withstand the cold. When all else fails, plant them in pots and bury the pots under the snow. Potted bulbs can be retrieved from under the snow in late winter to be brought inside for spring bloom.
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Is it okay to plant trees in the fall? Resounding “Yes!” The ground has had all summer to warm up and is at its warmest now. Trees and shrubs have gone into dormancy and are losing their leaves so they can concentrate on putting out new roots and not have to worry about supporting leaf and flower growth. Don’t forget to use a root enhancer, such as Root Rescue, Mycorrhizae or a soil activator. Be sure to stake them, as they won’t have time to anchor themselves adequately from strong winter winds and machine-blown snow.
Can perennials be divided in the fall? Do root vegetables have to be harvested before winter hits? Not only can they be left in the ground, but they actually become sweeter with time. I drive a stake, one tall enough to show above the snow line, into the ground at the end of the row so I can locate my vegetables in winter. All winter long, I rake the snow off and harvest kale, carrots, leeks, beets, collards, parsley, and many other herbs and vegetables that will survive the cold. It is the easiest way to store them and keep them fresh.
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Autumn is a great time for dividing perennials. As with the tree planting, the ground is warm and the plants are going into dormancy. This gives them a wonderful opportunity to produce new roots, allowing them a better start for the following year. Be sure to water them well after replanting and continue to check for moisture up until the ground freezes. 1-888-588-6353
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Do perennials have to be cut back before winter?
Should clematis be cut back? The first year after planting any clematis, it should be pruned back hard to develop a good structure. Otherwise, depending on the type of clematis you have, it may or may not need to be cut back. There are three groups. Group one clematis blooms in the spring, and these may receive a light pruning after blooming; cutting back any later than this may compromise blooms the following year. Group two blooms in early to mid-summer. These bloom on old and new wood and may be moderately pruned. They are much more forgiving than the clematis that bloom in spring. Group three clematis blooms on new growth and can be hacked back to within 12 inches of the ground. If you do not know the type you have, err on the side of caution and only prune lightly until you determine the group into which your vine falls.
No. The stems left behind on perennials will catch the snow and help provide insulation for the roots. The seeds will provide food for birds and small animals. Plants such as blackeyed Susans and echinacea are excellent for this. Also, it is easier to know what to remove in the spring, as you can tell what is new growth and what is dead.
When planting garlic, do you plant the whole bulb? Garlic bulbs should be divided and the individual cloves planted. Each clove will become a garlic bulb. Be sure to plant it 4-6 inches deep, as the new roots tend to push the bulb toward the surface.
Is fall weeding necessary? Yes. One last weeding of the garden is important before weeds die off. Most weeds produce seed that will fall to the ground and propagate, giving you many, many more weeds the following year.
Do you have a gardening question for Kim? Email 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. www.downhomelife.com
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reminiscing
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The following are stories of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians who served in the Second World War. They were written and submitted to Downhome by their family members, who are rightly proud of their service. We will remember them.
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Maurice Murphy My dad, Maurice Murphy, was born in Oderin, NL, in 1919. He grew up in Fox Harbour, Placentia Bay, where Mom also lived. Dad joined the Navy in 1939, and stayed till 1945. He was in confrontation in many places and worked on many ships. When he came home, he again went to sea and worked on ferries, with fisheries patrol and, for many years, with CN until he passed away on the William Carson from a heart attack.
Marie Dymond St. John’s, NL
Leo. J. Norman Pauline Norman, 93, shared this photo of her beloved late husband, Leo J. Norman. Leo was born November 23, 1914, in Long Harbour, NL. He enlisted in the Royal Navy on July 29, 1940, and served overseas with the 10th Naval Draft. He spent the war submarine hunting and minesweeping through the Strait of Gibraltar to Italy, Sicily, Algiers and Africa. He was discharged April 28, 1946.
Pauline Norman
Holyrood, NL
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Leading Seaman R.N. John A. Hewitt Our father, John Hewitt, was born in 1919 in Joe Batt’s Arm, Fogo Island. In 1939, he, along with seven others from Joe Batt’s Arm and Fogo, arrived in St. John’s on Christmas morning to join RMS Nova Scotia. It set sail for Liverpool, England. He was drafted to the armed merchant cruiser, HMS Andania, and served on it until June 16, 1940, when it was torpedoed. Over the next couple of years, he spent relief duty on HMS Leamington and HMS Skate, and on the corvettes HMS Petunia and HMS Verbena. He spent time in the Azores, West Africa and South Africa, India, Ceylon and the Persian Gulf. He arrived back in Newfoundland on Christmas Day, 1943. The remaining years of the war were spent in Argentia, NL, as well as Yarmouth and Halifax, NS. He was discharged in February 1946 and awarded the 1939-45 Star, Atlantic Star, Burma Star, 1939-45 Medal and Defence Medal. Dad didn’t talk much of the war, but had a photo album of the exotic places he had been. He fondly talked, and entertained us as children, about a pet monkey they had on board one of the ships. He returned to England in later years to visit some of the familiar sites. He passed away September 11, 1992.
Cathy (Hewitt) Goodwin St. John’s, NL
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AS John Head In March 1940, 26-year-old John Head (aka Jack) left Comfort Cove, Notre Dame Bay, to walk to Lewisporte, about 20 miles through the woods and over the frozen bay to catch the train to St. John’s to go to war. From St. John’s he travelled to Halifax, NS, and from there to England and Scotland for training. Throughout this training period he enjoyed socializing at the Union Jack Club in London, and in Davenport and Liverpool. He completed his courses in seamanship and gunnery, and reached the rank of able seaman in the Royal Navy. His pay was four shillings per day. Then began his active war experience. He survived the destruction of several navy ships and managed to come through the Russian convoys and many other hard experiences. But on November 9, 1942, his ship, HMS Palomares, was torpedoed and John Head and another Newfoundlander, Doug Pike from Freshwater Bay, were killed. Their ship was blown up at Algiers, North Africa. John’s son, Jack Head, was born October 2, 1940, at the Armoury, a home for unmarried mothers on Cook Street in St. John’s. His mother was Olive Cull of Comfort Cove. John’s ship came into St. John’s around the time that Jack was born – he had two or three hours’ leave. 108
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John had two sisters, Flos and Valda, living in St. John’s. Valda had arranged for her employer to pick him up and drive him to visit Flos, then go see Olive and baby Jack. But when they got to Cook Street, they discovered that Olive and baby Jack had left the previous day by train, going home to Comfort Cove. John went back to sea without ever having seen baby Jack. In 1945, John Head’s parents, Moses and Lily Head, had a monument placed besides the church in Comfort Cove in memory of their son. Attached is a photo of the monument with five-year-old Jack standing on it.
Jack Head St. John’s, NL
Con White This is the story of Uncle Con White, who is 95 years old and presently resides in the Camp Hill Memorial Centre in Halifax, NS. Con served as a seaman in the Canadian Navy from 1942 to 1946. His ship was the destroyer HMCS Iroquois. The main duty of the Iroquois was protecting the harbour at Halifax against any and all enemy submarines. Con White was born in St. Georges, NL. After his time in service, Con spent the majority of his career as an accountant for Cunard Shipping Line. Tara Dailey (Bethlehem, PA) John McConville (Pulaski, NY)
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Chief Petty Officer Samuel Arthur Peet Born in St. John’s, NL, Samuel Arthur Peet was the son of Harold John Peet and Winifred Parsons. Sam was the first Newfoundlander to enlist in the Royal Canadian Navy at the start of the Second World War. He subsequently served on several RCN ships, including carriers (HMCS Bonaventure), destroyers, frigates, tankers and naval auxiliary. He was a veteran of many Royal Navy naval battles, including the Bismarck and the Murmansk Run. Miraculously, he was sailing aboard HMCS Valleyfield (K329) as a Royal Navy sailor returning to St. John’s when, on the 7th of May 1944, HMCS Valleyfield was torpedoed and sank in the North Atlantic 400 miles off St. John’s. Sam was one of the few survivors. He was undergoing Royal Navy formal pilot training courses when WWII ended. Following the war, Sam worked for Trans Canada Airlines in St. John’s. Sam and his wife Marjorie (Butler) spent 68 wonderful years together, and they were happiest spending time with their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Sam will be lovingly remembered for his charming wit and storytelling. He captured many of his wartime experiences in his personal novel Of Other Times, which he wrote for his family. Sam’s favourite traditional naval toast was “Absent Friends” with two fingers of “pusser rum.” He passed away August 28, 2010, at the age of 92.
RCAF Colonel (Ret’d) James Lambie Dartmouth, NS (On behalf of the Peet Family, St. John’s, NL) 110
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William John (Jack) Walsh William John (Jack) Walsh was born in December 1919, in his grandparents’ house in the Mundy Pond area of St. John’s, NL. His grandfather, Jerry Collins, worked at Colonial Cordage, known as the Ropewalk. When the recruitment posters were put up throughout St. John’s, Jack enlisted in the British Army and joined the Royal Artillery. He became a proud member of the 59th Heavy Regiment, Royal Artillery, 22nd Battery. On the way to England, he got his first tattoo. During training in Edinburgh, Scotland, he got his second tattoo. (Before they left St. John’s, he posed for a group shot with the Fourth Contingent, Newfoundland Heavy Regiment Royal Artillery. The photo later appeared in Herb Wells’ book, Comrades In Arms, Volume I.) Each year from 1940 to 1944, on his birthday, Jack’s mother, Norah, placed one of his pictures in his service uniform in The Evening Telegram. In England, Jack’s unit played an anti-invasion role; the Regiment of 728 enlisted men was deployed soon after the Normandy
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invasion in France. Jack was a gunner and a driver. They saw action in France, Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands. Before the war, Jack was employed with the St. John’s Municipal Council as a labourer. Following his safe return, he went back to the council as a truck driver. He became one of the city’s first sander operators and retired after more than 40 years of service. He married Frances Roberts in 1946. They were the proud parents of seven children. Jack Walsh died in March 2014.
Patrick Walsh Mount Pearl, NL
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James O’Rourke When WWII broke out, my father, James (Jim) Henry O’Rourke, went down to the recruiting centre in Toronto to sign up with the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN). He was told he was too old (26 years) and married. Undaunted, he joined the RCNVR and was called to duty. He trained as a telegraphist and graduated third in his class. When crews were assigned their ships, everyone wanted the beautiful new Canadian destroyer. My father was assigned to HMCS Nene, a refurbished old British River class frigate that failed her first sea trials off Bermuda and had to be towed ignominiously back to port. His colleagues made fun of him, but the beautiful new destroyer was sunk with the loss of most of her crew, and my dad’s old ship carried him through. The Nene did convoy escort duty on the dangerous North Atlantic route, Halifax to St. John’s (where he stayed with cousins), and St. John’s to Stranraer, Scotland. Later in the war, they kept the port of Murmansk, Russia, open to feed the starving people. In 1975, their ship’s crew were invited to the Russian embassy in Ottawa, where each was given a specially minted medal by the Russian ambassador for their bravery under fire. My father never talked about the war, but he was proud to be Canadian. Both my mother and father’s families were well represented in “the War.” As a post-war baby boomer, I just thought this was normal. My mother’s two brothers were army, while her other brother, an RCMP officer, served under112
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cover at the docks in Atlantic Canada, working counter-espionage against spies who could reveal details of convoys. My father’s two brothers, Jack and Fred, also served in the navy. Fred was on submarine duty. My father worried when a sub was blown up because he never knew if his brother was aboard. After the war I learned to march with my father to the tune “Roll Along, Wavy Navy” and I knew all the words. For the longest time my dad could not sleep in a bed because he was used to sleeping in a hammock, and if the phone rang in the middle of the night, he was up running and flailing to “action stations,” much to the disruption of the entire family. After my dad died, we took my mom to a Nene reunion in Halifax, where, coincidentally, the first Russian warship to dock in Canada after Glasnost was to be open to the public. Because of our connection to the reunion, my husband, kids and I were taken on first and given a great tour. The Russians remembered my dad’s ship.
Karen Card Heart’s Delight, NL
Jerome Walsh This is the submitter’s father, Jerome Walsh. He served in the Royal Navy in WWII as part of the First 200 naval contingent, service number PJX174355. He was torpedoed twice, on HMS Transylvania and the SS Lady Somers.
Gloria Ann MacDonald Holyrood, NL
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nd irstha f s ’ r e fath ty’s es his d the SS Kit WII. r a h s t aboar ing W t Hun Rober nt of being ttacked dur accou en it was a wh Brook
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MY FATHER WAS ONE OF MANY THOUSANDS OF MERCHANT MARINES who left St. John’s between 1939 and 1945 to battle the Germans on the Atlantic Ocean in the Second World War. On May 9, 1942, his ship was torpedoed approximately 35 miles off the coast of Nova Scotia. His supply ship, the SS Kitty’s Brook (owned by Bowater’s shipping of Corner Brook), was returning to St. John’s from New York City. Nine of his best friends, out of a crew of 33 men, lost their lives and the remainder of them spent three-and-a-half days on the water rowing to land and waiting to be rescued. In this excerpt from my upcoming book, Torpedoed (Flanker Press), my dad, Able Seaman Edward Hunt, shares his thoughts about war and what happened to him and his friends while on the ocean. Previous page: AS Edward Hunt on board the SS Kitty’s Brook, taken in St. John’s Harbour two days before the ship was torpedoed.
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The SS Kitty’s Brook, owned by Bowater’s of Corner Brook, was torpedoed during a return trip to St. John’s from New York City.
EDWARD HUNT’S OWN WORDS My mind is going crazy today as we ready to sail on the open water after leaving New York. I know I am not alone with my thoughts and that every man on board any ship in these waters has some degree of fear going on inside him. We all try to remove this mindset away from this thinking, but being prone to an enemy attack always has one on edge. I start to think of more positive things and my mind drifts to my girlfriend, Mary Carmel Hayes, living in St. John’s. A smile always crosses my face when I think of both of us being together. It makes me feel that I am not doing this alone anymore. It is amazing when one can almost touch, and feel, the dangers that surround us all when we are out here on the sea. It is a fear that lurks and hides inside all of us. It starts to seep into our minds, and into our thinking of what will come next to any one of us. 116
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We are heading back to the Argentia Naval Base unescorted, and that is maybe why I am feeling this way. Again, I try to brush my foolish, unpleasant thoughts aside. I dig into my work on board ship as I try to put the doom and gloom behind me before my imagination starts to play tricks on my mind. I try to think of more positive things as we sail along on the open water. After talking to Captain Morbey, I glance at my watch and see that it is 2:45. I decide to head down to the galley to chat with our wonderful cook about what he is having for lunch. I hop quickly down the galley stairs, stopping on the second landing to listen to the quietness. It is so serene, as if I am all alone in this world and everything has stopped moving. It is a peacefulness that I will always remember. In that split-second of thought, if I had to know what was about to soon happen to us all in another 1-888-588-6353
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25 minutes or so, I probably would have stayed on deck! Then again, going down to the galley to see the cook probably saved my life, for the same spot where I had been standing moments before I descended below was the spot where the first torpedo hit. It killed one of my good friends, George Carter. Coming back up from the galley, as I step on the same second landing I hear a large bang, a swooshing sound and a loud thump. It sounds like a huge hammer hitting steel as the vessel shakes. I feel the whole ship vibrate as if we’re in an earthquake. As I look down, I see this deluge of water coming up towards me. For a second or so I think I may be dreaming. I’m bewildered and not thinking straight. In the next instant, as the cook tries to maneouvre his way up the
stairway, a huge suction noise pulls him backwards. The force of the water seems to be reaching out for me. I turn towards the open hatch and, on complete instinct, motion myself upward. Reaching the landing, I push myself towards the opening and out through the porthole. It is then that I see this quick flash and my whole body is thrown thought the doorway and upward into the sky. My senses leave me and I lose complete control of my body. It seems as if time has somehow suddenly stopped and my mind cannot comprehend what is happening. I feel my legs burning, and it seems as if I am being detached from the rest of my body. There is a sense that I am freefloating as I twist and turn in the air in slow motion. I feel I am in a dream, and my body is so warm.
A very young group of men readying to head to war. Edward Hunt is pictured second from the top on the far right.
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Then I am hit by a cold surge as I plunge feet first into the water. It encircles me like a cocoon as I hit the surface hard. My brain tells me there is something terribly wrong and my instincts tell me that I must try to fight it in order to survive. As I sink lower and lower, I have no control over my plunge.
The photo of Edward Hunt and his future wife, Mary Carmel, that he was carrying when he was torpedoed.
It is then that I turn my head and see her, my Mary Carmel, staring straight at me. She is reaching out to touch me. I stretch out my hand and touch her face. How beautiful she is! At that moment I feel hope and life, as I hear her talking to me. “Hold on a bit more, Ned, you will be alright. I’m here at your side.” I feel someone touching my back as I float to the surface. I hear the voice of my friend, Harold Richards, and he is telling me, “We were torpedoed, Edward.” Torpedoed! What does he mean? Torpedoed! One moment I was on board ship, and then I am in the water trying to understand what has happened. I have a distinct ringing in my ears and my head. We all turn to a thunderous roar. From a short distance away, the SS Kitty’s Brook screams out to us. All hands turn to see her rise up into the air. She stands motionless as she towers high above us all. She moans, creaks and groans as if saying goodbye to each one of us in her own way. She readies herself for her triumphant rise out of the water as she starts to fall into her final death roll. She stares down at us as if she will never move, but then, slowly, her massive hulk sinks into the watery grave below.
Robert Hunt is the author of eight books, including the trilogy of Corner Boys, Townies and Brazil Street, followed by The True Meaning of Christmas and The Bullet: Stories From the Newfoundland Railway. His ninth book, Torpedoed, is set to come out in 2022. 118
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reminiscing visions & vignettes
Gnat, do you mind…
Guy Fox Night By Harold N. Walters
“It is not Guy Fox Night,” said Clarence Bramwell, looking over Harry’s shoulder and commenting on the lettering Harry was printing on the poster on his school desk. “’Tis,” said Harry. “Guy Fox tried to blow up the king with gunpowder.” “Guy F-A-W-K-E-S,” said Clarence, spelling the traitor’s name, “did indeed intend to blow up the House of Lords.” Harry glowered at Clarence who, because of his mother’s illness, was living with his grandfather/uncle and attending school in Brookwater for the time being. “Thinks you knows it all,” he grumbled. All the same, Harry ripped his poster down the middle and chucked it on the floor. “Pick that up.” Miss Britt scowled at Harry until he gathered the shreds 120
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of his poster and lodged them on his desk. “Clarence thinks he knows it all, Miss. Thinks he knows everything about Bon-it-fire Night, I s’pose.” “And Harry, old chap,” Clarence interjected, “it is Bonfire, not Bon-itfire.” Harry ripped pieces of his shredded poster into confetti and, heedless of Miss Britt’s warning, hove them into the woodbox as he stormed out of the school. From his assigned seat across the classroom from Harry, Gnat grinned and called out to Clarence. “I ’low you 1-888-588-6353
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got en browned off.” Clarence shrugged. “Oh dear.” At the end of the day, after a tongue-banging from Miss Britt for his having barged out of the classroom without permission, Harry found Gnat and Clarence sitting on the Big Rock across the road from Uncle Pell’s shop. A festering anger towards Clarence still throbbed in Harry’s noggin. Harry poked Clarence with a fingertip. “Still thinks you knows it all about bonfires, I s’pose.” “Not all. But I have read the history, old chap.” “Think you can build a better bonfire than me?” “Most assuredly.” His bluff called, Harry stepped back, an eye cocked as if pondering Clarence’s capabilities. Confident as a lone rooster in a henhouse, Clarence waited for Harry’s response. Gnat, enjoying the possibility of sparks flying, allowed a greasy grin to flower on his chops. “Well then,” said Harry, “let’s see who has the best fire on Bonfire Night.” “Indeed,” said Clarence. Unable to bide still on the sidelines, Gnat butted in. “I knows just the spot for a couple of bon-it-fires.” Challenged and challenger turned towards Gnat. “Out on the Big Head,” said Gnat. “One fire on the eastern side, one on the western. Then all of Brookwater can see who got the best fire.” “Indeed,” said Clarence. “See you out on the Head,” said Harry. During the couple of days before Bonfire Night, Harry commenced to his bonfire pyre. First, he dragged a half-dozen dried treetops, the 1-888-588-6353
bobbed remains of firewood timbers, to the self-claimed western side of the Big Head. On the eastern side, surrounded by the familiar entourage of village youngsters, Clarence stood like a soldier at parade rest and observed Harry’s laborious preparations. Despite the breeze sweeping across the point, Harry’s sweat-slicked forehead shone like it was oiled. “He’s getting ahead of you,” Gnat said, wondering why Clarence wasn’t also scavenging for dried tops. “There is time aplenty,” said Clarence. “I have bonfire fuel en route.” “En route?” “Indeed. Father is sending me appropriate supplies from St. John’s on Grandfather/Uncle’s truck.” “Supplies?” “You shall see.” All hands watched Harry scoat to weave his collection of tops into a tangle suitable for the base of a bonfire. Using broken lengths of board and purloined sawmill slabs he’d already lugged to the Big Head, Harry crisscrossed the tops to make a floor for further bonfire fodder. So far, Harry’s heap looked like a poorly constructed raft run aground on a reef of entwined spruce. Panting like pup, perspiring like a pig, Harry glowered at his audience while attempting to pluck a splinter from his palm. “That’s it for today,” Harry announced, slamming his hands together and taking off down the Big Head path back to Brookwater. “Jolly good start,” Clarence called out before checking his wristwatch. Later that same day, Harry returned to the Big Head lugging a number of boxes he’d found on the rubbish heap behind Uncle Pell’s shop: a squat November 2021
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baloney box, a splintered orange crate and a smashed soft drink case. Behind him, Gnat struggled to balance rolls of discarded canvas on his shoulders, kitchen canvas that Old Man Farley had dumped on a pile of cast-offs behind his shed. Together, Harry and Gnat added their plunder to the rickety raft of Harry’s bonfire stack. “Still no sign of Clarence starting his bon-it-fire pile,” said Gnat. “That’s ’cause he knows he can’t beat me.” Harry was that cocksure. “Maybe,” said Gnat, who remembered some of Clarence’s feats from other times, feats Harry seemed to have forgotten. “We needs more stuff yet,” said Harry, studying the ungainly heap of – hopefully – flammable material. “Let’s look for some green boughs,” said Gnat. “They’ll do lots of crackling and give off good smoke. What’s a bon-it-fire without smoke, eh?” After cracking off branches of half the young firs fringing the Big Head, Harry and Gnat stogged them among the boxes and pieces of canvas, so that – from a distance, and if you squint your eyes – the top of Harry’s pile looked like a birch broom in the fits, or perhaps a witch’s wig. “Still needs more,” said Harry. “I ’low,” said Gnat. Clarence and Spud Spurvey met Harry and Gnat as they climbed the path to the Big Head. “We have come to check on your progress,” said Clarence. “I’m way ahead of you,” said Harry. “Maybe so,” said Clarence, “but Grandfather/Uncle’s truck will arrive today with my supplies aboard.” “Humph,” said Harry, elbowing his way past Clarence and marling off down the path. As a last shuff-off, on the morning 122
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of Bonfire Night, Harry arrived on the Big Head trailing a dozen youngsters he’d persuaded to tote items up the path. Among the odds and ends were broken barrel staves, pieces of crooked lumber, a stove-in wooden bucket, and what might have been the stem of an ancient punt. Otto Cook, who lived over in the Bogs with his grandmother, brought up the rear of the group, pushing a very Englishlooking pram on wobbly wheels. All hands were heaping their treasures on Harry’s bonfire pyre. Only Harry, who was supervising the construction, saw Clarence arrive on the Big Head with neatly sawn scantling lodged on his shoulder. Behind Clarence, Spud Spurvey and Olsen Tetford arrived weighed down with more of the same. They arranged the scantling as if piling it to dry, carefully laying it so it wouldn’t twist. “You going to build a house?” said Harry. “I sure have a suitable foundation,” said Clarence before he, Spud and Olsen trotted back down the trail. They returned in minutes, this time fetching long, dried poles. Harry thought they had stolen the rails off someone’s fence. Gnat joined Harry and watched as Clarence had Spud and Olsen erect the poles atop the scantling so that their tops leaned together to form a peak around a central pole that dangled a rope around a shingle sheave pulley. “Looks like a friggin’ teepee,” said Harry. “It do,” said Gnat. Just then, hoisted on the shoulders of his companions, Otto Cook triangulated the pram on the tip-top summit of Harry’s bonfire pile so that – from a distance and if you squinted your eyes 1-888-588-6353
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– it looked as if Harry was prepared to offer a sacrifice (a first born son, perhaps) to some primitive god. As a finishing touch, Clarence tied a factory-finished strawman to the pulley rope and hauled it to the top of the pole where it dangled like a hanged man. “What’s the brin bag for?” Harry asked. “It is the Guy. It represents punishment for Guy Fawkes for attempting to blow up the House of Lords.” “Humph,” concluded Harry. At 7 p.m., the bonfire brigades met on the Big Head to start their fires. As with any event, a crowd of youngsters stood in a clump to watch the show. The evening sky was slick as a windowpane, the perfect backdrop against silhouetted bonfire flames. Harry and Gnat stuffed clumps of tarpaper kindling among the dry tops at the base of Harry’s pyre. Clarence placed oil-soaked, compressed sawdust fire starters on the bottom boards of his construction. “Ready…,” said Gnat. Harry and Clarence hunched down, wooden matches poised above striker strips on their matchboxes. “Set …” Two matches flared. “Go!” A perfect ring of fire formed around the base of Clarence’s fire. A smoldering smother of black smoke chuffed from Harry’s tarpaper kindling. Eager, even flames climbed the chimney poles to the Guy’s straw-stuffed stockings. Fire finally flashed in Harry’s pile, burned brightly for a minute before perishing among green boughs and strips of canvas. The crowd of youngsters cheered when the Guy began to dance. The crowd of youngsters groaned when 1-888-588-6353
the wicker pram on Harry’s fire disappeared in a cloud of stinking, oily smoke. Poisoned because his fire had become all smoke and no flame, so to speak, Harry yanked tops and slabs apart until his fire collapsed and the pram rolled off the top, over the cliff and into the saltwater below.
The effigy atop Clarence’s fire, meanwhile, spewed sparkling flankers into the sky, a beacon of commemoration reflecting off the windowpane sky. The pram – just a tiny bit scorched – bobbed in the cove. The Guy danced merrily (it was bonfire fun after all) until he became a galaxy of flankers spiraling upwards to join his dimmer kin in the windowpane sky. Mind those bonfires, Gnat? To this day, Harry believes Clarence had an unfair advantage. Harold Walters lives in Dunville, Newfoundland, doing his damnedest to live Happily Ever After. Reach him at ghwalters663@gmail.com November 2021
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puzzles
The Beaten Path
Lorraine Winsor 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, when unscrambled, will spell out the name of the above community.
H
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S
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Last Month’s Community: Leading Tickles 126
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Sudoku
from websudoku.com
Skill level: Medium Last month’s answers
?
Need Help
Visit DownhomeLife.com/puzzles for step-by-step logic for solving this puzzle
www.downhomelife.com
November 2021
127
Allison Pittman photo
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Downhomer Detective Needs You After more than two decades on the Urban City Police Force, Downhomer Detective has come home to rid Newfoundland and Labrador of a new threat – cunning thief Ragged Rick. A real braggart, the slimy criminal sends DD a blurry photo of his surroundings plus clues to his whereabouts just to prove he’s always a step ahead. DD needs your help to identify where in Newfoundland and Labrador Ragged Rick is hiding out this month.
Use these 5 clues to identify where Ragged Rick is now: • located on a peninsula of the same name • appeared on maps in the 1600s • sounds like a certain Caribbean shell • its French Shore history is told in a massive tapestry • an outdoor oven feeds tourists freshbaked bread
Last Month’s Answer: Petites
Picturesque Place NameS of Newfoundland and Labrador
by Mel D’Souza Last Month’s Answer: Englee 128
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In Other Words Guess the well-known expression written here in other words.
Last Month’s Clue: One who chortles finally, chortles greatest In Other Words: He who laughs last, laughs best This Month’s Clue: Akin to a pair of legumes in a husk In Other Words: ____ ___ ____ __ _ ___
A Way With Words Last Month’s Answer: Cow jumped over the moon
COW JUMPED
MOON This Month’s Clue Answer: __ __ ______ _______
H H E I I M S S E L F
Scrambled Sayings
Rhyme Time A rhyming word game by Ron Young
1. One who gathers kindling ____ up ______ 2. A conceited face is a ____ ___ 3. A little tumble is a _____ ____ Last Month’s Answers 1. loose moose, 2. field yield, 3. happy pappy
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 I B A S U C C S N U S
E E I E D E E A E I E C A C D N G A K M E S N N N E A K N N G O K I N S I M N S V O R O M S R O M M I S T I S T V S T N O T T
E E H T
Last month’s answer: True friendship is like sound health; the value of it is seldom known until it is lost. www.downhomelife.com
November 2021
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Rhymes 5 Times Each answer rhymes with the other four
1. leap
____________
2. collide
____________
3. mound
____________
4. dispose
____________
5. grouch
____________
STUCK? Don’t get your knickers in a knot! Puzzle answers can be found online at DownhomeLife.com/puzzles
Last Month’s Answers: 1. hill, 2. will, 3. kill, 4. chill, 5. drill
Tangled Towns by Lolene Young Condon and Ron Young
Sound out the groups of words below to get a familiar expression.
For best results sound the clue words out loud!
Age Ants Oval I’ve Dime _ ______ __ _ ________ Pan Numb Hog Kin Nail ______ _____ Last Month’s 1st Clue: Us Candle Us Of Air Answer: A scandalous affair Last Month’s 2nd Clue: Weak Ants Aim Hutch Mourn How Answer: We can’t say much more now
Unscramble each of the five groups of letters below to get 5 Newfoundland and Labrador place names.
1. SORE LNEHCAB 2. TEPSTIE 3. LEIS XUA STORM 4. XFO OROTS 5. RUNTB SANDLIS Last Month’s Answers: 1. Blackhead, 2. Petty Harbour, 3. Goulds, 4. Bay Bulls, 5. Witless Bay
A nalogical A nagrams Unscramble the capitalized words to get one word that matches the subtle clue. 1. HO COLD HID ~ Clue: the days of our young lives 2. ANNUAL PETS ~ Clue: not a nice word 3. SUIT LOON ~ Clue: always the problem fixer 4. TREE IRE ~ Clue: he’s happy to be out of work 5. PEEL OVEN ~ Clue: it knows how to take a licking Last Month’s Answers: 1. dessert, 2. amputations, 3. secrets, 4. audience, 5. volunteers 130
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Four-Way Crossword F o re Wo rd s • B a c k Wo rd s • U p Wo rd s • D o w n Wo rd s By Ron Young
Unlike regular crosswords, in Four-Way Crossword each letter is not necessarily related to the letter in the adjacent row or column, but is part of one or more words in some direction. 1-10: grow worse 1-91: inattentive 3-10: bring forth 4-24: embryo 5-25: sister 7-9: rodent 8-10: devoured 11-13: lodge 10-100: particularly 13-33: louse egg 16-20: demarcations 16-14: tote 20-80: extraordinary 21-1: actor Silver 22-24: outfit 28-30: knock 30-25: forgive mistake 31-33: knit 31-71: piece of land 33-13: alloy 33-53: pitch 34-37: idiot 36-40: serenity 39-69: shellfish 41-46: raised 42-12: bring in 42-44: appendage 50-46: many people 50-47: black bird 51-54: land area 51-91: behaved 52-92: stogie 53-58: fix 55-25: galley slave 55-58: couple 55-95: stacked 58-28: rant 61-41: vehicle 64-34: geek www.downhomelife.com
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66-6: young frog 67-87: male feline 69-49: tavern 69-67: wager 69-99: male bovine 70-63: condoning 70-100: confederate 72-75: lass 75-55: back talk 75-95: guided 78-76: foot digit 83-63: Russian jet 84-87: condition 87-90: shopping centre 91-95: fear 91-100: horribly
93-3: leaving country 96-66: worry 96-99: to the brim 98-58: afterwards Last Month’s Answer
C A R B O N A T E D
O T A H C U R O L E
G R I N C H C T A C
N E D E U T S E T I
I Z A E NR AMA E DO P A T A P I T A S S S S E S U P HE
N A G G I N G G A R
November 2021
C E E S O P I E C E
E L B A N O S A E R
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The Bayman’s
Crossword Puzzle 1
3
2
by Ron Young
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ACROSS 1. chart 3. “Go to grass and let the cows ___ you” 5. Trans-Canada Highway (abbrev) 6. siesta 8. former copper mine site in Twillingate (think “drowsy hamlet”) 12. squid’s excretion 14. possesses 15. “___ humbug!” 16. short for advertisement 17. “What I’d give for _ ___ of your homebrew” (2 words) 18. birthplace of Olympic skater Kaetlyn Osmond 23. extended play (abbrev) 24. captain’s diary 25. royally named town next to Southern Bay 27. Port Saunders (abbrev) 28. haven 29. multiple sclerosis (abbrev) 30. single opportunity (2 words) 33. cooking stove 35. New Hampshire (abbrev) 36. furious 39. part of New-Wes-Valley DOWN 1. “Fogo, Twillingate, ________ _______” (2 words) 2. community NW of Mary’s Harbour (3 words) 4. Arnold’s Cove (abbrev) www.downhomelife.com
7. regrettably 9. Placentia Bay (abbrev) 10. sweet potato 11. “opportunity hamlet” near Bellevue Beach 12. hero 13. tsars 16. “Whaddaya __?” 19. so far 20. ladle 21. strikes (colloq) 22. bride’s walkway 26. fairy circle 29. “Gotta get __ moose, b’y” 31. “more lip than a ____ bucket” 32. acidity scale 34. like 35. born 36. four in Roman numerals 37. Red Islands (abbrev) 38. timeline (abbrev) S C R U N C H I N S P L A N K S
O D R Y E P S L O E N V E E E A N B O N D O E D D K Y
ANSWERS TO LAST MONTH’S CROSSWORD E N T O D I R D I T Y F I T O N G E R S T A T A G T O
R I G G I N G
A S P S H T O A U G Y D U A O F I S F P S L O U M E M Y E R E November 2021
E N WN F F H H S S E H A E L 133
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DIAL-A-SMILE © 2021 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.
__ __ 56 83
____ 9687 ___ __ 625 37
__ 48
_ _ _ _ _ _ _. 3636437 __ __ 84 36
______ 326633
__ 76
___ 623
Last Month’s Answer: Friends come and go, but enemies remain and build up
CRACK THE CODE
©2021 Ron Young
i
Each symbol represents a letter of the alphabet, for instance =s Try to guess the smaller, more obvious words to come up with the letters for the longer ones. The code changes each month.
_
_ _ _ S _ _
h Xy i B D t _ _ _
B yO
c Z yh
_ _ _ _ _
kDh BB _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _
c Z yh
_ _ _ _
_
h
Oc0H _ S
c
_ _ _ _ _
nB 0 cz
i
_
h _ _ _
0 Hy
S _ _ _ _ _ _ S
i nkky y Z i
Last Month’s Answer: Nobody got where they are today by living for tomorrow. 134
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Food For Thought
© 2021 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.”
might =
shock =
winner =
_ _ _
Y vy qww m
tarnish =
_ _ _ _ _
_ _ _
YKmVy
’_
_ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _
_
_ _ _ _ _
_
tVdon V
l cKm i
_ _ _
_
nV i vnn y
_ _ _ _ _
tKm w
b vv Y]oKm
lawfully =
_ _ _ _
incorrect =
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
v mt
_ _ _ _ _ _ _
qw b b Vqq
_ _ _ _ _ _
b vv m i V _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _
_;
]VK]nV
_ _ _ _
_ _ _
wvVy YV c Vny vY]nod y _ _ _ _
lvv w
_ _
oq
_ _ _ _ _ _ _
vn c V vt y
_ _ _ _ _
wvV c V
Last Month’s Answer: It is not a lack of love, but a lack of friendship that makes unhappy marriages. www.downhomelife.com
November 2021
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Different Strokes
Our artist’s pen made the two seemingly identical pictures below different in 12 places. See if you can find all 12.
ERN AND COAL BIN BUILD A MODEL OF THE MATTHEW
Last Month’s Answers: 1. Window, 2. Door, 3. Shed narrower, 4. Tub, 5. Sea gull, 6. Ern’s jacket, 7. House, 8. Roof, 9. Driveway, 10. Outboard motor, 11. Truck, 12. Gull in water. “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.
136
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HIDE & SEEK BREAKFAST
The words can be across, up, down, backward or at an angle, but always in a line.
SAUSAGES SMOOTHIE TEA TOAST
BACON BAGEL CEREAL COFFEE EGGS FRUIT JAM JUICE MILK MUFFIN OATMEAL OMELETTE PANCAKE PORRIDGE
R M X M K O G G U B P C H A E R L X
R Q L T S F E A H Y O T U X P I I U
P X Q N P L S X I H G C P K U W Y C
E A P M A A T E A I T E N L Y B H M
Q F T E E Q N G L B K D E O U N P I
V U B U I I S D A G H U W G B I U S
Last Month’s Answers
F Q R E Z X G C N F K Z A V C L C L
Y E U C H V E U A T F T F F Z A E K
www.downhomelife.com
C Q G V Q Z J F C K M A O E B Q B Y
B X O J E M F B J E E W W A A G J H
J M Y T C Y R W A O B N D U S Q T T
L B Q X O Y K L G G F D P S W T X E
U Q L V F R H K W N E C C Q I T G Q
I H V K F R A N K E N S T E I N H N
B T F N F N E P C I C L F J D D V C
TOUTON WAFFLES YOGURT
V W Q E B V A H R N I L B O G L O T
W M A K S M N E W B K W Q I S C M S
Y M F O E U Q D P F I B S I I C U A
L F X S N H O P B L M A B P Y H T B
J O T H F L T C L N R E L U T P V R
Y E R T E T O C M F U A D R E Q I G
M A C C K K E L T M P Z G M D U M O
B D W B N P L Q D O A D I P D C V O
O Z U U G O T I E U J N R T G U H X
S Z I G H L E X N N G N H K R K A M
R A T E R Y K R U S W S P I D E R L
B N I O G L Q E O M M O D L M I C W
N E C A D J S W K T R L J N W H B E
J C H N N Y Q Y R E T E M E C A M M
S H T T S C T T L R P M Y M A V A A
H I A M R K X E E R Y G Y U G A I O
O C L A I C N E H G W E J F G W H F
J E G Y E T X T P E L H Y P O G Z G
I X C Y O S I T K J H H B I E N I Q
P S J F Z P E M U T S O C T U B D F
X Y J Q G F U S O H M X C T L W C E
X T F R E A P E R L U B S L O P A B
J G P H A P H B M F N O I H O G X X
Y I E A H X H S S A P Y U T E D S F
N Z W C H W T Y O M E U G K K C G W
F Y Z L S M O O T H I E G Z Q H Y I
Z L D R A C U L A T R I C K R Q T B
V T K V U B O Y I G H V D E H J R W
F C X J U I F J R F U M V L I P R H
D H T F N V H R A W E M A H N V E Z
T H U W T R B K H U R M Z I S M A F
B S E J A H N R A L D U A S O Y H T
November 2021
A D K F E K X L H L O N N N W A T B
C S L X D G I Z D S P L X I F Y U R
K V R J S S Y D F M C X Q C C K M U 137
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FOR SALE
Licensed to do Business in Ontario.
Mortgage Agent # M18002662 FSCO# 12728
New Melbourne
LAND FOR SALE St. George’s
West Coast, NL Two Acres • Ocean Front $80,000
Contact: 709-641-1736 or 709-649-9482
Business For Sale
Vending & amusement serving western, northern, south-western and parts of central NL. Owners looking to retire. Serious inquiries only
709-646-5528 jblamusements@eastlink.ca
%$#"! $% $# $ %! $
Trinity Bay Minutes from a popular surfing beach. 2 bedroom, 1 bathroom with many interior / exterior upgrades. 1 Acre Private Lot. Fully Furnished. $190,000 Call: 709-682-1521
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
FOR SALE • CAPE RAY/RED ROCKS Prime Oceanfront Property on the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Ideal for Boat Owners - Build Your Dream Home! Approx: 7.6 Acres. Unlimited Potential – All Natural Safe Harbour. Power Services Available. Vendor Willing to Subdivide. $350,000. Kijiji Ad ID: 1574795142
Contact: 709-640-9905 138
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Business For Sale Springdale, NL 3 Levels. Approx. 2800 Sq. Ft. per Floor. Basement, main floor & two apartments on top level. Includes $120,000 in inventory. $300,000 Contact 709-673-4512
Book Today 709-726-5113 1-888-588-6353 advertising@downhomelife.com Not intended to solicit properties currently under contract
Movers & Shippers
A&K Moving Covering all Eastern & Western Provinces and Returning Based from Toronto, Ontario Discount Prices Out of NL, NS & NB Newfoundland Owned & Operated
AR A Family Moving Families Professionally and economically Coast to Coast in Canada Fully Insured
Moving Ontario to Newfoundland and All Points in Between Return Loads from NL, NS, NB, QC, ON at a Discounted Price
35 Years in the Moving Industry
Newfoundland Owned & Operated
Andy: 416-247-0639 Out West: 403-471-5313
Fully Insured
Contact: Gary or Sharon King
905-424-1735
aandkmoving@gmail.com Moving you from Ontario and Newfoundland... or any STOP along the way!
DOWNEAST CONNECTION 709-248-4089 905-965-4813
Hawke’s Bay, NL (collect calls accepted) downeastconnection@yahoo.ca
www.downhomelife.com
Toll Free: 1-866-586-2341 www.downhomemovers.com
arent58@hotmail.com www.ar-moving.ca
Movers & Shippers
DISCOUNT STORAGE
Rates start at $175 for a 1 col. x 2" ad. Call Today! 709-726-5113 Toll Free: 1-888-588-6353 Email: advertising@downhomelife.com
8' x 20' unheated storage units St. John's, NL
709-726-6800 November 2021
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GREAT GIFT IDEAS! Mummer Christmas Stockings $10.99 each
Mummer Pillow Covers $10.99 each
Floor Mat
Mummering in Trinity
#80339 | $14.99
Elliston Mummers #79544
Elliston Mummers #79554
NL Map Ornaments
Mummers on Signal Hill #79545
Mummers on Signal Hill #79555
#76216 | $8.99
Map with Heart
Mummering in Trinity #80340
Mummering in Trinity #80341
Map with Home
#79609 | $8.99
Sherpa Fleece Throws - 50" x 60" $39.99 each
Any Mummers ‘lowd In?
#75515
NL Town Names
#75518
Newfoundland Tartan
NL Mummers Wine Glasses $21.99 each Ugly Stick #73793 Violin #73794
#75517
Newfoundland Pictorial Map
#75516
NL Mummers Stemless Wine Glasses $21.99 each Violin #79649 Ugly Stick #79648
ORDER ONLINE: www.shopdownhome.com Prices subject to change without notice.While quantities last.
2021GiftGuide_Layout 1 9/30/21 2:35 PM Page 3
MORE SELECTION ONLINE www.shopdownhome.com Wooden Cutting Board
NL Mummers Flat Wrap
#75789 | $9.99
3 Assorted #80346 | $1.99
Mummers Peel and Stick Gift Tags
NL Mummers Window Clings
48pc #80345 | $1.99
#80344 | $2.99
front
Clarenville Christmas 2021 Pewter Ornament
back
Home for Christmas
Kelly McEntegart Sheppard
#80294 | $18.99
Tree Skirt
Mummering in Trinity
#80342 | $21.99
Plastic Placemat and Coaster Sets (8pc) $4.99 each
Mummering in Trinity
#80343
Elliston Mummers
Mummers on Signal Hill
#79537
#79538
NL Watercolour Scene Ornament
Rowhouses Handpainted Ornament
#56915 $9.99
NL Scenic Handpainted Ornament #38929 | $15.99
#42394 | $15.99
Rowhouses of NL Ornament
Puffin Paper Ornament
St. John’s Handpainted Ornament
#60204 $9.99
#79462 $7.99
#36461 $15.99
TO ORDER CALL: 1-888-588-6353 Prices subject to change without notice.While quantities last.
2021GiftGuide_Layout 1 9/29/21 3:07 PM Page 142
GREAT GIFT IDEAS! 6
1
3
2
4 5
Handpainted Mummer Ornaments • $14.99 ea. 1. Accordion #78683 | 2. Bra #78677 3. Checkered Shirt #78678 | 4. Fisherman #78681 5. Longjohns #78684 | 6. Pink Dress #78679 7. Screech #78682 | 8. Ugly Stick #78680
7
2
1
7
3
5
4
Handpainted Round Mummer Ornaments • $8.99 ea.
8
8
6
9
1. Accordion #78686 | 2. Couple #78692 3. House #78693 | 4. Lantern #78688 5. NL Dog #78691 | 6. Outhouse #78690 7. Puffin #78685 | 8. Ugly Stick #78694 9. Violin #78687 | 10. Snowman #78689
10
7
1
2
3
4
5
6
8
Newfoundland Favourites Ornaments • $5.99 ea. 1. Carnation #79659 | 2. Fussells #79658 | 3. Vienna Sausages #79657 4. Hard Bread #79669 | 5. Jam Jams #79666 | 6. Screech #79670 7. Eversweet #79665 | 8. Lemon Creams #79664 9 9. Good Luck Margarine #79667 | 10. Tetley Tea #79668
ORDER ONLINE: www.shopdownhome.com Prices subject to change without notice.While quantities last.
10
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MORE SELECTION ONLINE www.shopdownhome.com Hand Painted Row House Shot Glasses A
B
Hand Painted Wine Glass
Row Houses of NL Ornament
D
C
Hand Wash Only Sold Assorted Colours
#72979 $16.99
More colours online
#59831 | $5.99 each
Hand Painted Key Rack Row Houses
Assorted Colours, 10" x 3 1/3"
#59826 | $24.99
Downhome Mummer Coaster Set - Set of 4
#76315 | $6.99
Hand Painted Coasters Row Houses
Hand Painted Row House Mailbox
Set of 4, 4" x 4" #59827 | $24.99
#47594 | $99.99
Downhome Mummer Magnetic Thermometer Downhome Mummer Pewter Key Chain 60345 | $6.99
3" | 60342 | $10.99
Downhome Mummer Wooden 2D Magnet
3"x 3" | 60343 | $6.99
Downhome Any Mummers ‘Lowd In? Ornament
Row House Pewter Key Chain
76316 | $6.99
#60340 | $5.99
Magnetic Thermometer Row House
Coasters - Row House
3" x 3.5" #60338 | $6.99
Set of 4, 4" x 4" #60337 | $10.99
Raised Level
1.5" round #60344 | $4.99
2D Wooden Magnet Row House Raised Level
3" x 3" #60339 | $4.99
TO ORDER CALL: 1-888-588-6353 Prices subject to change without notice.While quantities last.
2111_photo Finish_0609 Photo Finish 9/30/21 2:56 PM Page 144
photo finish
Grow Big or
Go Home
How many Jiggs’ dinners and cabbage rolls do you think you’d get out of this giant homegrown cabbage? Janice O’Brien Portland, NL
Do you have an amazing or funny photo to share? Turn to page 9 to find out how to submit. 144
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