Placenames and Neighbourhoods of Carbonear Afternoon Tea - Aug 6th

Placenames and Neighbourhoods of Carbonear Afternoon Tea

Tuesday, August 6th
2pm
Princess Sheila Senior's Club Building
163 Water Street, Carbonear


Do you have a memory of Harbour Rock Hill? Did you grow up on Valley Road? Where does Irishtown begin and end? If you can answer any of these questions, Carbonear’s Green Team wants to meet you!

On August 6th, Heritage NL and the Town of Carbonear Summer 2019 Green Team are hosting an afternoon tea and conversation based around old Carbonear place names, neighbourhoods, trails, rocks, and coves. The groups want to collect and record old names and memories about local areas and landmarks.

Dale Jarvis is the provincial folklorist with Heritage NL, and says there is value in bringing back the use of these historic names as Carbonear continues to evolve.

“People had very different local knowledge based on which neighbourhoods they grew up in,” says Jarvis. “We want to collect this information, which could be the foundation for future town signage, trails, or even new street names.”

The celebration of local places is free open to the public, and will include refreshments. The organizers extend a special invitation to any seniors who grew up in Carbonear.

“We want to make sure their knowledge is passed on to the next generation,” says Jarvis.


Facebook event listing here:
https://www.facebook.com/events/491435738259509/

For more information, contact:

Kerri Abbott
Economic Development & Tourism Officer
Town of Carbonear
P.O. Box 999, 256 Water Street
Carbonear,  NL  A1Y 1C5
Tel: (709)596-3831 Ext. 235
Fax: (709)596-5021
Email: kerriabbott@nf.aibn.com

Carbonear - Putting Heritage to Work Followup Meeting

On Monday, 5 November 2018, Heritage NL facilitated a workshop in partnership with the Town of Carbonear to discuss a multi-faceted approach to revitalizing the downtown core and waterfront with a particular focus on utilizing the community’s cultural assets.

The workshop comprised two parts: I) a vision session where people identified what they would like to see in the Carbonear heritage district of the future; and II) a session to explore what is needed to develop local heritage and business assets. Participants were in agreement they would like to see more business development, and more economic growth in the community.

You can look at the preliminary report here:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_k2ExS3tphXAlS732yurVLQH_X7K8qE5kWAHt5X6mGA/edit?usp=sharing

Participants noted that any plan needs buy-in/commitment from community. Therefore, a follow-up meeting will be held at the Princess Sheila Seniors Club Building, Water Street, Carbonear, on Wednesday, December 5th, at 6pm.

The goals of the follow up meeting will be to:

• Communicate/share ideas collected at the last meeting
• Prioritize opportunities
• Identify local leadership -> who will take the ball and run with it?

This event is free, and open to anyone who is interested in the heritage and business development of Carbonear. Tea/coffee will be available!

Register online at:
https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/carbonear-putting-heritage-to-work-followup-meeting-tickets-53098066747


For more information, contact:
Kerri Abbott
Economic Development & Tourism Officer
Town of Carbonear
P.O. Box 999, 256 Water Street
Carbonear, NL A1Y 1C5
Tel: (709)596-3831 Ext. 235
Fax: (709)596-5021
Email: kerriabbott@nf.aibn.com


photo: 1911. Commemorating the coronation of King George V, present Queen's grandfather. Photo compliments of Tracy Oates/Carbonear Heritage Society Facebook page.

Update from the St. James Anglican Cemetery project, Carbonear

Last year, Heritage NL was asked by one of our Registered Heritage Structures, St. James Anglican in Carbonear, to give some advice on their cemetery cleanup project (see past blog entries here). A year into the project, they've made great strides to cut back invasive bushes and trees, trim rose bushes, and expose some hidden stones and markers.  A big shout out to Judy Symonds who has taken the lead on this project, and to last year's summer students for their excellent and careful work.

Yesterday, I was back in Carbonear to help give some training on this summer's phase of the project. The cemetery has been partially mapped, with the majority of the pre-1900s graves transcribed. Several plots were left unfinished, and there are quite a few 20th century grave markers that have not been recorded at all. So I worked with their current batch of summer students, and taught them how to use the Marker Record Form designed by the Family History Society.  The goal is to finish recording the south half of the cemetery.

One of the intriguing finds made this year was of a First World War Memorial Plaque (sometimes called a Dead Man's Penny) firmly mounted on concrete. The plaques were issued to the next-of-kin of all British and Empire service personnel who were killed as a result of the war, but it is rare to see one used as a cemetery memorial.

The plaque bears the name William Stephenson, who might possibly be this person:
https://www.therooms.ca/sites/default/files/stephenson_william_3737.pdf

More to come as research and documentation continue!

If you want to learn more about the process of cemetery transcription, we are holding a Cemetery Transcription Bee Thursday, August 9th, 2018 at 9am in partnership with Logy Bay-Middle Cove-Outer Cove Museum. This combination workshop/documentation project will instruct participants on how to transcribe grave markers. You’ll learn about the DOs and DON’Ts of recording inscriptions, tombstone symbols and stone types, how to fill out cemetery marker forms, and assist the Logy Bay-Middle Cove-Outer Cove Museum in collecting tombstone information at the St. Francis of Assisi RC Cemetery.  Pre-registration required (right here!)

Today's Catch and Earle Freighting Service LTD. Carbonear, 1994. #Folklorephoto

This photograph was taken in 1994 and is part of the Baccalieu Trail Heritage Corporation slide collection.

Do You Know of Any Metal Grave Markers in Newfoundland and Labrador?

On a recent camping trip to the New-Wes-Valley area, I visited the Lumsden United Church Cemetery and came across the headstone of William Tuff, son of William and Susanah Tuff, who died 9th of October 1847 aged 28 years. What caught my attention with this headstone was that it's made of cast iron. I have seen one other cast iron marker, at Bethany United in Carbonear, and a small sheet metal marker in St. James Cemetery, also in Carbonear.

In a 2012 ICH Newsletter article, Patrick Carroll wrote about the tin monuments in Bonavista Bay, which you can read about here. There are also a few interesting zinc (or white bronze) grave markers in St. John's. The hollow zinc markers have an distinctive blue-gray colour that is easily recognized once you know what to look for.

The zinc or White Bronze grave marker of Isabell and S.H. Parsons at the General Protestant Cemetery in St. John's

Do you know of any others metal grave markers around the province? Do you have a relative whose grave is marked with one? Do you know anything about the makers of these headstones, particularly the cast iron ones?

~ Kelly

Volunteer Opportunity - Cemetery Cleanup at St. James Anglican, Carbonear

Volunteer Cemetery Enthusiasts Wanted!

We've posted here and here about the ongoing cemetery conservation project underway at St. James Anglican Church in Carbonear, one of the Foundation's Registered Heritage Structures. You can read about the designation of the building here.

This Saturday, July 29th, 2017, from 9am-12pm, the cemetery committee is organizing a cemetery bee! Volunteers are invited to come help with some of the brush clearance, and to assist with opening up the historic formal entrance pathway to the churchyard, which has become overgrown over the years. The plan is to be able to have the pathway cleared back by the end of the summer, and to re-open on the historic iron gates which have been shut for some time.  Members of the cemetery committee will be on site to talk about the church, the cemetery project, and what they've uncovered so far, and I'll be there to answer your questions about graveyards, tombstone symbolism, and the do's and don'ts of cleaning up your own historic cemeteries and churchyards. We might even be able to offer you a cup of tea!

This is an outdoor, hands-on activity, so please have appropriate clothing, workboots, gloves, hats, sunblock, bug spray, etc. If you have your own loppers/pruning shears/secateurs, bring them along. Just curious, and want to see what we are up to? Come for a chat!

The church is located at 13 Bond Street, Carbonear [click here for map] with plenty of parking to the north side of the church hall. See you in Carbonear on Saturday morning!

- Dale Jarvis

A cemetery visit on Orangeman's Day - the grave of William Janes

Yesterday was Orangeman's Day in Newfoundland and Labrador, one of the curious provincial holidays that some people get off work, and other people know nothing about.  While the Heritage Foundation office was closed, I headed off to Carbonear for a meeting about a possible future oral history project, and a visit to St. James Anglican to meet with their committee about their cemetery cleanup project. We'd blogged about St. James Anglican before (read here) and today was the first day their student workers in place. So off I went to help them make a plan for removing brush, and to prioritize which sections of the cemetery they should work on first.

When I arrived, the students had already cleared away some of the brush from around the memorial stone for William Janes, work appropriate, perhaps, for Orangeman's Day. William Janes was killed in the notorious Harbour Grace Affray, and his marker reads:

SACRED

TO THE MEMORY OF

WILLIAM JANES

AGED

22 YEARS

Who was shot dead whilst

walking in an Orange Pro

cession at Harbour Grace

ON DEC 26TH 1883.

There is a detailed account of the affray here:
http://canadianorangehistoricalsite.com/HabourGraceAffair.php

St. James Anglican Cemetery in Carbonear

Last week Dale and I went to Carbonear with Edwina Suley of the Baccalieu Trail Heritage Corporation. We were there to talk with volunteers from the St. James Anglican Church about their cemetery and help them make a plan for the future. While the more recent sections of the cemetery are easily maintained, the older sections which date back to the early 1800s, have become extremely overgrown. The group is looking to clean up the area to make it easier to maintain and to help preserve the history of the area.

Unfortunately in the cemeteries current state many of the headstones are difficult to access, making it hard to view some headstones, particularly those that are broken and continue to deteriorate.  

The church group is enthusiastic about beginning the project of clearing up the cemetery, even in knowing that it will not be a quick process. They are also interested in comparing the current cemetery with the church burial records, particularly with graves that do not have headstones. Some plots are marked simply with a fence, and other are unmarked entirely.

The cemetery is partially bordered with a stone wall and features a beautiful gate in one corner, both of which will need repairs in the future. Another interesting feature of the cemetery is a bronze sundial with cast iron pedestal. The sundial is located among the headstones, and marks the centre of where the old church once stood.

We look forward to the work that will be done to clean up this cemetery, and expose the history of the church and community for current residence and future generations.

~ Kelly

Help Solve the Carbonear Soper Photo Mystery

I'm on my way to the Heritage Saskatchewan Forum 2015, but have a quick stop in Toronto which is just long enough to allow me to blog about this mystery photo which arrived in my inbox today.

The photo was sent by Michael Soper, of Scarborough, Maine, but who comes from three generations of Sopers in Carbonear. Michael writes,

"I am guessing that they must be Sopers as identical pictures were at two Soper houses - George Soper on Soper's farm (son of George E. Soper) and G. Hubert Soper (son of William Henry Soper)."

Any thoughts? Email me at ich@heritagefoundation.ca, or leave a comment below.

Fashion, alcohol, and religion in Regency Conception Bay, Newfoundland

A Tale of Two Houses: Fashion, Alcohol, Religion in Regency Conception Bay Townscapes

Wednesday, March 19, 2014

7:30pm

Benevolent Irish Society, Harvey Road.

Robert Pack—English Methodist Politician and Merchant—and William Innott—Irish Catholic Publican and Horse Breeder—shared the streets and social circles of their respective towns of Carbonear and Harbour Grace. Wealthy and prominent, they built summer dwellings away from their urban households and business interests. Constructed in the 1820s, the summer dwellings were part of the architectural fashion of villa and cottage—retreats from towns of noise, crime, prostitution, and wayward pigs. These juxtaposing houses become an entrée into the material, social, and aesthetic life of Regency Newfoundland townscapes.

Folklorist Dr. Gerald Pocius will present on Pack and Innott at the Annual General Meeting of the Newfoundland Historic Trust on Wednesday, March 19, 2014, at 7:30pm, at the Benevolent Irish Society on Harvey Road.

Pocius has researched and written on topics ranging from joke-telling and pop music, to tract housing and religious popular prints. He has worked on many aspects of Newfoundland folklore and popular culture, publishing studies of belief, religion, medicine, narrative, and music. His specialty has been material culture, and he has published widely on gravestones, cemeteries, textiles, folk art, architecture, furniture, and cultural landscapes. While working primarily in Newfoundland and Labrador, he has also conducted fieldwork in the United States, Great Britain, France, and Lithuania.