Author Archives: Larry Dohey

College built from Prison Stone

Archival Moment

April 27, 1857
St. Bonaventure’s College – The Old College

Photo Credit: The Rooms Provincial Archives: E 35-28; St. Bonaventure's College.

Photo Credit: The Rooms Provincial Archives: E 35-28; St. Bonaventure’s College.

St. Bonaventure’s College, St. John’s known locally as (St. Bon’s) was designed by James Purcell and built by Patrick Keough. It is considered one of the most recognized educational facilities in the province.

In 1855 there was a public auction to sell more than 30,000 building stones from Waterford, Ireland, which had been imported to build the local penitentiary. The Catholic Bishop of the day, Right Rev. John Thomas Mullock, took advantage of plans to build a smaller penal institution and purchased sufficient surplus stones to construct a monastery.

On April 27, 1857 the bishop laid the cornerstone of the building, a year later, in March 1858, the new facilities opened. Dormitories were installed upstairs as the institution operated as a seminary.

Seven years later in 1865 the college began to admit secular students and, in 1889, the Irish Christian Brothers assumed administrative responsibilities for the school.

The building is now known as the Old College or the Skinner Building and is located directly across the street from The Rooms.

Recommended Reading: Noble to the View:  J. B. Darcy, Creative Publishers, St. John’s, 2007

 

 

St. George’s Day

ARCHIVAL MOMENT

April 23, 2018

St. George’s Day

St. George's Feast Day is April 23 but the holiday is on Monday, April 22.

St. George’s Feast Day is April 23 but the holiday is on Monday, April 20.

St. George’s Day is provincial holiday in Newfoundland and Labrador, observed on the Monday nearest April 23rd.

In Newfoundland and Labrador the holiday was born out of our sectarian history. The Roman Catholic’s of this place laid claim to St. Patrick, Patron Saint of Ireland and the Protestants laid claim to St. George, Patron of England.

As a saint, or even a historical person, St. George and his exploits are of doubtful authenticity, the most popular of the legends that have grown up around him relates to his encounter with the dragon. A pagan town in Libya was victimized by a dragon (representing the devil), which the inhabitants first attempted to calm down by offerings of sheep, and then by the sacrifice of various members of their community. The daughter of the king (representing the Church) was chosen by lot and was taken out to await the coming of the monster, but George arrived, killed the dragon, and converted the community to Christianity.

Saint George has been adopted world wide as the saint fighting the evil and defending the good, in the end slaying the dragon (representing the evil).

King Richard I of England placed his crusading army under St. George’s protection, and in 1222 his feast was proclaimed a holiday. As the patron of England – it was only a matter of time that his patronage would also cover the  New found land with the arrival of our  English ancestors.

In Newfoundland and Labrador the tradition of St. George is not only confined to his feast day (April 23) but he also presents as one of the characters in the old mummering plays, historically performed over the Christmas season.  In the mummering play he fights hand-to-hand with a Turkish Knight emerging as the hero.

In 1497, during the reign of Henry VII, the pennant of the Cross of St. George was flown by John Cabot when he sailed to Newfoundland.  It was also traditional to wear a red rose on the lapel on St. George’s Day.

Interesting that St. George is the Patron of England, Ethiopia, Georgia, Germany, Gozo, Greece, Lithuania, Malta, and Portugal but only Newfoundland and Labrador honour the day with a holiday.

A great place to live!

The most widely recognized St George’s Day symbol is St George’s cross. This is a red cross on a white background, which is often displayed as a flag. It is used as England’s national flag, forming part of the Union Flag, the national flag of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Recommended Website:   St George’s Day.com  the website offering information on all things English, that celebrates English Heritage and actively promotes St George’s Day on the 23rd April.  http://www.stgeorgesday.com/

 

Newfoundlanders serving with the Canadian Corps and at Vimy Ridge

Photo Credit: The Rooms: B-1-81 Mary Winter at Vimy, 1938

On April 9, 1917;  100,000 soldiers of the Canadian Corps advanced along the Vimy Ridge, France, in an attempt to drive the German Army away from the French city of Arras. It was the first time that all four divisions of the Canadian Corps attacked together – a feat that some said made Canada a nation.

At the crack of dawn on Easter Monday, April 9, 1917, all four divisions of the Canadian Corps came together for the first time and stormed the German-held ridge. By April 12, the Canadians captured Vimy and, as many historians say, forged a new sense of national identity.

3,296 Newfoundlanders working in Canada when the First World was declared signed up to fight with Canada under the flag of the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF).

The price of the victory was 11,000 Canadian casualties, 3,600 deaths. There were about 20,000 German casualties

The history of Newfoundland’s involvement in the First World War is usually recorded separately from the Canadian story, given the province’s status then as a separate dominion. Yet the Canadian and Newfoundland wartime experiences were often intertwined, perhaps nowhere more so than at Vimy and Arras in April 1917.

On 9 April 1917, as the Canadian Corps surged over Vimy Ridge north of Arras, British Third Army attacked eastward from Arras, only a few miles away from Vimy Ridge. The Newfoundland Regiment formed part of that force.

The cost of victory was high – 5,008 soldiers were killed, including many of the Newfoundland members of the Canadian Corps.

Partial List of Newfoundlanders who served with the Canadian Corps killed at Battle of Vimy Ridge, April 1917

Corp. Harry Fowler, # 460060, killed in action on 10 Apr. 1917 , 44th Battalion , Vimy Memorial

Pte. Charles Forsey Hickman, # 871526, killed in action on 12 Apr.1917, 44th Battalion, Vimy Memorial

Pte. Dominic Bennett, # 488745, killed in action on 9 Apr. 1917 , 25th Battalion, buried in  Thelus Military Cemetery

Pte. John George Baggs , # 715935, killed in action on 9 Apr.1917, Royal Canadian Regiment , buried in La Chaudiere  Military  Cemetery, Vimy

Pte. Frank Patrick Walsh, # 877659, killed in action on 9 Apr. 1917, 185th Overseas Battalion , Vimy Memorial

Pte. Wilfred Bennett, # 877516 , killed in action on 9 Apr. 1917, 73rd Battalion, Vimy Memorial

Sergt. James Maher, #178121, killed in action on 9 Apr.1917, 87th Battalion,  buried in Canadian  Cemetery  No.2, Neuville -St. Vaast

Pte. Augustine Joseph Meehan, # A/36070, killed in action on 9 Apr. 1917, 4th Battalion , buried in Bois –Carre British  Cemetery, Thelus

Pte. Thomas Whiteway, #761161, killed in action on 9 Apr. 1917, 121st. Overseas Battalion, buried in Villers Station Cemetery, Villers-Au-Bois

Pte. John Charles Cole , # 1075145, killed in action on 9 Apr., 1917, 67th Pioneer Battalion, Vimy Memorial

Pte. Stanley Frederick Cornick, # 208443, killed in action on 9 Apr. 1917, The Royal Canadian Regiment, buried in La Chaudiere Military  Cemetery, Vimy

Pte. Edgar Leslie MacKay, # 208444, killed in action on 9 Apr. 1917, The Royal Canadian Regiment, Vimy Memorial

The Role of the Newfoundland Regiment

Photo Credit: The Rooms; A 157 -11 Men of Newfoundland Regiment who saved Monchy

The Battle of Arras commenced on April 9, 1917 and the Newfoundland Regiment soon found themselves in the thick of it. Just before midnight of April 14th, 1917 the Newfoundlanders moved forward in single file to the firing trenches on the eastern outskirts of Monchy-le-Preux, a small French village located about 8 km south east of Arras. In the inky darkness the men proceeded at a snail’s pace through the littered fields, picking their way among the dead horses which lay in disordered piles covered with a thin mantle of snow.

Later that day the Battalion counted its losses. The fatal casualties were exceeded only by the number of those who fell at Beaumont Hamel; and one-quarter of the Newfoundland officers and men who went into action at Monchy-le-Preux became prisoners of war.

The Newfoundland losses incurred from April 12 to 15, 1917, based on existing information, total 460 all ranks. Seven officers and 159 other ranks were killed (or died of wounds), seven officers and 134 other ranks were wounded and three officers and 150 men were taken as prisoners of war. Of these 28 died from wounds or other causes while in captivity.

Recommended Archival Collection: At The Rooms provincial Archives:  [MG 836]  The James Spearman Winter collection consists of draft version and article as published in The Veteran (Dec. 1938: p.13, ill.) describing an official visit to the Newfoundland War Memorials in France and Belgium, July 1938, by James Alexander Winter, Commissioner for Home Affairs. He was accompanied by his wife, Mary (Arnaud) Winter. Includes 20 photographs taken by James and Mary (Arnaud) Winter illustrating their trip.

Recommended Reading: The Royal Newfoundland Regiment in the Great War: A Guide to the Battlefields and Memorials of France, Belgium, and Gallipoli by Fran Gogos.

RNC Officers Carry Guns

ARCHIVAL MOMENT

April 3, 1998

Royal-Newfoundland-Constabulary-HP-QC-frontThe Newfoundland legislature authorized officers of the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary to carry sidearm’s on April 3, 1998 ending this provinces status as the only unarmed police force in Canada.   Previously, members of the force kept their weapons in a  locked compartment in their police vehicle.

The Justice Minister of the day Chris Decker made the announcement in the Legislature.

On 2 December 1997, a Select Committee of the House of Assembly was appointed to enquire into the arming policy of the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary, and report its findings to the House of Assembly by 31 March 1998. The Select Committee conducted research, viewed presentations by interested parties and held public hearings.

The Committee tabled its report to the House of Assembly on 31 March 1999 which recommended that the arming policy of the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary be amended to permit its members on operational duty to wear sidearms as part of their regular uniform.

The Royal Newfoundland Constabulary has the deepest roots of any police force in Canada and possibly North America. These roots date back to 1729 when Newfoundland’s first Governor, Captain Henry Osborn of the Royal Navy, created six separate judicial districts each with justices and constables.

Recommended Reading: Browne, G. (2008) To Serve and Protect: The Newfoundland Constabulary on the Home Front World War Two.St. Johns: DRC Publishing.

Recommended Website:  RNC Historical Society:   http://www.rnchs.ca/history.html

Who was that bastard?

March 8, 1949

On March 8, 1949, a poem was published in the St. John’s newspaper The Evening Telegram, in honour of Sir Gordon MacDonald (Governor of Newfoundland from 1946 to 1949). The poem sang the praises of the Governor and of his work in Newfoundland. But it was a poem that had a twist.

Governor MacDonald had many detractors; there were many that disliked him and his politics. As Governor of Dominion Newfoundland, on arrival in 1946 he also took responsibility as Chair of the unelected Commission of Government that governed the dominion. It was he that oversaw the election of the Newfoundland National Convention in 1946, and the holding of two referendums in 1948, which led to Newfoundland becoming a province of Canada in March 1949.

There  were also suggestions that  he violated the principle of vice -regal impartiality  as the crown’s representative  and promoted sectarianism  by getting up in the pulpit at George Street United Church in St. john’s  and instructing the congregations  that “Last time (referendum) the Roman Catholics had their say; this time (the second referendum) it’s our turn.”

The poem was published two days after MacDonald left the Island:

The poem titled   “A Farewell!” reads:

The prayers of countless thousands sent

Heavenwards to speed thy safe return,

Ennobled as thou art with duty well performed,

Bringing peace, security and joy

Among the peoples of this New Found Land.

So saddened and depressed until your presence

Taught us discern and help decide what’s best for

All on whom fortune had not smiled.

Remember if you will the kindness and the love

Devotion and the respect that we the people have for Thee – Farewell!

A few weeks after the poem was published The Evening Telegram editors discovered that the poem was actually an acrostic with the first letters of each line spelling “THE BASTARD”

The reading public in St. John’s in 1949 would have been amused  that the word found its way into print.   Most were also shocked that a writer or writers  had been able to pull the wool over the eyes of the usually eagle eyed Telegram Editor CEA Jeffries.

Editors typically hold strict standards on profanities; it was not for example until 2014 that the prestigious New York Times updated of its style guide allowing for even the mildest vulgarities.

There has been much speculation about who wrote the poem  but credit is now attributed to  Gracie Sparkes  working with her friends  Jack Higgins  and R.S. Furlong.   Gracie  Sparkes  (1908 – 2003)  was  fierce anti-Confederate  as were her  friends Jack Higgins and Furlong.

What is a bastard?

There was a time that bastard was not an insulting term . Around the time when bastard first appeared in English William the Conqueror was known also as William the Bastard. No insult was intended, he was William the Bastard because his parents hadn’t been married.

Bastard first made it into print as an insult in 1830.

The root of the word (bastard) is from Old French and grew out of bast, the name for a packsaddle, which was the structure used to load packs onto a mule. Travelers with romantic intention and opportunity may not have had a convenient bed nearby so the blankets and saddle would serve as bedding and pillow. Thus children, who were not conceived in the marriage bed, were said to be conceived “on the bast” and were therefore bastards.

St. Patrick’s Day Tradition in Newfoundland and Labardor

ARCHIVAL MOMENT

March 17, 1851

The Executive and members of the Benevolent Irish Society (BIS) marched for the first time from their club rooms to the Roman Catholic Cathedral (now Basilica) on St. Patrick’s Day 1851 and were welcomed by the Bishop. The tradition of the parade to the Basilica, followed by the celebration of the mass (the Feast of St. Patrick’s), is followed by a reception by the bishop in the Episcopal Residence. The tradition continues to this day.

Leaving  the company of the Archbishop  the tradition was for the  BIS to parade to  Government House to be received by the  Lieutenant Governor of Newfoundland and Labrador.

The members of the Executive have since the first visitation presented  their hosts with a  small basket of shamrocks.

The B.I.S. was formally established in St. John’s on February 5, 1806 as a non-denominational service club to help educate and improve the lifestyle of the poor Irish immigrant children of St. John’s. The primary requirement for membership was that the individuals be of Irish birth or ancestry. The constitution of the B.I.S. is based on three principles of charity, benevolence and philanthropy.

As the seal and motto the members of the BIS chose the figure of St. Patrick bearing the cross surrounded by the inscription – “he that gives to the poor, lends to the Lord.”

The Benevolent Irish Society was unique in that it was nonsectarian and offered assistance to the needy regardless of their religion. The founders of the Society were among the first generation of permanent residents in Newfoundland. They included politicians, businessmen and clergy who played significant roles in the political, economic and spiritual growth of the developing colony.

Membership continues to be open to adult residents of Newfoundland who are of Irish birth or ancestry, regardless of religious persuasion.

Recommended Archival Collection: At the Rooms Provincial Archives  take some time to look at MG 612  the BIS  collection  it consists of minutes of  the BIS (1822-1933, 1938-1970, 1973-1979); agendas (1964-1970); Centenary Volume (1806-1906); loan receipts (1905-1906); journal (1910-1920); cash book (1920-1931); ledger (1939-1944).

Recommended Museum Exhibit:  take some time to see : Talamh an Éisc – The Fishing Ground , an exhibition  at The Rooms, that introduces the Irish peoples who have been in Newfoundland and Labrador since the late 1600s, the exhibit explores the communities they built and celebrates the contributions they made to life here in Newfoundland and Labrador.

 

Irish Week Events Calendar 2018

 

Irish Exhibit

Talamh an Éisc: The Fishing Ground   The Rooms Level 4

This exhibition introduces the Irish who have been here since the late 1600s. It examines the communities they built and the contributions they have made. Find out why so many people describe themselves as Irish Newfoundlanders. Newfoundland is the only place outside of Europe that boasts an Irish place name—Talamh an Éisc or Land of the Fish.

 

 

 

Food, Lent and St. Patrick’s Day

Archival Moment

March 17

(St. Patrick’s Day and the Lenten Fast)

Foods fro the Lenten Season Advertisement, Evening Telegram

Foods fro the Lenten Season
Advertisement, Evening Telegram

St. Patrick’s Day, March 17 has long been considered a significant date on the calendar of Irish Newfoundlanders, in fact on St. Patrick’s Day, all Newfoundlanders lay claim to some smidgeon of Irishness. The Irish in Newfoundland have for hundreds of years celebrated their patron saint with parades, dancing, drinking, and feasting.

St. Patrick’s Day, falling as it does during the fasting season of Lent has proven to be inconvenient, it has also proven to be a source of theological confusion.

Those who follow the Christian calendar and fast or abstain during the Lenten Season (Wednesday, February 14 and ends on  Thursday March 29)  can relax,  bishops throughout the world, especially in dioceses with large Irish populations have customarily granted a special dispensation from the law of abstinence and fasting on St. Patrick’s Day. In the United States, in the resent past, at least 60 of the nearly 200 dioceses (most with large Irish populations) provide such dispensations.

So ingrained in Newfoundland food culture was the idea of the “Lenten Diet” that there was a time during the Lenten Season when grocery stores in their advertising in the local newspapers boldly bragged in their advertisements that they carried “Lenten Diet” products.

In the local  St. John’s newspaper, Evening Telegram, on March 18, 1914 , Bishop Sons and Company Limited, Grocery Department stated in their advertising that their “‘Lenten Diet’ products included Salmon, Lobster, Cod Tongues, White Bait, Royans,  and a large selection of other fish products.”

The Lenten Diet, The Evening Telegram

The Lenten Diet,
The Evening Telegram

E.P. Eagan a competitor of Bishops and Sons at his Duckworth Street and Queens Road stores in St. John’s boasted in his advertising in The Telegram, March 16, 1914   that he carried “Foods that are popular during the Lenten Season.”

It was in this cultural milieu that it would have been difficult to consider a good meal of Irish bacon and cabbage, the traditional St. Patrick’s Day meal without an approving nod from the local bishop.

Irish bacon and cabbage, consists of unsliced back bacon boiled with cabbage and potatoes. Sometimes other vegetables such as turnips, onions and carrots are also added. Historically, this dish was common fare in Irish homes as the ingredients were readily available as many families grew their own vegetables and reared their own pigs. (As it was in Newfoundland.) In the mid-to-late 19th century, Irish immigrants to the United States began substituting corned beef for bacon when making the dish, hence creating corned beef and cabbage.

It is not likely that you will find a restaurant menu that will feature a “Lenten Diet’ and even more unlikely that our local newspaper will offer a ‘Lenten Diet’ column,  best stick to the fish.

On St. Patrick’s Day, break the ‘Lenten Fast’   it is all about the parades, dancing, drinking, and feasting!

Museum Exhibit: At the Rooms take some time to see: Talamh an Éisc – The Fishing Ground, an exhibit at The Rooms, which introduces the Irish peoples who have been in Newfoundland and Labrador since the late 1600s, the exhibit explores the communities they built and celebrates the contributions they made to life here in Newfoundland and Labrador.

“Behind Barbed Wire – Newfoundland POW’s in the Great War”

POW Camp

An estimated 8 million men became prisoners during the Great War. Jessie Chisholm, historian, researcher and archivist recently retired from The Rooms Provincial Archives Division, and Dan Duda, a map librarian with the Queen Elizabeth II Library at Memorial University, are working together to shine some light on this chapter of Newfoundland’s First World War history, as well as share it with a wider audience.

This presentation explores the international legal status of POWs under The Hague Conventions while focusing on the experiences of appromimately 200 Newfoundland POWs, revealed through first-person narratives, family letters, photographs and post-war claims for pensions and reparations. Themes include “reprisal camps“; the diverse experiences of the officers and other ranks (ORs); cultural and linguistic isolation; near-starvation, inadequate medical care, and harsh labour conditions.

Matthew Taylor of Rose Blanche was one of some 200 Nfld POW’s

POWs frequently suffered life-long physical disabilities and emotional trauma (“barbed wire disease“). By incorporating statistical analysis, mapping, and archival sources, hopefully this collaborative work and subsequent discussion will provide new insights into the Great War.

For more information:
Date: Thursday, March 8, 2018
Time: 2:30 pm 
Location: The Rooms Theater 
Included with the price of admission

 

https://www.therooms.ca/programs-events/for-adults/coffee-culture/behind-barbed-wire-newfoundland-pows-in-the-great-war

For information, contact Visitor Services on Level 1 at The Rooms. Call (709) 757-8090. Email information@therooms.ca.

 

Newfoundland proposed to sell Labrador to Quebec.

ARCHIVAL MOMENT

 March 4, 1924

Labrador MapThe modern boundary argument  between Newfoundland and Labrador  over who rightfully owned Labrador (Quebec or Newfoundland) began in 1902, when the Newfoundland government granted a lumber company license to harvest trees on both sides of the Hamilton River (now called the Churchill River). The Quebec government considered the southern part of the river to be part of Quebec, and complained to Canada’s secretary of state. Newfoundland refused to cancel the license.

On March 4, 1924 Prime Minister Walter S. Monroe of Newfoundland proposed to sell Labrador to Quebec for $15 million provided that Newfoundland would retain rights to a three mile wide coastal zone for the use of fishermen.

Quebec’s Premier Taschereau declined Monroe’s offer to sell Newfoundland’s interests in Labrador. The Quebec leader saw no reason to pay for what he believed already rightfully belonged to his province and decided to take his chances with the Privy Council resolution to the dispute.

Deliberations began in October of 1926 with P.T. McGrath from Newfoundland making the case for the province.  In 1927 the Privy Council decided in Newfoundland’s favour, a verdict accepted by Canada.

In the course of our history Newfoundland has made at least four separate attempts to sell Labrador to Canada. The only reason that there was no deal was that Canada would not pay the price Newfoundland asked.

The first offer was made in 1922, during Richard Squires’s first term as prime minister. A year later, in 1923, William Warren, the newly elected Prime Minister of Newfoundland  made another approach to Canada.

Prime Minister, Walter S. Monroe, saw little potential in Labrador, he told the House of Assembly “this country (Newfoundland) will never be able to develop it.”

Sir Richard Squires and his colleagues turned again to Ottawa late in 1931, a formal offer to sell Labrador for $110 million was again rejected.

Imagine if Canada had accepted. No Churchill Falls, or Lower Churchill, the extensive mineral deposits in Western Labrador, Iron Ore, Nickle, Voisey’s Bay. Would Canada have wanted us in 1949 if we were not bringing these resources?

Recommended  Archival Collection: At the Rooms Provincial Archives read MG 8, the papers of Sir. P.T. McGrath  which  consist of textual and cartographic records compiled by P.T. McGrath in preparing the Newfoundland Government’s arguments in the Labrador Boundary Dispute (1906-1926). The fonds is composed of correspondence, transcripts, memoranda, affidavits, research materials, maps and legal proceedings.