Downhome August 2022

Vol 35 • No 03

$4.99

August 2022

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Love on the Run A family’s long road to reunion

Find a Hiking Buddy

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$

16 99

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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 Account Manager Ashley O’Keefe Marketing Director Tiffany Brett Finance and Administration Accountant Marlena Grant Accountant Sandra Gosse

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, Kim Tucker, Heather Stuckless, Katrina Hynes, Destinee Rogers, Amy Young, Emily Snelgrove, Brandy Rideout, Hayley Rogers, Zoey Gidge, Ashley Pelley, Haylee Parrell, Alexandria Skinner

Subscriptions Customer Service Associate Cathy Blundon

Founding Editor Ron Young Operations Manager, Twillingate Nicole Mehaney

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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66

hanging out

Linda Browne photo

Contents

AUGUST 2022

54 Home, Again How a family, once broken apart, managed to find their way back together.

Nicola Ryan

58 Music and Memories My Dear Minnie Museum in the Codroy Valley honours a musical icon and an old way of life.

Janice Stuckless

66 A Warm Welcome

94

al fresco ideas www.downhomelife.com

The Festival of Quilts invites folks to come “hang out” on the Bay de Verde Peninsula.

Linda Browne

94 Everyday Recipes Tasty ideas for a summer picnic August 2022

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Contents

AUGUST 2022

homefront 8 I Dare Say A note from the Editor 10 Letters From Our Readers A crossword correction, a chance encounter, and a Come Home Year crowd

18 Downhome Tours Downhome readers explore England

20 Why is That? Why do we call faulty cars “lemons”? Linda Browne

22 Life’s Funny It’ll all come out in

22 freeze!

the wash Winnie K. Munden

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

24 Lil Charmers Get Growing!

26 Pets of the Month Catching Rays 28 Reviewed Denise Flint reviews Such Miracles and Mischiefs, the second book in Trudy J. Morgan-Cole’s Cupids Trilogy.

24 growin’ up

30 What Odds Paul Warford goes for one last feed at Ernie’s.

32 Fresh Tracks Wendy Rose reviews Jing Xia’s debut solo album, The Numinous Journey.

36 Adventures Outdoors Take ’em or Leave ’em Gord Follett

40 In Your Words Paddy’s on the Mainland Cyril Griffin 4

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80 a trip back in time

76 sharing the trails

features 44 Straight from the Schnare A couple brought together by taxidermy.

Todd Hollett

50 Love Over the Long Run Two NL runners had the best photo finish at the 2022 Boston Marathon. Dennis Flynn

explore 74 What’s in a Name? Connected by Hope. Dale Jarvis

76 Find a Hiking Buddy Don’t hit the trails alone; use these tips to make a new friend. Nicola Ryan

80 The Grandeur of Petites G. Tod Slone www.downhomelife.com

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Contents

AUGUST 2022

86

bring the outside in

home and cabin 84 Stuff We Love Picnic Pieces Nicola Ryan

86 Nature, Take It In! Interior designer Marie Bishop’s tips on seasonal flower arrangements

90 Everyday Gourmet BBQ Turkey Wings

102 Down to Earth All About Asparagus Kim Thistle

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take the inside out

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112 CHY ’66

118

surprise encounter

reminiscing 108 Flashbacks Classic photos of people and places.

110 This Month in Downhome History 112 Come Home Year 1966 Readers look back.

114 Fishing with Pap Joseph About the cover This gorgeous photo of a handmade quilt flying over Bay de Verde is the work of Ray Mackey. To see more of his beautiful, scenic photos, visit www.RayMackeyPhotography.com.

To learn more about this month’s Festival of Quilts, turn to p. 66.

Cover Index What to Pack for a Picnic • 84 & 94 My Dear Minnie • 58 A Warm Welcome • 66 Love on the Run • 50 A Family’s Long Road to Reunion • 54 Find a Hiking Buddy • 76 www.downhomelife.com

Seward

118 Serpentine Surprise How retired pilot Tom Green met a famous Russian ballet dancer.

124 Puzzles 136 Colouring Page 138 Classifieds 140 Mail Order 144 Photo Finish August 2022

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i dare say

I took my first hike, that I recall, in my early 30s.

Previous to that, the closest I came to a hike was a Girl Guides trek down a dirt road in the 1980s and the family climb to the top of Erin Mountain in Barachois Pond Provincial Park as a kid.

Now, I grew up in Twillingate, so of course I marched in over the hills looking for berries, walked the old paths through tall grasses on the headlands, pushed through tangly alder bushes in my rubbers to go trouting, and even scaled a rocky ledge or two.

But we never went “hiking.” We weren’t in the Rockies or the foothills of the Alps!

I don’t know that anyone ever “hiked” in Twillingate in my day. But thankfully, there were a few locals who frequented the well-worn paths all over the North and South islands and had the foresight to make maps, organize trail cleanups, advocate for signage and market it to tourists.

They saw the real value that average folks take for granted in their own backyard. Now Twillingate is a hiking destination.

As I’m writing this column, I’m just days from my next trip “home.” I have a hiking buddy waiting there for me. Solo hiking is good, too, but it’s not for everyone. If you want to explore NL trails but have no one to go with, check out our tips to finding a hiking buddy (turn to p. 76).

Thanks for reading,

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

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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 25th of each month.

Congratulations to Sheila Snow of Grand Falls-Windsor, NL, who found Corky on page 61 of the June issue!

*No Phone Calls Please. One entry per person

www.downhomelife.com

August 2022

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Familiar Flag So, there I was reading my magazine when I came across the “What’s in a Name” article. The picture was of a line of clothes drying outside in Lord’s Cove, and amongst them was a Jamaican bath towel. I was more than pleasantly surprised because I am Jamaican and my husband, Allister, is from NL. We had such a chuckle and are still laughing. So lovely to see. What a small world, eh!

Pamela Smith Ontario

Downhome: a little taste of “home” for everyone!

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Come Home Year Crowd

My mom, dad and seven of my siblings were born in St. John’s, NL; the last three of us were born in the States but have never lost our connection to home. The three American-born were told that we’re true Newfies because “if a cat has her kittens in the oven, you don’t call them biscuits!”

My dad, Edward Kevin Curran, and my mom, Noeleen McDonald Curran, moved the family to the States in the early ’60s, along with a few other Newfoundland families, when Fort Pepperell closed. In 1966, we drove several days from New York to St. John’s to participate in Come Home Year. The attached photo was taken that year at the house my mom grew up in on Mt. Scio Road and was prominently displayed on the front page of the Monitor during the

festivities. We were the largest returning family that year.

Well, we all decided we were sick of COVID and Mom needed a trip, so all 10 kids and spouses are taking her back to Newfoundland on July 22.

We’re staying at the Fogo Island Inn for four days to celebrate our mom and our own Come Home Year. It was supposed to happen last year, but obviously things weren’t opened back up. Many of us get back on a regular basis, but July 22-26 at Fogo Island Inn will be the first time all 10 kids and my mom have been back together since 1966. Unfortunately, we lost our dad in 1981, but he’ll be there in spirit.

How’s that for a Come Home Year celebration? Fifty-six years apart!

Connie Curran Newport News, VA

Not only were you the largest returning family in 1966, you might be the largest in 2022! If any other readers can top it, we want to know about your Come Home Year trip. Email us at editorial@downhomelife.com or write to Downhome Editorial, 43 James Lane, St. John’s, NL, A1E 3H3.

Here is the Curran clan in 1966 and more recently.

The grown-up Currans are (at the back, l-r): Connie, Ann, Mom, Ian, Susan, Leslie, Deb. Towards the front, l-r: Ed (blue hat), Darcy, Derek, Pam.

www.downhomelife.com

August 2022

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Mystery Solved?

The item on page 14 of the June paper, it’s a thing that has a flint in it for lighting acetylene tanks when you’re doing your welding. That’s the old way of doing things – you put your torch in there and you flick that, and that’s what ignites the gas.

John Spurrell Hodges Cove, NL

Thanks for the phone call, John. Anyone else agree with John, or do you have a different explanation? Call or write to us!

Arctic Adventures

Definition of “Burny”

The article “Arctic Adventures” in the April issue struck home as I’ve spent much of the past winter scanning my Dad’s writings for the family archives.

He (Walter Staples, 1913-2004) was a student crew member of the 1937 MacMillan expedition when the Gertrude L. Thebaud was grounded off Baffin Land (not then identified as an island) in Frobisher Bay. Dad and another crew member wanted to winter over to explore Baffin Land – a project approved by MacMillan – but due to radio damage resulting from the grounding were unable to get the necessary permissions. He would have identified with Jason Hillier and yearned to be with him in the Arctic.

I loved this article [“The Nature of Quilts,” February 2022]. I have asked some family members and friends, who are Newfoundlanders, about the adjective “burny” describing cotton in this article. Can you give me a definition for this word?

Jim Staples Via email

Lisa Slaney Mitchell Via DownhomeLife.com

Burney seems to be the proper spelling. It’s still used today for blankets and clothing, marketed as Burney Organic Cotton, a more ethical fabric.

There isn’t a lot of information on the internet about Burney cotton. Can any readers shed more light on it for us? Please contact us by phone, email or mail.

Thank you for your letter, Jim.

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Crossword Correction In the May issue, we published the answer key for April’s The Bayman’s Crossword Puzzle on page 131. It contained a number of errors. In our effort to correct an error found before publishing, we created several more! We apologize for the inconvenience. A special thank you goes out to avid readers and puzzle doers, including Donald Sparkes, who gave us a heads up. We’ve corrected the answer key online at DownhomeLife.com, and here is the corrected answer key to the April puzzle.

www.downhomelife.com

L O W I I K E G E W A T A B U M I E R A R C A N A H N B E N D R A Y O U T O U P M A R R I E A N O M Y

S E R Y E S E A N O Y R G

F O R E O M A R W I D A M N A C T G E L S E C O N F M A I N E T Y

M O S T U M O H B E G U N D P I L E S E V M H I E M L M O I M E A R S

August 2022

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I Always Wondered Many a times I thought about a delivery man that I helped weekly in my hometown of Buchans. In May 2022, we took a trip back home to Buchans to see our family. We had to travel to Grand Falls-Windsor to pick up some items. I was in the right spot at the right time. As the clerk at a store asked a gentleman his name, I heard, “Wayne Churchill is my name.” It took only a few seconds for me to recall fond memories of my childhood. I turned around and approached the man, asking him if he drove a tractor trailer to Buchans about 45 years ago. “Yes!” he replied. I explained that I was the little boy of about 10 years of age that used to ride around town with him. I looked forward to helping Wayne deliver goods, and my reward was that I got to ride in a big truck. Wayne remembered the little blond-haired boy who was always up to helping him every week. I always wondered what became of Wayne Churchill and now I know! We took a picture together and laughed about old times.

Keith Tilley Ignace, ON (formerly of Buchans, NL)

Here’s the photo of Keith and Wayne, together again. What a wonderful chance encounter on a trip home. This being Come Home Year, we’d love to hear more stories like this of unplanned reunions and old friends being reacquainted after many years.

Readers can share their stories with us on DownhomeLife.com; by emailing editorial@downhomelife.com; or by writing to Downhome Editorial, 43 James Lane, St. John’s, NL, A1E 3H3.

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Sponsored Editorial

Little Newfoundland Ponies on The Prairie

In Millet, Alberta, in the heart of prairie country, the Bar Lazy M7 ranch sits close to Highway 2. On this 160-acre ranch, Cari and Shamus McDonnell are doing their part to preserve and protect the Newfoundland Pony. With a growing herd of 9 ponies, including 4 breeding mares and a resident stallion (NPS #812 Canaan Skipper Chaffey), the ranch has 2 foals welcomed already this year, with 2 more expected later this summer.

Cari says that breeding Newfoundland ponies is a labour of love that began with her retirement and her 3 children growing up and moving out of the family home. The ranch is also home to 32 Highland cattle and some quarter horses. Cari laughs when she talks about one of the older quarter horses who loves to follow the ponies around.

“He takes care of them,” she says with a laugh, “Big and Little!”

When asked about her Newfoundland connection, Cari says her parents moved to Grand FallsWindsor when they were first married, returning to Alberta to raise their family. Her father later returned in his retirement years and passed away there. Cari’s love for the pony shines when she speaks about “their hooves, their coats, their little ears. They have such heart and strength.” Cari also shared that two of her mares are half-sisters, a driving pair, and the best of friends (NPS #693 Osceola’s Pure Country Charm, and NPS #692 Osceola’s Sweet Diamond). While the McDonnells have had livestock and horses for years, Cari had never witnessed a foal’s birth until one of her mares gave birth in the pasture. She was amazed to see the other mare help clean and take care of the foal in its first moments, allowing the birthing mare to rest and regain her strength.

Cari also shared a memory of picking up a pony in Cold Lake in 2016 and stopping at a gas station on the way back to Millet. They encountered a family from Fort McMurray who had fled the wildfires that tore through the northern Alberta town. They were from Newfoundland, and their young son was in awe when he was invited to climb into the trailer to pet Thunder. The family was grateful to have this connection to home during such a difficult period in their lives.

Cari emphasizes the need to breed the ponies while advocating for their versatility, to move them away from their current critically endangered status. As she notes, “I was surprised by the rarity of breeding mares on this journey to help the pony.” She has placed foals in British Columbia and Alberta to those she knows believe in the pony and have an eye to their future.

The challenge to maintain genetic variety in the breed’s bloodlines is constant: “Owners and breeders have a responsibility to work together to ensure as many lineages as possible persevere, and I’m happy to do my part.”

The Newfoundland Pony Society is grateful for breeders like Cari and Shamus who are working to ensure the pony is with us for generations to come.

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life is better The red stages of Champney’s, NL Tanya Northcott, Ottawa, ON

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homefront Downhome tours...

England

Stonehenge Bonnie Harris of Gander, NL, and other real life characters of Come From Away and their travel partners visited Stonehenge before heading to London for the opening of the show in 2019.

In the 12th century, Geoffrey of Monmouth wrote The History of the Kings of Britain – a mostly fictional account of British history.

According to Monmouth, Stonehenge is a monument and burial site of Constantine, King Arthur’s successor, and other Britons killed by murderous Saxons. Merlin, the legendary wizard, magically transported the stones from Ireland, where they had been assembled by giants, to the current site at Salisbury Plain.

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London Wanda Hewlin and a group from Labrador City, NL, pose in front of the National Portrait Gallery in central London in 2018.

According to Monmouth, Brutus, descendant of the Trojans, was banished and directed to an island in the western ocean by the goddess Diana.

There he defeated a race of giants and established a capital on the banks of the river Thames – Trinovantum, what we now call London.

Bath Daniel Dober of Beau Bois, NL, visits the ancient Roman-built baths in Bath, Somerset.

The site of the Roman baths was built around an ancient Celtic hot spring.

Monmouth tells of Bladud, legendary king of the Britons, who discovered the spring and its healing properties when his pigs wallowed in the magical mud. He built a temple over the spring – the original foundation of the city of Bath.

www.downhomelife.com

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Expert answers to common life questions.

By Linda Browne

Why do we call faulty cars “lemons”?

Cars are great… until you’re cruising along the highway and you start to hear a loud “CLUNK, CLUNK, CLUNK” sound. You can turn up the music in an effort to drown out the noise, but there’s no escaping the anxiety as you mentally start calculating the potential cost of repairs.

It’s even worse if your vehicle is still new, or new to you.

If you’ve ever been in this situation, you might’ve found yourself cursing your car for being a “lemon.” But how did this fresh and zesty fruit get such an unsavoury reputation? And why are lemons associated with defective vehicles anyway?

While the word lemon used in this way is most closely associated with the auto industry these days, we might actually refer to anything that doesn’t quite work the way it should as a “lemon,” such as a buggy computer.

“The earliest citation we have for the word lemon in a metaphorical use for something undesirable, defective or fraudulent (‘to be handed a lemon’) is from 1905, and it’s not for a faulty vehicle,” writes Anu Garg via email to Downhome. Garg is an author and founder of Wordsmith.org (an online, global community of people who share a love of words, wordplay, language 20

August 2022

and literature) and the popular “A.Word.A.Day,” which the New York Times called the “most welcomed, most enduring piece of daily mass e-mail in cyberspace.”

“Based on the earliest citations of the term in the sense of something that fails to meet expectations, the term appears to have originated in the US,” Garg says.

According to the website “The Word Detective” (the online version of a newspaper column of the same name written by the late Evan Morris), “lemon” was also 19th-century slang used to describe a sucker, or someone who could be easily fooled. Morris wrote that this “stems from the idea that it is easy to ‘suck or squeeze the juice out of’ such a person.” The online automotive magazine “The News Wheel” offers up another theory, suggesting “it’s possible that it referred 1-888-588-6353

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to the sourness of a bad deal and the face-puckering frustration it brought.”

Garg says, “The word sour for something unpleasant or undesirable has been in use for more than 1,000 years.

We do not have a citation specifically connecting face-puckering with bad automobiles, but the image has been a part of the language for so long that it may have helped the association. A lemon is all shiny on the outside and, well, sour on the inside.”

Something that might’ve helped solidify this connection between lemons and defective vehicles is Volkswagen’s famous “Lemon” ad, which featured a picture of a VW Beetle that “missed the boat” due to a blemished chrome strip on the glove compartment. The word “Lemon” appears underneath, followed by a period. The paragraphs below it detail the company’s rigorous inspection process, nothing that VW inspectors “say ‘no’ to one VW out of fifty.” The last line of the ad reads: “We pluck the lemons; you get the plums.”

However, while this ad was released in 1960, “The earliest example of the term lemon with cars is from 1923,” Garg says.

“The term is likely much older as slang, by definition, floats around in the streets before getting mentioned in a magazine or a book. The Volkswagen lemon ad may have helped popularize the term, but the usage of the word lemon in association with cars spiked during the 1980s. The federal Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act was enacted in 1975,

and state laws followed later.”

The aforementioned act, which helps protect consumers, is also known as the “Lemon Law” Act. While lemon laws are common in the US, we don’t have them here in Canada. However, according to the Government of Canada’s website, “There are measures in place to help if you think you may have bought a defective vehicle. You have different options to get redress depending on the type of problem you may have with your vehicle.”

Speaking of lemons, Garg quips, “Now, what would they call a bad Citroën?” The word citron is French for lemon; the company is named after its founder, André Citroën.

While dealing with a faulty vehicle is never a fun thing, Garg encourages an optimistic outlook, pointing to Wordsmith.org’s “Internet Anagram Server,” where you can while away hours looking up anagrams for countless words. He suggests, “Anyway, when life gives you LEMON, make a MELON, anagrammatically speaking.”

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

It’ll All Come Out in the Wash My husband often told this story of when he was a boy,

growing up before homes had electricity and running water. Their only source of heat was a wood and coal stove. He and his brothers took turns getting up early in the morning to light the fire and get breakfast started. Their father always told them to be sure and wash their hands before preparing breakfast.

It was my husband’s turn this particular frosty winter’s morning.

He had everything ready when his father came downstairs. His father went in to have a wash, but immediately came back out and asked, “Did you wash this morning?” My husband replied, “You know I did.”

His father gave him a doubtful look. “Come in here,” he said.

“There’s something I want you to see.” They went into the washroom and there in the basin was the water that had been left overnight – frozen to solid ice! There was no getting out of trouble for my husband that day.

Winnie K. Munden Burnt Islands, NL

Do you have any funny or embarrassing true stories?

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

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er for h d le i o b I , “Geez till hard!” s – r u o h n a e rk – Tony Cla

Say WHAT? Downhome recently posted this photo (submitted by Geoff Musseau) on our website and social media platforms and asked folks to imagine what this man, enjoying his first lobster boil, might be saying. Tony Clarke’s response made us chuckle the most, so we’re awarding him 20 Downhome Dollars

Here are the runners-up: “If you’re happy and you know it, clap your claw.” – Kim Hunter “Where’s the pull tab to open it?” – Debbie Monro “What’s better than scotch on the rocks? Lobster!” – Steve Spracklin

Play with us online! www.downhomelife.com/saywhat

www.downhomelife.com

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homefront lil charmers

Green Gang Eli and Brooke enjoy the fruits (or veggies) of their labour.

Lynette Peach Long Beach, NL

Get

Growing Country Boy Jackson’s a natural at driving his tractor.

Hope Chislett Hearts Delight, NL

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Veggie Tales Isabella shows off treats fresh from her aunt and uncle’s garden.

Marlene Slaney via DownhomeLife.com

Berry Tasty Banner snacks on strawberries at the Campbellton Berry Farm, NL. Sami Budden Fort McMurray, AB

www.downhomelife.com

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homefront pets of the month

Catching Rays

Golden Sunset

Riley knows the light complements his fur.

Bailey Lannon Placentia, NL

Walking on Sunshine Timber supervises the sunset on the pond.

Lorie Philpott Cottlesville, NL

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Good Day Sunshine The goodest boy poses on the wharf with a scenic sunset.

Catherine Taylor Port aux Basques, NL

Into the Sunset Meme the goat rides into the sunset with his best friend, Ellie.

Courtney George Hearts Content, NL www.downhomelife.com

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homefront

reviewed by Denise Flint

Such Miracles and Mischiefs Trudy J. Morgan-Cole Breakwater Books $21.95

It’s finally here. Frustrated readers were left for two years wonder-

ing what happened to the characters Trudy J. Morgan-Cole created in A Roll of the Bones, her historical novel about the earliest settlers in Newfoundland. They finally get to find out in Such Miracles and Mischiefs, the second book in her Cupids Trilogy.

Unlike the first book, which mostly took place in Bristol and the brand new English colony of Cupid’s Cove, this book has a far greater geographical range. The action starts in Newfoundland, but that’s just the beginning as characters find themselves in a variety of predicaments in a variety of places. Morgan-Cole has obviously researched long and hard, and the result is not only well-written, but also entirely believable. There’s a breadth to this novel that wasn’t found in the more home-and-hearth centred first book, and the characters continue to grow as they face what life throws at them. That’s not to say we don’t get to read plenty about the nascent colony as it struggles to survive and, if possible, thrive. But the story doesn’t stop there. The events don’t happen in isolation, but are firmly rooted in and entwined with everything else that is going on in the so-called New World.

The first book in the trilogy was good. The second one was better. I can hardly wait for the third. Be warned, though: a cliff has not been created that Morgan-Cole couldn’t hang something from and Such Miracles and Mischiefs is no exception.

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Q&A with the Author Denise Flint: Most of your books have dealt with much more recent history. What drew you to this period?

Trudy J. Morgan-Cole: It definitely is a leap back in time for me. The last four have been much more recent history. I’ve always been interested in stories that either aren’t well known or [are] untold. I realized I didn’t know much about the Cupids colony, and I was intrigued by the idea that 16 women were sent to the colony and we knew nothing about them. As I got into it, I was really interested in how this colony was part of the bigger picture – and a lot of that is what gets explored in this book. I wanted to explore how our little colony was part of a bigger movement and all the change happening. Great for those who settled here, but not for the Indigenous people. I really wanted to look at some of those stories and connections.

DF: Why a trilogy?

TMC: A few years ago I read Dorothy Dunnett’s “Lymond” series and it started me thinking, “Could I write something with that kind of scope and breadth?” and I’m more interested in women than men, and I’m more interested in working-class characters than the nobility. I was interested in how a more poor working-class character could move around. It was the first time in history that European people who were not wealthy could see the world.

Suddenly they had the opportunity to be colonists on the other side of the ocean. www.downhomelife.com

DF: How difficult was the process of including so many Indigenous characters in the book? Was that something you would have worried about a few years ago?

TMC: I’m definitely more aware of it than I would have been a few years ago. To be true to the historical record, you can’t write a lot about that in Newfoundland. That was part of my reason for broadening it beyond the Newfoundland experience: to include encounters with Indigenous people.

The fact that one of my characters would have been in Virginia at the same time as Pocahontas was irresistible, so that involved a lot more research and a lot of consultation with people who have thought about how we portray Indigenous people in fiction. An Indigenous writer was able to read pieces and give some feedback. I really wanted to write about the encounters my characters might have had, and it was really interesting to get the opportunity to explore and think about all that.

DF: Can you give us a hint of what happens in the final book without giving anything away?

TMC: In the final book, which will be out in the fall of 2023, the action is much more back in Newfoundland.

Less travelling and less time at sea, and my three main characters will be in the same place together. And returning to the theme of settler relationships with Indigenous people, there’s a little known fact that Tisquantum spent some time in Newfoundland, and that will play a part.

And the storylines will be resolved.

August 2022

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homefront what odds

the bugle sounds for one last feed…

By Paul Warford

Y’know how No exaggeration, I’m gutted to share news with you: Ernie’s is closing down. everyone will say this E & E Drive-In is the moniker known to outa certain chicken of-town visitors who happen upon the Brigus via recommendation or sheer dumb luck. take-out from oasis But to those who frequented that parking lot their area is “the and spotted those midnight lingering cats, hunand patient with gleaming eyes amid the best chicken kered bushes beyond the oil drum garbage cans, the place ever”? Well, place will always and forever be Ernie Green’s. this place is the My sister-in-law texted me an image yesterday of the small chicken shack diner stamped with a actual best one. circle and a strike through it. I told her the joke was a poor one. Ernie’s closing? Can’t be.

“It’s true,” was her reply.

Whenever Ernie’s came up in conversation, I would describe it to the uninitiated like this: “Y’know how everyone will say a certain chicken take-out from their area is ‘the best chicken place ever’? Well, this place is the actual best one.”

I loved introducing pals to Ernie’s for the first time. I can vividly see my friend, Neil, holding an onion ring with his first bite taken out of it, the tiny styrofoam tub of gravy balanced on his lap, while I waited in anticipation for his reaction. He swore softly as he chewed; another one hooked.

If you grew up where I did, when I did, getting your driver’s licence meant you could now do Ernie’s runs; a true rite of passage. Still underage, I’d go with my oldest brother Colin and his high school friends. We’d park in the line of ever-present vehicles in the gravel lot, walk to the window, order, pay, sit, wait. And then she’d point. (The place must have been making thousands of dollars a day, but the window would slam shut in the employees’ faces if they didn’t 30

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prop it up with a weathered stick set to one side for this very purpose.)

When she pointed, a representative would leave the vehicle and bring the fragrant brown paper bags back to the waiting patrons. You’d get your order and drive it the 60 feet to the parking area, and only then would you dig in.

The first time I did this Ernie’s run with Colin and his friends, Trevor Luedee and Ken Neil, I asked, “Where are we going?” as Colin started the family car to move to the parking area. He and Trevor whipped around to look at me in the backseat as if I’d just suggested we rob a bank. “Where are we going?!” I didn’t know the rules back then, but by the time I was old enough for Neil to be having his first taste, that’s where we were sitting.

My best buddy (Best Man) Bussey and some of his Port de Grave comrades used to get Ernie’s delivered to the parking lot of our junior high school for lunch. Ernie’s never offered a delivery service, and I have no idea how they arranged this. But sure enough, some man would arrive in a car and start handing out a dozen bags to the waiting lads, all of whom would be talking fast and paying with change they’d won playing poker the previous weekend.

Mom would complain when my friends and I did an Ernie’s run in the Warford family’s 1993 Buick Skylark (a friggin’ lemon, by the way) because the smell permeated the upholstery for the remainder of the week. “Not fit to eat,” she’d say with bemused admonishment as we tore the bags open in the rec room. She’d still grab a couple of fries though, wouldn’t www.downhomelife.com

she? You bet she would.

E & E wasn’t just “bay food” for a bay crowd, either. My former wife is a professional chef from PEI, and she loved Ernie’s, too. We all loved Ernie’s.

There was something to the batter – that was their secret: intoxicatingly flavourful and impossible to replicate. I’d long heard rumours that old Ernie Green had been offered franchising opportunities and turned them down; a rumour I’ve never once doubted. No offence to Mary Brown’s, but on a different timeline we could easily be watching the Growlers at the E & E Centre. That’s not a joke; I genuinely believe that.

I appreciate every smiling face and every side of coleslaw waiting for me at every chicken spot from here to Port aux Basques and to the tip of St. Anthony. When I’m doing comedy on the road and stop at these shops, they all feel a little like home, and that’s worth more than a good feed. But I promise you, fellow Newfoundlanders, a piece of our culture and history will shutter its doors very soon. And like the retirement of a stellar pro athlete who truly “changed the game,” their ilk may never be met again, and the fans know this as that player’s jersey is lifted to the rafters.

They wipe a tear from their eye in spite of themselves, as they watch the conclusion of greatness.

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

Follow him on Twitter @paulwarford August 2022

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fresh tracks

new music talk with Wendy Rose

The Numinous Journey Jing Xia

JING XIA IS TAKING LISTENERS on quite the musical voyage with her debut solo album, The Numinous Journey, released in April of 2022.

Originally from Hunan, China, this musician arrived in the province in 2015 and has been sharing her music with local audiences ever since. She has collaborated with countless artists across North America and recently received her PhD in ethnomusicology at Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador, earning her the snazzy title of Dr. Jing Xia – and her soothing and spellbinding album is just what the doctor ordered.

The Numinous Journey begins with “The Chill,” and the title is appropriate until we hit the 2m15s mark when Jing speeds things up. We slow down again at 2m40s as we begin to fade out, feeling the “chill” once again.

On the album’s second track, this slow and sombre tune builds a story from its title: “Fisherman Singing in the Twilight.” One can 32

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visualize a fisherman floating on a body of water, singing to the sky above and the dark depths below.

While listening to “Fantasia,” it’s hard to imagine that Jing has only two hands and 10 fingers, as she creates layered soundscapes that sound almost orchestral. Having started playing the guzheng (a traditional Chinese plucked zither) at just six years old, her years of experience and knowledge shine. At 9 minutes 14 seconds long, this song is quite a voyage, yet this isn’t the longest track on The Numinous Journey. That one comes later.

“Language of Pipa” is the shortest track on the album, clocking in at just over three minutes. A “pipa” is another traditional Chinese instrument – a four-string plucked lute.

This piece also features the sounds of trickling water, adding even more dimension and intrigue.

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on the story of fictional character Lin Chong, who flees to Mount Liangshan amid societal and political persecution, eventually becoming an outlaw on the run. This folk tale has been reimagined in modern pop culture, with Lin Chong being called a “Chinese Robin Hood.” Jing’s take on this folk tale is a beautifully haunting piece and definitely inspires the listener to learn more about the song’s namesake dramatis personae.

Up next, we have “Tune of Rainbow Cloud,” which begins with a piano solo before Jing enters with her guzheng. At first subdued, the piano and guzheng play off one another, becoming more intricately weaved as we near the fourminute mark. As we approach six minutes in, I’m somewhat reminded of the famous bluegrass song “Dueling Banjos.” It’s fun, fierce and frenzied, and shows off the guzheng’s ability to match and complement other instruments. At 10m46s, it’s the second-longest song on the album The next track, “Memories,” is the longest, coming in at 11m31s. This is definitely the most experimental song on the album, with some noise, distortion, feedback and sounds from nature. This is the only track with added vocal stylings. Throughout, I keep wondering what a guzheng would sound like in a hardcore/punk www.downhomelife.com

or heavy metal band. I feel like Jing Xia could make it work, and make it work well.

The Numinous Journey finishes off with “Spring Comes to the Xiang River,” which wavers back and forth between experimental and traditional guzheng. The final minute and a half of this song is wild and intense, and it kept me wishing I could see Jing’s hands moving around her guzheng as she creates these beautiful sounds.

Listening to this album is definitely an experience, but watching Jing Xia perform is truly another adventure entirely. I first saw Jing perform at the MUN Botanical Garden as part of the Sound Symposium’s Echo Village in September 2021. Set up in a greenhouse, the powerful guzheng rang out through the beautiful, luscious landscape… a treat for the eyes and ears.

If you get the opportunity to see Jing Xia play the guzheng live – take it.

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Q&A with the Artist

Wendy Rose: Congrats on your new album, The Numinous Journey, Jing! Before we get into it, can you give us a brief overview/history of the guzheng?

Jing Xia: The guzheng, or the zheng, is a traditional Chinese stringed

instrument with more than 2,500 years of history. It is a long zither tuned in the pentatonic scale, and I play the contemporary version with 21 strings. You wear finger picks to play the guzheng. These picks make the sound louder, brighter and crispier – in my words. (laughs)

WR: How and when did you begin playing the guzheng?

JX: I learned to play the guzheng when I was six years old. Many peo-

ple in my family work in the music industry, and my aunt introduced this instrument to me. She is still a fantastic guzheng artist in my hometown [Hunan] in China.

WR: Light Wind Ensemble – the first Chinese instrumental group in Newfoundland – had its debut performance during the Cape St. Mary’s Performance Series in 2019. What inspired you to start this group?

JX: In 2019, I did my field research at the Centre for Chinese Music

and Culture in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. I have learned so much from the director, Dr. Mei Han, and the operation of the Centre, which further firmed my plan of establishing an ensemble with Chinese instruments. I always wanted to form a Chinese musical group in Newfoundland, and I think it would significantly contribute to the multicultural dynamics in this province.

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Jing Xia performs with St. John’s band Shanneyganock

WR: Aside from the Light Wind Ensemble, you’ve worked with so many artists through your efforts to create intercultural music, including the late Paul Bendsza and the Vancouver Intercultural Orchestra. What was it like to work with local band Shanneyganock?

JX: Working with Shanneyganock was a very unique and enjoyable experience. My musical education was thoroughly grounded in a combination of Chinese and Western classical music, and that was my first time collaborating with such a folk/rock band. We needed to figure out many things, both musically and technically (such as how to mic the guzheng on stage). I learned a lot

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from working with those amazing musicians, and the collaboration inspired many of my intercultural projects later on.

WR: What’s in store for you and The Numinous Journey in 2022?

JX: I originally thought of making

this album to present the guzheng to especially those who are not familiar with this instrument. That’s why I included a wide range of musical styles and genres, and people can hear different sound effects of the zheng. In 2022, I will continue to explore more musical possibilities with the guzheng and introduce The Numinous Journey to a wider audience.

August 2022

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homefront

adventures outdoors

About to release average-size trout that we caught in year three at Igloo Lake.

Take ‘em or Leave ‘em

By Gord Follett

I was unscrewing the gas cap cover on my pickup

when a gentleman around my age, or a bit younger, exited his SUV on the other side of the pumps and grumbled something about the nasty weather we’d been experiencing. At first I wasn’t sure if he was speaking to me, so I just looked at him and smiled, at least to acknowledge him in case he was.

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“And the bloody wind – no end to it!” he said while looking straight at me.

“No sir,” I replied, adding, “and whoever it was that called Chicago ‘the Windy City’ some years back could never have been in St. John’s.”

“You’re Gord, from the Newfoundland Sportsman, right?” he said.

“Same ol’ fella,” I answered with a chuckle.

“I’d like to pick your brain on something, Gord, if you got… damn wind… if you got a couple minutes.”

“Ahh, I guess so. I have to pick up my wife at work in 20 minutes, but she’s not far from here, so sure.”

“Ok great. We’ll chat inside when we pay for our gas; easier to hear each other in there.”

After paying, I took a few steps back towards the ice cream coolers and waited.

“Terry’s my name, by the way,” he began, “and I gotta ask you about this catch and release stuff. I’m talking about trout, not salmon. Forget salmon. That fish gets all the attention; too much. I don’t do salmon fishing, but I do a lot of troutin’. Now, I know you’re a big supporter of hook and release, but do you really believe that over 90 per cent of the fish that people catch and let go actually live on to spawn and whatever? No disrespect to you, Gord, but I don’t believe in it. I catch and keep what trout I’m allowed, then put the rod away until I can legally fish again, considering possession limits an’ all, ya know.”

I proceeded to inform Terry of my experiences at Igloo Lake in Labrador, where I had fished for brook (mud) trout on four one-week www.downhomelife.com

excursions between 2000 and 2010.

“When we first fished Igloo, where they have a fairly strict hook and release policy, the average trout we caught was about three pounds or a little under. This was the average size, now Terry. I stress average because we did get a few smaller and some in the five-pound range. And no, we didn’t weigh every fish; we ‘guestimated’ a lot after weighing a few on proper scales that we had in the boat.

“The second time I fished there a couple years later, it seemed the average fish was a bit bigger, maybe closer to four pounds, with the big ones tipping the scales at over six pounds.

“My third trip there, I paid closer attention to the average and heavier trout. Most of our fish were between four and five pounds, with a few coming in over seven. I’m not making this up, Terry. This is fact, at least as I experienced it.

“Last time I was there, catching five pounders was fairly common, plus we, along with a couple other guests from the States, were hooking and August 2022

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Brook trout were “slurping” live mayflies from the surface at Igloo Lake when this beauty fell for an artificial offering.

releasing the odd brook trout over eight pounds! So all I can tell you, pal, is that from my experience, it definitely works… when they are released properly, of course. And releasing a trout or salmon properly is not rocket science; a few minutes of instruction and examples, and anybody can do it…

“Mind you, I know this was in Labrador with nowhere near the fishing pressure as ponds on the Avalon Peninsula have, but then that’s why there’s not a lot of fish left today in all those ponds right off the TCH. If anglers had to limit their catch instead of always catching their limit, things would be different around here now.”

I stressed that while I support and practise catch and release, I have no problem – none whatsoever – with anybody retaining some fish, whether it be trout or salmon. I keep

my two or three salmon a year, whatever I’m permitted, and if I’m having a good day troutin’ and hooking plenty, I’ll bring home enough for a couple feeds and release the rest.

Actually, during my editorial writing days with the Newfoundland Sportsman magazine, I occasionally cautioned staunch hook-and-release advocates to try not to push their beliefs down the throats of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians, “or you’ll start a war.” Sad to say, but I haven’t been too far off on that prediction. That’s a column for another time.

I wasn’t sure whether I had gotten so caught up in our chat that I talked too much, or if Terry was just being courteous when he glanced at his watch and said, “Gord, b’y, it’s just about half-past four; you’re gonna be late for the missus… Great chattin’ with ya.”

Gord Follett was editor of the Newfoundland Sportsman magazine for more than 30 years and co-hosted the Newfoundland Sportsman TV show for 15 years. Email gordfollett@gordfollettoutdoors.com.

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homefront in your words

Paddy’s on the Mainland

By Cyril Griffin

The grannykids are on the floor. Who in the name of God could ask for more? He’d love to stay but he’s in the way. “Here’s my boat, she’s yours to use, if you choose, and good luck with the season.”

So Paddy’s heading for the mainland. But his heart is on the water.

A friend did say, “B’y, come and stay with me.” So Paddy left the tiny cove that was the only home he knew. He traded in the gravel lane for the concrete sidewalks and the busy, crowded streets. The quiet of the little cove for the constant noise of the city that never sleeps.

So Paddy is on the mainland, but his heart is on the water.

He sits in the seat of the streetcars, riding on the rails. He watches for his marks, his stop is up ahead. But for an instant, he’s standing in his motorboat, Skurv Island at his back. He searches the shoreline and the cliffs above for the marks his father showed him. And this is how you set your cod trap.

But Paddy is on the mainland. But his mind is on the water.

He stacks the crates on the factory floor in piles so straight and neat.

The young foreman asks, “Oh Paddy, how do you do it, so straight and so tall?” He says, “M’son, it’s ‘heads and tails,’ that’s the way you do it.

Did your father never show ya?”

And Paddy is on the mainland. But his mind is on the water.

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He’s got a “bob or two” in the bank and more in his pocket. His friends say “Paddy b’y, you got it made.” He doesn’t care much for the noisy, smoke-filled barrooms, but it’s what you do on a Saturday night when the work week is done. He lifts the bottle to his face and pretends that he enjoys it. But he longs for the quiet solitude of the twine loft, with needle in hand. There’s nets to be made and more to be mended, spring is ’round the corner.

Paddy is on the mainland. But his mind is on the water.

The boss comes by and says, “Paddy my boy, you’re twice their age. How is it you make it seem so simple? How is your work so sure and fast? Where did you learn to work like that?” He walks away and shakes his head. What was it that Paddy said? What did he mean by “Sure man, it was round the splittin’ table?”

Paddy is on the mainland. But his mind is on the water.

Paddy is gone. He passed away. They buried him deep beneath the clay. The mainland dirt is weighing him down.

He never got to go back home.

Yes, Paddy is buried on the mainland.

But his soul is on the water.

Eldred Allen photo

www.downhomelife.com

August 2022

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Available at Auk Island Winery and aukislandwinery.com. Select wines available at Newfoundland Liquor Corporation.

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features

How a couple’s love for all animals, alive or dead, led to a rewarding career

By Todd Hollett

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As a conservation officer, one of my goals is to educate as many people, particularly kids, about wildlife, nature and conservation. I often depend on the use of props to teach, especially taxidermy items such as skin mounts, skulls, articulated skeletons and displays. I’m always on the lookout for a source for these items, as they’re not often easy to come by. That’s how I became aware of a small family-run taxidermy business in Nova Scotia that provides quality products to private collectors, educators, museums and research institutions.

Savanna Schnare and Stephan Bakir are the owners and operators of Straight from the Schnare, and they genuinely love what they do. Steph was 14 when he developed an interest in taxidermy. He’d always been fascinated by how things work and had a lot of access to biologists growing up in Gatineau, Quebec.

“I was close to the Museum of Nature in Ottawa and spent a lot of time there, and learning what I could from both the exhibits and the staff,” he says.

Savanna always loved animals and found herself gravitating toward them, whether they were alive or dead. She says her introduction to taxidermy in her 20s came through necessity.

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Savanna Schnare has turned her love of the natural world into a career.

“After getting divorced, I found myself getting behind in the bills and looking for a little extra income.

Hunting season was coming up and while talking to one of my neighbours, he said, ‘There’s no good taxidermists around anymore.’” That got her thinking, “I bet I could do that.”

With some help from her good friend, Jim Grandy, and by watching instructional videos from McKenzie Taxidermy Supply, she started doing traditional skin mounts.

“Not long after that I started doing the skeletal side as well; and, needing to speed up the process, I started looking for a dermestid beetle colony.” Finding a Canadian beetle supplier was a problem. Who was the only one she could find? Stephan Bakir. “About four years after that he 46

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moved in with me, and we have been working together ever since,” Savanna says.

You’re likely wondering, where do they get their specimens? “We work with zoos, museums, universities, farmers, hunters, trappers, fishers, the public, and sometimes we will even pick up roadkill as well,” Savanna says, adding, “It has taken years to get to where we are now as far as acquisitions go – it’s one of those catch-22 scenarios, you know. You have to have a good reputation and have a good base of work to show for most people to take you seriously; and you have to have a reputable, ethical and legal source in order to build up a reputation.”

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explains. For example, to articulate a skeleton, it may require skinning and defleshing. Dermestid beetles are often used to strip the flesh from the bones, but sometimes bones are left outside or buried and “nature cleaned,” or they use maceration or oxidation to clean the remaining flesh from the bone. After that it’s degreasing in warm, soapy water, which will sometimes take years.

“Once all the grease has been leached out, we will then whiten them with a peroxide mixture, dry them and rearticulate it,” she says.

One of longest projects Savanna and Stephan have worked on is a skull from a leatherback sea turtle, comissioned by St. Francis Xavier University.

Projects can be completed in as little as a week for a “small, wet specimen,” or over a much longer period for a skeletal mount, which can “vary widely – even if you have two of the same animal, their lifestyle, diet and habitat can affect the amount of www.downhomelife.com

grease in the bone, which is the part of the process which generally takes the most time,” Savanna says.

The longest project they’ve worked on is a leatherback turtle skull for St. Francis Xavier University. “When we started it a little over three years ago, it was already just bone, but it was so greasy it was like picking up something covered in old peanut butter,” Savanna says. “We are still degreasing it today.”

They each have favourite projects that they’ve worked on. Steph says his was “a project for a dog rescue a few years back… the skeleton of a specific dog was actually used in the court case to prove that the owner had been abusing the dog throughout its life by showing damage to the bones.”

Savanna says, “For me, it is the cow born with Schistosomus reflexus syndrome.

It’s a rare and fatal congenital disorder, primarily seen in ruminants. There is a lot going on in these cases – spinal inversion, limb ankyloses, exposed organs and various other malformations in the bone.”

Savanna and Steph are big supporters of education and take requests from educators. “We check them out to make sure it is a legitimate request, and then we do our best to help out – whether it be a grade school, science class, university course, Boy Scouts, Girl Guides, museums, department of natural resources, parks, aquariums… really, August 2022

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Along with skulls and taxidermy, articulated specimens, such as this porcupine crab, are among Straight from the Schnare specialties.

if someone is trying to educate on any level about nature and conservation, we will do our best to facilitate.”

Savanna and Steph have provided me with monkfish skulls, lizard skeletons, various skulls and other items for my education programs and presentations.

When asked about the most rewarding part of their work, Savanna says, “This is going to sound very selfish, but honestly the most rewarding aspect of doing this was and is meeting Steph,” adding that the partnership “allowed me the freedom and courage to quit my job, as a haul truck driver, and spend the last days home with my dog, who was 14 and sadly passed about a month after.” She also appreciates getting to work with Steph and creating pet memorial pieces.

Steph’s answer is very similar in order of importance: “to give me the time I needed with Kilo [their dog], then working together, then educating and finally pet memorials.”

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Recently, the couple accepted a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity with the Florida Museum of Natural History and Conservation. While they’re looking forward to the Florida heat, they’re most excited about the new experience they’ll gain.

“One part of the job is going to be fossil prep, and I have to say I’m pretty excited about that,” Savanna confides. “It’s something that I haven’t done before, and I think I’m going to enjoy that.” She’s also looking forward to working with “a lot of species of fish that we just don’t have here and getting to see them in their natural habitat is going to be amazing.”

Savanna explains that seeing how these creatures move and interact in life can only benefit how they are preserved and displayed for posterity.

You can find Savanna and Stephan at Straight from the Schnare on Facebook, and on Instagram @straight_from_the_schnare.

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life is better Saturday morning in Bonavista, NL Mark Gray, Bonavista, NL

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features

These two NL runners had the best photo finish at the 2022 Boston Marathon

By Dennis Flynn

Greg Grenning photo

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Believe it or not,

I’ve been privy to more than a few very interesting proposals. From a ring hidden in a giant Christmas present or inside a champagne glass at a fancy restaurant, to a question popped on the stadium big screen or on George Street, I’ve seen them all. One of my all-time favourite proposals was the fellow who took his girlfriend skating on Valentine’s Day at Rockefeller Centre’s iconic outdoor rink.

While she was distracted gazing up at the New York City skyscrapers and the famous golden statue of Prometheus, another skater zipped out with an enormous bundle of red roses and handed them off. The gentleman was down on one knee with flowers and ring in hand when the lady turned around, beaming with joy and utterly surprised.

Well played, sir. Well played, indeed.

So I’m kind of hard to impress on a novel way to get engaged.

It has to be a real doozy of a moment with a remarkable back story. That is, however, exactly what Derrick Roul and Shantel Buttress of Conception Bay South, NL, delivered at the Boston Marathon finish line this past spring.

The first thing to know about these two is that they make a ridiculously cute couple who produce enough combined positive energy to power the province. The second thing is that they are both ultramarathoners accustomed to running up to 50 kilometres at a stretch on very challenging terrain. It was no surprise, then, to learn that they first met at a group training session for the Tely 10 a number of years ago.

“She was such an amazing person to talk to, I was suddenly struck so shy that I could hardly even look at her and kept speaking down to her running shoes,” Derrick recalls. “We gradually became good friends and bonded over running with shared stories and experiences that, unless you are a distance runner yourself, it is sometimes very hard for others to relate to. Talking helped the miles to go, and we got to know each other really well as people – one step at a time.”

That’s all it was, though, just great friends and sometimes running and training colleagues. Until several years later, when Shantel and Derrick both found themselves single and renewed their friendship. Eventually it blossomed into a romance and they were off to the races, literally and figuratively. www.downhomelife.com

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Fast forward to this year’s running of the Boston Marathon, held April 18. The couple were both running, with Derrick carrying an extra tiny burden and a very big secret.

With a huge smile, Derrick recalls, “I had a pair of running shorts with a secret pocket for a small key or whatnot, and that is where I kept the ring.

I was giddy like a kid in a candy store, I was that excited, and it was awesome. The only problem was every kilometre over the 42.2 km race I had to reach down and pat my leg to make sure the ring was still there. That way if, God forbid, I lost the ring I would only have to go one kilometre back to look for it instead of all the way. Thankfully nothing happened to it, but I was really afraid Shantel was going to notice me reaching to my leg and was thinking I might have to tell a white lie about the leg being a little hurt.”

Shantel adds, “I had no idea and he totally surprised me. I mean, we had of course talked about marriage, and I thought that maybe someday he was going to ask, but I never expected it then, so it was a really wonderful moment. We reached the finish line together and he dropped to one knee, produced the ring and asked me to marry him. The people all around us were amazed and so kind, taking photos and videos and just coming over telling us how happy it made them, so it was pretty incredible for a lot of reasons.”

Derrick adds, “The creator of a video [Arlen Parsa] reached out and congratulated us on our finish and let us 52

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know that he used our story as part of a promotion for the Abbott World Marathon Majors that focuses on how running partners and couples really make this Majors challenge special.”

(They appear in the last nine seconds of the video. Visit DownhomeLife.com for a link to watch.)

Smiles all around post-proposal at the Boston Marathon in 2022

More to this story

All of this alone would have been heart touching, but there’s more.

Shantel’s marathon run was almost cancelled due to an injury months earlier. “Over the winter I slipped on ice during a training run and stretched a leg, picking up what is sometimes called a sports hernia...

My longest preparation run for Boston was only 25 kilometres, and that was just two weeks before the big race.”

Derrick’s road to the 2022 Boston Marathon also had some twists and turns, as well as a significant speed bump – cancer.

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ably the best running shape of my life,” Derrick begins, “and on a really hot day at the Boston Marathon I ran it in three hours flat… I reached that finish line and cried a little because I did not break my goal of doing it under three hours. I was so focused on the clock that I couldn’t see what was really important. What mattered most was that I finished… I did so well at Boston that I was given a spot in the New York City Marathon and, unfortunately, two weeks before I was scheduled to go, I was diagnosed with leukemia.”

Derrick subsequently endured many rounds of chemotherapy and a stem cell transplant, with the donation from his fraternal twin brother.

As soon as he was able, Derrick started planning for his return to marathon running, though his doctors cautioned him that he would never be the runner that he once was.

“So that was a huge blow, but I tried to stay positive and take it in stride,” Derrick says.

He recalls watching the 2013 Boston Marathon from his hospital room. That was the year of the devastating bombing at the race. It lit a new fire under him.

“After my operation, I asked the doctors what would be the fastest I could graft and recover and get out of hospital, and they said I would be lucky to get out in 21-28 days. So I wrote 336 hours on my wall, which was about 18 days. I started walking around the corridors and stairs with my IV pole. I got released in 335 hours, with one hour to spare. They said I was the quickest one they had seen,” Derrick says. (In 2014, he received the Dr. John Williams Award, given to an individual who has www.downhomelife.com

inspired others through enthusiastic and spirited participation in the Telegram 10 Mile Road Race.)

“There were some setbacks along the way, but eventually I got back to running and qualifying for Boston, as did Shantel... We crossed the line in about 3 hours 29 minutes, holding hands together, and it meant the world to us to do it together.”

Dennis Flynn photo

Derrick says, “Ten years ago, I ran Boston and cried at the finish because I didn’t get a time I wanted.

This year I ran it and I cried with joy ... I decided I am running this race with Shantel and I am going to enjoy every step, every mile and every moment along the way.”

He adds, “Finding her has been incredible. She has been a big shining light, and she makes it easy to have something besides a finish line to look forward to.”

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HOW A FAMILY, ONCE BROKEN APART, MANAGED TO FIND THEIR WAY BACK TOGETHER.

by Nicola Ryan

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ONCE UPON A TIME,

in the quiet community of Parker’s Cove on Newfoundland’s Burin Peninsula, stood a little two-storey house. Just a stone’s throw from the sparkling waters of the cove, it was built nail by nail and board by board by a widower named Peter Murphy. In 1961, Peter was remarried to a young woman named Mary. Soon the house was home to the happy couple and their nine children: Geraldine, Selena, Albert, Betty Ann, Robert, Keith, Columbus, Margie and Ernie.

Day in and day out, the house rang with the sounds of chatter, laughter and squabbling as the children played, did their homework and went about their chores. The fragrance of Mary’s baking mingled with lemon floor polish and wood smoke, and in the kitchen on Saturday mornings, Peter would add his voice to the Irish showbands, singing along as the heat from the stove slowly drifted up to the chilly upstairs bedrooms. It was a home full of love and full of life – until one September day in 1977, when Peter passed away unexpectedly and everything abruptly turned upside down.

“We were a beautiful little family,” says Selena Murphy, the family’s second oldest daughter. “I compare it to Little House on the Prairie. We were like the Waltons. My dad was an amazing dad, an amazing husband. I don’t remember a morning of getting up and him not up getting us ready for school. He was a jack-of-alltrades and the mayor of our town. www.downhomelife.com

Peter Murphy

Our mom was a stay at home mom, a very good mom. She always had bread baking, clothes on the line, always a cooked meal on the table.

Growing up, my dad was really strict, but at the same time he was really joking and kind. I know now, where he was strict, he taught us a lot of good values. Family was everything to us, and we were a really happy family.” Selena’s voice catches a little when she adds, “All of those memories are so beautiful for me.”

Peter’s death came as a terrible shock. He had gone to the hospital in Burin, about an hour away, the night before to be treated for angina. “We had gone to visit him and he was sitting up in the bed joking around,” recalls Selena, who was 14 at the time. “Death didn’t even cross my mind. Dad was supposed to be with us forever, as far as I knew.” The next morning, she was putting fresh sheets on her father’s bed in anticipation of his return when her mother came home alone. “At 11:00, my August 2022

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mom came in the door. And she had his shoes first, his pants, his shirt and his hat – my dad always wore one of those hats with the feather in it. She looked at all of us, and tears were coming down her face. And she said, ‘He’s gone.’” Peter had left Mary behind with nine children, five of whom were under the age of 10.

Suddenly widowed, without her partner and provider, Mary struggled to cope. “When my dad was gone, we lost a part of our mom,” Selena recalls. “She was never the same person after that. To be left with all the kids, to try and make it on her own.” Selena’s voice cracks, “All the little mouths to feed, no money coming in.”

Without Peter the house itself began to deteriorate, and rain leaked in through the tarpaper roof. “I remember the roof leaking, and we had no food in our house,” Selena says. It soon became apparent that the family would have to leave the house that Peter built. “We stayed in the house for a year,” says Selena, “and when I was 15, we moved to Marystown, which ripped my heart right out of my body.”

Things were no better in Marystown. “Mom was in bad shape. My older sister, Geraldine, saved all of us. She was the one who took care of us, so much so that one of my younger brothers used to call her Mom. She gave up everything, she was so good to all of us.”

But eventually, the hardships proved to be too much for even the strongest family ties. Mary knew the only option she had left to save her 56

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Mary Murphy children and provide them with a better life was to not stay together in Marystown. The family was scattered apart – to foster care, orphanages and strange new cities out of province. It was an incredibly painful and heartbreaking chapter for a family that had once been so close.

FINDING THEIR WAY HOME In 2011, Selena, Betty Ann, Mary and other family members went to Parker’s Cove for Come Home Year. “One of our cousins in the cove made arrangements with the [house’s] owners to see if we could come over and have a visit. So we went back in the house and the upstairs, still to this day, is the same as it was. I closed my eyes and I could imagine us being there. It was like going back in time.” In the old bedroom she once shared with Peter, Mary broke down and cried.

Something about seeing their former home really got them thinking – maybe they could go home again, maybe the old house could be a place where a family broken apart might start healing. “After that, my sister said, ‘If this house comes up for sale, 1-888-588-6353

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can you let us know?’”

A few years ago the house did come up for sale, and a few of the Murphy siblings chipped in and bought it for all the family to enjoy.

Although, sadly, Mary passed away before they could all be reunited.

“She died in December of 2020,” says Selena. “We had her funeral in August of 2021 in Ontario, and then my brothers drove home and brought her home. I’ll never forget when my brother drove in with her ashes. We brought her in the living room and my sister said, ‘Mom, you’re home,’ and we all started to cry. So we put her up on the shelf and sat around and just talked about good times.”

Selena adds, “Some people would think, ‘Why would you want to go back there if it brings back bad memories?’ But it doesn’t bring back bad memories – for me, my good memories are of my childhood in that house.

“When you have real love in any relationship – family, brothers and sisters, husband and wife – it would take a lot to break those bonds. And all those trials and tribulations couldn’t break it. We had a tough time, but we all became the people that our dad and mom wanted us to be.”

It took more than 40 years, but at last the old two-storey house in Parker’s Cove is full of Murphys and full of life. Music and laughter spill

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Some of the Murphy siblings out the open windows. All the brothers and sisters and their families crowd the living room and kitchen, where a big Jiggs dinner is being served up. Outside, a cool breeze drifts over the cove where Mary and Peter are buried upon the hill. It was a long, hard road, but the Murphys are home, again.

Home in Parker’s Cove

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of the Accordion, and now her former home is the first museum in Tompkins, NL. The home where folks gathered for music and good times now invites visitors to discover the history of the Codroy Valley and its most famous resident, Minnie White.

Born in St. Alban’s, Bay d’Espoir, Mary “Minnie” Hoskins moved to the Codroy Valley for work. She met Richard White of Tompkins, and while she worked at the Log Cabin Hotel in Spruce Brook (near George’s Lake), about two hours away by train, they exchanged love letters. They married in September 1937, and raised five daughters and one son on the White family farm. www.downhomelife.com

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Above: Minnie White’s former home in Tompkins. Right: Minnie and Richard on their 50th wedding anniversary in 1987.

“They were a great couple, I have to say. They were humorous, very humorous both. And musical, both,” recalls Helen White, who married Minnie and Richard’s only son, Russell. (“I was Minnie’s favourite daughter-in-law!” she loves to joke.) “Russell remembers them playing, each with an accordion. There was always music in their house.”

She adds, “Once she got married, she used to chord [play] with the fiddlers at local ‘times’… There was always music down there on Sundays. The fiddlers would drop by; there were a lot of fiddlers.”

In the 1970s, Minnie got a job playing music on Sunday afternoons at the Starlite Lounge, located just a mile or two from her home.

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“Minnie was not shy,” says Helen.

“She loved a crowd. The more people were in the audience, the better she enjoyed it. She often said that.” In addition to her Sunday gigs, Minnie made TV, festival and concert appearances over the years.

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(Above) This authentic looking blackboard was built by Russell for the classroom exhibit.

(Left) A child’s bedroom as it might have looked in the early to mid-1900s.

that Minnie White became a household name in Newfoundland and Labrador. She played traditional tunes and composed some of her own, even recording four albums between 1973 and 1994. For her contributions to traditional music, the East Coast music industry honoured her with ECMA nominations, the Harry Hibbs Award and a Lifetime Achievement award. She was inducted into the ArtsNL Hall of Honour, designated an Ambassador of Hospitality and named to the Order of Canada. After Minnie’s death in 2001, at the age of 85, Senator Ethel Cochrane paid tribute to her in the House of Commons, saying, “She www.downhomelife.com

skillfully blended the music of the province’s four prominent cultures – English, Irish, French and Scottish – to produce strong, toe-tapping music that uniquely represented island culture. Through her dignified stage presence, Minnie White helped lead the resurgence in our province’s traditional music and inspired a whole new generation to take pride in our musical heritage.”

My Dear Minnie After Minnie’s death, her home was left to Russell and Helen, who had their own home nearby on the same family farm. Helen, a retired teacher and self-proclaimed lover of history, August 2022

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had dreams of creating a museum.

But it wasn’t until they stripped the house back to the studs, basically, and were sure the building had good bones that the museum project was a go.

“We had it all gutted out before COVID, and we worked [on it] throughout COVID,” Helen says, adding, “It was a wonderful project.”

Going through memorabilia, dreaming up exhibits, hunting for display items – it provided an enjoyable distraction from the pandemic. It gave them fond memories and some good stories of how parts of the project came together – like how they got the potbelly stove for the classroom exhibit.

“That’s a good story!” says Helen.

“We were sitting down one night when Russell said, ‘There’s your potbelly stove.’ He was looking at the tablet.” Helen called the number on the classified ad and spoke with the seller in Nova Scotia. Once they settled on the price, the next step was how to get it across the Gulf of St. Lawrence to Tompkins. “You don’t know anyone coming over or anything, do you?” Helen asked him.

Offhand he didn’t, but a couple of days later he called her back. “Your stove is on its way to PEI,” he told Helen. It was taking a roundabout route, but would be delivered to Tompkins by someone who just happened to know of the Whites. “When he mentioned our names to her, she knew that we were friends of her sister,” Helen says. “So they had to go visit someone in PEI, and then visit a sister in Fredericton [NB] and, anyway, sure enough, it showed up here at the door. Wasn’t that something?”

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people from this province, this wasn’t the only coincidental connection in the making of the museum.

When they were having a new roof installed, one of the roofers offered a gramophone for their display.

Accepting it, Helen added that what she really wanted was an old pair of

Minnie White’s Order of Canada pin adorns one of her performance gowns in Minnie’s Room.

fisherman’s oilskins, complete with Cape Ann, for the fishing room. “And the other fellow said, ‘I got one of them,’ and the next day he brought it up. Can you imagine how lucky?” says Helen.

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their coal for the small forge and the teacher’s coal bucket. “It’s a funny thing,” she says. “My brother tore down our old family woodshed a couple of years ago and he found two bags of coal that my father had there, must have been 50 years ago!”

Between the Whites’ own collec-

The rural post office exhibit includes a mailbag, mail boxes, and the names and addresses of every Tompkins resident in 1948.

tion, items they sourced and bought, and donations or loans from people in Codroy Valley and beyond, Helen and Russell have created a carefully curated testament to the rich 1900s life in Codroy Valley.

When you enter the My Dear Minnie www.downhomelife.com

Museum, visitors can sign the guest book that lays atop the very table that for 13 years was “reserved for Minnie and Richard White” at the Starlite Lounge. The lounge owner had gifted it to Minnie after she retired. The living room is now Minnie’s Room, containing her old organ, one of her performance dresses with her Order of Canada pin attached, and a display case containing the clue to the museum’s name – those love letters Richard wrote to his girlfriend in 1936 and ’37. They all begin with “My Dear Minnie.”

A small kitchen setup includes a butter churn and a cream separator.

They added a rural post office, complete with mail slots filled with pieces of mail, a mail bag with parcels, and a list of every Tompkins resident and their addresses from 1948. In the porch, as there would have been years ago, there’s an old wash stand and a wash tub.

Upstairs is a child’s bedroom, with antique furniture, homemade quilt, children’s clothing and toys. Down the hall is a classroom from the oneroom school days. Helen drew upon her own career for that one. “I had seven grades when I started teaching,” she says. On the chalkboard she wrote out a typical multi-grade schedule. (The chalkboard, like the mail boxes, the Minnie’s Room display case and other items as needed, was built by Russell.) This room has the potbelly stove, coal bucket, student and teacher desks, hand bell, pencil sharpener, kerosene lamp and books.

The fishing room pays tribute to the ocean fishery at Codroy and the world-class fly fishing on the Grand Codroy and Little Codroy rivers. In August 2022

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addition to the gifted oilskins and a lobster pot, there’s a fisherman’s gaff (a gift from a Scottish sportfishing tourist) and a rather unique trophy salmon. “This fellow from the United States, Mason was his name … when he’d get a big fish he’d get his guides to cut down a tree to get the lumber from it, and trace the shape of the fish on it and cut it out,” explains Helen. All the details – fisher’s name, guide’s name, where and when it was caught, the size etc. – were carved into the wood. Borrowing from a local who had kept one of these, Russell traced it out on a new board and Helen painted it up for display.

Last is the community room, which contains photos and personal stories of the small schools that each community had before the centralization of education.

Returning downstairs, a farming room honours the Codroy Valley, as well as the White farm that the museum sits on. The property is a certified Century Farm, meaning it has been

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in continuous operation by the same family for at least 100 years. “The Whites were the first occupants of this property when they came here from Nova Scotia in 1885,” Helen says. Through the years, the Whites were mixed farmers, raising cattle and growing vegetables for sale.

Before Russell retired they were hay farmers, and now they grow vegetables for their own use while the bulk of the land is leased to the West Valley Dairy Farm for hay making. This room contains a spinning wheel, the small forge and even the very blade from the White sawmill that cut the lumber for this building.

My Dear Minnie Museum opened in the summer of 2021, when tourism was still suffering pandemic effects. Yet, Helen reports that they had visitors from every corner of Newfoundland and from other places in Canada and the US. This summer it’s open 10 – 4 every day until the end of August, and then by appointment in September.

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There’s perhaps nothing

more synonymous with Newfoundland and Labrador culture than the humble, colourful, cosy quilt. Whether made out of necessity to keep loved ones warm, or given as a gift to celebrate a marriage, a new child or some other milestone, each thread would be stitched with love and, traditionally, made with whatever materials were on hand. These practical expressions of affection are often handed down through the generations, making a beloved keepsake.

Ray Mackey photo

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Some quilts on display during the festival include commissioned pieces from collectors, such as Richard Walsh’s Peace Quilt (above) and Shirley Pryor’s memory quilt (right). Wayne Parsons photos “A lot of people’s grandmothers were just makers and used whatever they had… nothing was ever thrown away and nothing was ever discarded… And my favourite sort of reflection on that is once when I was in high school, I said to my grandmother, ‘I’d love to have a quilt.’ And she said, ‘Would ya?’… She got up and took the curtains down and made a quilt there and then for me... it’s just that instinct. And I always thought that was absolutely beautiful,” recalls Deena (Dee) Riggs. “And I still have that quilt, and I keep it in a cedar chest because that’s a treasure for me.”

These days, Dee is the coordinator of the Festival of Quilts – an event that invites quilt makers and quilt lovers to the Bay de Verde Peninsula to connect and “hang out,” learn and 68

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share skills, and soak in breathtaking displays while celebrating handmade tradition and cultural creativity.

A Common Thread First held in 2019, the Festival of Quilts (which covers the communities of Bay de Verde, Grates Cove and Red Head Cove) stemmed from a shared vision to develop tourism in the area.

“The goal was to get people to come

Shawn Hyde and Brian Nolan demonstrate some quiltwork in Red Head Cove Wayne Parsons photos

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right down to the end of what was then the Baccalieu Trail, and what is now the Baccalieu Coastal Drive,” says Dee (who spent part of her youth in Bay de Verde, where her parents are from).

While they planned for a couple of hundred people to show up for the inaugural event, Dee says they welcomed well over 1,000 visitors. “[We] felt like, okay, we’re onto something here,” she says.

Even though the pandemic put the event on pause the past two summers, the festival team kept busy producing a series of videos called “Common Threads” for the Bay de Verde tourism website. The videos highlight local history and people, and the special quilts in their lives.

Last year they hosted a Hangout, whereby residents were encouraged to display their quilts on their own clotheslines, creating a colourful tapestry for all to enjoy outdoors at a safe pandemic-era distance.

This summer, the festival is back in full swing. Taking place August 19-21, it will feature a makers’ market, with fabric vendors, and a quilters’ café at the RC Hall. There will also be workshops and presentations with Ralph Jarvis and Corey Follett of The Quilted Stash (who recently released a book of the same name, featuring Newfoundland and Labrador inspired quilting projects); a landscape appliqué workshop by quilter Colleen McLean; and a photography workshop to teach quilters about lighting and other techniques for taking good photos of their creations.

“We’re also going to do something a little different: partnering with a block printer. And she’s going to actually carve the block, but people August 2022

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can come and make a block print of a quilt design,” Dee adds.

“It’s important for us to have something that’s kid friendly and senior friendly... where they can come and sort of engage on some level.”

Some of the biggest attractions during the festival are the quilt exhibits in the local churches.

Whale of a Time And of course, there are quilt displays at the churches and halls in Bay de Verde, Grates Cove and Red Head Cove, and on the many clotheslines strung throughout the area.

“It’s an exhibit, you know, as much as going to an art gallery kind of deal.

The first year we used both the RC church and the Anglican church in Bay de Verde. And I don’t think any of us had really counted on how emotional an experience that would be.

There was just something really special about seeing the quilts laid over the pews. It just worked really beautifully together,” Dee says.

“We had a story quilt category, which was my favourite, because people actually wrote something up to go with their quilt. So we had quilts from the coast of Labrador. We had a quilt made from the bandanas that one of our quilters used when 70

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she was going through chemotherapy... A couple of them were form and function, made from scraps, made by someone’s great-grandmother out of things around the house. It just celebrates all different types of quilts.”

With the help of a Come Home Year grant, the festival team has engaged 31 local quilters to create small wall quilts based on the theme “Sea of Whales” (fitting, considering the number of whales that frolic in local waters in the summer). These

Ray Mackey photo

will be displayed at the RC Hall, along with a 50-foot quilted whale.

The goal, Dee says, is to have the exhibit travel to other places as well.

Based on the previous event, Dee expects hundreds of quilts to be on display during the festival, which she calls a “photographer’s dream.”

“I mean, those communities, and just the quilts flapping in the wind… it’s so beautiful,” she says.

“We also welcome people to come into the community and hang their own quilts. We’ve had some clotheswww.downhomelife.com

lines built. They can come and they can hang; they can sell their quilts.

We don’t take any commission of any quilts that are sold because we want the quilters to make as much as they can on the quilts,” she adds.

The festival is also partnering with other local groups. For example, the Baccalieu View Walking Trail in Red Head Cove will host a lighthouse quilt exhibit and a children’s scavenger hunt.

As for the future of the event, Dee and her team are aiming high. “I’ve always sort of said that I want this to grow to be an international festival... but we’re still in very early years in terms of what we can do.

But I want to see it happen every single year moving forward. I want to bring in international quilters. I want it to be a destination quilt festival,” she says.

Thinking back upon the quilt that her grandmother lovingly made for her years ago, Dee hopes the Festival of Quilts gives others a chance to create special moments with their loved ones.

“The first year that we had this, there was more than one person who said to me, ‘Oh my god, I just can’t wait to get my mom and my nan in the car, and we’re going to make a day of it; we’re going to come down, we’re going to have something to eat.

We’re just going to enjoy that time together.’ So I think that’s such a special thing, to create an event [where] you can say people are making memories together.”

Find the Festival of Quilts on Facebook @festivalofquiltsbaydeverde.

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life is better On top of Cook's Lookout, Burin, NL Qing Chen, NL

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explore

what’s in a name?

By Dale Jarvis

The modern community of Bristol’s Hope lies nestled against the spruce-covered hills between Carbonear and Harbour Grace. Its name traces back to the colony of Bristol’s Hope, which was established in 1617 and reported as “a thriving spot” in 1631. By the end of the 1600s, the name had shifted to Musketta or Muskete Cove, and the itch-inspiring name Mosquito Cove persisted right up to 1910, when the old name of Bristol’s Hope was officially readopted.

The Bristolian part of the name is easily understood – the original colony was set up by John Guy (of Cupid’s fame) and the Society of Merchant Venturers, of the English city of Bristol. The “hope” part of the name is a form of the Old English word “hop,” meaning “a small enclosed valley,” which is a pretty good description of the landscape you will see if you go visit the beautifully restored Mosquito Schoolhouse in Bristol’s Hope.

While Bristol’s Hope technically means Bristol’s Valley, Labrador’s

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Hopedale literally means “The Valley of Hope.” It was first an Inuit settlement named Arvertok – Inuttitut for “place of the whales.” In historic documents, it is also called Arbatok, and in revised spellings appears as Agvituk and Apvitok. That was until Moravian missionary Jens Haven supervised the construction of a mission house in the community, built of prefabricated timbers transported from Nain. The mission was christened with a German name, Hoffenthal, “Valley of Hope.” In English, that became today’s Hopedale.

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Port Hope Simpson was founded as a company town in 1934, producing lumber used in mines.

Another community with a hopeful-sounding name is Hopeall, an unincorporated community located between Green’s Harbour and New Harbour on the southeast coast of Trinity Bay. Surveyor Michael Lane (a colleague of Captain James Cook, source of many local place names) referred to the spot as Hope-allHead in 1775. In the 1800s, it went by the name Hope-all-a-Head, which I think sounds lovely. This was shortened to Hope All, and eventually Hopeall.

What about Port Hope Simpson, you ask? Founded in 1934 as a company town by the Labrador Development Company, it was named after Sir John Hope Simpson, one of the

venture’s financial backers. Between 1935 and 1947, the primary material produced in the community was pit props cut for the Welsh mining market.

Newfoundland and Labrador can also boast a Hopewell, a Hope Brook, a Hope Cove and a Hope Lake, but having space to write about all of them is more than I dare hope for.

Do you know a story or local legend explaining your favourite Newfoundland and Labrador place name? Send it to dale@dalejarvis.ca.

Dale is the author of “Place Names of Newfoundland and Labrador” (2022, Flanker Press).

Hopeall was referred to as Hope-all-Head in 1775 Donna Fitzpatrick photo

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explore

Don’t hit the trails alone; use these tips to make a new friend.

By Nicola Ryan

Aiden Mahoney photo

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is famous for its wide open spaces, breathtaking coastal trails, and pristine backcountry wilderness that beckon to hikers and explorers. And while you might picture yourself cresting the Long Range Traverse solo and triumphant, like in the tourism commercials, most likely your office job hasn’t really prepared you for tackling the wilderness on your own. We’ve rounded up some of the ways you can find a group of hiking companions to join you on the trails.

TRAIL GUIDES AND HIKING GROUPS

If you’re on the Avalon Peninsula, lace up your hiking boots and head for the East Coast Trail. The trail is made up of 25 wilderness paths, stretching over 330 km all the way from Topsail Beach to Cappahayden. Volunteers with the East Coast Trail Association lead public guided hikes on weekends from April to November. It’s a great way to explore a path you haven’t tried before, and the guides are knowledgeable about the points of interest – from sea stacks to suspension bridges – that you’ll encounter along the way. Check out the website for the schedule, to pre-register with the hike leader and to view more specific instructions. (See sidebar on page 79 for all the websites linked to this article.)

In Western Newfoundland, the International Appalachian Trail extends from Port aux Basques in the south, through Gros Morne National Park, to Crow Head just east of L’Anse aux Meadows at the tip of the Northern Peninsula. This longdistance hiking trail is part of the larger Appalachian Trail that winds its way across the Atlantic through Greenland, Iceland, Sweden, Denmark, England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales and more! Check out the IAT website for lots of details from the experts. Near Corner Brook, the Humber Valley Trail is a scenic section of the IAT that runs 25 km over moderate terrain along the rolling hills overlooking the Humber Valley. To find a buddy to hike with, search for the “Hiking & Exploring Western Newfoundland” group on Facebook.

If you’re handy to the Parks Canada interpretation centres in Gros Morne or Terra Nova, you can join a guided walk led by a Parks Interpreter. Guided walks give you the opportunity to learn more about ecology, geography, wildlife and human history as you explore. The guided walks are usually over gentle terrain, so they’re suitable for all ages and abilities. You can find a schedule of guided walks and other programs on the Government of Canada’s Parks Canada website. www.downhomelife.com

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TRAINING PROGRAMS TOUR OPERATORS

For a fuller travel experience, join up with a tour operator and explore with a knowledgeable, experienced guide and a small group. Most professional guides have been trained in outdoor adventure and wilderness first aid, so you can feel safe, and many have educational and environmental backgrounds, not to mention unique first-hand knowledge of the particular area you’re exploring. On the west coast, Wild Gros Morne operates a variety of interpretive walking and hiking tours of Gros Morne Mountain, the Tablelands and the Park’s backcountry wilderness. On the east coast, McCarthy’s Party in St. John’s offers walking tours of Signal Hill’s popular North Head Trail and the Blackhead Trail, with local guides and transportation provided in their recognizable van.

Additionally, Trail Connections is a network of B&Bs located along the East Coast Trail that cater to hikers.

Stay with each community host for a couple of days and hike from there, knowing there’s a home-cooked meal and a comfortable bed waiting for you at the end of the day. Trail Connections’ services include accommodation, three meals (breakfast, packed lunch, supper), and complimentary transportation to and from the trailheads. Your last host will even get you back to the airport or to St. John’s. Check out their website and make sure to book in advance, as the summer season often gets busy.

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For those interested in an in-depth learning experience, every year, the Department of Fisheries, Forestry and Agriculture offers the Becoming an Outdoors Woman (BOW) program to women 18 years of age or older. The BOW weekend is designed to increase confidence in outdoor pursuits and build awareness of the natural environment. Participants learn the basics of not just hiking, but also lots of wilderness activities including outdoor cooking and survival, wildlife and plant identification, basic angling techniques, and safe use of firearms and archery equipment. BOW events include a three-day weekend outing in the spring or fall, and Beyond BOW workshops held throughout the year.

You can call Salmonier Nature Park for more information.

COMMUNITY GROUPS

There are lots of online ways to connect, make new friends, find out local information and explore outdoor interests. While community-building websites like MeetUp aren’t as well known in Newfoundland and Labrador as they are in bigger cities, you can always check it out to see if there are any folks or groups in your area. AllTrails.com lets you search thousands of trails and provides trail info, maps, detailed reviews and photos curated by millions of hikers, campers and nature lovers. And, Facebook, of course, is also invaluable. Check out Facebook groups like Hiking in Newfoundland Labrador (Hike NL), and check out the discussions, recent posts and pictures from other hikers.

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To take on other fantastic trails, your best bet is to check with the locals! Word of mouth is always a great way to learn more and make connections with other folks interested in hiking. If you’re in a small community, try calling the nearest town office or 50-plus club to inquire, or if you’re staying somewhere new, ask the host at your accommodations. They’re sure to know the best tips first hand. In Twillingate, for example, the Anchor

Inn has maps of the Rockcut Trails available and they’re happy to provide information, similar to the B&Bs along the Labrador Straits Pioneer Footpath, and many guests homes and vacation rentals across the province.

In short, if the sun is out and the trail is calling to you, there are lots of ways to connect with others, find out first-hand information, and find a hiking buddy eager to enjoy an adventure near you.

East Coast Trail www.EastCoastTrail.com International Appalachian Trail www.IATnl.ca Parks Canada www.Pc.gc.ca/en/pn-np AllTrails www.Alltrails.com/canada/newfoundland-and-labrador Wild Gros Morne www.WildGrosMorne.com Trail Connections www.TrailConnections.ca McCarthy’s Party www.MccarthysParty.com/hiking-walking-tour Salmonier Nature Park www.Gov.nl.ca/ffa/wildlife/snp Facebook Hiking & Exploring Western Newfoundland www.facebook.com/groups/1521447411456002

Facebook Hiking in Newfoundland and Labrador (Hike NL) www.facebook.com/groups/1525331824356915

Pioneer Footpath www.LabradorCoastalDrive.com RockCut Trails www.RockCutTrails.ca 50+ Clubs www.Seniorsnl.ca/seniors/in-the-community/nl-50plus-federation Newfoundland Labrador Tourism www.NewfoundlandLabrador.com/things-to-do/hiking-and-walking

MeetUp www.Meetup.com

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explore travel diary

Story & photos by G. Tod Slone Barnstable, MA, USA

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mouths open, eyes open. Petites, on the southwest coast, seemed always to be on the top of my two or three places to visit in Newfoundland. As we entered the inlet this summer, I quickly became awe-stricken even though I’d been there before in 2016. Petites seemed a bit more flattened out than it had appeared during that first visit. Still, many houses stood tall, though often without doors and windows. It was a beautiful morning: sunny and not windy. That beauty seemed to contradict the death of the outport, or maybe it rather highlighted the beauty of those old wooden structures.

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At the tourist office in Port aux Basques, I mentioned Petites. One of the women there quickly made a phone call. And so, over the phone, Chris of Margaree Outfitters and I came to an agreement. The next morning at 8:00, I drove to the wharf in Margaree. There I met Chris and his Uncle Regge, who was along for the ride. We stepped onto Chris’s boat and he set a course.

Man, it was nippy! I almost froze to death. We cruised past Isle aux Morts. I recognized the abandoned green fish plant; I’d slept in my car the night before parked in front of it.

Then on to Burnt Islands and Rose Blanche, where we had a beautiful view of the lighthouse. It took about 50 minutes to finally arrive at Petites. And as soon as we did, I stepped onto the old dock and off I went, mesmerized by the beauty of the abandoned dwellings, even more so than the last time. I walked all over, taking tons of photos. I stepped inside of a few of the houses: peeling 82

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paint and wallpaper, a wrecked chair, a rusting oven.

Down the old, half-overgrown concrete walkway to the old power station, I hiked. Then over to the church, I walked. It had recently been fixed up. And indeed, inside it looked amazingly perfect. But the roof still needed to be shingled. I gazed out at the vast barrens, wondering what it would have been like to walk from Harbour Le Cou. A couple of fellers had done that about a decade ago. It took them two full days. The thought of doing it, of course, had entered my mind... but stayed there.

And so I walked. Such a beautiful place! Chris and Regge walked a bit, too. Regge seemed to be checking everything out like me, though we went our separate ways. He picked up a few souvenirs, including a little doll. I grabbed a Rose Blanche Gas Bar cap, dirty as hell, so I stuck it in a plastic bag. Then Regge and I met up at the bottom of the inlet and 1-888-588-6353

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explored inside one of the houses. I spotted a doll that had no face due to wear and tear, like one would see in a horror movie.

Lastly, I walked alone around the other side of the inlet, which I hadn’t done the last time because I only had an hour to visit. This time I had three hours – just right! From the wharf, it didn’t look like much was there. But, wow, at the far end was a huge fish flake, beaten by time of course. It was a beautiful and clear testimony to Petites’ past as an important part of the fishing industry. There were also a number of shacks and houses.

Eventually, I returned to the wharf and Chris’s waiting boat. On the way back, Chris went closer to the shore

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here and there to give me a tour of some places, especially where a few cabins were, like Brazil. He kindly gave me a beer. Then Regge gave me three ham and cheese sandwiches.

Nice! He also gave me a juice. So I drank and ate. I’d hardly stopped walking for three hours, so I was somewhat beat and hungry.

When we arrived back at Margaree, Chris told me he had some red wine, so I should follow him to his house.

And so the three of us sat outside there in the sun, drinking away. The wine was from Cape Breton and without a label, but was very good. Chris’s wife was from the Cape. She worked on the ferry for 14-day shifts. Then Wally from St. John’s arrived and sat with us. What a day it had been!

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HOME and Cabin

stuff we love by Nicola Ryan

Picnic Pieces

UP A NOTCH Elevate your picnic experience with a foldable picnic table like this one from Ollieroo. Small and sturdy, it’s easy to carry and set up, and can accommodate four wine glasses, a bottle of wine, and a variety of snacks in recessed compartments. Walmart.ca

TAKE A HIKE If your picnic is part of a longer excursion, forget the bulky basket and tote a backpack instead. This one from VonShelf comes with everything you need for a picnic for four: place settings, cutlery, wine glasses, cotton napkins, a cutting board, corkscrew and more. Amazon.ca

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SQUARE MEAL Stake out a scenic picnic spot and unroll this bright Coleman outdoor blanket.

The top is soft flannel and the bottom is water-resistant, but the real genius are the corner loops that you can use to secure it to the ground so it doesn’t shift around or blow away in the wind.

Canadiantire.ca

ON LOCATION Keep pesky mosquitos and bugs away from your picnic with a Thermacell Patio Shield. It promises to create a 15-foot zone of protection without electrical cords, DEET, smoke or citronella. The unscented, nature-inspired repellent can last up to 12 hours and is easily refillable.

Thermacell.com

PILLOW TALK Add style and comfort to your Instagram-worthy picnic setup with brightly patterned cushions.

We love the bold stripes of these colourful Ursprunglig cushions from Ikea – they even come with a handle for carrying. Ikea.com

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HOME and Cabin

Nature, take it in!

By Interior Designer Marie Bishop

I am so grateful for the lush greenery surrounding us this time of year.

All too soon it will be gone and we’ll be lamenting its departure. So, while it is here, let’s spend as much time as possible out there in our parks, trails and backyards to breathe it in, feel the positive energy, hold onto the wonderful scents. It’s been documented that the more time we spend in nature, the less stressed we feel and the more 86

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connected we become – to ourselves, our loved ones and our surroundings. Who wouldn’t want to bring some of that wonderful energy into our indoor spaces? And it doesn’t have to cost a dime.

Whether you have a wellgroomed garden full of annuals and perennials or prefer to let Mother Nature do the planting, all you have to do is look around your backyard, along the roadside, in grassy meadows or on lakeshores to find flowers, grasses and shrubs that make wonderful arrangements you can bring in and enjoy for weeks at a time.

A few plants dry naturally, such as straw flowers – all you have to do is put them in a vase and let them sit. Others, such as hydrangea, will dry beautifully if you add just a little water to the container they are in. Once the water has been absorbed, leave them in the container to dry naturally.

Some of their colour will fade, but it gives them a vintage look.

How to Make Arrangements Gather five or six containers you’d like to use. You don’t need fancy, store-bought vases. In fact, the more original and unique the container, the more interesting the arrangement.

Consider where you will put them and what type of flowers you will use.

Tall flowers like lupins, foxglove and pussy willows need a tall container. If www.downhomelife.com

Christine Kew photo

you are placing your flowers on a small table, or vanity in the half-bath, you’ll want to use a smaller container, which doesn’t necessarily mean smaller flowers.

Here are some “vase” ideas to consider: mason jar, ceramic jug, tea pot, gravy boat, glass canister, large mug, wine bottle, vintage tins, vintage glassware… pretty much anything that holds water. Have fun, be creative – flowers always look great!

Once you’ve chosen your containers, it’s time to collect the flowers. If you’re lucky enough to have an abundance of blooming annuals in your garden, you’ll have cuttings at your fingertips from June to September. If August 2022

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Here are some “vase” ideas to consider: mason jar, ceramic jug, tea pot, gravy boat, glass canister, large mug, wine bottle, vintage tins, vintage glassware… pretty much anything that holds water.

Have fun, be creative – flowers always look great!

you’re going for wildflower collection, your options will depend on location and timing. Perennial flowers each have their favourite blooming time.

The beauty is, you can keep a display of fresh flowers in your house, in your cabin or on the patio table all summer long.

Most wild flowers lend themselves to a more casual arrangement. Scoop up an armful of lupins and plunk them down in a tall container and you’re done. They demand some vertical space and look best in an area 88

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where they can dominate, like the centre of a table. Wild roses, the pink and white varieties, are best displayed in a wide-mouthed, fairly low vase or bowl. Careful of the thorny stems: leather garden gloves are your friend for these beauties. Their abundance of leaves help fill out the arrangement and the scent is intoxicating. Other wild flowers – such as daisies, clover, buttercups, musk mallow, goldenrod, fireweed – all look great mixed in with some tall grass, placed in a mason jar with some jute 1-888-588-6353

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tied around the mouth of the jar.

If you want to create a monochromatic arrangement it’s easy to find three or four different varieties in the same colour family, which works great if you’re making a statement or creating a particular look. Take blues, for instance (my personal favourite).

Who knew there were so many blue flowers to choose from, both wild and cultivated? Irises, hydrangea, lavender, foxglove, fireweed, forget-menots, lilacs, asters, for starters.

Good grief!

Large flowers have an amazing impact, whether with a single bloom or in a cluster of half a dozen. Peonies, hydrangeas, oriental poppies, dahlias and sunflowers create quite a centrepiece with their

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stunning presence.

And let’s not forget the greenery.

For arrangements that need it, you can add ivy, ferns, grasses or even stems of interesting leaves from dogberry, magnolia, birch or maple.

To keep your arrangements fresh for as long as possible, clip the stems on a 45-degree angle, cut off any leaves that will be sitting below the water level and add two teaspoons of white vinegar with one teaspoon of sugar per litre of water.

Summer, the most wonderful time of the year! Sit back, breathe it in, and as it winds down, make the most of our colourful outdoors. Spread the joy, bring it in, show it off, share it with friends and neighbours. It’s a way for everyone to love their space!

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the everyday gourmet

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the everyday gourmet

By Andrea Maunder

Andrea Maunder is the owner and creative force behind Saucy & Sweet – Homemade Specialty Foods & Catering.

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I was surprised

to see vacuum-packed fresh turkey wings at my supermarket recently – and picked them up, not really knowing what I was going to do with them. They were in the fridge a couple of days and I thought about them in the morning, before I left the house. My mom, Daphne, was coming over late afternoon to help me reorganize my kitchen, and it was a gorgeous day for a barbecue. So I made up a quick brine and set them in the fridge with a plan to use my homemade BBQ dry-spice mixture and glazefinish them with my Chipotle Cherry Bomb-B-Q sauce (from my line of Saucy & Sweet preserves).

You can use any BBQ sauce you like to glaze, and the brine can be used for poultry, pork chops, ribs – even fish and seafood. Whole birds or large cuts of meat can be brined overnight; portions like wings and thighs need just 4-6 hours; fish, such as a salmon/halibut steak or whole cod filet, a couple hours; shrimp, an hour or so.

When you remove any protein from the brine, pat it dry and allow to air dry on the counter 15 minutes or so. This is especially important for poultry with skin, but also for anything you want to sear. Wet shrimp, for example, will tend to “boil” rather than get a nice brown sear.

The beauty of brine is that you can customize not only the flavour, but also the intensity of salt.

For example, if I knew I wouldn’t get back to chicken thighs until the next day, I would reduce the saltiness of the brine by a third. For flavour, I have a standard bunch of aromatics I use, and I add or swap out other flavours depending on what I am brining and how I intend to finish the cooking. I nearly always start with fresh bay leaves, a sprig or two or thyme (lemon-thyme is

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ginger, cumin and coriander seed, 2-3 whole cloves and a piece of cinnamon stick, plus a fresh chile, sliced through lengthwise but stem left on, for some heat. Greek? Extra garlic and lemon, fresh or dried oregano and mint. You get the idea – and I hope your brain’s culinary wheels are turning. Remember if using citrus, use skin-on wedges, not just juice, which could start the process of “cooking” the protein. The other important thing to remember is that my measurement is for kosher salt – which is larger and flakier. If you are using finely ground sea salt or regular table salt, reduce the quantity by 25 per cent.

my favourite), a handful of peppercorns, a few allspice berries, a couple cloves of garlic and a half a lemon cut into 3 or 4 wedges. Now imagine you were brining duck: adding a sprig of fresh rosemary and a star anise, and swapping a quartered orange for the lemon would be gorgeous. Thick-cut bone-in pork chops: a pinch of fennel and mustard seeds, a pinch of dried chile flakes, a sprig of sage and brown sugar in place of white sugar.

For salmon steaks, a pinch of dill seed (fresh dill stems), mustard seed and celery seed, extra lemon and omit the sugar. If you are planning an Indian-inspired chicken meal, try adding a few slices of fresh

BBQ Turkey Wings 2 turkey wings, tips removed BBQ sauce (your favourite) Cooking oil to brush on wings

Brine (below) BBQ spice rub (below)

Brine 1/4 cup kosher salt (or 3 tbsp table salt) 1 tbsp white sugar 1 cup boiling water 3 cups ice water 3-4 bay leaves (fresh is best) 2-3 garlic cloves, skin on, smashed lightly

Half a lemon, peel on, cut into 2 wedges 1 tsp whole peppercorns 1-2 sprigs fresh thyme (or small pinch dry leaves) 4-5 whole allspice berries (don’t substitute ground)

In a large measuring cup, dissolve the salt and sugar in the boiling water; add the aromatics. Top up to the 4 cup (1 litre) mark with cold or ice water. Transfer to sealable foodsafe container, add turkey wings and refrigerate for 4-6 hours, until ready to cook.

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BBQ Spice You’ll need a coffee mill or spice grinder and a non-stick pan, and a glass jar for storage, when cool.

2 tbsp fennel seeds 2 tbsp coriander seeds 1 tbsp cumin seeds 1 tbsp yellow or brown mustard seeds 1 tbsp black peppercorns 1/2 tsp celery seeds

1/2 tsp chile flakes 1/4 tsp allspice berries 1 tbsp granulated garlic 2 tsp onion powder 1/2 tsp ground sumac

If you can find them, the addition of 1 tsp of fenugreek seeds and nigella seeds to the whole spices for toasting is delicious. If you can’t find the sumac (a dried ground berry with tart citrus flavour), omit it and finish with a touch of lemon or lime juice when grilling or cooking.

Mix all the whole spices. Transfer to a large non-stick frypan and toast over medium heat until fragrant, 3-4

minutes. Stir or shake the pan so they don’t burn; smaller spices will easily overcook on the bottom.

Spread out on a large plate or pan to cool. Then transfer, in batches, to a coffee grinder/spice mill and pulse to break up the spices a bit – don’t grind to a powder. Then add the ground spices and store in a sealed glass jar in a cool, dry spot in the cupboard. Don’t refrigerate.

To Cook the Turkey Wings Remove from the brine and pat dry.

Discard used brine. Spread wings on a plate, rack or pan and allow to air dry 10-15 minutes. Brush with oil and sprinkle on BBQ spice. (I added a sprinkle of sweet paprika for flavour, colour and browning – since the wings wouldn’t take long to cook.) Place wings on a medium-hot grill, allowing a good sear for 3-4 minutes before turning. Have a squirt bottle of water ready for flareups. Flip and cook on second side 3-4 minutes. Brush with BBQ sauce and flip again, another 2-3 minutes.

Brush that side and finish another 2-3 minutes. Cook times may vary depending on wing size and BTU output of the grill – so please rely on your thermometer. Insert the probe into the thickest part of the wing, www.downhomelife.com

avoiding the bone, when close to the end of cooking time. You are going for 74°C (165°F). Be sure to sanitize the tip of your thermometer if rechecking.

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HOME and Cabin

everyday recipes

Summer Picnic Did you ever notice that food tastes better when eaten al fresco? The following recipes are easy to pack in sealed portions and transport in an insulated basket or cooler, to later lay out on a blanket or table for one of summer’s greatest pleasures – a picnic!

Caprese Croissant Sandwich 2 croissants 1 large tomato Fresh mozzarella

Basil pesto Arugula (or leafy lettuce)

Use a bread knife to saw croissants in half. Slice tomato and mozzarella in 1/8" slices (or to your liking). Place a layer of tomatoes on one half of the croissants. Spread with pesto. Top with layer of mozzarella, some arugula and other half of croissant. Makes 2 sandwiches.

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Watermelon Salad 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil 2 tbsp red wine vinegar 1/2 tsp salt 3 cups cubed watermelon

1 cup chopped cucumber 1 cup crumbled feta (or goat cheese) 1/2 cup blueberries 1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh mint

Whisk together olive oil, red wine vinegar and salt to make the dressing. Set aside. In large container or bowl, combine remaining ingredients and toss together. Drizzle with dressing and toss again to coat. Chill until ready to eat, to let flavours meld. (For a picnic, this salad fills individual serving mason jars beautifully!) Serves 4.

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Red Pepper Hummus 1 (16 oz) can chickpeas, drained, reserve liquid 1/2 cup tahini paste 3 cloves garlic, crushed 2 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp salt 1 tbsp olive oil 2 tbsp lemon juice 1/2 cup roasted red peppers, minced

Combine all ingredients (except chickpeas liquid and red peppers) in food processor and blend. Slowly add reserved chickpeas liquid until desired consistency is reached (it should be thick). Fold in red peppers.

Keep in a covered container, refrigerated until ready to use. Great for dipping crunchy veggies, crackers, naan bread etc. Serves 2-4.

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Raspberry Lemonade 1 1/2 cups fresh squeezed lemon juice (7-8 large lemons) 1 cup fresh or frozen raspberries

1 cup sugar 6 cups water, divided Ice

Add raspberries, sugar and 2 cups warm water to a blender; blend until smooth. Strain through fine mesh sieve into a pitcher. Use a spatula to push the liquid through, leaving the seeds behind. Add 4 cups cold water and the fresh squeezed lemon juice to the pitcher and stir. Add ice to the pitcher and serve. (If taking this on a picnic, fill thermos with lemonade and a few ice cubes – or better, frozen berries!) Serves 4.

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Strawberries and Cream Scones 2 1/2 cups flour 1/4 tsp salt 3 1/2 tsp baking powder 3 tbsp sugar 6 tbsp cold butter, cubed 3/4 cup milk 1 tsp lemon juice

1 tsp vanilla extract (or almond or coconut for flavour variation) 1 egg, beaten Strawberry jam 1 can thick cream (eg. Nestlé, Fussels or Carnation)

Preheat the oven to 400°F. In a large bowl, combine flour, salt, baking powder and sugar. Cut in butter with a pastry cutter or two forks, or rub it in with your fingers until the mixture is coarse and crumbly. Warm the milk in the microwave (not hot); add lemon juice and vanilla, and let sit for a minute or two. Add milk mixture to the bowl of dry ingredients and combine quickly with a fork. Use floured hands to work the dough just until it comes together (don’t knead it, that will toughen it). Press dough out on a floured surface to about 1 1/2 inches thick. Cut out scones with a floured 2 1/2 inch round cookie cutter (or a small glass). Place on a lined cookie sheet. Brush tops of scones lightly with beaten egg. Bake for 10-15 minutes, until scones are risen and very lightly browned on top.

Remove from oven and move scones to a rack to cool completely. For serving, cut scone in half. Spread jam on the bottom half, top with a dollop of cream and top with other half of scone. Makes about 12.

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Blueberry Parfait 2 tbsp + 1 tsp granola (we used Made Good Light Cocoa Granola) 3 tbsp vanilla Greek yogurt

2 tbsp blueberries 4 oz mason jar

Line the bottom of the jar with 2 tbsp granola. Top with 2 tbsp Greek yogurt, then blueberries, then 1 tbsp Greek yogurt, plus a few blueberries and 1 tsp granola on top. Screw on lid and keep cool until ready to serve. You can swap all these ingredients for whatever you like or whatever you have on hand. Use different berries, change up the granola (or use crushed cookies!), substitute the type and flavour of yogurt... the combination possibilities are endless!

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

This is your chance to get in on our most popular reader contest and try to woo the judges into choosing your photo for the 2023 Downhome Calendar. These calendars are seen by tens of thousands of subscribers and displayed all year long.

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 DEADLINE AUGUST 31, 2022 Must be original photos or high quality copies. Digital photos must be at least 300 dpi, files sizes of about 1MB. We can’t accept photocopies or photos that are blurry, too dark or washed out. Include a self-addressed stamped envelope if you want your photos returned.

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HOME and Cabin

down to earth

All About Asparagus

BY KIM THISTLE

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So you want to grow asparagus.

Such a delicious, high end vegetable must be extremely hard to grow – not true. Asparagus is one of the easier crops to grow. It is a reliable perennial that is hardy to Zone 3; that includes all of you gardeners on the coast of Labrador. The plants are a bit of an initial investment, but so, so worth it.

Many new gardeners take the seed approach. That is, they purchase a pack of seed thinking they will be eating asparagus the same year. It is easy to grow from seed, but it will take three to five years to harvest. Another option is to buy roots. These often come as a prepackaged item, and when you see these in a plastic bag, it is hard to know what conditions they have been stored under. Look for signs of moisture and mould inside the bag.

Roots should be healthy and pliable and showing slight signs of growth. If they have sprouted too much, the plant is showing signs of stress and is throwing out a last-ditch effort at growing and trying to reproduce. You want a slightly green nub that should not be more than an inch long. The better approach is to buy already established plants from a reputable nursery; roots that have been potted and properly maintained will give you the best results. These may be purchased in the full growth stage, as they have been growing in fertile soil and been properly maintained. You can see what you are getting.

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Preparing the Asparagus Bed

Maintaining Asparagus Beds

Choose an area with full sun and good drainage. Asparagus does not like to have wet feet.

Keeping the bed weed-free is essential. Weeds are especially troublesome in perennial plants and must be removed before getting anchored in.

Weed often and with tenacity.

Dig the bed to a depth of 12"-15" so that the roots have lots of nice, loose tilth to root out in.

Organic matter is a must. Asparagus thrives in rich, loose soil. Be sure to dig in lots of compost, composted manure or seaweed.

This plant needs lots of phosphorous, so be sure to dig in some bone meal or rock phosphate.

Plant crowns about 15" apart. Be sure to have the crowns placed at least 2" underground, and add new soil or compost every year to keep the crowns protected.

Keeping asparagus mulched will help to reduce weeds. Hay, grass clippings or mulch chips are great choices, and all will decompose and add humus to your soil.

Once early winter hits, you can cut off the fronds and put your asparagus to bed for the winter. Removing the dead material will interrupt any life cycling of insects and disease. Cover the bed with an inch of well-rotted compost, and mulch with 3" of straw or rotted sawdust.

Water well and be sure to keep your plants well hydrated during droughts.

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Harvesting Asparagus spears are harvested in spring. The time of harvest depends on soil temperature, but here in western Newfoundland, mid- to late May or early June is the time to start picking.

Snap the spears off at soil level when they are about 7 inches long. Harvest sparingly the first and second years, but you should be able to hack away at it by year three.

Don’t be greedy. At some point you have to let the fronds grow so that your plants have something to sustain them throughout the year.

Pests

White Asparagus?

Asparagus beetles can be troublesome but are fairly easy to control. You may mistake them for ladybugs due to their colouring, but they are longer and skinnier.

Their eggs look like tiny hairs and are easy enough to overlook. If you spot these tiny eggs, blast your plants with a hose or go at them with a broom. This will cause the eggs, larva and adults to fall to the ground and once there, the young’uns are unable to find their way back up the plant. The adults can fly, so they must be squished or drowned in soapy water. Alternatively, chickens will clean up these pests. One more good reason to have chickens! If you do not get these pests under control they will eat the fronds, which will kill your plants over a two- or three-year period.

It’s not a variety, but rather asparagus grown in the absence of light.

If you like the less fibrous white type, hill your spears up with soil or cover them to keep the light out.

Slugs are a nuisance, too. If you go out at night with a flashlight you will see your spears covered with these slimy creatures. You can hand pick them (ugh!) if you get some satisfaction from that, or you can put out some organic slug bait to solve the problem. www.downhomelife.com

How many should you plant?

It depends on how much you like it. One crown produces about a half-pound of spears. Start with a dozen and add a few more to your bed each year; once you see how easy this is to grow, you will be wanting to expand your bed.

Got a gardening question for Kim? Send her an email anytime at downtoearth@downhomelife.com.

Kim Thistle owns a garden centre and landscaping business on the west coast of the island. She has also been a recurring guest gardener on CBC’s “Crosstalk” for almost three decades.

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life is better Magnificent iceberg near Triton, NL Gordon Winsor, Paradise, NL

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reminiscing flashbacks

Rose Coloured Submitted in 2015, this photo shows a bygone era in the community of Rose Blanche on Newfoundland’s southwest shore.

Aiden Mahoney Stephenville, NL

Cod Almighty Johnny O’Driscoll poses with a huge codfish caught in Bay Bulls, NL. Thomas O’Driscoll via DownhomeLife.com

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Ramblin’ Wreck “This photo was taken July 30, 1997, in Spaniards Bay, NL, on our John Cabot come home year tour,” writes the submitter.

“Seventeen of us arrived to hundreds of ‘cuzzins’ out of Brigus.”

Susan Herdman Georgia, USA

Right Track A CN freight train winds its way through Gaff Topsail in July 1979.

Richard Taylor Ottawa, ON

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The Downhomer August 1988

HIBERNIA

$8.5-billion Agreement Signed Prime Minister Brian Mulroney said it was a day for rejoicing in Newfoundland and Labrador; International Trade Minister John Crosbie said that Newfoundlanders should never again be told to burn their boats. The occasion was the signing of the statement of principles for the development of the giant Hibernia oil field.

The $8.5-billion project was announced Monday at the Hotel Newfoundland. Prime Minister Mulroney, Mr. Crosbie, federal Energy Minister Marcel Masse and Premier Brian Peckford signed the statement of principles with the members of the Hibernia consortium to proceed with development of the 525-650 million barrel offshore oil field.

Described by Masse as a megaproject by world standards, the federal energy minister said the federal government has four basic criteria for Canadian government involvement in megaprojects like Hibernia.

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project must be big enough so that it benefits not only the region where it is located, but the rest of Canada as well. Third, the sharing of risks between government and sponsors must be fair; and, fourth, any special government assistance must take into account the tax reforms of this government. Hibernia meets all of these requirements and, furthermore, will generate regional industrial benefits,” said Masse.

Crosbie Crosbie, Newfoundland’s representative in the federal cabinet and St. John’s West MP, said the development of Hibernia would not be possible in today’s economic environment 1-888-588-6353

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without federal support. That support includes a contribution of 25 per cent of preproduction capital costs, to a maximum of $1 billion; and a loan guarantee of 40 per cent of the preproduction capital costs, to maximum of $1.6 billion.

“Whatever the price of oil, the Newfoundland government will receive revenues from royalties, corporate income taxes and other provincial taxes,” said Crosbie.

Crosbie estimated that the total contribution to Newfoundland’s gross domestic product will be $10.4 billion.

“Hibernia will provide an estimated total of 35,000 direct and indirect jobs over the period of 1989 to 1995 alone for Newfoundlanders in building the production platform, outfitting it with certain modules, operating the platform, transporting the oil, and in all the support and spin-off activities,” said Crosbie. “Just operating the production platform will provide 1,100 permanent jobs in Newfoundland.”

Crosbie said that federal financial support and the federal and provincial governments working together have made the agreement to develop Hibernia possible.

“From the beginning, Premier Peckford and I have had a common goal, to maximize benefits from offshore development for Newfoundland,” said Crosbie. “We have worked together for more economic activity, more jobs, more development of local expertise, more world-class facilities, more excellence in ocean industries.”

Crosbie said the Canada-New1-888-588-6353

foundland Offshore Development Board and the $300-million Offshore Development Fund were established to ensure Newfoundland gets its fair share of benefits of Hibernia.

“We wanted to make sure that when development became a reality, Newfoundlanders would be ready to seize the opportunities,” he said.

“With the signing of the principles of agreement for Hibernia, we know that offshore development is about to become a reality and that Newfoundlanders are ready to seize the opportunities it provides.”

Crosbie said that Hibernia will spawn many more offshore projects, and petroleum will be a major contributor to Newfoundland’s economy well into the 21st century.

“But more important than the direct benefits are the opportunities that offshore petroleum will provide,” said Crosbie. These opportunities include the change to further develop worldclass ocean industries, and to develop and renew our traditional resource industries.

“Newfoundlanders should never again be told to burn their boats,” said Crosbie. “With the prosperity from offshore petroleum, they should design, build, equip and operate more and better boats. That will be the greatest benefits of Hibernia and the other offshore development that will follow.”

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reminiscing

This summer, for the first time in more than half a century, Newfoundland and Labrador is hosting a Come Home Year. Recently readers shared with us their memories of Come Home Year 1966. If you have a story or photo (or both!) from the summer of ’66, we’d love to share it. Turn to page 9 for easy ways to send it in (and win prizes). Here are some of the flashbacks we’ve received so far.

Celebrated in Song This is Hubert Keats of Grand FallsWindsor, NL. He composed an original song in celebration of Come Home Year 1966. There is a recording of Hubert singing his song on Soundcloud. Visit DownhomeLife.com for a link to listen to it.

Randy Keats (Hubert’s son) • Vancouver, BC

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Homeland Visit This photograph, taken in 1966, shows my two sons, Brad (left) and Geoff, aboard the ferry on our return trip from a wonderful vacation home in NL. They are both grown now and have families of their own, and still love to visit the old homeland.

John Cornick • Halifax, NS

Travel by the Book This is the “Come Home Year Edition” of the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador’s guide for safe driving.

Burton Janes • Bay Roberts, NL

Together in 1966 Pictured left to right: Frank and Edna (Bennett) Miller, Edgar Bennett, Lill and Tom Murphy, Shirley Murphy, Evelyn Miller, Austin Miller, three unidentified.

Phyllis Patterson • Port Rowan, ON

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By Joseph Seward

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The following is an excerpt from Joe’s memoirs, “My Odyssey and the People I Have Met Along the Way,” reproduced with permission.

Caleb Ivany was born Sunday, January 2, 1881, at Fox Harbour, Southport, Newfoundland. All his grandchildren called him Pap Ivany...

When I was seven years old and started fishing with Pap Ivany, I was at most three-foot-nine-inches tall and probably weighed 80-90 pounds. I travelled in an open boat, and the ocean water sprayed over the sides with any wind. Protection from rain and rough seas was achieved by wearing a waterproof suit. Unfortunately, Dad could not find a commercial suit to fit me, so Mom made one from flour bags.

First, Mom removed the dye from the bags, then shaped and sewed the pants and jacket with pockets. She then boiled the suit in linseed oil; the boiling process took about eight hours. The waterproof suit was hung on a clothesline to dry. The bottom of the jacket sleeves would contact seawater and rub against the wrist, causing water pups (boils) to form. Some fishers wore brass rings on their wrists to protect their jacket sleeves from chafing against their skin.

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Caleb Ivany’s family

Pap Ivany was a fisherman for most of his adult life. Not having a cod trap or a powered boat, he fished as his ancestors had in the 1700s, using a five-metre rowboat, which he rowed every day to the fishing grounds several kilometres away. His trip would be augmented with a sail when the wind blew in the right direction.

There he fished using a baited hook or cod jigger.

In June 1942, Pap Ivany asked me if I would like to fish with him during July and August when school would be out on summer break. I was excited to be asked to fish. I spent much time with Pap Ivany, playing around the pier and in his boat. I did not sleep very much that night.

Finally, the day of my debut came.

Dad awakened me at 5 a.m., and I was ready. He had breakfast ready, which I devoured quickly and walked down to the stage head to wait for Pap Ivany to arrive; this was the most important day of my young life.

Pap Ivany arrived, and we boarded the rowboat. As he rowed out of the harbour, I was snugly wrapped in an old coat, and I settled in the boat’s bow for protection from the cold Atlantic wind. There was little conversation during our Heart’s Ease Ledge fishing grounds trip. Pap 116

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Ivany was busy rowing, and I was daydreaming of jigging my first codfish. Fishers used powered boats much faster than rowboats and would pass us on their way to haul their cod traps or trawl lines.

As Pap Ivany rowed toward our destination, I enjoyed the gentle motion of the rolling boat that seemed to guide us on our way. We manoeuvred past Western Head (locally referred to as Wester Head) and the eastern end of Green Island.

We had arrived at Heart’s Ease Ledge. After 10 or 15 minutes, Pap Ivany pulled in the oars and cast out the anchor. He secured the anchor line, letting the rowboat drift downwind to a point lining up with east and west markers. We were in the prime fishing spot, and I was given my first lesson in cod-jigging.

Pap Ivany passed me my fishing reel with line and jigger attached. He then taught me the essential points in jigging a codfish: play out the line until the jigger hits bottom, then pull it up a fathom (two metres), and with strong pulls on the line and some patience, you may jig a cod. I hooked something a few moments later; I had difficulty getting it to the boat.

Pap Ivany took my line and said, “Let me see what you have on the line.”

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He passed the line back after hauling it in a metre or two, saying, “You’ve got a big one there; keep hauling it in.” Excitement grew with every metre I gained on the line. Finally, I saw my catch near the surface. Pap Ivany pulled it in the boat. I had jigged a 30-centimetre (12-inch) tom cod by the tail. The difficulty I had getting it to the surface was caused by the tomcod swimming downward, trying to escape. I was just as determined to get him in the boat.

Shortly after, Pap Ivany reached in the cuddy, took out the bottom of a cast-iron stove he used as a galley, and placed it on the gangboards. He made a wood fire to set a pot and put in a few salted pork pieces. While the pork was rendering, he chose an appropriately sized cod, which he cleaned, skinned and put in the pot. In a few minutes, he drained the hard bread (hardtack) that had been soaking overnight and put it in with the now cooked fish and salted pork. When all was ready, he pulled out two wooden spoons he had carved earlier. We sat there and enjoyed our meal of fisherman’s fish and brewis. It was a meal like this that I would enjoy many times during the next four summers with someone I loved, respected and admired. I loved being with my Pap Ivany.

In those days, it was customary for young boys who were starting to fish to cut a “v” in the tail of each cod they caught; so it was with me. When the fishing season was over and the cod 1-888-588-6353

cured, it was taken to the local merchant where it was culled (graded).

The fish with “v” cuts in the tail were placed to one side; they were mine.

There always seemed to be more fish in my pile than I ever caught.

Pap Ivany and I would repeat our trips to the fishing grounds for the next four summers, six days each week. During that time, I was becoming more efficient in things relative to fishing. We would stop at Kline’s Cove and cast for caplin on our way

Southport in Caleb’s day to haul our trawl, which we used as bait. I learned to row the boat, which helped us get from one fishing ground to another. I also learned to cut bait and coil a baited trawl.

Sometimes we would row across the Arm to Random Island, where we would fish in various places until we reached Ford’s Head. We raised our sails and sailed home to Southport in the favourable winds…

I will never forget the valuable lessons I learned from this quiet, wise and soft-spoken man, and my love, admiration and respect for him. I am now an elderly man myself, a greatgrandfather, but I still miss one of the most influential men in my life.

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Retired pilot Tom Green says, “You never know who you’re going to meet,” when ferrying passengers for the Grenfell Mission.

This story of his is a good example.

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On August 20, 1974, I began my day by flying to Blanc Sablon, Forteau, Red Bay and back to St. Anthony, an ordinary run with the Grenfell Mission.

My next flight was to Pasadena to pick up Dr. Peter Roberts, then on to Serpentine Lake (just a few miles southwest of Corner Brook) for Dr. Gordon Thomas and bring them both back to St. Anthony.

Bailey Parsons photo

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I took off for Deer Lake on a real nice day and landed at the Newfoundland and Labrador Air Transport base in nearby Pasadena. With Dr. Roberts aboard, we took off for Serpentine Lake.

Bowater paper company had a very large lodge built on the Serpentine River, which runs out of the lake into the salt water. The lodge was manned by several guides and a cook from the Deer Lake area. It had a very large living room, with a huge stone fireplace, several bedrooms, a kitchen and storage rooms; a generator supplied the electricity. The only contact with the outside world was a radio and a plane that brought in supplies and guests. The salmon fishing was normally very good on the river, except for late summer when the river was very low. Bowater executives would bring in customers for a few days fishing and hopefully persuade them to buy more paper.

After we landed, Dr. Roberts and I wondered if we could stay for the night. I decided to ask Dr. Thomas. He had two surgeries the next day. I used my plane’s radio to patch into the telephone company so he could phone the hospital and speak to his secretary. The surgeries were not urgent and could wait another day, so he postponed them.

When we arrived at the lodge, we met several people: Dr. Roberts’ brother, Edward (then MHA and Liberal leader, eventually Lieutenant Governor of NL); two lawyers from the Ottawa area, two RCMP officers and an interpreter.

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There was one more gentleman, we were told, who was out fishing on the river with one of the guides. When he returned, he was dressed in a light coloured sports jacket and casual pants. We were introduced to him, and his name was Mikhail Baryshnikov! The same Russian ballet dancer who had famously defected to Canada a week earlier. The Government of Canada had him “hidden away” at Bowater’s lodge until the story blew over.

Mikhail was very excited with the fish he caught. He began to pull them

me. I asked the head guide where I was supposed to sleep, and he told me on the floor between his bunk and another guide’s bunk!

Next day after breakfast we said our goodbyes and headed upriver to where the airplane was moored on the lake. Dr. Roberts and I were in

When this man returned, he was dressed in a light coloured sports jacket and casual pants. We were introduced to him, and his name was Mikhail Baryshnikov! out of his pockets – he must have had over two or three dozen salmon parr in his pockets! Normally, one was supposed to release them, but Mikhail could do no wrong. The salmon smell would never come out of the fabric, so we burned his jacket in the fireplace later that evening!

The lodge had a young student doing odd jobs around camp, including setting the supper table, under the cook’s supervision. Then he changed into his tuxedo and served us! The supper was beef Wellington with a variety of vegetables, topped off with a tasty dessert and coffee.

Everyone retired to the living room for the evening. When it was time to turn in for the night, everyone went to their respective rooms – except 120

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our bare feet, walking in the warm water and only getting in the canoe to cross the pools. Dr. Thomas was in his long rubbers. We took off from Serpentine Lake and landed in St. Anthony an hour and a half later.

Mikhail Baryshnikov, who I found to be a very pleasant person, later moved to the United States and continued his career in the ballet.

Flying in those days, I didn’t know where I’d end up, who I might meet, or who might be depending on me, on any given day. That’s just the way it was, flying for Mission.

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OVER $20s in saving ! by joining

Now more than ever a Downhome membership is a great value. Not only do you save over $20 off the cover price, you receive: 1 Year (12 issues) OF DOWNHOME

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puzzles

The Beaten Path

David Pitcher 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.

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n H V K M J L P V H x D A Q D H D x K F L M W Q S n U D

P

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Last Month’s Community: Coomb’s Cove 124

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Sudoku

from websudoku.com

Last month’s answers

?

Need Help

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

www.downhomelife.com

August 2022

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Teresa Earle 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: • Good place to find your mate?

• Originally named Cupers Cove • Oldest English settlement in Canada • Shakespeare is popular here • Home of new NL pony pasture

Last Month’s Answer: Cape St. Mary’s

Picturesque Place NameS of Newfoundland and Labrador

by Mel D’Souza Last Month’s Answer: Melrose 126

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

Last Month’s Clue: Strolling a delicate string In Other Words: Walking a fine line

This Month’s Clue: The canine periods of the hot season In Other Words: ___ ___ ____ __ _____

A Way With Words Last Month’s Answer: Crack in the Sidewalk

THESIDEcrackWALK

This Month’s Clue

COLOURthelinesING Answer: _________ ______ ___ _____

Scrambled Sayings

Rhyme Time A rhyming word game by Ron Young

1. A herring desire is a ____ ____ 2. A freshwater fish pucker is a _____ ____ 3. When a fish ate the bait it ____ the ____ Last Month’s Answers 1. hold gold, 2. pass gas, 3. file style

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.

’ I H O D S N O O U R U Y U

E D E B A R F O E A C A C C D H A N L D F E E T G O F U F C E E E R E O R S I R E O R R S E I L T S S R R S T U R U Y

Last month’s answer: Success in any endeavor depends on the degree to which it is an expression of your true self. www.downhomelife.com

August 2022

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Rhymes 5 Times Each answer rhymes with the other four

1. hilarious

____________

2. sweetheart

____________

3. cash

____________

4. hare

____________

5. bright

____________

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

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

Last Month’s Answers: 1. twist, 2. list, 3. gist, 4. mist, 5. wrist

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!

Low Hissed Pry Scissor Hound ______ ______ ______

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

1. PACE LEYROB 2. AVETRLC 3. QUOTERAFA 4. REESMUFE

Ask Wick Cuss Awful Ash __ _____ __ __ _____ Last Month’s 1st Clue: Onus Gale Firm Won Toot Hen. Answer: On a scale of one to ten.

Last Month’s 2nd Clue: Eggs Press Dell Liver He. Answer: Express delivery.

5. DRYFLANER Last Month’s Answers: 1. Twillingate, 2. Durrell, 3. Summerford, 4. Fairbank, 5. Hillgrade

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

1. CONCERNED POSER ~ Clue: it starts with any letter 2. MERCY TEE ~ Clue: where folks land in grave situations 3. DRAB YARN ~ Clue: all the locals behave like animals 4. RHINO EELS ~ Clue: it’s always at the water’s edge 5. GO LILAC ~ Clue: makes sense to me Last Month’s Answers: 1. discovery, 2. vegetarian, 3. predator, 4. boardwalk, 5. traveller 128

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

By Ron Young

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

1-3: after Nov. 1-10: slow down 3-43: provide 5-25: jurisprudence 5-65: legal action 7-9: rodent 8-10: devoured 9-49: goodie 13-16: Actor Ladd 14-11: walkway 14-17: acreage 17-20: drat!

21-1: crimson 21-41: ditch 23-53: seabird 25-21: H2O 25-27: triumphed 27-29: born 34-4: story 34-54: child 35-32: stalk 35-65: tuxedo 36-38: brief swim 38-18: pod product 38-98: ship trip 40-35: fast waters 41-47: finished 43-47: unsmooth 47-17: posterior 47-49: head cover 47-77: walk 50-10: pee 51-54: gasp 56-59: young lady 59-79: spruce juice 60-40: belongs to us 64-61: sphere 68-98: seasoning 70-61: hoop game 70-65: straw container www.downhomelife.com

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71-73: utilize 71-77: functional 72-74: ocean 77-74: Napoleon isle 76-79: jump 79-49: earlier 80-100: carpet 81-83: taxi 81-87: vegetable 83-53: legume 84-86: sack 91-1: carved 91-93: place 91-100: small town 97-67: humble 97-94: thaw 97-99: hands

99-79: snooze 100-10: percussion instrument Last Month’s Answer

N E AR ME E S L T E S S E S S L I YR

GOT I A A T S ER RGE B I I ONOD BOORR ARH P A N E P RG AML I A P I G S P O T AMA

B A R B E R U T U F

August 2022

L I T E R A L U R E

E T A T I P A C E D

129

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The Bayman’s

Crossword Puzzle 1

2

by Ron Young 3

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ACROSS 1. place for a pint 3. keep on 4. auricle 5. midday 6. back in fireplace days (colloq) 13. “She’s ___ b’ys” – it’s over 14. tiny recipe amount 16. United Arab Republic (abbrev) 18. beers 19. connects Newfoundland with Labrador 20. “I’s the __ that builds the boat” 21. “___ got the sooners” 22. NL airline (abbrev) 24. soak (colloq) 26. net 28. club 29. fire department (abbrev) 30. Salvation Army (abbrev) 31. Premier Tobin or Peckford 32. alien spacecraft 33. emmet 35. lager 36. “Mind the ___” 37. fisherman’s shore building (colloq) 40. NL’s number in Confederation 42. positive 43. “Take it on the ____” 46. possesses 47. opposite of WSW 48. small axe DOWN 1. halves of a large barrel (2 words, colloq) 2. “Too ___ __ ____ boots” (3 words) 6. north or south 7. “A fisherman is ___ rogue, a merchant is many” 8. hopelessness 9. on the North American mainland (colloq) 10. juniper alcohol 11. clews up 12. remote control (abbrev) www.downhomelife.com

13. donated 15. “Where the _______ sail and the foghorns wail” 17. “___, captain!” – affirmative 21. “There’s a red-headed tory out here __ _ dory” (2 words) 23. “You can only get one shot __ _ shell bird” (2 words) 25. “Frig ___!”

27. “Me boot is broke, me frock __ ____, but Georgie Snooks I do adore” (2 words) 28. whales do it 31. “Let me __ a man and take it when my dory fails to make it” 32. “Down the harbour and __ ___ shore, come on, Bay Roberts, score some more” (2 words) 33. “Kiss me ____” 34. person, place or thing 38. “__ nerves is rubbed raw!”

39. pose 41. dine 44. __ Ha Bay 45. Nameless Cove (abbrev)

H I N D E R P A R T A F O R E

O W H C O O R N E S I E N G G O N D A R O A K R E S B E D

ANSWERS TO LAST MONTH’S CROSSWORD E L T R A I T E R R A I L R E L Y D M E M A R E S E P B E O A R E N O L A M E R

I M M S A C R F E R A S T C A R A I F S L S

I N G C E E E D D R E A A M Y T E S R U R S P Y

August 2022

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DIAL-A-SMILE © 2022 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.

___ 949

__ 36

______ 736753

_______ 6333623

’

____ __ 8439 73

”

___ 729

______ 233673

_____ 74448

___ _ _ 226 8 8

“ _6 _6

__ 86

______ 633363

___ 968 Last Month’s Answer: An optimist is a fellow who believes a housefly is looking for a way to get out.

©2022 Ron Young

CRACK THE CODE Each symbol represents a letter of the alphabet, for instance b = 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 _ _ _ _ S S

bZ

t tCbb

_ _ ;D

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ i C kkn 7 i

_ _ S _

x Zb k _ _ _ _

_ _ _ S _ S _ S t ; 7 b n b kb

_ _ _ ; 7C

_ _ _ _

kn m C kY 27

_ _

ZL

__ _ _ m ;hC

_ _ _ H; Z

_ _ _ _ D233

Last Month’s Answer: It’s the steady, quiet, plodding ones who win in the lifelong race.

132

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© 2022 Ron Young

Food For Thought

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.”

repair =

curve =

tireless =

_ _ _

Y][ _

_

_

hn

stale =

_ _ _ _ _

_

_ _ _ _

yw]wm

peyvh

_

f]q]mnw e

hurting = _ _ _ Kv

_ _ _

o nwf

chaff =

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _

_

_ _

_ _ _

w Isqfk

_ _

_ _ _ _

_ _

_

ynq]pK wnhp IY Isy

_ _ _ _ _ _

KnyInp _ _ _ _

eKve

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Y Iymnee]wm _ _

hn

_ _ _

vyn

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

n[eyvIyf]wvyk _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _

pI wnoI f k

_ _

eI

_ _ _

eII

Last Month’s Answer: If we did all the things we are capable of, we would literally astound ourselves. www.downhomelife.com

August 2022

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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 WELCOME KAYAKERS TO THE HARBOUR

Last Month’s Answers: 1. Window, 2. Roof, 3. Boulder, 4. Sliding door, 5. Water line, 6. Boy’s pants; 7. Pony Tail, 8. Outboard motor, 9. Shirt, 10. Tawt, 11. Boat, 12. Shed “Differences by the Dozen”- A compilation of Different Strokes from 2002 to 2014 (autographed by Mel) can be ordered by sending $9.95 (postage incl.; $13.98 for U.S. mailing) to Mel D’Souza, 21 Brentwood Dr., Brampton, ON, L6T 1P8.

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HIDE & SEEK NL BAYS

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

BARRISWAY BARREN BONAVISTA BONNE CANADA CHIMNEY CONCEPTION DAMNABLE DEVIL FORTEAU GREEN GROSWATER HALLS INGORNACHOIX LOCKERS

S G X W G X D U R R N J Z A U V R K

I D N N N V C H A L L S T K J Q A G

W Q D E C R X Y O T T E R L T A S J

B X M E G X L O C K E R S X O Y Z H

K U J R R D V B F T D M J T P I T F

P F W G Z O I M H F S F B A N E N N

H C I A W M B R F G X A R N O J T L

www.downhomelife.com

MORTIER NAPARTOK OTTER PARTRIDGE ROBINHOOD T T A K D W F H T O R R E N T U T N

Last Month’s Answers

F S G X L K Z I T H R K E A I X I F

W T P C V C M J N R V X H P T X C Y

N J X U P D M Z I H A H D A P E K F

H C I W D N A S N W O P V R E U L F

Z D M V K S W U G R A O N T C A E R

E J N R E D N A G X T M A A R Z E F

C O E M G A E E O A T O D O N T S E

N F P P C E C L I P S E B X E Y N W

I D Q H N G X P X G U G R M N O N P

H M T V Y L Q M R S S D P K O X S T

SANDWICH SCRAMMY TICKLE TURRET WITLESS L D P Q X G C O I P M P R H N E O M

O J A I W U G S L Q O U Z J I W C S

I O E Q I Y K W N U I E C Z C B X A

C G R B K A T U K A V A E C E U I M

W F A Q P T T M M A N U E L S O I K

M R I Q E L J T A S V S S E L T I W

G P D J G B G E B O O P J M H N O Y

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

N T M Z L S U E C S A T G O O S I S

P E S H J Y W J O F Q L A P N W E Z

W L E F Y C S K B I O R I T Y N P Z

E I U W N I T R H E N E R R A B O O

D G Z W X C B N I H A R H P I U E O

Z A H N F X U I N B B Z D P N Z W K

Y E N Q M R A J O S O R U W V W N R

R E X P L O I T S E S V S C R Y X B

X X N H S O N Y O S E R A W N I P A

S R K Z O M E G I Z B R B K F H G G

H F N S W O E C N N E K W G Y L X N

D F N F M L P M X H O U L X Y L M B

S Z C R A B B E S V U L U V I G O J

P N E O W W X V A C B A A L O U I I

E U X Y O N P R C B F T F B J H S O

C E L T G A T R E I N O M L A S C V

C U D S K I T Y H S U L M J N G I R

T Y U A T J R B R P A D A N A C N N

E F D A H Y Z H S G O K G F V Z O C

T N A C T Z Z M H D G O T L L P Q K

V O W X A G F I M G V G I C U N D N

August 2022

T G S Y G L W N H S L O G P X I X Y

K H X V X O X S G U Q N M E B Y O E

B O B X F Z L M W U D A M N A B L E 135

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Colourful Culture

The drawing on the opposite page

is the work of Newfoundland Mi’kmaq artist Marcus Gosse, a member of the Qalipu Mi’kmaq First Nation Band. His grandmother, Alice Maude Gosse (nee Benoit) is a Mi’kmaq Elder from Red Brook (Welbooktoojech) on the Port au Port Peninsula.

Marcus’ work has been exhibited in the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia in Halifax; The Rooms Provincial Art Gallery in St. John’s, NL; and the Canada 150 Art Show at the Macaya Gallery in Miami, FL; and his work is in private collections around the world.

He has generously offered a series of colouring pages that run monthly in Downhome. Each image depicts a NL nature scene and teaches us a little about Mi’kmaq culture and language. Each colouring page includes the Mi’kmaq word for the subject, the phonetic pronunciation of the word, and the English translation. And you’ll notice a design that Marcus incorporates into most of his pieces – the eight-point Mi’kmaq Star.

This symbol dates back hundreds of years and is very important in Mi’kmaq culture. Marcus’ Mi’kmaq Stars are often seen painted with four colours: red, black, white and yellow, which together represent unity and harmony between all peoples. Many Mi’kmaq artists use the star, and various Mi’kmaq double curve designs, to decorate their blankets, baskets, drums, clothing and paintings.

To download and print this colouring page at home, visit DownhomeLife.com. To learn more about Marcus and find more of his colouring pages, look him up on Facebook at “Mi’kmaq Art

by Marcus Gosse.”

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www.downhomelife.com

August 2022

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Not intended to solicit properties currently under contract

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709-466-7936 • finethings@nf.aibn.com Real Estate Rates Prices start at $50 for a 1 column x 1 inch colour advertisement.

This size fits approx. 20 words.

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A One of a Kind Remote Salmon Fishing Lodge

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GREAT GIFT IDEAS!

Mr. Beagle Climbs Signal Hill - Lori Doody #81642 | $11.95

Puffling and the Egg Erika McGann, Gerry Daly

#81508 | $9.99

Jokes From the Rock - Vol 1

#73619 | $10.99

Running Before the Wind - The Life & Times of Wilfred

The Lone Witness -

Osmond - Jerome M. Jesseau

Searching for Harold Francis - Hector M. Earle

#81476 | $22.95

#81507 | $21.95

Dolly’s Rescue Luanne J. Langdon, Illustrated

by Don Harrison Short

Adventures of a Lightkeeper - Barry Porter #81438 | $21.00

Downhome Laughing Matters - Ron Young

Downhome More Laughing Matters

#81359 | $14.95

#46852 | $14.95

- Ron Young

#57231 | $14.95

ORDER ONLINE: www.shopdownhome.com

Prices subject to change without notice. Prices listed do not include taxes and shipping. While quantities last.

2208_Mailorder_Mail order.qxd 6/29/22 1:39 PM Page 141

MORE SELECTION ONLINE www.shopdownhome.com

Differences by the Dozen - Mel D’Souza #49315 | $8.95

Downhome Household Almanac & Cookbook 2 #13433 | $19.95

Downhome Gallery Cookbook

#38455 | $19.95 $9.88

Downhome Four-Way Crosswords - Ron Young #54058 | $6.99

Downhome Memories - Ron Young

#32671 | $14.95

Downhome Reflections Pictorial - Hard Cover

#36228 | $27.95 $10.48

TO ORDER CALL: 1-888-588-6353

Dictionary of Newfoundland and Labrador - Ron Young #34047 | $19.95

Downhome Memories Vol. 2 - Ron Young #46853 | $17.95

Between the Boulevard and The Bay - Ron Young #51175 | $17.95 $2.50

Prices subject to change without notice. Prices listed do not include taxes and shipping. While quantities last.

2208_Mailorder_Mail order.qxd 6/29/22 1:39 PM Page 142

GREAT GIFT IDEAS!

Hand Painted Rowhouse Mailbox

Hand Painted Rowhouse Coasters

Hand Painted Rowhouse Key Rack

Game of Tings Card Game

The Newfoundland Card Game - How She Goin’

Newfoundland and Labrador Playing Cards

#81657 | $16.00

#49208 | $6.99

Moose Spice

Steak & Burger Spice

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Cod Spice

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2208_Mailorder_Mail order.qxd 6/29/22 1:39 PM Page 143

MORE SELECTION ONLINE www.shopdownhome.com

Downhome Grey Denim Cap #80848 | $19.99

Newfoundland Camo Cap #55829 | $19.99

Newfoundland Flag Wrap Cap - Navy

Purple Twill Cap with Patch - Newfoundland

#35896 | $19.99

#79448 | $19.99

Newfoundland Labrador Cap - Pink and Grey

Dynamo Anchor Hat Vintage Patch - Navy

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Mariner’s Rule Cap Navy #51199 | $19.99

Red Plaid Newfoundland with Moose Cap #75546 | $19.99

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#79414 | $19.99

Newfoundland Flat-bill Flag Map Cap #79471 | $21.99

Prices subject to change without notice. Prices listed do not include taxes and shipping. While quantities last.

2208_photo Finish_0609 Photo Finish 6/29/22 1:47 PM Page 144

photo finish

The Kid

Can Play

Accordion player and recent graduate Kevin Power perfectly harmonizes his grad suit with his Hohner.

Colin Pittman Marystown, NL

Do you have an amazing or funny photo to share?

Turn to page 9 to find out how to submit.

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There’s a path for everyone … even if you’re not a hiker.

Let us guide your career. cna.nl.ca | 1-888-982-2268

2208-Cover-NL_0609-Cover-NFLD 6/30/22 11:55 AM Page 4