The Memory Store: The walls came down and we were back to square one...

This week’s Memory Store video is a clip of Elisabeth Laverty from the Anglican Cathedral of St. John the Baptist. Elisabeth describes the construction of the Anglican Cathedral of St. John the Baptist and the destruction caused by the 1892 fire.

Watch the video below or click here to watch the video on YouTube.

Click here for more information about the building's history and architectural style.
If you missed our initial post explaining the concept of the Memory Store clip here to go back to our first blog post with the introduction video or check out our YouTube channel at ICH NL.

Stay tuned for more short stories about historic places in the province, in the form of short oral history interviews conducted with the people who care about those places and if you have a personal memory about a historic place in Newfoundland and Labrador, and want to add your voice to the Memory Store project, let us know at ich@heritagefoundation.ca

-Terra

Stick out your thumb: hitching for stories from Newfoundland and Nova Scotia

Andrea McGuire, a folklore graduate student at Memorial University, is currently seeking interviews with past and present hitchhikers in Newfoundland and Nova Scotia. She is collecting stories from people who used to hitchhike, people who hitchhike in rural communities, people who hitchhike nationally/internationally, and drivers who pick up hitchhikers. Each interview will take approximately one hour, and will be drawn on for Andrea’s master’s thesis. Do you have a hitchhiking story to share? Get in touch with Andrea by phone at 709-771-2216, or via email at c33alm@mun.ca. She would love to hear from you!

The proposal for this research has been reviewed by the Interdisciplinary Committee on Ethics in Human Research and found to be in compliance with Memorial University’s ethics policy. If you have ethical concerns about the research, such as the way you have been treated or your rights as a participant, you may contact the Chairperson of the ICEHR at icehr@mun.ca or by telephone at 709-864-2861.

Living Heritage Podcast Ep004 Shipwrecks and Social Media with Heather Elliott

On Episode 004 of the Living Heritage Podcast, we talk shipwrecks and social media with Heather Elliott.

Heather Elliott has an educational background in anthropology and museum management. Her passion for maritime history inspired her to create her own blog, www.originalshipster.com. Through it, she tells stories of ships and shipwrecks from across Canada. In this interview, we talk of ships and the sea, and share tips for navigating the waters of social media.

Conception Bay Museum and the Anglican Church Assistance Association brass band

On Sunday, 2 August 2015, I had the pleasure of attending the Conception Bay Museum Founders' Day activities, to celebrate the establishment of the Conception Bay Museum on the 40th Anniversary of its official opening.

Former Heritage Foundation of NL chair Shane O'Dea spoke on the history of the museum and its place in the development of heritage in the region, a commemorative plaque was unveiled, the women of Coughlan United Church prepared War (Trench) Cakes from a WWI recipe, lemonade was imbibed, and the entire event was opened and closed in style by the gentlemen (and one lady) of the Upper Island Cove Anglican Church Assistance Association (ACAA) brass band.

The ACAA band is unique in Newfoundland, one of our oldest continually-running bands in the province, and over the past century has developed its own unique musical notation system. They played several selections, including the Ode to Newfoundland, which you can listen to here.

Ben Hiscock of Champney's West - Unity

This video clip is from an interview with Ben Hiscock of Champey’s West which is located on the Bonavista Peninsula in Trinity Bay, NL.  Last week I posted a video of Ben and one of his brother Roy both of whom grew up in Champney’s West and had great memories of growing up in the community, ship wrecks and rescues, square dancing, old graves, and local characters.

During a trip to Port Union and Champney’s West doing some workshops on asset mapping and oral history Dale and I had the opportunity to interview Ben and Roy Hiscock. Ben and Roy’s family has been in the community for generations. Both brothers had great stories and I would like to showcase a couple of their stories on the blog.

In this short video Ben describes the unity found in the community of Champney’s West when he was a young boy.  He describes how everyone helped everyone and the community pulled together to take care of one another.  I thought this was a beautiful clip which showcased the spirit found in the community of Champney’s West and I hope you enjoy the video!  

If you are in the area during August 7th-9th, 2015 make sure to stop in for the Champney's West days including their cardboard boat race on Sunday!

-Terra

Roy Hiscock of Champney's West - Weekly Meal Pattern

Snelgrove, Eric and Olive. Vegetable storage in their historic Quidi Vidi home.
LaDuke, John.
Photo courtesy of Memorial University's Digital Archives Initiative.

What is your weekly meal pattern? Do you have one? Have you ever followed the one below?

Today I have a short video clip of Roy Hiscock of Champey’s West which is located on the Bonavista Peninsula in Trinity Bay, NL. If you saw the video earlier in the week of Ben Hiscock, Roy is Ben’s older brother. During a trip to Port Union and Champney’s West doing some workshops Dale and I interviewed these two older members of the community.

Ben and Roy Hiscock are brothers whose families have been in the community for generations. They had great memories of growing up in the community, ship wrecks and rescues, square dancing, old graves, and local characters. Both brothers had great stories and I would like to showcase a couple of their stories on the blog.

In the short video Roy describes the meals the family would eat during the week. I did a quick search on Memorial University’s DAI and came across a thesis on traditional Newfoundland foodways written by Pamela Gray in 1977. I included two pictures below of Gray’s work with examples of weekly meal pattern. I’ve seen the tradition of the weekly meal pattern mentioned in other articles but it isn’t something my family followed growing up.

How about your family - do you follow a weekly meal pattern? Is it similar to these examples of the traditional weekly meal pattern? Do you still have a cooked dinner (Jiggs dinner) on Sunday? Let us know in the comments below!

-Terra

The Memory Store: An optical illusion...

The video for this week's the Memory Store was filmed in the stairwell of the Anna Templeton Centre.  Executive director Beverly Barbour describes the process of installing an elevator in a historic building, especially one which is a bit of an optical illusion.  You can check out the building and the new elevator during an evening or weekend craft class at the centre.

Watch the video below or click here to watch on YouTube.

Click here for more information about the building's history and architectural style.  If you missed our initial post explaining the concept of the Memory Store clip here to go back to our first blog post with the introduction video or check out our YouTube channel at ICH NL. 

Stay tuned for more short stories about historic places in the province, in the form of short oral history interviews conducted with the people who care about those places and if you have a personal memory about a historic place in Newfoundland and Labrador, and want to add your voice to the Memory Store project, let us know at ich@heritagefoundation.ca

-Terra

Ben Hiscock of Champney's West - Earliest Memory

Fishing stage in Champney's West

Today I would like to introduce Ben Hiscock of Champney’s West. For anyone who doesn’t know, Champney’s West is located on the Bonavista Peninsula in Trinity Bay, NL. The small community is home to wonderful people who I had the opportunity to meet in June when Dale and I went to do an asset mapping and oral history workshop in the area.

I posted some pictures of the trip in mid-June. I included pictures of the asset mapping workshop, the coffee house with mummers and a trip into Elliston. I also mentioned that Dale and I interviewed two older members of the community, Ben and Roy Hiscock.

Ben and Roy Hiscock are brothers whose families have been in the community for generations. They had great memories of growing up in the community, ship wrecks and rescues, square dancing, old graves, and local characters. Both brothers had great stories and I would like to showcase a couple of their stories on the blog.

Today’s story comes from Ben Hiscock who describes growing up in the community and the lack of money found in the community. He tells the story of being given a penny with a hole in it and hammering the penny until the hole closed and he was able to buy candy. Check out the video below or click here to watch it on YouTube.

Make sure to stay tuned for a couple more stories from the Ben and Roy Hiscock of Champney’s West.

-Terra

Saving Our Stories Workshop in Corner Brook, August 5th

Saving Our Stories - An Introduction to Community Oral History with folklorist Dale Jarvis.
A free workshop organized by the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador, in cooperation with Qalipu Mi’kmaq First Nation Band. This workshop is open to anyone with an interest in local history, culture and folklore. It is intended to give a background on how to conduct research interviews, and will give people a chance to try their hand at creating interview questions and to explore the world of oral history! It is free to attend, but you need to register in advance.

Wednesday, August 5th, 2015

1pm-4pm
Brendan Sheppard Boardroom, Qalipu Office
3 Church Street, Corner Brook

Workshop is limited to first ten registrants. To register, contact Dale Jarvis at:
1-888-739-1892 x2
ich@heritagefoundation.ca