The harbour is quiet, no slides for the children.

Archival Moment

March 6, 1907

Photo Credit: The Rooms Provincial Archives. B 4 - 148. James Vey Collection

Photo Credit: The Rooms Provincial Archives. B 4 – 148. James Vey Collection

The first week in March month in St. John’s traditionally saw the population grow by the hundreds as the “men from the bay” began to arrive in the city hoping for a berth on the sealing vessels going out to prosecute fishery.

The city, especially the waterfront, would be busy with activity. Many of the men would be looking for lodgings as they awaited news of a berth on one of the vessels, some consumed a little too much and  there were the inevitable rows between the ‘bay men’ and ‘the townies’ looking for the same work.

The Gambo Slide

It was not only St. John’s that was a hub of activity the other hub was the town a Gambo. In the first week of March, 1907 the St. John’s newspaper, The Daily News reported:

“Last night there were 100 men at Gambo, who had walked from Wesleyville and vicinity, to take the train. About 200 more are expected there, this morning, which will be the last coming from that section.”

The Gambo train station was the terminus for just about all of the sealers who would walk the trek from Wesleyville to the train station in Gambo, “an unpleasant tramp” that took from 24 – 32 hours.

However, there would be much excitement in Gambo, especially among the children. The children would be waiting for the Gambo slide.

The Gambo slide was a small lightweight sled that was constructed by the men of Wesleyville and area, that they used to pull their sealing gear and clothes.  As the men of Wesleyville, now exhausted from walking, approached Gambo, the children of the town would be on the outskirts to help them pull their slide for the last few miles.

Photo Credit: The Rooms Provincial Archives. Start of the Slide Race. A11-19. Elsie Holloway Studio, St. John’s.

The children knew once they pulled the “Gambo slide” to the train station, the sealers would board the train for St. John’s and the slides would be theirs!

It was not only the men from Wesleyville that were walking into Gambo to catch the train, the Daily News reported on March 6, 1907:

 

 

“Eight hundred men will leave Greenspond, Newtown, Pools Island and neighboring places, this morning and will walk over the ice to Gambo, and come into St. John’s by train.”

Walking in the unpredictable weather especially in March month,  the slides not only served to lighten the loads of what the fishermen had to carry, if the weather “turned on them”, they could always burn the slides and use the  wood as a heat source.

One story goes that upon arrival in Gambo  a small group of young men  from Greenspond, Bonavista  Bay had hours to wait for the train.

“So to keep the fire going we broke up our slides which we had used to drag our suitcases or clothes bags on. This kept the fire going for two or three hours … I was some glad when the train finally came, and, I had never been on a train before in my life.”

With the loss of markets for seal products, the hustle and bustle that came with the preparations for outfitting the boats and signing on the crews in St. John’s is no more.

The first week of March on the St. John’s waterfront is now quiet.

Recommended Archival Collection: At the Rooms Provincial Archives read the journal of Dr. William Waddell (MG 1006.1). The journal documents a typical sealing voyage including a description of the vessel and role of the crew.

Recommended Reading: The Last of the Ice Hunters: An Oral History of the Newfoundland Seal Hunt  edited by Shannon Ryan, Flanker Press,St. John’s, NL.

Recommended Reading: Perished: The 1914 Newfoundland Sealing Disaster  by Jenny Higgins.  Boulder Publications, Portugal Cove Conception Bay, NL.

 

Ashes, fasting and movies.

ARCHIVAL MOMENT

Ash Wednesday (March 6) is the beginning of Lent.

What are these ashes all about?

ash-wednesdayA colleague looked at another colleague and wondered why she had “ashes” on her forehead.  (March 6, 2019 TODAY ) in the tradition of most Christian churches (Roman Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran and others) it is Ash Wednesday, originally called dies cinerum or day of ashes.

Ash Wednesday is the name given to the first day of the season of Lent, in the typical Ash Wednesday observance, Christians are invited to the altar to receive the ashes. The Pastor applies ashes in the shape of the cross on the forehead of each, while speaking the words, “Repent, and believe in the Gospel” or the dictum “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”  (Genesis 3:19).

For over twelve hundred years on the dies cinerum (day of ashes) faithful followers have approached the altar and received ashes upon their foreheads. These ashes are made from the burnt palm branches that were blessed on the Palm Sunday of the previous year.

Abstaimning , fasting and generally changing one’s lifestle during Lent was  taken very seriously.  People would often give up there favourite food, would refuse to play cards and or attend dances and other social functions.

Imagine, no movie for 40 days!!

Times have changed!

No movies during Lent

No movies during Lent

During Lent of 1909, Michael Francis Howley, the Catholic Archbishop of Newfoundland was very concerned about a relatively new form of entertainment that had become quite popular. His concern about this “new entertainment” stirred him to release a Pastoral  Letter to be read in all churches. The Pastoral Letter outlined the rules and regulations of Lent for that year.  The letter was very direct and forbade Catholics:

“to attend any worldly amusements; such as balls, dances, even in private houses, parties, theatrical or other entertainments, such as these new forms of moving pictures, or shows of any kind held in Public Halls by whatsoever name they may be called.”

The idea of abstinence and fasting  is not exclusive to the Christian world.

Buddhism, the Buddha Himself encouraged monks and nuns to limit their food intake after the noon meal, and therefore it is common practice among Buddhist monks and nuns to refrain from eating after noon until the next morning on a daily basis.

Jews fast for six days which are spread out at various times in the Jewish calendar year; this means abstinence from food and liquids for both men and women – unless certain exemptions are necessary such as illness or pregnancy. The most important and holiest day of the Jewish year is Yom Kippur (The Day of Atonement), and on this day Jews will fast and pray for a period of 25 hours.

Muslims fast between sunrise and sunset for 30 days during the month of Ramadan, (which is the month the Prophet Muhammad revealed the Quran), followers are to abstain from food, liquid and smoking. Fasting is considered the fourth of the Five Pillars of Islam (These pillars are: i. Creed; ii. Daily prayer; iii. Almsgiving; iv. Fasting; v. Pilgrimage), and it is obligatory for both men and women.

 

What is in your pancake? Shrove Tuesday

ARCHIVAL MOMENT

March 5, 2019

Pancake ChefMardi Gras literally means “Fat Tuesday. The day is also known as Shrove Tuesday (from “to shrive,” or hear confessions) or Pancake Tuesday.

The custom of making pancakes comes from the need to use up fat, eggs and dairy before the fasting and abstinence of Lent begins. This year Ash Wednesday is on March 6.

 

GIVE HIM “SHORT SHRIFT”

On Shrove Tuesday,  (March 5) Christians were encouraged to confess their sins so that they were forgiven before the season of Lent began.

The term survives today in ordinary usage in the expression “short shrift”. To give someone short shrift is to pay very little attention to his excuses or problems. The longer expression is, “to give him short shrift and a long rope,” which formerly meant to hang a criminal with a minimum of delay.

What is in that pancake

Lent is a time of abstinence, of giving things up. So Shrove Tuesday is the last chance to indulge yourself, and to use up the foods that aren’t allowed in Lent. Pancakes are eaten on this day because they contain fat, butter and eggs which were forbidden during Lent.

Photo Credit: The Rooms; Children at dinner IGA 33.41

Pancakes were a simple way to use these foods, and one that could entertain the family. Objects with symbolic value are cooked in the pancakes, and those who eat them, especially children, take part in discovering what their future will be as part of the meal.

 

 

 

The person who receives each item interprets the gift according to the tradition:

  • a penny—to symbolize poverty
  • a nickel—to symbolize wealth
  • a string—to symbolize a fisherman (if a boy got the string, he would be a fisherman, if a girl did, she would marry one)
  • a holy medal—the house blessed with a priest or a nun.
  • a hair clip—hairdresser or barber
  • a button — to symbolize that you would never marry – a bachelor or an old maid
  • a pencil stub – a career in teaching: imagine a lead pencil in your food!)
  • a thimble—to symbolize that you would be a seamstress (a girl) or a tailor (a boy)
  • a wedding ring—to symbolize that you would marry soon

 

 

 

“The long and hungry month of March”

ARCHIVAL MOMENT

March 1

Photo Credit: At the Rooms Provincial Archives: VA -15-A -28-10 Twillingate Garden Cellar

In Newfoundland and Labrador the month of March has traditionally been referred to as “the long and hungry month of March.”  The expression finds its origins in our ‘food’ history.

“The long” is taken from the fact that March follows – the shortest month in the year – February.  “The hungry month” can be explained by looking at the availability of food especially root vegetables and how supplies were preserved throughout the winter months.

The preservation of food for our ancestors (before the weekly and for some daily visit to the grocery or convenience store) typically involved freezing, salting or pickling.

With no electricity one of the essential structures to be built on the family property was the “root cellar.”  Root cellars served to keep food supplies from freezing during the winter months and cool during the summer months.

Typically, families would put a variety of root vegetables in the cellar in the fall of the year; the main vegetables being potatoes, turnip, and carrot.  Other food supplies placed in the root cellar over the winter months included beets, preserves, jams, berries, and pickled cabbage.  Fish and wild game also found a place in the cellars including turres, moose, caribou, salt meat, and salt fish.  In addition to what was stored in the cellar  some families had access to  domestic animals such as cows, goats, and sheep.

As the winter wore on the supplies that had been gathered and stored in September and October  – especially the vegetables – would gradually diminish,  by late March, supplies would be very low.

The coming of March  marked a time of optimism and hope.  March was the time for sealing or “swilin’ time.” Seal meat would give some reprieve to `the long and hungry month of March’  by which time the family food store was very low.  At this time of the year, in many parts of the province, sealing provided the only opportunity to obtain fresh meat and the pelts brought long awaited cash.

It would be springtime before the hope of the first new vegetable of the year would show, the spring green, know locally as dandelion leaves, the first vegetable after a long winter.

It is the long and hungry month of March.

Recommended Archival Collection: At the Rooms there is a small collection of photographs under the search terms:  agriculture, gardens, crops, and hay.

Did you know that Newfoundland and Labrador imports 90 per cent of its produce?  The Restaurant Association of Newfoundland and Labrador (RANL) has been representing the interests of the Food Service Industry in our province for close to fifty years. RANL works with various groups and agencies to increase the use of local product to showcase our unique terroir in our restaurants.  Read More: http://ranl.ca/about/

March is Nutrition Month: https://www.dietitians.ca/your-health/nutrition-month/nutrition-month.aspx

Recommended Web Site: Elliston, Bonavista Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador is the Root Cellar Capital of the World.  http://www.rootcellars.com/

Lost Words: “Lazy Beds”:  a type of potato bed – a farming method where the sod was not removed but turned over with the shovel between the beds, thus simultaneously forming the trenches and raising the beds.Newfoundland andLabrador is one of the few places in the world where this type of potato bed can still be found.

 

 

 

 

“Trail of the Caribou” Stamps Released

“Trail of the Caribou” Stamps Released

In 1919, W. M Dooley from Charleston, South Carolina, an occasional correspondent with the Evening Telegram, a St. John’s, NL newspaper,  writing under the banner, “Our American Letter”, on February 25, 1919 wrote:

“The new postage stamps of Newfoundland are very beautiful. ’The trail of the caribou’ is a happy phrase and should help to perpetuate the glorious deeds of the Blue Puttees in Turkey, Belgium and France. The present issue approaches in beauty and design the old time fish and seal stamps which were so much sought after by collectors.”

Dooley was referring to a set of stamps that were released a month earlier on (January 2, 1919) by the Newfoundland Postal Department, a 12 stamp commemorative set, to honour the services and memory of the Newfoundland contingent in the war.

The stamps were printed in response to a stamp shortage developed in Newfoundland. The government and in particular The Postmaster-General, J. Alex Robinson (JAR) wanted a new issue that favored a patriotic subject.

The phrase, “Trail of the Caribou” was created with Lt. Col. Thomas Nangle, Roman Catholic Chaplain of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment. The badge of the Regiment consisted of the head of a caribou over a ribbon lettered “Newfoundland”. Below the caribou is a ribbon entwining oak leaves.

The “caribou” used is certainly magnificent, but perhaps a bit bizarre, the picture of the caribou is a composite of a caribou with moose antlers.

Of the twelve stamps, four commemorate the work of the Naval Forces, and bore the word “Ubique”, meaning everywhere. Newfoundland’s sailors could literally be found everywhere on the sea.

The remaining eight stamps in this series each commemorate a specific engagement in which the Royal Newfoundland Regiment participated. The engagements are: Suvla Bay, Gueudecourt, Beaumont Hamel, Monchy, Langemark, Cambrai, and Combles. all in France. Steenbeck was at Belgium, Suvla Bay was at Gallipoli, Turkey.

The 1919 “Trail of the Caribou” set was printed by De la Rue and Company in sheets of 100 (10 x 10).

The postal rates for letters up to one ounce were, at the date of issue: domestic 3-cents, drop rate 2-cents, UK Commonwealth 3-cents, and foreign 5-cents.   Registered letters were 5-cents and special delivery 10-cents.

Stamps subject to criticism

One of the first critics of the newly issued ‘Trail of the Caribou’ stamps was The Governor of Newfoundland, Sir Charles Harris, he went so far as to request the issue be withdrawn from sale since it did not portray any of the “Majesties.”   The Government, however, took the position that there was no slight intended and furthermore that Newfoundland’s stamps were not required to bear their likenesses of their Majesties.

Recommended Collection: The entire 12-stamp issue can be viewed in color at the Canadian Postal Archives website: http://www.collectionscanada.ca/postal-archives/080608_e.html

  • 2 Cents. (1919 – #116) – Ubique (Latin: EVERYWHERE)
  • 5 Cents. (1919 – #119) – Ubique (Latin: EVERYWHERE)
  • 8 Cents. (1919 – #121) – Ubique (Latin: EVERYWHERE)
  • 12 Cents. (1919 – #123) – Ubique (Latin: EVERYWHERE)
  • 1 C. (1919 – #115) – Suvla Bay, Turkey (Gallipoli Campaign – 1915, 1916)
  • 3 C. (1919 – #117) – Gueudecourt, France (Somme Campaign – 1916)
  • 4 C. (1919 – #118) – Beaumont-Hamel, France (Somme Campaign – 1916)
  • 6 C. (1919 – #120) – Monchy, France (Battle of Arras – 1917)
  • 10 C. (1919 – #122) – Steenbeck, Belgium (2nd Battle of Ypres – 1915)
  • 15 C. (1919 – #124) – Langemarck, Belgium (3rd Battle of Ypres – 1917)
  • 24 C. (1919 – #125) – Cambrai, France (Battle of Cambrai – 1917)
  • 36 C. (1919 – #126) – Combles, France (Somme Campaign – 1916)

Recommended Museum Exhibit: The First World War had a profound impact on Newfoundland and Labrador. Our “Great War” happened in the trenches and on the ocean, in the legislature and in the shops, by firesides and bedsides. This exhibition shares the thoughts, hopes, fears, and sacrifices of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians who experienced those tumultuous years – through their treasured mementoes, their writings and their memories. Included in the exhibit  are the ‘Trail of the Caribou’ postage stamps. https://www.therooms.ca/exhibits/now/beaumont-hamel-and-the-trail-of-the-caribou

Holyrood Welcomes Heroes Home

February 22, 1919

In February 1919 throughout the towns and bays of Newfoundland and Labrador the soldier boys who had signed up to fight for “King and Country” were returning home among them were the soldiers from Holyrood.

The St. John’s newspaper the Evening Telegram reported on February 22, 1919:

“The soldier boys of Holyrood were accorded a big welcome home ….. The little town was en fete with bunting and the cannon thundered forth its roars of welcome as the train approached the station.”

Engineer Candow, of the Newfoundland Railway as he approached the town with the soldiers; ( J. Flood, R. Walsh, Edward Besso, Edward Maloney and John Flynn) aboard “long and oft-repeated tooting of his horn” giving the residents notice that “he was pulling something more than the common carrier along.”

Many gathered at the train station to acclaim the returning heroes.

Good Food and Interesting War Stories

Miss Flynn, the Secretary of the Women’s Patriotic Association, and the young ladies of the Patriotic Committee were busy organizing an evening party with plans of banqueting the returning soldiers and sailors in the Star Hall.

The guests to the evening party included the soldiers and sailors, their relatives and a large number of their friends and well-wishers, that were seated at two tables erected lengthwise in the Hall. Among the guests was the parish priest the Reverend W. P. Finn presided at the soldiers’ table.

The newspaper reported:

“As regards quantity, quality and variety the table appointments left little to be desired, and all partook of a hearty meal, the soldiers in the meantime entertaining there with some interesting war stories.”

When supper had been finished the assembly was called to order and patriotic speeches, expressions of welcome, congratulations and thankfulness to the soldiers were made by the Chairman, Rev. Father Finn, and Mr. R. Dwyer, Justice of the Peace ., to which Lc. Corpl. J. Crawley neatly replied on behalf of his comrades- in arms.

This part of the ceremonial having been finished, the Hall was cleared for the dance, an attractive feature to the young folk, and fiddler FOLEY was kept busy handing out some good stuff to his customers till the approaching hours of daylight bade the wearied performers retire to their homes, for a needed rest.

The promoter of this happy reunion for a worthy purpose and her active committee of young ladies must feel proud of the success of their efforts for nothing essential in the ceremonial that usually features in welcome homes was lacking, are deserving of the best thanks of the country as well as the community.

For the occasion, the Hall was nicely decorated and draped with the flags of the Allies, and a motto bearing the good old Irish welcome stood prominently in the foreground.

Regimental Records of the Newfoundland Regiment at the Rooms.

The Regimental Records of the Newfoundland Regiment suggest that 20 Holyrood boys felt the call to duty and enlisted in the service of their King and country, and went overseas—over there with the Newfoundlanders to help out the mother country in the titanic struggle to destroy Prussian militarism and Hun barbarism.

Addressing the crowds gathered, Rev. Father Finn said “we have welcomed some back; we will welcome others who are still absent as duty’s call perhaps in the sweet by and by but alas!, there are some we shall never welcome back. They have made the Supreme Sacrifice and are now sleeping peacefully overseas and under the shell-torn sods of France and Belgium.

Among the Holyrood boys that made the “Supreme Sacrifice” were:

MURPHY, Martin: Regimental # 3655; Age 22; Next of Kin Martha Murphy; Attestation 1917. Died December 3, 1917

TARGETT, Frederick Joseph: Regimental #1743; Age 25; Next of Kin, Sarah Targett; Attestation 1915.   Died: October 16, 1916

LEWIS, John Thomas; Regimental # 2746; Age 19: Next of Kin; Attestation 1916. Died Friday, April 12, 1918

 

There are a number of other men who died in the First World War that are inscribed on the war memorial in Holyrood but they are from neighboring communities. The names of the men from Holyrood who died are inscribed on the war memorial included:

Lucas Holden, Harbour Main, Regimental #329, Age 21; Next of Kin: Son of William V. and Alice Holden, of Harbor Main, Newfoundland. Died July 1, 1916 Buried at: Serre Road Cemetery No. 2, Serre-les-Puisieux, France

Corporal John O’Rourke. John’s Pond, St, Mary’s Bay, Regimental #3345, Age 21, Died: October 20, 1918; Buried: Vichte Military Cemetery, Belgium

Private Augustus Penney: Regimental #1399, Age 22 Next of Kin: Patrick and Helen Penney, of Harbor Main, Died: July 1, 1916; Buried at: Y Ravine Cemetery, France

Other names inscribed are P. Mackey, P. O’Neil, and M. Penney unfortunately no information is available at this time.

Those that survived and eventually made their way home to Holyrood were:

Mullowney, Edward: Holyrood, Regimental # 4713; Age 18 next of kin James Mullowney, attestation 1918.

HICKEY, Michael John: Holyrood, Regimental # 1415; Age 21 next of kin John Hickey , attestation 1915

CURRAN, William: Holyrood, Regimental # 4760; Age 25 next of kin William Curran, attestation 1918

CRAWLEY, John T: Holyrood, Regimental #5765; Age 19. next of Kin, Patrick Crawley . Attestation 1918

CRAWLEY, John: Holyrood, Regimental #2158; Age 20; next of kin Cornelius Crawley. Attestation 1916

CRAWLEY, Albert W: Holyrood, Regimental # 4009; Age 23; next of kin Elizabeth Crawley. Attestation 1917

TUBRETT, Leo Holyrood, Regimental # 5795; age 19; next of kin, Thomas Tubrett. Attestation 1918

OBRIEN, Gerald Holyrood, Regimental # 4800; age 22; next of Kin , John O’Brien. Attestation 1918

KENNEDY, Michael Holyrood, Regimental # 2552; age 23; next of kin, Mrs. Michael Kennedy. Attestation 1916

FLOOD, Joseph: Holyrood, Regimental #4662; age 26; Next of Kin, Edward Flood , attestation 1918

WALSH, Ronald Patrick: Holyrood, Regimental # 4712; age 29; Next of Kin, Margaret Walsh attestation 1918

WALSH, Augustus J: Holyrood, Regimental #3914; age 22: Next of Kin Patrick Walsh. Attestation 1917

WALL, Leo: Holyrood, Regimental #5808; age 23; Martin Wall Attestation 1918

WALSH, Frank: Holyrood, Regimental # 161; age 20; Next of Kin ,William P. Walsh Attestation, 1914

DWYER, Patrick: Holyrood, Regimental # 3927; age 24; Next of Kin; John Dwyer Attestation

DOBBIN, Charles: Holyrood, Regimental # 2539; age 18; Next of Kin; Denis Dobbin, Attestation 1916

BARRETT, Gregory:  Holyrood, Regimental # 1822; age 20 ; Next of Kin; Mary Healy . Attestation 1915

Recommended Archival Collection: Over 6000 men enlisted in the Newfoundland Regiment during the First World War. Each soldier had his own story. Some soldiers’ stories were very short; other soldiers who were lucky enough to survive the war had a longer story to tell. Each story is compelling. Read More: https://www.therooms.ca/thegreatwar/in-depth/military-service-files/database

Recommended Museum Exhibit: The First World War had a profound impact on Newfoundland and Labrador. Our “Great War” happened in the trenches and on the ocean, in the legislature and in the shops, by firesides and bedsides. This exhibition shares the thoughts, hopes, fears, and sacrifices of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians who experienced those tumultuous years – through their treasured mementoes, their writings and their memories. https://www.therooms.ca/exhibits/now/beaumont-hamel-and-the-trail-of-the-caribou

Private Michael Ryan, Welcomed home to Calvert

February 24, 1919

Calvert, Newfoundland

In February 1919 many young men who had signed up to fight for “King and Country” were returning to Newfoundland and Labrador, many were welcomed home to friends and family with a party in the local parish hall.

Private Michael Ryan (20 years old) of Michael Sr. of Caplin Bay, (now Calvert) arrived home from France by the Corsican, he was home after two years of service having seen some of the most severe fighting of the war, but came through without a wound.

On Friday night (February) 14th the ladies of the harbor tendered Private Ryan a splendid reception in St. Joseph’s School (Caplin Bay, now Calvert) .

JOSEPH Sullivan the Master of Ceremonies (MC) stood before the crowd and said:

   “With feelings of sincere joy and thankfulness to God we heartily welcome you home again. We feel proud of you, and this little reception, is only a slight mark of the honour due you, after putting in two years of constant danger and hardship, so that we may enjoy the privileges of Justice, Freedom and Liberty, which thank God through your and your numerous chums sacrifices have been preserved to the world and to us.”  

Everyone in Calvert was very aware that when Private Ryan left Calvert – he was with his good friend Charlie (Canning) they had left Calvert on the same day to go to the recruiting office in St. John’s, February 8, 1917.

“We are glad to have you back again and our only sorrow, and we feel sure yours also, is that your poor chum Charlie (Canning) who enlisted with you, is not here tonight to share with you our joy, but God willed otherwise, and tonight he like so many others of Our, “Better than the Best” sleeps in a hero’s honoured grave in France, a martyr to the Huns’ frightfulness.”

Standing at the podium Joseph Sullivan the MC for the reception said: “You can be assured that though absent you were never forgotten, and we may say that a continuous prayer for your safety was always on our lips.”

He then presented Private Ryan with a purse, and gold watch and fob (chain) from the men of the men of Caplin Bay (now Calvert) as a remembrance of his home coming.

As he stood on the stage in the parish hall with the watch in hand he looked down at his family that included his father Michael (Sr) sister Hannah, 24, his sister Ellen Sullivan of Caplin Bay, his sister Bride Battcock of Brigus South, and his sister Julie Brine of Cape Broyle.

A man of few words Private Ryan said:

“Believe me my friends that tonight I feel more excited than I ever did at the sight of the FRITZIES  and on that account you must not expect much reply from me to your beautiful address. I can only say I did my plain duty and it was God’s holy will I was to be spared to come home again. I am delighted to be back among you once more to “home sweet home,” and from the bottom of my heart I sincerely thank you all. “

NOTE:  Fritz or Fritizies was also a name given to German troops by the British and others in the First and Second World Wars.

 

The Passing Over of Michael Ryan – They dropped red poppies in his grave.

Michael Ryan died in May 1955 his obituary read:

“War was the one episode in his life that took Mike away from his beloved Southern Shore.”

For the rest , he lived at Calvert all his life and married (Bridget Clancy) there and raised a large family – Michael, James, Francis, Edmund, Helen (Clowe), Reverend William J.,  Reverend Kevin, Philomena Keough, Genevieve and Marie, Presentation Convent, St. John’s.

His obituary reads:

” He was first a good provider and kind father. He was a kindly man to whom his neighbours came in trouble, a wise man to whom his neighbours came for advice – a just man who did the right by all men. For half a century he was part and parcel of everything worthwhile that went on in Calvert. He made to the growth and building up of that community the substantial contribution of good citizenship – and the great contribution of being a man of character doing the things that his place and times required of him.”

A guard of honour of the Canadian Legion escorted the funeral cortege to the cemetery on the hillside towards Ferryland – and when the final prayer had been said and the Legion ritual read, dropped red poppies in his grave. “And they buried him among the fir trees where the hill slopes towards the broad Atlantic – within the sight and the sound of which he had lived all his life”.

Recommended Archival Collection: Regimental Record: Michael Ryan, of Caplin Bay, Regimental # 3468 https://www.therooms.ca/sites/default/files/ryan_michael_3468.pdf

Recommended Archival Collection: Regimental Record: Charles Canning of Caplin Bay (Calvert) https://www.therooms.ca/sites/default/files/canning_charles_3466.pdf

Recommended Museum Exhibit: The First World War had a profound impact on Newfoundland and Labrador. Our “Great War” happened in the trenches and on the ocean, in the legislature and in the shops, by firesides and bedsides. This exhibition shares the thoughts, hopes, fears, and sacrifices of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians who experienced those tumultuous years – through their treasured mementoes, their writings and their memories. https://www.therooms.ca/exhibits/now/beaumont-hamel-and-the-trail-of-the-caribou

Truxtun and Pollux: “No m’am, that’s the colour of my skin.”

ARCHIVAL MOMENT

February 18, 1942

Standing Into Danger

The American destroyers Wilkes and Truxtun and the supply ship Pollux were on their way to the Argentia Naval Base when they went off course and smashed on the rocks in Lawn Point and Chambers Cove on the Burin Peninsula on February 18, 1942.

The Truxtun and Pollux were a total loss. Two hundred and three officers and crew (203) lost their lives. Their life jackets which were not equipped with crotch straps slid off on impact with the water.

Residents of nearby St. Lawrence and Lawn managed to rescue 186 survivors.

At this time the US Navy was segregated. Of the 46 survivors from the USS Truxtun, one was black. When Lanier Phillips was rescued by residents of St. Lawrence they treated him the same as they treated the white survivors. He woke up in a room surrounded by a group of white women who were bathing him — many of the rescued sailors had jumped into cold ocean waters covered with a layer of heavy black bunker C oil, which then coated the men. All were in need of cleaning. Phillips noted that if he had woken up in his home state of  Georgia,USA, naked and surrounded by white women, he would have been lynched (and the women branded and run out of town).

“NO M’AM, THAT’S THE COLOUR OF MY SKIN’

One of the women helping with the rescue had never before seen an African American and was puzzled that the crude oil seemed to have soaked his skin to the point of colouring it. She was determined to scrub it off, and Phillips had to tell her that, no m’am, that’s the colour of my skin. Phillips  later found himself sitting at the family table, using the same china cups and plates that the family used, and was dazed (and appalled) to find himself in one of the family beds, looked after by the lady of house who didn’t seem to be afraid of being in the same room with a black man. He said he didn’t sleep all night, it terrified him.

This experience in St. Lawrence galvanized the Navy Mess Attendant to fight racial discrimination within the US Navy. He later became the Navy’s first black sonar technician. After completing a 20 year career in the navy, Lanier Phillips joined the exploration team of Jacques Cousteau. He helped find and uncover a sunken atomic bomb, became active in the civil rights movement, and now  travels’  speaking to young men and women in the U.S.military about the destructiveness of bigotry and racism.

Dr. Lanier Phillips, Memorial University of Newfoundland

Dr. Lanier Philips received an Honorary Doctor of Laws Degree May 31, 2008 from Memorial University of Newfoundland. The university cited what it called ‘his resistance to and capacity to rise above repression’.  In 2011, Phillips was given honorary membership into the Order of Newfoundland and Labrador for his work in civil rights in the U.S.

Phillips died on March 12, 2012, at the Armed Forces Retirement Home in Gulfport, Mississippi.

Recommended Archival Collection:  At the Rooms Provincial Archives read  MG 956.187, A letter from Joseph Manning, Lawn to Gerard Ryan, Corbin:  a description of Manning’s experiences during the rescue of seamen from the USS Pollux and USS Truxton.

Recommended Reading: Oil and Water, a play by Robert Chafe  is based on the true account of shipwrecked African American sailor / veteran Lanier W. Phillips and his experiences in St Lawrence, Newfoundland.  (Text above taken from the play list of Oil and Water)

Recommended Reading: Standing Into Danger by  Cassie Brown Flanker Press Ltd, St. John’s, NL

 

The Ocean Ranger: No further radio communications

ARCHIVAL MOMENT

Photo Credit:

The Rooms Provincial Archives : A-41-36; Ocean Ranger, Lost February 15, 1982

On February 15, 1982 at 0052 hours local time, a MAYDAY call was sent out from the Ocean Ranger, noting a severe list to the port side of the rig and requesting immediate assistance. This was the first communication from the Ocean Ranger identifying a major problem.

At 0130 hours local time, the Ocean Ranger transmitted its last message:

 ‘There will be no further radio communications from the Ocean Ranger. We are going to lifeboat stations’.

Shortly thereafter, in the middle of the night and in the midst of atrocious winter weather, the crew abandoned the rig.

All 84 crewmembers died.  56 were Newfoundlanders. Over the next four days search teams were only able to recover 22 bodies, 2 lifeboats, and 6 life rafts.

Families across Newfoundland and Labrador,  struggled to cope with the loss. In every community in the province in every church, in every school people gathered to find comfort.  At a crowded ecumenical service at the historic Basilica  Cathedral  in St. John’s, friends and relatives attended a memorial service to pay tribute and to search for answers.  The Catholic Archbishop of the province surrounded by clergy from all churches used the occasion to call on both the federal and provincial governments to establish “a joint enquiry into the terrible accident”.

Recommended Archival Collection: Two new ‘Ocean Ranger” collections are now held at The Rooms.  The David Boutcher Collection features photographs taken by David on the Ocean Ranger in 1982.  Many of the photographs feature friends and fellow crew members.  David died on the Ocean Ranger.   Also available is the Lloyd Major Collection, Lloyd was a medic on the Ocean Ranger, his 52 photographs feature individuals who worked on “The Rig”  and structural features of The Rig.

Note: Many of the individuals in these photographs have not been identified and we would welcome the assistance  of families and friends  of the victims to help us in this process

Recommended Book (Fiction): Moore, Lisa .  February. House of Anansi Press (2010).  February is a fictional exploration of the impact on one family of the 1982 sinking of the oil rig Ocean Ranger.

Recommended Book: (Non Fiction):  Heffernan, Mike (2009). Rig: An Oral History of the Ocean Ranger Disaster, Creative Publishers, St. John’s.  This is an illustrated collection of first-person accounts from former rig workers, victims’ families, government officials, media, and search and rescue crews.

Website: Royal Commission on the Ocean Ranger Marine Disaster: http://www.heritage.nf.ca/law/or_response.html

 

The Insulting “Vinegar Valentine” Card

February 14, 1938

Photo Credit: The Rooms, St. John’s, NL GN/13/1B

It was Valentine’s Day 1938 and as she did every morning Mrs. Hannah Kelly on Colonial Street, St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador picked up the mail and was most excited to find that  she had four Valentine’s cards,  no doubt she thought from admiring friends and neighbours!  But on closer inspection her mood changed, she was furious! She had been delivered four Vinegar Valentine Cards!

The “Vinegar Valentine”, also called “comic valentines,” were unwelcome notes  sometimes insensitive and always  somewhat emotionally harmful.

Vinegar valentines were commercially purchased containing an insulting poem and illustration. They were sent anonymously, so the receiver had to guess who disliked  him or her; they were often vulgar and even rude.

The vinegar cards that were delivered to 50 Colonial Street, St. John’s were very harsh.

One suggested that Mrs. Kelly was a snooper:

“Everyone knows that you’re a snooper
You snoop the whole day through
If you could hear what people are saying
You’d get their opinion of you.

Photo Credit: The Rooms, St. John’s, NL GN/13/1B

Another suggested that she was a gossip:

“If someone would only cut out your tongue,
So full of venom and guile,
Most happily would the world be freed
From a plague of nuisance and vile”

 

 

 

 

Photo Credit: The Rooms; St. John’s, NL GN/13/1B

Another suggested that she was “An old sow” that she was a pig!!

“You’re easy and greasy, like a hog in a pen.
But a mountain of flesh is not courted by men.
You’re as rough as a file, and as course as can be,
Like some barbarous maid from the isle of Feegee”

 

 

 

Photo Credit: The Rooms. St. John’s, NL GN/13/1B

Another suggested that she was not a pretty woman in fact the sender of the vinegar card commented that she had a big chin.

Horrible, horrible is the din
When a woman has too much shin!
Oh you annoying tiresome pest.
Do give us pray a little rest!!

 

 

 

Photo Credit: The Rooms, St. John’s, NL : E 1-38; Chief Patrick J. O’Neill, Royal Newfoundland Constabulary

THIS IS A MATTER FOR THEPOLICE

Mrs. Kelly could barely contain her anger; she was not going to be quiet about these insulting vinegar cards! So on a day that should be reserved for matters of love and comfort she immediately called the Chief of Police , P.J. O’Neill.  She followed the phone call with a letter that she sent to his office  (February 15) claiming that she was being  “persecuted”  by her neighbours and that an investigation should be started.

She also suggested that the four “vinegar cards “   that she enclosed in the envelope to him should be analyzed   and that a comparison of the handwriting on the cards should be  made with the handwriting of a few of her neighbours.  She also stated  that  the “leader of the gang” that were persecuting her was  Mable Crocker on 4 College Square  and other neighbours on Colonial and College Streets.

The Chief of Police sent out his detective Constable Reginald Noseworthy to investigate the matter. He obtained the handwriting from five households of those that were alleged to be part of the gang.  A number of individual having consulted with their lawyers refused to give a sample.

On February 23, 1938,   Detective Noseworthy  reported  to the Chief of Police that he was not able to find the culprits – but  was convinced that Mrs.  Kelly was not liked by her neighbours; no one had a good word for her.   He also suggested “she might have sent the Valentines to herself , so that she could have this as a pretext of having a Police Constable call on her neighbours doors, as she is well aware this would cause them some annoyance.”

The vinegar valentines were very popular in Newfoundland the 1930’s  and in in some locations in the country until the 1970’s they were still selling well.

These days, it is much less likely we’ll get a horrid note in the mail as a Valentine’s surprise.

 Recommended Archival Collection:  At The Rooms, GN 13/1/B  Box 417 Subject file  K27. Newfoundland Constabulary, Criminal Investigation Bureau