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$4.99 May 2019
Vol 31 • No 12
History of teddy bears
Ghosts of Bell Island Return to Random Passage
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Let’s Connect Tell your friends on Facebook Marine Atlantic
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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 Elizabeth Whitten Special Publications Editor Tobias Romaniuk Art and Production Art Director Vince Marsh Graphic and Web Designer Cory Way Illustrator Mel D’Souza Illustrator Snowden Walters Advertising Sales Senior Account Manager Robert Saunders Account Manager Barbara Young Marketing Director Tiffany Brett Finance and Administration Senior Accountant Karen Critch Junior Accountant Marlena Grant Operations Manager Alicia Brennan Operations Manager, Twillingate Nicole Mehaney
Warehouse Operations Warehouse Operator Josephine Collins Distribution Sales & Merchandising Joseph Reddy Sr. Customer Service Associate Sharon Muise Inventory Control Clerk Heather Lane Warehouse Associate Anthony Sparrow Retail Operations Retail Floor Manager, Water Street Jackie Rice Retail Floor Manager, Avalon Mall Carol Howell Retail Floor Manager, Twillingate Donna Keefe Retail Sales Associates Crystal Rose, Emma Goodyear, Jonathon Organ, Nicole French, Elizabeth Gleason, Janet Watkins, Melissa Wheeler, Rebecca Ford, Darlene Burton, Erin McCarthy, Chantel Boone
Subscriptions Sr. Administrative Assistant Amanda Ricks Customer Service Associate Ciara Hodge Founding Editor Ron Young Chief Executive Officer / Publisher Grant Young President Todd Goodyear Chief Financial Officer Tina Bromley
To subscribe, renew or change address use the contact information above. Subscriptions total inc. taxes, postage and handling: for residents in NL $39; AB, BC, MB, NU, NT, QC, SK, YT $40.95; ON $44.07; NB, NS, PE $44.85. US and International mailing price for a 1-year term is $49.00.
Canada Post Canadian Publications Mail Sales Product Agreement #40062919 The advertiser agrees that the publisher shall not be liable for damages arising out of errors in advertisements beyond the amount paid for the space actually occupied by the portion of the advertisement in which the error occurred, whether such error is due to the negligence of the servants or otherwise, and there shall be no liability beyond the amount of such advertisement. The Letters to the Editor section is open to all letter writers providing the letters are in good taste, not libelous, and can be verified as true, correct and written by the person signing the letter. Pen names and anonymous letters will not be published. The publisher reserves the right to edit, revise, classify, or reject any advertisement or letter. © Downhome Publishing Inc. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without permission of the publisher. We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada.
Printed in Canada Official onboard magazine of
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108 piece of cake
Contents
MAY 2019
52 Ready On Set “Hudson & Rex� is just the latest in a string of TV and film projects fuelling the NL film industry. Elizabeth Whitten
64 Shed Culture Some work, all play is the Newfoundland and Labrador way. Jennifer Thornhill Verma
88 Ghosts of Bell Island
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lights, camera, dog www.downhomelife.com
A new series of plays performed by talented local actors in an abandoned mine shaft capture some of the folklore, the legends and the ghosts of Bell Island. Dennis Flynn
108 Everyday Recipes A fresh take on seafood cakes paired with delicious sauces May 2019
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Contents
MAY 2019
homefront 10 I Dare Say A note from the editor 11 Contributors Meet the people behind the magazine
12 Letters From Our Readers Snowshoes made to last, Newfoundland pony appreciation, and a request on behalf of thrift stores.
20 Downhome Tours Explore Jerusalem with Downhome
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out of this world
22 Why is That Where do teddy bears get their name? Linda Browne 24 That’s Amazing Wild news from around the world
26 Life’s Funny Scared Fishless Ed Power
27 Say What A contest that puts words in someone else’s mouth
28 Lil Charmers NL Connection
28
hip yer partner…
30 Pets of the Month Animal Antics 32 Blast from the Past Remember the Ford Pinto?
34 Poetic Licence Eternal Debate by Curt Budden, and Trap Skiff by David Boyd 38 Reviewed Denise Flint interviews Megan Gail Coles and reviews her first novel, Small Game Hunting at the Local Coward Gun Club. 4
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the debate continues 1-888-588-6353
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60
good times never get old
40 What Odds Paul Warford on living in tight quarters
42 Co-housing A popular trend that contributes to aging well Carla MacInnis Rockwell
44 They Said Yes!
features 60 Grannies for Grannies These seniors combine socializing with social advocacy, having fun while supporting a good cause. Marcia Porter 72 Caught on Camera Trail cameras offer a peek into the secret life of wild animals.
explore 78 What’s on the Go Exciting events
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stony sentinel www.downhomelife.com
happening around Atlantic Canada
80 Have you seen the American Man? Something else to watch for on the landscape as you tour Newfoundland and Labrador Dale Jarvis May 2019
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Contents
MAY 2019
86 rock on!
86 Cape Bonavista Inuksuit Reg Carpenter
94 Travel Diary Tremendous Trip to “The Big Land� Charles Beckett 96 Revisiting Random Passage Nearing 20 years old, how is the film set-turned tourist attraction holding up? Elizabeth Whitten
100 Spring into Outdoor Action
Food and Leisure 104 Everyday Gourmet Perfect Pesto Andrea Maunder
116 Stuff About What do Bay de Verde, Spongebob Squarepants and porridge have in common?
118 Down to Earth Long-lived Perennial Plants Ross Traverse 6
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104 pesto chango
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132 from the neighbourhood
124 In the Workshop with furniture maker James Haley Tobias Romaniuk
reminiscing 126 Flashbacks Classic photos of people and places
127 This Month in History How the Outport Nursing Committee got its start 128 Little Girl Lost The incredible story of Lucy Maude Harris Kim Ploughman About the cover Fishcakes are a staple food in most NL kitchens. This month our Academy Canada cooks serve up fresh takes on these cakes, paired with delicious sauces. Recipes begin on page 108.
Cover Index Boats, Beers and B’ys • 64 Unsung Mega Project • 52 Seafood Cakes • 108 History of Teddy Bears • 22 Ghosts of Bell Island • 88 Return to Random Passage • 96 www.downhomelife.com
132 The Stores of Southside Road A look back at neighbourhood shops and the people inside them John Dyke
136 Between the Boulevard and the Bay The Blame Game Ron Young 140 Mail Order 144 Real Estate 145 Marketplace 148 Puzzles 160 Photo Finish May 2019
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This is your chance to meet “The Ghosts of Bell Island.� p. 88
Would you believe how the teddy bear got its name? p.22
Win a copy of Rock Gardening.
We want to see your May 2-4 camping photos!
Contest is open May 6-17, 2019. Go to downhomelife.com/contests to enter.
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May 2019
Post them on our website at downhomelife.com/submit
1-888-588-6353
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Submission Guidelines and Prize Rules
You could WIN $100! Every reader whose PHOTO, STORY, JOKE or POEM appears next to this yellow “from our readers” stamp in a current issue receives $10 and a chance at being drawn for the monthly prize: $100 for one photo submission and $100 for one written submission. Prizes are awarded in Downhome Dollars certificates, which can be spent like cash in our retail stores and online at shopDownhome.com.*
Submit Today! Send your photo, story, joke or poem to
Downhome 43 James Lane St. John’s, NL, A1E 3H3 or submit online at:
www.downhomelife.com *Only 1 prize per submitter per month. To receive their prize, submitters must provide with their submission COMPLETE contact information: full name, mailing address, phone number and email address (if you have one). Mailed submissions will only be returned to those who include a self-addressed, stamped envelope. Downhome Inc. reserves the right to publish submissions in future print and/or electronic media campaigns. Downhome Inc. is not responsible for unsolicited material. www.downhomelife.com
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i dare say
Why don’t more people like spring?
Todd Young photo
We ran a poll on our website last year, asking if you could make one season last longer than the rest, which one would you pick? Almost no one picked spring. I think it’s because, in Newfoundland and Labrador anyway, it’s not easily defined. Winter has fun in the snow, summer has hot-weather pursuits, and everyone just loves the brilliant displays of fall. But what does spring have? Depends on where you are, in my experience. Every April or May, Nan Roberts would go to my aunt’s for a few weeks on the west coast of Newfoundland. There, she would watch spring arrive as the grass turned green, the trees got leafy and the early flowers blossomed. Then she’d return to Twillingate in early June and, as she put it, “watch spring come all over again.” That’s because spring in Twillingate, on the northeast coast, was more about ice pans in the harbour, black earth emerging from beneath crusty snow, and trading winter boots for sneaker boots (this was the ’80s for me). Flowers and greenery came later. In St. John’s, it’s marked by fog. But also dry sidewalks, crocuses and tulips in the parks, and the first birdsongs of returning flocks. In Conception Bay South, my spring routine starts around now. Every day after work (and sometimes before, too) I take a walk around our property. I inspect the trees for sticky new buds, the flowerbeds for new green shoots, and the rhubarb patch for the blood red nubs emerging from the earth. Each sign of new life I find is thrilling (yes, truly). It’s a signal of hope, of promise, of good things to come. Everyone else can bask in summer, winter and fall. Give me spring. Thanks for reading,
Janice Stuckless, Editor-in-chief janice@downhomelife.com 10
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Contributors
Meet the people behind the magazine
Zachary Hatcher
Dale Jarvis
Growing up in a military family, Zachary Hatcher moved around a lot. “I’ve lived in Rose Blanche, Newfoundland twice; Petawawa, Ontario three times; Oromocto, New Brunswick twice; Halifax, Nova Scotia once; and I was born in Calgary, Alberta!” At the moment, Zachary calls Rose Blanche home. It features in a lot on the photos he takes, one of which you’ll see on page 102 in this issue. “Rose Blanche is enjoyable to capture because it’s unique, isolated and right on the edge of the coast. The weather is always changing, which always lends new perspectives and opportunities. It’s easy to get lost for hours looking for all the natural pockets of beauty hidden in and around it – especially around the lighthouse site,” he says. “Photography, for me, is an escape,” he explains, “an opportunity to close myself off from the rest of the world and focus on all of the details in front of me. It always helps me heal and share the beauty of Newfoundland with every person I can.”
The best-known folklorist in NL these days says he became one “almost by accident! My background was in archaeology, but I went to MUN to study folklore because they had courses in folk architecture,” he recalls. “That took me to Heritage NL, where I worked on heritage buildings, and now, with Intangible Cultural Heritage. Twenty-five years later, I’m still learning new things, which I love!” In this issue, Dale introduces readers to the American Man (see page 80), a curious stone structure found in several NL communities, including Cupids. “I always look for it when I drive through Cupids; when I see it, it makes me feel like I’ve really arrived in the community.” Some of these stone structures date back hundreds of years, while others are modern, with people fixing up fallen-down cairns or making new ones. “I was intrigued to learn that people continue to build stone cairns, some of them quite substantial! It goes to show that our history is still alive and constantly evolving,” Dale says.
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Puzzled by Postcard I am intrigued by this pre-1959 postcard, which I bought at a Newfoundland flea market last summer. I have several questions: Who is the couple? What part of the Newfoundland coastline is being painted? What became of the painting? Perhaps your readers will be able to answer some or all of my questions. Burton Janes Bay Roberts, NL
This is a beautiful scene. Any readers know anything about it? If you do, please help us out by emailing your information to editorial@downhomelife.com, or write to Downhome, 43 James Lane, St. John’s, NL, A1E 3H3. We’ll share anything we learn in a follow-up issue.
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Made to Last This is my mom, Edna Chinn, of Hillgrade, NL. She’s holding these snowshoes at the Moreton’s Harbour Museum, Moreton’s Harbour, NL, in 2014. The snowshoes were made by Mom’s father, Thomas Watkins of Summerford, NL, in about 1930. He made them for a little girl in Moreton’s Harbour by the name of Alice Taylor. My Grandfather Watkins was employed at that time by Alice’s father, working as a shareman on the vessel Fisherette. My mom was about eight years old when she made the tassles that are on them. Mom now lives in the Nightingale Manor in Gander, NL. She will be 97 years old on May 23, 2019. A big Happy Birthday to you, Mom, from all your children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. We all love you very much. Netta Lamping Lavoy, AB
Happy Birthday from us at Downhome, too!
Declutter with Care I just read your article “Declutter for a cause” in the March issue of Downhome. As a worker in a local thrift store, l would like to remind people that when they are decluttering to inspect any items they are planning to donate. Put the items in a pile, look at them and ask yourself, “Would l buy this at a yard sale or second-hand store?” If the answer is no, then there is always the option of curbside garbage collection. People who shop at thrift stores do not want to buy worn out shoes, coats with broken zippers, chipped or cracked dishes, torn or dirty clothing, broken or dirty toys or anything else that is unusable. www.downhomelife.com
When you drop off such unusable items, the charities to which you donate have to pay to get rid of them. In the store where l work, we have anywhere from 30-50 bags of garbage every week, which becomes very costly to dispose of. So, maybe Marie Kondo can share that information with her viewers. Many thanks to all the people who drop off great stuff today that others are happy to purchase. E. Inness Stephenville, NL
Thank you for responding to that article in such a helpful way. So many roads are paved with good intentions – your tips help people avoid creating potholes. May 2019
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find corky sly conner Hidden somewhere in this issue is Corky Sly Conner.
Can you find him? Look carefully at all the photographs and in the text of the stories. If you spot Corky, send us your name, address and phone number, along with a note telling us where he’s located. Your name will be entered in a draw and the winner will receive a coupon worth 25 Downhome Dollars redeemable at our store, or through our website.
Send your replies to:
Congratulations to Alice Cabot of L’Anse au Loup, NL, who found Corky on page 55 of the March issue.
Newfoundland Pony Appreciation I always think of the magazine as a Newfoundland magazine. I was very pleased to see the two Newfoundland pony stallions from Ontario being featured. Thank you for your inclusiveness. Great publication. Gertrude Maxwell Via DownhomeLife.com
You don’t have to be in or even from Newfoundland and Labrador to be a part of this magazine. Our inspiration and many of our stories are based here, but it’s more about having values and passions in common than geography. Our relationships with people and traditions extend far beyond the borders of this province, and we welcome story suggestions from “away” that have some connection to this region. Contact us anytime by calling 1-88814
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Corky Contest 43 James Lane St. John’s, NL, A1E 3H3
mail@downhomelife.com www.downhomelife.com *No Phone Calls Please One entry per person
Deadline for replies is the end of each month.
588-6353; emailing editorial@downhomelife.com; or writing to Downhome, 43 James Lane, St. John’s, NL, A1E 3H3.
Thank You, Newfoundlanders “Come From Away” finally came out west. I was touched by the hospitality of the people of Newfoundland to the people who were stranded there, but not surprised. Thank you, Newfoundland, for putting out there for the world to see who we are. Anne Flanagan Laguna Woods, CA, USA (formerly of Bacon Cove, NL)
Those September 2001 days and the brilliant musical continue to make ripples around the world. Thanks for your letter, Anne. 1-888-588-6353
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Remembering Newfoundland The most cherished memory I have is the night we got married on March 9, 1952. We had a blizzard that night and it took two hours to come back from the Pepperell Air Force Base Chapel to our home on Boncloddy Street. We had snow up to our bedroom window. All the shops were closed down for 10 days. My wife, Mary Martin, is from Charlottetown, Bonavista Bay. She was working at London, New York & Paris on Water Street when we got married. I first met her down around Bannerman Park – love at first sight. I can remember riding on the Newfie “Bullet” train to her home in Charlottetown and visiting Port Blandford and Bunyan’s Cove across the bay. We would go out on Bonavista Bay jigging for codfish. What good ol’ days in the ‘50s.
www.downhomelife.com
Found on Facebook
Federico Canzani We are Federico and Victoria from Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina a.k.a “ The End of the World City!” Look what we have in our hands... Cheers to all the “Downhome Magazine followers” from Canada and around the world.
May 2019
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We now have five children – three born in Newfoundland. I miss going shopping on Water Street. That’s where I bought my wife’s wedding rings, at Avalon Jewelry. I miss the Regatta every year. It was really fun. We really miss the fish and chip shops all around St. John’s as well. I spent the best years of my life in Newfoundland, where I still have family and friends. All of the older people will enjoy reading these memories.
RECENT TWEETS Courtney Johnson Richardson @Photog_Rich
James Baldwin Cedartown, Georgia, USA
Thanks for sharing your memories with us, James, especially of your wedding day. Imagine all that snow! You might enjoy the memorable proposal stories readers shared for our Romantic Getaway Contest, including the winning entry, that appear in this issue. The stories begin on page 44.
March Cover Memories The cover of the March Downhome brought back so many memories of camping with my family across Canada in the ’50s, ’60s and ’70s. Out of a cardboard box, amid wellstowed camping gear in the trunk of the car, would appear the sooty little black kettle wrapped up in newspaper. My dad, Chaplain Harry Ploughman RCN, was born in Port Rexton in 1909 (then known as Robin Hood, I believe), and I’m sure a similar kettle was used for boil-ups on many a trout fishing or logging excursion in his youth. I don’t know what happened to our family kettle, but I have been on the hunt for one for years with no success. 16
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You can take the girl outta the East coast... @downhomelife
Would a reader know of a company still producing these or an antique store on the Rock where I could purchase one? My partner Dave and I have enjoyed Newfoundland on many trips, and having our own Newfoundland kettle, black and sooty, for our boil-ups would make a wonderful addition to our own camping memories. Mary Ploughman Jones Charlottetown, PEI
Anyone know where Mary might acquire an authentic boil-up kettle like the one pictured on our March cover? If so, send her an email at marymats@ymail.com. 1-888-588-6353
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Meet Mister Wilson, the Star of Torbay Driving in Torbay, you may have seen Mister Wilson. He’s 12.2 hands high, weighs 500 pounds and loves visitors. Kids adore him and he even has his own Facebook page! He’s the much loved Newfoundland Pony owned by the Cole family. Mister Wilson was born in New Harbour in 2012 and bought by the Coles in 2017. After the family bought him, they pony learned he had a condition known as ‘cryptorchidism’ which refers to an undescended testicle resting in the abdomen. It would be an expensive operation to send him to the Atlantic Veterinary College in PEI to get him gelded, but they had to do it. To fundraise the $3,000 for the trailering and the surgery, they organized children’s riding camps, put gift baskets up on tickets, and held fundraisers every weekend. After the surgery, Mister Wilson settled back into his custom barn where he has indoor-outdoor access 24 hours a day. Newfoundland Ponies love to work and Wilson needed something to do! Emily Cole is an ABA therapist with over 10 years’ experience working with children with autism, and cognitive or emotional disabilities. She started riding him bareback and he was able to take a saddle in just a few weeks. It wasn’t long before Emily heard from families who wanted therapeutic riding lessons for their children. For some, learning to brush Mister Wilson was their first contact with a pony. Others experienced the pure joy of riding under the steady gait of this lovely pony. To see what Mister Wilson has been up to, you can follow him on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/ Mister-Wilson-NFLD-Pony-385222071973063 Top: Mister Wilson. Middle: Emily Cole and Mister Wilson. Bottom: Eamon Carew, Rory Carew, Mister Wilson and Heidi Cole.
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Travels Back in Time
We have now been receiving Downhome for two years. Love the stories, pictures and many articles including recipes. We started visiting your fantastic province about 1975 to visit my brotherin-law, who retired there after a career in the Navy. His name was Mike (Ken) Gallagher. Over the years, he served in the hospitality industry and had owned Mount Peyton in Grand Falls. He also was on the board of Hospitality Newfoundland and Labrador and helped organize Canada Select Rating Newfoundland-Labrador. His wife, Elizabeth (Betty) Gallagher, was, for a time, administrative director of B&Bs. They sure knew lots of nooks, crannies and wonderful places to visit that perhaps regular tourists wouldn’t see. We visited every two or three years and were never disappointed. You have the most outstanding hospitable people, breathtaking scenery, moose popping up here and there. My husband has taken thousands of pictures and painted several. Unfortunately, my brother-in-law died in 2017. We, too, are aging but hope to return one more time for a final visit. Reta Gallagher Peterborough, ON
Thanks for the lovely letter and photos from your past trips to Newfoundland and Labrador. Here is one of fishing boats and stages in Triton in the 1990s (below), and another of a fine haul of fish being offloaded at Salvage in the late 1970s.
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homefront Downhome Tours...
Jerusalem
Desert Trek Janet Pomeroy stops at the Masada, just outside Jerusalem, during a 2018 trip. The Masada is a fortress atop a rock plateau in the Judean Desert. It was the site of a fortification used to fend off the Romans during the First Jewish-Roman War, which concluded around 73 CE. Today, the Masada is a UNESCO World Heritage site. Many people hike this area and then take a dip in the Dead Sea.
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Sacred Site
While visiting Jerusalem, Lisa and Chris McManemin of Basking Ridge, New Jersey toured the Western Wall. The Western Wall (also called the Wailing Wall) is located in the Old City of Jerusalem. It’s a sacred pilgrimage site for the Jewish people and a place for people to come and pray.
When in Israel
While on a tour of Israel, Burton Janes of Bay Roberts, NL, paused to take a quick shot with The Dome of the Rock shining bright in the background. The Dome of the Rock is an Islamic shrine located on the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem, and the original structure dates back to 691 CE. It’s also a UNESCO World Heritage site and one of the most recognizable structures in the city.
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Expert answers to common life questions. By Linda Browne
Where do teddy bears get their name? There’s nothing like a soft, cuddly teddy bear to calm and comfort a crying child. Many of us have grown up toting our special furry friends around all over the place, from school and sleepovers to road trips with family (you still might even have yours, perhaps worn threadbare, and give it a good squeeze from time to time). They are one of the most popular toys ever invented, but did you ever stop to think about how the teddy bear got its name (why not Betty or Freddy bear, or any other name instead)? Turns out it comes from an unlikely source: the 26th president of the United States. The Theodore Roosevelt Association (TRA), an organization dedicated to honouring President Roosevelt’s life and work, lays out the “bear” facts. The story starts in the fall of 1902, when Roosevelt joined Andrew Longino, then governor of Mississippi, on a bear hunting trip. After several days, other members of the party were successful in the hunt, but Roosevelt – not so much. Eventually, some of the hunters tracked down a black bear that their hounds had chased and attacked. They clubbed the bear, tied it to a willow tree and invited the 22
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president to take a shot. But deeming this to be unsportsmanlike behaviour, Roosevelt refused. This, however, didn’t change the animal’s fate, as the president ordered it killed to end its misery. Eventually, word spread about Roosevelt’s act of mercy and on November 16, 1902, the story was immortalized in ink by political cartoonist Clifford Berryman in the Washington Post. The original cartoon, titled “Drawing the Line in Mississippi,” shows Roosevelt clutching a hunting rifle in his right hand, his left extended in protest, as another hunter and the lassoed bear crouch in the background. The cartoon became quite popular and Berryman was requested to make copies, which he did, making the bear appear “cuter” each time. “This bear cub then appeared in other cartoons Clifford Berryman 1-888-588-6353
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drew throughout Roosevelt’s career. That connected bears with President Roosevelt,” states the TRA on their website. Berryman’s cartoon also caught the eye of Morris Michtom who, along with his wife Rose, owned a candy shop in Brooklyn, New York. Inspired by the event, Rose created two stuffed bear toys, which the couple displayed in the shop’s window. Before making more, Morris requested Roosevelt’s permission to call these new toys “Teddy’s bears” (an homage to the president’s nickname, which he loathed). Roosevelt agreed, and while he reportedly expected the invention to go nowhere, the Michtoms pressed on. In 1903, they formed the Ideal Novelty and Toy Company, which became a multimillion-dollar business. According to the National Museum of American History, stuffed bears became so popular that one American minister warned that “replacing dolls with toy bears would destroy the maternal instincts in little girls.” (You can visit the museum to see the original Teddy bear made by the Ideal Novelty and Toy Company.) Around the same time, the Steiff company in Germany also began manufacturing stuffed bears, unaware that the Michtoms were doing the same thing in the US.
“Margaret Steiff earned her living by sewing, first by making stuffed elephants, then other animals. In 1903, an American saw a stuffed bear she had made and ordered many of them. These bears, which also came to be called Teddy Bears, made the international connection,” the TRA states. Over the years, many folks young and old have developed a soft spot for these cute creatures. For the past three decades, the Theodore Roosevelt Association has continued to honour its namesake through the “Teddy Bears for Kids” program, which provides teddy bears to children in hospitals across the US. Today, teddy bears can be found all over the world – and beyond. In February 1995, Magellan T. Bear, equipped with a blue astronaut jumpsuit, became the first teddy bear in space when it boarded the Space Shuttle Discovery as an “education specialist” (part of an educational project with an elementary school in Colorado). So if you ever find yourself gazing up into the stone-cold faces of Mount Rushmore, look at the third one from the left and say thanks for leaving behind a lasting (and cuddly) legacy.
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
That’s
AMAZING Wild news from around the world
Best or Wurst Meat Hotel?
A German butcher runs the Boebel Bratwurst Bed and Breakfast in the town of Rittersbach. Each of the seven rooms are decorated along a meat theme, with meat wallpaper, sausage-shaped bed pillows and cured meat hanging from the ceiling. Since it opened in 2017, travellers have been eating it up.
Pokémon Go to the Altar
A wedding planning company in Japan is now offering a new package for brides and grooms looking for a special wedding theme: Pokémon, the global gaming franchise. Couples can get a cake, wedding invitations and party favours designed with the game’s signature character, Pikachu.
Cold Case
Usually, thieves are after money, jewels or even maple syrup, but earlier this year there was a weekend break-in at Iceberg Water’s warehouse in Port Union, NL. The thieves made off with an astounding 30,000 litres of iceberg water, valued somewhere between $9,000 and $12,000. The company harvests icebergs and uses the water to make drinks such as vodka and gin. 24
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Quest for Immortality
A 2,000-year-old tomb in central China was recently uncovered, and along with the grave was a pot containing a yellow liquid. Initially, archeologists believed it might be wine, but now they think it was meant to be an elixir of life! Tests show the fluid was made from potassium nitrate and alunite, which was considered to be part of a recipe to achieve immortality.
Saying Goodbye to Oppy
In 2004, NASA’s Opportunity (“Oppy”) rover landed on Mars. Oppy was only expected to last 90 days but kept exploring the red planet for an incredible 14 years. Through Oppy’s work, we learned Mars likely had water at some point. In February, Oppy shut down. Its last words were: “My battery is low and it’s getting dark.”
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homefront life’s funny
Scared Fishless
Many years ago as a young lad, my grandmother told me you should never whistle while alone in the woods, as fairies would take you away and you might never return. Not long after being told this, a friend and I decided to go trouting in Anderson’s Pond, about 2 km north of Grand Falls-Windsor. As he had chores to do, I decided to go on ahead and he would join me later. At the pond, I cut an alder, fitted it with a black line and hook, and started to catch a few mud trout. An hour later my friend still hadn’t arrived and I was getting nervous there alone, as black bears were often seen in the area. To relax, I started to whistle. Suddenly I remembered what Grandmother had told me about the fairies. I started to shake uncontrollably and my stomach started to churn. I dropped the pole, left the caught trout on the ground and started to run for home. I fell flat on my face a couple of times in the bog and mud, but did not stop until I reached the safety of town. Ed Power Grand Falls-Windsor, NL
Do you have any funny or embarrassing true stories? Share them with us. If your story is selected, you’ll win a prize! See page 9 for details. 26
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“What the puffin did I just step in?” - Kimberly Martin
Say WHAT? Downhome recently posted this photo (sent in by Alisa Smith) on our website and Facebook page and asked our members to imagine what the puffin might be saying. Kimberly Martin’s response made us chuckle the most, so we’re awarding her 20 Downhome Dollars!
Here are the runners-up: “Spring has sprung, the grass is green, I wonder where the dandelions have been!” – Patricia Callahan “Doing the Newfie stomp.” – Vanessa J Milley “I’m just going to wing it today.” – Alva Russell and Chris Abbott
Want to get in on the action? Go to www.downhomelife.com/saywhat
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“Like” us on Facebook www.facebook.com/downhomelife
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homefront lil charmers
NL connection First Landing These two Ontario-born babies are experiencing their first trip to NL to visit their grandparents’ home. Shawn Cull Orleans, ON
Hand-in-Hand Beau and Charlotte don’t need an excuse to dance at this kitchen party. Sami Budden Fort McMurray, AB
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I Spy Avery wanted to see everything the province had to offer during her recent trip to NL. Michelle Barrett Fort McMurray, AB
Looking for Home
It’s never too early to learn where you come from. Samantha Gidge New World Island, NL www.downhomelife.com
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homefront pets of the month
animal antics Fridge Inspection Just checking for any delicious snacks, like some seafood. Natalie Baker Corner Brook, NL
Outside Looking In Bella would like you to open the door, please! Kellie Blackmore via Downhomelife.com
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Ready For My Close-up Frank is just chilling and enjoying his first trip to St. John’s. Morgan Bragg Port aux Basques, NL
All on the Line This pooch is anxiously waiting for his toys to be dry after a good washing. Judy King via Downhomelife.com
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homefront
Remember the Ford Pinto? The Pinto Runabout, first released in 1970, was Ford’s first hatchback, but not the first hatchback ever. That distinction goes to the Citroën Traction Avant Commerciale, released in 1938. In an attempt to appeal to a wide variety of car buyers, the Pinto was available in sedan and wagon versions, in addition to the hatchback. By the time the 1970s arrived, compact cars from Volkswagen, Toyota, Datsun and others were gaining market share. Ford wanted in on this action, and in 1967 or 1968 (accounts vary) got to work on designing their own compact car. It would weigh no more than 2,000 pounds, would cost $2,000 and would be ready in two years, decreed Ford head Lee Iacocca. At the time, cars normally took about four years to develop. The compact timeline led to outsize troubles for the compact car – mainly the nasty tendency for the gas tank to rupture when the car was rear-ended. Although this earned the Pinto a reputation for 32
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being a fiery deathbox, the car was later proven to be no more dangerous than other cars of its time. But it was too late. News stories horribly exaggerated the death toll of 27, placing it in the hundreds or thousands, helping cement the car’s dangerous reputation. The car’s reputation and safety record eventually caught up with Ford, who recalled 1971-77 model years in 1977, and discontinued the car in 1980. Today, there are still Pintos on the road and a dedicated fan club of owners still proudly drive the little ‘70s car with the wrongly earned dangerous reputation. 1-888-588-6353
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homefront poetic licence
eternal debate By Curt Budden Illustration by Anthony Noel
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It’s been seventy years since this well-known transition, Where Newfoundland and Labrador changed their position. They became part of Canada; the last province to join. And opinions varied quite greatly on both sides of the coin. Despite how one may perceive it, or where the facts and stats lay, It’s been a heated discussion up to this very day. It’s a date that’s remembered and thus frozen in time, That 31st day of March in 1949. Due to various reasons including heart throb and quarry, It caused some people panic, as well as stress, doubt and worry. Some lashed back with insults and political puns. There were even some fathers who had disowned their sons. One common statement that’s been viewed as quite grand, Some say it’s the day Canada joined Newfoundland. Many thought that the change was unwanted and straining. And even seventy years later, they have not stopped complaining. They thought the old ways were quaint, more simple and smitten. They preferred independence when ruled under Britain. To push through the vote the sales pitch was inventive. They had promised good changes, as well as a wide range of incentive. Many Newfoundlanders were dismal and had been victims to crimes. Newfoundland was in hard shape and had been through hard times. Their struggles and misfortune felt like heavy loads. They were told trains would get new tracks, and towns brand new roads. www.downhomelife.com
They were told that if the vote failed it would result in regret. Because the vote going through would get rid of their debt. Folks were done with dole payments and feared further regression. Both World Wars had warped them, as well as the foul Great Depression. They were told if they joined that new changes would thrive. It would make their lives easier as well as help them survive. Some quickly thought “Yes,” while others thought “No” or “Maybe.” Couples were even offered a bonus if they had a new baby. But with skepticism aside, after all votes were cast, Newfoundland had joined Canada. And it was a change that would last. And for some this vast change was like winning the lottery. They thought old ways were uncertain and stricken with poverty. They rejoiced the results and had observed it as winning. They welcomed a change for a brand new beginning. For when the voting was finished, a new era begun, With the difference split forty-nine to fifty-one. Today some emotions remain with several sights to be seen. Such as Republic flags hanging with their pink, white and green. May 2019
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The change caused some folks grief, and for many frustration. Thoughts of homegrown affairs being dealt with by the rest of the nation. Many opposed and spoke up and were far beyond vocal. They wanted business as usual and to keep business local. Independence had perched and flew off like wild ganders. They wanted Newfoundland issues resolved by Newfoundlanders. Others embraced the new government, which they took just as serious. They felt those scared of transition were just perverse and delirious. They saw this change as a chapter for fresh growth and prosperity. Their vision was spotless, razor sharp and had clarity. They saw no reason for panic and no reason to run. They celebrated the victory and they were glad it was done. Many said Confederation was needed, while others said it was not. Some say it saved lives, some say it stirred up the pot. For some it led to confusion, as well as pointing and staring. There had been ranting and raving along with bawling and blaring. For those who wanted to join, they hung the coat of arms high. And for those who wanted no part of it? They’d rather go die.
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But the debate still continues, even with changes so vast. And as for the people who lived it? They’ve aged greatly or passed. Maybe those venting today are just lost in the mystery. Perhaps they don’t know their facts, references or their history. Perhaps they’ve joined a bandwagon to avoid being forlorn. What would they know anyway? They weren’t even born. But what if the naysayers are right? What if our culture is lost? What if joining the nation has come at a great cost? Yet regardless of statements or the direction one looks, Our province is now part of Canada and that fact’s in the books. Some still wait for rebuttal, as they shout, swear and pray. But Newfoundland’s presence in Canada is now here to stay. Even if history were irrelevant and we ignored any state. Our Confederation with Canada is an eternal debate.
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homefront poetic licence
Trap Skiff By David Boyd, Twillingate, NL From nature she was crafted – Built with pride and skill. Her skin taut fir, her ribs of spruce Grown crooked on some hill.
With little girls in dresses light And men in Sunday best She proudly swung into the wind – No boat could keep abreast.
Patient hands toiled long and hard To fit each piece just right. That she might be as good a boat As ever steamed the bight!
When dark clouds of fall appeared, And days grew short and cool, She lumbered down from the Northern Shore with winter’s wood for fuel.
On the day that she was launched And made her maiden ride, Family and friends she took aboard And rode the waves with pride. Her days of frolic were short lived As she toiled longer and harder. Her belly bulged with shining cod As she steamed in the harbour. And when the week of work was done On Sunday’s summer day, She took the family all aboard For a picnic in the bay!
And now she sits upon the shore A sad, forlorn wreck, That unknowing minds might loosely call An eyesore – derelict! But to me, she’ll always be A legend in her time – A part of our heritage That history should enshrine!
Fishing at Webber’s Bight, near Tizzards Harbour, 1960s www.downhomelife.com
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homefront
reviewed by Denise Flint
Small Game Hunting at the Local Coward Gun Club Megan Gail Coles
House of Anansi Press $22.95 Small Game Hunting at the Local Coward Gun Club revolves around the owners and staff of a downtown St. John’s restaurant as they attempt to get through one blizzardshrouded Valentine’s Day. Everyone is damaged – by their background, by each other and especially by the choices they make as a result of that damage. Women are damaged by men, and men are damaged by raging misogyny. What men are not damaged by is women – because in the world Cole has painted women are small game, weaponless and incapable of penetrating the empathy-free and compassion-free armour the men don’t even realize they wear. This book is not for the faint of heart. Author Megan Gail Coles advises the reader to be brave before the story even starts and there’s a warning for scenes of sexual, physical and psychological violence on the title page similar to those given for movies and TV shows. That warning is not misplaced. Reading this book constitutes emotional assault. At times you want to cringe and look away before the awfulness the main characters (and the reader) are enduring gets even worse. Don’t look away. Coles has written a brilliant, if disturbing, novel. In incompetent hands it might have been disastrous. Coles is anything but incompetent. Her words are strung together like jewels, and there are many, many sentences in this book to be savoured. But what shines through is her tenderness and her understanding. The book is not a comfortable read. Read it anyway.
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Q&A with the Author Denise Flint: There’s a warning on the book’s title page for disturbing content. I’ve never seen this before. Whose decision was that and what’s it all about? Megan Gail Coles: It was a discus-
sion between myself and the publisher because there are a lot of sections in the book that deal with physical and sexual violence, as well as psychological manipulation. The idea is to help, not harm, and I know there are certain sections that would take people to an awful place. The book is very heavily living inside the conditions of aggressive misogyny. To live hyperaware of this would impact on our ability to live in society. I recommend having a self-care plan in place for after – have a cup of tea, take a bath, whatever your version of selfcare is.
DF: Can you explain the title? MGC: There is a practice in less than
ethical game clubs wherein you pin or corral small game to use as target practice. We have phrases we use to portray this, like shooting fish in a barrel. We’re isolated [in Newfoundland and Labrador] and for a very long time we’ve had more women than men. With a skewed demographic you’d think the women would rise up, but the opposite occurs because they’re replaceable and disposable. It’s also a reference to how other people perceive you. A lot of people, mostly men, like to point out that a deer is not small game, which actually proves my point completely because they’re making the assumption that
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I’m not intelligent enough to figure this out. The cover is a trap.
DF: Did writing such a visceral book take an emotional toll? MGC: The short answer is “of course”
because I was basically satched – fully immersed – in all this trauma for three years. It does take a lot of emotional stamina to stay invested, but I have a wonderful support network. I never write anything that doesn’t involve my own blood, sweat and tears. If I expect it of my readers, I need to invest equally or more than they invest. You come through it, and when we get to the other side we have an opportunity to talk about the common racism and misogyny we have in our province. Art is meant to create a shared vocabulary in the hopes of pushing society forward. Living in Newfoundland now is hard, but I don’t want it to be hard indefinitely. I want little girls growing up to not feel this way, and I think it’s the responsibility of the people of the generation before them to make life easier for them.
DF: Is there any hope for the people in this book or are they too far gone? MGC: It’s never too late. The book
has a very undefined ending, but that’s by design. I want everyone to go “What happens next?” We’re responsible for what happens next. There are Irises in all our communities. Are we going to care for them better or not? But I think there’s hope just in the conversation. May 2019
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homefront what odds
a room of one’s own By Paul Warford
Usually, she’s The desk was already there when we moved in, one of those corner deals that makes buttering me a 90-degree angle like a broken finger. The thing up most of the space in the spare room, up to ask me took which we dubbed “the office” – mostly because to do some of the desk. Our new landlord gave us two we could keep the desk for our own use, dangerous options: or he could hack it up with an axe and haul it to physical the dump. We made the desk a part of our family started loading it up with computers and activity, like and jars of spare pens. ziplining. “I need to ask you something,” she says. My
wife, Andie, is kinda like a kid when she’s asking for something she assumes I’m going to turn down. She tries to massage sympathy out of me along the way. “Now, I know you’re not gonna like it, but…” Usually, she’s buttering me up to ask me to do some dangerous physical activity, like ziplining. Her younger sister Sarah is moving to St. John’s with her boyfriend, Chadwick, she says. Well, that’s great! They’re an active, vibrant pair, always eager for a new day so they can carve their path through it. They’re bound to enjoy the energy of downtown and the hiking trails waiting for their muddy boots. “Can they maybe stay in the office while they’re here during the summer? Then they don’t have to look for a sublet and they’ll alleviate rent a little…” I’ll have to think about it. I shared my bedroom with my older brother Brian through our formative years. He wasn’t a fan of the arrangement. Brian is, and always has been, fiercely independent; stringently his own man – even as a boy. As a teenager, Brian really wasn’t struck on having a 12-year-old roommate, but by then at least he was out most of the time.
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He was even more opposed in his younger years, when he had no choice but to hunker down with me and spend the night, week after week. I remember one time, I was probably seven or eight, when I couldn’t fall asleep while my parents had company in. I called pitifully to Mom, hoping she’d hear me and save the day while bringing water. She couldn’t hear me over the socializing, but Brian could, and I was keeping him awake. I can picture him now in the darkness, leaning over the edge of his mattress, his pale fist clenched into a ball while he hissed through his teeth, “Shut up! Shut up!” Oh sure, it was harsh at the time, but I find this hilarious now when I think back. It’s actually a favourite memory from our time in that one room. I moved into a closet in Banff while I lived there. Oh, I didn’t tell you? My best buddy Antoine lived with my best buddy Chris, a couple of morning chefs working at the same hotel as myself. Their little bungalow on Marmot Street was already overcrowded since Antoine was in the large bedroom, while Chris and Jim (another hotel employee) shared the small room, a draped bedsheet acting as their only privacy divider. I used to joke that I should move into the closet since the three of us spent all our time together anyway. Fast-forward a few months and I’m bunking with some guys at the Banff Springs – our employer’s competitor – in their staff accommodation, and www.downhomelife.com
though I’m not an employee of their hotel, I’m okay to stay in their staff chalets as long as the guys who DO work there don’t cause trouble. Then those guys caused trouble and I suddenly found myself on the streets of Banff, surrounded by friends and with nowhere to stay. How does that expression go? “Water water everywhere…” So, I moved into the closet. I made a trade with someone for a single mattress and I slid it into the narrow alcove beneath the stairs leading to Antoine’s upstairs neighbour’s. The closet actually wasn’t bad. I like tight, cozy spaces, so it ticked those boxes, and it was pitch black in there. I couldn’t believe how dark it would get. I could hold my hand in front of my face and not see it on those nights in that bed. I’d wear my headphones and listen intently to my music in the dark, thinking my 20-something thoughts. I’d love to spend a night there now, but those days are long gone. I haven’t seen them in a long time, but Chris and Antoine are still close friends. Alright, I’ve made up my mind: Chadwick and Sarah can stay. I’m going to send this off to my editor, and then I’ll let Andie know. Paul Warford began writing for Downhome to impress his mom and her friends. He writes and performs comedy in Eastern Canada. Follow him on Twitter @paulwarford
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homefront guest column
Co-housing A popular trend that contributes to aging well By Carla MacInnis Rockwell
Co-housing: aging in place, aging together. This trend that originated
in Denmark is gaining popularity around the world. More and more seniors are in platonic co-habitating arrangements, living together to save on costs and stave off loneliness. To me, it makes a lot of sense, but it’s not to be entered into lightly – rather like marriage. It takes commitment and a lot of work each and every day. Communication and compromise are the glue that keeps a relationship intact and going along in a healthy, constructive and productive way. That’s why co-housing makes sense, especially for lifelong friends who believe they’d do better with each other than on their own. Together, they have a better chance of not becoming nursing home statistics. Government, take heed. Real estate developers and builders, listen up. We need to rethink where and how our seniors live. When we lose the supports of the traditional family dynamic, through death or family members moving far 42
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away, we begin to feel the stress that those changes impose upon our daily lives. Our physical and emotional health often takes a hit, and we experience one or more health situations that may not exist were we not on our own. A viable solution is to share the new reality with others, whether a close friend or someone interviewed through the process of finding a housemate or two or even three. Co-housing also means sharing the bills and the responsibilities of the house, going beyond practical financial arrangements. It’s cheaper to live with somebody else, while at the same time contributing to each other’s 1-888-588-6353
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physical and emotional wellness. Sharing and caring together enhances quality of life and puts off an often inevitable transition into a nursing home or assisted living care. Provinces across the country need co-housing, as people currently aging in place are often alone in sprawling homes that are becoming more difficult to maintain. They would be far better served sharing with a longtime friend in a similar situation. The financial health of the province’s systems of care would also improve by being less burdened with cases of single seniors struggling to manage. Co-housing combines the best features of home ownership with the added layers of security, companionship and community spaces in buildings that are on the “campus,” within walking distance. Imagine movie nights and potluck suppers in the community lounge, then returning to your private home with your housemate. You own it. It’s yours. Having places to go and people to see is far better than any anti-anxiety medication or sleeping pill. The possibilities for a long term “people prescription” are endless. I believe that real estate developers would do well to embrace the idea of co-operative housing units, which include all the features critical to safety. Invaluable would be consultations with persons with challenges to daily living who know, based on life experience, what would be needed in a home for seniors who want to age in place. Ask me about kitchens. The cost of purchasing a property in a senior co-housing community is comparable to buying a house in a
traditional community; and buying a home in a newer development, and downsizing, can reduce maintenance and overhead costs such as utility bills. Furthermore, some senior co-housing communities encourage neighbours to share resources such as lawn maintenance equipment. What a great way to meet-and-greet.
Government, take heed. Real estate developers and builders, listen up. We need to rethink where and how our seniors live.
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Lots of communities, especially those designated as “university towns,” are well suited to multi-generational co-housing. Friendships across generations are critical to emotional health and wellness – ask any senior with grandchildren. Co-housing with age-related peers and multi-generational co-housing both contribute to improved physical health and reduce the number of seniors living in poverty. In my view, cohousing is necessary for survival, particularly for those at-risk populations who would benefit from a sustained people connection. To learn more, visit Canada Co-housing Network (www.cohousing.ca). For myself, if I were fortunate enough to match with a compatible housemate, I’d certainly be amenable to opening the doors of Chez Rockwell to a roomie. Must love dogs! Carla MacInnis Rockwell is a freelance writer and disability rights advocate living outside Fredericton, NB with her aging Australian silky terrier and a rambunctious Maltese. carmacrockwell@xplornet.ca May 2019
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features
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From funny, to romantic, to just plain perfect, readers share their proposal stories.
In February
we launched a fun contest to win a Romantic Night for Two at the beautiful Murray Premises Hotel in downtown St. John’s, our generous sponsor. Downhome staff had a hard time picking just one winner, reviewing stories that made us laugh and sometimes tear up a little. It was ultimately a close race, but it was the sheer amount of preparation, the use of volunteers, and the fabulous execution of one unforgettable proposal that put it over the top. Congratulations, Kimberly Higdon (and now husband Adam)! Read on for Kimberly’s engagement story and the runners-up in our contest. Thanks to everyone who entered, and congratulations on all your beautiful, unique love stories!
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! r e n n i W
Music and Moonlight On our four-year anniversary, I thought we were going out for supper to celebrate. Little did I know, my boyfriend Adam and his friends planned (and worked hard in the freezing cold) to create the most amazing night... After supper at a restaurant in St. John’s, Adam said, “Let’s go for a drive!” We headed up towards Cape Spear (the place where we first really met each other, I realized later...) When we arrived at Cape Spear, it was very cold, but the night sky was so clear that you could see all the stars. It was so pretty. Adam said, “Hey, let’s get out for a minute!” and he led me down to a clear area near a big rock. It was really dark, so I couldn’t see anything around me. Adam showed me what the Big Dipper looks like in the sky, and as I was trying to find it myself, I looked behind me and Adam was on the ground reaching for something. He then started to play guitar! What?! Where did the guitar come from? Adam says, “Funny how there just happens to be a guitar behind this rock, hey? It’s a left-handed one, too!” (He plays left-handed guitar.) By this time I was really wondering what was going on! Adam started singing “Safe and Sound” by Hawksley Workman (one of my favourites). He started to tear up a little... His hands must have been frozen playing out in the cold, but he did such an amazing job! And then at the end of the song he changed the words from “you’re safe and sound with me” to “Kim, will you www.downhomelife.com
marry me?” Be still my heart... He pulled out the most absolutely gorgeous ring – and I could actually see it in the dark because Adam’s genius brother Justin had installed lights inside the box. According to my friend Deanna, my face was glowing when the box opened because of the lights in it, and you could see my reaction all the way back to the parking lot. (I didn’t know anyone was there! They are so smart... They even got a video!) I found out later that Justin, Deanna and our friend Andrew had been working hard all day to help Adam make the night so special. I was in a little bit of shock while this was happening, so Adam had to ask “Well...?” And I said, “Oh my God, yes!” And we hugged and then Adam realized he should put the ring on my finger. I didn’t know what hand, but he knew. Then, as if that’s not amazing enough, there’s more... Huge fireworks started going off right above us. Justin and Andrew were hiding behind another huge rock the whole time and set them off after I said “Yes.” What a night it was back on December 30, 2014! Kimberly Higdon May 2019
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He Said Yes!
We had travelled to Las Vegas, me carting around this beautiful vintage men’s engagement ring with stealth. We had booked a day trip, a helicopter ride into the Grand Canyon. Being a flight attendant by trade, I was used to the turbulence and was wide-eyed, taking in all the view. I looked over at Brandon, who was simply staring at his shoes, very motion sick. While watching him turn ten shades of green, I was nervous that my grand gesture was going to be spoiled. After a beautiful tour, we finally landed in the Canyon, where there was champagne and cheese waiting for us at a picnic table. We sat and enjoyed until he was feeling himself again. I then asked the pilot if he would please take a photo of us standing with the vast view of the Canyon behind us. Brandon, oblivious at this moment, posed for the photo as I got down on one knee and took out the ring. I had a speech prepared; however, I only managed to get out: “I’ve never been more sure of something in my life. Brandon, will you marry me?” He said YES! (Thankfully, or that would have been an awkward helicopter ride home.) We plan to marry on September 26, 2020, and it can’t come soon enough! Bree Parsons (soon to be Hillier)
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Big Moment in the Big Apple
My only condition for a proposal was for it not to be on Christmas, or my birthday. I had barely looked at engagement rings before, and I had never really even thought about how it would go down. So in August 2018, I had a much anticipated birthday trip planned for New York City. At this time we had been together for nine years and 10 months; we’re high school sweethearts. Looking back I really should have expected it was going to happen soon, but it didn’t really cross my mind. We arrived Monday, and Wednesday was my birthday. Our second day in NYC, Tuesday, was dedicated solely for Central Park and the American Museum of Natural History. After the museum, my next goal was lunch – until my boyfriend said he had a “surprise” planned for me. My initial thought was, “Well I’m hungry, so does it involve food?” He surprised me with a horse and carriage ride through Central Park, which I had assumed was for my birthday. We get off the horse and carriage to take in the view of the famous Bow Bridge and when I turn around to make my way back, he’s on one knee. I can’t insert my first initial thought here because it may have included some inappropriate language. Once I realized exactly what was happening, I was dumbfounded. A hidden photographer also caught my reaction on camera: a lot of ugly laughing and happy crying went on. Being in a strange city and having some random guy jumping out of the bushes to take your picture wasn’t my finest moment. The whole ordeal was priceless, and so were the pictures to follow. Colleen Martin
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May 2019
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Timing is Everything
Stole the Show
My amazing fiancé made our proposal a night to remember for sure! My favourite Canadian music band is Honeymoon Suite, and he took it upon himself to contact the band and set up the shock of my life. About a third of the way through the concert, lead singer Johnnie Dee spoke of how he loves coming to Newfoundland and has made many friends here... including a new one. “Is there a Mark White here?” And in the blink of an eye I was staring up on stage at my boyfriend and my idols! I was dumbfounded as to what was going on until my man took the mic and proceeded to tell the crowd how he met me and how his life has changed for the better. He then pulled me up on stage and got down on his knee and asked me to marry him. Of course I said yes! Denise Holloway
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I immigrated to Ontario (from Ireland) in 2011. I wasn’t long off the plane before I met my “now wife,” Adrienne. She was also living in Ontario but was from Newfoundland. In the summer of 2013 we had our first trip to her hometown of Springdale in central Newfoundland. What a time we had! Boating, fishing, cabin, ATVs, hunting, food, music and, above all, amazing people. I almost felt ashamed that I never knew of this place. Everyone kept telling me it’s a lot like Ireland, but it’s not – it’s so much better, so much freedom to go and do the things you enjoy. I was hooked. After going back to Ontario, all I could think about was moving to Newfoundland and eventually I convinced my girlfriend to make the move. On April Fool’s Day 2015 we made it to the ferry in North Sydney, with two cats, a turtle, some luggage and a diamond ring in tow. The ring was secretly in my pocket. I had no plan on how to propose. On the ferry we left the cats in the car but took the turtle up to our cabin. Adrienne went into the
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washroom to take care of the turtle. That’s when I decided this is it! I’m going to do it! So waiting on my girlfriend to come out of the washroom, I got down on one knee with the ring out. My heart was about to beat out of my chest I was so nervous. But then, she called my name asking for a paper towel. I didn’t answer, so she called again, and still, I didn’t answer. Then, she came busting out the door losing her mind, swearing at me, with her hands completely covered in turtle poop! I didn’t know what to do. In that split second I was deciding if I should propose, laugh or swear back for ruining the biggest moment of my life! Then all of sudden the tears of happiness started. Phew! I didn’t even have to ask and she said yes! She even had her turtle poop-covered hand sticking out, looking to put the ring on right away! At least it went on easily. Four years later life on the Rock is going great. We had an amazing wedding July 2017 in her parents’ backyard with all our family and friends, with no less than 27 Irish people getting Screeched-in. Now, along with our two cats and turtle, we have a dog and a beautiful baby girl. Tony Hughes
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Almost Lost It
I had just worked a 10-hour shift and it was midnight when Chris picked me up from work one evening. He had made me some quesadillas and I was anxious to get home and eat them, when he asked if I wanted to go for a little drive first. I grudgingly agreed and we went for a drive around Quidi Vidi Lake. He pulled over by the bandstand and immediately got out of the car and went around to remove a couple of items from the trunk. I had not been expecting a proposal but immediately knew something was up. I watched from the car as he made his way down to the bandstand to set up. Once he was finished setting up, I noticed him on his hands and knees looking for something in the grass on the pathway next to the bandstand. After about five minutes he came up to the car and opened my door. The look on his face was of total despair. He said, “I lost the ring.” I swear my heart almost came out of my chest as I processed what he had just said. Before I even had a chance to speak he said, “Hold on, I’ll try looking for it again. STAY HERE!” After a couple of prayers to St. Anthony and holding my breath for what seemed like forever, he came back up and opened my door again. This time he had a huge smile and I knew he had found it. He took my hand and led me down the path in the pitch black. In the middle of the bandstand he had set up a blanket, a candle in this huge glass vase and a bottle of champagne with two glasses. I could tell his nerves were starting to get the better of him when he got down on one knee and opened a little black box to ask me to marry him. We just celebrated our 10-year anniversary and our family now includes two beautiful children. We couldn’t be happier – and, yes, he is still as romantic and clumsy as he was that dark, windy night. Laura Percy
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Actually, our icebergs are just the tip of the iceberg.
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features
THE SCENE looks like it could be inside any police headquarters: a woman is thanking a detective and his partner, Rex. She crouches down to look Rex in the eye to give a heartfelt thanks. Rex is not his real name; it’s Diesel vom Burgimwald. He’s an actor. Oh, and he’s a dog.
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The stars of “Hudson and Rex”; John Reardon (Charlie Hudson) and Diesel vom Burgimwald (Rex). It’s early March and I’m on the set of “Hudson & Rex,” a new TV show that’s set to debut in a few short weeks on Citytv. Thanks to great set design, what looks like an office is actually inside a warehouse on a quiet road in Mount Pearl, where much of the show is being filmed. Filming started back in October and is due to conclude this month. “Hudson & Rex” is the story of Detective Charlie Hudson (played by John Reardon) and Rex the police dog teaming up to solve crimes in the city of St. John’s, NL. It premiered in Canada on March 25, but its real debut was in Austria in 1994, where it aired as “Kommissar Rex.” “We are the English debut, so that’s what we’re pretty excited about,” says Paul Pope of Pope Productions, who’s co-producing the show with Shaftesbury Films in Toronto. 54
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Filming an action scene for “Hudson & Rex” On the day I visited the “Hudson & Rex” set, Paul estimated there were about 90 people working there. They were from the camera department, sound department, lighting, grips, make-up, hair and wardrobe, sets and props, a full dog team, the transportation department that moves people around, as well as the actors. Those are just the departments working on set that day. Paul says they also have a production office filled with staff and there’s always prep work being done somewhere. “We’re doing 16 episodes, so we shoot in blocks. There’s always two in production and two being prepped,” Paul says. Plus, there are people in the accounting and writing departments, as well as their other building in Mount Pearl where all the sets are constructed. After filming, the post-production work brings in another flood of contributors, such as editors, music composers and dialogue editors. All www.downhomelife.com
in all, Paul says there are approximately 200 people working on “Hudson & Rex.” When I finally meet the show’s costar, Diesel (Rex), it’s already been a long day for the newbie actor. This is his first acting job, as he comes from a show dog background. So he tolerates my scratches, probably pretty used to the adoration of fans, and soon lies down on the floor like a good dog.
Big economic role The film and TV industry gives work to a highly skilled and young workforce, says Paul, and locally made productions like “Rex,” with a global audience, help promote Newfoundland and Labrador. “This show has already been sold in a lot of Europe… We’re talking mostly non-English markets to date,” Paul says. “They’re gonna see St. John’s for the first time.” That attention can turn into new May 2019
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revenue for the province. As executive director and film commissioner of the Newfoundland and Labrador Film Development Corporation (NLFDC), Dorian Rowe is primarily focused on the economic benefits when it comes to film production. One of the crown corporation’s main roles is to make investments in local productions, mostly through tax credits and the equity investment program. There are also professional development and sponsorships programs. “If the province invests a dollar in the film incentive, the result is that in terms of [money] spent here on film and television, four dollars come back. So that’s new money in the local economy… the money that’s used to invest in film and television and production,” Dorian explains. There are workers, such as crew, who are directly employed by the industry. But there are also those 56
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who are more tangentially benefiting from filming activities, like a car rental agency or a hardware store where lumber and materials are bought to build a set. Through his own experience as an actor travelling for work, Kevin Hanchard (who plays Superintendent Joseph Donovan in “Hudson & Rex”) has noticed the benefits that follow when a television production sets up shop in a town. “The number of hotel rooms we book, the number of bed and breakfasts that we use, the locations we have to pay people for to use, the number of taxis; it’s huge, it’s massive,” Kevin says. “So it’s really a boom to any town, any city, any area that you come into.” Dorian says this summer NLFDC will reach a milestone since the corporation was founded back in 1997. “We’re going to surpass the $500-million mark in terms of total production activity since the 1-888-588-6353
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corporation was started. So that would be about 6,000 full-time employment equivalencies over that whole time. To me, that’s a megaproject right there. That’s a big deal.” He also notes that what’s made this province’s industry pretty unique is that the majority of the bigger projects have been spearheaded by locals, from producers to the writers,
“St. John’s is a very unique landscape and you can’t mistake it,” says Vancouver-born Mayko Nguyen, who plays Dr. Sarah Truong, the chief of forensics in “Hudson & Rex.” such as the case with the 2016 international award-winning movie Maudie. “It’s really, really interesting that the majority of what we do is local, has been locally driven. The creative has been sort of developed locally. So we’re really strong there. I think another important point is that film and television is a very strong export industry,” Dorian argues. When it comes to filming in Canada, cities like Toronto or Vancouver often end up being stand-ins for other metropolitan locales, like New York. But “Hudson & Rex” is set in St. John’s and viewers will be quick to notice familiar locations. For instance, MUN’s Bruneau Centre is the exterior for the St. John’s police department headquarters. “St. John’s is a very unique landscape and you can’t mistake it,” says Vancouver-born Mayko Nguyen, who plays Dr. Sarah Truong, the chief of forensics in “Hudson & Rex.” www.downhomelife.com
“There’s something quite gratifying about watching something and then recognizing your home place. Outside of the economic aspect of it in terms of employing people and getting jobs, there’s something also about just having your home seen and recognized,” she says.
The history of filming in NL Filmmaking in Newfoundland and Labrador goes back further than you might think, and cameras made their way into the dominion in the early 20th century. While many people can name off The Viking (1931) and The Adventure of Faustus Bidgood (1986), “there’s a little bit of an untold history,” Paul Pope explains. After Joey Smallwood became premier of this new province in 1949, he created an elaborate film studio with its own mixing theatre and editing rooms. It was called Atlantic Films and mostly produced Newfoundland tourism pieces. John Williams (who’d go on to compose for Star Wars) wrote his first score for an Atlantic Films production in 1952, while he was posted in St. John’s with the US Army. Memorial University was also deeply involved in film in the 1960s and had an enormous production facility along with its own TV channel. The local CBC network was also prolific in the ’70s, “so there has been a long tradition of storytelling and moviemaking in the province,” Paul points out. Around this time, a cultural revolution was sweeping across Canada. Co-ops were being formed, with independent artists coming together from a variety of backgrounds like theatre, visual arts and film. It was in May 2019
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Classic Newfoundland film productions include 1931’s The Viking (left) and the 1986 production The Adventures of Faustis Bidgood. 1975 that the Newfoundland Independent Film Makers Co-Op (NIFCO) got its start, says executive director Jennice Ripley. “I would say that everybody you can think of who’s working in the industry in Newfoundland or away has gotten either their start at NIFCO or has certainly been nurtured by NIFCO along their career path,” she says. Recognizable names like Sherry White, Adriana Maggs and Mark O’Brien are NIFCO alumni, and Paul Pope is a founding member. Fast-forward four decades and NIFCO is still standing and keeping to its mandate. “We helped to develop the growth of the industry here, and we have stayed as a kind of central and vital hub for the industry. So what we say at NIFCO is that nobody really grows up and leaves NIFCO, which is unusual for a film co-op,” Jennice says. NIFCO gives people a foot in the door to the industry. They offer mentorship, the resources to make short films and a way to learn the basics of filmmaking. There are also senior programs for those who already have some experience through their Picture Start program. People can also 58
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rent equipment and NIFCO offers a sliding price scale, so if an emerging filmmaker has a small budget, they can still have access to high quality equipment and post-production facilities. The industry changed again in the 1990s when there was an explosion of new TV channels and therefore more content needed to fill those new channels. Paul saw an opportunity and formed Pope Productions in 1998, and has gone on to work on Gemini-winning films, including My Left Breast. “You need something in development, you need something in production, and you need something in the market,” Paul recites. “And that’s kinda the lifecycle. And that’s what Pope Productions has been doing for 20 years or more.” And right now, that “something in development” is “Hudson & Rex.”
The future of film in NL According to Dorian, the local film industry had been picking up the pace even before the highly successful “Republic of Doyle.” There was a steady growth with projects like Random Passage, The Shipping News 1-888-588-6353
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More local projects means talent stays in the province instead of needing to head to larger centres for a career in film prodcution. NIFCO photo and Above and Beyond, “so a lot of that had to do with building infrastructure and building crew and so on,” he says. Work on a film can last six weeks, whereas a TV show can go on for months and years if the show gets multiple seasons. Longer projects mean crews can gain experience and stay in the province. NIFCO’s Jennice says, “I think the growth of the industry has been a success story since the beginning.” Through the late ‘80s until the mid2000s, there was a focus on miniseries like Random Passage and feature films, but not television series. “We were always kinda trying to grab that brass ring when we did a lot of pilots, we did a lot of limited series, but it wasn’t really until ‘Republic of Doyle’ and, subsequently, ‘Frontier’ and now ‘Rex,’ that we kinda reached a critical mass and an economic stability in the industry. And that’s what a television series does for any industry in any city.” With this maturation, it means more people can stay in the province www.downhomelife.com
and still work in their field. However, as Paul notes, there are always going to be some people who want to leave for the bigger places, like Toronto and Hollywood. But at least now there is some choice to stay.
Lights, camera, action! Back on the set for “Hudson & Rex,” Paul and I are standing off to the side as the crew scurry about with their own roles as they get ready to film another scene. While we wait, Paul takes me aside and delights in pointing out a little bit of movie magic: while the room looks like a regular office, he shows me that the back windows of the office actually pivot so they can get rid of reflections. As I leave the set, I reflect on something uplifting Paul had said about the future of his chosen industry. “The more production that we could encourage and the more production companies we have doing this, it would be better. It’s truly a case of, you know, when the tide comes in, all boats rise.” May 2019
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Like all the best meetings,
the Terra Nova Grannies (TNG) begin their recent Scrabble fundraiser planning session with snacks, tea and coffee. And laughter, of course. We’re in Kay Matthews’ cozy living room in St. John’s, NL. There’s an assortment of homemade oatmeal cookies, Nanaimo bars and chocolate treats placed on the coffee table, in easy-reaching distance from the “grannies” seated on comfortable sofas and chairs. Kay, a retired nurse and nursing professor, leads the meeting. She has a formal agenda, and there’s a lot to accomplish in an hour, but you can tell this is a motivated bunch. The Grannies are a group of 40-50 grandmothers and grand “others” in St. John’s who range in age from 6094. Some have known each other for many years; they met as young mothers, founding the Children’s Centre, where their own children attended pre-school. The women bonded over a shared interest in advocacy, global issues and professional connections in health, nursing and the arts. As the Grannies they’ve been getting together since 2006, raising money and awareness for Top: Kay Matthews, founding member of the Terra Nova Grannies Marcia Porter photo Opposite: Terra Nova Grannies Kay (sitting) and Phyllis at one of their Scrabble fundraisers Jennifer Whitfield photo www.downhomelife.com
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the Stephen Lewis Foundation’s Grandmothers to Grandmothers Campaign. There’s now a second granny group based on the west coast in Stephenville. The Grandmothers to Grandmothers Campaign works with communitybased organizations in Africa, helping grannies in countries hardest hit by HIV and AIDS – countries such as Botswana, Kenya, Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Tanzania and Malawi, to name a few. With very little support, African grandmothers are caring for and raising millions of children orphaned by AIDS, with sometimes as many as 10-15 children in one household. So how did those grannies a world away get the attention of Kay and her wide circle of friends? During a visit in 2006 to see her daughter and grandchildren in Toronto, she met a “mainland” granny at a church event who told her all about the Stephen Lewis Foundation and its work with African grandmothers. A longtime advocate for children’s and women’s health, Kay couldn’t wait to tell her friends about it. She shared what she’d learned of the project one evening at her “nonreading” book club (as she fondly calls it). Everyone loved it, and some already knew about the Foundation’s work. Immediately they established the Terra Nova Grannies. For the first couple of years the Grannies didn’t hold events, instead donating $60 each per year to the Foundation. “We kept getting emails from the Foundation’s regional (office) about events run by other groups, and we were sort of shamed into doing our first walk,” Kay says 62
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with a laugh. “And that’s how we started.” The Grannies still hold a yearly walk in June, but their fundraising efforts really took off with their first Scrabble fundraiser five years ago. “We didn’t know how many [Scrabble] addicts we had [until then],” says Sharon Buehler, a retired professor in Memorial University’s Faculty of Medicine. “They’d like us to have Scrabble every month!” Their Tea and Scrabble for a Good Cause at the Lantern, where it’s still held in St. John’s, attracts as many as 100 Scrabble players, including local CBC personality Anthony Germain and Lorraine Michael of the NDP. The two became fierce, but friendly, competitors, and regular participants. In fact, Anthony regularly emcees the event and brings along some CBC swag for prizes and giveaways. Scrabble players bring their own boards, and for a $15 admission fee get the chance to play their favourite game with old friends and new, while supporting a great cause. Tea, coffee, and homemade cakes, cookies and squares, provided by the Grannies, are included in the price of admission. A sales table and raffle help increase the amount of money raised, and Kay gets a chuckle from the Grannies when she admits, “We sort of try to encourage donations, even if people can’t come.” This year’s big game takes place April 13, 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. at The Lantern (run by the Presentation Sisters of the Blessed Virgin Mary) on Barnes Road. “The Presentation Sisters are great supporters of the TNG and have 1-888-588-6353
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CBC personality Anthony Germain is not one to pass up a good game of Scrabble and is a regular at the Grannies’ annual fundraiser. Jennifer Whitfield photo
raised thousands of dollars for the Grandmothers program through their successful ‘Dare to Dine’ fundraisers,” says Sharon. Each Scrabble event contributes about $2,000 to the Grandmothers to Grandmothers Campaign. With two Scrabble games per year, a walk and the proceeds from the fundraising dinner The Lantern holds every year, these Grannies estimate they’re sending about $10,000 annually to support the African grandmothers. They’ve raised well over $60,000 since their beginning at that “nonreading” book club 12 years ago. “We raise the money, but the Foundation vets the projects and follows up to see how the projects are doing and what they’ve done,” says Frankie O’Neill, another of the original Grannies. “They never tell the [African] grannies what to do; it’s the grannies who tell the Foundation what they need.” Over the years projects have covered counselling and education about HIV prevention, care and www.downhomelife.com
treatment; distribution of food, medication and other necessities; homebased health care; helping orphans and vulnerable children access education, all while supporting grandmothers caring for their orphaned grandchildren. As orphaned children grow into teenagers and young adults, the Grandmothers program is evolving to focus on projects that help build stronger, more resilient communities, and support women and youth. But the Terra Nova Grannies’ work to support the Stephen Lewis Foundation and the African grannies isn’t simply about raising funds and awareness; their regular meetings mean something more to these women. “For me, being involved with such a collegial group of friends is great, and working together for a really good cause that we can all relate to keeps us involved and mentally and physically healthy,” says Kay. Sharon agrees, adding, “Addressing social isolation is a key issue in aging well.” May 2019
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IN NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR,
a shed is at once a giant toolbox and a cozy shack. Here friends, family and neighbours come to get this doodad or that whatnot for their latest projects – especially when the local hardware store is closed (if there is one). Other times, people pop in to lend a hand with your latest project – mending a net, piecing together a lobster pot, framing a boat, crafting a model lighthouse. If it’s your shed, then you’re likely to crack a beer or two in return for the help. As work dovetails into play, the shed reaches its maximum potential, morphing from just a shed into a downhome shed party. This is a common experience for fourth-generation fisherman Lee Tremblett, a 42-year-old whose shed-to-house ratio is enviable. Any self-respecting Newfoundlander and Labradorian might make do with a standard one-to-one ratio, but Lee boasts three sheds to his one house in Bonavista. His primary shed is the affixed garage to his bungalow-style home. “My shed’s bigger than my house, and this house isn’t small,”
Lee says, chuckling. This is the space where he sews mackerel nets, stretches out and mends gillnets, assembles lobster pots and takes many other preparatory steps required for his work as an inshore fisherman. On the weekends, though, this shed quickly segues from a working space to a socializing one. “If I have a few people over, we’ll be in the house at first or on the patio,” Lee says. “But then, eventually, it always
Left: Eugene (Gene) Maloney works on his latest boat in his Bay Bulls shed. Wayne Maloney photo Above: Sheds, like these on the Northern Peninsula, are central to rural life. Jennifer Thornhill Verma photo www.downhomelife.com
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(Above) Inside one of three sheds in Bonavista owned by fisherman Lee Tremblett (below right). Lee Tremblett photos
ends up being spilled over to the shed. I’ll have the stereo going and there’s a little fridge there, so we’ll have a few beers.” Shed culture – it’s a thing here. And locals take it seriously. So seriously, in fact, several communities host festivals prominently featuring shed party events, including the evening shed crawl of the Feile Tilting Festival on Fogo Island, and the Summer Mummer Shed Crawl in Burlington. At least one local radio station hosts a weekly show named after the shed party, taking song requests from folks partying in their own sheds; and there are Facebook groups dedicated to the sub-culture. The Newfie Shed Party group has almost 23,000 members. This outbuilding obsession has even influenced Parliament Hill, where last year’s second annual Newfoundland Shed Party made headlines when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau reportedly outdid the actual New66
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foundlanders in the room singing Great Big Sea’s “Rant and Roar.” Sheds are semi-outdoor spaces perfect for casual, laidback entertainment. Beyond having a drink, they are places to play cards, shoot darts and listen to a live local band, all while leaving your boots on and possibly firing up the barbecue. And party clean-up is a breeze. The place is often a mess to begin, so why even bother? The clutter is nothing to be ashamed about – it’s the hallmark of 1-888-588-6353
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a true workspace: sawdust, nuts, bolts, whatever. It’s also in the mess where the stories live. Items beg to be handled and questioned “What’s this?” On the shelves in Lee’s garage, for example, are the usual clamps, jiggers, reels, twine and tools, but there are also three sets of antlers (deer, moose and caribou), two model wooden boats (a schooner and sailboat), an old red kerosene lamp and metal tins (Premium Plus crackers and Robin Hood flour), a wooden cross marked “Jesus Saves” and a pair of Minke whale ribs. “Those bones come from a shed out in Robert’s Arm,” Lee says, telling me how he helped clean up a shed slated
to be torn down, its contents taken to the local dump. “I couldn’t see them disappear to a landfill.” Next door, Lee has a fishing store, once belonging to his grandfather. It’s filled to the brim with four generations of fishing supplies, furniture and tools. Over the years, the space has evolved from a saltbox house to a horse-barn (an old horseshoe is still visible under thick layers of white paint) to its present-day fishing store. The second floor of the shed was partially levelled, creating a loft. Some might have called it a twine loft, only there’s no room for mending nets there now with the gear that’s jammed in from floorboard to ceiling rafter.
Lee Tremblett’s sheds all have their purposes - one for storage, one for working, and one for housing his ATV and snowmobile. Lee Tremblett photos
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More recently, Lee purchased a third shed, across the road from his house, where he stores his ATV and snowmobile. “The original shed, that was my grandfather’s and that’s just a store now,” Lee says, laying out how he uses each of his three sheds. “And then the one I’m working out of now [the garage], that’s the main one. Then, the new one now is a lot cleaner – it’s just I haven’t got generations of junk in there yet.”
From Shed to Store to Stage
Store is another word for shed – as in a place to store your belongings or gear. Stage is another popular term, reserved for a shed on a wharf, where fish was traditionally offloaded and processed. In the community of Bay Bulls on the Avalon Peninsula, I’m standing
near the location of one such fisherman’s stage. Here we have the old fishing premises of fifth-generation fisherman turned boat-builder Eugene (Gene) Maloney. The 87year-old took an early retirement from the fishery when the government put a moratorium on northern cod on July 2, 1992. His fishing premises now houses Captain Wayne’s Marine Excursions, his son’s whale and bird watching tour boat company. “I had flakes over there, had one, two, three flakes,” Gene says, pointing in the general vicinity from one of his sheds, next to his house, south and up over the hill above the harbour. “And boy, we had wire flakes everywhere because we had fish on them over and over. We’d come in with a load of fish, and then the kids would cut out the tongues and tend the tables.” The excitement of those days is
Eugene (Gene) Maloney takes a spell on a traditional barrel chair in one of his sheds. Jennifer Thornhill Verma photo 68
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Since the cod moratorium of 1992, Gene has turned his attention to boat building. Wayne Maloney photo
palpable in Gene’s words, but the struggles are equally present. As we talk about the days following the cod moratorium, Gene pauses, holds his breath and presses his eyelids for a slow blink, as if to let his heart break another time. Those were the days when his livelihood was yanked out from under him. All your pride, all your life, everything you’ve ever known until one day you’re asked to stay off the water, he says. For Gene, his shed became all the more important as the site of his next career – boat-building. Like Lee, Gene boasts three sheds. Two are side-by-side on top of the hill, while the other is at the base of the hill, beside the driveway. His house is nestled partway up the hill on the land in between. I’m inside one of the sheds on top of the hill and the smell of sawdust overwhelms. There are piles of the stuff – the www.downhomelife.com
latest lot from Gene’s 72nd boat. Over 60 years, Gene has built every kind of wooden boat there is: dories, rowboats, speedboats, skiffs and longliners. The tools of Gene’s trade are everywhere: saws, levels, rulers, among various bits and pieces hanging on the walls and the windowsills and anywhere there’s space. In the rafters is wood, some new from the hardware store, some scrap that will be put to good use eventually. Nothing goes to waste here – and that’s another part of shed culture. Everything – even the oldest, out-of-date looking things – can have a renewed purpose if stored in a Newfoundland and Labrador shed. If it’s not immediately obvious what the purpose of a found object is, then chances are you simply haven’t had it long enough to figure it out. Meanwhile, over in the far side of May 2019
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Wayne Maloney photo
This 13-ft. rodney was the 71st boat built by Eugene (Gene) Maloney (left), who was then 85. Suspended from this high ceiling, it makes an unconventional, but impressive, fixture in this room. Jennifer Thornhill Verma photo
Gene’s shed is a woodstove with a metal wall behind it, serving as something of a running diary board. There, he has scrawled in black marker what looks to be hundreds of dates, weather and otherwise noteworthy special events. Some of the entries read: “STORM BIG SEA DEC 21 RAIN WIND 100K,” “XMAS DAY 2010 RAIN 10CM,” “FIRST BOAT IN 2012 JAN 29.” There’s a collection of news clippings, too. One features stages and fishing boats of fishermen in the area before wind lifted the structures into the harbour and ice crushed the rest in a particularly bad storm on February 3, 1987. The place certainly has character 70
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and as if to prove it, outside we find Joe the seagull. “I’ve had a seagull for 28 years,” Gene says. Joe is just the latest one, having showed up a couple of years ago. “All last winter, he was there on the roof of the shed, and I was working away, and I fed him every morning. I fed him this morning – gave him some scraps and whatever I had. He’ll stay now until coming on dark. He’ll be there tomorrow morning at dawn.” There’s a deep joy in these sheds, where the idea of “all work and no play” is flipped on its head – around here, it’s some work and all play. So, call up your family and friends, and get to a shed nearest you. The real Newfoundland and Labrador awaits. 1-888-588-6353
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Tell us, when shall these things be, and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and the end of the age This question was put to Jesus a few days before his crucifixion. The following are some of the answers to that question as given by Jesus.
1. Nation shall rise against nations, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines and pestilences, (plagues) and earthquakes, in diverse places. Matthew 24:7, Mark 13:8, Luke 21:10-11 2. And this gospel (good news) of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come. Matthew 24:14, Mark 13:10 3. When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place (whoso readeth, let him understand). Matthew 24:15, Mark 13:14, Luke 21:20 (Also Daniel 12:11, 2nd Thessalonians 2:3-11, Revelations 13:5-8) 4. For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days be shortened, there should no flesh be saved. Matthew 24:21-22, Mark 13:19, Luke 21:22 5. Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light. Matthew 24:29, Mark 13:24, Luke 21:25 6. And then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. Matthew 24:30, Mark 13:26, Luke 21:27 7. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. Revelations 21:4 This page is sponsored by an anonymous reader
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Ever wonder
what’s happening in the woods when no one is watching? Do you question how many wild animals are really roaming the area because you never encounter them during your frequent hikes? Something as simple as a trail camera can answer those questions and provide hours of wildlife entertainment, so Newman Anstey discovered over the last few months. Newman recently shared some candid moose and caribou photos on DownhomeLife.com and we reached out to him to learn more about them. Newman is from Cottlesville in Notre Dame Bay, NL. He works with the aquaculture branch of the provincial Department of Fisheries and Land Resources, and he is a licensed guide.
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“Little over a year ago, my brother suggested that I should purchase a few trail cameras to place out to use for scouting purposes,” Newman writes via email, adding that he very quickly became hooked by the results. “To be honest with you, I was amazed at the amount of activity the cameras actually picked up this past year.” He’s captured the day and night activities of bears, caribou, foxes, rabbits and moose – mostly moose, he says. He placed his first cameras on the Birchy Bay access road near Lewisporte in April 2018. This past winter he installed a few in the Cottlesville area. He makes sure to place them in areas away from human traffic and checks on them every couple of
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weeks, swapping out the SD cards and bringing the used ones home to look over on his computer. “The cameras can be configured in several modes [including video or stills]. I usually set mine up for a three-photo burst with a five-second delay between bursts. Sometimes you can get 100-plus photos of the same moose if he happens to stand there for a few minutes or travel back and forth the trail to water or to feed during that week. Lots of these photos are garbage pictures of moose parts etc., but you do get some really nice shots,” Newman writes. Some of those images he has shared on Facebook and DownhomeLife.com. It’s interesting to look at some of the videos and photos he’s gotten
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with his trail cameras, including a momma moose and baby feeding at night, and a couple of caribou making their way down a snowy trail. They are seen truly in their element, unaware of anyone watching – the most natural kind of wildlife imagery. Newman says you don’t need to spend a lot of money to have fun with trail cameras. Fairly inexpensive ones ($100-$200) can be bought at Canadian Tire or online at Cabelas, Amazon or other retailers. He suggests setting them up away from high traffic areas and checking on them regularly. By placing them in an area you like to hike, ride or snowshoe anyway, even if you don’t get a lot of animal images you’ll get a great day in the woods out of it.
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We’re wasting no time preparing for the next
Downhome Calendar, . . . and neither should you! Submit your best photos of scenery, activities and icons that illustrate the down-home lifestyle. We’re looking for a variety of colourful subjects – outports, heritage animals, laundry lines, historic sites, seascapes, hilltop views and so much more – and photos from all four seasons. In addition to free calendars and a one-year subscription to Downhome for all those chosen for the calendar, one lucky winner will receive a free trip for four aboard O’Brien’s famous whale and bird boat tours!
Here’s how to submit: Online: www.downhomelife.com/calendar By mail: Downhome Calendar Contest 43 James Lane St. John’s, NL A1E 3H3
Digital photos must be at least 300 dpi, files sizes of about 1MB Must be original photos or high quality copies. 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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Go
May 3-7
May 10-12
Various Locations, NL
West Bay, NS
Hunger, a play written by Meghan Greeley and directed by Michael Waller, explores the relationship between selflessness and survival through the familiar story of people risking their own safety to hide and protect an oppressed group. And then the story takes a turn to the unexpected. The performance plays at Arts and Culture Centres in Corner Brook (May 3), Gander (May 5) and Grand Falls-Windsor (May 7).
If you’re looking to get away for a weekend, and like music, then the Dundee Resort Folk Music Festival is for you. Taking place at Dundee Resort in West Bay, NS, the weekend starts with a Friday night jam session, continues with two musical workshops on Saturday, and wraps up with a Saturday night concert by Dave Gunning and JP Cormier. For tickets and more info, visit DundeeResort.com/resort/packages.
May 13, 14
St. John’s, Carbonear, NL May 4
Carbonear, NL Have you ever wanted to embrace your inner Bob Ross and go sit by the pond on a summer’s day to paint the scene? If this sounds like something you’d like to do, but you can’t paint, consider attending Merrill Sooley’s intro to oil painting workshop at Ocean View Art Gallery. 78
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Irish musician Finbar Furey is crossing the Atlantic to entertain St. John’s music lovers at Holy Heart Theatre on May 13. The singer/songwriter/multiinstrumentalist has been performing since the late 1960s, and has made an impression on generations of musicians, including U2’s Bono and Shane McGowan of The Pogues. Furey will also be playing a show on May 14 at the Princess Sheila NaGeira Theatre in Carbonear. 1-888-588-6353
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May 14, 17
Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Labrador West, NL The Lady of the Falls is a play “about friendship, memory and being all in it together.” It’s the story of a young girl who journeys upriver to ask for help from the Lady of the Falls, a land protector. Performed entirely with puppets, catch the show at the Lawrence O’Brien Arts Centre in Happy ValleyGoose Bay (May 14) and the Labrador West Arts and Culture Centre (May 17).
Quote the Raven
May 17-26
Norris Point, NL Gros Morne National Park has plenty of trails, and there’s always a tale to tell at the end of the day, or a tune to sing. Put it all together and you’ve got the annual Trails Tales Tunes Festival at Norris Point. Sherman Downey, Old Contemporaries and Quote The Raven are just a few of the many musical acts scheduled to play. For full event details, visit www.TrailsTalesTunes.ca.
May 22-26 May 16
St. John’s, NL Blend the satisfaction of using something you made with the pleasure of a scented candle and what do you get? A candlemaking workshop with talented candlemaker Emily Campbell of Yorabode. Register for the event online at www.yorabode.ca/events.
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Bay Roberts, NL The Songs, Stages and Seafood Festival features a different food event for each of the four days the festival runs. Although the first three nights of meals sold out months in advance, there’s still reason to go to Bay Roberts. Ticket sales for Saturday’s Chef’s Seafood BBQ remain open until the day before the event. The festival also features musical performances throughout. For more information, visit BayRoberts.com/sss.
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Something else to watch for on the landscape as you tour Newfoundland and Labrador STORY AND PHOTOS BY DALE JARVIS
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Perched high atop Spectacle Head in Cupids, NL is a tall, solitary figure. Locals, who have kept an eye on him for ages, call him the American Man. He is motionless, a guardian of sorts, looking out towards the waters of Conception Bay. He towers there, day and night, year-round. He is silent, with a stony gaze – an apt description, really, for a figure made entirely of rocks. The Spectacle Head American Man is a circular tower of stone, built at some point in the distant past. He has stood there for about 100 years, making him a well-known landmark on the Baccalieu Trail. Yet while his lofty perch might be lonely, he does not stand alone on the Newfoundland and Labrador landscape. All over the province, often on hilltops close to the sea, you can find similar cairns of locally gathered rock. In Placentia Bay these stone piles were called “Man of Rocks” and, spread out over a few miles, they could be lined up as guides to navigation for local fishermen. At Burnt Islands, on the southwest coast of Newfoundland just west of Rose Blanche, two such cairns were used 82
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together in the 1800s to aid in marine navigation. Often, these rocky piles are called American Men, sometimes lending their name to the ridges they surmount. There is a hill just north of Ferryland called American Man on some maps, and another hill with the same name in the Humber Valley. On the Great Northern Peninsula, there is both an American Man Lookout near Raleigh and an inland American Man hill northwest of Great Harbour Deep. In Notre Dame Bay and St. Mary’s Bay these stone markers were sometimes called “The Naked Man.” Other communities in Newfoundland referred to them as “Nascopies” – perhaps in reference to the indigenous 1-888-588-6353
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peoples of Labrador and their own tradition of making stone markers – or they are called “Carrins,” a variant of the word cairn. Oral tradition claims that many of these stone piles were erected by surveyors. Several places in Newfoundland are home to cairns attributed to the famous British explorer, navigator, cartographer Captain James Cook. While Cook did, in fact, survey sections of the coast in the early 1700s, it’s likely that many of these rock columns were erected a century or more later. Captain Orlebar’s Cairn, northeast of Bay Bulls, is named after Captain John Orlebar, commander of the steamship Lady Le Marchant. Orlebar was in charge of the Newfoundland Survey in 1877. Sailing directions for Newfoundland published by the Hydrographic Center for the US Defense Mapping Agency in 1970 include the spot as a navigation point, noting: “American Man (Captain Orlebar’s Cairn), a twin summit, the southern peak of which is 816 feet high, rises about ¾ mile northward of Heretic Hill.” The practice of building stone landmarks was also common among American fishermen on the Labrador, and it is possible that some of the Conception Bay American Men were inspired by Labrador examples. In 2009, Gerald Crane, then a member of the Spaniard’s Bay Heritage Society, explained the origin of three American Men near Spider Pond in this way, in an article he wrote for a local newspaper: “The Americans were good friends www.downhomelife.com
of Newfoundland back in the early 1900s, particularly during the days of Responsible Government. They fished during those days along the coast of Labrador. While fishing they would erect piles of rocks in different areas along the coastline to mark the good fishing grounds. When our ancestors began fishing the Labrador coast, they noticed the large piles of rocks and later found out they were erected by the Americans, and why they erected them. When the fisher-
A.C. Hunter snapped this photo of his wife on the hill between Cupids and Brigus around 1930. men came home in the late fall after fishing all summer, they decided to build the three piles of rocks to guide them up and down over Long Pond and Spider Pond during stormy conditions. Taking into consideration the fact the piles of rocks they saw on the Labrador Coast were built by the Americans, they decided that a good name for them would be The American Man. That name remains today, more especially with the older May 2019
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generation who travelled back and forth over the ponds in earlier years.” (The Compass, March 17, 2009) Crane wrote that brothers Edward and David Brown were paid the grand sum of $50 to build those three stone navigation aids. One stood on the south side of Long Pond, Tilton, in an area where the slide path went up over the pond; another stood at the southeast corner of Spider Pond. Only the third, constructed at the northwest bight of Spider Pond, remains.
figures in Newfoundland folklore. A resident of Bay Roberts reported a strange light haunting the rock tower that once stood at the top of Big Island (now known as Fergus Island) close to the entrance to the bay. “When father was a boy his mother used to warn him of Jack O’ Lantern. Jack O’ Lantern was supposed to live on top of the American Man (the name given to the cairn on top of Big Island in Bay Roberts). The island was not visible from the house as the view was blocked by Big Head… Jack
“When father was a boy his mother used to warn him of Jack O’ Lantern. Jack O’ Lantern was supposed to live on top of the American Man (the name given to the cairn on top of Big Island in Bay Roberts). The island was not visible from the house as the view was blocked by Big Head… Jack O’ Lantern was, of course, marsh gas and was really visible.” There are other theories about the origin of the term American Man. Residents of Cupids say that their American (or “Merican”) Man is a corruption of the phrase “Marking Man” – tying it to that tradition of using it as an aid to sailors. Others say it got its name from American fishermen who once cast their lines in local waters. One colourful local legend claims it was built as a memorial for a gentleman from the South who tumbled from the top of the hill to his untimely death, a story more tall tale than fact. There is something about these piles of rocks perched high on the headlands that invites tales of mystery. One intriguing bit of Conception Bay lore was published by folklorist John Widdowson in his 1973 thesis, Aspects of Traditional Verbal Control: Threats and threatening 84
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O’ Lantern was, of course, marsh gas and was really visible. I have seen him. Father was scared and believed in the tale attached to what he saw. However, he did not always obey when threatened. Grandmother would say, ‘There’s a light on Big Head; it’s after you.’ Jack O’ Lantern just appeared on Big Head. He then progressed down the harbour, being very noticeable over the bogs at Running Brook. He then went to the bogs in French’s Cove and from there crossed to his home on top of the American Man on Big Island.” Others have suggested ancient origins for these stone piles: the late Canadian writer Farley Mowat argued that some were erected by wandering Norsemen a millennium ago, an argument with little to no archaeological evidence to support it. Some have suggested the Spectacle 1-888-588-6353
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This relatively recent construction of a rock cairn in Ochre Pit Cove suggests the American Man tradition will live on.
Head American Man was in place before pioneering settler John Guy landed in Cuper’s Cove in 1610, but the marker was most likely constructed in the very early years of the 20th century. That cairn, which has been rebuilt several times since the 1930s, is much taller today, and a second, smaller cairn has been constructed nearby. Around 2012, the seven-foot-high structure was damaged by vandals and rebuilt (in a wider, taller and slightly more symmetrical fashion) by local volunteers and heritage enthusiasts. While some older fishermen or backcountry snowmobilers might still use the odd American Man to help guide their way home, few people today use these old stone markers for their original purpose. However, the creation of new rock monuments continues; a comparatively young American Man in Ochre Pit Cove bears a sign reading “MAP monument by Mike North 2012.” www.downhomelife.com
If you are in the mood for a bit of exploration and exercise, hike to the top of Spectacle Head in Cupids. But if you want the chance to pose for a photo by one of the next generation of American Men, follow the old Conception Bay Highway a little bit farther along to Harbour Grace. There, at the end of Stone’s Road on the Southside of Harbour Grace you will find a steep path winding upwards. Ascend that trail, and at the top of the ridge you will find the Stone Cairn commanding the view out over the town below. This cairn was erected a few years ago by the appropriately named Stone family, and hopefully it will be generating stories and its own local folklore for generations to come. Dale Jarvis is a folklorist, storyteller, and author. If you know of an American Man he has missed in his travels, send him an email at dale@dalejarvis.ca May 2019
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explore throngs of tourists journey to Cape Bonavista. They arrive with diverse motives. Many visitors come to gaze at the marvelous architecture of the fourth oldest lighthouse in Newfoundland, to climb the winding stairs of its stone tower and marvel at the 19th-century seal oilfueled light. Some are content to walk along its scenic trail adjacent to spectacular gulches encircling crystal-clear water. Many more arrive to be mesmerized by the hundreds of puffins, like miniature fighter jets, whirling at dizzying speed around Cape Island lying just 20 metres offshore. Photographers show up to be enthralled by the glorious sunsets amid splendiferous crags and precipitous cliffs. During early summer, crowds appear to observe whales frolicking near icebergs grounded on the shoals near shore. On sweltering summer days, many individuals congregate at Little Dairy King to relish ice cream or soft serve and chill out.
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Regardless of motive, as a reminder of their visit to the Cape, many leave a marker of their visit – that iconic symbol of the North, the inuksuk (plural inuksuit). As summer advances, hundreds of inuksuit are planted on a wide expanse of rocky outcrops below the lighthouse on its western flank. Many of these inuksuit mimic the traditional form, but a large number are unique in shape. However, come winter, only those inuksuit composed of the heaviest rocks will survive the blustery winds and blasting snow. Then when summer returns, so will creative visitors who will once again meticulously balance the rocks into myriad configurations to grace the Cape. So if you show up this summer, create your own “likeness of a person” to display that you were here.
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A new series of plays performed by talented local actors in an abandoned mine shaft captures some of the folklore, the legends and the ghosts of Bell Island. By Dennis Flynn
The February 2019 biting southwesterly wind sends ephemeral ivory peaks of foam dancing across Conception Bay. William (Billy) Parsons, a miner for 51 years, is unfazed by it all and gazes at me with an enigmatic smile beneath a substantial moustache. Below his hardhat with miner’s lamp, the pleasant glint in his eyes suggests that he has seen a lot harder than this and survived. Billy is a giant of a man. Literally he is huge, about 21 feet across. Billy’s image is one of several murals painted on properties around Bell Island – supersized reminders of the history of this place. “This was Mural #1 and it is called, appropriately enough, ‘The Miner.’ It was originally done by artists John Littlejohn and Rick Murphy and unveiled back in November 1991… It depicts Billy Parsons and is based on a great photograph from about 1954 by famous portrait photographer Yousuf Karsh, who visited Bell Island a number of times,” explains Henry Crane of Tourism Bell Island, as we stand beneath this mural on the east wall of the Wabana Complex. Scenes featuring John the Miner and his wife, Patsy, and the creepy Ghost of Dobbin’s Garden. Courtesy Tourism Bell Island
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“You know, it is funny how things come full circle. I grew up on Bell Island and went to school in this building training as a machinist, eventually went to university and [after a career away] came back and taught here in the same building. I love Bell Island and really enjoyed growing up here. It was a great place to live, raise a family, and was very prosperous, especially when the mines were working in full swing.” Henry, now 67, spent years collecting the living history of his hometown. As a boy, his grandmother would tell him all about the local ghosts and fairies, and as an adult he continued to visit his elders to hear their stories about Bell Island. “I have been really fortunate that over maybe 30 years, whenever I had some time I would go and interview folks who were much older than myself and record them… People would tell me stories for hours on end and it was really something.” Some of these stories have made their way into a new summer theatrical series called “The Ghosts of Bell Island.” The play once known as “The Haunted Tour” has been rebranded as “Theatre of the Mine” and is performed in an old abandoned mine shaft that was originally the #4 Mine Collar. Other performances in this series include “The Life of a Miner,” “WWII Comes to Bell Island” and “Party at Nan’s.” These new plays draw upon some material (with permission) taken from a 1990s production called “Place of First Light: The Bell Island Billy the Miner towers over Bell Islander Henry Crane. Dennis Flynn photo 90
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“Soldiers” enjoy a jive with the locals during a performance of “WWII Comes to Bell Island.” Courtesy Tourism Bell Island
Experience,” written by Robert Chafe, Sean Panting and Selina Asgar. It featured up-and-coming talent who have since found incredible success on stage on screen, including Bell Island-born Allan Hawco and St. John’s-native Petrina Bromley (on Broadway now in “Come From Away”). In a recent email chat with award-winning theatre director Danielle Irvine, she recalled fondly her work on that project. “I was the co-founder and it ran from 1997-1999 for three summers. I directed and produced. Wow, there were lots of special moments… That show was actually listed as a Landmark Theatrical Event by the Professional Association of Canadian Theatres.” Henry also has fond memories of that 1990s production. “Funny story: www.downhomelife.com
my son played in a few of those early shows and it would not be unusual for Allan Hawco or Robert Chafe or many others who went on to great things, inside and outside the world of theatre, to show up at the house with him for a BBQ or whatnot.” As it was then, the actors in today’s plays are local youth just cutting their acting chops, “and since they are from here and grew up with the stories all around them, they do a great job on the new material and really bring the stories to life for the audience. The feedback every season is very positive and encouraging,” Henry says. “‘The Ghosts of Bell Island’ has been performed for about four years now and each performance lasts about one hour and 30 minutes. Taking place in the mine May 2019
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Local actors help unveil the design of “The Bell Island Hag” Canada Post stamp, inspired by the Ghost of Dobbin’s Garden legend. Courtesy Tourism Bell Island
really adds to the atmosphere.” Without giving away too many secrets and surprises of the live shows, Henry drops a few hints about the stories audiences will be regaled with: bodies found in bogs, star-crossed lovers, departed miners condemned to never set foot beyond the sanctuary of the shaft for all eternity, the “woman in white,” the devil of Quigley’s Line, and even a shapeshifting fairy queen who might either help or harm travellers depending on her capricious mood. One of the most striking stories is the Ghost of Dobbin’s Garden, which has been reinterpreted as the “The Bell Island Hag” featured on television’s “Creepy Canada” and immortalized by Canada Post as a postage stamp and the Royal Canadian Mint as a commemorative coin. Henry says members of the Newfoundland and Labrador 92
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Paranormal Society have even visited the Island to investigate the various ghost stories. Henry’s passion is unmistakable when he talks of Bell Island, the stories, the plays and the people. When I ask him what drives him to promote the island this way, he gets a wistful look. Then he tells me of a very impressionable day from his youth. “My father worked in the mines for 29 years and never got a pension or so much as a thank you when the mines closed down. Many men on the island were in that camp as the company largely walked away from it all,” he begins. “I was 14 when the mine where he worked closed for good. It was on a Saturday when he finished his last shift. I remember walking in, and my father was a big strong man at 6 foot 1 and almost 300 pounds. My mother was only 1-888-588-6353
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4 foot 11 and maybe 100 pounds, and she was sitting on his lap and he was crying, something he never, ever did. He had Grade 3, a family of eight to look after, and wondered what he was going to do now. Like maybe 95 per cent of the men on the island at the time, this was hard, dangerous but well-paying work – and it was all they knew how to do. “Many folks left to chase the work on the mainland after the mines closed in 1966, and it was like a bomb went off and took half the population of the island within a year. Fortunately, Bell Island has wonderful soil and a microclimate that produced so many crops at one point it used to be known as the Breadbasket of the Avalon. So my father put the stiff upper lip on it and was a good hand at farming and raising animals, and we always managed to get by. We more or less stayed on and did whatever bit of work was needed. We never had much money, but we were never hungry,” he says. “We also had to make a lot of our own entertainment, which is probably why things like music, and stories about who we are and where we are from are very important to people here. Bell Islanders are always resilient and these stories need to be saved and told. This ‘Theatre of the Mine’ is one more way of doing that, and we invite people to come experience it firsthand for themselves. I wrote these new plays based on the stories local people told me and held dear, so it seemed a sin for them to be lost.” The Fairy Queen can be good or evil, depending on her mood. Courtesy Tourism Bell Island
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Travel Diary
On September 12, 2004, my partner Dora and I
embarked on our first trip to Labrador. We took the Viking Trail from Deer Lake to St. Barbe, where we would take the ferry Apollo across the Strait of Belle Isle to Blanc Sablon, Quebec. After a slight delay, we made the 90-minute crossing and motored a short distance from Blanc Sablon to Forteau, Labrador, where we spent a pleasant night with Dora’s relatives. Next morning we drove along Route 510, first on the 68-km paved section to Red Bay and then on what was still a gravel road to Mary’s Harbour, driving alongside the lovely Pinware River.
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At Mary’s Harbour we boarded the Trinity Pride, a longliner, for the ride to Battle Harbour. We arrived at the Cookhouse bunkhouse to a cozy wood fire, a welcoming sight after coming in from the rain. Battle Harbour, once known as the unofficial capital of Labrador, was abandoned in the 1960s. The Battle Harbour Historic Trust was given the fishing premises, which has been declared a National Historic Site of Canada and operates as a museum.
The Marconi station there became a part of history in 1909, when Arctic explorer Robert E. Peary (along with Capt. Bob Bartlett of Brigus, NL) wired the New York Times from there with his claim of reaching the North Pole. We toured the various buildings and joined other guests for a delicious meal of fresh cod before retiring for the night. We arrived at Mary’s Harbour the next day and headed for Red Bay and the Visitor Interpretation Centre. Red Bay is a natural harbour, named for the red granite cliffs in the region. www.downhomelife.com
Between the 16th and 18th centuries, 600 sailors from southern France and northern Spain manned 15 whaling ships every season to catch whales in the Strait of Belle Isle. Red Bay was designated a National Historic Site in 1979. Since our trip there, Red Bay has become more notable as an underwater archaeological site. Several whaling ships (large galleons and small chalupas) sunk there have been discovered, which led to its 2013 designation as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. About 10 minutes north of Forteau we left Highway 510 and took the L’Anse Amour gravel road 4 km to the Point Amour Lighthouse, a Provincial Historic Site. We climbed the 132 steps to catch a panoramic view of the Strait of Belle Isle. Completed in 1857, its height of 33 metres makes it the tallest lighthouse in Atlantic Canada and second tallest in the country. The former lightkeeper’s residence is now a museum. We returned to Forteau for a lovely overnight stay with Dora’s cousin and her husband. Next day we began our journey back to St. Barbe and eventually home. My first trip to Labrador remains a memorable experience. I regret not having seen the northern section: the Torngats, the fjords, the Northern Lights and the wildlife Harry Martin sings about. With the completion of the Trans-Labrador Highway, no doubt the secret is out now that this immense (294,330 sq. km.), unspoiled, untamed territory is ours to discover, and its isolation and history to be experienced. May 2019
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explore
By Elizabeth Whitten
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Randy Farrell photo
Upon first glance, you might think going down this road in New Bonaventure, NL, is a journey back in time. On a hill there’s a little church, a few modest wooden homes, a fish flake and a storehouse. But this scene isn’t even 20 years old, and it’s not a real community. It’s a movie set. At the turn of the 21st century, a production company went through great pains to recreate a 19th-century Newfoundland outport for the filming of Random Passage. Based on the best-selling novel by Bernice Morgan, Random Passage is the fictional story of the Andrews family who had to leave England and remake their lives in a desolate, remote and harsh Newfoundland outport called Random Passage in the early 1800s. Morgan’s book was published in 1992; the four-part miniseries was aired on CBC in 2002. After filming concluded and the crew departed for other projects, this new “settlement” stayed. “The reason why it was kept was because of the story behind it,” explains Connie Tobin, operations manager for the current site, which is maintained by the charity organization Cape Random Trust. “We www.downhomelife.com
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know that story was actually fictional, but when Bernice Morgan wrote the book, she did research on how Newfoundlanders lived in the early 1800s.” Over the years, Connie and her team have done their best to keep the attraction up and running. But the Newfoundland elements can be harsh. During their second year, a small tsunami tore up the wharf and stage. They were able to rebuild it, but eventually the stage became so weatherbeaten it had to be torn down. Funding for the site was hard to acquire initially because it was considered a movie set. The Trust was eventually able to convince the funding agency that it is more significant than that. In fact, there used to be a community called White Point in the area. “So it is a historic ground. The buildings and that of the research are actual fact how they lived in the early 1800s,” Connie says. The Random Passage recreation offers a glimpse into a lifestyle that no longer exists naturally. Because these buildings were erected as set props, they are not as hardy as structures built for lived-in use. 98
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Connie says they’ve been repairing things over the years, “but they’re getting to the point now where some of them need a lot of work.” So they started a GoFundMe page in the hopes of raising at least $10,000. So far they’ve managed to raise $5,000 and are still accepting donations.
Beyond Random Passage In 2005, the Cape Random Trust took over the one-room schoolhouse at Random Passage and got a grant to restore it. It now serves as an admissions booth, a craft store and a tearoom where people can order traditional local food, such as moose stew, pea soup, fish and brewis, fish 1-888-588-6353
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cakes and baked beans. Connie explains they’ve been branching out, using the site to host events, such as the mummers parade through New Bonaventure every summer, in which visitors are invited to take part. Thanks to a catering and liquor licence, Connie says they can now host events to bring in more revenue, so they have Jiggs Dinners, Screech-ins and local entertainment. And it’s not just the Random Passage film set anymore. After The Grand Seduction finished filming in 2012 in Trinity Bay, the film producers offered the bar they’d built to the Cape Random Trust. The exchange was sealed with a dollar. In the film, Joe’s Place is a 1950s themed bar in the fictional community, and now real folks can visit as patrons. Last year the Trust started offering what Connie calls a “stress-free wedding” package, where they handle hiring the minister, justice of the peace or mayor to officiate the wedding. Couples can get married in the church, get their pictures taken on site and have the reception at the tearoom or Joe’s Place. The Trust also does all decorating, runs the bar and www.downhomelife.com
hires the music. The Random Passage site opens on the May 24th weekend and, on average, they get around 3,000-4,000 visitors a year, Connie says. Plenty of them have read the book or watched the miniseries. “Some people just come upon it because of the history part of it and want to see it and were blown away by it,” she says. Others drop by because they heard about the experience from friends. And the site offers tours to local students from Grades 2 to 12. The business hit a bump two years ago, literally. They lost their seniors bus tours after the driver lost a bumper due to the road conditions and said he wouldn’t make the trip again. “And that was a big loss for us, a big loss,” Connie says. “We went from 6,000 visitors down to like 4,500... I wish we would get another 10,000 visitors like we used to... We’re trying very, very hard to keep up the site…” If the Random Passage site falls into disrepair, that’s it. There’s no coming back from that, Connie says. “If we don’t tell this story, who’s going to tell it? Because in 10 years there’s nobody left to tell it.” May 2019
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explore
By now, spring should
be well and truly here. Of course, Mother Nature doesn’t always do what we think she should, but that doesn’t stop us from looking forward to warmer weather and the end of snow. We wanted to know what folks were most looking forward to doing once the snow is gone, so we asked our friends on Facebook. The answers, it turns out, are the same things we here in the Downhome office are looking forward to – getting outside and enjoying nature in various ways.
“Cabin time.” ‐ Ethel Hunter “Just outdoors doing anything.” ‐ Rowena Nichol “Getting outside in my garden, going camping, fishing, kayaking and everything else I can without being half frozen or bundled up so I can hardly move.” Joyce Butt photo
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‐ Tonia Grandy
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Scott Young photo
“Getting out around the yard and enjoying the fresh air.” ‐ Cyril Morgan
Wanda Cable Porter photo
“Opening up our trailer for a wonderful new camping season.”
“BBQing, packing the trailer to go camping, sitting on the patio soaking up the sun.”
‐ Val Stratton
‐ Mary Miller‐Whiffen
WHAT’S YOUR PLEASURE?
Wondering if you are alone in your spring pursuits? Here is a breakdown of what our Facebook friends are most looking forward to based on their comments:
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life is better The Rose Blanche lighthouse caught at sunset. Zachary Hatcher, Rose Blanche, NL
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food & leisure the everyday gourmet
Perfect Pesto
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the everyday gourmet By Andrea Maunder
Andrea Maunder is the owner and creative force behind Bacalao Restaurant in St. John’s, NL, and Saucy & Sweet – Homemade Specialty Foods & Catering.
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I was chatting
with some friends recently and the conversation turned to food (it often does). We were talking about flavoursome sauces and condiments that can really make a dish. Pesto is one of those. That gorgeous classic of basil, garlic, Parmesan cheese and nuts – delicious with everything from seafood to vegetables, to meat and poultry, to bread and even salad. There are some very good commercial pestos, but nothing beats freshly homemade. I make pesto in quantity and freeze it in little containers, so it’s always on hand to jazz up a soup or stew, pop into a salad dressing, top a piece of chicken, glaze some veggies, smear on bread or, of course, toss with pasta. It also keeps for several weeks in a jar in the fridge – just smooth the top of the pesto and pour over olive oil to cover. That keeps the air from getting to it and helps it retain its vibrant colour. Pine nuts are traditionally used in pesto. (Did you know they are, indeed, produced by pine trees? There are about 20 species of pines around the world that produce edible nuts.) But you can use almonds, walnuts, pecans or macadamias and produce a lovely flavoured pesto. Toasted skinless hazelnuts are delicious, and pistachios add beautiful flavour and enhance the colour. I May 2019
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would tend not to use cashews or filberts, the former being too rich and the latter too coarse. I actually prefer almonds in my pesto for their light flavour and slightly firmer texture. You can do it the old-fashioned way in a mortar and pestle, but I always go for the food processor, which makes a quick, efficient and consistent job of it. If you have a smaller food processor or a smaller bowl that fits inside your large one, go ahead and use that. Either way, it’ll be fine… you might just have to scrape down the bowl a couple more times
with a rubber spatula. Once you’ve made the classic, you can use your imagination and create your own flavour combinations: mint, sesame seeds, garlic, ginger and a little sesame oil in place of the olive oil for an Asian-inspired pesto. Cilantro, garlic, pine nuts, chile flakes and lime zest & juice would make a Mexican-inspired version. (For those two, I’d omit cheese.) And parsley, garlic, smoked paprika and orange zest & juice with aged manchego cheese would have a decidedly Spanish taste.
Pesto 3 cups basil leaves (use stems to flavour soup or stock) 3 medium-sized cloves garlic 1/4 tsp kosher salt (if using table salt, measure a little less) 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper 1/4 cup olive oil 1 tsp lemon juice 1/2 cup sliced or slivered (skinless) almonds (or pine nuts, or your choice) 1/2 cup grated good quality Parmesan cheese
With the food processor running, drop the garlic through the feed tube. That’s a great way to chop it without it getting trapped under the blades. Remove the cover, add the basil, replace the cover and pulse until the basil is coarsely chopped. Through the feed tube, with motor running, add the salt, pepper and olive oil. Purée until well blended. Remove the lid and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Then add the lemon juice and almonds and purée again. Scrape down, add the cheese and purée again. Taste and adjust seasonings to your liking (salt, pepper or lemon). Pesto should be a little thinner than peanut butter. If it’s too thick, thin with a little more olive oil. If too thin, you can add a little more cheese or almonds. Makes about 1 cup of pesto. Use your pesto whenever you want to add a dash of flavour. As I mentioned, I freeze it in little 1-oz cups so I can quickly thaw just what I need. You’ll see in the photo, I seared some shrimp and tossed them in a couple tablespoons of pesto for a delicious appetizer. 106
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life is better Wavy at Cape Race, NL Harold Feiertag, Langley, BC
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everyday recipes.ca
A good fishcake is a staple product of a Newfoundland and Labrador kitchen. And while saltfish cakes are the traditional fare, here are some fresh takes on seafood cakes paired with delicious sauces.
Salt Fish Cakes with Carrot Compote 1/4 cup vegetable oil or olive oil, for frying
Fish Cakes 1/2 cup butter 1 cup onion, small dice 1 tsp savoury 1 1/2 tsp pepper 2 cups salt fish, soaked overnight, drained, patted dry 1/4 cup flour 1 egg 4 cups mashed potatoes, cooled
Carrot Compote 2 tbsp olive oil 2 cups grated carrots 1/2 cup minced shallots 2 tbsp garlic, minced 1 tsp ginger, grated 1/2 tsp chili flakes 1/4 cup sugar 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar 1/3 cup water 1/2 tsp pepper 1/2 tsp salt
Dredge 1 cup flour
All of our recipes are brought to you by the fantastic foodies in Academy Canada’s Culinary Arts program, led by instructor Bernie-Ann Ezekiel.
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For the compote Heat oil over medium-high heat. Sauté carrots and shallots until shallots start to become translucent. Add garlic, ginger and chili flakes; continue to sauté until shallots just start to turn golden. Add sugar and mix well. Turn heat to high and allow the pan to sizzle while the sugar begins to caramelize. Add vinegar and shake the pan to deglaze it. Add water, pepper and salt; simmer over medium heat until the mixture has a jam-like consistency (5-10 minutes). Set aside.
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For the cakes Melt butter over medium-high heat in a frying pan and sauté onions until they just start to turn brown. Add savoury and pepper; stir and remove from heat. Add onions to a bowl with the fish and mix enough that the fish breaks up. Add flour and egg to mashed potatoes; mix well. Fold in the fish/onion mixture until thoroughly combined, but try not to break up the fish too much. Form the cakes and dredge them in flour. Fry cakes in oil over medium heat until they are heated through and golden brown on the outside. Serve with Carrot Compote. Yield: 12 cakes
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Crab Cakes with Chipotle Cream 1/4 cup olive oil for frying
Cakes 360g crab, squeezed (discard liquid) 1/4 cup leeks, minced (white only) 1 tsp whole grain Dijon 2 tsp garlic, minced 1/4 tsp ginger, grated 1 tbsp lime juice 1/2 cup sweet potato, grated 2 eggs 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper, ground 2 tbsp fresh parsley, minced 3 tbsp minced celery 2 tbsp grated carrot 1/2 tsp cumin 1/2 cup red pepper, minced 1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs 1/2 cup dry breadcrumbs 1/4 tsp black pepper 1/4 tsp salt
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Dredge 2 cups dry, fine breadcrumbs
Egg Wash 1/2 cup milk 2 eggs
Chipotle Cream 1 cup sour cream 1/3 cup mayonnaise 2 tsp chipotle paste 2 tbsp dried chives 1 tsp onion powder 1 tsp garlic powder 1 tsp smoked paprika 2 tsp lemon juice
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For the Chipotle Cream Whisk everything together and set aside in the fridge to allow the flavours to meld, while you work on the crab cakes. For the Crab Cakes Mix everything together and let sit at room temperature for about 15 minutes. Form mixture into cakes and dredge in crumbs, then dip in egg wash, dredge in crumbs again and fry in oil over medium heat (or deep fry at 350°F) until heated through and golden brown. Serve with Chipotle Cream. Yield: 20 small cakes
table For prin rds a c e recip visit
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Kamaboko (Japanese Fishcakes) with Ginger-Soy Dip Fish Cakes
Ginger-Soy Dip
350g codfish, patted dry 1/4 tsp salt 1 tbsp + 1 tsp sugar 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar 2 tbsp white wine 7 tsp cornstarch 2 egg whites
4 cloves garlic, minced 2 tbsp ginger, grated 3/4 cup olive oil 1/2 cup rice vinegar 1/2 cup soy sauce 2 tbsp brown sugar 1 tbsp honey 1 tsp sesame oil 1/4 cup water 1/2 tsp black pepper
For the dip Blend all ingredients in a blender/food processor until thoroughly combined. Set aside at room temperature.
For the cakes In a food processor fitted with an Sblade (or in a high-powered blender), blend the fish until smooth. Add sugar, salt, vinegar and wine, and blend again. Blend in the cornstarch. Add egg whites and blend one final time to a very smooth paste. Scrape down the bowl as necessary. If you want to, you can separate a small amount of paste to colour for contrast in your cakes. Line a loaf pan with parchment paper or lightly spray with cooking spray. If using a coloured paste for contrast, pour that in the bottom of the lined pan first. Make sure it’s very smooth. Pour the remaining fish paste over the coloured layer and smooth out. Tap out any bubbles by tapping the pan bottom on the counter a couple of times. Tightly seal the pan with foil. Steam the loaf for 30 minutes. Remove from steamer, remove the foil and sit loaf pan on a rack to cool for about 20-30 minutes. Once it’s cooled down enough to refrigerate, place it in the fridge for several hours, until it’s entirely chilled. Turn loaf out onto a plate and slice into ¼" thick pieces. Serve with Ginger-Soy Dip. Yield: 6-10 servings
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ble For printa s rd a c e ip rec visit
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Smoked Salmon Cakes with Lemon-Caper Aioli 1/4 cup oil, for frying
Egg Wash
Fish Cakes
1/2 cup milk 2 eggs
12 oz smoked salmon 1/2 cup shallots, minced 4 cloves garlic, minced 1/4 cup red pepper, minced 3/4 cup panko breadcrumbs 1/4 cup fine breadcrumbs 1 tsp black pepper 1 tsp celery salt 1 egg
Dredge 1 cup flour
Lemon-Caper Aioli 1 egg 1 tbsp lemon juice 1/2 tsp lemon zest 1/4 tsp black pepper 2 tsp garlic, chopped 2/3 cup canola/ vegetable oil 1 tbsp chives, minced 1 tbsp capers, drained and minced
For the aioli Add everything but the last three ingredients to a narrow, deep vessel (a measuring cup works well). Using a stick blender, blend the ingredients constantly while adding the oil in a slow drizzle. Once the oil is fully incorporated, mix in the chives and capers by hand. Set aside in the fridge. For the cakes Mince the salmon and mix everything together. Let mixture sit at room temperature for about 15 minutes before forming cakes. Form cakes and dredge in flour, then dip in egg wash, then dredge again. Fry cakes in oil over medium heat until heated through and golden brown. Serve with Lemon-Caper Aioli. Yield: 10 cakes
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explore stuff about
Crab Snow crab is a lucrative species in the Newfoundland and Labrador fishery. At one point, the Quinlan Brothers plant in Bay de Verde was the largest crab processor and exporter in the world.
Many fish plant workers in NL are coming down with a chronic illness known as crab asthma, sometimes referred to locally as “crab lung” or “the lung.” It affects those working in crab processing and the symptoms are much the same as asthma: tightness in the chest, difficulty breathing, coughing and wheezing. The character for Mr. Krabs, owner of the Krusty Krab in “Spongebob Squarepants,” was modelled after a real life seafood restaurateur. He is voiced by Clancy Brown, an actor well known for roles in The Shawshank Redemption, Starship Troopers and many more big and small screen appearances.
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A popular destination for boaters in Destin, on the Gulf Coast of Florida, is Crab Island, which is not an island at all. It is a submerged sandbar – at least now it is. Before the hurricane that submerged it, this was a small island shaped like a crab.
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As far as acting goes, Jamie Michael Colin Waylett is a one-hit wonder. He is known worldwide for one acting role: Vincent Crabbe in the Harry Potter movies. He was cut from the franchise after a cannabisrelated arrest, and he’s had other troubles with the law.
Other than a miniscule bit for flavouring, imitation crab contains no crab at all. It is made with surimi, fish (often pollock) that is mechanically separated and formed into sticks and dyed to look like crab meat. It’s the same “minced fish” often used to make fish sticks.
Crab grass is generally a pest plant in otherwise lush, manicured lawns. But some varieties of crab grass are useful. The seeds of those can be toasted and ground into flour that is used to make porridge and beer. The smallest known crab is a pea crab, which lives a parasitic existence inside bivalves such as oysters and mussels. The largest is the Japanese spider crab; its legs can span about five metres and it can weigh up to 19 kg.
Crabeater seals, found around Antarctica, are the most abundant animal species in the world, currently estimated by the Australian government at 15 million. Despite their name, they do not eat crabs; their main food is krill.
Horseshoe crabs, which are not true crabs (they have more in common with arachnids than arthropods), have been living on earth for 450 million years. Today’s horseshoe crabs are so similar to their fossilized ancestors that they are considered “living fossils.” www.downhomelife.com
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food & leisure down to earth
Long-lived Perennial Plants By Ross Traverse
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Perennial plants
(more correctly, herbaceous perennial plants) are non-woody plants that die back in the fall and grow again in the spring and summer. Many perennial plants are long-lived and, once established, require a minimum of care. Perennial plants can be established by dividing your existing plants in the spring. New plants can also be purchased as bare root plants or container-grown plants. Some can be grown from seed. Early spring, after the ground thaws out, is the best time to plant perennials. Bare root perennials are available from garden supply stores, usually in early spring. They are packaged with peat or other material around the roots to keep them from drying out. Once they are out of cold storage and into the warm atmosphere of a retail store, they will start to grow (sprout). When you buy these bare root perennials, they should be potted up right away while you wait for a chance to plant them in the garden when the soil warms up. When potted they should be watered and kept in direct sunlight in a cool place, like a cold frame or a cold greenhouse. Perennials grown in pots at a nursery are the easiest to get established in the garden, but they may be more expensive to buy than the bare root plants. If they have been hardened off they can be kept outside in the spring until you are ready for planting. They must be watered on a regular basis. Sometimes the plants are root-bound in the pot and the roots must be pulled apart when planting in their permanent location. When you are planting perennials in a new bed you should put some effort into preparing the soil first because the plants will be there for many years. Make sure the soil is free from weeds, especially grasses and dandelion. When a new bed is prepared, the sod should be removed and organic matter (about one-third by volume) mixed with soil. At the same time, lime and a general-purpose fertilizer should be also mixed deeply into the soil. The bed of prepared
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soil should be a foot deep or more. Make sure you check the typical height that the plant will grow and plant the taller ones at the back of the bed. A large (six or more) group of the same variety of perennials will result in a spectacular display and keep out the weeds. It is better to have a large planting of the same varieties rather than a patchwork of many types. When the plants are established, apply two or three inches of a weed-free, organic mulch. Every spring when the new growth starts, a low nitrogen fertilizer, like 6–12–12, will stimulate healthy growth. Many gardeners like to leave the old growth on the plants in the fall to help catch the snow that will protect the perennials in the winter. Here are three of the most popular long-lived perennials.
Peonies This spectacular perennial flowering plant has been growing in the same place in many Newfoundland and
Labrador gardens for generations – even growing in abandoned gardens. Some varieties are fragrant, so they make excellent cut flowers. Once established, peonies are relatively carefree, but there are a few tricks of the trade for growing them successfully. Remember, do not plant the large fleshy root too deep. The crown (growing point) of the tuberous root must not be planted any more than one inch below the surface of the soil. If they are planted any deeper they will produce lots of leaves, but they simply will not flower. Peonies need to be planted in a sunny location in well-drained, deep, fertile soil. If water lodges during the winter it can kill the roots. Peonies take time to mature, sometimes two or three years after planting, so you must be patient. It is best to buy the largest plants available. You will definitely need to provide support for the plant because the large blooms can easily be damaged in the wind.
Hosta
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Hostas There are literally hundreds of varieties of hostas and they are primarily grown for their lush, colourful foliage. They can be used as a ground cover for large areas or as specimen plants in a perennial border. Hostas will grow in sun or shade, but the varieties with the lighter coloured leaves do better in full sun in our climate. Daylily Hostas do best in a soil that is high in organic matter and improved with lime and fertilizer. A area after two or three years. side-dressing in the summer with a There are hundreds of varieties of soluble fertilizer like 20–20 –20 will daylilies, so it is important to check stimulate the growth and improve the characteristics that will suit your the colour. Large clumps of hostas purpose. Some varieties are repeat can be divided early in the spring to bloomers, and some dwarf varieties make new plants. The roots with a can be used in small areas in the growing point are easily pulled apart. landscape. They do best in full sun, The only serious problem with but they tolerate some shade. They hostas is slug damage. This can be can survive on their own without any kept under control by sprinkling slug support. An application of a generalpellets around the plants early in the purpose fertilizer in the spring will season. Beer in a small, open conencourage more bloom and healthy tainer is also an effective control foliage. There is usually no problem against slugs. Wood ashes sprinkled with insects or disease. around the soil near the plants may By the way, they are called daylilies also help. because the individual flower is just open for one day, but there will be Daylilies another flower to take its place the If you want a ground cover for a next day so you don’t notice any difslope, you can’t go wrong with ference in the colour of the bed from daylilies. They will last a lifetime or day to day. Generally speaking, they longer. When they are established don’t need to be supported. and cover in the area, there is no problem with weeds. Like other Dr. Ross Traverse has been herbaceous perennials, they die back a horticultural consultant in the fall so that you have no probto gardeners and farmers for more than 50 years. lem with piling snow on them in the winter. They can be easily divided to downtoearth @downhomelife.com make new plants when they fill in the www.downhomelife.com
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with Ross Rhubarb Ruin Q: We have had a rhubarb patch in the garden for years, and this year the leaves started to turn red and then got brighter. I looked up online to find that it is caused by a bacteria: erwinia rhapontici. Never heard of it, but apparently it rots the roots and the article said the plants and roots had to be all taken up and destroyed. We have done that, but can you tell me if we have to get rid of the soil, too? We have never had any problem with this crop before, always getting at least two cuttings during the summer, sometimes three. We are so disappointed and don’t know what we did to cause this, if anything. – Mary White
Crab Shells Q: I would like to know if it is OK to use crushed crab shells on carrots and strawberries as a fertilizer. – Judy Strathie A: Crab shells should be composted with some peat for at least a year before mixing with the soil. It would be best if you could break up the shells before composting, in order to speed up the process. The compost pile should be turned several times during the summer. When the crab 122
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A: Mary, you can go ahead and grow other fruit and vegetables in the area where you had the rhubarb. There is no need to remove the soil. I would suggest making a new separate garden for new rhubarb plants. They are best planted early in the spring with lots of organic matter mixed with the soil.
shells have been composted they can be used on all your vegetables and fruit, including carrot and strawberries. The compost should be mixed completely with soil. This compost is an excellent source of calcium and other nutrients. It will help neutralize the acidity in the soil. Another way to use the crab shells is to do what is called trench composting. This technique involves digging a trench about a foot and a half deep, putting 6 inches or more of crab shells in the bottom and then covering it over with soil. 1-888-588-6353
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Potatoes with Lime Q: Is it OK to put lime powder on or in the soil where you would be planting potatoes? – Suzanne
Lacklustre Lilac Q: My purple lilac tree is increasingly not producing blossoms year after year. What can I do to encourage new growth? – Yve LeRoy A: Sometimes it takes quite a few years before a lilac tree will set flower buds for the following year. If it is planted in an area where you are fertilizing the lawn, then I would suggest holding off on the fertilizer around a lilac tree. Too much nitrogen will stimulate leafy growth without setting flower buds. Lilac trees should be mulched around the base of the tree to prevent grass from growing within a couple feet of the trunk.
A: Suzanne, if you add lime to the soil where you are growing potatoes it may result in potato scab developing on the tubers if the weather is dry during the summer. A small amount of lime mixed completely with new soil will help the potatoes to grow better. The scab fungus may not develop on the tuber if the soil is kept moist when the tubers are forming.
Kelp for Potatoes Q: I have a small potato garden and I plan to use kelp to trench them with. How much should I use? – Ron Smith A: Kelp can be used to trench (sidedress) your potatoes, but it must be covered with soil in order for it to rot and be effective. Around 2 inches of fresh kelp would be sufficient; but if it is partly decomposed, a lesser amount would be required.
Got a gardening question for Ross? email him anytime at downtoearth@downhomelife.com www.downhomelife.com
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food & leisure crafted home
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JAMES HALEY makes furniture the old-fashioned way – one piece at a time, using mostly hand tools and held together with traditional joinery techniques instead of screws or dowels. His aesthetic leans toward unadorned and modern, but he doesn’t concern himself with adhering to a specific style. He instead lets the principles of good design – attention to proportion, scale, function – guide the look of a piece. “I just want it to be simple, but really well made,” he says. He’s talking about designing a piece free from excessive ornamentation that embraces the Shaker ethos of simplicity, paired with the workmanship exhibited by 19th-century furniture makers. Working primarily with hand tools is a deliberate choice for James, in part because his small shop has no room for large power tools, but mostly because he enjoys the process of creating with hand tools and the challenge of mastering those skills. Simple doesn’t mean easy, though. Take, for instance, his walnut stools. Each stool has 20 pieces of wood, with mortise and tenon joints holding it all together. “The way I build things, it’s [for] generations – it’s going to last forever,” says James. Each piece, although built for the ages, is designed to solve a problem www.downhomelife.com
experienced now. James can design and build a piece to suit the unique needs of the person commissioning it. James tells the story of a client who needed a chair to fit under an unconventionally proportioned desk. He met with the person, measured the space, then designed and built a piece that fit the dimensions and style required. “Every piece of furniture I’m doing is 100 per cent custom,” he says. After that initial consultation to determine what a person wants and needs from their new piece of furniture, James sketches his ideas before drawing the final design on graph paper to illustrate key points of the design ideas he has in his head. For James, the creation process is fluid. He views the initial drawing as a guideline and will make adjustments along the way to create the piece he initially envisioned in his mind’s eye. May 2019
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reminiscing flashbacks
Boy’s Best Friend
A boy and a Leonberger dog pose together for this photo taken somewhere in NL in the late 19th century. The Leonberger is a dog breed created in Germany by crossing a Newfoundland dog with a Saint Bernard. Like their relatives, Leonbergers are known for water rescues and a gentle temperament. Photo courtesy of the Centre for Newfoundland Studies’ Rev. Joseph Laurence Collection (Collection number 199 1.136)
Making the Rounds
As a young boy, Edwin Chant worked for Canadian National Telecommunications in Port aux Basques, NL. Here he is in the uniform he’d wear while delivering telegrams at age 16, circa 1953. Edwin greatly enjoyed his time at this job because it allowed him to get to know everyone in the community, the submitter wrote. Audrey Keeping, via email 126
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Gal Pals
Sheila (Jackman) Patrick had this photo in her possession, and she believes it was taken when she was in Grade 8 or 9. In the photo are: Back row (l to r): Patsy McGrath and Dot Gillies. Front row (l to r): Sheila Jackman, Mary Doody, unknown, Floss Doody and Bun Gillies. Shirley would like to know who the unknown lady is. If you know her name, please email us at editorial@downhomelife.com. Sheila (Jackman) Patrick, Lewiston, ME
This Month in History Up until the 19th century in Newfoundland and Labrador, medical professionals were few and far between, so caring for the ill was done at home by family members. On May 20, 1920, the Outport Nursing Committee was formed to get professionally trained nurses into rural areas. They raised money to help pay these nurses, with the government paying another portion. The nurses signed two-year contracts, and in that first year the Committee hired six nurses. In 1924, the group became The Newfoundland Outport Nursing and Industrial Association (NONIA) and began paying rural women to knit products that NONIA would then sell to raise money for nurses. Eventually, the government took over the responsibility of healthcare, though NONIA still exists as a non-profit organization and continues to employ NL knitters today, selling their wares in-store and online. 1-888-588-6353
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reminiscing
Little Girl Lost
The incredible story of Lucy Maude Harris By Kim Ploughman
Beating the odds
in life typically takes incredible courage and resilience. While some overcome great challenges over time, others survive horrendous ordeals that would take out ordinary souls. The latter was the case with Lucy Maude Harris of New Melbourne, Trinity Bay, NL. One spring day, circumstances quickly went horribly wrong, imperiling her life. The experience would forever change her physically, while vaulting her name and face into the international spotlight.
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The fateful day
Lucy Maude was a normal 10-year-old in outport Newfoundland until March 26, 1936, the day she and her little sister went on a trouting adventure after school. The weather wore a typical spring coat – cloudy with light fog. Snow still covered the cold terrain. Along the path, the siblings came upon a runoff from a brook, which Lucy was able to leap over; but smaller eight-year-oldMarjorie held back. Lucy encouraged her younger sister to head home and said she would catch up with her there. At home, her fisherman father, Alexander, and mother Amelia assumed Lucy Maude had stopped over at an aunt’s house; but when she didn’t show for supper, a heavy worry engulfed the household. By the light of lanterns, the family knocked on doors and scoured the small outport, while alerting all that their Lucy Maude was missing.
The long search and rescue
Early next day, a team of men assembled and began to search far and wide for the young girl, who had already spent one night alone in the cold wilderness. The team retraced the path the sisters traversed the previous day, but the men returned home without any sign of Lucy Maude. The family would spend another night in prayers and worry – but hope. Day two of the search began at daybreak with the church bells ringing. News of the lost little girl had beamed out along the shoreline and men from nearby outports arrived by boats, horse and cart, even on foot. (Some had walked up to eight kilometres to join the search.) Fears rose as the weather worsened, with rain and snow whipped up by high winds. The days passed and the buoyancy of hope of finding the young lass alive deflated. March bowed out to make way for April. Dread hung over the close-knit village of New Melbourne. Many questioned how it was possible now to find her alive; but still, they faithfully combed the woods day after day. Above all, her parents never gave up hope. On day 12, the family got their miracle. Word reached the harbour that Lucy Maude had been found, alive and conscious, by Jack Johnson and Lucy’s uncle, Ches Harris. The men crafted a stretcher from their sheepskin coats and carried the weakened Lucy Maude home. From there, she was taken to the Old Perlican Hospital. Left: Lucy Maude Harris recuperates in hospital after a harrowing misadventure. Courtesy Sharon Pynn 1-888-588-6353
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Songbirds and faith After her rescue on Saturday, April 4, Lucy recounted how her incredible misadventure had unfolded. A peasoup thick fog had suddenly moved into the area and without orientation, the pre-teen girl took a woods path leading farther from home, rather than towards it. “When it got dark, I started to run,” Lucy recalled during an interview with Jennifer Reaney for a 1999 issue of SARScene (a quarterly publication of the National Search and Rescue Secretariat). During this flight of fear, she lost her boots and mitts. (Later, searchers would also find her belt). The base of a big tree that Lucy crawled next to that first night became her “home” for the duration of her ordeal. Soon, her frostbitten legs immobilized her from walking, even if she wanted to. In a recent interview from her home in New Chelsea, Sharon Pynn tells me her mother (who passed away in 2018) remembered being cold at night, but in the morning it would warm up. “The sounds of the songbirds kept her company during the day.” Sharon explains her mom heard
the searchers, but was too weak to respond. When Lucy Maude was found, it was near Lance Cove Pond, about four kilometres from where the siblings had begun their adventure. When her mom was carried out, Sharon says she showed strength of character by asking about her ailing grandmother, “not concerned about her own poor condition.” Upon her safe return, the church bells rang for three hours in celebration. Sharon said her mother often attributed her survival to her religious upbringing. “She had faith and hope that she would be found.”
Recuperation, fame and rebuilding While Lucy Maude was rescued from the wilds, she wasn’t out of the woods entirely. She spent 18 months at the old General Hospital (now Miller Centre) in St. John’s before she could go home. Her legs and arms were badly frostbitten. Her blackened legs had to be amputated below the knees and she needed extensive rehabilitation. Meantime, word of her rescue was racing around the globe under news
Search and Rescue Star In 1999, St. John’s played host to an international search and rescue (SAR) conference. The extraordinary survival story of Newfoundland’s own Lucy Maude Harris was showcased to searchers from around the world. In fact, a 15-minute film was made about it, with two young girls re-enacting the part of the sisters, as a teaching tool for the searchers to never give up. It was also at this conference that Lucy Maude had an emotional reunion with a nurse, Rose (Peyton) McNamara, who cared for her some 63 years before. 130
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Lucy Maude (left) with her younger sister Marjorie. Lucy lived to be 92; Marjorie is 90 and living in Clarke’s Beach. Courtesy Sharon Pynn headlines calling her “The Wonder Child” or “The Miracle Child.” Little Lucy Maude’s experience touched the lives of many. In her 1999 interview with SARScene, Lucy Maude recalled the kindness of folks near and far. “I had letters and dolls from England and Australia,” she said, adding, “People in St. John’s would cook dinners and bring them to me. My nurse and doctor were very kind.” Still, the child who survived alone for days in the dense woods admitted to being lonely on a hospital ward without other children. After her discharge from the hospital, Lucy Maude was home-schooled until Grade 9 – not a common occurrence back in the 1940s. In her late teens, she was outfitted with two artificial legs. For years, Lucy Maude worked in the occupational therapy unit at the St. John’s Sanitorium. Described as a crafty soul, she volunteered teaching Sunday school and knitting goods for NONIA. In 1953, Lucy Maude became a single mother at age 28, when she gave birth to Sharon. The two lived with 1-888-588-6353
Lucy’s parents, with lots of extended family nearby. Sharon says being a single parent was not easy in the 1950s, but “she excelled at being a mom,” and recalls her as “loving to have children around.” Lucy Maude was a great seamstress, making all of Sharon’s clothes and graduation dresses for her and others. Lucy Maude Harris, born on October 26, 1925, lived to the ripe old age of 92, which is “pretty amazing, considering what she went through,” says Sharon. Lucy Maude passed away a year ago, on May 15, 2018, and as a fitting tribute, eight SAR members served as pallbearers. In her mother’s eulogy, Sharon, now 65, noted that Lucy Maude “never considered herself as having a disability. And you never heard her complain. She was a smart and progressive person for women in that time.” Lucy Maude left behind grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and two sisters, Alma Humby and her younger sister Marjorie, now 90. Marjorie, a former Pentecostal pastor, lives in a seniors home in Clarke’s Beach. She says, “Lucy was a wonderful person in every way.” May 2019
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reminiscing
A look back at neighbourhood shops and the people inside them. By John Dyke
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On Southside Road,
just east of Blackhead Road, Alice Dyke ran a convenience store in the 1960s. The “Enjoy Pepsi: Dyke’s Confectionary” sign lit up the little St. John’s neighbourhood in the evenings. Across the road from Alice’s store was the one that her mother, Jessie Baird, ran in the 1940s and ’50s. Alice’s father Jim worked at Gaden’s, just across the Waterford River from where they lived. He would put on a pair of long rubber boots every day and wade across the river as a shortcut to work.
Baird’s General Store sold a variety of items, from fresh food to canned products, dry goods and even rabbits when they were in season. It was back in the time before refrigeration, when blocks of ice kept food cold. Most products though, such as salt meat and apples, were kept in wooden barrels. There was a cowbell over the door that rang whenever a customer entered the store. The same cowbell would later find its place in Alice’s store. At Baird’s General Store, customers could request cheese by the pound, sliced from a big wheel, then wrapped in paper and tied with string. Every night at closing time, wooden shutters were placed on the windows to protect against thieves and vandalism. The blackout shutters were also a requirement during the war. Eventually the store succumbed to the expansion of the Canadian National Railway, when the company purchased all the houses on that side of the road. Dyke’s Confectionary was a family affair. All five children (John, Bev, Bob, Wally and Jimmy) tended the store, depending on their school and after school schedules. As the only daughter, Bev attracted some of the lads from the area. Young fellas by the name of Corbett, Crocker, Ryan, Guest – even Reddy, all the way from Craigmillar Avenue – made a point to frequent the store. Alice’s husband, Walter (Wally), worked at the Bennett Brewing Company. He also played the drums in various bands. One of his first groups was The Killarney Band; however, most of his music career was spent in The Johnny Francis Orchestra. They
Dyke’s Confectionary was a popular hangout, offering more than just groceries in the mid-1900s. 1-888-588-6353
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chairs that had been in Alice’s mother’s store), as well as a one-foot ledge along the wall where young folks would sit. Ten-ounce soft drinks, sold for 10 cents each, were kept in an electric cooler half full of cold water. Potato chips were five cents a bag and, from time to time, Scotties Potato Chips ran promotions where one could cut the star off the bag and collect these stars to redeem for gifts. Ice cream was seven and 10 cents a cone, vanilla being the most popular flavour. Raisin and apricot squares sold for six cents each, as well as crinkles. Cigarettes were 38 cents a Alice and Walter Dyke. Alice ran the family package or loose at two store while Walter (Wally) worked at the cents each, three for five Bennett Brewing Company. cents. Red Rose Tea was a played for weddings, garden parties big seller; one could collect tea cards and service organizations such as the from each package. The store also Knights of Columbus. They even sold butter, beans, spaghetti, potted entertained the Americans at the meat and corned beef, as well as Fort Pepperrell Base. His band Klick and Kam. Sheriff Jell-O was would often play on a Friday or Satpopular, and you could collect NHL urday night at Alice’s mother’s store, hockey coins in each box. There were where they would make room for the only six teams back in the day and live music and a dance. everyone knew their team stats, playAlice’s store was more of a gatherer names and game schedules. ing place, or “hangout” as it was Bologna and cheese were sold by the called then. Friday and Saturday pound. And you could buy nonnights were the busiest. It was the alcoholic Haig Ale, produced by the “go to” place where one would enjoy Bennett Brewing Company. a Pepsi and a cigarette sneaked On slow days, Alice would get her under the counter, while listening to sons to take a wooden Pepsi case of the most popular songs on the radio. assorted drinks, along with bars, It even had a small round table with apple flips and raisin squares, to the three chairs (the same table and railway yard to sell to the workers. 134
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Walter Dyke’s band played all over town, and sometimes inside Baird’s General Store. On button accordion, Mike Williams; on banjo, Ned Williams; on drums, Walter (Wally) Dyke; on piano accordion, Joe Cook. Timing was always key, and she knew when the men would take their morning and afternoon breaks. She would say, “Do not come back until everything is sold.” Back in the day, there were no plastic credit or debit cards, so everything was paid for in cash. However, there was a line of credit in the form of a scribbler and pencil. It was maintained by a customer’s family name, with an entry for each transaction. The account was squared off on Fridays because that’s when the head of the household (mostly men) were paid. One well-known patron was a gentleman named Cyril “Dickie” Turner, who spent every day and night at the store. He would help the deliverymen with their products and serve as a security guard. He called Alice “Big 1-888-588-6353
Al Dyke.” Alice thought the world of Cyril and the Turner family. Annual customers, such as the Portuguese fishing fleet sailors, would visit the store and purchase numerous bottles of Orange Crush. Thomas Amusements workers also frequented the store when they brought the fair to town. Alice’s Confectionary closed its doors in the early 1970s, as the children got older and the family wanted to spend more time at their cabin on the Witless Bay Line. It was a true neighbourhood store, a community within itself. Before supermarkets, malls, shopping centres and big box stores, the general store fulfilled a basic need of not only supplying food to various families, but also the social need to keep family and friends together. May 2019
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reminiscing
between the boulevard and the bay
The Blame Game By Ron Young
It’s time we took a long, hard look at ourselves so we can see the fat cats we’ve become. We have become “the spoiled generation.”
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The following column was one I wrote in 2002. This year, with provincial and federal elections coming up, debates about banning plastic bags and the cost of living going through the roof, this article hardly seems to have aged a day. What do you think? They are at it again. You know who I mean, don’t you? They are the cause of all our problems. They don’t have a name really, but when things go wrong They are the ones we blame. I’ve never figured out who They are, but I know They must be awful to have caused so much grief in the world. If we lose our job They get the blame. If someone else gets a job we should have had, They are the reason he or she got hired. They are telephone operators, police officers, income tax people, judges, schoolteachers, meter readers, politicians and all kinds of people. Lately politicians get labelled They quite often. In bad times politicians always get the blame. One would think that, conversely, They would get the credit in good times, but They don’t. I don’t think there ever was a time in history when people liked politicians. Maybe Winston Churchill was the exception. There are those who claimed that Churchill was a statesman, not a politician, and that’s why he was liked. I don’t know what the difference is, except that statesmen appear to be people that others like and politicians are something less than people, never liked by anyone. As far as Churchill goes, there are many who claim he was a great wartime leader, but did his share to muck things up when there was no enemy at the doorstep. At times I think We are really They. We are certainly the They who elect politicians. Politicians are now trying to balance the books after too many years of overspending. Some years 1-888-588-6353
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back John Crosbie, as finance minister in the Joe Clarke government, tried to sort things out by raising the price of gas. His package called for an increase of 18 cents per gallon. Not per litre, per gallon. We got rid of that government and brought in one that not only kept overspending our tax dollars, but saw the price of gas go through the roof. A few years later we would gladly have taken the 18 cent per gallon raise. Our national and provincial debts are higher than they’ve ever been, and our taxes increase every year. This burden of debt is going to be left to our children. With the way we’ve been destroying the environment and everything else, we’re not leaving them much as it is. It’s time we took a long, hard look at ourselves so we can see the fat cats we’ve become. We have become “the spoiled generation.” No longer is a fridge, microwave, television or an automatic washer and dryer considered a luxury. Three cars in the driveway, a boat and trailer, an RV, two snowmobiles, a motorcycle, an allterrain vehicle, televisions in every room, powerful stereo systems and satellite dishes are now considered necessities. [ed note: This was written before cellphones, data streaming and high-speed internet also became necessities.] We demand a shorter workweek, longer vacations to ensure our sanity, more pay to fund our spare time enjoyment, and early retirement so we can have more time to spend more money. 1-888-588-6353
We insist on having prepackaged foods from the supermarkets and fast foods from the restaurants. We demand that the products we buy be in cans and non-returnable bottles for our convenience – all of which increases our garbage output. We use ozonelayer-killing spray cans for everything from starching our collars to masking our odours. The cost of these items is unimportant and the consequences of their use not a consideration. We expect our province to remain the pristine, beautiful place it was once upon a time, yet continue to pollute it, while expecting tourists and tourism dollars to flow regardless. If we don’t get all our demands met, They are the ones who are blamed. It is time we found out who They are before our children are one day overheard to say, “Look at the mess They left us.” Ron Young is a retired policeman, published poet and founding editor of Downhome. ron@downhomelife.com
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LOG HOME
PRIVATE SALE BY OWNER Building in Town Square, Gander
Brigus Junction
First Floor, Commercial 1700 Sq.Ft. Second Floor, Residential 1700 Sq.Ft. 2 bedroom apartment with separate entrance. More pictures on request
Only 35 min. from St. John’s.
709-221-8757 or 709-424-0757 f.tizzard@nl.rogers.com
$485,000
Call Dean 709.689.4228
ST. JOHN’S
Over 4000 sq. ft.
Five bedrooms, three bathrooms, two car garage, heat pump, electric heat and a Pacific Energy woodstove, artesian well, developed basement all on a serviced roadway.
FOR SALE • 2 BEDROOM CONDO Hardwood floors throughout, colonial windows, corner unit with views of Southside Hills and the West End. $229,900 ONO tel: 709-739-5437 email: gshep@hotmail.ca
Deadman’s Bay, Bonavista North, NL Exceptionally well maintained 5 yr old home sitting on approx. 1 acre of cleared land. 2 Bed, 1 Bath, double Jacuzzi bath, hardwood throughout, interlock stone driveway, two sheds. $119,900
Call or text: 709-424-4654
Come Home, B’y! Fully furnished two-storey house in beautiful Lower Lance Cove, Random Island, NL. $89,500. Additional photos on request.
709-726-1060
For Sale
Beautiful Waterfront Property Deer Lake, NL Price Reduced to $449,900!
Listing ID: 1154568
Tel: 709-636-2904 • regberry10@gmail.com • www.rivermountainrealty.ca 144
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TRINITY BAY
Beautiful Ocean Side Log Home Cathedral Ceilings, 3 Bed 2 full bath. Over 1 acre of landscaped property with shed. Close to hospital, restaurants, schools and all amenities! $199,000 MLS# 1182863
Contact Vicki • 709-682-3902 vchalker@hotmail.com
Book Today 709-726-5113 1-888-588-6353
advertising@downhomelife.com
Marketplace Marketplace Information Rates start at $50 for a 1 column x 1 inch colour ad. This size fits approximately 20 words. The smallest size of ad with a picture is a 1 column x 1 inch ad and the cost is $100.
VACATION COTTAGE FOR LEASE
EMBREE • CENTRAL NL
Enjoy your vacation in this cozy, ready to move in cottage with full amenities! Private, fully equipped, fully furnished, 2-bdrm with a BBQ, large deck, washer & dryer, quality bed and bathroom linens, dishes, toiletries, satellite and free WiFi. Just minutes to a sandy beach & ocean! $700/week or $120 daily (min. 3 nights)
Call, text or email today for availability!
416-998-1960
facebook.com/EmbreeCottage
Call Today 709-726-5113 Toll Free 1-888-588-6353
Email advertising@downhomelife.com
www.downhomelife.com
May 2019
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Movers & Shippers SAMSON’S MOVING Let our Family Move Your Family Home
A Family Moving Families Professionally and economically Coast to Coast in Canada Fully Insured
Newfoundland, Ontario, Alberta and All Points In Between Newfoundland Owned & Operated Fully Insured, Free Estimates Sales Reps. in Ontario and Alberta
Clarenville Movers Local & Long Distance Service Your Newfoundland & Alberta Connection Over 30 years Experience Toll Free: 1-855-545-2582
Newfoundland Owned & Operated
Contact: Gary or Sharon King
Toll Free: 1-866-586-2341 www.downhomemovers.com
A&K Moving Covering all Eastern & Western Provinces and Returning Based from Toronto, Ontario Discount Prices Out of NL, NS & NB Newfoundland Owned & Operated 35 Years in the Moving Industry
Andy: 416-247-0639 Out West: 403-471-5313
aandkmoving@gmail.com
Tel:
Call Jim or Carolyn - Peterview, NL 709-257-4223 709-486-2249 - Cell samsonsmovers@yahoo.ca www.samsonsmovers.ca
Cell:
709-545-2582 709-884-9880
clarenvillemover@eastlink.ca www.clarenvillemovers.com
FIVE STAR SERVICE Without The Five Star Price! ★ Local & Long Distance Moves ★ Packing
Voted CBS Chamber of Commerce Business of the Year
★ Door-to-Door Service Across Canada ★ Replacement Protection Available ★ NL Owned & Operated
MOVING INC. 709-834-0070 866-834-0070 fivestarmoving@outlook.com www.fivestarmoving.ca
Over 25 Years Experience in the Moving Industry
June 2019 Downhome Ad Booking Deadline April 26, 2019
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puzzles
The Beaten Path
Thomas Lambe photo
By Ron Young
Block out all the letters that are like other letters in every way, including shape and size. The letters that are left over will spell out the name of the above place name in letters that get smaller in size.
M M K E H T
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Last Month’s Community: Britannia 148
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Sudoku
from websudoku.com
Skill level: Medium
Last month’s answers
?
Need Help
Visit DownhomeLife.com/puzzles for step-by-step logic for solving this puzzle
www.downhomelife.com
May 2019
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Downhomer Detective Needs You
A
fter more than two decades on the Urban City Police Force, Downhomer Detective has come home to rid Newfoundland and Labrador of a new threat – cunning thief Ragged Rick. A real braggart, the slimy criminal sends DD a blurry photo of his surroundings plus clues to his whereabouts just to prove he’s always a step ahead. DD needs your help to identify where in Newfoundland and Labrador Ragged Rick is hiding out this month.
Use these 5 clues to identify where Ragged Rick is now: • located on the Great Northern Peninsula • facing Strait of Belle Isle • community turned 50 in 2019 • surrounded by Anchor Point and Pigeon Cove • Labrador ferry docks here
Last Month’s Answer: Lark Harbour
Picturesque Place NameS of Newfoundland and Labrador
by Mel D’Souza Last Month’s Answer: Brown’s Arm 150
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In Other Words Guess the well-known expression written here in other words.
Last Month’s Clue: It is akin to thieving a bairn of its confectionery In Other Words: It’s like stealing candy from a baby. This Month’s Clue: Pilot the one as though you pilfered the one In Other Words: _____ __ ____ ___ _____ __.
A Way With Words
THINK
Last Month’s Answer: Think Big
This Month’s Clue
Left S ANS: _________
Scrambled Sayings
Rhyme Time A rhyming word game by Ron Young
1. A May affair is a ______ _____ 2. A butcher’s business is a ____ ____ 3. A social gathering is a ____ and _____ Last Month’s Answers 1. kittens’ mittens, 2. float a boat, 3. numb thumb
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.
; C F E A D A A H A M F A F F A A H A A G H F E E D H I I N O F O I I H L D A U I V E M M M T O R R S S I F E N N
D D I E A E T T O E N Y M O Y Y U
Last month’s answer: One of the greatest obstacles to escaping poverty is the staggering cost of higher education. www.downhomelife.com
May 2019
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Rhymes 5 Times Each answer rhymes with the other four
1. pews 2. hello 3. conference 4. warming 5. echoing
___________ ___________ ___________ ___________ ___________
STUCK? Don’t get your knickers in a knot! Puzzle answers can be found online at DownhomeLife.com/puzzles
Last Month’s Answers: 1. hello, 2. Jell-O, 3. mellow, 4. fellow, 5. yellow
Tangled Towns by Lolene Young Condon and Ron Young
Sound out the groups of words below to get a familiar expression. For best results sound the clue words out loud!
1. TALCFORK 2. CUPOH VECO
Lit Stay Cage Ant Sewn Knit ____ ____ _ ______ __ __
3. AYBTRO
Eight Hip Pickle Ant Sir _ _________ ______
5. BAWAAN
Last Month’s 1st Clue: Allow Seek Rook Answer: A lousy crook Last Month’s 2nd Clue: Thin Dove Yearn Hose Answer: The end of your nose
A
Unscramble each of the five groups of letters below to get 5 Newfoundland and Labrador place names.
nalogical
A
4. NBILUAE
Last Month’s Answers: 1. Gander, 2. Lewisporte, 3. Appleton, 4. Triton, 5. Benton
nagrams
Unscramble the capitalized words to get one word that matches the subtle clue. 1. LET HEAT – Clue: a good sport 2. ACID NEST – Clue: the length one will go 3. A MID ERR – Clue: joined at the “yep” 4. SHOD RULE – Clue: lean on me 5. UM NO ANTI – Clue: probably started as a molehill Last Month’s Answers: 1. imposter, 2. something, 3. habitat, 4. flooring, 5. calendar 152
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Four-Way Crossword F o re Wo rd s • B a c k Wo rd s • U p Wo rd s • D o w n Wo rd s By Ron Young
Unlike regular crosswords, in Four-Way Crossword each letter is not necessarily related to the letter in the adjacent row or column, but is part of one or more words in some direction.
1-4: ground area 5-8: key’s comrade 1-10: no sea access 1-21: limb 1-91: lawmaker 11-14: on par 7-4: freezing 7-47: ointment 18-20: first woman 20-13: all 21-24: stare 21-27: antelope 23-3: Buddhist doctrine 30-26: fiction 31-33: kind of person 32-2: molten ash 32-62: den 34-4: rip 36-33: green area 36-34: even 36-56: whale group 39-9: adore 39-36: jump 41-71: spline 43-63: hack 48-98: pension off 49-69: beer 50-20: sharpen 50-41: mouth organs 50-47: hurt 54-51: bannister 54-56: relieve from 56-86: let fall 59-56: heavy metal 59-99: citrus fruit 60-56: beg 61-69: mediate 62-92: got up www.downhomelife.com
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63-65: smidgen 65-45: alloy 66-96: lasso 68-65: trollop 71-73: young one 75-73: rodent 79-75: underaged 80-100: allow 82-84: spruce juice 83-85: imitate 84-54: two 88-86: knock 88-90: fish eggs 91-71: decay 91-100: flawless quality 93-33: salt pork 93-73: obese
93-95: fish part 93-96: okay 97-77: human 100-10: called Last Month’s Answer 1
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E C O N O M I C A L
T A R E T I L L I
ATEA S EN IM P A T A L O N E
O M E E C I E N
E D U R U N T G
T A D C O U N T
E M O S D N A H
S O R P O O R W
P O P A R C E I
May 2019
A A R G A I WN T A A B E L S E
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The Bayman’s
Crossword Puzzle 1 3
2
by Ron Young
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ACROSS 3. Cape ___ – hat 5. Injured on Duty (abbrev) 6. moray 7. “We’re up against ________ ____ few people know” (2 words) 15. dine 16. grain 17. East in St. Pierre 18. Cross __ the cats 20. contaminate 23. he 25. free-standing rock formation 26. var 28. home 30. “And eating plain food we kept _________ fit” 35. overhead train 36. tremble 38. Short for Dorothy 40. “as lonesome as a gull __ _ rock” (2 words) 42. Underwriters Laboratories (abbrev) 43. a talent for music 44. opposite of SW 45. remove spikes 47. album 48. short for Edward 49. extinguish
9. girl 10. Eastern Tickle (abbrev) 11. Ode __ Newfoundland 12. “I had a ___ when I came in” 13. “You can get only one shot __ _ shellbird” (2 words) 14. “__ _______ me kindly, saying Jack, how are you” (2 words) 19. scoundrel (colloq) 21. “_ __ her I loved her, I said I’d be true” (2 words) 22. a wink and a __ – NL greeting 24. Inside Eastern Shoal (abbrev) 27. “Are you” text shortcut 29. “I’m only fit to __ prayed for” 31. supply 32. quiet moment 33. Roman 6 34. Great Big ___ 37. rural route (abbrev) 39. ____ upon a time 41. compass point (abbrev) 46. River __ Ponds 1
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ANSWERS TO LAST MONTH’S CROSSWORD
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DOWN 1. “____ _______ __ ___ and snow to your heels” (4 words) 2. “She smiled like an angel ___ ____ ___ ___ ____” (5 words) 4. negative 8. joist www.downhomelife.com
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DIAL-A-SMILE © 2019 Ron Young
Pick the right letters from the old style phone to match the numbers grouped below and uncover a quote which will bring a smile to your face. ____ 7867
_ _ __ ______ 3 3 78 769464
__ __ _ 32 78 4
’
____ 5337
’
___ 487 ___ 255
___ 843
___ _ _ 943 7 3 __ 69
_ 4
_____ 78833
Last Month’s Answer: With great power comes an even greater electricity bill
©2019 Ron Young
CRACK THE CODE
Each symbol represents a letter of the alphabet, for instance t = N Try to guess the smaller, more obvious words to come up with the letters for the longer ones. The code changes each month.
N _ _ _ _ t b Bb K
_ _ _ N _ i KBt k _ _ _ _ J7 A b _ _ BK
_ _
XB
_ _
lB
_
7
_ _ _ N _
_ _
X Zp t k XB _
7
_ _ _ _ N _
r Kpb t
_ _ _ _ Ab b z
l
_ N _
Bt b
Last Month’s Answer: You find out who your real friends are when you’re involved in a scandal. 156
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© 2019 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.”
stomach =
walk =
_ _ _
closet =
t ca
sowed =
_ _ _ _
appraised =
_ _ _ _ _
]w[K}
_
[
_ _ _ _ _ _ _
}xxadft
_ _ _ _ _
_ _
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teem =
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
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_ _ _ _ _
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Last Month’s Answer: The first step toward change is awareness. The second step is acceptance. www.downhomelife.com
May 2019
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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 IN THE VEGETABLE GARDEN
Last Month’s Answers: 1. Hill; 2. Trunk; 3. Roof; 4. Window; 5. Steeple; 6. Coal Bin; 7. Cloud; 8. Man missing; 9. Cap; 10. Trousers; 11. Sea gull; 12. Car moved. “Differences by the Dozen”- A compilation of Different Strokes from 2002 to 2014 (autographed by Mel) can be ordered by sending $9.95 (postage incl.; $13.98 for U.S. mailing) to Mel D’Souza, 21 Brentwood Dr., Brampton, ON, L6T 1P8.
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HIDE & SEEK
NL CELEBRITY SURNAMES The words can be across, up, down, backward or at an angle, but always in a line.
ANDREWS BROMLEY CLEARY CRITCH DOYLE GUSHUE HALLETT HARRIS HAWCO HIBBS HICKEY HYNES JONES MAJUMDER MCCAN B Y H L H X E K Q K Z N Y N Z C W L
Q Q A S W A W Z C C R E U D W G N D
L S L X Z S A D J N L D D F O V K H
G A L X D L B Y J U N N S E A F I Y
W B E R W R E E A A Z B R V U P A Q
A M T I O M M S B T N K H Y E U K R
PINSENT ROXON RYAN WALSH YOUNGHUSBAND
MERCER MOORE MORGAN MORRISSEY OSMOND PERRIN
Last Month’s Answers
I B T M E L D S R I E K V C J I V R
www.downhomelife.com
Z M L R E U U I M I K P G Z N Y W B
V E C L I H S R O G Q Q N I S B I P
Y E Y Y G M P R F A Z L W P K R W W
R O V N E O X O F R V J D O D H K Y
D E U X U R C M A V O H N K C C Q Z
I H L G V B V D H D X T R A P H A P
P O D S H G F V B N A C K T F M V V
A N T R U I R E N U S N A I K M L B
H W G R I S T V E S A D K D O T A F
Y I V M S A F R E H P I I X B Y O M
Y D N O H M V I E Y L E R R Q Y N O
Q T O P R Q Y L Z E G A T I M R E H
O S N S U N Y S S V W R Y E K C I H
P Q G N K N T I H B Y I P R T C E Q
Y Z N L W I A T T E E L S A O J X D
C V I S G J T Z W Z C E E N K U I N
X L N O W O E C T R A E H T B F E R
R Q G T C L H I H C Q Z A S I D L F
W D Z R E O A C T Y C S W E R D N A
C E K V O Q R Q E O U O L I H F K Y
N Y T T S E E N X H I D L V A I N S
A Q S X R N S M T Z P S S E N Y H M
L W S A U R T O V C U X O A Y O O Q
W I J G W I O Q W I Z A W N Z D E U
H O U H D A T M Z M P E R R I N F C
P J R H A S X B Y W R G I O V S Y F
D A G X M Y O J I D T S R B V K W E
C L E A R Y H Q O W T M K A A P J C
M J P L X B H R Y N D H E E N N O B
V O I S E Y S H G A H C N T E U Z S
N J T A K S O J C N C C O M B L F A
T R E P A S S E Y S K O C J K G Q E
R R X A O H B K F C Z R O X A E N K
A R O X O N B N D E D O N O D Y R N
V E I I B U S G R V A V N D D Z P V
L M D N E N U T R O F X T A A S K I
Y K T J C L T B T G O E I N R J J B
G M V N I Y A P T E W H R T N X S Z
U H N H A T Y D U K E D E R A J O F
R N Y Y R K X T I H T I Z Q P E R P
May 2019
N M D X L G Y F S G C N I G C H T Z
U M S D C O N C E P T I O N E C O L
X A X D B H E Z V H Z A N J P K I P 159
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photo finish
Rugged
Beauty
A glimpse of the rocky coastline at the end of the Windmill Bight Park’s beach in Lumsden, NL. Faye Goodyear Cape Freels, NL
Do you have an amazing or funny photo to share? Turn to page 9 to find out how to submit. 160
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