Category Archives: Archival Moments

The First Giant Squid

ARCHIVAL MOMENT

October 25, 1873

On July 7, 2011 Canada Post launched the Glovers Harbour Squid stamp which features a 55-foot (16.8 metre) giant squid statue from Glovers Harbour.

On 25 October 1873 a fisherman, Theophilus Picot fishing off Bell Island in Conception Bay, had a battle with a giant squid. This battle resulted in the first giant squid specimen to be studied scientifically on land!

It was Alexander Murray, the first Director of the Geological Survey of Newfoundland who brought the story to the attention of the international scientific community.

A few weeks following the fisherman’s battle with the giant squid Mr. Murray, wrote to Louis Agassiz, Professor of Zoology at Harvard University. In the letter he explained that the fisherman Picot

” struck at it (the squid, at the time he had no idea what it was) with an oar or boat-hook, whereupon the creature’s fury seemed to be aroused, and it struck at the bottom of the boat with its beak, and immediately afterward threw its monstrous tentacles over the boat, which probably it might have dragged to the bottom had not Picot with great presence of mind severed one of the tentacles with his axe.”

Mr. Murray had more than a story he also included:

“a couple of photographs of the said tentacle and a few of the small denticulated sucking cups.”

The reference to the battle with the giant squid first appeared the prestigious publication scientific journal ‘The American Naturalist’ 8 (1874), 120-124. under the tile “Capture of a Gigantic Squid at Newfoundland.”

This was the first of the giant squid to be documented. Over the years their have been others. At the Rooms Provincial Museum a giant squid that was originally caught November 14, 1981 in Hare Bay, Bonavista Bay, is on display. The last giant squid caught in Newfoundland waters was in Triton in 2004 and there was another found in Sandy Cove, Fogo Island, in 1982.

On July 7, 2011 Canada Post launched the Glovers Harbour Squid stamp which features a 55-foot (16.8 metre) giant squid statue from Glovers Harbour. It is a life-size replica of the World’s Largest Giant Squid (Guinness Book record) that was landed nearby on November 2, 1878.

Recommended Reading: Aldrich, F. A., and Brown, E. L. 1967. “The Giant Squid in Newfoundland,” The Newfoundland Quarterly. Vol. LXV No. 3. p. 4-8.

Recommended Archival Collection: Search the online database at The Rooms for descriptions of our archival records and to view thousands of digital photographs. https://www.therooms.ca/collections-research/our-collections

Recommended Exhibit: At the Rooms see the exhibit “Beneath the Sea” this exhibit features a 29-foot-long giant squid, which was found by a fisherman in Hare Bay, Nov 10, 1981.

The healing potential of the Pitcher Plant

October 20, 1891

Archival Moment

On October 20, 1891 Henry Clift a well-known barrister from Harbour Grace, in a letter in the St. John’s newspaper, The Evening Telegram, mused about the potential of plants that grew in Newfoundland and wondered why the medical community in the colony were not exploring their medicinal potential. The letter sets Henry Clift apart as one of the first to see the potential of pharmaceutical drugs in Newfoundland flora.

The young lawyer was driven to write the letter because he was amused that residents of St. John’s and his home town Harbour Grace were buying up all of the concoctions that were being sold by the visiting Kickapoo Company. The Kickapoo was an Indian medicine show that employed American Indians, supposedly Kickapoo’s, to tour Newfoundland demonstrating Indian life, and selling their medicines. They has set up shop in the Star of the Sea Hall on Henry Street with good audiences and brisk sales of their products.

Clift in his letter to the Editor argued that before the arrival of the Europeans to Newfoundland, “when our native Indians became sick how did they cure themselves … the answer is surely by the plants and the roots, herbs, bark of trees etc. of our native land.:”

Clift continued that there was in fact historical proof that there was healing qualities in the roots and berries that were gown in the colony. He wrote that as far back as July and August 1863 the St. John’s newspaper, The Times, had reported that “a certain Lieutenant Hardy of the Royal Artillery showed that Surgeon Logan had cured eleven men of the Regiment of smallpox by the use of the roots of the Pitcher Plant or rather a due concoction thereof.”

He continued that we were not to stop with the medicinal and pharmacological potential of the Pitcher Plant but should also “dilate here on the virtue of the wild cherry bark, dogberry bark, and berry, sarsaparilla, snake root, bog bean and the root of our beautiful perfumed, N. odorata or pond lily, etc.”

The good lawyer was well read and was aware that Reverend A.C. Waghorne an Anglican Missionary priest working in Newfoundland “has done good work on the botany of our native land and it is high time that the medical botany thereof should be more attended to than it is, and that we should open up a way of relief to the poor and the sick and to help people out of their coffins.“ Wayhorne had published extensively on Newfoundland flora in the local papers.

The coffins that Clift was referring to were for those that were succumbing to the full fury of the diphtheria epidemic. The Board of Health for the Colony of Newfoundland in 1889 reported that 1,881 cases of diphtheria affecting 878 families and resulting in 350 deaths. For 1890 and 1891 the number of deaths was 133 and 140 respectively. By April, 1892, when diphtheria had all but disappeared from St. John’s, the number of deaths for the first three months of that year was 23. Clift reported that the “cautionary sick signal is hoisted” on many homes.

To eradicate such an epidemic Clift was suggesting that the medical community should consider the medicinal value of plants like the Pitcher Plant for consideration in the medical arsenal.

The Pitcher Plant was declared the provincial flower of Newfoundland and Labrador in 1954, this strange plant appeared on the new Newfoundland penny in 1880. The Pitcher Plant, also called Sarracenis Purpurea, is found primarily in bogs and marshland throughout the province. It has one large wine-red flower with a red and gold centre and hollow pitcher-shaped leaves which are attached to the base of the stem. As an insectivorous plant, it feeds off the insects which become trapped inside the leaves when they fill with water.

Recommended Archival Collection: Search the online database for descriptions at The Rooms for archival records and to view thousands of digital photographs. Search the Archives: https://www.therooms.ca/collections-research/our-collections

Recommended Reading: Home Medicine: The Newfoundland Experience by John K. Crellin . Based on material from the Folklore Archives at Memorial University Crellin looks at the interplay between mainstream physicians and alternative treatments, and the effect of folk beliefs on today’s self-care practices, Crellin examines how the advent of modern medicine has affected self-treatment.

A haunting evocative evening in the theatre

THE WEIR

by Conor McPherson

A haunting evocative evening in the theatre

In a remote country pub in Ireland, newcomer Valerie arrives and becomes spellbound by an evening of ghostly stories told by the local bachelors who drink there. With a whiff of sexual tension in the air and the wind whistling outside, what starts out as blarney soon turns dark as the tales drift into the realm of the supernatural. Then, Valerie reveals a startling story of her own….

Conor McPherson’s The Weir is a haunting evocative evening in the theatre you will never forget. Tickets are available $30 at the LSPU Hall.

November 1 -5 at 8PM

MATINEE: Saturday, November 5 at 2:00pm

Book your ticket on line at http://rca.nf.ca/

All proceeds go towards “Team Broken Earth” and their work in rebuilding Haiti. Read More: http://www.brokenearth.ca/

Remembering and revitalizing the “rooms” of a fishing village.

Old Coast, New Coast: Petty Harbour, Newfoundland

Remembering and revitalizing the “rooms” of a fishing village.

The Rooms

Published October 14, 2016

Sitting on the edge of the dock, swinging their legs back and forth, children eagerly await the return of their fathers. The fishermen left at sunrise, guiding their small boats out to fertile inshore fishing grounds to pull in cod with handlines. Read More: https://www.hakaimagazine.com/article-short/old-coast-new-coast-petty-harbour-newfoundland

Are you in my pew?

ARCHIVAL MOMENT

October 8, 1991

Basilica Cathedral Parish receipt for pew rent. Pew #28.

In the 1800’s because voluntary offerings in Sunday collections were unpredictable, pastors introduced pew rents to stabilize parish finances. Originating in Germany, the pew rent system was common place in North America by the 1840’s. In the new churches it was used to secure a steady income from which the debt on new buildings could be paid.

Parishioners could literally “rent a pew”. It was reserved for their use during one or all of the Sunday Masses and other devotions and events. Typically in most churches a brass plate was inserted with a card holder where the name of the family “renting” the pew was inserted.

The pews were also in demand. Every Sunday notices were read reminding parishioners if they had not paid their “pew rent” that they should pay immediately or forfeit the right to claim the pew!

The practice was so prevalent that for certain celebrations in St. John’s that the Archbishop of St. John’s had to make a special plea that the “pew holders” in the Basilica Cathedral give up their pews for special occasions. For example when Pope Pius XI died in 1939, Archbishop Roche requested:

“Pew holders in the upper centre section are requested to give their pews on that day (February 19, 1939) for the use of those who desire to attend the ceremony ….”

The same notice would go to pew holders when the Basilica Cathdral hosted sacred concerts. One such notice read:

“On Wednesday Evening next at 8:00 o’clock a Sacred Oratorio will be held in the Cathedral on the occasion of the opening of the new organ. A small charge will be made for admission – the proceeds to go towards the expenses of the Organ which will be over eight thousand dollars. Pew holders will please understand that they must not expect to claim their pews on that occasion as they will be occupied by ticket holders.”

In some diocese the practise was so prevalent that regulations ensured that a proportion of pews (at least one sixth) always remained free to insure that the poor would have a seat in the church. The seats of renters who had not arrived before a certain point in the celebration were also regarded as free for occupation by others.

The idea of “pew rents” was for some a great source of scandal, it was inevitable that it was the poor that were edged out to perch on benches and stools at the back or middle of the church.

To an outsider the effect of rented pews in church could be off-putting. A vistor to a church in Monmouthshire, Wales wrote in 1882:

“I did go once (to the church) but the people were all shut in, and the folk in the pews looked at me as if I had got in without paying: so after walking up and down several times, like a man in a station trying to get a seat when the train is full, I went home.”

In most churches in Newfoundland the idea of “pew rents” was allowed to fade away quietly. In place of pew rents for a particular pew, in some churches, a general pew collection or second collection was held every Sunday. In the Basilica Cathedral Parish this general offering was seen by some parishioners as a way to hold on to the pew that they saw as “their family pew.” To this very day older parishioners continue to sit in what was “their family pew.”

The pew collection, previously the pew rent, was officially ended by a decision of the Basilica Cathedral Parish Council on October 8, 1991.

Recommended Archival Collection: At the Archives of the R.C. Archdiocese see “The Pew Rent Receipt Books” these books identify the particular pew that was assigned to a family.

Recommended Reading:The English Anglian practice of pew renting, 1800-1969. Bennett, John Charles (2011) Ph.D. thesis, University of Birmingham, England.

“Firing for the school”

ARCHIVAL MOMENT

October 7, 1900

Photo Credit: The Rooms Provincial Archives. VA 118-18.4 Girls and women sitting behind stove, possibly in school room .(Note the coal bucket near the stove)

At the end of the mass on Sunday, October 7, 1900 the parish priest at the Roman Catholic Cathedral in St. John’s (now Basilica) took to the pulpit to make the usual announcements. On this particular Sunday the priest also took great pains to explain because of the increase in the price of coal that the families of the children in the parish would have to take on some of the responsibility for “firing for the school”.

The priest told the congregation:

“Owing to the increase in the price of coal His Lordship the Bishop (Michael Francis Howley) wishes the parents of the children attending schools in the neighborhood of the city to understand that he cannot supply fuel as usual from the education money and they are expected to help provide firing for the school. “ (Source: Book of Publications, Sunday, October 7, 1900)

Until the 1950’s most rural schoolhouses in the province were outfitted with nothing but a small wood or coal -burning potbelly stove in the corner or center of the room. It was up to the students to heat the classroom.

A common sight in small towns and villages was a child trudging off to school carrying a couple pieces of wood or small bucket of coal, his or her contribution to the day’s supply of fuel. The older boys took turns lighting the fire and during the cold winter mornings all the children would bundle around the stove until the temperature rose high enough to make it sufficiently warm to sit in their regular places.

Recommended Archival Collection: At the Provincial Archives Division at The Rooms explore MG 365 three logbooks (1916-27, 1918-29 ,1947-54) which document the operation and administration of St. Mary’s School, Southside, St. John’s. The logbooks contain handwritten entries by teachers describing school activities, student performances and events affecting the operations of the school.

Search the Archives: : https://www.therooms.ca/collections-research/our-collections

Recommended Publication: Schooling in a Fishing Society: Education and Economic Conditions inNewfoundland andLabrador 1836-1986 Volume 1 & 2 by Phillip McCann.St. John’s, Newfoundland: Institute of Social and Economic Research (ISER),MemorialUniversity of Newfoundland, 1994, 277 pp. and 329 pp.

Lost Phrase: The expression “firing for the school” has fallen into disuse. Have you seen the expression “firing for the school” in other sources?

The Parade Grounds now the site of The Rooms

Archival Moment

September 8, 1898

The Rooms, St. John’s, NL the area was once known as the Parade Grounds.

In September of 1898 two factions in St. John’s were looking to control property in the town known as ‘The Parade Ground’. The property, now the site of “The Rooms” was of interest to two groups, “the sports enthusiasts” who wanted the grounds converted into sports fields and those that wanted to see a park established on the site.

Those supporting the concept of establishing sports fields on the Parade Grounds were well organized; they had the support of the local member of the House of Assembly and the support of the athletic clubs of the city. Trumpeting the idea of a park were the neighboring residents.

In 1898 the Municipality St. John’s was expanding, there was a move away from the downtown core (following the Great Fire of 1892) two new neighborhoods that were emerging “the Cookstown and LeMarchant Road districts.” These new neighborhoods many argued should have a park. Writing under the pen name “Demos “ on September 8, 1898, he wrote that there should be a park on the Parade Grounds, like Bannerman and Victoria Parks. A park:

“for the benefit of the people on the higher levels and the central part of the city, on the same footing as a place of recreation, like Bannerman and Victoria Parks are for the welfare of the people of the East and West ends of the town. “

Demos felt strongly that this new neighborhood should have a park for:

“The aged, the infirm, and children under the care of servants, (that) cannot conveniently go to Bannerman and Victoria Parks, and are dependent, on the Parade Ground as a place of rest and recreation. This dependence will increase more and more with the spread of population in the Cookstown and LeMarchant Road districts.”

Demos, in his letter to the local newspaper argued that people were moving into the Parade Ground neighborhood because they had access to “ this open space” that:

“ formed a reason for the purchase or lease of the neighboring real estate and the building of their houses thereon by the residents of the locality, and their right of liberty of resort to the Parade Ground at all times cannot in equity be infringed upon…. “

The general sentiment in the neighborhood was that it would be rash to deed the Parade Grounds “to an irresponsible company of ball-players.”

The residents of the area had some definite ideas, they wanted nothing less than “the embellishment of the Parade Ground “they wanted a care taker for the grounds, the planting of grass, a few clumps of trees, winding walks and benches and seating area.”

It took some time (118 years) but with the official opening of the Fortis Courtyard and Amphitheatre at the Rooms on July 1, 2016 what were the Parade Grounds are now “the place of recreation” originally proposed on September 8, 1898.

Explanation: Typically in the 19th century most people in Newfoundland used a pen name when writing letters to the Editor. “Demos “ is a Greek term – meaning for the populace of a democracy as a political unit.

Recommended Archival Collection: Search the online database for descriptions of our archival records and to view thousands of digital photographs. – https://www.therooms.ca/collections-research/our-collections . In the search bar type “Parade Grounds”.

The Finest Room in the Colony: The Library of John Thomas Mullock

The Basilica Museum or Mullock’s Library is home to some of the oldest books in the country.

The Library of John Thomas Mullock

Thursday, September 29 at 8PM

Ágnes Juhász-Ormsby an Associate Professor of English at Memorial University has compiled a searchable library catalogue of the rare books of John Thomas Mullock held in the Episcopal Library in St. John’s. Working with her colleague Nancy Earle from Memorial University and Anne Wash from the Archdiocese of St. John’s they recently published an illustrated catalogue of this important collection under the title The Finest Room in the Colony: The Library of John Thomas Mullock.

The Newfoundland Historical Society welcomes Ágnes Juhász-Ormsby and Anne Walsh on Thursday, September 29 at 8PM at Hampton Hall, Marine Institute, Ridge Road to look at this influential Newfoundland Bishop and explore Bishop Mullock’s book collection.

Please join us for this FREE presentation.

Hampton Hall is through the main front door at the Marine Institute and to the left. All lectures start at 8 pm. Free parking is available in front and to the west of the building.

For more on the Newfoundland Historical Society. http://www.nlhistory.ca/

The Finest Room in the Colony: The Library of John Thomas Mullock is now online: http://collections.mun.ca/PDFs/qeiipublic/TheFinestRoomintheColony.pdf

From ‘Colony of Newfoundland’ to the ‘Dominion of Newfoundland’

Archival Moment

September 26, 1907

There was a time when the Dominion of Newfoundland had a passport.

On 26 September, 1907, Edward VII, declared the Colony of Newfoundland, having enjoyed responsible government since 1854, the status of an independent Dominion within the British Empire.

The change of name shifted the official title of Newfoundland from the ‘Colony of Newfoundland’ to the ‘Dominion of Newfoundland’.

The name change was made to clarify the theoretical equality of status within the British Empire of Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Newfoundland.

On September 26, 1907, by a Royal Proclamation, ‘dominion’ became the distinguishing label for Newfoundland and New Zealand.

To acknowledge their new status the Prime Minister of New Zealand, Sir Joseph Ward sent a telegram to the Premier of Newfoundland on the day before the official proclamation that read: “upon the eve of the change send you warmest greetings”. Sir Robert Bond of Newfoundland responded: “I heartily reciprocate your cordial greeting and sincerely wish the Dominion of New Zealand the fullest measure of prosperity.”

By the official proclamation Sir Robert Bond was the last Premier of the Colony of Newfoundland 1900 to 1907 and the first Prime Minister of the Dominion of Newfoundland from 1907 to 1909.

After the passage of the Statute of Westminster in 1931, the definition of dominion became lot more precise, with the British drawing a clear line of separation between what was a “dominion” and what was a “colony.” From henceforth, a “dominion” was declared to be an independent country, united in “free association [as] members of the British Commonwealth of Nations” which were in turn “united by a common allegiance to the Crown.”

After 1931 the Imperial Parliament (The Westminster Statue) gave up most of its power to pass laws for the dominions, which in turn gave rise to the status quo of today, where we have a number of independent countries who nevertheless recognize the British monarch as their head of state and form a symbolic union with one another.

The Westminster Statute formally recognized: The Dominion of Canada; The Dominion of New Zealand; The Irish Free State; The Commonwealth of Australia; The Union of South Africa and Newfoundland with “dominion” status in this regard.

Unlike other dominions, and quite unique in history, the government of Newfoundland in 1934 voted to abandon self-government in favor of direct rule from London, becoming the rare entity to reject independence in favor of being governed by someone else.

In 1949 Newfoundland became a province of Canada.

Recommended Archival Collection: Newfoundland Royal Commission 1933 Report : Presented by the Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs to Parliament by command of His Majesty, November, 1933. Call Number HC 117 N4 G74 1933

Recommended Exhibit: Here, We Made a Home. The Elinor Gill Ratcliffe Gallery – Level 4. The Rooms. At the eastern edge of the continent, bounded by the sea, the culture of Newfoundland and Labrador’s livyers was tied to the fisheries and the North Atlantic. A rich mix of dialects, ways of life, food traditions, story and song developed here. Shaped by the unique combination of location, history, cultures – English, Irish, French, Scottish – this gallery shares many of these traditions and stories. Some are personal and local; others reflect roles and achievements on the world stage. Running through most of them are qualities of perseverance and innovation, courage and generosity.

Did you know that the original document – The Terms of Union with Canada is held in the Provincial Archives in The Rooms.

A New Bridge for Placentia Gut

ARCHIVAL MOMENT

September 23, 2016

On October 28, 1961, the Sir Ambrose Shea Lift Bridge was officially opened by Premier J.R. Smallwood.

Previous to the new bridge residents of the area were advocating for a bridge across the main gut through petitions presented to government as early as 1926.

in 1942 a scow was put on the Placentia gut by the Americans to transport vehicles (for travel to the wireless stations they had set up on the Cape Shore). They later replaced this with a pontoon bridge, but because of the strong tides the bridge could not be kept in place.

The original Sir Ambrose Shea Lift Bridge consists of two approach spans and one centre vertical lift span each 100 feet in length. The total weight of the centre span which can be raised in one and a half minutes is 100 tons. Clearance under the span in the down position is 10 feet, and when raised is 70 feet.

In May 2011 the Provincial Government issued a tender to replace the aging “iconic structure.” The new lift bridge Sir Ambrose Shea bridge was built directly adjacent to the existing bridge.

NEW BRIDGE OPENS – September 23, 2016

The Honourable Dwight Ball, Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador, joined with the Honourable Al Hawkins, Minister of Transportation and Works, the Honourable Sherry Gambin-Walsh, Minister of Children, Seniors and Social Development, and MHA for Placentia – St. Mary’s, Ken McDonald, Member of Parliament for Avalon, along with His Worship, Wayne Power, Mayor of Placentia, and members of the community, to officially recognize the opening.

The lift bridge is staffed year round, 24-hours a day. The bridge is lifted approximately 2,400 times annually for marine traffic and sees about 6,500 vehicles pass over per day. During the busiest spring months when crab and lobster fisheries are at their peak, the bridge can lift over 400 times a month.

The new Sir Ambrose Shea Lift Bridge cost approximately $47.7 million, which includes construction, engineering and demolition and removal of the old bridge. The construction of the bridge saw the placement of 9,200 metres of steel piling, 3,800 cubic metres of concrete, 150 tonnes of reinforcing steel and approximately 976 tonnes of structural steel.

Mayor Wayne Power of Placentia said “Sir Ambrose Shea Lift Bridge provides a vital link for our communities; it also allows access to the harbour and serves as a unique attraction for visitors. The opening of the new bridge is a great milestone and as a community we are thankful for the investment made to make this a reality.”

New Word: Bascule Bridge from the French word for “see-saw,” a bascule bridge features a movable span (leaf) that rotates on a horizontal hinged axis (trunnion) to raise one end vertically. A large counterweight is used to offset the weight of the raised leaf.

New Word: Scow – a large flatbottom boat with square ends, used chiefly for transporting freight

Recommended Archival Collection: At the Rooms Provincial Archives explore MG 83 the Bradshaw Family collection that consists of 7 files comprised of land grants for Placentia Gut and North East Arm, bills of sale, printed speeches and advertisements. also contains 2 maps, [ca. 1840] The maps are a Map of Ordnance property, Placentia 1806; copied 1881 and Plan of Placentia, 1741.

Who was Ambrose Shea? Read More: http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/shea_ambrose_13E.html

Recommended Song: The Bridge at Placentia Gut: http://www.laval.k12.nf.ca/poem.htm