Downhome February 2024

Vol 36 • No 09

$4.99

February 2024

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Catch Up with Eddie Eastman Hockey Night in Isle aux Morts

The New Doyle’s Almanac

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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

Warehouse Operations Warehouse / Inventory Manager Carol Howell Warehouse Operator Josephine Collins Shipping/Receiving Clerk Jennifer Kane

Art and Production Art Director Vince Marsh Illustrator Mel D’Souza Illustrator Snowden Walters

Retail Operations Retail Manager, St. John’s Jackie Rice Floor Manager, St. John’s Crystal Rose Retail Floor Manager, Twillingate Donna Keefe Retail Sales Associates Jonathon Organ, Kim Tucker,

Advertising Sales Account Manager Barbara Young Account Manager Ashley O’Keefe Marketing Director Tiffany Brett

Heather Stuckless, Katrina Hynes, Destinee Rogers, Amy Young, Emily Snelgrove, Brandy Rideout, Alexandria Skinner, Emily Power, Colleen Giovannini, Rachael Hartery, Julie Gidge, Drew Oliver, Kaitlan Lewis, Emma Luscombe, Rebecca Pevie

Finance and Administration Accountant Marlena Grant Accountant Sandra Gosse

Subscriptions Customer Service Associate Lisa Tiller Customer Service Associate Cassia Bard-Cavers

Operations Manager, Twillingate Nicole Mehaney Founding Editor Ron Young Chief Executive Officer/Publisher Grant Young President & Associate Publisher Todd Goodyear General Manager/Assistant Publisher Tina Bromley To subscribe, renew or change address use the contact information above.

Subscriptions 1-Year term total inc. taxes, postage and handling: for residents in NL, NS, NB, PE $49.44; ON $48.58; QC, SK, MB, AB, BC, NU, NT, YT $45.14. US $54.99; International $59.99

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 Pen names and anonymous letters will not be published.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

We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada.

Printed in Canada Official onboard magazine of

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the good ol’ hockey game

Contents 90 snack time!

FEBRUARY 2024

52 Joy to the World Elaine Dunphy’s “wellderlies” are aging at their own pace, and having a ball while they’re at it.

Linda Browne

62 Classic Fun This month, February 16-17, all of Isle aux Morts will turn out for the annual Winter Classic hockey weekend.

Nicola Ryan

90 Downhome Recipes Couch Snacks

114 Mr. Carnation How Walter Bray brought Carnation Milk to Newfoundland and Labrador.

Nicola Ryan

www.downhomelife.com

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Contents

FEBRUARY 2024

homefront 8 I Dare Say A note from the Editor 10 Letters From Our Readers Hiking with dogs, a fishery flashback, and a duck hunting tale

16 Downhome Tours USA 18 Why is That? What does the phrase “bat out of hell” mean and from where did it originate? Linda Browne

20 Life’s Funny Desperate for Direction

16 visiting Beantown

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

22 Lil Charmers Sweet Sidekicks 24 Pets of the Month Happy Valentine’s Day!

28 Reviewed Denise Flint reviews Kevin Major’s newest mystery Five for Forteau

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Miss Direction

30 What Odds Paul Warford tackles a new build

32 Fresh Tracks Wendy Rose reviews Brookfield Line’s debut record, Pick Me Up 36 Adventures Outdoors Nonmandatory Madness Gord Follett 40 In Your Words Tale of Two Théas théa Nation 4

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24 puppy love

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70 go explore

features 44 Amazing Animal Trivia Wildlife technician Todd Hollett shares some of the wildest things he’s learned about animals.

48 Eddie Eastman: 50 Years of Country Music The Terra Nova native reflects on his award-winning career and hints at a return to his roots.

Pam Pardy

58 Doyle’s Almanac Another Doyle carries on a tradition of recording and sharing Newfoundland folklore.

Nicola Ryan

explore

48 living legend www.downhomelife.com

66 Perchance to Dream The show goes on for a celebrated Shakespearean theatre company as it settles into its new home. Dennis Flynn 70 Caching in on NL How a geocacher explores Newfoundland and Labrador Glen Morry February 2024

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Contents

FEBRUARY 2024

82 this is cake?

home and cabin 76 Stuff We Love Spill the Tea Nicola Ryan

78 Ask Marie Anything Interior designer Marie Bishop takes your questions.

82 Artfully Delicious From struggling mom to celebrated baker, the story behind Catherine’s Incredible Edibles. Kim Ploughman

86 The Everyday Gourmet French Onion Soup Andrea Maunder

96 Down to Earth How to Stretch the Growing Season Kim Thistle 6

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108 end days

reminiscing 102 Flashbacks Classic photos of people and places.

103 This Month In History E.J. Pratt

104 A Dark and Stormy Night Love and duty can make you do crazy things, like trudge home late in a blinding snowstorm.

Eric Horwood

About the cover This photo of a caribou at Port au Choix, NL, was taken by reader Trinda Hamlyn. To find out what’s so special about a caribou’s (reindeer’s) eyes, turn to our cover story on page 44.

108 Ghosts of the Kyle Dead in the water for more than half a century, the Kyle still has the power to summon the curious.

118 My Father, the Tinsmith Rex Cotter

Cover Index

124 Puzzles

Mr. Carnation • 114 Stay-in Snacks • 90 That’s Wild! • 44 Catch Up with Eddie Eastman • 48 Hockey Night in Isle aux Morts • 62 The New Doyle’s Almanac • 58

136 Colouring Page

www.downhomelife.com

138 Classifieds 140 Mail Order 144 Photo Finish February 2024

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i dare say

This was a long time coming, though the time flew by fast.

This February edition marks my 24th year with Downhome right to the issue. The first magazine I worked on was as editorial assistant for the March 2000 Downhomer. And this February 2024 issue, as Editor-in-chief, is my last.

I never imagined I’d be doing this for so long, but when you love it, why would you stop? I’ve said this many times, but it always bears repeating: this magazine is such a unique entity. It’s like a living thing that pulls you in, wraps you up, gets into your heart and under your skin.

The staff here, the contributors and readers out there, all get the sense that this is something special. It’s something heartfelt that belongs to all Newfoundlanders and Labradorians (and wannabes) – it reflects us, contains us and connects us. I can’t imagine doing anything more rewarding as a magazine writer and editor, and I’m grateful to all those, past and present, who made my day job such a gift.

I’m eager now to enter a new phase of my life, and I’m excited for the new Editor-in-chief, Dillon Collins. He’s inheriting the most engaging and supportive readership a magazine editor could ever hope for. Please make him welcome, and if you want to say hello, email him at dillon@downhomelife.com.

Thanks for reading, Thanks for writing, Thanks for everything,

Janice Stuckless, Editor-in-chief

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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 Nate Wall of Deer Lake, NL who found Corky on page 74 of the December issue!

*No Phone Calls Please. One entry per person

www.downhomelife.com

February 2024

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The Beauty of Hiking Hiking with my dogs, Blaze and Balor, while exploring the spectacular views of Newfoundland has had such a positive impact not only on my physical health, but my mental health as well. Over the course of the late summer and fall of 2023, my pups and I have completed five of the six hikes of the Isthmus Trails: The Otter Rub, The Bordeaux Trail, The Old Cabot Highway to Arthurs Hill Trail in Arnolds Cove, Cleary Hiking Trail in Come By Chance, and the Truce Sound Coastal Trail in Sunnyside. Unfortunately, Centre Hill Trail in Sunnyside is too demanding for my nine-year-old Siberian husky Blaze, so Balor and I will challenge that trail ourselves this spring. Also, we have done Heart’s Ease Beach in Gooseberry Cove multiple times; it’s a must see and do for any hiker, beginner or experienced.

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It’s truly astonishing all the wonders and views right here in our own backyard. Sadly, it’s something as a young child and teenager I completely took for granted and will forever regret.

But I will be making up for that one trail at a time. There’s just something about Newfoundland and Labrador that nurtures your mind, body and soul. We have 29,000 kilometres of pristine coastline and close to 300 hiking and walking trails. Along the way, if the timing is right, you may see seabirds, whales and icebergs. And moose – there are always moose.

(Except during hunting season – it’s like they know!)

Hiking in Newfoundland, you step back in time on long-forgotten trails that connected towns together before roads existed – paths that our ancestors before us travelled, hunted and camped on. Whichever path you choose, there’ll be plenty of photo opportunities. Here in Newfoundland and Labrador, peace and tranquility have coordinates: you just need to get out there and hike.

Sarah Lambert Long Beach, NL

Excellent points about the benefits of hiking and the beauty and abundance in Newfoundland and Labrador. Your enthusiasm is likely to inspire others to get out there and find what they’ve been missing. Here’s your photo of Blaze and Balor enjoying the views on their hike in Garden Cove.

www.downhomelife.com

A Hunting We Did Go Me and Wilf Roberts, Jeff Piercey and Lloyd Bulgin spent many years duck hunting from Wilfred’s cabin in Sandy Point. I wrote this poem about one of our excursions on the Exploits River.

Freeman Piercey Grand Falls-Windsor, NL

Here is Freeman’s poem about an adventure with his buddies, set to the rhythm of “The Night Before Christmas.”

Dem Ducks

By Freeman Piercey

’Twas the eve of the duck hunt, and all through the camp, not a sound, not a light, nor the smell of a vamp.

When out by the door there appeared a four-wheeler, ’twas Jeffrey, and Wilf, and Freem (with his peeler).

The light of the moon just lit up the cove, as we stood there in wonder, Wilf lit up the stove.

As the fire warmed the cabin, there was work to be done, fill up the gas tank, make ready the gun.

Carry down the paddles – size up the wind, select the best decoys, we’ll only take ten.

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Check out the motor, the boat, o’er we’ll tip, then check on the tide for our five-thirty trip.

“Don’t move a muscle, boys,” as something meanders downstream, a flock, “I think it’s Mergansers.”

Then it’s back to the cabin, for a beer and a yarn, and we wait for the gunner, Lloyd from the Arm. He arrives with his twelve gauge, can’t decide on her name.

When he hits, ’tis Betsy, when he misses, “Profane.”

“Yes, ol’ man, there’s twenty or more, Coming straight for the decoys, and close to the shore.”

The cold turns to warmth now, our eyes start to strain, Our hearts sound like cannons showering blood to the brain.

We pack up our knapsacks while we’re having a brew, some oranges, (Freem’s peeler) and a sandwich or two.

Jeff’s “cold” hot chocolate, Lloyd’s favourite fish, and a few of Wilf’s candies from the tabletop dish.

“There’s our ducks, boys,” said Lloyd, and he didn’t mean to jest.

You could fear taste the gravy, the leg and the breast.

The ducks calmed for the landing, then made a quick switch.

“Get ready to shoot, boys, they’re not gonna pitch.”

Then ’tis out on the river next mornin’ ’fore light, we start up the motor, the sound shatters the night.

After some figurin’ we make for the rock, where there’s food in the tide rip and the ducks often flock.

BANG, BANG, seven more BANGS, and then I pulled the trigger, must be seven, eight ducks in the water I figure.

But the only thing left was a wounded decoy, four bewildered hunters, and the ducks – flying by.

We tailed out the decoys, four drakes and six hens, then we land on the rock, where the waiting begins.

We all hunkered down in the chill of the morning, and list’ for the whistle to give us the warning.

With cries of “what happened,” “gee whiz” and “my son” we finally found out the second name of Lloyd’s gun.

Now it’s back to the real world, of computers and tux’, but that vision remaineth, DEM DUCKS, OH DEM DUCKS!

“B’ys, there’s ducks this mornin’,” as their whistling sound came up to our ears, up river and down.

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Sponsored Editorial

Kelesha and Trumpet in 2007 Kelesha and Bullet

A Newfoundland Pony Enthusiast’s Journey in Campbellton

In the picturesque town of Campbellton, nestled in the heart of Notre Dame Bay, a dedicated horse enthusiast is playing an important role in the revival of Newfoundland Ponies, a breed deeply intertwined with the region’s cultural fabric.

Meet Kelesha Crewe, an advocate for these hardy and intelligent equines, whose journey with Newfoundland Ponies began through a friendship with Netta LeDrew. The duo connected just as the Newfoundland Pony Sanctuary was starting on Change Islands, sparking Kelesha’s involvement in training and riding ponies.

Having started riding at a young age, Kelesha has come a long way from begging her parents to visit horses! A proud owner of four horses today, including a Quarter Horse mare, a Paint Gelding, and two Newfoundland Ponies, she shares a heartfelt connection with these animals.

One of Kelesha’s pride and joy is Bullet, a 7-month-old Newfoundland Pony with lineage tracing to NNP MiDiamond #557 and Deerfield’s Gambo Joe #744. Described as a curious and sweet colt, Bullet exemplifies the breed's intelligence and hardiness.

She recently added another member to her herd; Randall’s Joy. Despite not being trained for riding or driving, Randall’s Joy showcases a gentle disposition that aligns seamlessly with her vision for breeding.

Speaking passionately about Newfoundland Ponies, Kelesha highlights their intelligence, easygoing nature, and adaptability to Newfoundland’s harsh environment. Drawing from personal experience, she shares an inspiring story of Trumpet, a once-misunderstood pony that she was able to work with, emphasizing the importance of skilled handling and working with a pony’s personality.

Kelesha advocates for responsible horse ownership, stressing the need for lessons, volunteering, and dedication. “To own a pony or a horse, I highly recommend you get lessons from a certified coach or volunteer at a barn,” she says. “Learn the in’s and out’s of riding and caring for ponies. They aren’t something you can pick up and throw down when you feel like it.

It’s hard work and dedication. Ponies aren’t a hobby; they’re a lifestyle.”

As Kelesha continues her journey with Newfoundland Ponies, she feels that these ponies are not just animals; they are a vital part of the province’s heritage. With a commitment to preserving the breed, Kelesha is a role model for ensuring that Newfoundland Ponies do not fade into extinction.

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Fishery Flashback How many Downhome readers have seen scenes like this around the outports of Newfoundland and Labrador? This was a regular sight in Lower Jenkins Cove, Durrell, NL, a century ago. There were usually two men in the small boats and four or five in the trap skiffs that made a living from the fishery. No unemployment insurance in those days.

Max Stuckless Burin, NL

Isn’t it something when the things that were just a part of living become a part of history instead? Did the person who took this picture realize how valuable this rare glimpse would be in the not-so-distant future? Thanks for sharing this look back to a different time, Max. We are always interested in seeing and sharing readers’ flashback photos. Turn to the Reminiscing section to see more in this issue, and see page 9 to learn how to submit your own photos and stories.

Dear readers,

Would you like to comment on something you’ve read in Downhome?

Do you have a question for the editors or for other readers? Submit your letter to the editor at DownhomeLife.com/letters or write to us at 43 James Lane, St. John’s, NL, A1E 3H3.

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homefront Downhome tours...

USA

Glacier Bay, Alaska

“This was taken from our excursion boat. What an amazing experience!” write Eamonn and Gail O’Brien of Brigus Junction, NL.

Spectacular Glacier Bay National Park in the Southeastern Alaskan wilderness is comprised of the bay, the surrounding mountains and glaciers, rugged ocean coastlines, deep fjords, and freshwater rivers and lakes. It was first proclaimed a US National Monument on February 25, 1925, and is now part of a 25-million-acre World Heritage Site – one of the world’s largest international protected areas. About 400,000 people visit each year, heading up the West Arm to the impressive Margerie Glacier.

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Boston, Massachusetts Regina Seymour and Chris Guptell of Hantsport, NS, spent a sportsthemed week in Boston and are pictured here at TD Garden by the statue of Bobby Orr.

Legendary NHLer Bobby Orr is immortalized outside TD Garden, New England’s largest sports and entertainment arena, home of the Boston Bruins. The bronze sculpture depicts Orr leaping through the air on May 10, 1970, having scored the Stanley Cupwinning goal in overtime of Game 4 for the Bruins against the St. Louis Blues. Funnily, the renowned sculptor Harry Weber, who created this piece, is a native of St. Louis.

Devils Tower, Wyoming Dennis Grzybowski of Michigan, USA, travelled by motorcycle out west to Devils Tower, WY, in 2019.

Soaring to an elevation of 1,558 metres, Devils Tower National Monument is an astounding geologic feature that protrudes out of the plains surrounding the Black Hills in Wyoming.

It’s considered sacred by Northern Plains Indians and Indigenous people, and was designated as the first United States national monument on September 24, 1906, by President Theodore Roosevelt. www.downhomelife.com

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Expert answers to common life questions.

By Linda Browne

What does the phrase “bat out of hell” mean and from where did it originate?

The English language is brimming with evocative phrases that can paint a vibrant picture in the mind so much better than any one word on its own. For instance, if I said to you: “They pulled out of that parking lot like a bat out of hell!” you’d know those folks were Bonnie and Clydeing it and driving so fast that they’d probably see red and blue lights flashing behind them soon enough.

As Oxford Reference online notes, to move “like a bat out of hell” means to move “extremely fast.” And who wouldn’t move swiftly when the hot flames of hell are licking at their heels (or talons, in this case)?

But why are these fascinating nocturnal creatures associated with hell in the first place? (And, no, it wasn’t the late singer Meat Loaf who first made the connection with his 1977 debut album Bat Out of Hell, though perhaps it played a part in bringing the phrase to mind.)

Lexicographer and editor Jesse Sheidlower, who’s also past president of the American Dialect Society and was an editor with the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), tells Downhome via email, “As for the association of bats with hell, that’s a very longestablished belief.” He points to an 18

February 2024

article published in History Today in 2020 by Alexander Lee (a research fellow at the University of Warwick in the UK), who writes that bats’ “nocturnal habits, snub noses and leathery wings have earned them a reputation for wickedness and devilry since the earliest times.” For example, Lee mentions, in Dante’s Commedia, Satan is described “as having six great wings, each ‘like a bat’s.’”

Both Lee’s piece and an entry on the Idiom Origins website also mention a section of The Birds by Greek playwright Aristophanes, performed in 414 BC: “Then that bat of a Chaerephon came up from hell to drink the camel’s blood.” Though, Sheidlower says, this “just shows the bat/hell association, not the (English) expression denoting speed.”

The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and 1-888-588-6353

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Fable notes that bats “in poetic use” are “often associated with the coming of night and darkness, as in Shakespeare’s Macbeth, ‘Ere the bat hath flown his cloistered flight.’ They have also a sinister association with vampires, notably in the tradition established by Bram Stoker,” with his Dracula being published in 1897.

According to Idiom Origins, the expression “bat out of hell” first appeared in print in the 1921 novel Three Soldiers by American writer John Dos Passos. (The phrase actually appears four times in the novel, with the earliest instance being: “...Bill Rees an’ me’d stop off every now and then to have a little drink an’ say ‘Bonjour’ to the girls an’ talk to the people, an’ then we’d go like a bat out of hell to catch up.”)

Sheidlower says while the first quotation in the OED is from this novel, “the OED entry hasn’t been revised in decades; and by now, researchers have discovered earlier evidence. I believe the earliest example currently known is from 1895, and there are others from the early 1900s, all recorded in the American West. There is other early evidence from the Southern US,

so it does seem to be regional in early use, but definitely American.”

Ben Zimmer, a linguist and lexicographer who also writes the “Word on the Street” column for The Wall Street Journal, says the 1895 example in question “was first shared on the American Dialect Society’s mailing list in 2013 by word researcher Hugo van Kemenade,” he writes in an email to Downhome. It comes from an article titled “Cowboys at Work,” published in the Washington Evening Star on August 17, 1895, which, Zimmer adds, “was syndicated to various newspapers around the country, so it likely helped in popularizing the phrase.

“The definition for ‘like a bat out of hell’ given there has this explanation: ‘Once all the bats were confined in Hell. They still have wings like the Devil. One day someone left the gate open and they quickly darted out and escaped to earth,’” Zimmer explains.

“I don’t know if this was really the origin of the phrase or a later rationalization, but it’s certainly colourful!”

Regardless, this helps shed further light on this oft-maligned creature of the night and the popular phrase associated with it.

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

Desperate for Direction My friend, Ray, told me that when he was living in Toronto, ON, his niece visited from Daniel’s Harbour, NL. She went out exploring and got lost in the city. She found a telephone booth (this was before cellphones) on the sidewalk and called her uncle.

He asked, “Where are you?”

She replied, “I don’t really know. All I see is big buildings.”

“Look at the signs on the street corners and tell me where you are,” he told her.

After a moment of hesitation, she said, “I am at the corner of WALK and DON’T WALK.” Orville Cole Dartmouth, NS

Do you have any funny or embarrassing true stories?

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

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e?

“Did they leav ow?” n Can I come in sey – Juanita Ker

Say WHAT? Downhome recently posted this photo (submitted by Elaine Lynch) on our website and social media platforms and asked folks to imagine what the caribou might be saying. Juanita Kersey’s response made us chuckle the most, so we’re awarding her 20 Downhome Dollars!

Here are the runners-up: Where can I get one of these pretty collars? - Linda Ingram Have I got something stuck in my teeth? - Wanda Peddle How come you get to be in the warm house?! - Rose McDonald

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

www.downhomelife.com

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homefront lil charmers

Sweet Sidekicks Precious Moments Baby Madison and kitty Felix cuddle up.

Kerri Johns Pouch Cove, NL

Puppy Love Delani gets kisses from big brother Blaze.

Lynn Delaney Port Hawkesbury, NS

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Love in the Air Howie and Charley play in the snow in Churchill Falls.

Kelsey Hayley Bonavista, NL

Tiny Duo

These two cuties are best buddies fur-ever.

Casey Francis Grand Falls-Windsor, NL

www.downhomelife.com

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homefront pets of the month

Canine Cupid Flirty Boss knows he’s the goodest boy.

Monica Lovell St. John’s, NL

Happy Valentine’s Day Paws and Kisses!

Who wouldn’t love a smooch from this sweet doggie?

Katie Rice Labrador City, NL

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Puppy Loves Decked out Delilah, Harley & Ellie Mae pose for a Valentine’s paw-trait.

Steven Lockyer Lewin’s Cove, NL

My Feline Valentine Kitties Dora and Peanut are a purr-fect match.

Hope Roberts Triton, NL

www.downhomelife.com

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We’re wasting no time preparing for the next Downhome Calendar, . . . and neither should you!

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

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 2025 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 Must be original photos or high quality copies. Digital photos must be at least 300 dpi, file sizes of about 1MB. We can’t accept photocopies or photos that are blurry, too dark or washed out. Include a self-addressed stamped envelope if you want your photos returned.

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homefront

reviewed by Denise Flint

Five for Forteau Kevin Major

Breakwater Books $22.95

Our hero is back to his main job as a tour guide in Five For Forteau, Kevin Major’s latest entry in his Sebastian Synard mystery series. This time he’s escorting a foursome of pharologists on a tour of the best lighthouses in Newfoundland and Labrador, finishing at the Point Amour lighthouse on the South Coast of Labrador.

This particular lighthouse is very tall and very isolated, and this is a mystery novel. It doesn’t take much imagination to figure out what’s going to happen. When the inevitable occurs, Sebastian – helped with varying degrees of success by his son, his dog and his girlfriend – sets out to discover what transpired.

It’s a bit of a puzzle why Sebastian Synard has chosen tour guiding as a follow-up career to his previous one as a teacher. He doesn’t seem to like the people he escorts around the province very much. In this one he’s particularly scathing, even though the lighthouse aficionados don’t seem all that bad.

Five For Forteau is a bit different from the previous entries in this series, both in terms of the untimely death and the level of violence and/or threats involved. This mystery is more cerebral than physical, and there’s nary a thug to be found. It’s an interesting departure, although probably not sustainable. The history lessons and tourism plugs are also worked into the story a little more seamlessly than in some of his earlier stories. All in all, fans of Kevin Major and Sebastian Synard (not to mention Nick and Gaffer) should enjoy Five For Forteau.

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Q&A with the Author Denise Flint: Famously, Conan Doyle and Agatha Christie were both reported to come to hate their iconic sleuths. After five books, how are you feeling about Sebastian Synard?

Kevin Major: I’m not at all hating him.

In fact, I’m rather enjoying him and the changes he’s going through in his personal life. That keeps me interested in the book – the personal relationships with a woman and with his son.

DF: What have you learned about Sebastian that you didn’t know when you started out?

KM: I don’t know if I’ve learned a great deal. I’ve come to appreciate different sides of him, and he’s grown himself. In the first book he was pretty angry, recently divorced and frustrated that he wasn’t getting to spend more time with his son. And over time you can see that they’ve learned to get along better; and in the meantime, Mae has come into his life, and I think she helped him put the past aside and move on. He’s developing himself, and I’m learning more about him as I continue the series.

DF: This book seemed a little less violent than past ones. Are you mellowing?

KM: Wait and see what the next book brings! I don’t know when I start a book where it’s going to go in the end. I knew somebody would die and how that would come about – in this case, it is somewhat different. It is less violent, but it’s just as dramatic.

The story dictates as it moves along www.downhomelife.com

how it’s going to end up. Sometimes there’s been violent confrontations.

This one is more reflective about the person who died.

DF: What kinds of things do you have to keep in mind when you’re writing a series?

KM: You have to be consistent with what you’ve done before. When I start a new book, every now and then I’ll come up with something that was referenced in an earlier book, and I’ll have to go back and verify that. I don’t want two parts to contradict...

There’s leeway for change and the characters are changing, so we don’t need to expect them to be the same person they were from book one to book six, especially a person like Nick, who was 13 when it started and is now about to go away to university.

It’s kind of what keeps me interested, to tell you the truth. They’re evolving as people. I specifically made Sebastian a tour guide because I wanted him to be able to tour around. I know some protagonists are linked to one particular landscape, and he has an interest in our province’s history, and that’s a chance for me to sing the historic praises of this place we live in.

DF: Are you working on anything else at the moment?

KM: I’ve started book six. I’m taking a little bit more time because I’ve published [books] two to five in four consecutive years... I’m well into it, but I don’t quite have the same pressure as I did with some of the others.

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homefront what odds

the house that slack built

By Paul Warford

My date asked My father and his father built my childhood home. I wasn’t born just yet, but I’ve seen me if there pictures of the two of them up on the truss (no was an age harness), their similar hair shaped by the wind, the roof that would eventually shelsuggestion fashioning ter our family, continuing to this very day. Now, on the box for the sake of transparency, there is currently leak in the master bedroom’s en suite; like and I said, apeople, no house is perfect. However, viewed “Yeah, ages through the scope of my limited carpentry coupled with the filtration of nostal41 and up.” knowledge, gia and childhood, I’d say Dad and Pop got as close as any men could get. So, you can imagine the pressure and duty I felt I needed to impose upon myself while building a gingerbread house last night.

See, Piatto has it figured out. I’m not sure what sort of reviews that pizzeria is getting on Google, and I don’t know what in the hell an Enoteca is, but I do know that this little restaurant has a knack for concocting and hosting “date nights.” Remember when I went there to carve a jack-o-lantern with an impossibly charming Port aux Basques woman? I mean, it feels like that just happened. Anyway, the little bistro is up to their old tricks again here in December; they advertised a gingerbreadhouse-making night. You pay the fee, you get two pizzas, two glasses of wine, two desserts, and two gingerbread house kits. So, I found my best Port aux Basques girl yet again, and called Piatto to book us for a night of sweet carpentry.

They had no availability, though. Word to the wise: reserve your date nights earlier rather than later. Much like completing your Downhome pieces, it never hurts to give yourself a little extra time – a lesson I’m slow to learn.

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realized we wouldn’t be able to enjoy our little pizza date, but then she suggested we simply make them at home.

Like a true Christmas miracle, she already had kits at her place, so I headed over last night.

We start unpacking the kits and I’m apprehensive. I feel like I’m eight and someone is handing me Lego. Lego is telling like an Etch-A-Sketch is telling. In the hands of an artistic child, the possibilities with these toys are endless. However, in the hands of a dexterously incapable child, Lego and Etch-A-Sketch are mostly just good for straight lines and “houses” that are little more than windowless prisons. My date is an artistic child.

Guess which type I am.

As we decipher the instructions and start placing the walls, I can already tell my gingerbread house and included gingerbread man are doomed. I pipe white threads of sickly sweet icing along the “troughs” of the included E-Z Tray™, which is meant to brace the four walls of this domicile. I join the corners and press firmly to promote adhesion, while also trying not to crumble the cookie drywall. In time, the four walls are more or less standing – albeit at worrying angles. But the roof…

The roof is composed of two heavy gingerbread slabs that are meant to fasten along the peaks of the “front” and “back” of the house. I slather icing on in thick rivulets, eyeing the jaunty 45-degree angle of the house’s peaks, wondering how in the hell my date’s roof is already on and secure. I carefully, carefully place the roof sheets one at a time and then sit back, holding my breath.

Though I know we’re doing this for www.downhomelife.com

fun, I can still feel my father and his father and my two older brothers at my back, also watching and waiting.

Three generations of Warford men witnessing the slab of gingerbread slowly slide… and slide… before falling to the table in a mess of white spackle and brown crumbs.

Meanwhile, my date is applying peppermint knobs and dollops of pink icing, spaced just-so along her roof, which isn’t moving at all. I knew this would happen.

As it comes time for pictures, my date’s house is standing proud with colourful snow at the front door, and sprinkles-like-pearls along her window sills. Beside it, mine looks like a once-proud home on a war-torn city block. The roof only held on one side and there’s icing over everything. My jujubes are holding, but they’re not spaced properly. I genuinely concentrated through the whole process.

This is legitimately my best effort. I can’t believe they give these things to children. My date asked me if there was an age suggestion on the box and I said, “Yeah, ages 41 and up.”

During construction, I told her about the other men in my family, and how good they are at building things. Of course, she understood when I pointed out that my meticulous eye excels at other stuff, like writing What Odds, lashed together with foundational grammar and dime-store wisdom.

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

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fresh tracks

new music talk with Wendy Rose

Pick Me Up Brookfield Line

All photos by Riley Harnett

FANS OF ROCK AND ROLL OF YESTERYEAR, you’re in for a treat with

Pick Me Up, Brookfield Line’s debut record of original songs. From their many years of playing together in a Beatles tribute band, these seasoned rockers deliver a dynamic album that’s all killer, no filler.

The album begins with “Friends,” which kicks us into high gear right from the get-go, with an energetic, exciting “Wooo!” before the first verse.

With warm and welcoming lyrics, this ’70s-esque rock song evokes not just thoughts of The Beatles, but also other influential artists of the time like Electric Light Orchestra, The Cars and T. Rex. We’re off to a fun start, for sure.

Next up is the title track, “Pick Me Up,” another high-energy classic rock song that will make you want to kick off your “Beatle boots” and start up a sock hop in your living room. “You’ll be with me in my dreams, it’s what you want, it’s what you need, oh baby!

You’ll be with me in my heart, it’s what you want, it’s just the start, oh baby!” Brookfield Line sings on the chorus.

On “Automatic,” the band

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continues to deliver their brand of bold, enthusiastic rock, with rollicking guitar riffs and spirited piano.

Horns add another layer of fun to this toe-tapper.

Brookfield Line invokes a more subtle ’60s rock vibe on “Big Snow” – think The Zombies and The Kinks, with perhaps a splash of The Moody Blues. The lyrics seem like an homage to 2020’s Snowmageddon, as they talk about digging out from under six feet of snow and the shenanigans that ensued as the City of St. John’s grappled with this unprecedented weather event. “It was the year of the big snow, snowed in nowhere to go, traded bread for wine, and coffee for a time with the neighbours down the road,” the lyrics recount.

“Back to Business” is another lively rock song, with the same kind of impressive orchestral feel that got ELO into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The lyrics will resound with all 1-888-588-6353

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9-5ers living for the weekend: “We’re living it up, we’re putting it down, we’re keepin’ it in, I’m keeping it inside out, we’re givin’ it up, not puttin’ it down, let’s stay with this – back to business, woo!” This fun track also features horns, vocal improvisations and even maniacal laughter.

“Looking For a Fool” has a slightly different sound, with Len and Curt sharing lead vocals. Powerful guitar

won’t give it up, just won’t give it up, just won’t give it up,” they sing as a horn solo begins to fade out this track.

The high-energy level continues on “If You Want Me Back.” Given the vast and diverse catalogue of the band’s major influence, The Beatles, I was expecting a couple of tender, slower numbers on this Brookfield Line album, but the band keeps the

riffs and lively piano lead us into a country-flavoured breakdown around the two-minute mark, with horns bringing the listener back into another raucous chorus.

The shortest track on the album at just 2m14s, “Checked Out” still manages to pack in a lot of action into a small amount of time.

Piano-heavy “Living It Up” feels like a rock ballad, with catchy guitar riffs and sweeping melodies. “I know that it’s just a fantasy and it’s what you mean to me, I know that you just

tempo up consistently throughout.

Pick Me Up wraps up with “You Can’t Take Them Away,” yet another vibrant song with excellent guitar, piano, horns and vocal harmonies.

While I would love to hear Brookfield Line tackle a “sad song” of sorts, perhaps this band simply has too much energy to slow things down in that way. They know what they’re about, and they’re ready and willing to deliver their brand of rock and roll to a dance floor of music lovers looking to boogie down.

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Q&A with the Artist

WR: Can you tell our readers a little about the birth of the tribute act Beatles for Sale, and the successes you had performing as John, Ringo, Paul and George?

Curt Harding: We started from a

mutual friend, Georgie Newman, who did sound at a bar we all frequently performed at with our original bands. The bar was The Levee.

I voiced to Georgie the desire to start a Beatles band and asked him to be in the band. He was very busy so had to decline, but put me in touch with Ryan Sheaves and Len O’Neill. They already had a drummer in mind, Steve Doyle. We started jamming in my parents’ basement (sorry Mom and Dad), and from there to now we’ve learned and performed over 140 Beatles songs together in 10 years.

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WR: What inspired the band to pivot and start writing original music?

CH: Playing Beatles music was always

a tradition and an excuse to play together when I returned home from Toronto for the holidays or briefly over the summer. I was up there playing full-time with my project, Secret Broadcast, at the time. When I finally moved back to Newfoundland… it sparked a new chemistry and a desire to want to write music together, not just play Beatles songs.

When the pandemic hit in 2020, we were unable to perform live. It kind of forced us into that change. Myself and Len O’Neill started trading song ideas online while in lockdown, and it turned into sort of a friendly competition between us as songwriters.

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of time, we realized there was something worth exploring in regards to getting a string of 10 songs together for an album. Ryan brought in a track, Len brought in a track, and we made a point to stick to what we have been doing for 10 years on stage, which was having all of us singing on the track. And it shows on our debut album Pick Me Up, which features all three vocalists on every song.

WR: After 10 years of covering the Fab Four, what kind of reaction did your longtime fans have to this shift?

Do the Beatlemaniacs also come out for the Brookfield Line shows?

CH: Our first show was actually a

double-duty set at the Rockhouse.

We opened up the night with a Brookfield Line set and closed the night with a Beatles set. We only had one demo, “Friends,” released at the time. But it was a bit jaw-dropping to see a lot of our Beatles for Sale fans dancing and singing the lyrics to our original song. The crossover has been there for sure, but unfortunately, we haven’t played in St. John’s enough to see a full result of that. Technically after our recent tour, we’ve played more shows in Ontario as a band over our hometown, which is kind of bonkers if you think about it! [laughs]

WR: With only a couple of singles released, Brookfield Line managed to snag a MusicNL nod for Rock Artist of the Year. What was your reaction to hearing this news?

CH: Yeah, this was shocking news to say the least! We were super proud of what our first two singles did for us last year, and the feedback we www.downhomelife.com

received locally and internationally was a huge motivation to keep on trucking with the project. Between the two singles – “Pick Me Up” and “Friends” – we were played on FM radio close to 12,000 times across Europe, Canada and the US, streamed online over 80,000 times. I think we would have been pleased with 10 per cent of that outcome, so it was nice to get a MusicNL nomination for just a couple of singles as a local pat on the back, or a hat tip, if you will. Hopefully, it carries into the new year with the new music we are working on currently.

WR: What’s the plan for Brookfield Line in 2024?

CH: Geordie Dynes (our first drum-

mer) moved around the bay and sadly had to leave the group, so we have the drummer who filled in for us on tour, Jack Etch (who is amazing), joining us on the kit for the songs we will be recording [over Christmas]. We are not too sure what we’ll be doing with the 4-5 songs we are going to record: perhaps singles, maybe an EP, or the start of album number two… We just wanted to get something done while we are all in the same place at the same time – which for the last 10 years of playing together, has really been a theme of this band… Always doing something, whether it’s a Beatles show, recording, a tour when we are all together in the same place, which isn’t too often! Len also has his solo record coming out next year and I am slowly but surely getting together my own solo project. So lots of irons in the fire for us! Stay tuned.

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homefront

adventures outdoors

Non-mandatory

Madness

,

By Gord Follett

It was quite a bumpy ride in my buddy’s 18-foot open boat as we headed out of Petty Harbour during the 2016 recreational cod fishery. After steaming along for 10 minutes or so, I turned my head towards my right shoulder and, over the sound of the motor, yelled, “My butt is taking some pounding here this morning, buddy!”

“In that big plastic container in the bow, grab a life jacket to sit on,” Bob shouted back.

I did as he suggested, and it did indeed make the ride more comfortable. I was soon smiling and enjoying the ride – until suddenly it hit me: How stupid is this?

The life jacket on which I was sitting would undoubtedly make a difference between life and death had our craft turned suddenly for some reason, or hit something floating just beneath the surface and capsized.

Yet here I was, quite content to use my life vest as a seat cushion! On the Atlantic Ocean, no less!

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Shark anglers Brian Oram, right, with a Type 3 “thin” life vest, and his father, Alec, in a floater jacket

Many anglers find these types of life vests less bulky while fishing. Shown is Gord Follett with a ouananiche from Gambo Pond.

From what I’ve been witnessing on ponds, rivers and the ocean in recent years, life vest use is certainly becoming more common and rarely have I seen a child without one. But for all those speedy jet skis, canoes and 14-, 16- and 18-foot boats, there should be 100 per cent compliance.

I realize it’s now February and ponds are frozen across the province as thousands hit their favourite ice fishing spots. But come April the ice will start to break up, and then before we know it, our attention will be switching to the start of the “regular” trout fishing season on May 15.

Ahh, open water. Boats. Trolling along in warmer temperatures...

Now that’s more like it!

To be brutally honest, though, I can’t guarantee right now that I will definitely be wearing a life jacket every time I’m trout or salmon fishing from a boat this summer. And I’ll be doing nothing illegal. Mind you,

I’ll do my best to set a good example if I know a photo or video could appear on social media, but as long as the life vest is somewhere in the boat, I’m fine as far as the law is concerned.

Make sense to you? Me neither.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: For the life of me, I cannot understand why actually wearing your PFD or life jacket while in a boat is still not legally mandated. Like seat belts in your vehicle, they save lives!

I wrote an article 18 months ago about making it mandatory to wear life jackets in recreation/pleasure crafts.

The piece received national attention, but not all of it was good. Initially thinking that it was a no-brainer and everybody would be in favour of life vests, I was rather surprised by the negative reaction and name-calling. I actually found it amusing. “Mind your own business, you clown,” one man from Ontario wrote.

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I was later informed that some boating associations and other group users are primarily the ones against mandatory usage, which made things even more confusing for me.

Wouldn’t they be the ones most in favour? Apparently not.

So, how large a boat, what type and under what circumstances should you not have to wear a life jacket? Good luck getting an answer on that one.

Knowing that the situation gets even more touchy when talking about the thousands of saltwater bird hunters in our province, I asked our local outdoor water safety expert, Barry Fordham, VP of public education with the Lifesaving Society, NL branch, if these hunters could be an exception.

“No, they should not be,” he began.

“We all know how dangerous the Atlantic Ocean can be. I strongly believe it should be mandatory to wear a life jacket while on any type of watercraft... And hunters, fishers and recreational users need to wear the proper type of life jacket for the specific type of activity they are participating in.”

I then asked if he was surprised it still isn’t mandatory to wear life jackets in a boat, and why it isn’t. “It doesn’t surprise me that it’s still not mandatory, but it makes no sense at all. I can only surmise why it isn’t mandatory, and that is there hasn’t been a united group effort to lobby

Shane Fordham wears a properly fitting and fastened life jacket while taking part in the recreational cod fishery.

the government to do so. That’s what I think needs to happen.”

The latest statistics I found reveal that every year, more than 500 people drown across the country, with an average of 166 of them being boating-related. Lifesaving Society stats for Newfoundland and Labrador show the number of drowning deaths from a high of 36 in 2009 to a low of 10 in 2018.

“We live on an island surrounded by the ocean, a large number of lakes, ponds and rivers,” Barry added.

“With such a large percentage of our people spending time on the water, we have to be prepared. Wearing life jackets is the best way to do that.”

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 1974, at the age of 23, I hitchhiked with my beau across Canada. We ran out of money in St. John’s, Newfoundland. He got a job with the Daily News, the local paper, and I got a nursing job on the PICU (paediatric intensive care unit) at the Charles A. Janeway Hospital on the edge of Quidi Vidi Lake. On that unit was a wee 18-month-old boy named Christopher, who was attached to a respirator due to a malfunctioning diaphragm. He had a head of blonde, curly hair and a wide gash of a drooly smile, and I loved him. Over time I came to know his parents as well.

I worked on the unit for six months. After making enough money to return home to the west coast of British Columbia, we left the island in March 1975. I stayed in touch with Christopher’s mum and dad, Dave and Donna, for a year or two and then, as so often happens, we lost contact. But I never, ever forgot them or Christopher.

Fast forward 45 years to August 2019, when I received an email from a young woman. She wrote that she had been looking for me most of her adult life: she was Christopher’s sister! She told me the sad news that, in 1976, after exhaustive attempts to repair his diaphragm had failed, Christopher had died. She added that 2019 was especially poignant as she had just turned 40 and her own daughter was three, the same age as her brother when he died. This woman was the adopted daughter of Dave and Donna. They adopted her in 1979 and named her Théa, after me.

To learn this was a deeply moving and profound moment that left me weeping as I read the email. I am nobody special; I was simply doing a job that I loved and was reasonably good at. Yet, in those six 40

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months, I made enough of an impression on a young couple that they named their second child after me. Proof positive that we can never underestimate the power of both our kind and unkind actions or words.

Dave and Donna, I learned, are both still alive and in good health.

They, along with Théa, her partner and their young daughter, share a home just outside St. John’s. After a few exhilarating and emotional telephone calls back and forth with both Théa and her mum and dad, I booked a trip to Newfoundland for the following summer, 2020. It was cancelled due to COVID. I rebooked for the summer of 2021, only to have it cancelled again due to COVID. By 2022, I was going to get there if I had to drag myself on my tongue!

And so it happened that I returned to St. John’s in early July 2022. I came, I connected and I wept some more! While in town I was taken to the old site of the Janeway in Pleasantville. I was dismayed to see only an overgrown patch of earth and chunks of cement where this remarkable, groundbreaking institution once stood. There did not appear to be, or I could not find, any type of commemorative plaque acknowledging its long-ago presence.

That plaque may exist at Memorial University where the new hospital stands, but it seems unfortunate there is no marker on the old site.

Although my nursing body was not called CRNNL when I was there in 1975, I popped into their www.downhomelife.com

office on Military Road to see if I was still in their books. Much to my delight, I was! After 48 years my memory is not what it was, but I do remember my head nurse Ramona Strong (one of the three best I had in my 44 years of hospital work) and a nursing colleague, Mary Keough.

I have been blessed to be able to explore our world widely and often over my 70-plus years, and I can honestly say my 2022 summer in Newfoundland is the absolute highlight of my travelling life. With patience, perseverance and pure determination, a young Théa at one end of the country managed to connect with this older théa at the other end, changing my life forever.

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life is better Skating in Conception Harbour, NL Lorraine Winsor, Paradise, NL

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features

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When I tell people some of the wildest things

I’ve learned about animals, their eyes get as big around as dinner plates – much like the eyes of a giant squid. They have the largest eyes in the animal kingdom, at one foot in diameter! Not only that, but their highly complex brain, which is tiny compared to their body size, is shaped like a donut and their esophagus runs right through the hole in the middle. Talk about food on the brain!

The animal kingdom is incredibly diverse, with more than two million known species of the furry, feathery, scaly and slimy kind. And some of them have incredible abilities, such as the dolphin, which can – and regularly does – operate on half a brain! Here are some really cool and fun facts you can use to impress your kids or drop at your next dinner party.

MArvels on Land Squirrels and other rodents cannot burp or vomit. This inability to expel toxins they ingest is what makes rat poison so effective.

Owls don’t have eyeballs, they have eye tubes.

Owl eyes are not round like ours, they are rod-shaped, and they do not move in their sockets. That’s why their heads can swivel so far; it’s the only way owls can look around.

Reindeer eyes change colour with the season: golden brown in summer and blue in winter. This happens in areas far north where there are periods of 24-hour darkness. The darkness causes the pupils to dilate and increases the pressure within the eye, which causes the colour change as light reflects differently off the retina. In areas where reindeer experience light pollution from streetlights, their eyes take on a green cast.

Crows are known pranksters. They sometimes mimic human voices and then appear to enjoy the confusion it causes in other crows. They also sometimes use empty food containers to deceive other birds so they can sneak away to raid full containers of food.

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The antlers of a moose are for more than showing off – they act as elaborate hearing aids that help males find calling females. A study found that antlers gather, funnel and amplify sound, boosting hearing by 19 per cent. They serve as an effective parabolic reflector, which increases the acoustic pressure of incoming sound.

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Wonders of the ocean Dolphins’ intelligence is legendary. Aside from humans, dolphins are the only mammals known to call each other by name. Each dolphin emits a unique whistle that identifies themselves to other dolphins; it can be detected up to 20 kilometres away, and a dolphin will respond to a playback of their own recorded call. When it comes to mental endurance, dolphins have humans beat because they can swim and think for up to 15 days, possibly indefinitely, without rest or sleep. They achieve this amazing feat by resting only half their brain, while the other half remains active and awake – and they can even switch which side is active. It is believed that this ability evolved to prevent drowning and so they can remain vigilant of predators.

Mackerel must be the luckiest living fish. Only one to 10 Atlantic mackerel eggs survive out of a million. Try to beat those odds.

Flounders, known as flatfish by many, don’t start out life flat. The larval flounder is born like all other fish, with one eye on each side of its head. As it grows to the juvenile stage through metamorphosis, both eyes migrate to the side of the head that faces up.

The side that this occurs on depends on the species.

A bowhead whale, the longest lived mammal, can live for centuries. One caught in 2007 had an imbedded 90 mm explosive bomb lance – a spear used for whaling that was manufactured between 1879 and 1885, making the whale an estimated 115-130 years old!

It’s since been discovered that bowheads possess genes that allow damaged DNA to self-repair and may be responsible for the whale’s possible 268-year maximum lifespan.

Little is known about the Greenland shark, although it is thought to be the oldest living vertebrate on Earth.

One individual caught was over 400 years old.

A blue whale eats 500,000 calories in a single mouthful – that’s the same as you eating 1,000 cheeseburgers in one sitting. Its tongue alone can weigh as much as a car.

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Tiny Miracles Butterflies taste with their feet using chemoreceptors that help them identify plants. The females can even select the correct leaf on which to lay eggs by foot-drumming it and causing it to release juices.

Tardigrades, extremely durable microscopic animals, exist everywhere on Earth. They can survive true extremes of nature, such as temperatures as high as 149°C and as low as -272°C, pressure six times stronger than that of the ocean floor, more than 10 years without food and even the vacuum of space.

Honey bees can flap their wings 200 times every second. And not only do they collect pollen on their body hair, but they even capture it in hairs on their eyes.

(Bet you didn’t see that coming!)

Typical garden slugs have more teeth than a great white shark. A slug’s mouth is lined with up to 27,000 teeth, which they routinely lose and replace. They also have the ability to stretch out to 20 times their normal length, allowing them to squeeze through the tiniest of openings. If all that isn’t strange enough, they have green blood.

That familiar buzzing of a housefly? It’s in the key of F. Spider silk is stronger than steel of the same width, and a rope two inches thick made of spider silk could stop a Boeing 747 mid-flight.

If you were to gather all the world’s spiders into one big pile, it would weigh the same as 500 Titanics.

Snails may be quicker than we give them credit for: sometimes they will take advantage of other snails’ slime trails to slip along, saving energy.

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The Terra Nova native reflects on his award-winning career and hints at a return to his roots

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Eddie Rowsell

– or Eddie Eastman to fans around the world – pauses when asked about his 50 years in the music business. His wife Paulette offers a warm smile and says, “Eddie and I will be married 50 years, and it also marks his 50th year in the music business. It’s been quite a ride.”

Eddie then indulges his guests by giving us a tour of his home in Nashville, Tennessee. He’s just as excited to explain where trees once stood before a tornado struck a few years back as he is to show off his music awards: two Junos and one from his induction into the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame.

“The real award is in the Eddie Eastman Hall in my hometown of Terra Nova,” Eddie shares, where copies of his Junos are also displayed. While Eddie raised his family, and now spends time with his grandchildren, in Tennessee, “home” will always be Newfoundland. “Newfoundland never leaves you. In fact, we are hoping for a 50-year celebration music tour that can happen in Newfoundland this summer.”

There’s so much to celebrate. Twenty-five of Eddie’s singles made the RPM Country Tracks charts, with five reaching the Top 10. Then there was the Juno Award for Country Male Vocalist of the Year in 1981 and again in 1983. Eddie was inducted into the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame in 2010, and one of his singles from 1980 – “Liftin’ Me Up Lettin’ Me Down” – was recently rerecorded as “Shootin’ Me Down” by Canadian country www.downhomelife.com

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Eddie’s earlier days. Above: Eddie with the Terra Nova Express. Right: Eddie accepts a Juno award for Country Male Vocalist of the Year. artist Jason Benoit (of Fox Island River, NL).

Music was ever present in Eddie’s life. “Newfoundland country singer Bobby Evans is my first cousin, so music has been around since I was growing up. I remember listening to Ernest Tubb and Johnny Cash and Marty Robbins and Merle Haggard and Charley Pride, of course,” he says.

The youngest of 10 children, Eddie started performing at the tender age of nine at family get togethers. “They’d be up performing and playing guitar and singing and someone would go, ‘Get Eddie up! Get Eddie up!’ and I’d go up and perform. It became like second nature,” he recalls.

He began singing on stage in front of an audience not made up of family in 1968, while attending college.

In 1971, he became lead singer of the Country Ducats, a popular countrymusic band from Newfoundland’s west coast.

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and Lew Skinner from the Country Ducats went on a road trip and recorded their first album. It was a hit, especially in Newfoundland, and Eddie somehow knew instantly that Nashville, the home of country music, was where he needed to be.

But the road to Nashville wasn’t always a smooth one. Eddie and Paulette lived in Toronto for a while, where they both had day jobs to pay the bills. “I finally said to Paulette, ‘I’m going to do this or I’m not,’ so I put an ad in the paper looking for a band and that was it. Music was the way we were going to go.”

Eddie named his band Terra Nova Express, and at that point he also changed his last name. “I was just thinking – east man. That’s what I am. A man from the east out travelling around singing songs. I became Eddie Eastman,” he says.

During a jam session, Eddie wrote what would become their breakout hit, “Eastbound 401.” He recalls, “It just came to me while the guys took a break from practising one night. It 1-888-588-6353

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was the quickest song I ever wrote.”

Eddie’s popularity was greatest during the late 1970s and early ’80s with multiple TV show appearances, including “The Tommy Hunter Show,” “The Ronnie Prophet Show,” “The Family Brown,” “The Alan Thicke Show” and “The Carroll Baker Show.” In 1984, he got his own show on CBC. For two seasons, he hosted “The Eddie Eastman Show,” a halfhour variety program.

In the late 1980s, Eddie’s dream of living in Nashville finally came true.

Eddie poses with his many awards in his home in Nashville “When we decided to move from Guelph, Ontario, to Nashville, we packed up the house and tossed everything into a U-Haul truck ... and it was packed to the hilt.”

The rental van was ready to explode, Paulette adds with a laugh.

Eddie smiles. “We’re loading up the www.downhomelife.com

truck and there wasn’t enough room for a piece of paper in the back of that thing. I had two hockey sticks left to pack, but couldn’t get out of there fast enough to head to Nashville to start living where the magic was happening in the music business.”

Standing on the road holding two hockey sticks, Eddie looked around and saw some kids. “I said, ‘Guys, would you like a hockey stick each?’ and they took them, and I closed the door and took off.”

Does he have any advice for other performers? “All I can say is, if you’re going to come to Nashville, you have to expect to wait. Nobody comes here and says, ‘Look at me. I’m so good.’ It doesn’t happen that way. You have to be patient and learn what you have to do once you arrive, and start writing songs with people and performing, and then one thing leads to another and then you never know.”

Take Garth Brooks, Eddie adds.

“Garth was at this songwriting thing at the Bluebird – and I played the Bluebird three or four times – but Garth was at the Bluebird playing, and there were seven or eight songwriters supposed to sing that night, and one guy who was going to sing never showed up... Garth got his chance, and the rest is history.”

Eddie, now 74, still performs and records music, sometimes with his daughter, Sherida, a musician in her own right. Will he return “home” to take the stage again? Eddie smiles. “I’d love to.” And then he drops a hint.

“I think a show in Newfoundland would be great. Maybe get Carroll Baker to come and we’ll have a real celebration. It’s been a good life performing, why not keep it going?”

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Elaine Dunphy’s “wellderlies” are aging at their own pace, and having a ball while they’re at it.

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we tend to look at aging in a less than positive light. Just look at all the ads for anti-aging wrinkle cream, grey hair coverup, and all the other products that help hide any signs that you’re eligible for the senior’s discount.

Thankfully, those attitudes are gradually changing and we’re learning to embrace the process of getting older.

As they say, age is just a number, and growing older is a privilege that not everyone gets to experience.

Aging is one thing. But aging well is another. And while so much focus is often placed on how we look on the outside, we sometimes neglect how we feel on the inside. Keeping active and moving plays such an important role in that.

Just ask Patricia Pike of Mount Pearl, NL. When she started to experience some health challenges some time ago, “I said OK, I got to do something to keep myself well,” Patricia, 77, recalls.

She began exploring different paths to find her way back to wellness and, in 2017, attended her first Nia class with Elaine Dunphy of Nia on the Rock. “After the first class, I was sold on it,” Patricia laughs. “It is so fun, and if you’re having a bad day, you forget about your pain.”

A movement practice that combines dance, martial arts, yoga and mindfulness, the Nia Technique was created in 1983 by American fitness trainers Debbie and Carlos Rosas. It was devised as an alternative to the “no pain, no gain” mantra of high-impact aerobics programs that were popular at the time.

“After the first class, I was sold on it,” laughs Patricia Pike (right). “It is so fun, and if you’re having a bad day, you forget about your pain.”

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After retiring from corporate life in 2015, Elaine (who’s been belly dancing since 2006) “stumbled” into a Nia class led by a visiting teacher. While “it wasn’t even on my radar to do something like this,” she says, it wasn’t long before she was hooked. She travelled to Toronto, ON, to complete her instructor training and now spends her days showing others how to find joy and wellness through movement.

Speaking over the phone, Elaine’s laugh rings through and her voice practically radiates joy. While she works with students of all ages, ranging from three to 103, the biggest source of her joy are those seniors, like Patricia, who she affectionately calls her “wellderlies.”

“They’re my main love,” she says. “I’m in front of about 120 to 140 wellderlies a week, so I feel that I’m just so blessed to be able to help the senior population keep moving.”

teacher Denise Medved. Consisting of 21 simple exercises, which include right- and left-brain activities, set to music, it’s a workout for both body and brain, and helps create new neural pathways (think of the childhood challenge of patting your head and rubbing your stomach

Movement for Every Body A typical Nia class with Elaine kicks off with a poem to set the right mood and intention. When the music starts and her students get moving and grooving, that’s when the real fun begins. She also incorporates playfulness, which can include props like a parachute that her students take turns running beneath (a nod to schoolyard games and just the ticket for her young-atheart wellderlies).

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simultaneously, and you get the idea). While the program is taught all over the world, Elaine is one of just two certified Ageless Grace instructors in Newfoundland and Labrador.

As one of her longest term wellderlies, Patricia is having a ball. “We’re doing yoga and tai chi, all these things... and people all of a sudden start feeling better and they don’t realize what’s happening,” she says.

“You got to do a combination of things, no matter what age you are…

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Elaine Dunphy (far right, in white) leads her wellderlies through some moves at the St. John’s Retired Citizens Association. but the kind of things with Nia, the endurance, strength, the balancing, the flexibility – and it’s doing it on a regular basis... I can’t afford to give it up.”

Elaine also strives to make her classes as inclusive and accessible as possible for her wellderlies, pointing to her 103-year-old student as an example. “She used to do it with her lipstick on and her necklace and matching earrings, in her wheelchair.

My class can be adapted to someone with mobility issues... if some seniors have walkers or whatever, they’re

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able to stay in their chair, or in their wheelchair, and still participate as much as they can,” she says.

Recently, Elaine added waltzing to the end of her classes, which adds a whole other layer to the experience.

“So I go to each of the ladies now and I put my arms out... and I can’t even tell you how magical it is,” she says.

“Because some of them have lost their partners. One lady is in a walker, and I went over and put my arms out to her and she said, ‘Oh, my husband and I used to do all these dances.’ And I just stood with her

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Elaine (centre) poses with members of her Monday Nia class. and we kind of went back and forth, and then I gave her a little bow and I said, ‘Well, thank you for dancing with me.’ Honest to God, I don’t know how I got so lucky.”

Attitude of Gratitude Elaine shares the joy of Nia and Ageless Grace through classes at seniors’ homes and through organizations including the Association for the Arts in Mount Pearl, the St. John’s Retired Citizens Association, Epilepsy Newfoundland and Labrador, and Manuels River. She’s also brought Ageless Grace to events like the recent Bay Roberts Lions Club’s Holiday Wellness Event. During the pandemic, she connected with her wellderlies online through Zoom from her home in Paradise.

St. John’s resident Gerri Trainor, 74, has only been doing Ageless Grace for about a year – but that might fool some folks. She shares a story about a recent cruise she went on with a group of friends. They were hanging around the pool when she decided to do some Ageless Grace exercises. Her friends joined in. Then another curious passenger. And then another.

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“So the next thing, we looked and there were three or four people around, men and women… and when it was finished, this gentleman said to me, ‘You’re hired by the cruise line.’ [I] said ‘No, we’re not,’” Gerri recalls, laughing at the memory. “‘We’re just doing this to keep our bodies in motion.’”

Besides being great for the body and mind, Gerri says, the social aspect of the classes “is absolutely wonderful… You go once and it’s amazing the number of people that you meet. And then you pull your friends in with you, and the next thing you know, you’re saying, ‘Okay, well, we got class tomorrow, so I’ll pick you up.’ And then, ‘Oh, we’ll go for coffee. Oh, no, let’s go for lunch.’”

The program, she adds, also helps ease the mind that can run a mile a minute. “We worry about things that we shouldn’t worry about, and we’re thinking about what’s going to happen [in] two weeks’ time, which we have no control over. So going to these classes, you learn to deal with all this and how to say to yourself, ‘OK, I have no control over this. I’m going to stay for today; tomorrow will look after itself.’”

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Elaine with her favourite wellderly, her mother Lorraine Gillespie.

There’s a certain joie de vivre that shines through Elaine’s wellderlies.

And while she has great affection for them all, her favourite is her mom, Lorraine Gillespie. She’s been taking her daughter’s classes since 2017.

Now 82 years young, the Mount Pearl resident shows no signs of slowing down, squeezing her Thursday Nia class in between Wednesday’s card game and Friday’s darts.

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“The older you get, the more you have to take care of yourself. And as long as I can walk and move and everything else, I intend to keep exercising because it certainly does help me... I’m gonna keep going as long as I can,” she says. “And aside from that, the group is a lot of fun.”

Elaine may not be a miracle worker, but to her wellderlies, she’s the next best thing. And they’re also teaching her a thing or two along the way.

“It is a privilege to engage daily with my wellderlies. They have become my extended family,” Elaine says. “My wellderlies have shown me that aging gracefully is possible. I love having a front row seat with them on their life journey. They truly are dancing through life. They are my biggest joy!”

She adds, “I want to be them when I grow up!”

To learn more, visit “Ageless Grace on the Rock” and “Nia on the Rock” on Facebook.

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Another Doyle carries on a tradition of recording and sharing Newfoundland folklore.

By Nicola Ryan

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There’s an eye-catching display

of antiques tucked inside the Neighbourhood Pharmacy on Queen’s Road in St. John’s, NL. A collection of wonderful “cures” – all kinds of tinctures and tonics; cod liver oil and cold weather cream; headache wafers and asthma cigarettes – along with almanacs and songbooks dating to the 1930s and ’40s are neatly lined up behind the glass. Many are labelled Gerald S. Doyle Ltd., a name that’s been associated with Newfoundland culture and folklore since before the days of Confederation. As it turns out, the owner of the pharmacy, Robert Doyle, is Gerald’s grandson, and he carries on his grandfather’s legacy in more ways than one.

Gerald S. Doyle

Gerald S. Doyle was born in 1892 in King’s Cove, Bonavista Bay. He trained as a pharmacist and later moved to St. John’s where, in the 1920s, he built a national wholesale distributorship that specialized in patent medicines – Gerald S. Doyle Ltd. “Back then, you know, back in the ’30s and ’40s, there were no roads going through the province to all the outports,” explains Robert. “He wanted to sell some of his pharmaceutical products, so he had a boat built called the Miss Newfoundland, and he used to sail up and down the coast of Newfoundland and Labrador, and bring the medicines and different products that he was selling to the small communities and to the merchants there.”

Throughout his travels, Doyle found himself drawn to the particular culture of the isolated places he’d visit. www.downhomelife.com

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Robert Doyle poses with the latest almanac in his St. John’s pharmacy.

“He noticed as he was going around the small communities that there were a lot of people who were singing songs and reciting poems,” Robert continues. “He’d hear something in one outport, and then when he went to the next community he’d hear a completely different version. So he decided that he would collect and record all these songs and poems that he was hearing.”

In 1927, inspired by the annual almanacs that the Chase Company (an American firm for whom Doyle had been the Newfoundland agent) had been publishing for years, Doyle published a booklet titled Old-Time Songs and Poetry of Newfoundland: Songs of Folklore, Humour, Tragedy, and History from the Days of Our Forefathers. Its 72 pages carried the texts to 43 songs and poems. Peppered among the pages were advertisements for the products he sold.

This paperback was the first of five editions of what is locally called the Doyle Songbook. Widely distributed throughout Newfoundland for free, these books were prized possessions in many households. Today, a 60

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significant number of the songs Doyle recorded – including “The Kelligrews Soiree,” “The Ryans and the Pittmans,” “The Squid Jiggin’ Ground” and “Let Me Fish off Cape St. Mary’s” – are recognized as central to the canon of Newfoundland folksong and to the cultural identity of Newfoundland and Labrador.

“He was one of the original, I guess, folklorists, for lack of a better word, in the province,” says Robert. “He was going around [at a time] leading up to big changes coming for Confederation. He really believed in being independent, and I guess he wanted to preserve and protect the culture of our island and of Labrador. That was one of his main motivations for doing it.”

Doyle’s Almanac

Robert’s certainly been inspired by the accomplishments of his grandfather. He earned a degree from Memorial University in biochemistry and pharmacy, and has been a practising community pharmacist since 1990. He’s also carrying on the Doyle tradition of recording and sharing Newfoundland folklore as editor of 1-888-588-6353

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the present-day version of the Doyle’s Almanac of Newfoundland and Labrador.

“So about nine years ago, one of our neighbours here at the pharmacy, his name is Dr. Gus Fanning, he came into the store,” Robert explains. “While he was waiting on his prescription he noticed the Dr. Chafe’s Almanacs that we have in the display case and he said, ‘Robert, you know, I have my Ph.D. in earth and ocean sciences; maybe I could do some weather forecasting,’ and I said, ‘Well, I’ve always been interested myself in doing some writing about Newfoundland history and kind of following in the inspiration from my grandfather,’ so I said ‘Why don’t we combine our efforts?’ And so that’s what we did.”

Dr. Augustus (Gus) Fanning, the Almanac’s science editor, holds a Ph.D. from the School of Earth and Ocean Sciences, University of Victoria, where for many years he taught climate change and variability, meteorology and oceanography. The Earth System Climate Model he developed during his studies is currently used by hundreds of institutes worldwide.

Earth system models like these study the interactions of atmosphere, ocean, land, ice and biosphere to estimate the state of regional and global climate under a wide variety of conditions – in other words, Gus is really good at accurately predicting www.downhomelife.com

the weather.

While the Almanac’s main focus is on the weather forecast for the island of Newfoundland and continental Labrador, it also includes hurricane and iceberg count predictions, sunrise and sunset times, tides and phases of the moon. Other sections of the book feature stories on history, tradition and the natural world.

“I mean, there’s so much history here,” Robert says.

“I’ve probably researched 80 local history stories over the past nine years that I’ve written about. I get some help from the library – the Centre for Newfoundland Studies, they’re really great in providing us lots of information – and I always try and interview someone who’s an expert in whatever I’m looking at, a local expert.

“Gus and I try and keep everything local with the book. We get Quikprint, a local printer, and we self-publish. We don’t get any funding for it, we do it as a passion, so we do the research and we pay for the editing and the printing and the distribution.” He adds with a chuckle, “You know, hopefully, one of these days we might break even on it.”

The 2025 Newfoundland Almanac coming out later this year will be the 10th anniversary edition – a special milestone for Robert and Gus, adding another verse to the song of our history.

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Foster Hewitt’s familiar sign-on crackles over the airways.

It’s Saturday night, “Hockey Night in Canada,” and all across Newfoundland and Labrador, fans are crowding around radios and TVs to follow the play-by-play. Our long, cold winters lend themselves well to the greatest game you can name. Outdoor shinny on frozen ponds and harbours has been a popular winter pastime for generations. More than one youngster with a borrowed stick has coasted down the ice dreaming of Maple Leaf Gardens. He shoots, he scores!

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Preparing the ice rinks in Isle aux Morts Vic Lawrence recalls winters growing up in Isle aux Morts, a town on the southwest coast not far from Port aux Basques. In the 1960s and ’70s, the fish plant was in full swing and the town was thriving.

“It was busy and there was a lot to do,” he says. “In the wintertime, one of the things we did was play hockey on the pond. We used to play with skates on, but when kids our age showed up and wanted to play, everybody’d take their skates off and we all played with our boots on.”

Isle aux Morts had a population of about 1,200 in the 1980s, and then the tough 1990s saw about half its residents relocate. Most folks who live in the community now commute on a rotational basis for work elsewhere in Canada. Despite these changes, one constant remains – the town’s unwavering love for hockey.

Vic is one of the organizers of the annual Isle aux Morts Winter Classic – a hockey tourney that invites the community to come together for some traditional shinny fun, no skates required.

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“The first year we had it was back in 2014,” he says. “I live in Halifax now; I don’t live there any more. I decided to try to get together with the boys and see if we could have a game on the pond like we used to do when we grew up.”

Vic’s plan was a sure shot. That first weekend brought together 36 people on Laurie’s Pond. Now the Winter Classic is a highly anticipated tradition.

“We don’t use skates or anything, we just use boots so anybody can play,” Vic says. “Eight years we’ve been doing it now and it’s grown every year, and it’s gotten bigger and bigger. Now we do a Friday with the kids and Saturday is adults, both men and women.”

This year’s Winter Classic is being held February 16 and 17. Isle aux Morters living away will make an effort to come home for it. “People come from everywhere, too,” Vic says. “A lot come from St. John’s and the Halifax area, and we have people come from Ontario, New Brunswick, Alberta. The people that come from 1-888-588-6353

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far away usually come for a week or more then.” In a long frosty winter, the event is something to look forward to and everybody gets involved, giving the event a festival flair.

Friday is the kids’ hockey day, with snacks and prizes provided. That evening, Barry’s Lounge hosts Draft Night where adult teams are chosen and the Honorary Captain is introduced, followed by live music and dancing. Games start bright and early on Saturday, and teams look great in their matching jerseys. It’s all for fun and no one keeps score.

For safety reasons, the event has been moved from the pond to the Marine Slipway. (Remember, never walk on ice that is less than 10 cm thick.)

And no downhome event is complete without a good scoff. For lunch, the Seniors Club serves up pea soup.

“Then we have a load of guys from town and they show up with a ton of moose burger meat,” Vic chuckles.

“One guy makes a ton of moose burgers and we barbecue them on the pond. And that’s all free for the

taking. Another guy, he makes up a load of fish cakes, same thing, and they’re available for anybody.”

The Winter Classic is also a great fundraiser for several community groups. Prize draws and hockey pools raise thousands of dollars for the Holy Spirit Church Fund, the Volunteer Fire Department, the Seniors Club and the Community Centre.

“Everybody comes out; it’s the whole community,” Vic says. “Even the old folks will come out and watch, and sit down and have a moose burger or a fish cake. We have a warming tent there with a little stove in it, so then when it gets cold you can go in and warm up. We have outdoor fires, too, so a lot of folks come down and sit and watch, and they love it. Everybody’s wearing a smile all weekend long.”

Isle aux Morts has seen many changes over the years. But each February the Winter Classic brings the town together again like the old days: out on the pond, where the love of hockey and the joy of togetherness take centre ice.

Players from the 2023 Isle aux Morts Winter Classic www.downhomelife.com

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Perchancetheatre.com/King’s Photography

Perchancetheatre.com/Tobin Photography

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The show goes on for a celebrated Shakespearean theatre company as it settles into its new home.

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Avoiding a Macbethian coven

of witches lingering on a darkened path, I shuffle with bravado past the cadre of headstones for those returning from the dead as soulless zombies. Off to the east, prancing upon a wooden stage, is a monstrous goat-horned figure that can only be the devil himself. I’m thankful for the bit of cover provided by my long brown druid robe and thin, black face veil as I continue to move along, past skeletal parts hanging from trees, and unseen spirits moaning and rattling chains in the dark.

I spot a glowing chest filled with riches and foolishly stop to admire the bounty. Suddenly, a long dead and water-logged pirate jumps out with a mighty “Yarrrrggghhh! Leave go of me treasure!” I make such a frightened leap back that the buccaneer breaks into a wide grin and says, “I think I got you good that time, Dennis.”

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“Indeed you did, Pat. Even my future grandchildren will be born with heebie-jeebies after this!”

Pat Mackey and I are among the volunteers at the Harbour Haunt at OC Manor in Conception Harbour, a fundraiser held in October 2023 for Perchance Theatre and St. Anne’s Church.

Perchance is a newcomer to Conception Harbour. The theatre was founded in 2010 by Aiden Flynn, Brad Hodder and Geoff Adams as part of the Cupids 400 celebrations.

It had been operating in Cupids, putting off Shakespearean plays in the round outdoor theatre, ever since. In the spring of 2023, the operation relocated to Conception Harbour to begin their newest stage. Perchance artistic director/producer Danielle Irvine explains the move was precipitated by the end of their land lease in 2021. Unable to find a new place in Cupids after months of searching, the company is excited to have found a beautiful location in the former Sisters of Mercy Convent.

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“We moved there in 2023 thanks to the incredible support of so many volunteers and grants, and are now in the process of beginning designing and building a new home for the future that we will run year round, outdoors, making art, telling stories, and building community through a love and passion for the outdoors immersive experience,” says Danielle.

“I can never capture the depth of the gratitude we owe the Sisters of Mercy, or all of our supporters who have stood by us through the years

Danielle’s favourite memories of her decade or so with Perchance Theatre.

On the day of the big move last May, 50 volunteers turned out to help break down and move their outdoor stage, “and I didn’t know half of them! They came from literally all over: from Cupids, from Conception Harbour, North River, from Trinity Bay, from St. John’s and all points in between. It was incredible to know that the vision of what this company can do and what it means to people stretches beyond my own imagina-

and all the way into raising our stage in our new home,” she adds.

“Even though we moved, we also never lost our connection with Cupids either, as they have been coming to the shows and helping whenever we needed it. Making top notch professional theatre is never easy no matter where you are. This industry has been hit brutally hard worldwide by the pandemic and has not recovered completely. Put a company in a rural area of NL and you have an even harder road. Now ask that company to physically move its theatre? Well, that is a hard step that is even harder to capture.”

The move turned out to be one of

tion, and for that I will be forever grateful,” Danielle says.

She continues, “Theatre, no matter where it is, is a shared experience. It is a truly communal experience between the stage and the stalls and the community that surrounds that theatre, whether it is in the West End of London or nestled next to the ocean in Conception Harbour. Having access to top notch work that stands the test of the best places in Canada, right here in our province, is helping our artists grow and network and build careers that can take them wherever they want to go. It is inspiring our audiences with excellent shows that compare with stages

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The former Sisters of Mercy Convent in Conception Harbour has become the new home for Perchance Theatre. anywhere [that] they do not have to travel to see. It builds pride of place and of work, and it does all that while doing what theatre does best: showing a mirror to society, helping us grow as individuals and as a community through the stories we share together.”

Perchance Theatre has earned its share of accolades over the years, including being named number one of six most unique ways to experience Shakespeare in all of Canada by UK in Canada Magazine. They topped a list that included the famous Stratford Festival and Bard on the Beach in Vancouver.

“What makes us unique is our blend of the old – our theatre is based on the Globe in London, and inspired by a boat – we used top notch classical and theatrical skills in our work, and we have it all in an outdoor, immersive theatre where the audience and actors see each other. The shows surround you, the sky is visible, and the storytelling is woven between artist, audience, www.downhomelife.com

theatre and nature. You take all of that and move it to Conception Harbour, where we are next to the sea, and quietly away from roads, and you have a true getaway when you come to our shows.”

And if you’re lucky, you might catch a surprise appearance from an interesting local – a real force of nature. “My most magical experience was this very summer when, in the opening moment of The Tempest, when Prospero walks onto the stage and conjures up the storm to bring the ship carrying his enemies to his shore, that very moment that he brought his magic staff down onto the stage, the skies opened up with rain and the wind came out of nowhere, and it was an immediate tempest... This actual tempest carried right through the actual storm scene and then ended exactly as the scene ended! Nothing in any theatre with lights and sound and curtains, or movie theatre anywhere, could capture the magic and truth of that experience.”

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explore

By Glen Morry Ottawa, ON

How a geocacher explores Newfoundland and Labrador

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In the vast and rugged landscapes

of Newfoundland and Labrador, an exciting outdoor activity entices adventurers to explore the hidden corners of the province. Geocaching is a modern-day treasure hunt that sends seekers on unique quests where the final destination is the prize.

Being of Newfoundland descent, I love to combine my two passions: visiting “home” and geocaching. My hobby has brought me to some beautiful spots around the island that I would have otherwise never known about. I think of it as discovering the beauty of The Rock one cache at a time.

Geocaching involves using GPS coordinates to locate hidden containers (caches) placed by fellow enthusiasts. After you find the cache, you sign the log book or log sheet that is inside, you can trade something you brought for swag that is in the container, and then you replace everything as you found it and return it to its hiding spot for the next finder.

Caches come in various sizes and can be anywhere from centre city to remote wilderness. There are millions of geocaches worldwide, located in 184 countries. There’s even one hidden on the International Space Station in orbit 370 kilometres above Earth. Geocachers use online platforms like Geocaching.com to share coordinates and log finds, and connect with others in the geocaching community. www.downhomelife.com

Newfoundland and Labrador, with its breathtaking landscapes and rich cultural history, offers a unique and rewarding geocaching experience. As of the latest count, there are more than 8,500 geocaches scattered throughout the province, ranging from easy urban finds to challenging backcountry treasures. Many of the scenic sections of the East Coast Trail are host to geocaches, but they can be found in almost every town and village in the province. In fact, you have probably walked right by a geocache and not even known it was there!

Geocaching in Newfoundland and Labrador is a journey of discovery through the province’s rugged landscapes and rich history. Whether you’re navigating the vibrant streets of St. John’s or hiking the remote trails of Gros Morne National Park, geocaching adds an extra layer of excitement to your exploration. So, grab your GPS device (yes, even a smartphone will work), lace up your hiking boots, and embark on a geocaching adventure to uncover the hidden treasures of the Rock.

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Here are some of my favourites that you can look up on Geocaching.com using the code next to the name:

Extreme North (GC2CY1W)

This geocache is hidden near a Lab One Fuel cache way up in Labrador in the Torngat Mountains National Park. You will likely need a helicopter to get to this remote location!

It’s on my geocaching bucket list for sure!

Nova Scotia to Newfoundland Multicache (GC3TJEH)

This geocache is an experience like no other. It starts on the mainland in eastern Nova Scotia, where you get your first waypoint. You then cross the Canso Causeway to Cape Breton and collect two more waypoints. Use the information you have gathered to calculate the final location in Newfoundland. This is a great cache to try if you’re taking the ferry home.

And the view from the cache, near Wreckhouse, is outstanding!

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The Lookout, first ever cache in Newfoundland

(GCE1C) Located along the East Coast Trail about a kilometre southeast of the Logy Bay Ocean Sciences Centre, this cache offers panoramic views of the Atlantic Ocean and is a favourite among locals and visitors alike. I found this one in June 2016.

Whale-watch Rock

(GC1WMFE) You can find this one while exploring the coastal beauty of Blackhead on the Avalon Peninsula. This cache provides a perfect excuse to enjoy the stunning vistas while searching for hidden treasures. I found it in 2016.

NL - Margaree Taffy Earthcache (GC4FWNY)

This cache provides a fascinating lesson on the ancient igneous rocks – melted like taffy, as the cache name implies – located along the shoreline near Margaree on the southwest coast. I was here in 2022.

www.downhomelife.com

February 2024

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Available at NLC locations province wide

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Three Sheets to the Wind Red Blueberry-Blackberry

This full-bodied dry red wine combines the Newfoundland wild blueberry with the grape-like qualities of the Newfoundland wild blackberry in a delightful table wine that pairs well with cheese, steak, wild game, beef and chocolate.

Medium

Three Sheets to the Wind White Rhubarb

Jellybean Row Strawberry-Partridgberry

The subtle flavour of strawberries present a hint of sweetness that tames but does not diminish the tartness of the Newfoundland partridgeberries. A light-bodied wine that is best served chilled.

Semi-Sweet

Funky Puffin

Blueberry-Rhubarb A name that brings to mind a sparkling sea whipped up by fresh, cool breezes. This subtle wine is crafted from locally grown rhubarb, lending it a refreshing, crisp flavour with a hint of tartness.

Pairs finely with traditional Newfoundland dishes, poultry and pork. Medium

Moose Joose

Blueberry-Partridgeberry A blend of blueberry and partridgeberry, two of Newfoundland's most popular berries. Full of antioxidants and flavonoids, this wine could be called a health juice - but it contains alcohol, so we'll just say it's berry good for you!

Medium-Sweet

www.aukislandwinery.com 1-877-639-4637

Shipping not available to Newfoundland and Labrador and Nunavut.

Please visit your local NLC location.

A blend of Newfoundland and Labrador blueberries and rhubarb creates a wine that is fun, delightful and well balanced. It is a great sipping wine and goes well with cheese and crackers. Semi-Sweet

Frig-Off

Strawberry-Raspberry A refreshing strawberryraspberry wine is just what you need. And it makes a delicious way to tell someone else to chill out, or even Frig-Off! Semi-Sweet

AUK ISLAND

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HOME and Cabin

stuff we love by Nicola Ryan

Spill the Tea TAKE-ALONG TUMBLER Aussie brand Frank Green designs environmentally sustainable products. Take your bevvy on the go with a 10 oz reusable ceramic cup.

The clever one-handed, push-button lid won’t spill, the ceramic inner layer keeps your drink toasty, and it comes in a ton of fab colours. US.FrankGreen.com

BOIL-UP BEAUT Bring along this GSI Glacier tea kettle next time you’re heading out for a day in the woods. It’s light and made of durable stainless steel that heats up quickly over a campfire. The practical folding handle locks into place and it’s easy to pour from.

We love the traditional kettle design!

GSIOutdoors.com

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BEST BLENDS The Newfoundland Tea Company’s 25 signature organic teas are sourced from the best organic growers around the world and packaged in Gander, NL. Choose from favourites like English Breakfast, Peppermint or Wild Blueberry; or go for something new – we love the Cherry Blossom and Plum Pudding blends.

TheNewfoundlandTeaCo.com

SPOT OF TEA An ideal cuppa requires a whimsical mug. We spotted these handmade porcelain mugs by maker Gayle St. Croix at the Craft Council Gallery in St. John’s. CraftCouncilNL.ca

COLOURFUL CRAFTS Celebrate and support newcomers!

Signage Clothing & Crafts uses African fabric to make gorgeous table runners, potholders, aprons and more. We came across beautiful teatime accessories – including these colourful oven mitts – at the St. John’s Farmers’ Market. Check out their store in Paradise, NL, or search “Signage Clothing & Crafts” on Facebook.

www.downhomelife.com

February 2024

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HOME and Cabin

Ask Marie Anything Interior designer Marie Bishop takes your questions

Q. What design project have you undertaken on your own property that stands out as your favourite and why?

Wow, there’s a question! We’ve taken on so many design, decorating, updating projects inside and out at our house over the last 37 years it’s hard to pick just one. However, there are a few that stand out.

When we built our little 1,700-square-foot house in 1986, the “country” vibe was very much in vogue. And the Victorian farmhouse style we chose certainly lent itself to that look. We had pine floors throughout, pine cabinets in the kitchen, French doors and rustic trims. It was perfect. But like everything in the design world, things change – which is not always a bad thing.

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Near the top of my favourite redo list would have to be the kitchen. Originally, there was a peninsula at one end that could handle three barstools, and there was a very tiny island in the centre, not much bigger than a cutting board. I’m not kidding. It was 24" x 36" with a butcher block top, so it actually looked like a cutting board. Over the years we made the island a wee bit bigger and moved the fridge to the other side of a small wall separating the kitchen from what used to be the kids’ play area. This gave me an extra cabinet and a little more counter space. But the biggest change came in 2019, when we removed the peninsula and replaced the island with a big, beautiful 44" x 84" granite-top one that seats six with lots of storage space below. We replaced our fridge with a counter depth one – a true 26" deep fridge – with doors designed without handles, so it’s very streamlined. What a difference that made. Then in 2020, during the COVID Times, we painted the kitchen cabinets white and covered the pine floor with a 12" x 24" Luxury Vinyl Tile that resembles slate. That was quite a makeover.

There’s always some kind of project happening at our house, and most recently we decided to update the master bedroom. It started innocently enough back in September, when I thought it was time for a fresh coat of paint. It had been a lovely soft blue for the last eight or 10 years, so it was definitely time for a change. www.downhomelife.com

Near the top of my favourite redo list would have to be the kitchen.

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With the newly painted warm white walls, it made sense to add new bedding and drapery panels.

My plan was to create a sense of calm with soft textures in shades of white, cream and ivory.

We painted it Benjamin Moore #OC117 Simply White with trims in #OC17 Dove White. I say “we” painted, but everyone knows I don’t paint. Thank God that’s not my job; I’d just make a big mess!

But that was just the beginning.

Suddenly the pine floor was looking very sad, and I knew it would be a major ordeal to refinish it. The thought of all that sanding, refinishing and cleaning gave me nightmares, so we covered it. I found a beautiful 9" wide, vinyl plank floor that looks like oak, in a soft brown Woodland finish with muted grey undertones, and it could be laid right over the pine. We ran it from the bedroom right out through the hall. In fact, it looked so good we decided to do the stairs, too, which meant custom nosing, new spindles on the landing and new railing.

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newly painted warm white walls, it made sense to add new bedding and drapery panels. My plan was to create a sense of calm with soft textures in shades of white, cream and ivory. I got rid of a large chest of drawers to make room for a small chair in a cosy reading area. The addition of vintage looking wall sconces eliminated the need for nightstand lamps, which made our small bedroom feel bigger. Plus the sconces worked beautifully with the 120-year-old, authentically vintage brass and iron bed Mr. B. brought with him to our marriage. To complete the look, I added a beautiful 8' x 10' rug that fits under and around the perimeter of the bed. It grounds the space, and adds softness and warmth.

My six-year-old grandson, when he saw the room finished, declared, “Nan, I love your new room. It’s so peaceful in here.” Thank you, Emre.

Mission accomplished.

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The nook at the top of the stairs was really a catch-all space that never looked finished, so the time had come to give it a real purpose in life.

The other bonus to this “little” project was a revamp of the area at the top of the stairs. It’s just a small nook about 4'x5' that had become an eyesore. There was a filing cabinet that held household papers, and a shallow shelf unit under the half wall that collected art supplies, including small paint cans, old camera equipment and various other sundries. It was really a catch-all space that never looked finished, so the time had come to give it a real purpose in life.

We removed the filing cabinet and installed three floating shelves on the only full wall, and put grow lights under two of them. Now I have a collection of beautiful houseplants that add colour and life, and bring some of the outdoors in. What a difference that made! Then we stepped the railing and spindles back from the top

step to visually create a bigger space.

The black iron spindle units were a clearance find; they only had three left, exactly the number we needed, and they’re perfect. We revamped the existing unit on the half wall, but made the shelves and top section a few inches deeper to make room for some creative visual display. The wicker chest adds texture and holds extra bedding; in my tiny house I need all the extra storage I can find.

Now, finally, that space looks like it belongs to the house instead of the shed, and it makes me smile every time I pass it.

Clearly this project was so much more than a paint job, but to answer your question, I think it’s my favourite so far. At least until the next one, when we’ll find one more way to love our space.

Ask Marie Anything!

Got a design question for Marie? Email editorial@downhomelife.com. www.downhomelife.com

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a 40-year-old woman sporting a splash of pink hair has a hankering for telling colourful stories. However, Catherine Sansome of Indian Cove, on New World Island near Twillingate, is no ordinary storyteller. Her creativity manifests in the form of cakes created to celebrate someone special. She is so skilled at her craft that she was crowned top baker in Canada in 2022, making her not just a celebrity baker in her hometown but across the country as well.

We catch up with Catherine via phone one recent Friday at lunchtime. Her children are still in school and she’s in between errands.

“I have a very full life,” she laughs, as we launch into our discussion about her home-based business selling her signature cakes and other sweet treats like scones, cupcakes and cookies.

Growing up, Catherine learned to bake with her mom, grandmother and aunts. “This instilled a love of baking,” she says. And she was always artistic, even painting murals in her youth. When she discovered the baking shows on the Food Network and saw what people were making, she was hooked. By 2009, she was fully into cake decorating.

Around that time she was a single mom to two very small children and living in Gander. “I didn’t want to be www.downhomelife.com

a single mom on welfare. I had to support my family,” Catherine says, explaining how her baking business got its start. “I knew I had a knack for it, and it just flourished from there.”

Posting pictures of her beautiful creations to social media really helped boost her sales.

By 2012, Catherine had moved to Indian Cove with her new husband, Jamie, and his three teenage daughters. Here, the baker maintained her home business under the name Catherine’s Incredible Edibles. The next year, tragedy struck when the family home, including the bakery, was destroyed by fire. She credits the wonderful support of family and the community for getting her back on her feet in a year.

As her business was rebuilding, Catherine was setting her sights on baking competitions. She applied for February 2024

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Some of Catherine’s creations are so detailed it’s hard to believe they’re actually cake until they’re cut. but didn’t make “The Great Canadian Baking Show.” Rather than being deterred, Catherine says, “It was my first toe dipping in this arena and I was hooked!”

In 2019, NL celebrity baker Aaron McInnis (Man versus Cake and Happy Belly) invited her as an assistant on Food Network Canada’s “The Big Bake: Halloween Season,” which she deemed “an amazing experience.” The following year, Catherine led her own team, taking two other bakers with her to a competition.

While they didn’t win, she remarks that “it was a whirlwind of emotions.”

Her big moment to shine came in late 2022, when Catherine was chosen for individual competition on CTV’s “Holiday Cross-Country Cake Off.” What got her in was a creation based on a story about herself. Her cake was 84

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topped by a figurine of Catherine juggling family life, a home and her cake business, right down to her face dimples and piping bag tattoo on her right arm. The cake florals represented each of her children, with a blackberry bus for her son, as well as two butterflies for her grandbabies and a bee for her grandson.

“It won the judges’ hearts over,” Catherine says with pride.

She was flown to Toronto for the live bake-off competition. In the first round, she designed a cake with the theme, “The Greatest Gift.” With a whimsical Christmas tree cake, Catherine paid a touching tribute to her daughter Kylie, born at 9:31 a.m. on Christmas Day. In the final round, Catherine showcased a Christmas wedding cake that 1-888-588-6353

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represented her and her husband, and who they are as a couple. “I blended the traditional, which he is, with me being non-traditional, especially with my bright pink hair.” It was the winning entry.

Catherine says her husband always believed she would make it to the top and win. “What he said came to life!” she exclaims. “It was amazing. I was lost for words… I couldn’t believe it… I cried...”

With the $50,000 in winnings, Catherine further invested in her dream by finishing the “bare-bones” bakery attached to their house.

A self-taught cake maker, Catherine shares that building relationships is a big part of her business, which is why she still has devoted clients in Gander and as far away as St. John’s. For those aspiring to follow a similar fondant footpath, she advises to “Never give up!”

She adds, “It will be a trial-anderror process. Just do lots of research, and study what other bakers are sharing for free online. And get yourself a good turntable!”

One of her most challenging, and certainly most famous, creations was a cake made for her father-in-law’s birthday a few years ago. It had a uniquely Newfoundland design: a turr dinner (see top photo on opposite page). “It is his favourite Sunday tradition. The idea only popped into my head that day,” she recalls. Complete with veggies and gravy, it was the perfect homage to him.

Folks, evidently, love seeing and tasting Catherine’s imaginative and delightful creations. And Catherine loves making sweet dreams come true, from a cove by the sea with her family – the icing on her cake. www.downhomelife.com

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the everyday gourmet

A Labour of Love

Made Easier 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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My mom’s absolute favourite soup is French onion. I’d love to make it for her more often, but, while not difficult, it is so time consuming.

Caramelizing the onions, which is key to the recipe, is a long, slow process. They need to be deeply, slowly, painstakingly browned in butter, but not crispy or burnt.

It’s too easy to be tempted to rush the process and undercook them, or turn up the heat, or to forget to stir, and burn them.

Rushing results in an acrid boiled-onion flavour. Over-browning or burning the onions results in poor texture or a bitter flavour. Some recipes call for a little sugar to speed up the caramelization, but that results in a strangely sweet soup. What we all love about French onion soup is that gorgeous balance of sweetness coaxed out naturally over a long caramelization and 1-888-588-6353

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slight acidity from the wine and spirits, with the beautiful, complex background of a rich beef stock – and, of course, the gooey, cheesy, crusty top.

It occurred to me to use my slow cooker to allow the onions to caramelize – with no real effort on my part. It worked brilliantly! I used my six-quart one for this recipe because I wanted to do a bigger batch loaded with onions.

My mom and I are French onion snobs, LOL. Aside from the allimportant flavour, we like a little viscosity to the broth (not too watery), plenty of onions and not sugary-sweet. An important tip is to halve the onions and slice them thinly, pole-to-pole (root to tip).

They will hold together better during the cooking process; they tend to disintegrate more easily when sliced across. I used a combination of regular yellow onions and sweet Vidalia onions, but you can use any white or yellow onions. And rather than just plain bread on top, I slather it with garlic butter and toast it a little before I place it on top of the hot soup to cover with cheese and broil. Traditionally, nutty-tasting Gruyère or Swiss cheese is used, but I like to blend a little melty, gooey cheese, such as www.downhomelife.com

provolone or mozzarella, and a touch of Parmesan or Romano for punch and saltiness. If you don’t want to buy the various cheeses, an “Italian Blend” package of pre-shredded cheese will work well. (FYI: my air fryer worked wonderfully for the toast and to brown the cheese crouton, instead of heating up the oven.)

For the bread, I cut thick slices into rounds the size of the individual serving bowls, before spreading on the garlic butter and lightly toasting the bread. I don’t mind using a knife and spoon to cut into the cheesy, crusty top as I enjoy my soup. But you could instead cut the bread into 2-inch cubes, toss them with the melted garlic butter and toast them a little before placing them on top and adding the cheese.

Nearly all of this recipe happens in the slow cooker. There is just a little bit of active cooking time at the end to achieve the right flavours and textures.

I prefer homemade beef stock, so I included the recipe at the end. If you don’t have time to make it, you can use purchased beef stock. But at some point, if you can, I encourage you to make your own stock. You can do a large batch and freeze some for future use. If you are vegetarian, you can use a roasted vegetable stock.

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French Onion Soup 1/2 cup butter, plus 4 tbsp (real butter over margarine is preferred, for flavour) 3-4 sprigs fresh thyme 2-3 bay leaves 3 lbs (12-14) white or yellow onions (or combination) 3-4 cloves garlic, finely minced 4 tbsp white flour Pinch ground allspice 1/4 cup white wine, dry sherry or dry vermouth (if replacing with water, add 1 tbsp wine vinegar) 1 oz brandy or mild whiskey (optional) 1 tsp each of kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper – or to taste

8 cups dark beef stock Few dashes Worcestershire sauce 6 slices French or white bread, cut into rounds or croutons 3 cups shredded cheese (2 cups Gruyère or Swiss plus 3/4 cup provolone or mozza plus 1/4 cup Parm or Romano – or just use pre-shredded Italian Blend)

Garlic Butter 1/2 cup softened butter 1-2 cloves finely minced garlic Pinch of salt and pepper 1-2 tsp finely minced parsley

Make the garlic butter: Blend butter with garlic, salt & pepper and parsley.

Set aside. (Double or triple this and store the extra in the fridge for other uses.)

Turn on your slow cooker to highest setting before you start prepping the onions. Add 1/2 cup butter, thyme and bay leaves to the slow cooker. Peel the onions and cut them in half from root to tip (pole-to-pole) and place them flat on the cutting board. Then slice them thinly, from root to tip. You don’t need them to be transparently thin, but not chunky. By the time you’re finished slicing, the butter should be melted. Reduce temperature to low and add onions, stirring to toss with the butter. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours. If you can stir them a few times during the process that will help even browning, especially if your slow cooker is smaller. (You can also halve the recipe if you have a smaller slow cooker.)

When the onions have cooked, it’s time to finish the soup. Turn the slow cooker back to high. In a deep frypan or small saucepan on the stove, melt the 4 tbsp butter over medium-high heat. Add garlic and cook, stirring, a moment.

Add the allspice and stir for another moment. Reduce heat to medium and stir in the flour. Cook a couple of minutes to allow the flour and butter to brown a little – don’t go too long as to burn the garlic. Add the wine and allow to sizzle a minute. Add the brandy and sizzle. Add half cup of the stock (up to a cup, if needed) and stir, using a small whisk if needed, to bring everything together to a smooth paste. Add this to the slow cooker, along with the remaining stock.

Season with salt and pepper and the Worcestershire sauce. Stir, taste and reseason if needed, and allow everything to heat through.

Shred the cheeses and mix together. Preheat oven to broil (or use airfryer).

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butter, or toss croutons with melted garlic butter. Toast lightly under broil or in the airfryer. When soup is hot, ladle into six oven-safe soup bowls. Top with bread and pile 1/2 cup of shredded cheese on top of each. Place in oven on a parchment-lined sheet pan under the broiler a few minutes until bubbling and browned.

Freeze-ahead tip: Portion the soup in freezer-safe containers; pre-butter and toast the bread, and portion the cheese, and wrap in little packages. Next time my mom wants French onion soup, it’s all ready for her in little “kits” in the freezer. Serves 6

Rich Beef Stock 2-3 tbsp vegetable oil 4 lbs beef bones 2-3 sprigs fresh thyme (1/2 tsp dried) 2-3 sprigs fresh rosemary (1 tsp dried) 6 fresh (or dried) bay leaves 1 tbsp black peppercorns Skins of 2-3 onions

1 large carrot, cut into 3-4 pieces 1-2 celery ribs, cut in chunks (the leafy bits, too) 6 cloves garlic – no need to remove skin, just smash ’em a bit 1 cup white or red wine or dry vermouth 3-4 L water, to cover

You can do this in the slow cooker, roast in a low oven or on top of the stove. If doing all stove top, use one big pot. If in the oven (preheat to 300°F) use a low, wide pot or roaster so it will fit in. And if using a slow cooker, use a wide, large frypan or pot to do the searing first and transfer to the slow cooker.

Heat the oil over med-high. Add beef bones, searing on all sides a couple minutes. Add all the aromatics (herbs, spices and veg) and sear a few minutes more. (If using a smaller pan and transferring to slow cooker, do it in batches.) Splash in the wine or vermouth and let sizzle a couple moments to burn off the alcohol. Add water to fully cover everything. (For slow cooker, transfer all now, scraping all the browned bits in, and add the water to the slow cooker and cook

on low for 6 hours or overnight – or high for 3-4 hours.) On stovetop, bring to a boil, stir, cover and then reduce heat to a simmer for 2-3 hours (longer if you have time). For oven roasting, bring to a boil, stir, then cover and transfer to oven and slow-roast 3 hours (or longer). With any method, stir every so often and check water level (add if needed).

When done, strain through a fine sieve and discard solids. If you have time to refrigerate this overnight, fat will rise to the top so you can skim easily. If not, use a ladle and skim visible fat. You can make a big batch and freeze in 1 L containers for later use.

Never add salt when making stock as you may want to reduce it later.

Season with salt when you go to use it. Makes about 3.5 L.

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HOME and Cabin

downhome recipes

Couch Snacks Whether enjoying movie night with your valentine or watching the game with your buddies, you gotta have good snacks. Here are some homemade finger foods so tasty they’ll make you want to stay in every night.

Bacon Wrapped Jalapeño Poppers 1/2 cup cream cheese 1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

6 jalapeño peppers, halved lengthwise, seeds and membranes removed 12 slices bacon

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.

Mix cream cheese and cheddar cheese together in a bowl until evenly blended. Fill each jalapeño half with cheese mixture. Wrap with a slice of bacon and place on baking sheet. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until bacon is crispy. Makes 12 poppers.

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Buffalo Chicken Dip 4 cups cooked chicken breast, shredded 1 (8 oz) pkg cream cheese, diced 3/4 cup buffalo sauce

1 cup ranch dressing 1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided

Combine chicken, cream cheese, buffalo sauce, ranch dressing and 1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese in a slow cooker; stir everything together well. Cover and set to LOW heat for 3-4 hours or HIGH heat for 1-2 hours. Check on it and stir every 30 minutes. When the cream cheese is fully melted and incorporated (no lumps), sprinkle the last 1/2 cup cheddar cheese over top, cover and cook until cheese is melted. Serve warm with chips, crackers or veggies for dipping. Serves 12-16.

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Caramel Popcorn Balls 10-12 cups popped popcorn 1/2 cup unsalted butter, diced 1 cup light brown sugar, packed 1/4 cup light corn syrup 1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp vanilla extract Pinch salt Mini M&Ms, chopped nuts, dried fruit, etc. for your favourite flavour combo

In a microwave-safe bowl, microwave butter, brown sugar and corn syrup on high for 1 minute. Stir and cook 2 more minutes for chewy popcorn balls. If you like crunchy popcorn balls, cook 1 minute more. Stir in vanilla and baking soda at the end. Have popcorn ready in a large bowl. Pour caramel over the popcorn and stir to coat every piece well. Stir in candy, nuts, fruit etc. Let cool a little before handling. Using greased hands or palm-sized squares of parchment paper, press popcorn mixture into 2-inch balls and lay on a piece of parchment paper. (Optional: drizzle balls with melted chocolate and let it set.) Wrap each ball in plastic wrap, or keep in an airtight container, for up to a week. Makes about 20 balls.

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Chocolate Bark 1 bag white, dark, milk, or semi-sweet chocolate chips (about 2 cups) 1 tbsp vegetable shortening Various toppings (eg. chopped nuts; dried fruit; M&Ms or Smarties; crushed candies; mini peanut butter cups; mini Rolos; cracked pretzels, bars or cookies, etc.)

Line a 10" x 15" pan or cookie sheet with wax or parchment paper. Place chocolate chips and shortening in a microwave-safe bowl. Heat at halfpower in 30-second increments, stirring between each, until chocolate is melted and smooth. Spread chocolate in an even layer on the wax or parchment paper. Sprinkle with desired toppings. Place in the fridge to chill until chocolate is hard, then roughly break into pieces. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks (ones with cookies or pretzels may get stale sooner). Makes about 12 servings.

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Peanut Butter Balls 1/3 cup melted butter 1 1/2 cups crunchy peanut butter 2 tsp vanilla extract 2 3/4 cups icing sugar, sifted

1 1/2 cups crisp rice cereal 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips 3 tbsp vegetable shortening

Melt butter and peanut butter together. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Add icing sugar and mix well. Fold in crisp rice. Form mixture into 1" balls and place in the fridge until set hard. Meanwhile, melt the chocolate and shortening together gently, just until smooth. Using a fork or toothpick, dip the chilled peanut butter balls in the chocolate and place them on a parchment-lined pan. Place pan in the fridge for cookies to set. Makes about 2 dozen balls.

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Beer-Battered Onion Rings 3 cups flour, divided 1 egg, separated 1 1/4 cups beer

1/4 cup butter, melted 1/4 tsp salt 3 large onions, sliced into rings

Sift 2 cups flour into a large bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk egg yolk and then mix in beer, butter and salt. Slowly stir the egg yolk mixture into the flour and mix well; set aside for about 40 minutes. Heat deep fryer to 350°F. In a small bowl, beat the egg white until stiff peaks form. Gently fold egg white into the batter. Dip each ring into the remaining 1 cup flour and then the batter; deep fry rings until golden coloured. Drain on paper towels or and serve hot. Serves 6.

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How to Stretch the

Growing Season

BY KIM THISTLE

In the winter, I love to grow greens and microgreens under lights. There is nothing like fresh produce on a snowy winter’s day. My growing space is small, yet with the high cost of groceries, I want to produce more of my own food. If I can’t increase the space to increase the yield, I can stretch the growing season.

I’ve been threatening for a few years to build a coldframe in my backyard so that I can grow more greens and a variety of other crops throughout the year. Sad to say that I did not get to plant in it for this winter, but I did manage to get it built. (When I say “I,” I actually mean husband Sean and me.

He regularly threatens to trade me in for a lower maintenance model.)

A coldframe is a large box built from wood or cinderblock. It is low in the front and high in the back. A transparent covering protects your crops on cold days while allowing light to penetrate. You can build one above ground to extend your season in the spring and fall; but if you want to have fresh vegetables in winter, it is best to construct a permanent structure that is sunk into the soil.

How to build a coldframe There are tons of websites that can give you more detailed instructions than the outline I’m providing here. This article is solely meant to motivate you and hopefully let you see that this project is not as overwhelming as you may think.

Before you even start, you have to choose a sunny, south-facing location for it. The plants need as much sun as they can get, and in winter when the sun is low in the sky, this can be a challenge. Avoid areas where trees will create shade. www.downhomelife.com

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1 Next, choose the size you want.

Start small; this is a whole new way of gardening and it’s best to dabble before committing. A good size to start is 6' x 3'. You have to be able to reach across from both sides for planting and weeding, so 3' is a good width; this still requires a good stretch to keep you in shape.

Keep in mind that it should be deep enough to grow root crops such as carrots. We sunk ours about 16" into the ground, giving us enough depth for any crop we want to grow. The surrounding earth provides heat. The only light that enters is from the top, so by sloping the coldframe, there will be a larger area of transparent cover to allow maximum light. This slope also allows rainwater to run off and not pool.

Time to begin. Gather your materials. I am more of a believer in reusing than in recycling (we should not be making our garbage another country’s problem). Everything we’ve used so far has been repurposed from another project, except the screws.

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2 and then the dirt inside was removed with an additional 6" on every side so it would slide down into the excavation once completed. A backhoe sounds easier to use, but you end up digging a larger hole than intended and then you have to fill in around the outside.

Next, we lined the inside with cardboard to help discourage those deeply rooted weeds (photo #2).

Alternatively, you could use landscape fabric, but cardboard is free, compostable and will attract earthworms that will leave behind a rich layer of worm castings. And again, we are reusing rather than recycling – a much better environmental option.

We laid some decomposing branches and raked leaves from the yard (avoid maple unless you want a million maple seedlings sprouting in your soil) to make it habitable for mycorrhizal fungi and soil bacteria. On top of this, we shovelled soil that we mixed from decomposed mulch, compost and sand (photo #3). This project was completed in December, so as you can see by the 1-888-588-6353

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3 snow on the soil pile, we pushed it to the last available minute that nature would allow.

The final layer consists of about 6" of seaweed. Never, ever go for an outing without a load of buckets in case you chance upon some washed up kelp. Salts in seaweed are not high enough in sodium to have a negative impact on the soil; however, I will leave the frame uncovered this winter so that the rain and melting snow will wash away any residuals. I will dig this in with the soil in the spring before I start planting, and as the seaweed is decomposing, it will release copious amounts of essential

nutrients for my plants.

The last photo shows the almost finished coldframe. As you can see there, is about 6" of the frame sticking up above the ground in the front.

If it is at ground level and you completely fill it with soil, there will be no room in the front area for the crops to grow without hitting the ceiling.

And if they touch the covering in winter, they will surely freeze.

All that is left to do is build a transparent cover. This will be our winter project, and I will explain how to do this in another article. Once that is done and the snow begins to recede, I will plant hardy seeds such as lettuces, mache and mustards a full month before I could plant out in my garden.

In light of the uncertainties surrounding our food supply, it becomes imperative to broaden our approach to seasonal eating and adapt our diets to crops viable in a northern climate. By harnessing the aid of coldframes, we can ensure a vibrant array of fresh, locally grown produce that adds diversity to our meals.

4 Kim is a horticultural consultant, a retired garden centre owner and a dedicated garden enthusiast!

Got a question for Kim?

downtoearth@downhomelife.com www.downhomelife.com

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life is better Sun glow in winter Carol O’Quinn, St. John’s, NL

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reminiscing flashbacks

Diggin’ Out It was a snowy morning in St. John’s when this shot was taken.

Frances Buckley St. John’s, NL

Snowy Snapshot Aunt Irene Ball and Gerard Philpott pose for a pic in this wintry scene from 1962.

Gennie Philpott St. John’s, NL

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Downtown Trail

This photo from the Centre for Newfoundland Studies Archives shows the view of Water Street, St. John’s, looking east from Hunters Cove sometime in the late 19th century.

Centre for Newfoundland Studies Archives

This Month in History Poet Edwin John (E.J.) Pratt was born February 4, 1882, in Western Bay, NL, son of Fanny Knight and the Rev. John Pratt, a Methodist minister originally from Yorkshire. E.J. Pratt’s first volume of poetry, Newfoundland Verse, was published in 1920. In the 30 years that followed, he published 13 volumes of poetry and served as editor of Canadian Poetry Magazine from 1936 to 1943. Many Newfoundland schoolchildren will recall the lines from his lyric poem Erosion, “It took the sea an hour one night / An hour of storm to place / The sculpture of these granite seams / Upon a woman’s face.” Pratt is considered one of the foremost Canadian poets of the first half of the century. He died in Toronto in 1964.

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reminiscing

Love and duty can make you do crazy things, like trudge home late in a blinding snowstorm. by eric horwood

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By the dim light

of a small kerosene lamp on the kitchen table, I could see in the mirror that my eyebrows, eyelashes and the edge of my tightly tied parka were iced up pretty good from my two-and-a-half-hour exposure in a bitterly cold blizzard.

That Sunday night in February 1960, I had been visiting my wife-tobe at Purcell’s Harbour when an intense nor’easter hit the northeast coast of Newfoundland. Purcell’s Harbour is located at the southern part of Twillingate Island and is somewhat sheltered from the northeast gales off the North Atlantic Ocean. So I was completely unaware that a rapidly intensifying blizzard was about to hit the island. Instant weather technology was not available back then.

Just after midnight I left to drive home to Durrell, some 10 kilometres away on the northern side of the island. Ordinarily the trip would take less than 15 minutes in my 1956 Vauxhall. However, once I was out of Purcell’s Harbour and on the main highway, I drove into the full brunt of the winter storm.

Knowing I had to get home because I had to teach classes in the morning, I drove my car hard against the oncoming snow. I had not gone very far when my car came to a sudden halt in a snowdrift at the base of a

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low rise in the road. I tried but could not back out of it. And with no shovel, there was very little I could do to get free. What was I to do?

The thought of walking back to my girlfriend’s house for the night was quickly dismissed. At that time, I was very sensitive to what my students would say if they discovered I could not come in because I was stormbound with my girlfriend. Being healthy, daring and strong, with considerable experience in facing the elements, I decided to walk home.

I was not dressed appropriately for a stormy walk, other than my hooded parka. Having no warm cap, I tied knots in the four corners of my pocket handkerchief and put it on my head, then pulled my hood over it and tied it tightly under my chin. My footwear consisted of leather shoes and gaiters into which I tucked the lower part of my dress pants as tightly as I could to keep the snow from getting in. I then put on my kid gloves and ventured out into the bitterly cold, howling wind. I left the car, expecting it to be completely

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buried during the night.

Most of my walk was almost directly in the teeth of the biting northeast gale and the piercing, horizontal snow. Many times I could not see where I was walking; only the roadside ridges left by the snowplow days earlier kept me on course.

My progress was very slow due to the wind and often I had to walk backwards.

At no time had I any fear or doubt

doubt helped me to stay calm as I pressed on towards home. When I reached midway between Little Harbour and the town of Twillingate, I found myself facing a real dilemma: should I continue on the main road, which would then leave me fully exposed to the storm from the ocean on the last few kilometres to home, or should I take a shorter route through the relatively sheltered centre of the island?

Many times I could not see where I was walking;only the roadside ridges left by the snowplow days earlier kept me on course.

of making it home, but I knew it would be my very latest hour arriving. I took my time and pressed on, even singing loudly amid the wind and the continuous humming of the telephone wires: With His loving hands to guide Let the clouds above me roll, And the billows in their fury dash around me.

I can brave the wildest storm With His glory in my soul, I can sing amidst the tempest, Praise the Lord!

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I chose option number two. I would leave the highway midway across Wild Cove marsh, head directly into the howling northeast wind, cross Wild Cove Pond, follow the chain of three Tickle Ponds, and take the winter cart path to Cod Jack’s Cove road and then straight out to my house.

I had spent a lot of time in my boyhood roaming the hills and marshes, berrypicking, hunting wild game, cutting and hauling firewood, cow hunting and trouting in the ponds. I knew practically every hill, pond, brook and marsh, so the possibility 1-888-588-6353

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of getting lost in this storm did not enter my mind. Still, it was now about 2:00 a.m. and no one, except the man above, knew where I was.

Wild Cove Pond, which is now the town’s water supply, is approximately half a kilometre long in a northeast-southeast direction. To cross it, which was quicker and easier than going around it, I had to head directly into the wind. I soon discovered that I could not stand, let alone walk, on the clear icy areas of the pond; the wind blew me backwards at every attempt. I had no choice but to crawl on hands and knees. Whenever I reached a patch of hard frozen snow, I made a low crouching run to the next icy patch.

Eventually I made it to the other end and was greatly relieved from the full force of the freezing wind. Ahead was an incline and then the chain of Tickle Ponds. Here the visibility was next to zero. I could not locate the cart path, so I just had to go in the general direction of the pond while struggling through deep snow drifts. At one point I plunged suddenly down to my armpits in snow, and I had to kick and roll myself out of the hole and onto firmer ground.

To cross the final chain of ponds I returned to my low running crouch until I reached Cod Jack’s Cove road. Half a kilometre later, I was finally home.

When I woke in the morning, the blizzard was over. The radio news reported that a man had been found early that morning frozen to death outside Memorial Stadium in St. 1-888-588-6353

Eric Horwood in his young and daring days John’s. I checked my reflection and discovered that both my cheeks had been frostbitten, as well as both my wrists.

I did not make it to class at Durrell’s Academy that morning. While walking the three-quarter-mile distance to school that afternoon, I was impressed by the wavelike pattern of the frozen snow. It was packed so hard by the wind that I could walk over it without barely leaving a footprint. It was like a work of art.

While some later questioned my sanity for braving that blizzard in the middle of the night, I was delighted that I took the challenge and safely made it home. I guess the saying is true: “All’s well that ends well.”

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reminiscing

Dead in the water for more than half a century, she still has the power to summon the curious

BY DENNIS FLYNN

Artwork by Tina McDonald

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The battered iron railing

relinquishes remnants of paint akin to a snake shedding splotches of skin. They cartwheel out to sea under fair weather clouds, aloft on a gentle west wind. Along an upper deck, a carpet of green grass fingers upward to cover teak wood and metal flooring. High above, the crow’s nest has been commandeered by a brace of cormorants that gaze at me with studied indifference.

Even after more than 50 winters since her demise, she’s still a sight to see.

The Kyle broke her moorings in a February 4, 1967, storm and ran aground on a bed of mussels at the Riverhead in Harbour Grace. Measuring 67 metres (220 feet) in length, 9.8 m (32 ft.) in width, and 5.5 m (18 ft.) in depth, the 1,055-tonne steamship was built in Newcastle-on-Tyne, England, by the firm of Swan Hunter and Wigham Richardson. She was launched on April 7, 1913.

Last year I visited with Heber McGurk, then 91, of Carbonear, NL, to talk about the SS Kyle. Heber worked aboard the Kyle from 1962 to 1965, and he has an incredible collection of colour slides taken with his camera during those last few years of her working life as a sealing vessel.

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Heber McGurk, 91, holds up a sealer’s tally stick and the projector for showing his rarely seen colour slides from the heyday of the SS Kyle.

“I was Quartermaster and Master Watch, plus I did basically whatever else was needed, including taking care of medical supplies and providing basic first aid,” says Heber. “My wife gave me a little camera, and if there was anything interesting going on with the Kyle I’d take a few pictures so I could show her and my friends and family the slides when I got home.” Today, he’s offered to bring those slides out of storage and give me a rare look inside the famous Kyle.

While the old projector is warming up, Heber produces a small piece of notched wood and asks me, “What would that be if you were writing home?”

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stick, but a very special type of one, and to the men on the ice it was definitely no game,” he says. “This was how they kept track of the seal pelts they harvested.” Heber’s tally stick was about 10 inches long and an inch square. A sealer would put a notch in one corner for every 25 seal pelts he put down in the hold of the vessel.

Four notches carved in the tally stick meant 100 pelts.

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screen, and after an assortment of boats and sealers at work on the ice fields, a photo pops up of several gentlemen having a game of cards in the saloon of the Kyle. “On this photo I can tell right away the sea is calm, since the table is relatively level and there are no metal rails in the centre of the table to hold the dishes in place.”

To prove his point, Heber shows me a similar photo on a much stormier day. The rails are there as he promised and the table is at a steep angle. Even simple tasks such as having a meal on rough waters took inventiveness.

When a photo slide taken in the iconic smokeroom on the Kyle (as commemorated in the famous 1950s

radio play by Ted Russell) comes up, Heber identifies the people in it as a crewmember named Charlie; a lady named Inga and her husband Charlie Weir, a helicopter pilot; and the helicopter mechanic Roland Howell.

Heber explains, “Captain Guy Earle was pretty forward thinking, and he had a Spartan helicopter hired on a few seasons at the ice. This was a tremendous advantage in scouting and spotting the main herds of seals from the sky, and also in airlifting loads of pelts from a cable below the copter and landing them on the ice back near the ship. They would not drop the pelts directly on the Kyle decks because they were afraid the cable would get caught in the ship’s rigging, but it still beat hauling loads

Playing cards in the saloon. Sitting is Chief Engineer Ernie Pike of St. John’s; standing are Eli Dowden and Lewis Simms of Carbonear; and finally the man with the cigarette is a news reporter from Ontario.

Right: In the smokeroom on the Kyle. (Left to right) Roland Howell, the helicopter mechanic; Charlie, a Kyle crew member; Inga and her husband Charlie Weir, helicopter pilot.

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During a trip in 1963, the Kyle was covered in inches-thick ice from frozen sea spray.

The extra weight and threat of falling ice were hazardous to sailors and had to be removed. It took several days for the crew to clear all the ice.

of heavy pelts long distances over the rough ice by hand.”

Particularly intriguing to me are the images from 1963 of the Kyle shrouded in ice from sea spray. “It was constant danger and effort to keep her clear during times of heavy ice buildup,” Heber notes. “It may

not seem like too much of a problem sitting here in my living room now, but sometimes the ice would be so thick that a one-inch steel cable would become three or four inches thick. The extra weight could damage the ship, or pieces could fall off from up high and hit people. If we let it get too bad, it could even cause a ship to roll and turn over in a big sea. So, of course, we took to the task of beating it off as quick and safe as we could.

With the lifeboats and davits frozen in there’d also be no way to launch a

Sir John Crosbie

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lifeboat, so we couldn’t allow that.

The ice coating looks pretty in pictures, but it represented hard work and risk, and we were glad to be clear of it – even though it took the sealers nearly four days to carefully get it all off the Kyle that time.”

Another fascinating image Heber captured was when the Kyle came to the assistance of a large vessel, the Sir John Crosbie, in 1964. “The Crosbie was a big, grey, steel ship and carried her own helicopter on a platform on her stern deck. She got damaged somehow and was taking on water, so we came alongside and tied up and put men and pumps aboard.

When she was finally fit to go, she

managed to get back to St. John’s for repairs. But that was normal stuff, and I know they would have done the same for us if we needed help.”

One final iconic image stays with me as I say my thanks to Heber and depart. It is the men of the Kyle standing in a semicircle on the barrack head near the bow in 1965, watching the icebreaker D’Iberville carve a path through a heavy floe for the Kyle to follow. Backs to the camera lens, faces forward and forever focused on the Great Front ahead, they remain ghosts of the Kyle who live on forever through the wonderful stories and slides of Heber McGurk.

Crew of the Kyle, in the spring of 1965, watching the icebreaker D’Iberville carve a path through a heavy floe for the Kyle to follow.

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reminiscing

How Walter Bray brought Carnation Milk to Newfoundland and Labrador.

By Nicola Ryan

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A drop of Carnation Milk

elicits a special kind of nostalgia in the hearts of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians. Those tidy red and white cans conjure up memories of cosy kitchens and cherished recipes.

Carnation, the essential ingredient for boil-ups and babies’ bottles and nan’s snowball cookies. No cuppa tea would be complete without it. But how did this diet staple reach our shores and pantries? Here’s the sweet story of Walter Bray – Mr. Carnation.

One morning in the late 1940s, Walter was at work as usual at the old Hotel Newfoundland in St. John’s, unaware of the adventures that awaited him. “That’s how his story started,” recounts his daughter, Jean Smith.

“While he was there, two businessmen that were staying at the hotel approached him, and told him that they were impressed with his work ethic and the way he was with people.

Dad was a real people-person all his life. He loved to chat.”

The two men were from the Carnation Company Ltd., the makers of shelf-stable, nutritious, evaporated milk. They were looking to expand Carnation’s reach in the province and introduce it to hospitals and outport communities.

“We just remember bits and pieces, but we know they offered him a job as a sales rep for Carnation Milk for the island,” Jean says. “The pay was a 1-888-588-6353

lot better, and they also would provide a company car. Back then I remember my dad saying, ‘Wow! A car!’ No one had cars and, I mean, he was only 21 or 22.”

It was an incredible opportunity for a young man. Walter knew he would accept, but he hopped on his bicycle and flew down Queen’s Road home to Brazil Square to first talk it over with his wife, Mary.

“And he loved it. He loved, loved his job. He loved his cars and he loved travelling across the island.

And he met wonderful people all along the way,” Jean says.

There was no Trans Canada Highway back in those days. Walter drove those company cars over thousands of kilometres of dirt roads. He loaded pallets of Carnation onto ferries, trains and coastal boats, and met with merchants and doctors and generous folks all over the island.

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“What blew him away was the kindness,” recalls Jean. “He’d go to people’s houses and he was always wowed. When he’d come home, he’d have knitted mitts for his children, and scarves, and jams and pickles for Mom, and homemade things. He was always given everything.”

Walter traversed the island’s rugged landscapes, travelling from the capital city to the tiny outports, bringing the essential simplicity of milk to isolated communities.

“He delivered to the stores, to the hospitals. He’d go and Mom would expect him back in, say, a week,” Jean laughs, “but then, of course, he’d get stuck on a little island or something and weather would come in, so he was there for an extra week.”

In fact, Walter often had to rely on the kindness of strangers to get the milk through.

“Salmonier Line sticks out in my mind,” says Jean. “Now you’re talking the ’50s and his car broke down.

It was a miserable night and it was too far to get to Colinet or somewhere, so he decided to hunker down and sleep in the car for the night.

After a couple of hours this gentleman came along with a pickup and said no, it was too cold. He said ‘Come on with me,’ and he took Dad home to his house.” The stranger gave Walter a bed for the night and fed him breakfast in the morning, before bringing him back to his car and getting it started so he could continue on his way. “This is the stuff that happened all along the way.”

Jean and her family often heard stories about Walter from unlikely sources. “Anybody who worked at the Janeway, if you mentioned Dad’s 116

February 2024

Carnation Timeline 1884 John B. Meyenberg invented evaporated milk, which is made by heating fresh milk quickly to kill bacteria, then sealing it in an airtight can.

1899 The Pacific Coast Condensed Milk Co. was founded in Kent, Oregon, USA, by Elbridge Amos Stuart.

1901 Inspired by an ad for Carnation brand cigars, Stuart’s firm adopted the name Carnation Evaporated Milk Company.

1907 The tagline “Carnation Condensed Milk, the milk from contented cows,” was introduced.

1918 The first advertisements for Carnation appeared in Newfoundland’s The Evening Telegram. It was sold at T.J. Edens and Job’s Stores.

1934 Carnation’s massive promotional campaign featured the Dionne quintuplets. Carnation worked closely with pediatricians to position its product as the formula ingredient for healthy babies.

1940 Regulations regarding the import of Carnation were mentioned in Newfoundland’s final Terms of Union with Canada.

1960 Recipes were printed on the inside of the label.

1984 Carnation was taken over by Nestlé. The $3-billion deal was, at the time, the largest acquisition outside the oil industry.

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Walter’s job with Carnation provided a car and allowed him to travel all across the province. name they’d all say, ‘Mr. Bray, oh he was a sweetheart,’” says Jean. “When I was a student nurse, I went in and Ms. Horan, who was the head nurse, said, ‘Are you Walter’s daughter?’ I said yes, and she said, ‘My god! Mr. Carnation!” Jean laughs. “She put the name on Dad and it stayed, and they were friends for years and years after that.”

In another case, “my brother, he’s retired, but he started a hockey school, ice hockey,” Jean says. “This grandfather was there with his grandson one day, and he went over to Wally and he said, ‘Would you be Walter Bray’s son?’ And he told him a story about Dad.” Turns out this gentleman was one of a set of triplets born in 1950. Walter had met their mother, a Mrs. Bridger, and arranged for a year’s worth of free 1-888-588-6353

Carnation Milk be delivered for the babies. “[The gentleman] said, ‘I heard your father’s name all our life,’” Jean says.

Walter and Mary went on to have a family of seven children. Walter continued to work for the Carnation Company until the late 1960s, and by then Carnation had become an essential part of every Newfoundland kitchen.

Walter’s friendly demeanour and genuine kindness touched people wherever he went, leaving a positive and lasting impact on those around him.

“All through the years, it’s what he went on about,” says Jean. “And every Christmas we’d get cards, a mass of cards, from all over the island from the people he’d met. It was amazing, you know.”

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reminiscing

My Father, the Tinsmith

By Rex Cotter • Carbonear, NL

118

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The tinsmith trade,

working with copper and tin to manufacture all sorts of household items, can be traced back to the 18th century. Like other artisans, they learned their trade by completing an apprenticeship of several years, serving as a journeyman and then becoming a master tinsmith capable of employing and teaching others.

Very often, the trade was handed down from one generation to the next in a family business.

My father, Jacob (Jake) Cotter of New Perlican, Trinity Bay, NL, was a tinsmith. Born in the community in 1904, he left school at 14 to fish with his father, the normal thing to do at the time. In 1930, at 26, he decided to switch careers. It may have resulted from a visit to the tinsmith shop of John S. Rowe & Sons in Heart’s Content. The story of how he achieved his goal is a fascinating one.

To start, he moved to Hartford, Connecticut, USA, where we had distant cousins living. Travelling from the dominion of Newfoundland, through Canada and into the US was quite an undertaking. He crossed Newfoundland by train, crossed the Gulf of St. Lawrence and entered Canada by ferry, and travelled by train through Nova Scotia and across the US border to Hartford. After settling in with his two cousins, spinsters Rose and Mable Attwill, he began his apprenticeship with a tinsmith company.

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Jacob Cotter

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For six years, my father worked at the trade by day and went to school at night, learning what we now call mechanical drafting. Following his apprenticeship, he became a Master Certified Tinsmith. He worked mainly in the construction industry in Hartford, installing copper roofs, copper moldings and eaves troughs on such notable projects as the reconstruction of the Mark Twain House museum and Trinity College.

Dad returned to New Perlican in 1938, and set up a tinsmith shop in Winterton. On Monday morning he would walk to Winterton (about six kilometres), work all day and sleep on the workbench that night, then walk home Tuesday evening – a schedule he repeated for the rest of the week. After a year or so, he built a tinsmith shop in front of the family home in New Perlican.

There wasn’t much opportunity in rural Newfoundland to practise what he’d learned in the US, so he turned his skills to manufacturing household utensils: bread pans, bread mixing pans, wedding cake pans, bun pans and the very popular woods kettles. He also made dippers for measuring berries, kerosene oil and molasses, all of which had to be checked and stamped by a government agency for accuracy. For smaller fishing boats he made gas tanks, funnels and ventilation stacks. For schooners and large ships with large crews, he made five-gallon kettles, pans that could bake four dozen buns at a time, mix120

February 2024

ing pans that used almost half a sack of flour for one mixing, and baking pans to accommodate the same. In addition, there were the usual needs for smoke pipes, elbows, chimney tops, eave gutters, oil cans – even special cans for moonshine stills.

From the waste tin, he would make felt tins for felt and tar roofing.

Cotter’s Sheet Metal Works’ 1963 Chevy pickup truck was a common sight around Carbonear.

I remember my father describing some of the finer things he was asked to do, like soldering broken eyeglasses, repairing stained-glass windows, even soldering the reeds in musical instruments. Years after my dad repaired his coronet, Dr. Otto Tucker told me that “Jake Cotter could solder an arse in a cat.”

In 1942, my father was hired as superintendent of the sheet metal shop for the new American naval 1-888-588-6353

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base in Argentia. He was finally back doing what he had trained for in Hartford, making and installing copper roofs and flashings. After that, he returned to his New Perlican business, but was yearning for more; so in 1951, he opened a tinsmith shop in Windsor with the hope of moving into Grand Falls. That didn’t happen, mainly because Grand Falls was a company-owned paper town. Next he went to work in St. John’s with George Phillips & Sons, but back problems forced him into a year of rest back home.

He restarted his own business in 1956, this time in Carbonear. His handmade copper sign read “J. Cotter, Tinsmith and Sheet Metal Worker.” In 1960, I joined him and the sign was changed to J. Cotter & Son, Tinsmiths

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and Sheet Metal Workers, and later to Cotters Sheet Metal Works.

My father died in 1973, and I kept the business going until 1979. The tinsmithing part of the business had largely disappeared, though I still made the odd woods kettle from stainless steel, but none to sell.

A number of tinsmiths and sheet metal workers learned the trade from my father. They all found him hardworking and patient, knowledgeable and passionate about the business.

His motto was “Take pride in your work: if you can’t do it right, don’t do it.” For 12 years we worked side by side, and not once did we have a heated argument. I feel very fortunate to have been part of the tinsmith business that my father started 80 years ago.

February 2024

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Now more than ever a Downhome subscription 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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Sign me up for a Downhome subscription Name:____________________________________________________________________________ Address:__________________________________________________________________________ City:__________________________________________ Prov/State: ____ Country: _______________ Postal Code: ____________________

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) _________________________________

SIGN GIFT CARD FROM: _______________________________________ * Valid in Canada on a 1-year term. Total inc. taxes, postage and handling: for residents in NL, NS, NB, PE $49.44; ON $48.58; QC, SK, MB, AB, BC, NU, NT, YT $45.14; US $54.99; International $59.99. ** Valid in Canada on a 3-year term. Total inc. taxes, postage and handling: for residents in NL, NS, NB, PE $124.19; ON $122.03; QC, SK, MB, AB, BC, NU, NT, YT $113.39; US $159.99.

Send to Downhome, 43 James Lane, St. John’s, NL, A1E 3H3 or call 1-888-588-6353

ORDER ONLINE TODAY! www.joindownhome.com

2402_Puzzles_1701-puzzles 12/20/23 4:53 PM Page 124

puzzles

The Beaten Path

Joanie Barry 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.

M

M

K

E

S S

T

m

J L R

H

T p

n

H V

U

x

Q

I

S

L

m

M

S

T

J R

V

Q

M

K S

T K E

E

J R S p H L m R K T S n

M

A H

U

S p H T

L

p

S

x

L

H

R J

M

T

n

M

n

x

S

M E T m V

T

S

S U

E

H V

L

C

Y

Last Month’s Community: Salvage 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

February 2024

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Lori Butler 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: • Settled on the Placentia Bay side of the “Boot” • Its name is rooted in the French word for “bath” • In the 1869 census, it appeared as Bean Harbour • One-third of it was destroyed by fire in 1968 • It has locally processed and exported cod, lobster and squid

Last Month’s Answer: Butter Cove, Trinity Bay

Picturesque Place NameS of Newfoundland and Labrador

by Mel D’Souza Last Month’s Answer: Grey River 126

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

Last Month’s Clue: I am unable to encircle my cranium about the thing In Other Words: I can’t wrap my head around it

This Month’s Clue: It arrived directly from the equine’s orifice In Other Words: __ ____ ______ ___ __ ______ ______

A Way With Words Last Month’s Answer: It’s water under the bridge

THE BRIDGE IT’S WATER

This Month’s Clue

HH EI ‘ M SS E L F

Answer: ___ ______ ______

Rhyme Time A rhyming word game by Ron Young

1. The excitable kind is the ____ ____ 2. A barnyard folktale is a ______ _____ 3. A conceited face is a ____ ___ Last Month’s Answers 1. Try to fly, 2. Feed a seed, 3. Snug bug

Scrambled Sayings 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.

.

A E E D G A E E I H I A D N D A D O F A H D E P E H K I N H H E F W N O S L O E D R S T O I E S S T U P I W I S O S O U O R E S Y T N S S T W V W W R M T W R

Last month’s answer: Never tell people how to do things.

Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity. www.downhomelife.com

February 2024

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Rhymes 5 Times Each answer rhymes with the other four

1. sweetheart

____________

2. cash

____________

3. rabbit

____________

4. silly

____________

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. snake, 2. shake, 3. break, 4. fake, 5. take

Tangled Towns

by Lolene Young Condon and Ron Young

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

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

1. HEELLENTVIPS COSGRINS

For best results sound the clue words out loud!

2. DANSY NOTIP

Hum Hey Singer Ace _______ _____

3. PHLALOS VCOE

Eight Eyes Core _ ___ _____ Last Month’s 1st Clue: Reed Ooze Peed.

Answer: Reduce speed. Last Month’s 2nd Clue: Dawned Hey Kip Arsenal. Answer: Don’t take it personal.

4. LAFT YBA 5. SCLELFISH Last Month’s Answers: 1. Grand Bruit, 2. Indian Harbour, 3. Rose Blanche, 4. Burnt Islands, 5. Margaree

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

1. TRAIN MUSIC ~ Clue: they’re into finger painting 2. REVILES WAR ~ Clue: you’ll find them set in their ways 3. TABLE BALKS ~ Clue: it doesn’t mind if you dribble 4. LEAN IT PROM ~ Clue: you’ll fall for it again and again 5. USE AS GAS ~ Clue: they’re always stuffed at the table Last Month’s Answers: 1. resignation, 2. meeting, 3. significant, 4. roommate, 5. discovery 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 2 3 4 5 1-4: rigid support 1-10: dimension 11 12 13 14 15 1-91: word thief 2-32: precipitation 21 22 23 24 25 4-7: larboard 4-10: part 4-34: green area 31 32 33 34 35 5-25: single 6-36: Nevada city 41 42 43 44 45 10-30: unused 10-100: announcer 51 52 53 54 55 13-11: friend 13-16: windowglass 61 62 63 64 65 13-43: ache 15-13: snooze 71 72 73 74 75 15-18: closeby 16-19: take in 28-58: cogged wheel 81 82 83 84 85 30-26: cart 32-52: capture 91 92 93 94 95 31-11: dame 34-31: monarch 61-65: regal 34-54: small cask 63-43: distant 37-7: yacht 65-45: Robert E. 37-31: reservation 67-87: long fish 37-34: ledger 37-40: flying insects 68-65: ring out 38-68: gunman Wyatt 70-68: tree liquid 72-74: might 46-16: sharpen 72-76: city leader 47-43: shininess 76-56: stoolpigeon 47-67: litigate 76-96: male sheep 49-19: slender 80-76: cronograph 49-46: whip 81-61: knight’s title 50-46: skirmish 82-85: ensnare 50-80: throw 56-59: change course 83-63: beam 86-90: living 59-99: gullible 91-100: rev reader 61-63: cowboy 93-43: colouring stick Rogers

www.downhomelife.com

6

7

8

9

10

16

17

18

19

20

26

27

28

29

30

36

37

38

39

40

46

47

48

49

50

56

57

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66

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68

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80

86

87

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96

97

98

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100

93-91: feline 94-97: house 96-6: distance runner 96-100: 39.37 inches Last Month’s Answer

L I F E L E S S L Y OMA P I E R A E H NANRA B A T A T E T UORA P URR L S T UD I ARYO I E S DNO P A EW NRODAOL T T S E S U O H L E E HW S UK S E DA P E E S E P ARA T I ON February 2024

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The Bayman’s

Crossword Puzzle 1

2

by Ron Young

M 3

4 5 6

7 14

18

15 19

M

31

28 32

33

20 24

12

13

41

42

25

29

30

34

35 37

38 44

39 45

50

130

11

21

36

43

10 17

23

27

9

16

22 26

8

February 2024

46

47

M 48

40

49

51

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ACROSS 1. “wish I’d never taken this excursion around the __” 3. atmosphere 4. Norris Arm (abbrev) 5. none (colloq) 6. “Long may your big ___ draw” 7. self-esteem 10. resorts 14. immediately 16. partnered with Davidsville, NL (2 words) 19. Unemployment Insurance (abbrev) 20. serial number (abbrev) 21. tic tac ___ 22. Royal Navy (abbrev) 23. Tickle Cove Brook (abbrev) 25. spook agency 26. Outer Cove (abbrev) 29. a place in NL and in OR 31. “between Torbay and _____ ____ this little place I found” (2 words) 35. St. John’s or Corner Brook 36. The __________ Soiree 38. “He could put an arse in a ___” 39. in other words (abbrev) 40. “The old moon in the arms of the ___ bodes no good for me nor you” 43. “Come day, __ day, God send Sunday” 45. summit 47. Strait of Belle ____ 49. “If Candlemas Day is dark and grum, the worst of the winter is yet __ come” 50. language of St. Pierre et Miquelon 51. Cape ____ DOWN 1. _____ Tickle, Labrador 2. Lark Harbour’s neighbour (2 words) 4. northernmost community in NL 5. New Jersey (abbrev) www.downhomelife.com

7. the town and its peninsula 8. next to Monroe (2 words) 9. “a good day __ clothes” 10. “He’s __ skinny you can see the sins on his soul” 11. island where the Bounty mutineers died 12. apply oil 13. calm section of river (colloq) 15. victory 17. Parson’s Pond (abbrev) 18. Rattling ____ 24. boiled hard bread 27. pool stick 28. rhymes with its neighbour Brighton 30. Ladle Cove (abbrev) 32. tender loving care (abbrev) 33. fill with joy 34. Crow Gulch (abbrev) 37. “salt” in St. Pierre 41. et cetera (abbrev) 42. “He came into this world of ___ one dark and stormy night” 44. Bay __ Islands 46. Patrick’s Cove (abbrev) 48. emergency room (abbrev)

B A Y ANSWERS A T A TO LAST L F MONTH’S L F Y L CROSSWORD C U E A S T E R R A N O V A A P E E I O U F A R C R E W R D U T Y M E A L T E S E E N O S P A R B L E S L D S E N O R O K E M A S I N R A E T A G I N M U S G R A V E T OWN B O A T R E E A E E R I G K L I V Y E R February 2024

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DIAL-A-SMILE © 2024 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. ____ 9327

_____ 74678

_______ 7877678 __ 86

_ _ _ _ _ _ _.

7533837

____ 9687

____ 2273

_____ 74448

____ 2767

Last Month’s Answer: If you hold a cat by the tail you learn things you cannot learn any other way.

©2024 Ron Young

CRACK THE CODE H

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

_ H _

A Hp

_ _ _ _ _ _ _

p Xx 3 t n i

_ _ _ _ _

YD t O i _ H _

A Hp H _ _

H3 i

_ _ _ _

zphX

_ _ _ _ _ _ _

i nkkp i i

_ _ _

\hX _ _

hA _ _ tQ

_ _ _ _ H _ _ _ _ Xp 3Y Hb t nD

Last Month’s Answer: The envious man grows lean at the success of his neighbour.

132

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© 2024 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.”

jeering = _ _ _

swab = _ _ _

_ _ _ _

_

_ _ _

_

_ _ _ _

_

ckqnc i n V

fYm

leery = _ _ _ _

curing = _ _ _

dine = _ _ _ _ _

appraises = _

d b k} i n V

wk]l

w k}q b a

t b ka c _ _ _

cd b _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _

f Ya c

– _ __ _ _

wY]c d wd i } b _ _

ia

_ _ _ _

_

c di nV _ _ _

_ _

_ _ _

_ _

cY

c]l

cY

mq c

_ _ _ _

_ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

dk mm i n b aa _ _ _ _ _

}i w b a

_ _

Yt

i nc Y

cd b

_ _ _ _ _ _

Y c d b ]a

Last Month’s Answer: The most influential of all educational factors is the conversation in a child's home. www.downhomelife.com

February 2024

133

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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 WORK ON A PUZZLE

Last Month’s Answers: 1. Ceiling light, 2. Coal Bin, 3. Ern’s arm, 4. Radio, 5. Pot, 6. Vent, 7. Collar, 8. Picture; 9. Hair, 10. Nan's legs, 11. Chair, 12. Bottle “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, 212 Pine St., Collingwood, ON, L9Y 2P2

134

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HIDE & SEEK NL PAINTERS

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

ANDREWS BAKER BLACKWOOD BURSEY CLARKE FITZGERALD GILLARD GOSSE HODDINOTT HOUSTON KENNEDY LONG LORANGER MCENTEGART MUSSEAU

NOEL PRATT PRETTY ROCHE RYAN SPARKES

Last Month’s Answers

STUCKLESS WAREHAM WHITE YOUNG

G O G L Z K D N G O R B X L X X H A W C O H J V O H H D D P S J P Q O E Y Y L G I G A Z B K K W D A P G I A K E L N J S V M E D B Y A Y L X E D T O O I Y C N Y N R M T G G W E S T O C K W O O D L Y M T Y A G H O X F E N V U Y U S U H S M C W V L L G T D E O C J M Z X R O K Z W A I E E O B I F W E C M B S M K A H W W M C V K F E X R F T H S L A W J A Y S U M R H E U E X E X Z T W F R S K I N I C R N M I P I U J O K V R V R O A E Z E O I H Y N E S J A Y I K Q R L R E D O N Z Y Y Z Z J M N I V C Z R J U N Q U K C P W H T O R Z F C D M M B N B N E E O G S Q R Q W R B O J I M L K C R O W S F E J D W R Z E P C L X E A O O D X A B U R A A J B E O M O Y R N Q X X N W H I L D V A Z G Z T N L I B R B P P S T I T O C N F A J U D V A V D P B S X G I L A S E M H L Y S Y X F B O S N G N O L A N G J E H Z M U M A R O T A R U S S E L L B M B U L M H T I D B Y M Z N Y Q J H D Y Y Q S I R R A H Q V R G E

G F U T M C U H V R I B V R W C U Y Y H A S A S P H Y Z F T O X P R E T T Y O T H Z N X O H N I W G X Q Q P U A L P H G B B F C W P I J N D P S C V W T Q C L E Q R M D U J A G H P F F T L D P T M E I G Y Y O C B Q P R J O Z B E W I R X E I Q U F Q D E Z X R V E W A R E H A M M Y Q D M J N M C L R V I R F A F S D B L A C K W O O D C F L O U K A C Y W H I N V B P D T T R L N C O E N O Q T V L F L M H X T G C D L R E E H L E O N N N D H T L E V A Y I Y Z E C R E K A B Z R U T I G O W K I L S G R I H O G R T F I C N S N G E V P U V T G U B S N K C Q T E M U S S E A U O G K C W F R H S K N A U E A B L R Q S J M T S C A G R I Q A I S E U O C O Q S T M A B V S P U R R E C F C U L T N V H O D Y R G Q Z L F H W M G T T E S W E R D N A Z T T H C U O F T D W E M I O E E J N A Y R E I D O Q A H H G S K J N L U Z H Y W I K B A N D K F S B U R S E Y S S E K R A P S L I M U K I Y Z D R K K P O O C G E www.downhomelife.com

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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

February 2024

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GREAT GIFT IDEAS!

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Admit Strangers: Forgotten History of the NL Press Gallery Association - Michael Connors

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A Company of Rogues

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Any Mummers ’lowd In Tea Towel

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GREAT GIFT IDEAS! Spice Things Up for Valentine’s Day!

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Some Sweets for Your Sweetheart

Newfoundland Chocolate Bars - $5.99 each | 42g Blueberry #50684 | Coffee Hazelnut #75356 | Dark Orange #75359 | Dark Wildberry #50687 Fruit and Nut #75358 | Hazelnut #50688 | 54% Dark - Low Sugar #47303 | Dark Mint #50686 54% Dark #47096 | Cookies & Cream #82964 | Extra Smooth Milk #47092 | Island Almond #47095 Toasted Coconut #82968 | Happy Birthday #82965 | S’Mores #82966 | Thank You #82967

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2402_photo Finish_0609 Photo Finish 12/20/23 2:00 PM Page 144

photo finish

Winter

Radiance

The sun sets in a blaze of orange after a long blizzard.

Julian Earle Twillingate, 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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