Downhome October 2021 by Downhome Publishing Inc

Vol 34 • No 05

$4.99

October 2021

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Foraging for Wild Edibles

DIY Concrete Planters Return to Point Rosie

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life is better Published monthly in St. John’s by Downhome Publishing Inc. 43 James Lane, St. John’s, NL, A1E 3H3 Tel: 709-726-5113 • Fax: 709-726-2135 • Toll Free: 1-888-588-6353 E-mail: mail@downhomelife.com Website: www.downhomelife.com Editorial Editor-in-Chief Janice Stuckless Assistant Editor Nicola Ryan Editor Lila Young Art and Production Art Director Vince Marsh Illustrator Mel D’Souza Illustrator Snowden Walters Advertising Sales Account Manager Barbara Young Marketing Director Tiffany Brett Finance and Administration Junior Accountant Marlena Grant Accounting Assistant Sandra Gosse

Warehouse Operations Warehouse / Inventory Manager Carol Howell Warehouse Operator Josephine Collins Retail Operations Retail Floor Manager, St. John’s Jackie Rice Retail Floor Manager, Twillingate Donna Keefe Retail Sales Associates Crystal Rose, Jonathon Organ, Elizabeth Gleason, Erin McCarthy, Marissa Little, Elizabeth Gauci, Kim Tucker, Heather Stuckless, Katrina Hynes, Lynette Ings, Stef Burt, Ashley Lane, Sarah Bishop

Subscriptions Customer Service Associate Cathy Blundon Founding Editor Ron Young Chief Executive Officer/Publisher Grant Young

Operations Manager, Twillingate Nicole Mehaney

President & Associate Publisher Todd Goodyear General Manager/Assistant Publisher Tina Bromley

To subscribe, renew or change address use the contact information above. Subscriptions total inc. taxes, postage and handling: for residents in NL, NS, NB, PE $45.99; ON $45.19; QC, SK, MB, AB, BC, NU, NT, YT $41.99. US and International mailing price for a 1-year term is $49.99.

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

Printed in Canada

Official onboard magazine of

October 2021

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102 berry tasty

Contents

OCTOBER 2021

48 A Fresh Startup Fogo Island hydroponic farm combats food insecurity by growing luscious leafy greens. Nicola Ryan

52 Luxury Makeover It’s the first – but hopefully not the last – high-end retrofit for a family-owned shipyard. Kim Ploughman

70 Biking the Burin Peninsula

rollin’ along www.downhomelife.com

Dennis Flynn shares a recent fat biking adventure to the resettled community of Point Rosie.

102 Best Berry Recipes With these jams and jellies made from NL berries, you can really put out a spread! October 2021

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Contents homefront 10 I Dare Say A note from the Editor 12 Letters From Our Readers An amazing closeup, reader requests, and a successful staycation

OCTOBER 2021

12 Cash call

18 Pandemic Pictures Young people share their COVID-19 experiences

24 Downhome Tours Readers explore Italy with Downhome

26 Why is That? Why do we sometimes laugh when we’re scared? Linda Browne

28 Life’s Funny Tipping Point Orville Cole

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

30 Lil Charmers Happy Halloween! 32 Pets of the Month Halloweenies

laugh it off

34 Reviewed Denise Flint reviews The Winter Wives by Linden MacIntyre

36 What Odds Paul Warford cherishes the b’ys

38 Fresh Tracks Wendy Rose chats with Janet Cull about her new album, Hear It 42 Our Miracle Mom Raymond M. Hewlett

32 costumed critters

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78 nature’s bounty

features 58 Major Player A local board game designer is ready to roll the dice on a new venture. Nicola Ryan

62 Life Behind the Scenes Bob Sharpe’s rewarding career as a sound technician and workplace advocate. Ed Seaward

explore 76 Trolling for Trash The rewards

58 play your card www.downhomelife.com

and the reveals of Avalon Pond Cleanups Tina McDonald

78 The Tasty Outdoors A local forager’s tips on sampling plants found in nature Connie Boland October 2021

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Contents

OCTOBER 2021

DIY planters

home and cabin 86 Stuff We Love Fresh Food Savers Nicola Ryan

88 Summers at the Cabin Vivid childhood memories forged in the Codroy Valley Rebecca Dingwell

92 DIY Fat Bottom Pots Marie Bishop

98 Everyday Gourmet Berry Saucy Andrea Maunder

108 Down to Earth Why Lime? Kim Thistle

October 2021

88 summer memories

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120 flight to the past

reminiscing 112 Flashbacks Classic photos of people and places

113 This Month in History Rev. Michael Francis Howley

114 Creepy Tales from Conception Bay Dennis Flynn About the cover Dogberry jelly is a traditional spread made from the berries of the mountain ash tree. It’s one of 11 jam, jelly and sauce recipes in this issue, beginning with The Everyday Gourmet on p. 98.

Cover Index Fresh from Fogo • 48 Creepy Tales • 114 Spread the Love • 102 Foraging for Wild Edibles • 78 DIY Concrete Planters • 92 Return to Point Rosie • 70 www.downhomelife.com

120 Unforgettable Flight Tom Green’s recollections as pilot for the Grenfell Mission 126 Puzzles 138 Classifieds 140 Mail Order 144 Photo Finish

October 2021

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The makers of a Johnny Cash documentary are looking for help. Read their plea letter on p. 13.

Love to eat, share and talk food, especially NL food? Join our EverydayRecipes Facebook Group!

October 2021

Learn why and how to lime your garden. p. 108

? ? ?? ?

Puzzles Got You Stumped? Sneak a peek at the answers at Downhomelife.com/puzzles.

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Submission Guidelines and Prize Rules

You could WIN $100! Every reader whose PHOTO, STORY, JOKE or POEM appears next to this yellow “from our readers” stamp in a current issue receives $10 and a chance at being drawn for the monthly prize: $100 for one photo submission and $100 for one written submission. Prizes are awarded in Downhome Dollars certificates, which can be spent like cash in our retail stores and online at shopDownhome.com.*

Submit Today! Send your photo, story, joke or poem to

Downhome, 43 James Lane, St. John’s, NL, A1E 3H3 or submit online at: www.downhomelife.com *Only 1 prize per submitter per month. To receive their prize, submitters must provide with their submission COMPLETE contact information: full name, mailing address, phone number and email address (if you have one). Mailed submissions will only be returned to those who include a self-addressed, stamped envelope. Downhome Inc. reserves the right to publish submissions in future print and/or electronic media campaigns. Downhome Inc. is not responsible for unsolicited material.

Hidden somewhere in this issue is Corky Sly Conner.

Can you find him? Look carefully at all the photographs and in the text of the stories. If you spot Corky, send us your name, address and phone number, along with a note telling us where he’s located. Your name will be entered in a draw and the winner will receive a coupon worth 25 Downhome Dollars redeemable at our store, or through our website.

Send your replies to: Corky Contest 43 James Lane St. John’s, NL, A1E 3H3

mail@downhomelife.com www.downhomelife.com Deadline for replies is the end of each month.

Congratulations to Freda Chaffey of St. Georges, NL, who found Corky on page 97 of the August issue.

*No Phone Calls Please. One entry per person

www.downhomelife.com

October 2021

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i dare say

This year, I’m enjoying the fruits of no labour. What a growing season this has been in Conception Bay South! I don’t know how other areas are faring, but our garden has exploded this year. There was some labour for the vegetables – planting, watering, fertilizing, weeding etc. – but the rhubarb, cherries, raspberries, blueberries and apples made incredible yields all on their own. Well, Mother Nature had her hand in it, of course, but I just showed up for the free picking! It’s never too late to plant a garden, but the best time to plant fruit bearing plants and trees is 10 years ago. By now ours are pretty happily established, and I’m pretty happy to step out into the front yard and eat fruit right from the source. No pesticides, no carbon footprint, no steep price. Fortunately, you don’t need a garden, or even your own plants, to find cheap fresh food in Newfoundland and Labrador. The hills and marshes are alive with berries throughout summer and fall, and almost everyone does a bit of berrypicking. The more adventurous among us comb the woods, fields and beaches for other tasty, nutritious delights. From mushrooms to rosehips to stinging nettles, there are all kinds of surprisingly edible things underfoot. But, as an experienced forager explains in this issue (beginning on p. 78), people must be sure of what they are eating and be conservative in how much they take. And what do you do with all that you’ve foraged? If you’ve got gallons of berries, I recommend making the jams, jellies and sauces in this issue. Lots of fresh foods can be canned or frozen for later – like the middle of February, when you’re longing for a taste of summer! Thanks for reading,

Janice Stuckless, Editor-in-chief janice@downhomelife.com 10

October 2021

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Big Feed

I went to the floating dock in my hometown of Harbour Mille hoping to get a few shots of the whale that was feeding on herring in the harbour. I never thought that it would breach in front of the floating dock just a few feet from where I was standing! I kept my composure during the excitement and managed to get a few shots. Bonnie Dominix Harbour Mille, NL

Wow! That is an amazing closeup. Who needs to travel to a marine park when we have the real deal right here?

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Johnny Cash Documentary I am currently working on the documentary, When Johnny Cash Got His Moose. We are trying to locate a Paul Burke. Paul Collins had written a story about him, and we would LOVE to hear from Paul Collins or Paul Burke. We are visiting Newfoundland in October and wish to talk to fans. I really appreciate if anyone could help. Annie Sharp Via DownhomeLife.com

Can anyone help connect Annie with Paul Collins or Paul Burke? If so, write an email to: whenjohnnycashgothismoose@gmail.com, or contact Annie directly at scotiagirl56@gmail.com. That’s amazing news about the documentary, something to watch for, for sure! Here’s a photo of Johnny Cash in Newfoundland and Labrador for that 1961 moose hunting trip, funded by Field & Stream magazine. It was submitted to our website by Jonathan Holiff, whose father, Saul, was Johnny Cash’s manager.

Fellow Bell Islander

That’s My Dad!

It is always a delight to get the latest issue of Downhome. More so when it contains info of people you have known. On page 13 of the August issue, I was pleased to see the letter from Bob Norman celebrating his 90th birthday – belated congratulations. I was also born on Grammar Street, the year after Bob, and I “expect” to celebrate my 90th next year. Obviously I knew and remember Bob and his family. His brother Bill, Harold Nichol and I were the only boys in our class for years at UC school. I left in 1949 also and now live with a view of Lake Ontario in St. Catharines.

In the August 2021 issue of Downhome, on page 111, there was a picture of my father, Rev. E.A. Butler at the official opening of the bridge over Middle Barachois River, NL. I am Rev. Butler’s only surviving daughter, Chris, now living in Whitby, Ontario. I look forward each month to the Downhome and, because I grew up on Sandy Point, Bay St. George, I’m always pleased to read something about the area. I have subscribed to Downhome for a number of years, and I’ve seen it become the top notch magazine that it is today. Keep up the good work.

Lester Taylor St. Catharines, ON

Thank you for your letter, Lester. Hopefully, Bob will see it, and it will stir up some nice memories for him. www.downhomelife.com

Chris (Butler) Murphy Whitby, ON October 2021

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Unknown Found Object I am wondering if any of your readers can identify this object. It was found among my late father’s possessions. The top part rotates. I have checked with a few people, but nobody seems to know what it is. Any help your readers can provide will be greatly appreciated. Burton Janes Bay Roberts, NL

Does anyone know what this is? Email us at editorial@downhomelife.com, or write a letter to Downhome, 43 James Lane, St. John’s, NL, A1E 3H3. Or call us (toll free): 1-888-588-6353.

Old Water Street Photos I do enjoy your publication and would like to know if you could ask readers for photos or photocopies of photos from Marshall Motors to the Cross Roads circa 1950. It would have to be on that side of Water Street. There are none that I can find through the archives, but know there were interesting houses and stores along that strip of buildings. Everything is torn down now to make way for other establishments. I do have a few photos of the one end, which shows three houses attached. I do have the names of people who resided in those homes. A friend of my aunt kindly found out the names and the colours of the buildings. My purpose is to do a painting of this part of St. John’s. Sheila Hollander Via email

Can anyone help Sheila find old photos of this part of downtown St. John’s? If so, please contact her by email at shollanderartnl@gmail.com.

October 2021

My 2021 Staycation In July 2021, following the downturn of my mother’s health and subsequent passing at age 97, and getting tired of being stuck inside an apartment, I decided to take a staycation. I settled on travelling to Clarenville, where there are distant relatives in the area that I either never met or don’t remember. I’ve been gathering family genealogy now for over 27 years, and this would be a good time to fill in some blanks. I decided to use the bus versus a taxi because of mobility issues, and chose to stay at a local B&B called Island View Hospitality Home, owned and run by the very charming Patricia Devine, hostess extraordinaire. I was immediately surrounded by a sensation of “thank you for coming” greeting by the many old and unique dolls she has placed throughout her beautiful home, along with the many artifacts in her museum and the spectacular view of Random Sound and Island. I was soon introduced to a distant relative who just happened to be 1-888-588-6353

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spending the night, and I met a former coworker of a sister of mine. I was invited to go on a road trip to Trinity. After that, I was invited on a trip to Monroe to see distant relatives, then back to Clarenville to enjoy a homecooked meal to celebrate my birthday. I was then invited on a trip to Little Heart’s Ease, where I got to see Long Beach, inspiration for the song “Great Big Sea Hove in Long Beach.” Following a few more beautiful days in Clarenville, I was treated to another excursion up the Bonavista Peninsula to Bonavista and then to Elliston, where I visited the very heart-wrenching Sealers Monument. Once back to Clarenville, I received another heartwarming surprise, being reacquainted with a former friend from Stephenville who taught school in Spence Bay (now Taloyoak, Nunavut), when I worked up there from 1980 to 2002.

It ended with an email from a sister, replying to one I’d sent to her describing my chance meeting with my Stephenville friend. “Oh my God,” she wrote. “He’ll never be home again!” Robert Hammond St. John’s, NL

Thank you, Robert, for sharing your wonderful staycation experience. We’d love to hear from other readers about how they spent their summer. Tell us your staycation story, send us your vacation photos. Brag about the things you saw, places you visited and people you met. We’ll help you spread the word about the amazing sights and experiences found so close to home. Send your staycation story to editorial@downhomelife.com, post it on our website at Downhomelife.com/ submit, or mail it to Downhome, 43 James Lane, St. John’s, NL, A1E 3H3.

Jellybean Row Not Just in St. John’s In every community you will see jellybean-coloured houses. You’ll see them on signs, mail boxes, door hangers and even chairs. This chair that was given to my wife had faded in the last few years, so we decided to brighten it up. We painted the jellybean rowhouses on the seat backs. In the middle, between the two seats, I painted a silhouette of a moose and a bear and cub, plus their tracks. This chair can be seen in Triton, NL. Colin Cramm Grand Falls-Windsor, NL www.downhomelife.com

October 2021

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Pearson’s Peak This monument was commonly known as Pearson’s Peak. The plaque speaks for itself. The monument was located on the right-hand side of the TCH at approximately halfway between Grand FallsWindsor and Badger as you drive toward Badger (heading west). I snapped these pictures during the summer of 1966, after it was opened for viewing. It stood for a few years, not sure how many years. But it is no longer standing now. I wonder if it was destroyed by the environment or was it destroyed by people? It would be interesting to see how many readers still remember Pearson’s Peak, and if anyone knows how or why it was destroyed. Raymond Hewlett Via email

This is a neat piece of history, Raymond. As the plaque details, this marker was unveiled by Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson to celebrate the grand opening of the Trans-Canada Highway across Newfoundland on July 12, 1966. Does anyone remember stopping by this landmark? Does anyone know what happened to it? Email us at editorial@downhomelife.com, or write to Downhome, 43 James Lane, St. John’s, NL, A1E 3H3.

Dear readers, Would you like to comment on something you’ve read in Downhome? Do you have a question for the editors or for other readers? Submit your letter to the editor at DownhomeLife.com/letters or write to us at 43 James Lane, St. John’s, NL, A1E 3H3.

October 2021

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Sponsored Editorial

Kim Paddon, Mabel Paddon and Rob Paddon (Treasurer, NPS) with Midnight

Newfoundland Ponies at Government House in St. John’s Two Newfoundland Ponies are grazing on the grounds of Government House as they continue in their historic role of helping Newfoundlanders and Labradorians. The Royal Newfoundland Constabulary’s Mounted Unit welcomed two Newfoundland Ponies to their team during the Passing of the Reins ceremony on August 19. “Katie’s Rose of Avalon” and “Dixie H Cara’s Midnight” will work within the RNC’s Equine Therapy Program. The program offers equine therapy to first responders with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. The public is encouraged to come meet these beauties who have their own pasture on the grounds of Government House. “Katie” was born in 2006 and is a Southern Shore girl from Cappahayden, raised by Liz Chafe. “Midnight” was born in 2018 at Dixie H Farms in the

Goulds. He’s a Radical Changer, meaning that his colour changes with the seasons, from light gray in the fall, to dark in the spring. This characteristic is unique to the critically endangered Newfoundland Pony. (Pretty cool heh!) This amazing project would not have been possible without help from many people: the Lieutenant Governor of Newfoundland and Labrador, Her Honour, Judy Foote; the RNC; NPS; Liz Chafe; Gail Hansford, and several generous donors. Pam Pippy and Kelly Power-Kean’s dedication to seeing this initiative through also deserves special mention. Next time you drive past Government House, pop in to see these ponies that are a living part of the Province’s culture and history.

Attendees at the Passing of the Reins ceremony

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We’re into another school year and kids are back to class. We’re also still living with COVID-19, a virus that has infiltrated every part of society and upended the structure that education once provided. Downhome’s youngest readers have been sending us drawings and stories that express how the pandemic has affected them. Here are more of their insightful submissions.

October 2021

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Grace Martin, 13, celebrates getting the COVD-19 vaccine.

Nora Wells, 5, of Port aux Basques, NL, shows how she got to know her baby cousin John in Golden, BC, over FaceTime.

www.downhomelife.com

October 2021

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Hope Martin, 10, reminds us that “in the darkest tunnel there is always light” and she tried “really hard to stay happy and focus on the positive.”

Allison Jeans, 4, painted this picture of herself and her friend wearing masks at the playground.

October 2021

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Mckenna Pickett, 15, of Centreville, NL, drew this portrait during the early days of the pandemic and titled it “Bringing a little colour to such a dark time.”

COVID-19 Changes By Alexis Flowers Matthews, 10 Happy Valley-Goose Bay, NL

When COVID-19 never was a thing, my life was amazing. It was so fun, and I could have all the sleepovers I wanted! My life was great! But when COVID hit, my life was a mess. But I did have some fun in my own little ways, like skating in my backyard, making little creations out of paper and just chilling. COVID has been getting better through the year, but I’ve changed a bit just from COVID. I forgot what it’s like to not wear a mask in stores or any public places. I don’t see all of my friends, but I do see some a lot. I do get to see some of my friends in school. One thing I hate about this virus is that it prevents me from doing things. Lockdown has been hard for all of us. There has been some little things, like Donald Trump’s riots and people getting arrested for dumb things. Thank you for reading!

www.downhomelife.com

October 2021

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Ally Green, 9, of Clarenville, NL, reminds everyone to wear their masks and stay safe.

Lily Campbell, age 7, of Lower Sackville, NS, keeps her message short and very sweet

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Dane Barrett, 9, covers the whole pandemic in one drawing – from hand sanitizing and masking, to social distancing, household bubbles and vaccinations.

Khiara Connors of NL wrote a few words with her drawing, under the title “It’s Corona Time”: It was the year of 2020 and all thought would be good, but little did they know there was a friend coming to town. And her name was COVID-19. She was big and strong. She made us wear masks, shields too. Oh my, what is wrong with the world?

www.downhomelife.com

October 2021

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homefront Downhome tours...

Italy

Amalfi Coast

Kim Ploughman of Portugal Cove-St. Philips and her three aunts – Helena Billiard, Shirley Spence and Jeannie Billard – visited Italy’s stunning Amalfi Coast in 2017.

The Amalfi Coast is a 50-km stretch of rugged coastline located in the Gulf of Salerno in southern Italy. Listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997, the beautiful Mediterranean landscape is a popular holiday destination for tourists. The coastal road winds along sheer cliffs dotted with pastel-coloured fishing villages, terraced vineyards and fragrant lemon groves.

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Rome Helen and Sherry St. Croix of St. Mary’s, NL, pose in front of the Colosseum in 2019.

Construction of the Colosseum began sometime around AD 70 under Emperor Vespasian. When it opened a decade later, the massive structure towered four storeys high and could hold more than 50,000 spectators. A vast network of man-powered machinery under the arena made animals – including lions, bears, crocodiles and leopards – appear from under a wooden floor as if by magic!

Venice “My husband and I were in Venice in 2019 and enjoyed its beauty immensely,” writes Trish Jacobs of Dartmouth, NS. “We enjoyed a gondola ride through the alleyways – amazing!”

For centuries, the gondola was the most common means of transportation around Venice. Built in traditional dockyards called squeri, the gondolas are flat-bottomed and lack a keel or rudder, allowing for easier navigation in the shallow canal waters. The rower at the back of the boat steers by pivoting an oar in an open oarlock called a forcola. www.downhomelife.com

October 2021

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Expert answers to common life questions. By Linda Browne

Why do we sometimes laugh when we’re scared? Halloween is almost here – time for indulging in any number of spooky activities like watching a creepy film, visiting a haunted house or telling ghost stories by candlelight. For some of us being scared is fun, but for others, having the living daylights scared out of us is the absolute worst way to spend an evening. Whichever camp you fall into, you might find that your gasps and screams are punctuated by fits of laughter from time to time. But why on earth would you giggle as some costumed chainsaw-wielding maniac or groaning zombie comes galloping toward you at a haunted theme park? Are you secretly a sadist? Probably not. Is it because the experience is kind of cheesy and funny? Maybe. One of the strangest cases of inappropriate laughter comes from the infamous 1960s Milgram experiments, which tried to uncover how far people would go to obey an authority figure, even if it meant harming another. The subjects were prodded by an “experimenter” (an actor who was supposedly in charge of the session) to administer electric shocks to 26

October 2021

individuals (learners, who were also in on the ruse) in another room. Every time a learner made a mistake during an activity they were shocked (not really). As the “shocks” increased in intensity and the learners pretended to scream (though the subjects thought it was real), some of the subjects reportedly laughed. There are a number of theories as to why we sometimes laugh when we’re scared or nervous. One is that laughter is a balm to soothe us when we feel uneasy (as they say, laughter is the best medicine!) or helps break the tension in anxiety-provoking situations. Another is that we laugh to convince ourselves and/or others that we’re not really scared. Or, quite the opposite, that we laugh to acknowledge our fear and that we wish to avoid conflict. 1-888-588-6353

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Downhome spoke with Dr. Jonathan Wilbiks, an assistant professor of psychology at the University of New Brunswick in Saint John, to shed some light on the situation. When it comes to emotion (including laughing and/or nervousness), he says, there are indeed multiple theories floating around, “with support.” “This largely owes to the diversity of theoretical perspectives in psychology in general, and how researchers in those fields may interpret similar phenomena. This response could vary depending on which person you asked,” he explains. But based on his own knowledge and perspective, Wilbiks adds, laughing when you’re scared or nervous “is likely a form of self-defence related to reducing cognitive dissonance.” Cognitive dissonance, he explains, happens when a person’s feelings and actions contradict, or are incongruent with, each other. “For example, if you feel nervous but are laughing, those are dissonant events. We can use this dissonance to help us regulate emotions.” To state it in very simple terms, Wilbiks says, “It is like ‘Fake it ’til you make it.’ You feel nervous. You don’t want to feel nervous. So you laugh in order to convince your emotion system that you are not nervous and, in fact, that you are happy.”

Emotional responses, such as laughing when you’re scared, are something your body does automatically to try and balance things out. We don’t have to force our bodies to do these things, they just happen. Emotion, Wilbiks explains, is largely processed in our limbic system (located in the cerebrum of the brain), which is responsible for our behavioural and emotional responses and includes the hippocampus, amygdala, hypothalamus and several other subcortical structures. “From these areas, autonomic arousal can occur, and this arousal is ‘the same’ regardless of whether you are scared or excited. It is your cognitive evaluation of this arousal that determines which emotion(s) you are feeling. The laughter reaction itself is driven by motor areas, which are along the top of your brain,” he says. “These kinds of responses are generally not voluntary. You don’t choose to laugh when you are nervous (or cry when you’re happy), this is something your emotional system does automatically as a way of regulating things.” So the next time you find yourself in fits of giggles in a nervous or scary situation, don’t sweat it. You’re just human.

Do you have a burning life question for Linda to investigate?

Turn to page 9 for ways to contact us. www.downhomelife.com

October 2021

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homefront life’s funny

Tipping Point This is a story from my teaching days on the Northern Peninsula of Newfoundland. The morning after Halloween, the father of three boys called them together and said, “Now, tell me: which one of yous was responsible for tippin’ the outhouse over the bank and into the landwash?” No one replied. So he told them the story of young George Washington chopping down the cherry tree, and how he was rewarded with a piece of pie for telling the truth. So one of the sons, Larry, confessed. “It was my idea, Dad; but we all helped do it.” Father said, “No more outside activities for you for a week. You’re grounded!” “But Dad!” said Larry. “I thought I was going to be rewarded for telling the truth, like George Washington!” Father replied, “That was different. George’s father was not up in the tree when he cut it down!” Orville Cole Via DownhomeLife.com

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.

October 2021

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y a cabin “I’ll never bu again!” from IKEA e n – Debbie Ja

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

Here are the runners-up: “Planting trees is hard, b’y. Taking me forever to put ’em together.” – Diana Fiorini-Rose “Shag this, I’m gettin’ a mini-split.” – John Power “Nar log splitter in stock at Costco! Friggin’ COVID!” – Robin Squires

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

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October 2021

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homefront lil charmers

Pint-Sized Pumpkin Seven-month-old Eric Durnford is the cutest pumpkin in the patch. Charlene Durnford Burgeo, NL

happy halloween!

Sweetest Scarecrow Amelia Rose Bennett might be too cute to scare anything. Martina Swyers Stephenville Crossing, NL

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Fairytale Tykes Red Riding Hood and the Little Bad Wolf pose with their “grandma.” Cherish Halliday Centreville, NL

Marshmallow Cutie Oliver’s too adorable to call the Ghostbusters on him. Rebecca Skiffington Gambo, NL

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homefront pets of the month

halloweenies Fearless Feline Jack’s not afraid to hang out in this graveyard. Carla Tulloch Petawawa, ON

On the Prowl Black and orange KitKat lurks in the bushes as a favourite holiday approaches. Becky Wiseman Springdale, NL

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Trick or Treat Lap chicken Brandy struts in a candy corn bandana. Jennie Tomkinson Cow Head, NL

Dracula’s Dog Bella Joy’s bark is worse than her bite, cape or no cape. Triffie Burt via Downhomelife.com

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October 2021

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homefront

reviewed by Denise Flint

The Winter Wives Linden MacIntyre

Penguin Random House Canada $34.95 (hardcover)

The Winter Wives is the story of the friendship between Byron

and Allan, two men who met at university and went on to marry the eponymous sisters. How that friendship came to be and how it manages to continue is a mystery to all around them. Allan is a mover and a shaker. The main character, Byron, is basically passive, seeming to have no real interest in engaging with the world around him even as he moves through it in a conventional enough manner. It’s as if he checked out when he had the childhood accident that caused his lameness – both physical and psychological. Things happen to him but seldom at his instigation. He didn’t so much become friends with Allan as Allan became friends with him, and he marries Annie because she informs him it’s time to do so. His legal career goes nowhere until Allan pulls him (partially) into his net. When he does act, he usually does so inappropriately. Yet, as is subtly illustrated throughout, the two men need each other to be complete and so their friendship, reinforced by their marriages to the sisters, withstands any assault upon it right until the end and beyond. Everything in this book works except the non-standard punctuation. The use of quotation marks is a grammatical hill upon which I am willing to die to defend. Too often I had to re-read a paragraph because it was hard to differentiate between speech and narration. Even so, MacIntyre knows how to hold the reader’s interest. He’s just that good a writer. 34

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Q&A with the Author Denise Flint: You have a summer home and a winter home – a city home and a country home. Do you work differently in the two places? Linden MacIntyre: Not really. I was a reporter for many years and you learn to work wherever you are. You adapt. You can write in an airplane or a hotel room or the back seat of a car. It’s a process that goes on continuously inside my head; the physical location doesn’t mean all that much to me.

DF: Beyond the obvious, what are the differences between writing fiction and non-fiction? LM: I think there’s a difference in process and procedure, but I find that I’m writing about reality; and when I say you can tell more truth in fiction than supposedly in nonfiction, the essence is that I’m telling a story about the human condition and the experience of people who are in some form real to me. So a fictional character can be a composite of characteristics that I have accumulated over a period of time. That’s the essence of it. There has to be a lot more rigour for nonfiction, but at the end of the day it’s all put together in the form of a narrative drama of some kind.

DF: How well do you know your characters beyond what the reader sees on the page? LM: I have to know them quite intimately because it’s important to me to go deep into their character’s weaknesses and strengths. Weaknesses are more important, and you have to in some way identify with the character as an extension of yourself. You www.downhomelife.com

understand the character through the medium of my own experience. Nothing is entirely made up. Everything is based in reality one way or another, unless it’s declaratively science-fiction or magical writing. It’s not going to be interesting for the reader unless the reader can see something familiar in it. It has to become his or her own property. Things come as a surprise to me when I hear it, but it makes perfect sense to me. Someone actually runs that story through her own experience and expectations and sees it from a totally different perspective, and that perspective is as valid as mine. A woman I know surprised me when she said she saw this latest novel as a bromance. I’m flattered when a reader takes a book so seriously that he or she finds things I never thought about in the book.

DF: You’ve won lots of awards, both for your writing and for broadcasting. How does that affect you when you sit down to work? LM: Awards are different from rewards; awards always come as a surprise. I won 10, but was nominated for 35. I have received very few awards for writing books. I got one and it was a huge surprise. My wife had to tell me because I just wasn’t paying attention. I never really thought about until I was jabbed and told to go up and accept it and say something. I have a theory that a writer can only write a good book. You cannot write a successful book because there are so many factors in success you can’t be aware of them, and you can control hardly any of them. October 2021

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homefront what odds

b’ys 'n b’ys By Paul Warford

Each I examine the Lamborghini Aventador, in a beautiful matte blue, and weigh my Newfoundland finished options. The craftsmanship is second-to-none; man has a set the clear perspex engine cover adds drama and – as do the rising gullwing doors, like that of friends who flair car in Back to the Future. Then again, maybe I are “the b’ys,” should choose something with more colour, with racing stripe for panache. There’s a Shelby and, like most, aMustang Cobra in white with a royal blue stripe, mine are better or maybe the yellow-on-black Lotus Exige? I take this purchase lightly. than money can’t On my knees in a bookstore, I scrutinize one can buy. quarter-pound diecast car after another, hefting them in my hand, squinting at their interiors, considering their aesthetic. I mean, what kind of vehicle is most appealing to a six-year old? Peter and Robert were bound to be my friends, given their proximity. With Robert just across the road and Peter a few houses down on our side, the camaraderie was only a matter of time. I’ve actually spoken of both boys before, these lads-turned-men I grew up with – the b’ys. Each Newfoundland man has a set of friends who are “the b’ys,” and, like most, mine are better than money can buy. But today, we’re pontificating on their progeny. Robert’s youngest, his only son, Jacob, is turning six, and I’m en route to his party. He’s easy to shop for compared to his older sister (Isabella, 8), since I know what boys like: fast cars and guns that really go “bang!” I’ve selected a Babysitter’s Club edition for “Izzy,” hoping she’s an appropriate age for chapter books. But Jacob? Well, there’s so many cars to choose from. I try rewinding my brain to age six, and I remember that colours and sharp angles appealed to me far more than racing pedigree or branding. I go with the bumble bee Lotus. Spotting a six-pack of 36

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“emergency mustaches” amid the agenda books and coloured leads on the impulse-buy table, I impulsively buy them as well. I let myself into Robert’s house to be met with a flurry of activity. Robert’s oldest walks past with Peter’s oldest carrying several aluminum bats. The family dog is jumping to greet me. Parents recline on couches as the kids run rampant. The nostalgia isn’t lost on me as I think back to Robert’s birthday parties, which exhibited the exact same charming chaos. I find the b’ys in the backyard, along with Robert’s older sisters. I sit and chat with the women, catch up. Everyone’s a mom now. Meanwhile, the kids play “freeze dance” in the yard as they trample the grass seeds fighting to sprout. They laugh and place hands to shoulders, stumbling, snakelike, as an unorganized conga line. They dance to “The Macarena” – a sight I never thought I’d see. I suppose that’s my point this month: “The Macarena” is one of the most enduring songs ever written. Just joking, that’s not my point this month. Just as we once gained inch by inch, year by year, we’d sometimes find ourselves saying things like, “One day, our kids will be doing this together…” As youth, you say these things with a general sort of ignorant assumption; “We’ll do this one day, just like our parents are doing it now.” You say it as effortlessly as you say everything

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else as a kid. You never question assumptions like this one, and I guess that’s how hope works with young people. But now we’re here. We’re really here, listening to music from the classic rock station, telling them to “slow down, get down from there,” watching it all unfold. The music stops, the dancing stops, the kids freeze. It’s a beautiful thing. Peter, Robert and I pile into one of their vans and leave to pick up the pizza. We laugh and joke and gossip as we drive, and I’m taken back to 10 years before, when we were driving to be fitted for our tuxes as Robert’s groomsmen. Driving to get Subway and McDonald’s in our parents’ cars before that. Venturing out on our bicycles before that – you get the idea. I just hope things can stay like that. “B’ys, turn around!” Robert’s sister, Lori. She’s behind us. Seated abreast on the patio step, the three of us look over our shoulders and she snaps a picture. She shows it to me a minute later and we look great. We look just as we used to look. Turning away from the camera and back to the calamity, I see the kids are all smiles and they look great, too. Especially with their new mustaches. 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

October 2021

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fresh tracks

new music talk with Wendy Rose

Hear It Janet Cull

Joey Woolridge photos

IF YOU’VE EVER HEARD JANET CULL SING BEFORE, I guarantee you

remember that experience. To call her a “powerhouse” is a lazy statement, simply because she has been described exactly that way so many times by so many mediums over the years.

Power is something Cull has an abundance of – in the form of her consistently impressive vocal performances and her relentless dedication to her craft and career, on top of persevering through life’s many, many obstacles while recording an album in a new way, during a pandemic. Girl power, indeed. Cull’s 2021 album Hear It comes five years after the release of her sophomore album, Real Tough Love, preceded by a collaborative album with Kelly-Anne Evans called People Get Ready and a self-titled record, The Janet Cull Band. It was Real Tough Love that launched Cull to new heights of stardom, earning her three MusicNL Awards. 38

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While that 2016 release hopped around a number of genres, Hear It has a more consistent contemporary rock/pop sound while embracing Cull’s jazz/soul roots, giving the album a broad appeal while also having a strong identity. Think Sharon Jones, Aretha Franklin, Etta James, Amy Winehouse – all the big names are big influences for Cull, and this longtime love of early soul/funk/jazz is evident in all of her work. The album opens with “The Only Thing Changing,” which begins with a soft, sad monologue, swiftly enveloping the listener into a deep interest in the love story about to unfold. Immediately intense with beautiful and varying instrumentation, this album grabs you from the get-go. “Lonely” showcases Cull’s vocal 1-888-588-6353

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prowess, from intense growling rasp to hauntingly smooth and soothing clarity, the energy ebbing and flowing as we move through this slower ballad. The third track, “Fly,” has a fun R&B vibe – think 1990s Lauryn Hill of The Fugees, Alicia Keys or Macy Gray, or maybe all three. Cull takes us to church with the title track, “Hear It,” as soft organ plays under Cull’s commanding intro speech. “Y’all gotta hear it with me, this emotion and devotion,” she says, beginning to sing, “Tell me, I need to know, what is your greatest desire?” Her backup singers show off their incredible skills on this track. www.downhomelife.com

“I Wanna Know What Love Is” is a fun little song, with bluesy guitar riffs leading us into a captivating song of heartbreak and soul searching, featuring even more bluesy guitar solos. Plinky piano playing kicks off “My Light,” later featuring tender but powerful guitar and more heart wrenching lyrics – Cull certainly knows how to convey a range of emotion with style and grace. The album’s seventh track, curiously titled “Intro (Round and Round),” features more of Cull’s spoken word performances. Lyrically repetitive, this piece has a contemporary hiphop/R&B feel, while the guitar tones are akin to modern psychedelic pop. “Long Gone” evokes some serious Amy Winehouse vibes, and “More Talk” is an uplifting call to action to rise above the haters and to not listen to that “talk on the street” – a personal favourite for me. Moving into the album’s last few tracks, “Freedom” is another hiphop/R&B inspired piece, with Cull killin’ it as she alternates between rapping, singing and straight-up yelling – a beautiful outpouring of frustrating emotions. “Sink or Swim” slows us down a tad; this pleading, pianoheavy piece seems to serve as the album’s perfect finale, but there’s more to come. Hear It finishes with “I Turned Woman,” a feminist power ballad. It’s a suitable ending to an album that explores self-preservation, self-love and the impressive ability that we all have somewhere deep inside us to rise from the ashes and fly again. October 2021

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Q&A with the Artist

Wendy Rose: On Hear It, your third album, I understand that your approach to songwriting changed. Can you tell me a little about that shift? Janet Cull: Well, I was literally singing my feelings into a phone ... I just needed to get the sadness out and that’s how I did it. When I would listen back days/weeks/months after, I realized I was writing songs. Good ones!

WR: Aside from writing in that unique, raw way, few artists can pull off recording an album live off the floor. What was the vibe in the studio with yourself and the band? JC: I’m always better live... Recording over tracks is not really my thing – even the last record, I recorded all the ghost tracks while the band were recording their tracks live at my house. So when it was time for me to 40

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sing on a different mic, a recording mic, I found myself having to recreate what I did live with the band. This time around I decided I wanted it live… everyone at the same time. The musicians I worked with on this project are unbelievably talented, so I knew there would be no issues. The vibe in the studio was amazing. We had so much fun! We never did more than three or four takes. The hardest part was probably choosing which take to use.

WR: What’s the plan for yourself and Hear It in the coming months? JC: Brad [Jefford] and I will do a lot of duo shows. There will be a Newfoundland and Labrador tour, plus gigs in the Maritimes and Toronto. I’m hoping to get back to Greenland and Denmark in the spring as well! 1-888-588-6353

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homefront in your words

By Raymond M. Hewlett

There were no roads, highways or cars at the time.

The only method of transportation was by coastal boat. All Newfoundlanders of my generation will remember the SS Springdale, Northern Ranger, Codroy etc. from back then.

I was a little over two years old and living with my parents – Doris and Clarence Hewlett – at La Scie, NL, in 1948, when my mom got sick and decided to go to the hospital at Twillingate. I would stay in La Scie with my grandparents, John and Edith Hewlett. Mom boarded the Northern Ranger and went to Twillingate hospital to see Dr. Olds, one of the province’s top doctors at the time. 42

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She was admitted to the hospital, and after Dr. Olds examined her and took x-rays, he told her she had tuberculosis in both lungs and there wasn’t anything that could be done for her. He gave her six months or less to live, and told her she should get back on the Northern Ranger and go back home to be with her family for as long as possible. Instead, she asked Dr. Olds to do surgery, to make sure that her lungs were as bad as he thought they were. He absolutely refused, saying he wasn’t going to waste his time and her money because she would die on the operating table. He then discharged her from the hospital. Discouraged and disappointed, Mom returned home to La Scie. But she was determined to beat this disease, so she never told her family that Dr. Olds had given her only six months to live. After she was home for a couple of months, she began feeling really sick and had difficulty breathing sometimes. When she heard about a Dr. Thomas who’d successfully operated on TB patients in St. Anthony, she decided if others could survive this disease, she could, too. It was in the fall of 1948 and the Northern Ranger was making its final run for the season. She knew that if she didn’t go now she could die before spring when the boats resumed service. So, with her mother’s accompaniment, she went to St. Anthony and was admitted to hospital. Dr. Gordon Thomas examined her, took x-rays and then gave her the same report as Dr. Olds had given her. He told her to return home to be with her family for as long as possible. www.downhomelife.com

He had absolutely no idea how much willpower my mother had. Instead of giving up, she begged him to do the surgery, to be sure it was as bad as he thought it was. Like Dr. Olds, he refused and said she wouldn’t survive the operation. She protested, “You did

It was in the fall of 1948 and the Northern Ranger was making its final run for the season. She knew that if she didn’t go now she could die before spring when the boats resumed service. So, with her mother’s accompaniment, she went to St. Anthony and was admitted to hospital. surgery on other TB patients and they survived, and if you’ll do surgery on me, I know I’ll survive, so I want you to do the surgery.” He still didn’t want to do it. She countered, “So, if I have the surgery I’m going to die on the operating table, and if I go home I’m going to die in six months.” He said yes. “In that case, I’m going to die right October 2021

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here because I’m not going home and I’m not leaving this hospital.” Her mind was made up. She’d finally convinced Dr. Thomas to do exploratory surgery (the first miracle). But he wouldn’t do anything until he sent a telegram (no phones back then) to my dad to tell him what she wanted. My dad sent a reply to do whatever she wanted done. When Dr. Thomas performed the surgery, he was surprised to discover that one of her lungs wasn’t nearly as bad as the x-ray had shown. With some medical treatment that lung could be healed. Then, he could do more surgery to remove the other lung that was full of TB. She survived that first surgery (the second miracle). After a period of time and medical treatment, she was well enough for major surgery. In 1949, to remove a lung they had to first remove eight ribs on one side. They didn’t expect her to survive, but shortly after surgery, she woke up and asked for some food because she was starving (the third miracle). After five surgeries and months of treatment and rest, she was finally discharged from the hospital and returned home to La Scie in the summer of 1950. She was only home for a few months when she had to go to the sanatorium in Corner Brook, where she remained for about a year to rest and to heal from all the surgeries. Then she returned home to La Scie again. After all that, in June 1953, she went back to St. Anthony to give birth to her second baby, my brother, Terry. She was healthy for a few years until 1958 or 1959, when she got sick and had to go to the hospital in Corner Brook to have a kidney removed. Then 44

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in 1964, after all that sickness, she had her third baby, our sister Denise, born in Corner Book. For the next 30 years she lived a fairly healthy life. She was manager of a clothing store at La Scie for about 20 years until she retired at age 62. She and our dad, who had also retired, had a motorhome and travelled all over Newfoundland during the summers.

Doris and Clarence Hewlett Then in 1994 she started having problems breathing again and sometimes it hurt to swallow food. She went to see her doctor, who discovered that because of her missing ribs, her spine was bowed to one side, and this was forcing her collar bone to move toward her windpipe, closing it off and therefore making it difficult for her to breathe. So, at age 68, the only solution was surgery to cut a piece from the end of her collar bone so that she would be able to breathe and swallow more easily. She didn’t hesitate to consent to the surgery. The doctor explained that it was a very serious surgery with only 1-888-588-6353

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www.downhomelife.com

Announcements

a 10 per cent chance of survival. She said do it anyway because if he didn’t do it she would die because she wouldn’t be able to breathe or eat properly – and she was sure that she would survive the surgery one more time. The surgery, performed at the Health Sciences Centre in St. John’s, was successful. She then enjoyed 14 more healthy years until Monday, September 30, 2008, when she felt sick and was taken to the Baie Verte Medical Centre. There she took her final sleep at 4 a.m. on October 1, 2008. She outlived Dr. Olds and Dr. Thomas by living for 60 years after they each had told her in 1948 that she was going to die in six months. What a miracle!

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life is better Kayaking in Burgeo Julie Baggs, NL

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features

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Did you know that Newfoundland and Labrador imports 90 per cent of the produce we eat? While we’re fortunate to be able to enjoy peaches from Ontario, oranges from Florida and bananas from Costa Rica most of the time, our dependency on imported produce means we’re just one snowmaggedon or major ferry disruption away from empty supermarket shelves.

Our climate and rocky soil make it tough to grow nutritious food, and the vast distances food must travel between small communities means higher prices and diminished quality. Increasing our food security, which exists when all people have access to adequate amounts of nutritious food, requires some ingenuity. The Budden family on Fogo Island has developed a pretty unique way of making delicious fresh produce available year-round. Dwight Budden and his father, Hayward Budden, have created Living Water Farm – an indoor, controlled-environment hydroponic farm in Stag Harbour. Dwight laughs as he recounts how he got into growing fresh produce. www.downhomelife.com

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Hayward Budden (left) and his son, Dwight, with some of their hydroponically grown produce Natalie Budden-JDK Photography “I had one of these little things, it’s called a Miracle Grow Aqua Garden. It’s just a little countertop thing. I kind of picked it apart, figured out how it worked, and before long I had a bunch of my own little homemade versions in my office.” When he moved with his family back to Fogo Island to work in guest services at the Fogo Island Inn in early 2019, Dwight recognized the need for local, fresh produce in the community, and the idea behind that little countertop contraption started to grow in his imagination. “Before long we found a building and we rented it, and then we bought it, and we’ve been working on expanding the operation,” he says. Hydroponics is a fascinating way of growing crops without soil. Water in 50

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a controlled environment goes to work providing nutrients directly to the roots of plants, and they grow quickly and heartily. “We use coconut fibre to start the seeds,” Dwight explains. “When they get a root down and their first true leaves, generally speaking, then we gently uproot them and put them into a little net cup – it’s just a little basket. Then that sits in a hole in the top of the pipe and there’s water flowing through the pipe. We use what’s called a nutrient film technique – basically, the water’s flowing through the pipe and recirculates all day. We monitor the water quality and the nutrient concentration, and everything the plants need we can control for.” Inside their fully enclosed building, 1-888-588-6353

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Dwight and Hayward can control for the right amount of light, the ideal temperature and humidity, the absence of pests, and every other variable they can think of to have a most successful crop. “We try to give the plants the best day of the year, all year,” says Dwight.

Dwight Budden at work at Living Water Farm Natalie Budden-JDK Photography

Their efforts pay off, and you can hear the enthusiasm in Dwight’s voice as he describes the variety of plants they’re able to produce. “We grow turnip greens and rutabaga greens. We grow a couple of varieties of lettuce, like Romaine and leaf lettuce. We grow basil, cilantro, thyme and parsley. We grow beet greens and sorrel and kale.” www.downhomelife.com

There are lots of other things they could grow, but Dwight says that greens and salad mixes are what they’re concentrating on now. So far, supplying the inn, local restaurants, grocery stores and farmers markets keeps them flat-out busy. “We’ve had a lot of very positive reviews. It’s very humbling,” he says. “People come to me and say, ‘I’m going to get the best greens I can get; I’m going to get them from you, fresh all year round,’ and that means a lot. We really appreciate that people have made Living Water produce a significant part of their meal planning and their diets.” Dwight credits the federal-provincial-territorial Canadian Agricultural Partnership and Fogo’s Shorefast Foundation for their tremendous support providing expertise, financial backing and encouragement to develop hydroponics in the province. And Living Water has big dreams coming down the pipe, so to speak. “We’ve got big plans!” Dwight says, “I fully imagine that we’ll be a multisite operation at some point. I always got my eyes on some of the older buildings that are sitting around here on Fogo. I’m like, ‘Wouldn’t that be a wonderful place to grow some strawberries?’ Or ‘Wouldn’t that be a nice building to put all our herbs in? Wouldn’t that be great?’ That kind of thing. “We want to do the best we can to significantly improve the quality of the food that’s accessible here, and bring some employment to this area,” Dwight says. “But right now we’re focusing on doing our best to bring fresh food to our neighbours and friends around us.” October 2021

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features

It’s the first – but hopefully not the last – high-end retrofit for a family-owned shipyard.

By Kim Ploughman

Artful Interiors photos

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Artful Interiors photo

From wooden fishing vessels to a

SUPER LUXURY YACHT

sounds like a leap of career and prosperity for any seaman; but when it comes to shipyards, it’s an evolution in business that is literally making waves. Glovertown Shipyard, a facility that opened in 1977 in northeastern Newfoundland, has recently refitted a fishing trawler into a luxury expedition yacht. It’s the talk of the town – and the yachting world in North America. According to the shipyard’s owner, Leon Dowden, it’s a dream project that took a dream team of collaborators – most of them based right here in Newfoundland and Labrador. When Glovertown Shipyard launched in the 1970s, there was a demand for wooden fishing vessels. By 1981, the company had successfully moved on to steel-reinforced boats. Over the years, the shipyard secured clients from Canada and overseas who relied on their entrepreneurial excellence, professionalism, positive attitude, technological advancement and topquality control and products. www.downhomelife.com

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While the shipyard was in his family and he worked stints there, a young Leon Dowden took off to the mainland and became engaged in land surveyor projects at diamond mines and the tarsands of Alberta. By 2010, when he was 26, Leon and his family returned to Glovertown and the shipyard. One year later, Leon’s father, Ford Dowden, one of the owners of the facility, accidently drowned while working at the shipyard. Leon stepped up, learned the ropes and, two months after his father’s passing, he signed a $12-million deal with ExxonMobil. In the fall of 2019, a special project landed at the shipyard. It began with a call from a retired American, Leon says, who was looking for “American quality at a better price,” to refit a NL-purchased scallop dragger. The boat was the Anne S. Pierce, which had also served as a training vessel for the Marine Institute, and she had been contracted by the Transportation Safety Board to trawl for debris of Swiss Air Flight 111. Approximately two years ago, the Anne S. Pierce was sold to an owner who wishes to remain anonymous. The only details shared were that he is an older wealthy American who resides in Pennsylvania and has sailed all over the world, including annual sails to Newfoundland and Labrador for a decade. “I didn’t believe it at first… thought it was a scam,” says Leon. “Eventually, 54

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as we talked more, I said, ‘Well, he must be serious.’” From there, Leon became more engaged with the owner and even met with him in New Orleans to go over the vessel’s remodelling details. Early in 2020, before the pandemic hit, the American was here in the province three times. “There on in, there were daily conversations. He was on the boat at all times – via video,” says Leon.

Once used as a training vessel for the Marine Institute, the Anne S. Pierce sits in drydock before its refit.

The specifics of the shipyard’s work included stripping the interior, tearing off the wheelhouse and adding a new 40-foot one, as well as reinforcing the ship with steel, insulation and wiring. The project lasted 18 months, minus the four months when the facility was closed during the COVID-19 lockdown. The vessel was finally completed in June 2021. When asked how it feels to complete such an outstanding project, Leon says, “It feels like it does all 1-888-588-6353

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Artful Interiors photo

The remodelled galley was designed and custom installed by YourStyle Kitchens, a local cabinetry manufacturer. Before

other projects: it’s here and then it’s gone. As you watch it float away, there’s always an empty feeling and then wondering what’s next...”

Quality Custom Work

The cabinetry and painting was carried out by YourStyle Kitchens, a NLbased cabinetry manufacturing company that has been providing quality cabinetry to the provincial market for more than 25 years and, more recently, national and international markets. It’s owned by cousins Kevin Walsh and Paul Walsh. While this was not their first time aboard a boat, professionally speaking, Kevin says, “It was nothing like this.” During a recent phone call, www.downhomelife.com

Kevin shares how their company joined this project in February 2020. “It ended up as a team of people including Glovertown Shipyard, YourStyle Kitchens, the boat owner and a naval architect in the US, David Menna. We had weekly Zoom calls during COVID, and YourStyle produced 3D imagery of the interior for the owner,” Kevin explains. YourStyle Kitchens not only produced realistic concept renderings, but also completed the interior, including selecting lights, tiles, paint colours, flooring and appliances; as well as fabricating all windows, beds and solid wood doors. “This really helped the owner’s vision for the ship,” Kevin says. “He wanted an October 2021

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Artful Interiors photo

A 3-D rendering of one of the cabin’s redesigns created by YourStyle Kitchens.

interior design based loosely on older style yachts from the coast of Maine.” (E.g. the classic 1933 William Hand motorsailer.) And the owner wanted a steel-hull ship, no fibreglass. Solid cherry wood was used to build all doors, door casings, window casings, ceiling beams, handrails, beds and trim. “Cabinetry, which we do every day, was the easy part,” says Kevin. The luxury ship has three levels: the cruise level; the main gallery (with kitchen, laundry and seating area); and the new pilot house, with seating, daybed, washrooms and 56

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course console. YourStyle Kitchens spent many months in the pre-planning stages and five more installing their designs. “We really enjoyed the project… it was a fun and awesome experience. Gave us a chance to do something unique,” remarks Kevin, adding, “The project was interesting as it happened during COVID, which made it more complicated, as it kept the owner away.” Kevin admits that the project “had its challenges, as all projects do,” but he regards it as a great success. “A lot of great friendships were made… 1-888-588-6353

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perhaps the most important part of this journey.” One of those friends is Al Stuckless, a Newfoundlander and finish carpenter from Twillingate who currently owns Al’s Marine Service in Kingston, Ontario. Al moved back to work on the project from November 2020 to March 2021. He worked as a hire on the ship for Kevin. During a recent call from Ontario, Al declares, “The yacht is quite the masterpiece!” His involvement added to what was already a family project. Al is Leon’s uncle by marriage, and he joined

the highlights of my career,” will not only benefit the shipyard in Glovertown, but also help diversify the industry in NL. “There’s lots of work out there, and the market is endless with people that have dreams, hobbies, or just want yacht updates or repairs. The sky is the limit depending on budgets,” he says. “I was happy to see what people in Newfoundland and Labrador are capable of doing – especially around smaller communities,” says Leon. “It opens new windows of opportunity for the types of work that can be done

Artful Interiors photo

Leon, Leon’s brother and their father’s brother, plus other longtime employees of Glovertown Shipyard. “It truly was a family and community project,” Al says. “The project means big-time to the town, in that it brought employment and popularity to Glovertown.” Emphasizing the quality of workmanship performed at the shipyard, he adds, “This was totally done by Newfoundland craftsmanship. It don’t get any better than this…” Al is also confident that this highend project, which has been “one of www.downhomelife.com

here. The skillset has been here for years, and no one has done a yacht of this magnitude…” On a personal level, Leon says the project was fulfilling and he would “love to do it all again… I especially enjoyed the company.” Word is that the 45-foot vessel left the province in mid-July and headed to Maine. With his super buffed-up yacht, the owner plans to return in the near future, as part of his journey to Baffin Island, and then from the east to the west coast through the Northwest Passage. October 2021

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features

A local board game designer is ready to roll the dice on a new venture By Nicola Ryan 58

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Brad Hiscock was born to play.

The creative force behind Convivial Games has been fascinated with board games since childhood. “My parents tell me they can remember me playing Monopoly alone, as two different players, fairly and following the rules, when I was about four or five years old,” he says with a laugh. Since those early days, the Conception Bay South native’s passion for fun, intriguing, challenging board games has only grown. Now he has designed a whole suite of clever games for players of all ages. Classic board games like Monopoly, Snakes and Ladders, and Life have been favourites for years because they’re easy to learn and fun to play. But Brad soon noticed that winning

those games usually came down to pure luck. One bad roll of the dice and you’ll find yourself heading straight to jail without passing Go! So he sought out more advanced games, spending hours enjoying award-winners such as Catan and Ticket to Ride with friends. These multi-player games are more indepth, more strategic, and come with numerous expansions and additions to keep them fresh and exciting. Brad played with a keen eye on how they were designed and how they worked, and started hatching ideas of his own. “I got into a lot of not straight-off-

Images courtesy Convivial Games

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the-shelves kind of games, the designer games,” he explains. “Pair that with my love of creating something new and passion for writing, and you’ve got a recipe for a game designer.” Brad tinkered on game design over the years in his spare time. He now feels confident that his ideas are ready to go. He’s created a Kickstarter fundraiser for Convivial Games and hopes to earn enough financial support to produce and release a whole suite of board games commercially. His first title is called Feuds and Favors. Feuds and Favors is an entertaining, medieval-themed strategy card game. Using multiple decks of beautifully designed cards, players aim to eliminate the other players or gain enough trophies and favours to earn the top title. “There’s two different main strategies to it,” explains Brad. “One would be straight-up doing battle with opponents for trophies. Or, you can try to interact with the nobles of the area, like the king, the queen, the prince – they all have different abilities. You can interact in different ways depending on how you move through your turn, that’s the strategy part of it, and how you can use your cards to ultimately come out on top. There’s more than one way of winning.” He adds, “In terms of unique mechanics, you’re allowed to use the nobility cards in other people’s turns. You can turn up the sauce factor a little bit and it’s really fun; it gets everybody involved and interested at the same time.” Each game design has been perfected 60

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Some cards and characters from the Feuds & Favors strategy card game

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through multiple stages of testing, tinkering, blindtesting and collaboration, and Brad is grateful for the input of like-minded players in the gaming community, especially online. “Everybody wants to see everybody else succeed, which is awesome,” he says. “We can post a question like ‘What do you think about these two designs?’ and like, 500 people will make a comment on it. It’s really helpful that way.” With the designs perfected, Brad approached the next stage of his business plan with the same meticulous attention to strategy and detail, carefully planning out all the other logistics. “We’ve already found our shipping agent, we’ve already found our fulfillment agent, we have our manufacturer all lined up, contract signed – we’ve got all that. We’ve got timelines, it’s all sorted out. Our final hurdle is pre-launch hype.” This is where the pressure kicks up a notch – it’s important to start strong on Kickstarter and reach your funding goal quickly. The more people you can get interested – by signing up for email, following the project on Kickstarter, or contacting Convivial Games on social media – before you actually launch, the better. When we chatted in August, Brad was feeling optimistic and was expecting to go live on Kickstarter and accept pre-orders in September or October. With enough funding, he’ll be able www.downhomelife.com

Brad Hiscock and his family to get the games manufactured and shipped out in only a few months – most likely by March of 2022. “That’s one of my priorities,” he explains. “I want it manufactured and in people’s hands as fast a possible, to kind of reward them [for their support]. It’s a real local success story that [they] can actually take part in.” Brad says, “Over the next few years we’re hoping to be a major player in the board game market.” His fiveyear plan includes up to 10 more releases to follow Feuds and Favors. (He hints that the next title is a hockey-themed game.) “Those are the long-term goals. If I can build the momentum and be successful here, I can set it up in such a way that we’ll be a household name in the gaming community.” No doubt about it, Brad is playing to win. October 2021

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features

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Bob Sharpe’s rewarding career, from backstage at the ACC, to following Pope John Paul II and tracing the path of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment. BY ED SEAWARD

IN 1984, THE BASILICA-CATHEDRAL of St. John the Baptist still dominated the cityscape of St. John’s NL, long before downtown hi-rises took root and the construction of the art gallery and museum known as The Rooms. The great, grey building, designed in Romanesque style and completed in the mid-19th century on the highest point overlooking the old city, was what you focused on coming through the Narrows into the harbour.

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On the main floor inside the Basilica, in September 1984, 22-year-old Bob Sharpe was bent over and walking backward, focused on dragging a large cable, doing his job as a freelance technician for the CBC. Intent on his work and oblivious to his surroundings, he suddenly felt a firm hand on his back. He straightened, looked around and saw that the hand belonged to a plainclothes member of the Swiss Guard. Just a few feet away stood Pope John Paul II – directly in the path of a totally absorbed Bob dragging the immense cable. Pope John Paul II was on an historical visit to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the establishment of the Catholic Church in Newfoundland and Labrador, and the CBC was documenting every moment. Long before our current world of compact, wireless devices, covering a major event in those days required massive cameras, lights, microphones and heavy cables. As each papal event was over, everything had to be quickly torn down, loaded into trucks and vans, transported to the next location and reconstructed. Bob says he never worked so hard in his life. He also says it was one of his two most memorable work experiences – the other being the 2016 documentary, Trail of the Caribou.

Taken with the Theatre Bob is the youngest of my five Sharpe cousins, all of whom grew up on Goodview Street in St. John’s. In the late ’70s, the four older siblings went off to Memorial University, but Bob wanted something hands-on. His sister Marie, already established in 64

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While his four siblings attended Memorial University, a young Bob Sharpe wanted something more hands-on. costume design at the Arts and Culture Centre (ACC), suggested he could help out there. The world of theatre productions turned out to be a perfect fit. Years later Bob told Marie: “I owe my career to you.” At the time there were no specific courses for light and sound in the province, but he was accepted into an electronics systems program at the College of Trades and Technology (now College of the North Atlantic). In the summer after his first year of college, and before he had confirmation of acceptance for his second year, Bob went to Alberta to visit a friend in 1979. He is the one Sharpe of his generation who almost left Newfoundland permanently. The moment he arrived, his friend made a connection for him and Bob found 1-888-588-6353

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instant employment making a ton of money. The great Alberta oil boom continued to roar in 1979, still a couple of years away from the early ’80s collapse. But when the call came that he’d been accepted into the second year of the program, much to the relief of his mother and the rest of the family, Bob returned home. That said, employment prospects weren’t plentiful in St. John’s when he finished college, and he told his mother he was again contemplating heading west, this time to Toronto. Bob’s friends were doing quite well in the Toronto arts production scene. Marie came home one day to find her mother distraught at the prospect of one of her children leaving Newfoundland – losing three of her four brothers to Ontario had saddened her entire adult life. By then, in charge of the costume department as “wardrobe mistress,” Marie let it be known that her brother was looking around, without ever telling Bob. He received a call asking if he would like some work, and soon he became the main audio engineer for the ACC. The ACC was on the soft seat touring circuit for a lot of named artists, and Bob found it exciting to be exposed to

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great artists like Dizzy Gillespie, Jose Feliciano and Chet Atkins.

Career with the CBC Bob eventually left the ACC job to try his hand at freelance technical work, eventually landing at the CBC. There, Bob’s career was not only that of a sound technician, but also of a union activist who fought for and served his fellow employees for 30 years. Bob described becoming involved in the union as a natural fit. For him, it was “all about people being treated fairly.” As much as Bob enjoyed his career in radio and television, he says, “the business can be cruel because it’s hurry up and wait. If you’re not ready, you get dressed down publicly. Even if the equipment breaks down, you are blamed; it is seen as your fault.” In this environment, Bob was a champion of people, demanding they be treated fairly, and was part of a union team that saved positions both on and off air. In 2008, CBC presented Bob with their Radio Peer Award. Included with the award was an official document that provided examples from his colleagues. While extolling his commitment to public broadcasting,

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the document said, “Bob is also the rarest of birds. He is a strong union man who protects the flock as he should, but treats unionized employees and management with something he truly believes we all deserve: common respect.” Prior to retiring near the end of 2020, Bob was elected

As well as being a skilled sound technician, Bob was also a dedicated workplace advocate for others in his profession. vice-president of the Canadian Media Guild (CMG), becoming the first Newfoundlander to occupy that position. Upon his retirement, the CMG publicly acknowledged him in a letter to all members, saying they wanted to “salute one of our most passionate volunteers.” I mentioned earlier that Bob’s other cherished CBC assignment, after the papal visit, was a documentary. To understand Newfoundland and Labrador, you must understand its participation in the First World War, particularly at Beaumont66

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Hamel on the opening day of the Battle of the Somme, July 1, 1916. That battle, of course, was only one of many for Newfoundlanders and Labradorians in that war, and five battlefield memorials have been built in France and Belgium, each marked with a bronze Caribou monument. Hence the title of the 2016 documentary: Trail of the Caribou. Bob worked the entire shoot in Europe and remembers that “we landed in Istanbul and went to the Canakkale on the Dardanelles Strait, where we spent four days shooting. That area is where the ANZAC [Australian and New Zealand Army Corps] had to retreat and suffered great losses [popularly known as the Battle of Gallipoli]. The Turks suffered more. There was a small group from the Newfoundland Regiment that had fought alongside ANZAC troops. Then it was back to France for shoots at the Beaumont-Hamel, Gueudecourt, Masnières, Monchyle-Preux and Courtrai Newfoundland memorials. We were based, and shot, in Amiens, where the Amiens cathedral holds a plaque in dedication to the Newfoundland Regiment. Quite moving to see,” Bob says. “As a Newfoundlander, you cannot visit Beaumont-Hamel and not be affected by it. You come away swelled with pride and admiration for those lost in battle. You are also more than a little pissed at the British commanders and their blatant carelessness for human life. The same for Vimy Ridge. What a beautiful and fitting tribute to the Canadian soldiers. I think every Canadian should visit both of these places at least once in their lifetime. “I know that some schools show the 1-888-588-6353

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Bob (far right) in BeaumontHamel, France, one of the stops in the making of the CBC documentary, Trail of the Caribou. program to their students. We are all quite proud of that. That kind of story and documentary-making is what CBC does best.” Now retired, Bob and his wife

Sharon live in Conception Bay South, less than a half-hour drive from where he grew up. I’m an Ontario born-and-raised son of a Newfoundlander, so in an email exchange I asked Bob to explain to me the challenges and attractions of choosing to remain life-long in Newfoundland. “The climate fights you every day. To stay here you need education, trades and business skills. If you’re outside the city, [you need] a sense of the land and the skills it takes to hunt and fish and harness that land. The arts are highly respected and supported here. Our orators play to soldout concerts,” Bob says. “If you take the time and write a well-thoughtout book about the province, whether it be fact or fiction, it will be supported by our public. We appreciate welleducated people from across the world wanting to live and bring their skill sets to the province. We’ll let you know you’re not from here, but make sure you’re welcome as well. We love our singers and songwriters. Our radio stations give over hours of on-air time to local music, Sundays and Saturday mornings usually.” He concludes, “The successful work hard, play harder. A sense of humour goes a long way.” Well said, Bob, well said.

About the author

Ed Seaward’s novel, Fair, was published by The Porcupine’s Quill in 2020. Mother Daughter Happiness was a screenplay finalist at the 2019 Pasadena International Film Festival. His writing series, Profiles from the Bright Side of the Road, can be found on his website, EdSeaward.com. Although born in London, ON, his father was born in St. John’s, NL, and his paternal grandfather in Gooseberry Cove, Trinity Bay. Ed currently lives in Georgetown, ON, with his wife, Barb. www.downhomelife.com

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ISLAND

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explore

Dennis Flynn shares a recent fat biking adventure to the resettled community of Point Rosie

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Dennis Flynn photos

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The June sun punches through a slightly overcast sky at 6:55 a.m. A forecast calling for low winds and no appreciable rain is the sign of a large day ahead. Nursing a strong black coffee from a well-travelled enamel mug, I lean back onto a hunk of bleached driftwood as my weight settles into a carpet of fine red sand on a pretty little pocket beach that locals simply call The Cove.

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Dennis (left) with his riding companions, Doug Harrison and Lisa Hawco

This is where my two cycling companions, Doug Harrison and Lisa Hawco, and I tossed up our tents for the night after a surprisingly scenic 25-kilometre ride on fat tire bikes from Garnish to the resettled community of Point Rosie on Newfoundland’s Burin Peninsula. Former resident Lyman Keeping, who has a summer home nearby, steps over to have a chat. “This was the main cove where people hauled their boats up and where we played as children. It was the spot where most of the main activity happened,” he says. “There

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was a general store just right there next to us that is a cabin now. At the peak there were probably about 150 to 160 people living here full time. Nowadays there are about 12 or 13 cabins, and most of those are former residents with a connection to here.” Lyman continues, “I was 15 years old when I left in 1968 to go to Garnish to go to school, since the Point Rosie St. Peter’s school only went as far as Grade 8. I ended up living with my grandmother during that first school year, but my parents relocated in 1969 as well. They were among the

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Point Rosie

last ones to leave Point Rosie. I ended up being a teacher for over 30 years, and I love to come back here to Point Rosie. It is quiet and very peaceful. Everything stands still when you are here.” What particularly struck me on the leisurely 3-4 hour pedal journey here (with many stops to take pictures) was how the coastal trail weaved through so many diverse landscapes – from long cobbled beaches to concealed coves, from barasway to brook, from drokes of shielding trees to drungs between stone and timber

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tossed in by the tides. There were so many small rivers and bridges I lost count while pondering the names of hidden nooks such as Little Doughball Point, Jugtilt Pond and Devil’s Brook, where an enormous metal Coast Guard Buoy weighing easily a ton or more had come to rest after a winter storm. Farther along we came to Dallons Brook, which a local lady suggested was named because folks could walk there and back from Garnish in a “Day Long.” In the primal balance of things since we first encountered

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Devil’s Brook, it was only fair we should eventually arrive at Harbour My God Point (also the name of a nearby geological formation). Aside from the normal detritus from sea storms, such as ropes, floats and lobster pots, there was little to no litter. For a relatively remote location, it was one of the cleanest trails I’ve seen. Lyman says the trail is maintained by volunteers, and it is they and users of the trail who do their part to keep it clean. Lyman’s friend, Junior Moulton, joins us sharing stories and delivers a surprise treat of fresh coffee and Rocky Road cookies for us weary bikers. Junior shows me where the school stood, the best access points to several small graveyards, and a hilltop field where children once played soccer. He also kindly offers to transport our camping gear back to Garnish at the end of our stay, allowing us to ride unburdened, and invites us in to enjoy the warmth of his woodstove. Speaking of firewood, Lyman tells us how Point Rosie residents got wood home from the timber stands that were set a ways back. “When I was small we had oxen to haul wood. They were bulls and were quite mean, so you had to be careful around them. When the older men went to put shoes on them, it was a tricky procedure,” he recalls. “Oxen 74

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A bridge over one of the many rivers on the trail.

Lisa stands next to a navigation buoy that washed up on a beach.

A headstone in the Point Rosie cemetery. 1-888-588-6353

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were very stubborn, so if they decided they were going a certain direction with a load of sticks aboard and a bit of momentum, there was no sense trying to turn them. They were so strong they would beat up everything on the harness and the cart. It was best to let them go where they wanted. When they got a bit tired, then you could turn them very easily to wherever needed. Eventually we got rid of the oxen and got a big horse, about the size of a Clydesdale, and we called him Shine… It was a lot of hard work, but we didn’t mind.”

The relocated church in Frenchman’s Cove

Most locals worked in the fishery or away on the Great Lake boats or trawlers. “My father was probably one of the last older style fishermen here, and it was mostly all ground fish with some lobster [as] the main catches,” says Lyman. There is something unique about Point Rosie that encourages loyalty www.downhomelife.com

to the place even a half century after the last residents, Stan Keeping and his family, left in 1969. There have been several Point Rosie reunions, most recently in 2019, to mark the 50th anniversary of resettlement. Lyman says, “We get visitors from everywhere in the summers. I have met folks here from as far away as British Columbia who came here to do the trail.” During the time of resettlement, a number of houses were floated to Garnish and elsewhere. The church was relocated to Frenchman’s Cove, though under slightly different circumstances. When a church burnt down in Frenchman’s Cove, the former residents of Point Rosie agreed to donate their building to those in need. It was moved by barge in 1972 to Frenchman’s Cove, where it was renamed St. Luke’s Anglican. There is a miniature model of the church installed where it once stood in Point Rosie, built by Roland Caines. “He was a nice gentleman who relocated to Grand Bank when he left Point Rosie, and he only died a few years ago. The spot where the replica is was actually the location of the church bell. That moved as well, of course,” says Lyman. Before leaving Point Rosie, I visit the replica and gather a few small stones from the site and slip them in my pocket. On our way back, we take a detour to Frenchman’s Cove, to visit the church of Point Rosie in its new location. I leave the pebbles gathered from Point Rosie at the base of the bell tower near the church door, a small offering of connection to its original home. Long gone, but not forgotten, Point Rosie is an inspiring place to visit. October 2021

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It’s amazing, and alarming, how much garbage litters the bottoms of our “pristine” ponds. Next time you head into the great outdoors, do what this man does: take out the trash. BY TINA MCDONALD

ONE DAY, as I was casually scrolling through my Facebook newsfeed, a post caught my attention. It mentioned a pond I used to frequent. During the first half of my 20s, I had spent many hours rowing around this pond in my rubber dinghy, and I had never thought about how much garbage was hidden below the surface. As it turns out, there was quite a bit. 76

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The Facebook post was by a man who’d spent the day cleaning trash off the bottom of the pond. The amount of garbage he’d brought to the surface sure surprised me, but it probably didn’t surprise him. Eugene (Lou) Hynes uses his spare time to clean up the ponds he frequents around the Avalon Peninsula and beyond. During spring and fall, when the ponds are too cold for swimming, he cleans up the edges of ponds, as well as beaches and the T’Railway. Such cleanups are something he started doing as a kid growing up in Twillingate, NL, picking up any trash he saw on hiking trails or beaches. He enjoyed outdoor adventures and developed a great appreciation for nature. Eugene’s idea for Avalon Pond Cleanups came to him in 2017. While swimming in Topsail with his stepchildren he noticed bottles, cans, golf balls, plastics etc. on the bottom of the pond. He donned his snorkelling gear and brought it to shore to dispose of or recycle. A couple of days later he took the kids to Rotary Sunshine Park in St. John’s, and noticed the same type of trash in and around the pond. Once again, he picked it all up and disposed of it. Later the same evening, he started thinking about the garbage littering the ponds and what he could do about it. He has two kayaks and decided he could use one as a barge to place garbage in and tow it back to the shore. He soon set up a Facebook Group called Avalon Pond Cleanups, where he showcases the trash he retrieves – about 80 per cent of which is recyclable or reusable – and gives shoutouts to the friends and family who join him. www.downhomelife.com

Lou Hynes with a haul of trash

To date, Eugene has done more than 80 pond cleanups by snorkelling and free diving, as well as more than 100 cleanups of beaches and trails, including the T’Railway. When I asked him how much garbage he has picked up so far, his response was “tonnes.” And Eugene was literal about that. He has actually cleaned more than a tonne of garbage from the bottom of our ponds, shoreline, trails and beaches, and he has the photos to prove it. Eugene leads a busy life with a fulltime job, a wife, three children, two stepchildren and three grandchildren. He and his family enjoy outdoor adventures together and, being environmentally aware, they always pack out more than they pack in. Eugene would love it if everyone did the same. He volunteers his time and resources to clean up the environment for everyone to enjoy, and the only thing he requests in return is that we leave nothing but our footprints behind in the great outdoors. To quote Eugene: “Water is life. And without clean, healthy water our ecosystem is pretty much at a standstill. One person can make a difference.” October 2021

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explore

As foraging becomes more popular, a local forager encourages a cautious, conservative approach to sampling plants found in nature.

Photos courtesy Brian Bookhout

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comes naturally to some people. They use family stories or recipes passed from generation to generation to make dandelion jelly and steep Labrador tea. They pick berries and black spruce tips. “A lot of people might be surprised to find out that stinging nettle is an amazing edible,” Brian Bookhout says. “What a lot of people consider weeds and invasive plants are actually great edibles. Stinging nettle has been used in many ways and for thousands of years around the world.” There are three species of stinging nettle on the island of Newfoundland. “While one is native, two were introduced and more than likely brought to the province with intention,” Brian adds. “Now they are found around the island in nitrogen-rich locations, often looked at as weeds. “I grew up eating lots of macaroni and cheese, frozen pizzas and stuff like that,” the Ontario native laughs. “When I went away to college and was grocery shopping for myself, I saw all these new options and eventually started questioning what is in the food I was eating. I started looking at the ingredients list, which I never did when I was living with my parents. At some point I attended a wild edibles walk in Ottawa, became very interested, and began picking up bits of knowledge while travelling and living in different places.”

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October 2021

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Brian Bookhout says interest in foraging is growing. “People are interested in knowing what’s around them.” Brian found a province rich in wild landscapes when he moved to Newfoundland and Labrador. “Everywhere I go, I try to learn a little bit more and familiarize myself with what is in the area,” the Corner Brook resident says. “I’m still learning to eat from my surroundings, and that knowledge about what you’re looking at is a good thing.” A sunny, summer morning finds Brian in Bottle Cove, a popular beach and hiking area in Lark Harbour on the province’s west coast, helping participants in Western Environment Centre’s wild edible workshops learn what can be foraged and how to do it safely. “Interest in foraging is definitely growing,” Brian says. “People are interested in knowing what’s around them. I don’t think many people are seeking to have a large portion of their diet come from their natural surroundings, but once they realize there is so much to eat around us, 80

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and how good some of the wild plants taste, they are quite surprised by how obtainable it can be.” Brian runs the Facebook group Western Newfoundland Foraging. Members learn from each other, ask questions, post photos and share recipes. “I find it can be really beneficial to have a location-specific group to talk about what is happening right now where we are,” says Brian. “Mushroom Foray NL and Newfoundforage are other helpful groups. We have a lot of crossovers in that the same plants grow in different areas of the province, but the ecosystems are different. I wanted to start a site for this area of the province.” Brian says successful and enjoyable foraging goes hand-in-hand with appreciation for the landscape and conservation. “When you realize the amount of food that is available, you appreciate the natural landscapes Continued page 82 1-888-588-6353

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Salt Bush / Orach

Oyster Leaf / Sea Lungwort

Atriplex glabriuscula or patula

Mertensia maritima

Sea Rocket

Scotch Lovage / Beach Lovage

Cakile edentula

Ligusticum scoticum

Sandwort / Sea Chickweed

Sea Plantain / Goose Tongue

Honckenya peploides

Plantago maritima

Stinging Nettle Urtica dioica • young leaves are edible raw, though they will sting in the mouth for a short time • young shoots and young plants are edible when steamed/cooked • roots are edible when cooked • roots are best when collected in spring or fall • warning: wear gloves when collecting to avoid stings Sources: Western Newfoundland Foraging Facebook Group, Mushroom Foray NL (www.nlmushrooms.ca), .Newfoundforage Facebook Group

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Foraging can be a year-round activity. Here Brian collects rosehips in the winter. and you want to keep it clean and sustainable,” he says. “Conservation is important. If everyone picks from a small spot it can be picked clean pretty quickly. You need to gauge the healthy population of the plant you are about to pick and do not take too much. Some people say pick maximum 30 per cent of what is there, but an existing population can decrease pretty quickly when everyone thinks it’s doing well.” The leave-no-trace principle also works for foragers. “We should always want to cause the least amount of harm as possible,” Brain emphasises. “We should realize that when we take parts of plants from an environment, we are very much taking from the environment.”

Tips for Beginners

He advises people interested in foraging to proceed with care and caution. Foraging is not something that can be jumped into quickly, and 82

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foragers should question the history of the land they are foraging on. “If you are within town limits, or on the site of a previous homestead, there may be old paint and concerns with lead poisoning or other contaminates in the soil,” he says. “Is there a raw sewage outlet near shoreline plants?” His advice to foragers: “Find someone with experience to provide firsthand information. They can confirm a plant is safe to consume. A lot of people turn to the internet, but I would be wary of that if you are confirming the name of a particular plant, and if it is edible. Identification groups can be informative, and there are some great sites that you can learn from, but they are not necessarily a stand-in for a person with experience.” Knowing what you’re looking for and when to harvest are important components of successful foraging. “From late spring to mid-summer, different plants will be available,” 1-888-588-6353

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says Brian. “Often your window to harvest is quite narrow.” Start slow, one plant at a time. Do not expect to fill your plate right away. “When you add a new food source to your diet, do so slowly as you never know how your body will react,” he advises. “If you want to

move on from picking common berries – strawberries, blueberries and bakeapples – the shoreline can be a great place to start. There are some tasty greens that are distinct in their appearance.” And he again cautions, “Try to find someone to confirm their identity.”

Spruce tips, dandelion and elderberry flowers

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October 2021

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HOME and Cabin

stuff we love by Nicola Ryan

Fresh Food Savers LOAF LINEN Not a fan of plastic bread bags? Keep your loaves fresher for longer in an ecofriendly, machine washable, hand-printed linen bag like this one from Breadtopia. Breadtopia.com

CAT CLIPS These small cat-shaped bag clips are as cute as they are convenient. Clip ’em on to keep fresh any opened bags of chips, flour, coffee or snacks. If cats aren’t your thing, they also come shaped as dogs, woodland creatures, koalas and ladybugs! Kikkerland.com

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STACKABLE STORAGE Prepping meals ahead of time is an excellent time and money saver. Keep your freezer and fridge organized with a matching set of these Rubbermaid containers. Leak-proof, stackable, stainresistant and microwave safe, they’re great for storing pre-chopped ingredients or readymade meals. Available at Costco, Wal-Mart and other retailers.

FARM STAND Keep your garden’s bounty fresh and within easy reach with this breathable two-tier veggie stand by Golden Nature. Made from stylish and sturdy bamboo, it’ll look great on the kitchen counter. Amazon.ca

SNACK PACKS Swap out those disposable plastic baggies for these reusable ones from Rezip. Made from FDA-grade PEVA material, these stand-up, airtight, leak-proof, zipper-top bags come in sets of three or five. They are perfect for storing smaller snacks like blueberries, snap peas or cherries. Available at Bed, Bath & Beyond, Amazon and other retailers.

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October 2021

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HOME and Cabin

An annual trek to their western Newfoundland summer home blazed a path lined with vivid childhood experiences.

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if my dad’s ashes had even been buried yet when people started asking my mother about buying the cabin. It was 2016, and he had died after living with ALS for two and-a-half years. It’s difficult to explain the cabin to anyone who hasn’t been there. For much of my young life, I thought everyone had a place they called “the cabin.” So I took it for granted. In the summers of my childhood, our family of four would pile in the car and drive to North Sydney, NS. There, we boarded the ferry to Port aux Basques, NL. We’d land at the crack of dawn or dead of night, so my parents would put my older brother and me on moose patrol: I watched the trees from my passenger side window while my brother, Chris, watched from the other side. I quietly wished to spot a pair of glowing eyes on a massive, antlered beast emerging from the woods. At the same time, fear poked at the back of my head.

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October 2021

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It was sometimes still dark when we pulled onto the property, the faint sound of tires switching from pavement to dirt indicating we’d arrived. We would drive down the road through the field, past properties belonging to distant and not-so-distant relatives to reach our cabin. The cabin. The outside of the cabin has since been painted white, but I still picture it burgundy: its original colour. A barn-like structure that, once upon a time, was a craft store and office before it was moved to the land my paternal grandparents gave to Dad and Mom. Wesley, as the area’s called, is located off a highway in the Codroy Valley area. You wouldn’t find it unless you knew exactly where you were going. An internet search engine comes up with nothing. Dad would often travel alone or with friends to check in and prepare the place some weeks before returning with all of us. Otherwise, we’d arrive to an overgrown front lawn, as the property had been neglected for months. To the cabin’s right: my grandparents’ garden, strawberries and rhubarb galore. On the other side was the woods, where Dad and his friend Dave had built a treehouse, perhaps around 2002. I never ventured far past the treehouse, where I imagined faeries, demons and moose alike were lurking. There was no privacy to be had in the cabin, as only white accordion doors separated the bathroom and two bedrooms from the hallway. If it 90

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wasn’t too early or late, Chris and I might visit Nana and Poppy’s or venture farther up the road to our cousin’s – or, not the road, but through tall grass and foxgloves, ducking to avoid bees. We spent most days outside, playing games and picking strawberries. Once the treehouse was built, it was the perfect place to play Go Fish or Slapjack, talking as loudly as we wanted without annoying the adults. At the cabin, words that were inconsequential in the “real world” became specific and loaded with meaning. “The field,” for instance, was synonymous with Wesley. “The river” was a place we were never supposed to venture alone. A marshy 1-888-588-6353

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area at the edge of the field was ideal for frog-catching, but going any farther would mean trouble (and, more specifically, bears). There was enough to do nearby, anyway: meandering through muck after heavy rain, lying on my stomach to watch birds and chipmunks, collecting worms for trout fishing.

The cabin we’d deemed haunted was simply unoccupied, with perpetually dark windows that made it look foreboding. One night, I ventured out with Chris to play when we noticed the haunted cabin’s window illuminated. We hurried back inside, shouting, “There’s a light on in the haunted cabin!”

As my brother and I grew into teenagers, trips to the cabin lost their allure. I didn’t realize how special the cabin was until I became an adult. By then, it was too late. As my brother and I grew into teenagers, trips to the cabin lost their allure. I didn’t realize how special the cabin was until I became an adult. By then, it was too late. After ALS, Dad could no longer crawl under the structure to hook up the undrinkable tap water. He couldn’t haul the generator from its shed to get the electricity going. He’d never taught anyone else in the family how to do these things, probably because he didn’t think he needed to. Practically, I understood the motivation to sell. There was no one taking care of it. This wasn’t just about the place, though. In losing the cabin, I was losing another piece of Dad. It had been part of him his whole life. At night, Wesley felt like the darkest place on Earth. Chris and I stayed up late on clear nights, outside until flies made it unbearable. If there were enough other kids our age around, we played Spotlight: a nighttime hybrid of hide-and-seek and tag. The seeker was armed with a flashlight. I always refused to crouch in the tall grass by the haunted cabin; no way was I getting that close to it. www.downhomelife.com

Dad chuckled, assuming we were playing a prank, but we insisted. He humoured us, waiting for the punchline as he followed us out the door. When the so-called haunted cabin came into view, Dad simply laughed in disbelief. “Well, I’ll be damned,” he said. “I’ll be damned.” I cowered by his side as we approached the property, baffled by Dad’s intention to knock on the door. It turned out anticlimactic, though: a couple of relatives were making use of the place after a day of fishing nearby. Distant cousins whom I’d never met popping up a few doors down: it was like a joke a stand-up comic would tell to mock Atlantic Canada. Dad visited the cabin at least once post-diagnosis. I haven’t been there since I was 18, but with all that has changed since my last visit, I can’t imagine it’s the family hub it used to be. Standing abandoned and alone, at least three of those cabins might be called haunted by any kids walking Wesley’s dirt road today. Including ours. October 2021

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HOME and Cabin

DIY Fat Bottom Pots

Interior designer Marie Bishop shares lessons learned in making beautiful concrete planters.

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Isn’t fall absolutely wonderful here?

The colours, the lingering sunshine, the sweater weather, the harvesting of fruits, berries and veggies. But sadly, it’s also a time to close down the garden, deadhead the plants and make sure the delicate ones are covered. While there are still a few persistent annuals and late blooming perennials displaying their glory, they, too, will soon be gone. The biggest challenge is moving or emptying the large planters, the ones that are guaranteed to split or crack if we leave them out all winter – unless you have Fat Bottom Pots. These are unique concrete pots with thick walls and fat bottoms that will survive the winter. Carl White, a retired professional gardener from MUN Botanical Gardens and good friend of ours, started making these pots three years ago. He gave me one as a gift this past summer and I was so impressed, he offered to give me and Mr. B a workshop on creating our own. That was back in July, and we’ve been up to our elbows in concrete ever since. The beauty of these pots is that you CAN leave them out all winter. So you can pot up as many perennials as you have room for, and next spring you don’t have to wait until the last frost in June to fill your pots. They’re all ready to go without any effort at all. They are especially good for small spaces or areas that have generally poor soil conditions. But they’re also well suited for larger gardens where you want to create a www.downhomelife.com

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lounging or meditation area but would like to keep the greenery under control. These pots are easy to make, if you don’t mind getting your hands dirty, and offer endless options for size, shape, colour and design. Keep in mind, the bigger the pot, the more challenging it will be to move. They are heavy, so you may want to start with a manageable size; for instance, an outside diameter of 18"-20" and a height of 12"-14". Like any do-it-yourself project, getting a visual of the end result is the

best place to start. A low, shallow, tray-style pot won’t hold a lot of soil, but makes a beautiful space to display a moss garden or other shallow root plants. You can also build up the soil by adding some interesting rocks. A tall, narrow pot is an ideal vessel for a bonsai or tall, small-leaf plant such as a dwarf Cotoneaster. A wide pot will accommodate a variety of plants, which is always visually interesting. Once you’ve decided what size and shape you’d like, you need to assemble your materials.

What You Need A cement mixing tub or similar type container 66 lb (30 kg) bag of Ready Mix Concrete Work gloves Shovel or scoop Watering hose or large containers of water Selection of pots to use as forms Roll of plastic wrap Inexpensive cooking oil Tube of caulking, for designs Various utensils: spoon, spatula, knife, small wire brush

If you want to add a colour wash - ink is a great medium. The concrete mixing tub is available at local retailers such as Home Depot in different sizes. The largest one costs $15 and will accommodate a full 30-lb bag of concrete. It’s rectangular, not too high and has rounded edges so it’s easy to move the cement around while you’re mixing it. Ready Mix Concrete is available at any building supply store. A 60-lb bag is roughly $8 and, depending on the size of your pots, will yield three or four beautiful Fat Bottom Pots per bag.

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Step One You will need 2 containers per finished pot. One to create the main shape of the pot, the other to create the opening inside the pot. Keep in mind, the inside of the larger container will be what you see on the outside of your created pot. A container with a threedimensional pattern on its surface will give an interesting texture. You can use a tube of caulking to draw images on the inside of the large pot. These images become indented into the outside surface of the finished pot and create an artistic, unique result. If the larger container is plastic, you won’t have any trouble removing the cement once it dries. If it’s stubborn, apply a little heat with a hair dryer or heat gun. I’d recommend brushing the inside with cooking oil before starting, just to be sure. If the larger container is clay or glass, you will need to line it with plastic wrap. This will ensure your pot comes out easily. Have your inside container close by as well. This pot should be at least 3" smaller in diameter than the outside one. Use the same precautions as with the larger one; either coat with oil or wrap with plastic wrap.

Do not forget this small but critical step! Use a cork or piece of dowel or pipe, placed in the bottom of the large pot to produce a drainage hole in your creation. Make sure it’s tall enough so it protrudes through the 2" of concrete you are about to pour on top of it.

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Step Two

Step Three

Next, mix up the concrete. If you want a relatively smooth pot, sift out the larger rock in the concrete mix. We didn’t do that, opting for a more rustic, organic-looking pot. Pour the full bag of concrete mix into the tub and add water. Best to be cautious with the water: you want it wet enough to handle, but not soupy. You can always add more as you go. This is really the most physical part: mix, scrape, stir, fold, repeat. Be sure to get a good moist mixture that will be easy to handle, kind of the consistency of thick, heavy porridge.

Once the concrete is ready, scoop enough into the bottom of your chosen container to cover a 1.5"-2" depth. Then place your smaller container on top of that, making sure it is centred and the drainage hole is secured. Gently spoon more of the mix in the space between the large and small container walls until it reaches the top all the way around. Smooth the surface with a spatula. Tap the outside surface of the larger container with a wooden spoon to release any air bubbles in the cement. Fill the next pot in line, then the next until your mixture is used up.

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Let the pots sit overnight. Indoors or outdoors, wherever you are working, is fine. Once they are relatively set/dry, which should only take 12-18 hours, it’s time for the big reveal. Release the pots by gently encouraging them apart. The plastic wrap and/or oil should have helped with this. Once they are out, they are ready to use!

Filling Fat Bottom Pots

Now, to plant up your pot. A small piece of screen over the drainage hole is a good idea; a few small pebbles or rocks in the bottom also helps with drainage. Mix the soil according to your plant’s requirements, then settle your plants into their new home. An interesting rock, piece of wood or miniature figure will add interest and a touch of whimsy.

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October 2021

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HOME and Cabin

the everyday gourmet

Berry Saucy 98

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the everyday gourmet By Andrea Maunder

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

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There are classic dishes

of many cuisines around the world that celebrate the contrast of sweet and sour flavours that come together in a harmonious whole. I love the word Italians have for it – agridolce (pronounced AH-gree-DOL-chey), which sounds as delightful as it tastes. Literally, sour-sweet. A traditional French sauce is gastrique – a combination of vinegar and sugar with other flavourings, fruit, herbs or shallots perhaps, a little wine or other booze and a touch of butter. Slightly puckery and packing loads of flavour, gastrique is often paired with fatty or rich dishes to provide a nice counterpoint to the heaviness. Duck with cherry or orange gastrique is a classic. I love gastrique with meaty fishes such as halibut, and it’s a wonderful foil for the sweet richness of scallops. Imagine an apple gastrique with pork, or cranberry gastrique with turkey. At catering events, I have often served partridgeberry gastrique with savoury-crumb crusted chicken breast. Every time there are requests for the recipe. As always with my recipes, once you have the basic technique down, you can feel free to use different fruit and incorporate your favourite flavours. Try different vinegars, spirits, seasonings and fruits. The texture of your gastrique is up to you. You’ll notice in the photos, I puréed the blueberry gastrique with berries still in, resulting in a thicker sauce, while I strained out the partridgeberries to make a thinner, shinier sauce. I chose to serve a little of each gastrique on some grilled halloumi cheese with a simple arugula salad and a bit of buttered sourdough. My mom, Daphne, joined me for lunch and we devoured it. Gastrique keeps in the fridge for several weeks, allowing for an easy, quick addition to what might otherwise be a plain, too-pooped-to-cook, weeknight meal. It is fabulous drizzled on baked brie or camembert, on charcuterie plates, even as a base to salad dressings. Mix a little into mayo for a delicious sandwich. October 2021

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Blueberry Ginger Balsamic Gastrique 2 tbsp butter 1 tbsp finely chopped fresh ginger 3 sprigs fresh thyme Pinch salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste 3 tbsp sugar

3 tbsp red wine 3 tbsp Balsamic vinegar 2 cups blueberries 1-2 tbsp water, if needed

In a small, heavy-bottomed saucepan, melt butter over med-high heat. Add ginger and thyme sprigs, season with salt and pepper. Allow to simmer a moment or two. Increase the heat and stir in sugar, wine and Balsamic vinegar. Simmer a moment, then add berries. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Berries will cook and sauce will thicken and become glossy. Taste and adjust seasonings. Add a little water during cooking or puréeing if sauce is overly thick. Pull out the thyme sprigs and discard. Either purée until smooth for a thicker, clingier sauce, or pass through a fine sieve for a looser sauce. Gorgeous on grilled salmon, pork, chicken, steak, trout and more.

Partridgeberry Garlic Gastrique 2 tbsp butter 3-4 cloves garlic, minced finely Pinch salt and fresh ground pepper to taste 2-3 bay leaves 1 (3-inch) cinnamon stick 4 1/2 tbsp sugar

1 tbsp Grand Marnier (or other orange liqueur) 3 oz white wine 3 oz cider vinegar 2 cups partridgeberries 2-3 tbsp water as needed

In a small heavy-bottomed saucepan, melt butter over med-high heat. Add garlic, salt and pepper. Allow to simmer a moment or two. Increase the heat and add bay leaves, cinnamon stick, sugar, liqueur, wine and cider vinegar. Simmer a moment, then add partridgeberries. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Berries will cook and sauce will thicken and become glossy. Taste and adjust seasonings. Add a little water during cooking or puréeing if sauce is overly thick. Discard cinnamon stick and bay leaves. Either purée until smooth for a thicker, clingier sauce, or pass through a fine sieve for a looser sauce. Gorgeous on soft cheese, chicken, turkey or duck.

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HOME and Cabin

everyday recipes

Best Berry Recipes With these jams and jellies made from Newfoundland and Labrador berries, you can really put out a spread! Thank you to the readers who helped us compile this delicious list.

Strawberry Freezer Jam By Maureen Charlong 1 4 1 2

qt fresh strawberries cups sugar pouch liquid Certo pectin tbsp lemon juice

You’re going to need about five jam jars. We use the dishwasher to sterilize the jars. While they are going through their cycle, wash and hull all the strawberries. Crush them and measure to make sure you have 2 cups worth. Put them in a bowl and add 4 cups sugar. Let stand 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add one pouch of Certo pectin and 2 tbsp lemon juice. Stir until the sugar is no longer grainy (about 3 minutes). Fill sterilized jars to within a half-inch from the top and add sterilized lids. Let stand at room temperature for 24 hours. Jam is now ready to use. You can refrigerate it for 3 weeks or freeze it for up to a year. This is an old family recipe. We use it straight out of the freezer all summer long.

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Christmas Jam By Sarah Pitcher 3 1 1 1

cups partridgeberries 1⁄2 cups peeled apples, finely diced 1⁄2 cups water 1⁄2 cups crushed pineapple (juice included) 2 tbsp lemon juice 3 1⁄2 cups sugar

In a large pot, combine partridgeberries, apples and water. Cook over medium-high heat until apples appear translucent and partridgeberries pop. Remove from heat and let cool. Add the pineapple with juice, lemon juice and sugar. Mix well to combine ingredients. Return to the heat and, while stirring constantly, bring mixture to a boil. Cook until jam is thick and clear (about 10-15 minutes). Ladle into clean, hot jars. Add to boiling water bath for 5 minutes.

Classic Partridgeberry Jam By Della Ivey

6 cups partridgeberries 3 cups sugar

Cook berries in about 2 cups of water, enough to keep the berries from burning on the bottom, until berries are soft. Stir in sugar, then raise the heat and cook quickly for about 15 minutes, stirring frequently. When thickened like jam, pour into hot, sterilized jars and seal with lids.

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Instant Pot StrawberryRhubarb Jam By Dinah Wood

2 cups strawberries, cleaned and sliced 2 cups rhubarb, cleaned and cut into 1/2-inch pieces 5 cups sugar 1/4 cup lemon juice 1 packet powdered pectin

Add fruit to the Instant Pot (if using frozen fruit, thaw it first). Stir in sugar and lemon juice, then let it sit for 10 minutes. Lock the lid on the Instant Pot and set it to cook on high pressure for 1 minute. (My electric pressure cooker doesn’t have a one-minute setting, so I chose the “fish” setting and timed it from the moment it pressurized, then cancelled the cooking when the minute was up.) Allow the pressure to release naturally, taking about 20 minutes. Once all the pressure is off, remove the lid and use a masher to crush all the fruit to make a smoother jam. Turn on sauté (or in my case, the “meat” setting) and stir in the fruit pectin. Cook for 5-8 minutes, until mixture thickens and starts to set like jam. Turn off heat and skim any foam off the top. Pour jam into hot, sterilized jars to 1/2-inch from the top. Clean any spilled jam on the rims before screwing on sterilized covers finger tight. Let jars cool and set completely at room temperature. Check the lids and hand-tighten them after cooling. 1-888-588-6353

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Raspberry Jelly By Maisie Young

10 cups frozen raspberries 7 1/2 cups sugar 2 pouches liquid Certo

The day before, place frozen berries in a colander inside a larger bowl to catch the juice as berries thaw. (Frozen berries produce more juice.) You’ll need about 4 cups of juice; add up to 1/2 cup water if need be. Discard the pulp and seeds (or refrigerate/ freeze it for stirring into yogurt or ice cream, or adding to smoothies or muffin mix). Sterilize eight 8 oz bottles, rims and lids. Keep bottles hot until ready to use. Pour strained juice into a large, heavy-bottomed pot. Following Certo package directions for jelly, add sugar to juice. Stir to dissolve. Bring juice to a rolling boil, stirring the entire time; then boil and stir for 1 minute. Remove from heat and add Certo. Stir for 5 minutes. Skim off foam. Pour jelly into hot jars, leaving 1/2-inch of room at the top. Skim off any foam. Wipe off any jelly around the rim. Place lids on jars and screw on rings finger-tight. Let jars cool at room temperature while the jelly sets. When completely cooled, handtighten lids and store in cupboard.

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Blueberry-Rhubarb Jam By Charlotte Goodwin 8 4 1 4

Black Currant Jam By Yuvadee Feltham 4 1 2 2

cups fresh or frozen black currants 1/2 cups water cups sugar tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

Clean currants, and remove stems and dried tips. Place currants in a medium stock pot along with the water. Bring to a boil, then simmer for about 10 minutes until the berries are softened. Add the sugar and lemon juice, and simmer about 5-10 minutes. Pour the jam into sterilized jars. Once cooled, store in the fridge or cold place.

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cups blueberries cups rhubarb (fresh or frozen) cup water cups sugar

Thaw any frozen fruit; do not drain. Combine fruits in a large saucepan or pot. Add water, bring to a full boil, then lower heat and simmer for 10-12 minutes. Add sugar, stirring to dissolve. Bring to a simmer, stirring frequently. Cook to the jam stage (about 20-25 minutes) while frequently stirring. Remove from heat, stir and skim off foam. Let sit 10 minutes. Pour into hot, sterilized jars, leaving 1/2-inch at the top. Add lids and rims. Let cool completely. Makes 12 cups of jam (fills about twelve 8 oz jars).

Marshberry Jelly By Helen Crocker

4 cups marshberries 2 cups water Granulated sugar

Pick over and wash marshberries. Boil water in a saucepan and add berries. Boil for 20 minutes, then force berries through a sieve, pressing all the juice from the boiled berries into a heatproof bowl. Measure the amount of juice you get, then pour juice into a pot. Cook juice for 3 minutes, then add 3/4 cup granulated sugar for each cup of juice and cook for another 2 minutes. Pour into a sterilized jar and seal. 1-888-588-6353

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Dogberry Jelly By Yuvadee Feltham 4 cups dogberries 4 cups water

4 cups sugar 1 pouch liquid pectin

Boil dogberries covered with 4 cups water until berries are soft. Mash berries while cooking. When berries are soft, remove from heat and cool mixture. Strain the berry mixture through a couple of layers of cheesecloth. Boil berry juice with sugar and liquid pectin. Boil until syrupy. To test for doneness, place a drop of the jelly on a chilled plate from the freezer. It should turn to a gel in a few minutes. Pour into sterilized jars and apply lids.

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HOME and Cabin

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Why Lime? by Kim Thistle

I like to hear people ask why they should lime. What worries me are people who don’t ask. In Newfoundland, liming is essential to gardening. Here on The Rock, most soils are acidic. The pH scale runs from 1 to 14, with a pH of 7 being neutral. When it’s above 7, the soil is considered alkaline. In Newfoundland and Labrador, we generally fall to the “below ideal” side of the scale, and this restricts nutrients that our plants need to thrive. An ideal pH for most plants is between 5.5 and 6.5. Testing your soil is a pain, and I appreciate that most gardeners would prefer to haul weeds. There are soil test kits available to the home gardener to help determine your soil’s pH so that you can calculate the amount of lime you need. For you budding chemists, alternatively, you can use litmus paper. Testing should be done once every three years, as soils are always changing. Heavy rains will cause the calcium (which is alkaline) to leach through your soil, lowering the pH. Regular fertilization also contributes to a drop in pH. Thus the need for consistent testing is always there. www.downhomelife.com

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Reasons to lime

Some indicators of a low pH

• Improves uptake of nutrients to your plants

• Moss in your lawn or garden

• Raising the pH positively affects the soil microorganisms, which are essential for breaking down organic matter • Makes soil minerals more soluble and thus available to plants • Adds calcium and magnesium to your soil • Improves soil structure • Reduces the amount of fertilizer you need for your lawn and garden, lowering the risk of groundwater contamination. • Reduces erosion

• Common weeds that grow wild around the province are popping up all over your garden • Poor growth of flowers and vegetables, even with fertilizer The amount of lime you need to raise the soil pH varies with the type of soil and the existing pH of your soil. For example, the amounts recommended here are for soil with an existing pH of 5.0 – 5.4.

40 kg / 100 m2 (approx. 1,000 sq ft) for sandy soil. This type of soil will not clump or hold its shape when squeezed.

60 kg / 100 m2 for loamy soil. This soil is ideal and has a mixture of particle sizes.

80 kg / 100 m2 for clay. This soil is heavy and easily forms into a ball and holds its shape. 110

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DO NOT LIME

These are plants that thrive in acidic soil Fruits • • • • •

Blueberries Cranberries Currants Gooseberries Raspberries

Vegetables • Potatoes (ideal pH is 4.8 – 5.5) • Rhubarb

Shrubs • Rhododendrons • Azaleas • Magnolias • Heathers and Heaths • Holly • Blue Spruce • Some Hydrangeas (ask your local garden centre at time of purchase)

Perennials • • • •

Bleeding Hearts Iris Daylilies Ferns

Annuals • Marigolds • Begonias • Nasturtiums

Once you have raised your soil to an acceptable pH level, you will need to lime every year. For lawns, flower beds and gardens, you’ll need to apply 25 kg / 100 m2. Liming is typically done in the fall, as it takes 6-12 months for it to completely dissolve. It is also acceptable to lime in the spring when preparing your soil for planting. It takes about four weeks to start seeing results. Lime may be tilled into the soil or raked into the top layer. For lawns, a spreader is usually the method for application, but spreading it by hand is equally effective. I like to lime just before rain to help the soil with absorption. Never spread lime on a dry, wilted lawn. The type of lime used by gardeners is Dolomitic limestone, often called “agricultural lime.” It is pelletized for easier broadcasting through a spreader, and dosing your soil is much more accurate. Builders’ lime is different: it’s a powder and difficult to spread on your lawn or garden. It’s meant to be used as binders in mortars and plasters. The lesson you should take from this article is that fertilizing is pointless if you have acidic soil. Even without a soil test, you can count on the fact that if you live in Atlantic Canada, you need to lime. It’s not too late. Get out there and be kind to your garden.

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

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reminiscing flashbacks

Our Old Country Home “This photo taken in the 1970s shows our old country home located in Brigus Gullies. My father, Cyril Cornick, is standing in the doorway,” writes the submitter. “It was a beautiful spot with a small brook running in front of the property. I spent many wonderful summers there with the family and fly-fished most of the nearby waters.” John Cornick Halifax, NS

A Blueberry Snack Three-year-old Adam Miller and his Pop, Giles Miller of Clarenville, enjoy some freshly picked blueberries while checking out an airplane overhead. Joy Miller Clarenville, NL

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Racing to Pick Bakeapples Reagen and Kelly Hoskins of Mount Pearl, flanked left and right by cousins Nicholas and Christian Butt of Stephenville, pick bakeapples at a secret spot near Cape Race. Anne Molloy Portugal Cove South, NL

This Month in History Born in St. John’s in 1843, Michael Francis Howley was one of 13 children born to Eliza Burke and Richard Howley, recently emigrated from Tipperary, Ireland. Educated first at St. Bonaventure’s College in St. John’s, he later entered the Seminary of Propaganda College in Rome to pursue philosophical and theological studies. He was ordained a Roman Catholic priest in Rome in 1868. Returning to Newfoundland in 1870, Howley established churches on the west coast in Bonne Bay, Bay of Islands, Port au Port, Stephenville and more. In June 1892, he was consecrated as the first Bishop of St. George’s. In 1895, Howley was formally installed in the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist. When Newfoundland was created an Ecclesiastical Province in 1904, Howley correspondingly became its first Archbishop. He endeavoured to attend to the social, religious and education requirements of the day, and wrote prolifically for local publications, including a series of historical articles for the Newfoundland Quarterly. His Grace the Most Reverend M.F. Howley, Archbishop of St. John’s, died after a short illness on October 15, 1914. 1-888-588-6353

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I thought I’d heard all the stories from the late Paddy Burke, a great old storyteller from Colliers-Riverhead, NL, but this one was new to me. My father, Tony Flynn, sets it up. “Death was a lot closer in those days in the sense that most people in rural areas were still waked at home and their family took care of everything from laying out the corpse to even making the coffin,” he says. “People were very practical about certain things, but also respectful of the recently departed. You could and were expected to reuse some of the tangible goods of someone who had passed away if they were still in good condition – but not too quickly, so as to not offend the memory of the person who had died.” My father adds, “It seems a funny thing nowadays, but this was a very practical kindness and subtle charity of the people. Nobody was made to be embarrassed by it, and no attention was called to it. Somebody passed away and maybe a month or so later, such a one would show up to mass with a new Sunday coat or nice handbag, or some man who was not too good off might have a new-to-him axe or handsaw suddenly turn up.” 1-888-588-6353

Getting back to Paddy Burke, it turns out that only a few weeks before a widowed old man I’ll call “Joe” (to protect his identity) had died. As was the custom, there would be a disposal of his surplus goods. Joe had been a barrelchested fellow and a powerful figure even in his dotage, so among his clothing was a beautiful home-knit cardigan that would only benefit a man of a certain size and shape. And that is how Paddy Burke came to be walking up the road, near duckish (close to nightfall), wearing Joe’s favourite sweater. As Paddy came close to Joe’s house, it was playing heavy upon his mind that he was wearing the dead man’s sweater and perhaps not enough time had passed yet to be doing such a mildly sacrilegious thing. Paddy no sooner had the idea formed than he glanced at Joe’s house and there in front of it was Joe himself pacing back and forth! What’s more the old man had worn the road down several feet deep – to the size and shape of an enormous grave! October 2021

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My father continues, “Poor Paddy was a man with a strong constitution and he would go on to see a lot of strange and true things in his lifetime, but he said this almost did him in with the fright. All he could see was Joe going back and forth the length of the hole wearing his old flat cap and tight shirt over his big chest. He was waving his arm in a beckoning motion as he hobbled along with a walking stick... Suddenly Joe called out, ‘Commmeee Heeerrre! Commeee Heerrrree! Commeee Heeerrre!’ Paddy turned to run, figuring for sure it was Joe coming back for his sweater!” Somewhat anxiously, I ask, “Did Joe’s ghost catch Paddy?” My father says with a smile, “Not exactly. Turns out, unknown to Paddy, crews had started work on the roads that day and dug what was supposed to be a small drainage ditch in front of Joe’s home. [But] the lads had a hole dug that was

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grand enough in dimensions and scope to serve as a trench to house the entire German army if you wanted to reenact the WWI Battle of the Somme. Into that mighty pit an older local man, out looking for his grandson at dusk, had somehow fallen, since there were no streetlights or warning signs or any such niceties provided in those days. The old fellow, who bore a striking resemblance to the dead man Joe, was not hurt, but he could not get out of the trench by himself. He could only walk back and forth waving an arm above the ground and calling out for help.” When Paddy realized it was a mortal soul and not Joe’s ghost, he helped the man out of the ditch. “I’m not sure whatever became of Joe’s prized cardigan,” my father says. “Paddy joked he wouldn’t be caught dead ever again wearing the dead man’s sweater going past his house in the dark.”

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Marcellian (Marcel) Dawson, was born in Bay Roberts, NL, where his parents ran a farm. His father, John M. Dawson, was known locally as “Farmer Jack.” In the mid-1920s, on a dark road at around midnight, Farmer Jack witnessed a ghostly sight. “When he was a teenager, he was courting this young woman up in Otterbury, near Clarke’s Beach, and he had the fashion of walking up to visit her and her family. During the daylight he’d take the long scenic route from his home near the bottom of Bay Roberts, across the Klondyke Bridge, over Coley’s Point, across the Long Beach, up through Bareneed and down into Otterbury,” Marcel begins. “After supper with her family and maybe a game of cards or a few stories, he would leave by himself to walk home in the pitch black – no streetlights, no cars and no pedestrians after dark. It was a lonely, rough and treacherous path in places at night in the winter with ice and snow, so he would always go back a shortcut [along what would eventually become the new main road]. He would take Vinegar Hill, go up through North River,

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past the Roman Catholic cemetery near the Birch Hills, and finally back down to his home in Bay Roberts. This took quite a few miles off the journey. “This particular clear night, a beautiful full moon was shining on a blanket of white snow. He was delayed leaving, so it was midnight when he stopped atop of the big hill in Otterbury to admire the view. Suddenly, he could see this strange procession of people with lanterns coming, walking two-bytwo in a long line following a bizarre carriage way off in the distance.” From the look of the crowd and how slow they moved, they had been trudging along for a very long time. Jack watched in amazement as they paraded in silence on down through Clarke’s Beach, coming nearer all the while. Curiosity finally got the better of

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him and he rushed down the hill and stood close by a tree a little ways off the road. He started to hear the hooves of the horse crunching on the snow, the metal runners of the sleigh scraping over the ice, and the horse’s bells on the tack beating out a rhythmic dirge. Other than that, not a sound. No human voice spoke a single word as the procession inched closer all the time. Marcel continues, “When they got abreast of him, sure Father almost passed out with the fright. The horse was pulling some type of a hearse upon a sled with a coffin right atop her! All the people behind were dressed in black and moving like bone-weary corpses themselves. He could see them perfectly, but they never saw or acknowledged him and he was too scared to speak to them out of fear they might take him and make him join their group in a forced march forever! “Now all that area was wellknown for stories of the fairies and ghosts in those days. Father figured for sure it was a parade of phantoms – old lost souls doomed to carry one of their own around from graveyard to graveyard with no rest for all eternity. He often said there was no way he was taking a chance on getting caught up with that bunch of spooks, so he hid down in

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the snow by the tree until the last ones passed and were long gone beyond the old cemetery.” So who were the souls caught up in this parade of phantoms? Marcel says with a sly grin, “Well, some folks say what Father saw might have been a body of a man originally from near Port de Grave. They figure he had been killed in an accident up along on the mainland, and his remains were shipped to Whitbourne by train where his people went to get him. They had walked all that way inland and walked back out again the same day. They had finally reached Otterbury when Father encountered them near the hill at midnight.” While that might have been the case, Marcel says his father checked local papers and asked around for years after, but never found any proof of a body being returned home from away and buried in that area around that time. “Those poor old ghosts may still be trapped in procession hauling that strange coffin up around Otterbury on clear, full-moon winter nights yet,” says Marcel, adding, “Being brave is all well and good, like Jack always believed, but I tell you mister-man, I won’t be up there at midnight looking for them. They can keep on marching until the cows come home with my blessing.”

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The parade of phantoms

wasn’t Farmer Jack’s only eerie encounter, it would seem. Another son, Dominic Dawson, shares one that was also linked to Jack’s courting trips to Otterbury. “Dad said this older widow lady lived near the first taking of Otterbury. He didn’t know her, but she was a kind soul and a really friendly person who used to see him walking the road in all types of weather, night or day,” says Dominic. On one particularly miserable day, this widow was waiting by her fence for him to pass and told Jack to come in for a cup of tea to warm up. Jack, being no fool and a social fellow who was never known to turn down a cup of tea and a yarn, gratefully accepted the offer. Dominic adds, “Father said she reminded him of his own grandmother or someone he knew all his life. She enjoyed talking with him so much that he made it a habit ever after to always build in an extra halfhour into his trips so he could have time to stop and check on the widow and have a short chat over tea.” He kept this up until the one summer he decided to try his hand at fishing on the Labrador. Sadly, while Jack was away fishing, the widow suddenly passed away. When word eventually reached him, Jack was hit hard by the loss. If he had been home, he would have undoubtedly attended the wake, the funeral, 1-888-588-6353

and perhaps even had a mass said for the widow at some point, since (as far as he knew) she had no people left to do it on her behalf. When he did return home, one of the first things he did was set off to see his sweetheart. “Coming on duckish, he was walking by the widow’s home in Otterbury and he got the start of his life! There was the old woman out by her fence and the garden gate, where he first met her. She was dead as dead could be, but there she was standing at the gate looking at him, crying and wringing her hands,” Dominic says. “He was startled and wanted to run away, for he knew for sure she had been in the ground for months, but something about her was not threatening. He stopped and, although she never spoke, he just felt off her this tremendous sadness. He remembered then that he had not done right by the woman, and he stopped outside the fence, closed his eyes and said a few required prayers for God to have mercy on her soul. When he opened his eyes she was gone. “He never saw her again and never felt anything but peaceful when he passed by her home after that in the future.” October 2021

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During his time as a pilot for the Grenfell Mission, Tom Green logged 16,000 hours flying time and had his share of interesting adventures. He and his wife, Diane, who both worked for Eastern Provincial Airways (EPA), lived in St. Anthony while Tom was the EPA contract pilot for the Mission. Here, in his words, is one of Tom’s many stories.

I flew were used for the hospital work in St. Anthony. I flew to all the remote places along the coast of the Northern Peninsula, the southeastern coast of Labrador, the Quebec North Shore to Harrington Harbour and Mutton Bay, and to St. John’s, Gander and Deer Lake. This day, Dr. Thomas sent me to Gander to pick up a woman and her husband, and take them to Port Hope Simpson. He told me she was dying, but wanted to die at home.

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A patient drop at St. Anthony. In the summer, Tom’s aircraft would land on floats and pull up to a dock.

My engineer, Bond Elliott, and I took off in the Turbo Beaver UKK and headed for Gander. The weather was minimal, but we managed to get to Gander. We refuelled the airplane and the Port Hope Simpson couple arrived at the pond where we were docked. She was on a stretcher. I told the husband that we would try for Port Hope Simpson, but probably would only get as far as St. Anthony for the night because of oncoming darkness and the weather. Now this was December 15, and we were still on floats. I was anxious to get the airplane to Gander for changeover to wheels/skis, as it was hard to keep the airplane afloat during the nighttime. We had a mooring in Old Man’s Neck in St. Anthony harbour, where we used to keep the airplane. Uncle Walt Powell used to put a mooring out for us each year. But even there, it is hard to keep the airplane afloat. The pond where we normally kept the plane was frozen over. The weather was getting worse the nearer we got to the Northern Peninsula. Nearing Baie Verte, I thought if I couldn’t get any farther we’d land 122

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Pilot Tom Green in Mary’s Harbour, when he worked for the Grenfell Mission.

there for the night, and the woman could go to the local hospital for the evening. But we continued on towards Partridge Point and started across the bay towards Harbour Deep. I radioed the Harbour Deep nursing station to warn them we might need to land. After we got across White Bay, I thought I would try for Roddickton or Englee, in case 1-888-588-6353

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the weather wouldn’t allow us to go any farther. The weather was down to about half a mile or less in very low ceilings, and was a mixture of rain, snow and fog. Finally we passed the coast east of Englee, and I continued on to Conche. I called Nurse Joe Cattell on the radio and warned her. We passed Conche and headed for Hare Bay, and the weather was worse, down to the 300-foot level now. We got to Harbour de Vieux (the winter settlement for Fishot Islands). We were so close! I had the ADF (Automatic Directional Finder) tuned in to the CBC radio on Goose Cove Road. It took us across Hare Bay to the hills just southeast of Goose Cove, and we followed the coastline towards St. Anthony. Suddenly, I saw a helicopter coming towards us, but lower, and we passed each other. It was the Blanc Sablon helicopter heading back to base. I radioed him that the weather wasn’t very good, but he elected to continue on. By the time we landed

in St. Anthony harbour, heavy snow was coming down. That night I got a call that the helicopter didn’t arrive at Blanc Sablon and they didn’t know where it was. I asked them to call Search and Rescue, and the next morning I was up at first light to help search for the heli-

That night I got a call that the helicopter didn’t arrive at Blanc Sablon and they didn’t know where it was. copter. But first I had to take the patient and her husband the rest of the way to Port Hope Simpson. After I’d landed and unloaded the couple, I took on two new women who needed a lift to the St. Anthony

The Turbo Beaver UKK that Tom flew, fitted with skis to land on the harbour ice in St. Anthony 1-888-588-6353

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A career in flight: (right) A stop in Great Harbour Deep. (below) Picking up or dropping off a patient at Sandy Hook, Labrador

hospital. I took off for St. Anthony with the two women on board, but along the way I flew the route the helicopter had taken, to see if I could find it. When I got in airport range, the flight service station told me there was a Buffalo from Search and Rescue in the area searching. I contacted the Buffalo, and he told me he’d located the helicopter and was talking to the pilot on the radio. He was down by an old sawmill, in an area just north of where the new airport is now built. I headed there and saw the downed helicopter, extensively damaged. I radioed the pilot and asked if they 124

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could walk down a small brook to where it emptied into a large pond. I could land there and pick them up. There were two of them on the helicopter, the pilot and a nurse. She was dressed in just a short skirt, summer shoes and a wind breaker. Not the way to dress for an aircraft escort in the middle of December! They started to walk down the brook. When I landed, I saw that huge boulders prevented me from getting the airplane ashore. So what was I going to do? I told my passengers I planned to tie one end of a rope to the airplane and take the rope with me to tie on when I reached the shore, letting the airplane settle in 1-888-588-6353

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the light wind that was luckily blowing offshore that morning. I took everything out of my pockets, removed my watch and jumped into the waist-deep freezing cold water. When I got ashore, the pilot and nurse were there. The nurse looked frozen to death! She had lost her shoes along the way and was in her bare feet. I put her over my shoulders and walked out to the airplane with her. My two passengers got out and helped her aboard. I

I took everything out of my pockets, removed my watch and jumped into the waist-deep freezing cold water. instructed them to remove her wet clothes and rub her feet to try and make her more comfortable. The pilot was able to get himself to the plane. With the flaps down, I let the airplane drift offshore with the wind until we were far enough to start the engine. The Buffalo was circling overhead all this time, keeping an eye on us. We took off, the Buffalo following a little behind me to my right. I landed at St. Anthony harbour, where the ambulance was waiting for me at Penney’s wharf. They took the nurse off on a stretcher. Sometime later, I called the company who owned the helicopter and 1-888-588-6353

suggested that they move this fellow somewhere else, as he was going to kill himself and probably his passengers. He was known to fly in very bad weather and used to “island hop” in the area between Blanc Sablon and La Tabatiere, sometimes getting to his destination, sometimes not! The helicopter had crashed because it didn’t have its winter deflection kits on. They are like two elbows that attach to the air intake of the engine and draw the air from the side or a little behind, rather than directly from the front. This stops the attached screen from filling full of snow and causing the engine to flame out. I thank the two women I carried that day from Port Hope Simpson for all their help in that rescue. The nurse, unfortunately, lost a few toes from exposure to the cold. It was always beyond me why the pilot didn’t get a fire going that night in order to keep warm – after all, he had an aircraft full of fuel!

Tom Green today

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puzzles

The Beaten Path

Robert Carter photo

By Ron Young

Block out all the letters that are like other letters in every way, including shape and size. The letters that are left over, when unscrambled, will spell out the name of the above community.

A p

L L M

G V

G A V U Q S m S

T T

S L

L G

S V

T L R

T p M S R T M

T A

S E

M E

S p L

Last Month’s Community: Sandy Cove 126

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Sudoku

from websudoku.com

Skill level: Medium Last month’s answers

Need Help

Visit DownhomeLife.com/puzzles for step-by-step logic for solving this puzzle

www.downhomelife.com

October 2021

127

Karen Simonn photo

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Downhomer Detective Needs You After more than two decades on the Urban City Police Force, Downhomer Detective has come home to rid Newfoundland and Labrador of a new threat – cunning thief Ragged Rick. A real braggart, the slimy criminal sends DD a blurry photo of his surroundings plus clues to his whereabouts just to prove he’s always a step ahead. DD needs your help to identify where in Newfoundland and Labrador Ragged Rick is hiding out this month.

Use these 5 clues to identify where Ragged Rick is now: • home to one of the oldest wooden churches in NL • settled by fishing families in mid-1800s • name is French for small (pl) • nearest neighbour is Rose Blanche • resettled in 2003

Last Month’s Answer: Clarenville

Picturesque Place NameS of Newfoundland and Labrador

by Mel D’Souza Last Month’s Answer: Deer Lake 128

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

Last Month’s Clue: Inquisitiveness spelled the demise of the feline In Other Words: Curiosity killed the cat This Month’s Clue: One who chortles finally, chortles greatest In Other Words: __ ___ ______ ____ , ______ ____

A Way With Words

THEDOWNDUMPS

Last Month’s Answer: Down in the dumps

This Month’s Clue

COW JUMPED

Rhyme Time A rhyming word game by Ron Young

1. A promiscuous large elk is a _____ _____ 2. A crop harvest is a _____ _____

MOON

3. A joyful father is a ______ ______

Answer: ___ _____ ____ ___ ____

1. wild child, 2. night light, 3. pram scam

Scrambled Sayings

Last Month’s Answers

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.

’ K E E S E F F D I E E A L H E L D H E T K A L T N U O N N I L H I D S I H P L I M L I O U R O U T I T I S S I T O S V N W U R N T T S O S

Last month’s answer: Health is the greatest gift, contentment the greatest wealth, faithfulness the best relationship. www.downhomelife.com

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Rhymes 5 Times Each answer rhymes with the other four

1. knoll

____________

2. desire

____________

3. destroy

____________

4. refrigerate

____________

5. bore

____________

STUCK? Don’t get your knickers in a knot! Puzzle answers can be found online at DownhomeLife.com/puzzles

Last Month’s Answers: 1. owl, 2. towel, 3. growl, 4. fowl, 5. bowel

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!

Us Candle Us Of Air _ __________ ______ Weak Ants Aim Hutch Mourn How __ ____ ___ ____ ____ ___ Last Month’s 1st Clue: He Legs Shunned Hay Answer: Election day Last Month’s 2nd Clue: Hit Suck Rhyme Answer: It’s a crime

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

1. DABHELACK 2. TEPYT RARBHOU 3. DGLUOS 4. YBA LUBLS 5. SEWSLIT AYB Last Month’s Answers: 1. Colliers, 2. Avondale, 3. Holyrood, 4. Brigus, 5. Kitchuses

A nalogical A nagrams Unscramble the capitalized words to get one word that matches the subtle clue. 1. RED SETS ~ Clue: it’s a piece of cake 2. UTOPIAN MATS ~ Clue: cost an arm and a leg 3. RE SECTS ~ Clue: best kept between friends 4. A NICE DUE ~ Clue: they sit in the stands 5. TRUE NOVELS ~ Clue: you couldn’t pay them to do it Last Month’s Answers: 1. wallpaper, 2. generosity, 3. adventure, 4. personality, 5. anniversary 130

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

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

1-3: gear part 1-10: awareness 1-21: vehicle 1-91: added fizz 3-33: smile 3-53: Christmas thief 8-5: fascist 8-28: old horse 8-68: pestering 10-40: Napoleon isle 12-15: elm 16-14: born 20-16: gain skills 21-24: short attack 24-26: levee 24-29: harm 30-28: implore 32-12: headwear 34-4: first garden 36-39: follows 38-36: deity 39-19: observe 41-50: vocation 42-12: gab 42-62: mongrel 43-45: mug 45-25: pod product 47-45: faucet 45-47: touch lightly 47-97: soft paper 53-51: Attila 55-35: mimic 56-53: route 56-86: free ticket 59-29: sit 59-99: portion 61-64: semi-circles 62-92: character 66-86: donkey 67-47: take a seat 67-65: reposed www.downhomelife.com

100

71-75: lugs 71-91: Senator Kennedy 73-71: kid 77-97: litigate 81-85: lift up 82-85: tardy 84-54: exam 84-81: story 86-84: place 88-90: whiz 89-85: reason 91-100: code breaker 93-53: overtake 93-73: feline 94-92: frozen water 95-65: annoyance

96-99: in this place 98-78: tabloid 100-10: rational 100-50: cause Last Month’s Answer

H S I L GE HD WO AG Y L MT A P NO

A I L O B A D S A I

D N I L B T A E R T

R E B E L S E N T I

E K I L E L D E E N

D A B A N N E P O I

L A L F OA D L D L E Y WA AR L D F E

October 2021

B A R E H E A D E D

131

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The Bayman’s

Crossword Puzzle 1

by Ron Young

5 6

30 32

38 41

44 47

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132

24 29

14 21

45 48

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ACROSS 1. grass 4. ___ me a river 5. lofty direction 7. garden tool 9. Thomas Edison 14. tree 19. require 20. between Hughes Brook and Summerside (2 words) 22. revise text 23. Goose Arm (abbrev) 24. “___ mummers ’lowed in?” 25. traditional pudding (2 words) 29. Placentia Bay (abbrev) 30. hair perm brand 31. fence pole (colloq) 33. “getting married in the fall, fish or __ ____” (2 words) 35. fuss 36. bachelor party 39. short for Edward 40. children’s game 41. douse with water (colloq) 43. “got a gut on him like a harbour ___ cod” 45. Member of the House of Assembly (abbrev) 46. “Red __ at night, sailor’s delight” 47. you (colloq) 48. jig’s partner DOWN 1. fried pork fat cubes 2. either 3. colour 6. despicable person (colloq) 8. single 10. whirlpool www.downhomelife.com

11. give as good as sent (3 words) 12. “He don’t know if he’s punched __ bored” 13. square-______ (sailing ship) 14. expression of surprise 15. stallion 16. post office (abbrev) 17. yuck 18. no name (abbrev) 21. droop 24. home 26. not out 27. armful (colloq) 28. Fox Harbour (abbrev) 29. boards 30. trial 32. Atlantic fulmar (colloq) 34. ocean foam 37. past 38. swoil 42. missus 44. “Many places I’ve rambled, but this is __ home” F L O W E R S C O V E

O E A A R W W I U G

A P L G O O W S T T C M A R C O R E B O A T T O L E T

ANSWERS TO LAST MONTH’S CROSSWORD I N D E T T A C N A K O N I R A N S G E S S O

L O T O P B V A E D A S D Y O S T I L O

I T M E A L E R A S T B S P A R M A G R I D A O O L L E R A L E

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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.

_______ 3743637 _ __ 2 88

____ 2663

__ _____ 36 36437

___ 263

_ ___ _ 2 845 3

___ 263

__ 46

’

______ 736246 __ 87

Last Month’s Answer: Hard work never killed anybody, but why take a chance?

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

_ _ _ _ _ Y

\QhQkK _ _ _ Y

iYZ K _ Y

_ _ _ Q i

_ _ _

lCZ

_ _ _ _ _

xY ZC Z _ _ _ _ Y

iQkl K

_ _ _ _ _ _

BH n H \Q

_ _ _

pQC

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

i Qz QCC Qx Last Month’s Answer: There is nothing stronger in the world than gentleness. 134

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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.”

pig =

decapitated =

_ _ _

d YV

numerous =

hen sound =

ic _ _

father =

_ _ _ _ _

v}qvo _

_ _ _

}Y w _ _

_ _

nY c

ia _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _

tkwY q]a

f knl

_ _

z b d b kx b x

privileges =

_ _ _ _

_ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

’

_ _ _

zq c

_ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _

m]i b a c _ _ _ _

}kvo _

_ _ _ _

}kvo

_ _ _ _ _

t] i b nxad i m

_ _ _ _

c dk c _ _ _ _ _ _ _

qndkmml

_ _ _ _ _

fko b a _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

fk]] i kV b a

Last Month’s Answer: A true friend never gets in your way unless you happen to be going down. www.downhomelife.com

October 2021

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Different Strokes

Our artist’s pen made the two seemingly identical pictures below different in 12 places. See if you can find all 12.

ERN AND COAL WITH FRIEND FILLETING CODFISH

Last Month’s Answers: 1. Window, 2. Chimney, 3. Clothes line, 4. Ern’s leg, 5. Lawn mower, 6. Coal Bin, 7. Roof, 8. Door, 9. Tree, 10. Hill, 11. House, 12. Boy’s arm “Differences by the Dozen”- A compilation of Different Strokes from 2002 to 2014 (autographed by Mel) can be ordered by sending $9.95 (postage incl.; $13.98 for U.S. mailing) to Mel D’Souza, 21 Brentwood Dr., Brampton, ON, L6T 1P8.

136

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HIDE & SEEK HALLOWEEN

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

PUMPKIN REAPER SCARY SCREAM SKELETON

BATS BROOM CANDY CAT CEMETERY COFFIN COSTUME DRACULA FRANKENSTEIN GHOST GOBLIN HAUNTED MAGIC MONSTER

V U B U I I S D A G H U W G B I U S

I H V K F R A N K E N S T E I N H N

V W Q E B V A H R N I L B O G L O T

W M A K S M N E W B K W Q I S C M S

L F X S N H O P B L M A B P Y H T B

J O T H F L T C L N R E L U T P V R

C P Q S O C O R I O L E S E S L P E

Last Month’s Answers

M A C C K K E L T M P Z G M D U M O

www.downhomelife.com

B D W B N P L Q D O A D I P D C V O

S Z I G H L E X N N G N H K R K A M

R A T E R Y K R U S W S P I D E R L

N E C A D J S W K T R L J N W H B E

J C H N N Y Q Y R E T E M E C A M M

H I A M R K X E E R Y G Y U G A I O

C O O U E N L D W K R O Y A L S O X

SPIDER SUPERHERO TREAT TRICK WITCH J D O D G E R S O Z B F K K E H W Y

O C L A I C N E H G W E J F G W H F

K W K G R S K U P F U J R S M G N H

P T S B L X I N F K V I E E P S W Q

I X C Y O S I T K J H H B I E N I Q

O H C E K S T N A I G R I V H L X U

K J G B F V W L U Y D O P Z I A D Y

P S J F Z P E M U T S O C T U B D F

F N Q Z R I W X G A G Y E E L N K L

A E O T J O I C P H B A C M L I N Y

X T F R E A P E R L U B S L O P A B

M V S I S K C A B D N O M A I D S M

Y I E A H X H S S A P Y U T E D S F

C F G G D Y C K O Q N X A S E R D X

D M F E T L O U I O V A R M S A E F

N Z W C H W T Y O M E U G K K C G W

D O T R M U V L B E Q Q I P S C R A

C E V S V N A C C S S B N M M Q Q J

Z L D R A C U L A T R I C K R Q T B

V M D B H W X Q M C Q Z E A I B D D

S J S P S O S T E M B Q R D Q T U N

V T K V U B O Y I G H V D E H J R W

U P Y V C N S T W D J R S F U Y A H

L X A F I E M K V Y Z K E X M T T D

D H T F N V H R A W E M A H N V E Z

E H R W T C R A N G E R S W I X V L

S W T A E H A Y R W A H M O E C K R

T H U W T R B K H U R M Z I S M A F

A O R L L G C H I L G S N Z M R J L

Q I U S H D L H V Y I A T Q G D S D

A D K F E K X L H L O N N N W A T B

October 2021

P F F V T Q D P W S L N G R J F J K

W Y M T A J C R E S X M S N O P C F

F P F Q Y Z Y C K A G N A K P S K T

C S L X D G I Z D S P L X I F Y U R 137

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FOR SALE Bonavista, NL Sitting on 1.34 acres in the heart of Bonavista. Perfect for Home, Vacation Home or Business. 5000 sq. ft. with 5 Bedrooms, 3.5 Bathrooms + basement $669,000 MLS# 1235510

Contact: 709-690-7783 • ellsworth.penney@yahoo.ca

Book Today 709-726-5113 1-888-588-6353 advertising@downhomelife.com

FOR SALE • CAPE RAY/RED ROCKS Prime Oceanfront Property on the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Ideal for Boat Owners - Build Your Dream Home! Approx: 7.6 Acres. Unlimited Potential – All Natural Safe Harbour. Power Services Available. Vendor Willing to Subdivide. $350,000. Kijiji Ad ID: 1574795142

Contact: 709-640-9905

Downhome Real Estate Licensed to do Business in Ontario.

Mortgage Agent # M18002662 FSCO# 12728

Not intended to solicit properties currently under contract

%$#"! $% $# $ %! $

138

October 2021

Ad prices start at $50 for a 1 column x 1 inch colour advertisement. This size fits approximately 20 words. The smallest size of advertisement with a picture is $100 for a 1 column x 2 inch advertisement.

709-726-5113 1-888-588-6353 advertising@downhomelife.com 1-888-588-6353

2110Mktplace_0609 Marketplace.qxd 8/26/21 1:59 PM Page 139

Movers & Shippers

A&K Moving Covering all Eastern & Western Provinces and Returning Based from Toronto, Ontario Discount Prices Out of NL, NS & NB Newfoundland Owned & Operated 35 Years in the Moving Industry

Andy: 416-247-0639 Out West: 403-471-5313

aandkmoving@gmail.com

Movers & Shippers Rates start at $175 for a 1 col. x 2" ad. Call Today! 709-726-5113 Toll Free: 1-888-588-6353 Email: advertising@downhomelife.com

DOWNEAST CONNECTION 709-248-4089 905-965-4813

Hawke’s Bay, NL (collect calls accepted) downeastconnection@yahoo.ca

DISCOUNT STORAGE 8' x 20' unheated storage units

Moving you from Ontario and Newfoundland... or any STOP along the way!

A Family Moving Families Professionally and economically

Moving Ontario to Newfoundland and All Points in Between

Coast to Coast in Canada Fully Insured

Return Loads from NL, NS, NB, QC, ON at a Discounted Price

Newfoundland Owned & Operated

Fully Insured

St. John's, NL

Contact: Gary or Sharon King

709-726-6800

Toll Free: 1-866-586-2341 www.downhomemovers.com

905-424-1735

www.downhomelife.com

arent58@hotmail.com www.ar-moving.ca

October 2021

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GREAT GIFT IDEAS! Screech Coffee

Summer Savoury

454g Bag

60g Bottle

225g Bag

28g Package

#39365 $20.49

#39005 $10.45

#34177 $8.49

Loose Tea with Filters 30g $4.95 each Bakeapple

#34176 $3.99

#37728

Blueberry

#37514

Downhome Candy $2.99 each Puffin Poop 100g #46793 | Caribou Poo 100g #46794 |

Moose Droppings 100g #46795 Bunny Buttons 100g #46796 | Cod Tongues 80g #78020

NL Sayings Chocolate Bars - $6.99 each | 50g

God Love Your Cotton Socks #75256 | Yes B’y #60027 Oh Me Nerves #60023 | Whadda Ya At? #60026

Newfoundland Chocolate Bars - $5.99 each | 42g

ORDER ONLINE: www.shopdownhome.com

2021GiftGuide_Layout 1 8/26/21 1:50 PM Page 141

MORE SELECTION ONLINE www.shopdownhome.com Downhome Cookie Cutter Newfoundland Map

Moose Head Cookie Cutter

Moose Cookie Cutter

with sugar cookie recipe

#49564 | $7.99

#49563 | $7.99

Traditional Newfoundland Mesh Vegetable Bag

Downhome Fish ’n’ Brewis Net

#35876 | $3.29

11" x 15"

#60592 | $5.80

Downhome Pease Pudding Bag Regular Size Bag w/Recipe

with sugar cookie recipe

#35871 | $2.99

#75942 | $9.99

XL Size Bag w/Recipe

#75944 | $3.79

Tea Towels $6.99 each

Puffin

#65131 Lobster

#48613

Kitchen Sayings

#65130

Moose

#65083

Lighthouse

#48612

Any Mummers ‘lowd In?

#77316

TO ORDER CALL: 1-888-588-6353

More Selection Online!

2021GiftGuide_Layout 1 8/26/21 1:51 PM Page 142

GREAT GIFT IDEAS! Plush Puffin #44414 $8.99

Plush Puffin w/sou’wester

Plush NL Dog

#64669 $14.99

Rhymes from the Rock -

#43618 $19.99

Newfoundland and Labrador Lullaby - Riemann, McCarron and

Adam & Jennifer Young

#58304 | $9.95

#49135 | $12.95

#79408 | $14.95

Numbers in Newfoundland

East Coast Counting Dawn Baker

A Newfoundland Christmas

Bonnie Jean Hicks Illustrated by Leanna Carbage

#75941 | $9.95

#80106 | $14.95

#43813 | $9.95

Christmas in Newfoundland

A Puffin Playing by the Sea: 12 Days of Christmas in Newfoundland and Labrador

A Moose Goes A-Mummering

#53792 | $16.95

#52955 | $12.95

Bonnie Jean Hicks & Leanna Carbage

Mike Martin

Steuerwald - Hard Cover

The Little Red Shed

Dawn Baker

Lisa Dalrymple

Gina Noordhoof

#77993 | $16.95

A NL Christmas Wish Necie - Hard Cover

#79611 | $6.00

A Very Silly Beach Rock Band Susan Pynn Taylor

#80314 | $9.95

The House of Wooden Santas Kevin Major

#3945 | $24.95

ORDER ONLINE: www.shopdownhome.com

2021GiftGuide_Layout 1 8/25/21 3:00 PM Page 143

MORE SELECTION ONLINE www.shopdownhome.com Forager’s Dinner

A Newfoundland Garden

Shawn Dawson

Cooking Up a Scoff

Todd Boland

New Edition!

#79639 | $29.95

#80214 | $29.95

#79297 | $14.95

Our Best Berry Recipes From the Readers and Staff of Downhome

Our Best Seafood Recipes From the Readers and Staff of Downhome

The Treasury of Newfoundland Dishes Cookbook - Jill Whitaker

#55888 | $10.99

#58362 | $10.99

#38322 | $19.95

East Coast Keto 2

The All New Purity Cookbook

Fat-Back & Molasses -

#16361 | $19.95

#2313 | $9.95

Bobbie Pike

#79811 | $34.95

Rock Recipes by Barry C. Parsons

Ivan Jesperson

Mummer’s Songbook CD Enclosed Bud Davidge

Vol. 1

#53803 | $26.95

Newfoundland Recipes Carol Over

#2495 | $4.95

Vol. 2

#56832 | $26.95

Vol. 3

#79662 | $29.95

#4055 | $16.95

Rock Recipes Cookies

Rock Recipes Christmas

Barry C. Parsons

#75585 | $22.95

#60474 | $22.95

TO ORDER CALL: 1-888-588-6353

2110_photo Finish_0609 Photo Finish 8/26/21 11:59 AM Page 144

photo finish

Refreshing

Sight

A cow moose and her two calves stop for a drink at the industrial park area in Channel-Port aux Basques one August evening. Wayne Stacey Channel-Port aux Basques, NL

Do you have an amazing or funny photo to share? Turn to page 9 to find out how to submit. 144

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Downhome October 2021

Articles inside

DIY Fat Bottom Pots

Pets of the Month

LUXURY MAKEOVER