J. D. Rogers, Newfoundland
Newfoundland by J. D. Rogers is an essential in your library of Newfoundland Mi’kmaq history. Published in 1911, it is part of A Historical Geography of the British Colonies. I…
D-Day in 1944 NQ
Newfoundland Quarterly - June 1944 Review of the War - W. J. Browne Allies Invade France On Tuesday morning, June 6th, the Allied forces which had been preparing to invade…
One Man’s Journey
Early in my reading of Calvin White’s One Man’s Journey: The Mi'kmaw Revival in Ktaqmkuk, I realized how much I owe Gus White, Calvin’s father. The characteristics that made Calvin…
Gordon Pinsent 1930-2023
Actor Gordon Pinsent died at the age of 92 yesterday, February 25. He was born in Grand Falls, Newfoundland, the youngest of Stephen and Flossie (Cooper) Pinsent’s six children. Like…
Officers and Gentlemen
Commander Ralph Neville was one of several English naval officers living in Bay St. George, Newfoundland in the early 1900s. They shared a love of salmon fishing (see Part 1).…
Salmon Fishing
Salmon fishing has a lure - for the fish and also for the person holding the rod. That lure brought several British naval officers to live in Bay St. George…
Cold Plates
If you want to get some practice in at making cold plates, American Thanksgiving this Thursday gives you the opportunity. The essential ingredients are there: turkey, ham, dressing and potatoes.…
Sacred Bear Park
Forty-two years ago, the St. John's Evening Telegram ran a story about a proposed Mi'kmaq park on the west coast of the island. The Sept. 26, 1979 article by Terry…
Sylvester Joe
Sylvester Joe is one of the best known men in the island of Newfoundland's exploration history. He's also one of the least known. A Mi'kmaq hunter and guide from Bay…
Stephen Gallant
This St. John's Evening Telegram article is about Stephen Gallant and his wife Elizabeth Gaudet of Stephenville, Bay St. George. From 1942, calculating from the month and day shown. That…
Portugal Day
On this day in 1965 Newfoundland Premier Joseph R. Smallwood proclaimed June 17th Portugal Day in the province. It was at the Confederation Building when the Portuguese Fisheries Organization presented…
Mattie Mitchell, Response
Good response to Mattie Mitchell story Vignettes of the West, by Don Morris (Apr. 11, 1992) I was pleasantly surprised by the response to the two-part series on the story…
Fortune Bay mtDNA
5A guest post by Devon Griffin Mary Park Brooks John G. Edgar provided me with details of Mary Park Brooks from his research. She was born about 1758 in the…
French Shore Settlers
The First Settlers On The French Shore by Rev. Canon J. T. Richards, O.B.E, to The Newfoundland Historical Society (The Newfoundland Quarterly, Sept. and Dec. 1953) The march of the…
Louis John
Newfoundland archivist and historian Don Morris wrote about Louis John in his Vignettes of the West column in The Western Star. The photocopy I have of the article is difficult…
Fortune Bay NL
Devon Griffin wrote the following about Fortune Bay and the family of Elizabeth Saunders. He sent it as a comment on Newfoundland Mi'kmaq Family History. But with so much information…
Hunger Strike 1983
Early morning, April 21st 1983, St. John's. Atlantic Place offices were just starting to wake up. Thirty-one Mi'kmaq men and women from Conne River went upstairs to the RAND offices.…
Colombe Brothers
The Colombe brothers of Shallop Cove, Fred and Frank, died exactly two years apart. On October 9, 1915, Fred died of wounds received at Gallipoli. On October 9, 1917, Frank…
Nathaniel White
Looking through old papers, I found a summary of a 1980 interview research assistant Joyce Blanchard conducted with Nathaniel White of Shallop Cove in Bay St. George. Mr. White, born…
Wartime Foresters
"The King's Government call for lumber men and all skilled workmen not eligible for the Regiment or the Royal Naval Reserve for service in the forests of the United Kingdom."…
Newfoundland Regiment at Beaumont Hamel
Below is a list of the Newfoundland Regiment soldiers killed at Beaumont Hamel on July 1, 1916. There are many more; those killed in the lead-up to the battle, those…
Dr. George Park 1925-2015
Today, Dr. George Park died at the age of 90. He was a retired professor of Anthropology at Memorial University of Newfoundland. He was my thesis advisor and he and…
Newfoundland’s Gallipoli
"Ptes Stanley and George Abbott of the Newfoundland Regiment were my grandmother's brothers. I remember that picture of them at her house. My Dad's sister has it now. They made it…
Beaumont Hamel
In Newfoundland and Labrador, July 1st is Memorial Day. It's been that longer than it's been Canada Day. Newfoundland joined Canada in 1949. But July 1st has had special significance…
A Grenfell Mat
At the annual Sussex Flea Market in Princess Louise Park you can find almost anything. But a Grenfell hooked mat was probably the last thing I expected to find. It…
Frissell’s The Viking
The Newfoundland Museum, when still on Duckworth Street, had a small collection of films to screen for visitors. The first one I ever showed was The Viking. I had never…
Mr. Otto Kelland
A while back, I was looking online for a family in response to a query. I found them. A note on their kinship chart said the wife was sister of…
Tempting Providence TNL
If you’re near London Ont. you’ve got a couple days left to see a grand play at the Grand Theatre. Tempting Providence, by Theatre Newfoundland and Labrador, runs until Friday…
Newfoundland Mi’kmaq Books
The telling of a place often is told through the people who make up the place. Conversely, the telling of a family can be told through the place they lived.…
Ocean Ranger 30
Thirty years ago the Ocean Ranger drill rig sank off the coast of Newfoundland. The entire crew, 84 men, drowned. During the early hours of February 15th, in a bad…
A Tale of the Sea etc.
In January 1883, a dory was lost at sea off the south coast of Newfoundland. On it were Howard Blackburn and Tommy Welsh. They became separated from their schooner in…
A Tale of the Sea
The Newfoundland Quarterly Vol. XII-No. 3 DECEMBER, 1912 40 cents per year Howard Blackburn and Thomas Welch - A Tale of the Sea By The Right Hon. Sir Edward Morris,…
Newfoundland Mi’kmaq
Newfoundland Mi'kmaq Post Excerpts J. D. Rogers, Newfoundland (Aug. 27/24) Newfoundland by J. D. Rogers is an essential in your library of Newfoundland Mi’kmaq history. Published in 1911, it is…
Drifting into Doom: Book
It was a dark and stormy night when I began reading Earl Pilgrim’s Drifting into Doom: Tragedy at Sea. Winter rain blew at the windows and tree branches hit the…
Tourist Board TV
Last night I watched the first episode of Arctic Air, CBC’s new series set in Yellowknife and surrounding lands. Tonight Republic of Doyle, set in St. John’s, returns for its…
Elsie 1997-2011
Elsie Rose died yesterday, Sept. 1st, peacefully with her family beside her. She is buried at Sandy Ridge Pet Cemetery in Eden. She is mourned. This was written last Sunday.…
Royalty
In June 1983 royalty came to St. John's. Charles and Diana, Prince and Princess of Wales, arrived on the Royal Yacht Britannia. Two years before, I had woken up early…
Newfoundland Mi’kmaq Family History & Genealogy
The internet is a good place to find out about your family history. Lots and lots of genealogy websites and resources. Unfortunately, it ain’t as easy as the tv ads…
New Year’s Eve at the Harbourfront
The most wonderful place I ever spent New Year’s Eve was the waterfront in St. John’s, Newfoundland. The tradition started, according to CBC, in the 1960s with one family going…