So many papers in such a small town.

Archival Moment

October 21, 1851

On October 21, 1851 St. John’s residents welcomed the first edition of a new newspaper to the streets of the town, The Newfoundland Express.

In the first editorial in the paper, the Editor, James Seaton wrote that he was confident that his new paper would be successful. He stated that because “the colony is being opened up by means of roads” a new audience outside of the city was being created. Seaton, who two years earlier had been the Editor of another St. John’s paper, The Courier also argued that with the establishment of a new inland postal system and that the legislature had passed a new law that newspapers could be sent free of charge, would benefit his new venture. The printer and publisher of the paper was John Thomas Burton.

Establishing a new newspaper in 1850 was a very bold step, the market was very crowded, and there were already nine established newspapers in the St. John’s. They included Courier (1850-1873): Morning Post and Shipping Gazette, (1850-1862); Newfoundland Express, (1851- 1859); Newfoundlander, (1851-1879) Patriot and Terra-Nova Herald, (1850-18900, Pilot (1852-1853): Public Ledger, (1850-1879); and the Royal Gazette, (1850-1909).

The estimated population of Newfoundland in 1851 was 100,000, the population of St. John’s approximately 31,000.

The Newfoundland Express published foreign and local news, legislative proceedings, shipping news, and advertisements. It also boasted a poet’s corner. The paper was Conservative in editorial policy and one of two Wesleyan newspapers in St. John’s. At this time in the history of the country (now province) most of the newspapers had a denominational attachment.

Initially the new paper published semiweekly eventually becoming a daily. In 1866 the formal title of the paper changed from Newfoundland Express to Express. The last known issue published was in July 1876.

Recommended Archival Collection: At The Rooms Provincial Archives take some time to read copies of The Newfoundland Express (The Express) that can be found on microfilm. The editions available at the Rooms Provincial Archives are 1862-[1863]-1864, [1866-1870]-1872.

Recommended Website: For an Historical Directory of all Newfoundlandand Labrador Newspapers go to: http://www.library.mun.ca/qeii/newspapers/index.php

Recommended Activity: Find the date of birth of your grandfather, grandmother or your parents find a newspaper for that date and read about the world that he or she were born into.

New Memorial University Campus Opened

ARCHIVAL MOMENT

October 9th, 1961

Provehito in Altum (Launch forth into the deep)

On October 9th, 1961, the Elizabeth Avenue campus of Memorial University of Newfoundland in St. John’s was formally opened. Attending the opening were a number of well-known dignitaries including Prime Minister John Diefenbaker, Premier Joseph Smallwood, Lord Thomson of Fleet and Eleanor Roosevelt.

Mrs. Roosevelt, the widow of the President of theUnited States of America, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, was the official emissary of the President of theUnited States, John F. Kennedy. Mrs. Roosevelt formerly passed over to the Board of Regents and the Senate, the new campus of Memorial University of Newfoundland.

Thousands of school children from all parts of the province took part in the parade up Elizabeth Avenue.

Memorial Universitybegan as Memorial University College (MUC), which opened in September 1925 at a campus onParade StreetinSt. John’s.

Upon opening MUC offered the first two years of university studies, the initial enrollment was 57 students, rising to a peak of over 400 in the 1940s.

The college was established as a memorial to the Newfoundlanders who had lost their lives on active service during the First World War. It was later rededicated to also encompass the province’s war dead of the Second World War.

The post-Confederation government elevated the status of Memorial University College to full university status in August 1949, renaming the institution to Memorial University of Newfoundland. The enrollment in MUN’s first year was 307 students. In 1961, enrollment increased to 1400.

Malcolm MacLeod. ‘A Bridge Built Halfway: A History of Memorial University College, 1925-1950.’MontrealandKingston: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 1990.

Recommended Website: http://www.mun.ca/

Gerry Squires: 1937 – 2015

Gerald Squires

(November 17, 1937 – October 3, 2015)

Gerald Squires, one of Newfoundland and Labrador’s most distinguished artists, passed away Saturday (October 3, 2015) at the age of 77 after battling cancer.

He was an artist who found inspiration from the landscape of this place, it was fitting than that it was the landscape that gave him comfort at the end. Squires, the subject of a new film that will be released in 2017 by Kenneth J. Harvey ‘I Heard the Birch Tree Whisper in the Night’ told the producer:

“I was told I was sick by a birch tree …. It was getting late in the evening… I knew something was wrong. I looked out my window at the birch trees, they were shivering …. Suddenly my mind accepted the reality of being sick …. “

Filmmaker and fellow-artist Kenneth J. Harvey is working on a film about Squires and his work, to be released in 2017.”I Heard the Birch Tree Whisper in the Night” Please take time to view: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-z1TsLgUh8Q&sns=em

Born in Change Islands, Newfoundland, in 1937, he took his early art training in Toronto, where his family moved when he was 12. Growing up, Squires and his family moved often as his mother worked as an officer with the Salvation Army.

He wrote about his mother:

“During the darkness and despair of the first round of chemo, I got fixated on my Mother who died some twenty years ago, my thoughts kept returning to my childhood, to our life together… We loved each very much, we shared many in conversations, concerning Christianity and the things of God, my first influence.”

He returned here with his wife and daughters 20 years later, and settled in 1971 in the lighthouse-keeper’s house in Ferryland.

Much of Squires’ painting has an overtly spiritual quality. Early symbolic works such as The Wanderer, The Boatman, and Cassandra were followed by a major commission from Mary Queen of the World Parish in Mount Pearl: two triptychs and The Stations of the Cross. It is also home to the celebrated Last Supper where Squires casts his friends as the disciples. He often joked that he was the unofficial Catholic artist with major commissions for the Sisters of Mercy, St. Clare’s Mercy Hospital and the Basilica Cathedral.

In subsequent years Squires has concentrated on landscape; the origins of this interest go back at least to the Ferryland Downs paintings of the late 1970s.

Among his many honours, Gerald Squires was elected to the Royal Canadian Academy and appointed a Member of the Order of Canada in 1999, received the Golden Jubilee Award from Her Majesty the Queen in 2003 and was inducted in the Newfoundland and Labrador Art Council’s Hall of Honor in 2008. A major retrospective of the artist’s work was mounted by the Art Gallery of Newfoundland and Labrador in 1998, and in September 2008 a solo exhibit “My Lanscape” was held at the Granary Gallery in Waterford, Ireland. Gerald Squires: Newfoundland Artist, by Des Walsh and Susan Jamieson, was published in 1995 and in 2009 Breakwater Books Publishing came out with the artbook “Where Genesis Begins” including 71 artworks by Squires and 37 poems by his good friend Tom Dawe.

Gerald Squires has lived in Holyrood with his wife Gail since 1983.

The Rooms was working with Mr. Squires curating a major retrospective of his work that will open in 2017.

Portuguese Ambassador to Unveil Memorial to White Fleet Fisherman

Portuguese Ambassador to Unveil Memorial to White Fleet Fisherman

October 6, 2015

Jose Moreira da Cunha, the Portuguese Ambassador to Canada will be in St. John’s on October 6 to unveil a memorial to Portuguese fisherman who died in Newfoundland waters in 1966.

In 2012 at the request of a Commanding Officer in the Portuguese Navy a search was initiated in St. John’ s to find the unmarked grave of Dionisio Candido Quintas Esteves, the 26 year old Portuguese fisherman who lost his life.

Using archival photographs and film, the unmarked grave was located in Mount Carmel Cemetery in St. John’s. Since the discovery of the grave, Portuguese Naval officials have hosted annually a wreath laying ceremony at the site to remember Esteves who has come to symbolize all of the Portuguese fishermen who have died prosecuting the fishery. Esteves was one of the thousands of Portuguese who plied Newfoundland waters as part of the crew of the Portuguese White Fleet. Esteves sailed on the celebrated Santa Maria Manuela.

The memorial was designed by the Portuguese artist Antonio Neves.

Through the efforts of individuals in Newfoundland and in Portugal a monument has been designed that will be placed at the gravesite as a permanent memorial. The memorial was designed by the Portuguese artist Antonio Neves.

On Tuesday, October 6, 2015 at 11:00 am at Mount Carmel Cemetery, (Kennas Hill – Logy Bay Road entrance) St. John’s the memorial will be officially unveiled at the grave of Portuguese fisherman.

The Most Reverend Martin Currie, Archbishop of St John’s, will officiate at the dedication.

The unveiling will be performed by His Excellency Jose Moreira da Cunha, Ambassador of Portugal in Canada. He will be assisted by a white fleet dory man who was a colleague of Esteves when he died on the SANTA MARIA MANUELA. Also assisting is a former crew member of the Hospital/Assistance Vessel GIL EANNES.

This short commemorative ceremony is open to the public.

Local businessman and author, Jean Pierre Andrieux has been spearheading the idea of creating and erecting the memorial that will serve to remember all Portuguese fishermen who lost their lives fishing in Newfoundland waters.

For further information contact Jean Pierre Andrieux @ jpa@spmtours.com or 753-7277.

They disappeared from the earth like a shadow…

ARCHIVAL MOMENT

October 2, 1827

“THE RED INDIANS OF NEWFOUNDLAND.”

Photo Credit: Drawings by Shanawdithit showing spears, water buckets, cups, a dancing woman, a devil Source: Library and Archives Canada/C-028544 © Public Domain nlc-683

They disappeared from the earth like a shadow…

On October 2, 1827, William Cormack, described as an explorer, agriculturalist and merchant in St. John’s, formed the ‘Beothic Institution’, for the purpose of opening a communication with, and promoting the civilization of the “Red Indians of Newfoundland.”

Cormack, had become alarmed at the decimation the Beothuk people and culture, and began searching the Newfoundland wilderness for the Beothuk. In 1823 he heard that a young Beothuk woman Shawnadithit (Nancy April) had been captured, one of only a few Beothuk with whom to communicate. He immediately sought her out to learn about the Beothuk culture.

Shawnadithit, in effect, became the Beothuk Institution, supplying Cormack with some of his only first-hand information on the tribe. Cormack wrote:

“We have traces enough left only to cause our sorrow that so peculiar and so superior a people should have disappeared from the earth like a shadow… Shawnadithit is now becoming very interesting as she improves in the English language and gains confidence in people around. I keep her pretty busily employed in drawing historical representations of everything that suggests itself relating to her tribe, which I find is the best and readiest way of gathering information from her.”

Many prominent citizens subscribed to become members of the Institute.

Cormack subsequently set off with three native guides to explore the area around the Exploits River and Red Indian Lake where the Beothuk were known to have lived but found the country deserted. As a last resort a native search party was sent to the region of Notre Dame and White Bays under the auspices of the Beothuk Institution.

No Beothuk were encountered, as Cormack had feared they were on the verge of extinction. With the death of Shawnadithit in 1829, Cormack wrote, they had “disappeared from the earth like a shadow…”

On 2 October 1997, 170 years after its inception, the Beothic Institution was revived as the Beothuk Institute. Its mandate was to arrange for the erection of a statue of a Beothuk woman to commemorate the Beothuk people, and to promote public awareness of the Beothuk and other aboriginal peoples of the province. The idea of a statue came from Newfoundland artist Gerald Squires, who had a vision of a female Beothuk in the Bay of Exploits, and wanted to honour the spirit of her people. He was commissioned to create the statue. It was poured in bronze by artist Lubin Boykov and unveiled at the Boyd’s Cove Provincial Historic Site in July 2000.

Since then the Beothuk Institute has sponsored the publication of a booklet on the Beothuk, provided essays on the Beothuk and has initiated a study of Beothuk DNA.

Recommended Archival Collection: At the Rooms Provincial Archives read MG 257 consists of a vocabulary of the Native Red Indians language, from Mary March / compiled by the Rev. John Leigh, 1819-1820, composed of words learned from Demasduit (Mary March), a female Beothuk captured by John Peyton, Jr., at Red Indian Lake, on 5 March 1819. Fonds consist of one booklet, with 17 sheets and cover.

Recommended Website: At the Rooms Provincial Museum see Museum Notes – The Beothuks By Ralph T. Pastore http://www.therooms.ca/museum/mnotes1.asp

Recommended Film: Shanaditti : Last of the Beothuks. Directed by Ken Pittman; produced by Rex Tasker and Barry Cowling. Montréal: National Film Board ofCanada, 1982. 20 min., 22 sec.

Recommended Reading: Marshall, Ingeborg. The Beothuk of Newfoundland: A Vanished People.St. John’s, 1989.

Why choose the caribou as a Newfoundland symbol ?

Archival Moment

October 2, 1915

Honour the Newfoundland Regiment at the Dardanelles

The woodland caribou has long been an important symbol to the people of Newfoundland and Labrador. In October 1915 there was a movement in the dominion of Newfoundland (now province) to have every person “wear the emblem of the 1st Newfoundland Regiment.”

On October 1, 1915 the St. John’s newspaper the Daily Star reported that members of the St. John Ambulance Nursing Division would be on the street corners in St. John’s selling the caribou emblem for 5 cents. Their goal was to have every person “wearing the emblem of the 1st Newfoundland Regiment in Honour of our boys who have had their first baptism of fire in the Dardanelles.”

It was at Gallipoli that the Newfoundland Regiment received its baptism of fire. The 1,076 Newfoundlanders landed on the shores of the Dardanelles on September 19, 1915. The St. John’s newspaper reported:

“We are proud of them and grateful to them all, and our hearts especially go out to those who have the added Honour of being wounded in fighting for these, their distant homes.”

The sale of the caribou emblem had a twofold purpose, it encouraged patriotic fervor and monies realized helped “the members of the Women’s Patriotic Association (W.P.A) in their effort to provide our defenders with the most essential necessaries.”

In addition to their monetary efforts the “necessaries” that the Newfoundland women supplied included knitted scarves, socks, helmets and waistcoats for the men overseas. Between 1914 and 1916, the women produced 62,685 pairs of socks, 8,984 pairs of cuffs (mittens with a trigger finger), and 22,422 mufflers. The WPA also aided the Red Cross and nursing services by preparing medical materials for the war.

The caribou has always held a significant place in Newfoundland history. The caribou that is found on the uniforms of the Newfoundland Regiment was copied from that of the Presbyterian Newfoundland Highlanders, a para military cadet corps formed in 1907.

It could be said that the caribou as an official symbol stumbled into our history. In 1638 King Charles I granted Sir David Kirke (Ferryland) the Coat of Arms of Newfoundland. The crest is unique in that the shield is topped by an image of an elk, remarkable in the fact that elk never inhabited Newfoundland or Labrador. Caribou, however, were and are commonplace. The elk is most probably used due to the fact that none of the English heralds of the 1600’s had ever seen a caribou and, therefore, could not draw one. They did, however, know what an elk looked like and this animal was used instead.

On October 2, 1915 it is doubtless that the St. John Ambulance nurses sold many caribou emblems to the patriotic citizens of St. John’s all wanting to show their support to the Newfoundland Regiment. It would also mark the first time that the emblem was sold solidifying its place as the iconic symbol of Newfoundland and the Newfoundland Regiment.

Today in what were the fields of battle where Newfoundlanders fought, on what is now known as the “Caribou Trail” the caribou, the symbol of the regiment and the province (then-dominion), stands facing the enemy line with its head thrown back in defiance, a symbol of Newfoundlanders’ bravery and fortitude.

Recommended Archival Collection: From your home visit the website, The Great War: http://www.therooms.ca/regiment/part1_entering_the_great_war.asp This site created by the Rooms Provincial Archives will resonate with audiences who are interested in the history of Newfoundland and Labrador’s involvement in the First World War. The site contains the military files of over 2200 soldiers from the Royal Newfoundland Regiment who served in the First World War, including those of the 1305 young men who died in the conflict. These files are searchable by name or by community and will therefore provide invaluable information for all viewers, but will be of particular interest to those who are conducting either family or community research.

Recommended Museum Visit: At The Rooms provincial Museum vit the exhibit Here, We Made a Home in The Elinor Gill Ratcliffe Gallery – Level 4. This exhibit highlights some of the artifacts associated with the Royal Newfoundland Regiment and what was happening on the ‘Home Front.’

Recommended Song: Recruiting Sergeant (Newfoundland-Great Big Sea) +Recorded by Great Big Sea (Play, trk#10, 1997, Warner Music Canada, Scarborough, Ontario. Listen: http://www.wtv-zone.com/phyrst/audio/nfld/04/recruit.htm

The first of the volunteers to be married

Archival Moment

28 September 1914

With the declaration of war in August 1914 many young men and women in Newfoundland and Labrador began to reexamine their relationships. Maud Hollett of Spencer’s Cove, Placentia Bay and William Manston of Manchester, England decided it was time to marry.

William had originally come to Newfoundland two years previous “in the employ of Mr. Reid as chauffeur.” With the declaration of war he was determined to return to his home country to fight for King and Empire. On September 9, 1914 he left the Reid property to sign up. Within days he was living in the training camp at Pleasantville with all of the other recruits.

Rumors in camp were that the newly formed Newfoundland Regiment would be departing at any time for the trenches of Europe; many of the young men in the camp were looking forward to getting a taste of battle. William realized that his time was short; if he was to marry he would have to do it quickly. On September 28 at 7:30 p.m. at St. Mary’s Church, South Side, St. John’s he waited for his bride. It was “the scene of a quiet wedding.”

The ceremony was performed by the Rev. Henry Uphill, Rector of the parish. The bride was given away by her cousin Charles Rodway and was attended by Miss Brace and Mr. PaveI. Immediately following the ceremony the young couple were received by Mr. and Mrs. R.G. Reid. Mr. Reid kindly placed his automobile at the service of the wedding party. A considerable gesture in the day given that this particular motor vehicle was one of the few in the country.
The local newspaper, The Evening Telegram reported “He is the first of the volunteers to be married and we trust that he will return from the front in good time and that in his domestic life he will find that happiness which he deserves.”

It was not a long honeymoon. Just five days later (October 3, 1914) the newly married Lance Corporal William Manston marched with the Newfoundland Regiment (the First 500) to the S.S. Florizel that had been converted into a troopship and would take him home.

Maud packed her bags to return home to Spencers Cove to await the outcome of the war.

Recommended Archival Collection: “Distinguished Service: the Royal Newfoundland Regiment in the Great War”, this on line exhibition documents the lives and experiences of the province’s soldiers and aims to encourage interest in research on the Royal Newfoundland Regiment. The service records of the First 500 and others are available at the Provincial Archives at The Rooms. Many of the service records (but not all ) are on line at http://www.therooms.ca/regiment/part1_entering_the_great_war.asp

Recommended Exhibit: Pleasantville: From Recreation to Military Installation. Level 2 Atrium

Pleasantville before the First World War was the site of the St. John’s cricket grounds. With the declaration of war, Pleasantville quickly emerged as a tent city, the home of the storied “First 500”. It was here that the First Newfoundland Regiment recruits began preliminary military training during the months of September and October of 1914. This exhibition highlights some of the activities and training of the Blue Puttees up to their embarkation on the SS Florizel for overseas service.

“Coffee taverns” and “fast food” full blast in the East End of St. John’s

Archival Moment

September 1879

Typical advertisement for a ‘Coffee Tavern’

Most people think that the notion of going to a “coffee house’ or “coffee bar” is a relatively new experience in Newfoundland and Labrador. Most people would argue that ‘the concept’ of a “Coffee house” arrived in the province with the first Tim Horton’s on Kenmount Road in the late 1970’s. Not so!! Coffee houses or as they were then called “Coffee Taverns” were established in St. John’s as early as 1879.

In September 1879, Samuel Collier took out an advertisement in the St. John’s newspaper the Evening Telegram explaining that he had opened a “first class coffee house” that was “in full blast in the East End.” Location being everything in business and wanting to be in a high traffic area, Collier explained in his advertisement that he was located “immediately opposite the mercantile premises of Messrs. L. O’Brien and Company.”

Mr. Collier was not limiting his clientele to a good cup of coffee, he also boasted that his “delicious meals are served with almost lightning rapidity.” The claim by the St. John’s businessman puts him among the first to propose the notion of a ‘fast food’ restaurant.

If that was not enough to lure coffee drinkers and diners off the streets into his premises he had a number of distractions that would amuse his guests. His advertisement read:

“Visitors who are fond of amusements can pleasantly pass the time with Billiards, Chess, or Chequers, while those of a literary turn of mind are furnished with more interesting newspapers, fresh from the press.”

It might have been that Mr. Collier had another motive for opening his “East End Coffee Tavern” and the clue is in the name that he gave his business. Mr. Collier like many of his ‘temperance minded friends’ in the 1880’s were trying to establish “Coffee Taverns” to serve as an alternative to shebeens and other drinking establishments that served alcohol.

The Temperance Movement was at the height of its influence and membership in the 1880s. This was a society that condemned alcohol as the root of the problems of poverty and destitution. They bought up restaurants and music halls, trying to recreate the atmosphere of the coffee houses of the 16th century. Working men were encouraged to visit establishments like the East End Coffee Tavern, to eat nourishing but cheap food, and to drink coffee or tea instead of alcohol.

Hard to believe but some of our ancestors preferred a drink in the local tavern instead of going home. Collier and others reasoned with amusements like Billiards, Chess, or Chequers, a reading room providing daily and weekly newspapers and a good cup of coffee that they could entice a few away from the booze into having a good cup of coffee.

I will have a double, double, please!

Recommended Archival Collection: At the Rooms Provincial Archives explore: MG 1009: Sons of Temperance, St. John‘s Division No. 3: Minutes of the Sons of Temperance for 1865-1867 beginning with the inaugural meeting. Minutes include lists of officers including ages and occupations of members, resolutions, finances, quarterly reports, membership fees, expenditures, etc.

Recommended Song: Murphy Broke the Pledge (Irish Descendants) based on the Johnny Burke Ballad, Murphy Broke the Pledge [1851-1930] of St. John’s, NL (1894). This variant arranged by the Irish Descendants (Rollin Home, 1998) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAUzJmUkC7A

How to name a war

Archival Moment

September 2, 1914

With the outbreak of war in August 1914 pundits began to coin phrases to best name this new conflict. In the very early days of the war the tendency had been to refer to it as the “European War.” As the war progressed and more nations became involved in the conflict it became known as the “Great War” and the “First World War”.

In Newfoundland, the first term given to the conflict was “The Great War” the term was first used on September 2, 1914. Copying an article from the New York Independent the St. John’s, Evening Telegram reported:

Some wars name themselves, the Crimean War, The Civil War, the Franco – Prussian War, the Thirty Year war, the Revolutionary war, and many others.

This is the Great War

It names itself

The term “First World War” was another term that emerged shortly after the start of the war; the phrase is credited to the German philosopher Ernst Haeckel. Haeckel wrote:

“There is no doubt that the course and character of the feared “European War” will become the First World War in the full sense of the word.”

The “European War” became known as “The Great War”, and it was not until 1931, with the beginning realization that another global war might be possible, that there is any other recorded use of the term “First World War”.

During the Interwar period (1918-1939), the war was most often called the World War and the Great War in English-speaking countries.

After the onset of the Second World War in 1939, the terms World War I or the First World War became standard, with British and Canadian historians favoring the First World War, and Americans World War One.

Recommended Archival Collection: At the Rooms Provincial Archives there is available 6683 individual service files, 2300 have been digitized and are available at: http://www.therooms.ca/regiment/part1_entering_the_great_war.asp This searchable database for military service records includes the attestation papers: name, service number, community and district of origin, next of kin and relationship, religion, occupation, year of enlistment, fatality, and POW status (if applicable). Take some time to read the stories of these young men.

Recommended Exhibit: Pleasantville: From Recreation to Military Installation. Level 2 Atrium. Pleasantville before the First World War was the site of the St. John’s cricket grounds. With the declaration of war, Pleasantville quickly emerged as a tent city, the home of the storied “First 500”. It was here that the First Newfoundland Regiment recruits began preliminary military training during the months of September and October of 1914. This exhibition highlights some of the activities and training of the Blue Puttees up to their embarkation on the SS Florizel for overseas service.

Music in the Park

Archival Moment

August 22, 1898

Photo Credit: A 103-2; Newfoundland Regiment Band performing in park during Newfoundland Week, London

Music in public spaces has always held an important place in the lifestyle of the residents of St. John’s. There is a long history of residents gathering in the public parks where there was an expectation that music would be performed.

On August 19, 1898 the music in Bannerman Park was so “exceptionally good” that the local newspaper The Evening Telegram reported: “it was the best this season, [The music] was so exceptionally good, that the large number of our citizens present applauded the various selections by clapping their hands.”

Not all who gathered in Bannerman Park were amused. The newspaper reported that several gentleman of the west end of St. John’s were quite displeased that music was being realized in Bannerman Park but little for their neighborhood park. To add insult to injury it was not just good music in Bannerman Park, it was the very best performed by none other than “Professor Power’s most excellent orchestra.”

The West End crowd, in the neighborhood of Victoria Park, felt that they were being victimized. They admitted that they were getting occasional performances but they were “vexed that they have to listen to the harsh selections at Victoria Park.” Worse again there was no possibility that they would get the quality of Mr. Power’s orchestra because “Mr. Power and his orchestra had been secured for the whole summer” by the Bannerman Park Committee.

With the recent revitalization of Bannerman Park and the construction of a new bandstand music has once again returned to Bannerman Park. On Sundays throughout the summer ( (next show on September 13 at 2:00 p.m.) a free concert featuring amazing local musical talent is presented.

The crowd in the west end 117 years later are still keeping an eye to Bannerman Park, not to be outdone in May 2015 about 75 people attended a public meeting to discuss how their park can be best rejuvenated or redesigned. The west-end park received $1-million — a 50/50 split between the city and the province — to put towards a major overhaul.

I am thinking the new plan might include a bandstand!

Victoria Park occupies the same 6.5 acres of land now as it did when it opened in 1890. Bannerman Park was formed on land set aside for public use by Governor Bannerman in 1864.

Recommended Reading: Stories About Bannerman Park: http://www.bannermanpark.ca/stories/

Recommended Action: Support the Garden of Memories in Bannerman Park: People who enjoy the park can contribute to the park‘s revitalization through by sponsoring various fixtures, flower gardens, and commemorative granite stones, which will be used for the pathways in the Garden. For more information: http://www.bannermanpark.ca/the-garden-of-memories-open-to-the-public/

Recommended Action: Join the Friends of Victoria Park (FOVP), a concerned group of West End residents and community members who came together in May 1998 with the goal to ensure that Victoria Park regains and retains its historical place as a vibrant, safe, and enjoyable environment for all residents and visitors. Read More: http://www.fovp.org/index.shtml

Archival Moments

Selections from the archives, live from St. John's, NL

So many papers in such a small town.

New Memorial University Campus Opened

Gerry Squires: 1937 – 2015

Portuguese Ambassador to Unveil Memorial to White Fleet Fisherman

They disappeared from the earth like a shadow…

Why choose the caribou as a Newfoundland symbol ?

The first of the volunteers to be married

“Coffee taverns” and “fast food” full blast in the East End of St. John’s

How to name a war

Music in the Park