Convent Life -- The Witless Bay Folklore Fieldschool

Right now the new graduate students to MUN's Department of Folklore are nearing the end of their second week of the Witless Bay Field School.  This intensive round-the-clock research methods program is three weeks long and is taking place all around Witless Bay on the Southern Shore. The students are staying together in the local convent--a historic building with many rooms, two large staircases, a confession booth, and a chapel, which is serving as their classroom. It's also a building that is no stranger to communal living, so it's essentially perfect housing for the field school participants.

Over the past week, I visited the students a few times to check on their progress and provide a workshop on some of the data entry they will be doing when they are at the archiving stage of their work. Based on my time with them, I must say that I'm envious of the incredible experience they are having. I took a few photographs that I will share below, but they don't really convey the story of their lives in the convent. Lucky for us, the MA students are blogging about what they are learning and who they are meeting, so please follow them here:

http://witlessbayfieldschool.wordpress.com/

chapel/classroom

MA student Terra Barrett in her sleeping quarters.

Religious artifacts that come with the territory.

MA student Andrea McGuire as she explores the church next to the convent.

Dr. Pocius with some students as we check out the top floor of the Priest's house (currently for sale in Witless Bay!)

-Lisa

Back to School, Back in the Day

During the month of September I always think of the teachers and students who head back indoors for the fall as they go back to school. It has been a few weeks for students in Newfoundland, but in British Columbia the first day has been delayed due to a labour dispute and consequential teacher's strike.

Yesterday, just as this conflict was finally resolved, I came across these wonderful class photographs from the 1940s of young pupils in Rocky Harbour, Newfoundland. The top photograph is a grade 2 class, and the bottom is grade 1. Right now I am thinking about all the young kids who are just starting school for the first time, and the teachers in B.C. who've had a late start to their teaching year.

I wonder what it was like to be a student back then. Or a teacher for that matter...some of these kids look like trouble.

Special thanks to Charlie Payne of Winterhouse Brook, and the Town of Woody Point, for donating these photographs to the MUN's Digital Archives Initiative. Over the next few weeks a collection of close to 500 photos like the ones above will be made accessible online. I will post links to the collection as the work gets done.

-Lisa

For the Love of Blues & Bluegrass!

Quidi Vidi Village: BOOKLET LAUNCH PARTY!

Quidi Vidi from above, taken Sept. 2013 by Xuan Wang (M.A. student in Folklore)

My Woody Point Summer Excursion

Woody Point is a registered heritage district located within Gros Morne National Park. The community is near the tablelands, which offer the region a different kind of physical landscape than other place in Newfoundland. It is a popular tourist destination in the summer, particularly around the time of the Woody Point Writer's Festival, but many people might not know that it has heritage district status. To help promote the district, I recently visited Woody Point to get to know its history, its historic buildings, and some of its residents.

It was a fruitful trip: I returned with 500 archival photographs as well as 100 pages of handwritten local stories, all of which were collected by local heritage enthusiast Charlie Payne. I also gained access to 52 archival interviews (belonging to Parks Canada) from the 80s and early 90s,  and did a number of interviews with residents on my own. Over the next few months, I will slowly be cataloguing all of this data for permanent storage in MUN's online digital archives. As this work is completed, I will be posting links so that it can be viewed by anyone interested.

The Tales of Gros Morne storytelling event at Lobster Cove Head.

 One other thing that came out of my time in Woody Point was a storytelling event held in collaboration with the HFNL and Parks Canada at the Lobster Cove Head lighthouse. This event was a celebration and discussion of some of the superstitions and ghost/fairy stories from the region. We had a good turn out, with lots of stories shared and exchanged -- I hope to do similar collaborations in the future. Thanks to Parks Canada for helping to make this event happen.

Some Parks Canada employees and a few parks visitors sitting around the campfire.

 Please scroll down to see a number of photographs from this field excursion: look at all of the amazing and generous people that I was lucky enough to spend time with and learn from in Woody Point!

Nicky and Mackenzie give amazing tours of the historic Roberts house.

Margarete Sheppard, long time resident of Woody Point, shared with me her life story.

Charlie Payne, a member of the HFNL board of directors, showed me the root cellar he recently made.

Ella Moores, Woody Point's oldest living resident (almost 100!), with Shelley Roberts.

Jack and Sue Parsons in their home near the lighthouse, after sharing their knowledge of the local history.

Brenda Young telling me tales about working at Aunt Jane's Bed and Breakfast in the heritage district.

Robert and Jeanette Rowsell after a wonderful tour of the Prebble house, a municipally designated building.

Thanks for viewing this and please stay tuned for more of what I learned and experienced in Woody Point.
-Lisa

The Flying Cloud - a recitation by Patrick O'Neill, Conche

The Clipper Ship "Flying Cloud" off the Needles, Isle of Wight, by James E. Buttersworth, 1859-60. 

Source: Wikimedia Commons.  

While they share the same name, this is a different vessel from the one in the recitation below.

In June of 2000, I was in the community of Conche on Newfoundland's Great Northern Peninsula, doing work on heritage buildings for the Heritage Foundation of NL. I had the luck to meet Mr. Patrick "Uncle Paddy" O'Neill. He was introduced to me by his niece, Joan Woodrow, and while we were talking, he started to do a recitation of an old ballad called "The Flying Cloud", which he had learned from a man named Pat Bromley around 1941.

Using spare tape and an old tape player Mr. O'Neill had, I made a very rough recording of the traditional ballad, which I've transcribed below.  Uncle Paddy is no longer with us, but his version of the lyrics live on! I've seen it described as an anti-piracy ballad. If you have comments, leave them below, or email me at ich@heritagefoundation.ca. 

The Flying Cloud

as remembered by Patrick O'Neill, Conche

June 2000
recorded and transcribed by Dale Jarvis

My name is Edward Anderson,

As you might understand,
I belong to the county Waterford
In Ireland’s heavenly land.

My parents raised me tenderly,
And taught me to be wise.
'Twas little they thought I’d die in scorn
In Cuba's sunny skies.

My father bound me to a trade
In Waterford's fair town,
He bound me to a cooper there
By the name of William Brown;

I served my master faithfully
For eighteen months or more,
Then took a voyage on the Ocean Queen,
To Valparaiso's shore.

It happened in Valparaiso,
I met with Captain Moore,
Commander of the clipper Flying Cloud,
Sailing out of Baltimore;

He asked me for to join him
On a slaving trip to go,
To the western shores of Africa
Where the sugar cane do grow.

The Flying Cloud was a clipper barque,
Five hundred tons or more,
Could easily sail with any ship,
Sailing out of Baltimore.

Her sails were white as the driven snow,
And on them showed no speck,
Seventy-five brass cannon guns
Were mounted on her deck.

Her medicine chest and magazine
Were stored away below,
And a Long Tom between her spars,
On a swivel used to go.

I often saw that clipper barque
With the wind abaft the beam,
---------- set,
Take sixteen from the reel.

After three weeks sailing
We arrived on Africa’s shore
Fifteen hundred of those slaves
From their native land we bore.

We forced those slaves to walk our deck
And stowed them down below,
With eighteen inches to each one
Was all allowed to go.

Your heart would ache all for their sake
You could see those slaves
Better far for those poor souls,
If they were in their graves.

The plague and fever came on board,
Swept half of them away,
We dragged their bodies out on deck
And threw them in the sea.

Another three weeks sailing
We arrived on Cuba’s shore.-
We sold them to a planter,
To be slaves forevermore;

The rice and coffee fields to hoe
Beneath the burning sun,
To wear away their wretched lives
Till their sad career was run.

And when our money was all spent,
We came on board again,
Captain Moore from his cabin came
And spoke to all his men:

"There's gold and plenty to be had
If you come with me again,
We’ll run the pirate flag aloft,
And scour the Spanish Main.

We have the fastest sailing ship
As ever skimmed the seas,
Or ever set her eye for a course
Before a lively breeze.”

We all agreed except five men;
He told those five to land:
Two of them were Boston boys
Two more from Newfoundland;

The other was an Irish chap
Belonging to Tramore,
I wish to God I’d joined those men
And went with them on shore.

We robbed and plundered many a ship
Down on the Spanish Main,
Caused many a widow and orphan
In sorrow to complain.

We forced their crews to walk a plank
That hung out over the rail,
The saying of our captain was,
The dead man tells no tales.

We were often chased by man-o'-wars
Both east, north, west, and south
But none of them, try how they would
Could catch the Flying Cloud.

We were often chased by man-o'-war
Who would try to round us to,
To overhaul the Flying Cloud
Was more than they could do.

Until a British man-o’-war
A frigate hove in view
He fired a shot across our bow
A signal to heave-to.

We faced our yards and crowded sail
And ran before the line
A chain-shot struck our mizzen mast
And soon we fell behind.

The deck was cleared for action
As she raced up alongside,
And soon across our snow-white deck,
There flowed a crimson tide.

We fought till Captain Moore was killed
And thirty of our men,
A bombshell struck our ship afire,
We had to surrender then.

The rest of us were brought to land
And into prison cast.
Tried and were found guilty,
To be hung at last.

Farewell to sweet Waterford,

And the girl that I loved dear,
No more will I kiss her ruby lips,
Her sweet voice no more will hear.

Farewell my aged parents,
I now must meet my doom.
I’ll swing aloft the yardarm high
Cut in my youth and bloom.

MUNFLA looking for a working BetaMax player

Has anyone in the St. John's area got an old, *still-working* BetaMax player to donate? MUN's Folklore and Language Archive needs one.

Beta was the Sony-developed competitor to VHS as a home-video format. Beta lost that war but many people kept using Beta machines for a decade or more, even after the whole videotape thing was washed to sea by DVDs.

The Archive has the opportunity to copy some important videos from the 1980s and they are on Beta. The Archive's old BetaCord machine died this very afternoon.

If you have a working one and are willing to donate it you can call Pauline Cox (Archivist) at 864-8401.

Questions from the Petty Harbour Memory Store

We had curious tourists and locals wandering by The Memory Store yesterday in Petty Harbour, wondering what it was all about. So here, in a nutshell, is what you can expect if you come visit us at some point between today and Sunday:

What is The Memory Store?
Remember those photo booths where you would sit with a friend, pose, and then leave with a few photos? The Memory Booth is like that! You come, sit down, have a chat, and you leave with a memento - a recording of your story that you can share with family and friends. We can mail you a CD, or we can email you a copy of the recording, whichever is easiest for you! The Petty Harbour-Maddox Cove museum will also get a copy, to preserve the stories of the community.

How does it work?
Come and sit down in our recording booth, we’ll give you a list of questions to read, and away you go! We handle the recording part.

What does it cost?
Nothing! The Memory Store is part of the Petty Harbour-Maddox Cove 6th Annual Arts and Heritage Festival, and is absolutely free.

Do I need to bring a friend or family member?
It’s more personal if you bring a friend or family member to interview, but if you want to come on your own, we’d be happy to sit with you and have a chat.

Where is it?
The Memory Store will be in the yellow shed, right on the harbourfront, three buildings up from the convenience store (Sam Lee’s old shed).

How long will it take?
You should allow yourself about half an hour for the conversation.

Is it just about Petty Harbour?
All memories are welcome! If you grew up somewhere else, let us know!

The Memory Store will be open from 11am to 4pm until Sunday August 17.

Fishing for Folklore Youth Scholarship

This September, the Heritage Foundation of NL is running a four-day intensive introductory workshop on intangible cultural heritage in the historic fishing community of Petty Harbour Maddox Cove, and has a few select spots available for Newfoundland and Labrador youth who want to learn more about saving local heritage.

“The provincial intangible cultural strategy recognizes that the inclusion of youth is important in all work relating to ICH,” says foundation folklorist Dale Jarvis. “One of the key areas we must address is the participation of youth in our thinking, planning, and celebration of our living traditions. This scholarship is a way of encouraging people at the start of their heritage careers to gain a bit more practical experience in these areas.”

The workshop will run from Tuesday, September 2nd to Friday, September 5th, 2014 at the Petty Harbour Maddox Cove Community Centre. Participants will learn about planning an intangible cultural heritage project, writing field notes, oral history interviewing, safeguarding traditional crafts and skills, creating memory maps of communities, documenting traditional boatbuilding techniques, public folklore programming, and report writing.

The scholarship is open to residents of Newfoundland and Labrador, who are between the ages of 19 and 35. Applicants can be students, recent graduates, or young professionals in any heritage field.

To apply, applicants must send a cover letter explaining their interest in the course, and copy of their resume to Dale Jarvis at ich@heritagefoundation.ca. Application deadline is Friday, August 22nd.