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2 · DECKS AWASH<br />
special section<br />
Harbour Grace<br />
N<br />
r
4· DECKS AWASH<br />
Churches<br />
hile by 1764 the population of Newfoundland<br />
W numbered some 15,000, there were only two<br />
missionaries to cater to their spiritual needs - one in<br />
Trinity Bay, the other In 51. John's. Conception Bay<br />
was one of the most densely populated areas and<br />
without an ordained clergyman. Despite this, the<br />
people of Harbour Grace set about building a church<br />
and in the following year of 1165 their efforts were<br />
rewarded by the arrival of Lawrence Coughlan. He<br />
was to be both the first Anglican priest in Harbour<br />
Grace and the first evangelical Methodist in Newfoundland.<br />
Lawrence Coughlan was born In 1140 at Limerick,<br />
Ireland. When only 15 years old he had been converted<br />
by John Wesley. the founder of Methodism, and<br />
thereafter bad worked as an itinerant preacher with<br />
extraordinary vigor and zeal. Wesley thought highly of<br />
him saying. " I have scarce one hearty helper but<br />
Lawrence Coughlan", It is not known why he came to<br />
Newfoundland. Certainly he wal not sponsored by any<br />
society such as the Society for the Propagation of the<br />
Gospel (SPG), an Anglican missionary organization<br />
founded by Thomas Bray in England in 1101. Nor was<br />
he any longer a member of the British Connexion, as<br />
the Methodist organization was known. Yet throughout<br />
his lifetime he appears never to have thought of<br />
him self in any way but as a Methodist.<br />
On his arrival in Ha rbour Grace the townspeople<br />
finished erecting a church on Stretton's Hill, paid for<br />
by John Stretton, a merchant from Ire la nd and a lay<br />
follower of Wesley . Unfortunately the fis hing season<br />
was poor that year and there was no money to pay<br />
Coughlan. The townspeople then petitioned the SPG to<br />
appoi nt Coughlan and pro vide bim with a stip en d. It<br />
may be that Coughlan took the petition to London<br />
him self for we learn that In April 1116, he WIS or dained<br />
pr iest in the Anglican Church af te r whic h he retu rn ed<br />
immediately to Newfoundland. On his return Coug hla n<br />
demonstrated that he was still ve ry mu ch in the<br />
evangelical tradition for he went from house to house<br />
r e ading the bible , four times a week. As he later<br />
commented in his book The Work of God in Ne wfo und <br />
land. it was three years before he saw the least fruit of<br />
his labour. The final results were astonishing to many<br />
- members of the congregation began to pray alo ud<br />
and others cried praises for the Lord . Reports spread<br />
Roman catholic clerics In the early 19005 -(Reuben<br />
Parsons Photo) .<br />
The Roman catho lic Cathedral co nsec rated in 1868.<br />
that the ctueens of Harbour Grace had gone mad.<br />
People came from everywhere to see. Many were Irish<br />
and, attracted by Coughlan, became converts themselves.<br />
By 1168 chapels had been built at Carbonear<br />
and Blackhead. Coughlan was not only the first<br />
Anglican priest of Harbour Grace, he abo became the<br />
father of Methodism in Newfoundland.<br />
The interior of the old Roman Catholic Cathedral,<br />
destroyed by fire in 1892at Harbour Grace.<br />
Coughlan's popularity proved to be his undoing.<br />
Many townspeople opposed evangelical teachings<br />
believing them not to be in the tradition of the<br />
established Anglican church. By way of objection,<br />
merchants and traders withdrew their subscription in<br />
an attempt to starve him, but without success. Next<br />
there was an unsuccessful attempt to polson him.<br />
FinaUy, a dozen merchants and important people of<br />
the town got up a petition for Cougblan's removal and<br />
sent it to the governor in St . John's . Coughlan denied<br />
the charges and ably defended himself. He left Harbour<br />
Grace in 1773 to return to England where he died<br />
in 1785.<br />
Coughlan was replaced by the Reverend James<br />
BaUour who became the head of the orthodox Anglican<br />
Church in Harbour Grace while the Methodist<br />
movement was continued by lay preacbers, notably<br />
John Stretton and Arthur Thomey of Harbour Grace,<br />
and Thomal Pottle of Carbonear. Later, Methodist<br />
Minister John McGeary was sent to Newfoundland by
of Salt" method which enabled fish to be shipped to<br />
Europe directly from Labrador.<br />
In 1884, the Harbour Grace Banking Co. was formed.<br />
During the '80s there were such vast quantities of<br />
Banks fish available that John Munn and Co. decided to<br />
enter the American boneless codfish market. The<br />
result was King Cod brand boneless cod that won the<br />
Blue Ribbon at the Chicago World's Fair in 1893. Apparently,<br />
all the competitors' brands started to turn<br />
bad and had to be removed long before the fair closed;<br />
only "King Cod" stayed in fresh condition and failed to<br />
make a nuisance of itself.<br />
Another good year for the cod fishery was 1886.John<br />
Munn and Co. collected over 200,000 quintals of cod<br />
from Labrador. Of this, 130,000 quintals were sent<br />
directly to the Mediterranean markets aboard 45<br />
schooners and 2 steamers, all specially chartered for<br />
the occasion. This was the ttrst time that steamers had<br />
been used for this purpose by a Harbour Grace firm<br />
and it ensured that the Newfoundland product met an<br />
early market. Sailing vessels could on occasion be held<br />
up for a month if they met adverse weather conditions.<br />
The Newfoundland fishing industry went into decline<br />
at the end of the 19th century, and many of the Harbour<br />
Grace merchants with it. The chief problem was<br />
competition in world markets. particularly from the<br />
French. In the early 1880sthe French government had<br />
decided to build up its fishing fleet and so train more<br />
sailors for the French Navy in the process. To encourage<br />
the fishing industry. a bounty equal to 60% of<br />
the market price of the fish was offered to French<br />
Sealing<br />
\<br />
The seal hunl1910 -(HOlloway Photo).<br />
e aling was for a long time a major industry in<br />
SHarbour Grace, The earliest written records to<br />
mention sealing are the annual Fishery and Trade<br />
reports compiled by naval captains on the Newfoundland<br />
station at the beginning of the 18th century. In<br />
1725, the British Government had asked whether men<br />
remained on the island over the winter. The report for<br />
that year stated that none were encouraged to stay<br />
"except such as come to carry out the Seale and Furr<br />
trade to the Northward". The possibility of year-round<br />
work with the summer cod fishery followed by a winter<br />
seal hunt provided a powerful incentive for people to<br />
stay the year round.<br />
DECKS AWASH - 7<br />
fishermen. While this did not seem entirely<br />
unreasonable if it were meant to protect th e home<br />
market from foreign trade, it seemed manifestly unfair<br />
to extend the bounty to other markets such as<br />
Spain and Portugal. In fact, French fishermen were<br />
selling their fish for less than the Newfoundland<br />
fishermen could produce it. Newfoundland decided to<br />
retaliate by passing a Bait Act.<br />
A Bait Act, as passed by the Newfoundland<br />
legislature January 1888, forbade the selling of<br />
herring. caplin, squid. or bait fish to French fishermen<br />
in St. Pierre, and also prevented Frenchmen from<br />
obtaining bait on the Newfoundland coast. R.S. Munn.<br />
the MHA for Harbour Grace, was prominent in the<br />
passage of this act. Without bait the French were<br />
severely hampered In their cod fishing. In 1888, the<br />
first year in which the Act took force, the French<br />
managed to obtain only 4,000 barrels of the required<br />
54,000barrels of bait needed for the spring fishery. Not<br />
everybody was pleased by this development , particularly<br />
the fishermen of Fortune Bay who had<br />
previously sold bait to the French. One Newfoundland<br />
banker skipper put into St. Pierre for shelter where it<br />
was discovered that he had a load of bait on board.<br />
Having plied the captain with drink. the French persuaded<br />
him to sell the bait. When the captain realized<br />
what he had done. he made his escape on his own to<br />
New York fearing that if he returned to Harbour Grace<br />
he would be hanged. Fortunately, his crew brought the<br />
banker home safely. I!<br />
There were two types of seal hunt, The winter hunt<br />
started in January with nets used at headlands of Notre<br />
Dame and Bonavista Bays, and as far south as Bay de<br />
Verde, In the hope of trapping seals on their annual<br />
southerly migration. In March came the spring hunt<br />
carried out from boats, and it was this endeavour that<br />
was to undergo the greatest change. It was realized<br />
that the seals mounted the ice in the Strait of Belle Isle<br />
during February to bear their young while the Arctic<br />
current caused the ice to drift farther south during the<br />
ensuing months.<br />
In 1750, the Bristol firm of Coughlan and Hooper<br />
established in Harbour Grace and was the first to set<br />
up sealing stations in Labrador. In the 18th century<br />
At the trent. 1910-(Holloway Photo) .
10· DECKS AWASH<br />
hunting. The merchant firms were hard hit. In 1873,<br />
both Ridiey and Sons and Rutherford Brothers went<br />
out of business, an unfortunate event for the fishery<br />
because the next year proved a record year for cod<br />
catches.<br />
Punton and Munn (tater John Munn &: Co. in 1872)<br />
continued until the bank crash of 1894. Within a week<br />
R.S. Munn, the only surviving partner, died at aged 6S,<br />
The firm went into liquidation with its four sealing<br />
Early Institutions<br />
s early as 1672 Harbour Grace could boast a<br />
Awooden courthouse with a pair of stocks nearby.<br />
One hundred and eleven years later the population had<br />
multiplied almost60 times and concerned citizens were<br />
petitioning England for a new courthouse. It was not<br />
until 1808 that a new structure was built which was<br />
roltowed by the construction of the present courthouse<br />
in 1830 . The building Is remarkable in that it is entirely<br />
made of stone including walls four feet thick and a<br />
slate roof. More unusual was the manner in which it<br />
was financed. To tap the wealth of the local communities<br />
it was agreed that every Jirm in Conception<br />
Bay would pledge one pound for every 1000 quintals of<br />
fish shipped annually. In this way the courthouse was<br />
buUt and paid for in a single year. The building contained<br />
a jail and a warder's residence which were in<br />
regular use until 1963 when the inmates were transferred<br />
to the former U.S. Guard House at Pepperrell.<br />
Up to 1955 the warder was known as the "goeter" while<br />
those working under him were called "turnkeys".<br />
Although the exterior of the courthouse remains<br />
unchanged, little of the interior remains save for a coat<br />
of arms painted by a mysterious Irish scholar named<br />
John Alexander Clance. Clance was an imposing figure<br />
The Courthouse, one of the few buildings to survive the<br />
tires.<br />
Fires<br />
he bistory of fires In Harbour Grace is a long one<br />
T with the town 's having to be built many times<br />
over. Most were accidental, or the result of neglect.<br />
and some were set deliberately, For example, in approximately<br />
IBM (there Is some dispute about the<br />
date), the French came from Placentia and burned all<br />
steamers and ill Seal Oil Factory
today<br />
Tbe BuslZJesses<br />
History and sawdust<br />
harles D. Garland was<br />
Cmarking out a piece of<br />
wood when we arrived. Making<br />
wooden things runs strong in the<br />
Garland blood ; so does history.<br />
The eollection of low. wooden<br />
buildings at the foot of Beach<br />
Hill contains some of the oldest<br />
and newest woodworkiog<br />
machines around, while the<br />
Garland family that runs this<br />
operation can legitimately be<br />
described as ODe of the oldest<br />
families in Harbour Grace .<br />
A band-written census report<br />
kept at the Public Records<br />
Office . London . showl that a<br />
John Garland supported. a<br />
family of 10 at ..Havergr.... in<br />
1676. We also know that a<br />
Charles D. Garland succeeded<br />
hts father as magistrate in<br />
Conception Bay in 1750.<br />
However. our story starts in 1888<br />
when 2C).year-old Charles Davis<br />
Garland started a cooperage<br />
business in Harbour Grace , the<br />
business that is loday operated<br />
by his grandson of the same<br />
name.<br />
" My grandfather started the<br />
business making fish barre"<br />
and drums," explains Charles<br />
Garland. " The drums were for<br />
exporting fish. quite small, you<br />
could strap them to camels or<br />
donkeys. He worked out of his<br />
barn.<br />
"Now . my father. James A.<br />
Garland was also a master<br />
cooper . After spending some<br />
time at St. Jobn's, be returned to<br />
aet up a partnership with his<br />
fatber under the name C. D.<br />
Garland and Son. They<br />
eatabUsbed a cooperage on<br />
Water Street and Father<br />
mechanized the business.<br />
Around 1121the business burned<br />
down, so they moved to the<br />
presentsite.<br />
"Father had to bUy all new<br />
machines. Fortunately, at that<br />
time Mun and Co. were across<br />
the street producing cod-liver<br />
oil. We supplied them with<br />
thousands and thousands of<br />
barrels. each one with a tin<br />
DECKS AWASH - 13<br />
liner. I suppose we made 160 or<br />
170 barrels a day . We also mad e<br />
fisb barrels with knotted birch<br />
hoops. No nails . they would have<br />
spoiled the fisb. An art they<br />
were , a great art .<br />
" Fatber was often in demand<br />
by the merchants on Water<br />
Street. He could replace a
14· DECKS AWASH<br />
broken barrel stave without<br />
knocking down the barrel - or<br />
spilling the contents. He was a<br />
very inventive man . If he<br />
couldn't buy a machine , he<br />
made it. During the war we<br />
made Coca Cola boxes and we<br />
had eight men alone just cutting<br />
holes for the handles. Father<br />
made a machine to do the job<br />
using parts from one of the<br />
machines burned in the Water<br />
Street fire."<br />
Recognizing that some of the<br />
machinery in the shop was<br />
rather old. Charles suggested to<br />
his father that they dismantle it.<br />
James would not hear of it. "No ,<br />
Charlie, " he said , "when I goes<br />
you can do as you like, because I<br />
won't be around, but in the<br />
meantime I loves the smell of<br />
wood,and I loves making a<br />
Broilers and boats<br />
ennis Sutton raises over a<br />
Dquarter of a million<br />
chickens a year . If you eat at<br />
Colonel Sanders, or Mary<br />
Brown's, it's just possible that<br />
you have eaten one of Dennis's<br />
chickens.<br />
The Sutton Chicken Farm is<br />
located at the end of a rocky<br />
trail high on a htll overlooking<br />
Harbour Grace .
chicks are in. and make periodic<br />
checks to see everything is<br />
working. You need to ma inta in a<br />
ver y, very high degree of<br />
cleanliness.II Dennis described<br />
how the trucks that bring the<br />
feed to the farm must be washed<br />
before delivery. espec ially if<br />
they have come from a hog<br />
farm. " Diseases are so<br />
numerous that I could have 2000<br />
birds lying dead on the floor in<br />
just two hours if I was not<br />
careful."<br />
For the most part Dennis<br />
works alone . However. when it<br />
comes to shipping the birds out .<br />
he employs casual labourers for<br />
two hours a night . The birds are<br />
placed in special plastic boxes .<br />
14. or 15 to a container. and<br />
shipped at the rate of 9000birds<br />
WaterStreetphilosopher<br />
L<br />
loyd Archibald. the gruff<br />
good-natured, proprietor<br />
of Archibald's Hotel. has lived in<br />
Harbour Grace all his life . " As I<br />
understood. it from my father:'<br />
begins lloyd. " the Archibalds<br />
came to Vermont from Northern<br />
Ireland originally. Then they<br />
spread into Nova Scotia and<br />
New Brunswick. and now they<br />
are as far away as Toronto . My<br />
grandfather came to Harbour<br />
Grace from Nova Scotia in about<br />
1882 and started a shoe factory.<br />
He died when he was quite<br />
young . After that my father and<br />
a night. There follows a period of<br />
two weeks in which the chicken<br />
house is cleaned in preparation<br />
for th e next batch. All the fertilizer<br />
produ ced by this<br />
operation goes to a farmer in<br />
Carbonear.<br />
"My wife Patricia helps<br />
tremendously. She helps to get<br />
the baby chicks off to a good<br />
start and she does 90% of the<br />
book work." The Suttons have<br />
three children. Stephen 13.<br />
Jeffrey 12. and William 10.<br />
" They all have their birthdays<br />
in December." adds Dennis<br />
brightly. "Troubie is. come<br />
spring and she drives me out .<br />
Won't let me stay in the house<br />
March month at aU!"<br />
The chicken-raising business<br />
is not without problems. Costs<br />
his brothers and sisters<br />
operated the factory successfully<br />
for awhile." Archibald's<br />
shoes were of higb<br />
quality but with the Depression,<br />
people bought much cheaper<br />
shoes and the factory was forced<br />
to close.<br />
Lloyd 's career bas been long<br />
and varied. He worked on his<br />
father's farm for a while and he<br />
was in the fish business for 12<br />
years. He inherited the hotel in<br />
1971 from his aunt. It had been<br />
closed for a couple of years so<br />
Arch lba ld 's Inn . buill on the sit e of the o ld hotel.<br />
DECKS AWASH -15<br />
have risen alarmingly recently.<br />
Feed that was $92 a ton two<br />
years ago now costs close to $320<br />
a ton . Heating oil bas gone from<br />
22e to approximately $2.48 a<br />
gallon in the same period . There<br />
is also fierce competition from<br />
mainland firms that can supply<br />
the Newfoundland market with<br />
cheaper frozen birds. Dennis<br />
feels that the mainland<br />
producers are overproducing<br />
and dumping tbeir excess here<br />
at artifically low prices.<br />
"Still, it's a good life with lots<br />
of time for myself:' muses<br />
Dennis. who at one .tlme built<br />
trailers. and before that houses .<br />
"I like to make things ." And<br />
with tbat he picks up his wrench<br />
and returns to building his boat.<br />
11<br />
Mary Pynn and lloyd Archibald.<br />
Uoyd spent much of 1972<br />
rebuilding it to reopen in 1973." I<br />
must have had a weak.<br />
moment," he quips. "but I've<br />
built up a good.clientele!"<br />
Of the original staff that Uoyd<br />
opened with in 1973. only Mary<br />
Pynn remains. She seems endlessly<br />
busy answering phones ,<br />
waiting on tables, and magically<br />
producing sandwiches for<br />
starving journalists. Mary<br />
admits that trade has dropped<br />
off somewhat in the last three<br />
years. This is mainly a reflection<br />
of the economy. For a while<br />
the hotel was used by construction<br />
workers working on
18· DECKS AWASH<br />
Newfoundland's most unlikely industry<br />
I<br />
n a town whose economic<br />
future has been somewhat<br />
uncertain. Terra Nova Shoes<br />
represents a bright spot. This<br />
thriving company managed by<br />
Abe Alaven and his wife Riet,<br />
gives employment to 150 people.<br />
While the fisheries, a local<br />
resource industry, make constant<br />
headlines, Terra Nova<br />
Shoes, relying entirely on imported<br />
materials, goes quietly<br />
along making a profit and<br />
putting year-round wages<br />
the pockets of its employees.<br />
into<br />
Abe Alaven is a fourth<br />
generation shoe manufacturer<br />
from Holland. He is a large,<br />
pleasant, precise man with an<br />
encyclopedic knowledge of<br />
shoemaking. In 1961 he immigrated<br />
to Canada. Later,<br />
while vacationing in<br />
Newfoundland he stumbled<br />
across the defunct Koch shoe<br />
factory, one of anumber of<br />
small manufaeturtng industries<br />
built under the Smallwood<br />
government.<br />
"I heard the sound of a shoe<br />
machine being run inside the<br />
supposedly closed plant.' explains<br />
Abe, "and my curiosity<br />
was aroused." So was the<br />
curiosity of the plant guard<br />
operating the machine. The<br />
guard promptly phoned Premier<br />
Smallwood who, not being one to<br />
pass up an opportunity, oUered<br />
to sell the entire plant. Abe<br />
declined the offer and returned<br />
Terra Nova Shoes<br />
Abe Areven<br />
to Ontario. but Mr. Smallwood<br />
persisted and in 1971 the Alavens<br />
found themselves the owners of<br />
a shoe plant. However. the day<br />
they arrived in Newfoundland<br />
was the day J . R. Smallwood lost<br />
the election and Abe lost his<br />
patron. For the next few years<br />
the Alavens struggled to revive<br />
the plant. Lesser people would<br />
have probably given up when<br />
the plant burned down completely<br />
in 1974, but Abe and his<br />
wife perservered and now,<br />
eleven years later. after they<br />
first took over the factory, they<br />
have a successful business.<br />
The shoe plant is housed in a<br />
modern. clean, brightly lit,<br />
45,000 square foot building. Raw<br />
materials in the form of hides.<br />
linings. eyelets and PVC (poly·<br />
vinyl chloride) are shipped in<br />
from the company's other plant<br />
, at Markham. Ontario. Materials<br />
are not cheap. Premium grade<br />
hides command high prices<br />
while one shoe-lining, ballistic<br />
nylon . costs $100a square yard,<br />
Since this lining protects a chain<br />
saw from cutting off a man's<br />
foot, it 's probably worth the<br />
price.<br />
The first stage in making a<br />
shoe is to cut out the leather<br />
parts using dies which resemble<br />
power-operated cookie cutters.<br />
Hides , unlike good dough , vary<br />
in quality. The neck section of a<br />
hide creases easily so it is used<br />
to make the back parts of shoes,<br />
while the hind quarter, being<br />
generally more creaseresistant,<br />
is used for the toe of<br />
the shoe . An operator slides his<br />
hands over the hide , feeling its<br />
texture, then using a half-dozen<br />
different dies he quickly reduces<br />
it to a pile of shoe parts with<br />
scarcely any waste. It has taken<br />
the Terra Nova operator four<br />
years to acquire this skill.<br />
The leather pieces are passed<br />
to a line of girls operating<br />
sewing machines. Costing some<br />
$6.000 apiece. they each contain<br />
a computerized motor that will<br />
make a preselected number of<br />
stitches, then cut the thread,<br />
leaving the needle in the raised<br />
position. As most housewives<br />
will agree, it's when the sewing<br />
machine needle stops in the<br />
down position that it generally<br />
gets broken. Abe remarks. "We<br />
make a saving of 37% in time<br />
over the old machines."<br />
Well-ordered industry marks<br />
the plant. There is none of the<br />
frenzy that one might expect<br />
from ISO people working as fast<br />
as they can . This is due to<br />
superb planning and the fact<br />
that hardly anybody needs to<br />
leave his work station. As Abe<br />
comments, " In Europe and<br />
other parts of Canada. the girls<br />
sew up a batch of shoes and then<br />
take them to the next work<br />
station themselves. In fact 50%<br />
of the time in this business is<br />
spent in handling between
operations." Abe's girl s never<br />
leave their seats. They are<br />
supplied by a three-level conveyo<br />
r . system that allows for<br />
individual rates of production<br />
and ensures that nobody is ever<br />
left waitin g for mater ial.<br />
Once the leather parts have<br />
been sewn together, they are<br />
placed on a metal last to be<br />
shaped. Abe and I watched a<br />
young man using a hammer to<br />
tap the steel toeguard onto a<br />
shoe before covering It with<br />
leather. Abe's eagle eye notices<br />
something amiss. "Can you see<br />
what he's doing wrong?" Abe<br />
asks. We coufess we can't. We<br />
learn that it Is the way the man<br />
puts the hammer down. He is not<br />
putting it in the proper receptable<br />
designed for it. so he has to<br />
make an extra hand movement<br />
each time. Abe leans across and<br />
demonstrates. He is faster,<br />
perhaps half a second quicker.<br />
The young man nods and smiles,<br />
and we move on.<br />
The final operation In making<br />
the shoe Is moulding the PVC<br />
sole to the upper. Abe has some<br />
older machines that can sole 250<br />
shoes a day ; however , his pride<br />
is a brand-new $1.5 million<br />
machine about the size and<br />
shape of a fairground carousel.<br />
This is the Desma vulcanizing<br />
machine that took three months<br />
to Install by a team of International<br />
engineers. It can<br />
sole 4SO shoes in one eight -hour<br />
shift . Its only disadvantage is<br />
that once running, it cannot be<br />
turned off, so the operator must<br />
find somebody to reli eve him for<br />
lunch .<br />
A major problem with Industry<br />
in Newfoundland continues<br />
to be the transportation of<br />
materials and products. Abe<br />
Alaven has neally solved this<br />
problem. Terra Nova Shoes<br />
exports almost its enure<br />
production. " This was a<br />
tremendous headache," admits<br />
Abe. Sears or perhaps Eaton's in<br />
Toronto would schedule a big<br />
sale and we would contract to<br />
deliver so many hundreds of<br />
pairs of shoes . Two weeks before<br />
the sale we would deliver the<br />
shoes to the shipper. On the eve<br />
DECKS AWASH - 19<br />
Nell Windsor , Min ister 01 Develop ment, wit h Abe Alaven at the firm' s ten th<br />
ann iver sary .<br />
of the sale the retail store would paid two lots of shipping, and all<br />
phone demanding to know where the company's wasted adthe<br />
shoes were. The shipper vertising. Next time we would<br />
would not know, and when the send the shoes six weeks ahead.<br />
shoes finally arrived too late for A week later the buyer would<br />
the sale , they would be returned. phone . "Why have you sent these<br />
Not only did we lose the sale. we shoes so soon? Ldcu't need them<br />
A lf Duff. foreman . with the co mputerized Desm a injection vulca nizing machine.
Single with 30kids<br />
hr isti ne Janes and Dean<br />
Cna Rose run Harbour<br />
Grace's only day care centre.<br />
Between 7:30 a.m. and 5:00<br />
p.m. . some 30-0dd children.<br />
aged two to eight. are in their<br />
care. Some Slay all day . others<br />
arrive after kindergarten or<br />
primary school to stay at the<br />
centre until their working<br />
parents pick them up. Christine.<br />
29. describes herself as single.<br />
with 30 kids.<br />
"We have six or seven mentally<br />
or physically handicapped<br />
kids.II explains Christine. "They<br />
get used to being away from<br />
mom and play with other kids.<br />
For example, ODe little boy is<br />
blind and, with him the other<br />
kids are fantastic. They say.<br />
'follow my voice now I see if you<br />
can find me'. They are extra<br />
careful with him and pick up the<br />
toys so he won't step on them .<br />
"I must say the community<br />
and business people do things<br />
for us. For one day they give us<br />
free ri des at the fair. and St.<br />
Pa ul's Elementary School invites<br />
us over if there is a eon-<br />
Printers'ink<br />
A<br />
cert. Front seats. my son , 'I'll<br />
tell you! We like to take the kids<br />
into the community. to the police<br />
station and the library. Il's a big<br />
treat for them."<br />
Kids World was opened in 1919<br />
and is located in what was once<br />
Christine's home . It is neaUy<br />
arranged with areas for play.<br />
quiet recreation. and rest.<br />
DECKS AWASH - 21<br />
Lunchtime at Kids ' World - Left 10 right, Gayle Verge , Kim Peckham, nawne<br />
Skinner, Chri stine Janes, Niall Quinn , Nicole Park and Christ V Moriar ty .<br />
busy business is Munn &<br />
Oke Limited printers on<br />
Victoria Street. Originally<br />
started in 1869 to print the<br />
Harbour Grace Standard. the<br />
firm bas been engaged in job<br />
printing ever since the mid-1930s<br />
when the Standard ceased<br />
publishing.<br />
Whe n we were at Munn & Oke ,<br />
the odor of printers' ink was<br />
high in the air and Doug Sheppard<br />
and Mike Farrell were<br />
bus)' operaUng one of the<br />
presses.<br />
"Watch where you're going! "<br />
cautions Doug . as he glances up<br />
from his work. ink almost up to<br />
his elbows. When asked what his<br />
job is. he replies. "Well, you<br />
might say I do a bit of Doug Sheppard and Mike Farrell.<br />
Christine's father Gordon has<br />
made most of the equipment in<br />
the centre. Asked about future<br />
plans. she replies "I'd like a new<br />
building. A ranch styl e house<br />
with no partitions, all opened up.<br />
I've already got the land."<br />
If Christine keeps up her<br />
present level of activity,<br />
perhaps she will soon have the<br />
house to go with it. II
22 · DECKS AWASH<br />
everything. you know,<br />
typesetting.Layout, etc ."<br />
"I do the same thing ," says<br />
Mike . joining in. "We do<br />
whatever there is to be done<br />
around here . We've got no<br />
complaints."<br />
Also at the shop that day was<br />
Fred Janes, now retired. who<br />
worked at the shop for some 40<br />
years. "I can't seem to stay<br />
away from the place," he<br />
confesses.<br />
Manager Bill Oke was out of<br />
town but in a subsequent<br />
telephone conversation he says.<br />
" We' re kept pretty busy, we just<br />
hope we can continue to be."<br />
The company can print<br />
whatever is required. While<br />
most customers are in the local<br />
area, they do some work for<br />
customers located off the<br />
Avalon Peninsula. Jobs include<br />
the printing of billheads, envelopes.<br />
invoices, tickets. invitations<br />
and programs.<br />
While Bill Oke is pleased that<br />
his company is kept busy, he.<br />
like many residents of Harbour<br />
Grace says that Harbour Grace<br />
has great potential that isn 't<br />
being realized.<br />
" If the fishery were managed<br />
Carrying on in the Collis tradition<br />
last air Collis, 22, is the<br />
A third Collis to head the<br />
company of A.L. Collis and Son.<br />
a firm that mainly sells, services.<br />
and rebuilds pianos. "My<br />
grandfather. Athelstan Lockyer<br />
Collis founded the company in<br />
1910," says Alastair. In those<br />
days Harbour Grace was the<br />
business centre of the region.<br />
Great-grandfather Collis had<br />
died when Athelstan was a small<br />
boy, so his mother moved back<br />
with her own family, the<br />
Lockyers, in Trinity. Athelstan<br />
suffered severe tunnel vision .<br />
leslie Collis<br />
"It was like looking down the<br />
lead of a pencil, and in later life<br />
he became completely blind ,"<br />
comments Alastair. The<br />
Lockyers sent Athelstan to<br />
Montreal for five years to study<br />
voice , pia DO and organ. Subsequently,<br />
he moved to Harbour<br />
Grace in 1910 to set up a piaoo<br />
business from his home 00<br />
LeMarchant Street.<br />
Athelstan Collis repaired and<br />
tuned pianos and organs at his<br />
house. and across the island.<br />
Ccnsequenty, he was away a<br />
good part of the year. His near<br />
Alastair Collis with photograph 01 his<br />
grandfather, Athelstan Collis .<br />
properly, and if Nordsee had<br />
been allowed in. then things<br />
might be moving here. The<br />
superport concept was a good<br />
one. When Walter Carter was<br />
provincial fisheries minister, he<br />
convinced me that it would<br />
really work. Certainly if it had<br />
been in place during the caplin<br />
glut. the fishermen could have<br />
landed their fish and it could<br />
have been held in cold storage<br />
until the plants could process<br />
it."<br />
He concludes, " We have<br />
everything here , including a<br />
good port . We have everything<br />
but industry." "<br />
blindness seemed not to affect<br />
his ability to travel and work.<br />
indeed. it may have at times<br />
been an advantage. Alastair<br />
recalls a story told by his old<br />
friend, Max King.<br />
" Max was a boy when grandfather<br />
arrived in Trouty, Trinity<br />
Bay. Max 's mother told him to<br />
°bring Mr. Collis to the church',<br />
where Max left him to repair the<br />
organ. Later, after supper, Max<br />
returned, but the church was in<br />
darkness. Groping his way up<br />
the aisle, he saw in the<br />
moonlight the organ in pieces all<br />
lillian Collis with company' s records.<br />
Details 01 every plano and organ sold<br />
or serviced over the last 72 years are<br />
kept.
over the floor. Grandfather told<br />
Max to come back in two hours.<br />
Mystified, Max rushed home<br />
and reported. 'Mother, that man<br />
can 't see . He's up there and<br />
there's no lights on. I don't know<br />
what's going on!' However.<br />
when Max did return the organ<br />
was back together and gr-andfather<br />
was happily playing it <br />
still in the dark."<br />
Grandfather Collis married<br />
Miss Mary Parsons of Harbour<br />
Grace who bore him a son,<br />
Leslie, and two daughters.<br />
Leslie was literally to follow in<br />
his father's footsteps, leading<br />
him about the town and<br />
acquiring skills as a piano<br />
restorer and tuner while<br />
developing a fine baritone voice .<br />
For years the two travelled<br />
Newfoundland together. Time<br />
had no meaning. If they finished<br />
in one town on a Thursday, then<br />
they stayed on until Sunday, just<br />
so that grandfather could sing in<br />
the church choir while father<br />
played the organ. Once. when<br />
Leslie was concerned least they<br />
miss the next boat. grandfather<br />
Collis commented. " Don't worry<br />
SOD. if we miss it. there's<br />
another in two weeks."<br />
AtheIstan Collis died in 1940<br />
and Leslie inherited the<br />
business. But in 1942 Leslie was<br />
badly burned in a fire. His hands<br />
were severely burned and he<br />
Ron Peddle turns 81eg at the Harbour Grace repair shop .<br />
Mac Mart in . plano rebuuoer. with the plano bridge duplicator designed by<br />
leslie Co lli s.<br />
required 45 skin grafts on his<br />
legs. Doctors feared he might<br />
not walk again. After three<br />
months in hospital. Leslie<br />
returned to Harbour Grace to<br />
discover his house burnt and<br />
uninhabitable, in fact . even his<br />
girlfriend had deserted him .<br />
Always resilient. it would take<br />
more than this to defeat Leslie<br />
Collis. Alone, broke, and in debt<br />
to the hospital. he set about<br />
regaining the use of his hands<br />
and learning to walk. While in<br />
hospital in S1. John's, Leslie had<br />
met a young nursing trainee,<br />
Lillian Martin, whose home was<br />
at Coley's Point only 16 miles<br />
from Harbour Grace. They were<br />
married in 1943.<br />
Now. together with his wife<br />
Lillian, Leslie Collis set out on a<br />
more ambitious scale. He<br />
acquired the present business<br />
premises on Water Street,<br />
Harbour Grace, and set up a<br />
piano showroom on the ground<br />
floor with a repair and<br />
refinishing shop above. Over the<br />
years, the premises were expanded.<br />
Extra space was added<br />
behind the building. and even a<br />
small railway to move the<br />
pianos about the shop. Leslie<br />
showed a flair for mechanical<br />
improvisation and constructed a<br />
Dumber of machines used in the<br />
rebuilding of pianos.<br />
In 1954. Leslie and Lillian<br />
opened a branch in St. John's,<br />
and ' in 1962 they buill the<br />
showroom and workshops on<br />
Topsail Road. Alastair was born<br />
in 1960 and continued the family<br />
tradition of accompanying his<br />
father about the province,<br />
repairing and tuning pianos. "I<br />
ha ve no recollection of being<br />
taught to tune pianos," admits<br />
Alastair, "it just seemed to<br />
come to me." Like his father<br />
who started in the business at<br />
age six, Alastair has been<br />
playing and tuning since he was<br />
five,<br />
Leslie Collis died suddenly in<br />
March of this year. Alastair
24· DECKS AWASH<br />
recalls. "He was a man with a<br />
sense or humor who stood out in<br />
a crowd through his ability to<br />
tell stories. He was also endles<br />
sly patient. Once. when we<br />
wer e on a tight schedule. we<br />
stopped by a house to tune a<br />
piano. We arrived at 4:30 and<br />
were finished by 6:00. The little<br />
girl who played the piano need ed<br />
help, so Father simply cancelled<br />
all his appointments (or that<br />
night and stayed until 10:00 to<br />
help with her playing ."<br />
Alastair and Lillian Collis<br />
continue to run the business.<br />
Alastair travels only five or six<br />
weeks a year. whereas his<br />
father and grandfather were<br />
gone six months, but travel was<br />
slower then. They still keep the<br />
family home in Harbour Grace<br />
on LeMarchant Street. while the<br />
Water Street store continues to<br />
rebuild about 100 planas a year.<br />
Everything is stripped (rom the<br />
pianos even to the ivory on the<br />
keys . and all refurbished. "We<br />
could . with the exception of the<br />
steel trame. build a piano from<br />
scratch if necessary," comments<br />
Alastair.<br />
The firm bas a wide<br />
reputation. not only for its piano<br />
rebuilding but also for organ<br />
servicing. As long ago as 1952,<br />
Calington Company of South<br />
Cork, Ireland, ordered a rebuilt<br />
organ from A.L. Collis. They<br />
were completely satisfied with<br />
their purchase.<br />
A.L. Collis and Son continues<br />
to be the only plano rebullder<br />
east of Montreal, and the major<br />
piano supplier in the province.<br />
Pianos ar e not like cars, you<br />
can 't jus t put an order in and get<br />
one next week . Collis's keep a<br />
large stock on hand . but as<br />
Alastair puts it . " It takes five<br />
years from the cutting of the<br />
wood to the delivery of the<br />
finished piano. We put our orders<br />
in during the spring and<br />
receive our pianos in the fall ."<br />
Alastair exhibits an old world<br />
charm. possibly from being in<br />
such close contact with his<br />
father for so long. If the Collis<br />
tradition holds , Alastair will one<br />
day turn up on your doorstep.<br />
perhaps followed by a small son.<br />
to help tune your piano . "<br />
PETROLEUM DIRECTORATE<br />
GOV ERNMENT OF NEWFOUNDLAND AND lABRADOR<br />
Technical Reports:<br />
The Directorate has published a number of reports on oil and gas<br />
subje cts. Included are economic and impa ct analyses, onshore<br />
prospects, drilling and other regulations. List avaliable on<br />
request.<br />
General Information:<br />
Inf ormation kits of particular interest to teachers and students<br />
include well location maps , history of exploration offshore Newtoundland-Labrador.<br />
the role of the Petroleum Directorate, etc .<br />
Film Loans:<br />
A selection of petroteum-retateo films may be borrowed by<br />
community groups, schools, service clubs. Titles available on<br />
request.<br />
Contact Public Relations, Petroleum Directorate, P.O. Box 4750, Sf.<br />
John 's, NF, A1C ST?,Telex 016·4034, Telephone (709) 737·2323.
TbeFlsbery<br />
Offish, trawlers, quotas and licences<br />
he fishery has always<br />
T been the lifeblood of<br />
Harbour Grace. In the last<br />
cen tury it raised Harbour Grace<br />
to the positio n of seco nd com <br />
mercial ca pital of Newfoundlan<br />
d but with the ban k crash of<br />
1894 and th e fire of 1944, the<br />
fort unes of Har bour Grace have<br />
ebbed.<br />
" Fo re ign ca pita l is the only<br />
th ing that will move Har bour<br />
Grace." declar es Alex Moores.<br />
Managing Director of Ocean<br />
Ha rv ester s Corporation<br />
Lim ited. "I t was foreign capi ta l<br />
in the very beginning that<br />
developed this town. Ships came<br />
from as far away as Denm ar k<br />
Ocean Harvesters lishplant on Water Street.<br />
Alec Moores on what's wrong with the fishery<br />
"The butc: problem with the filh.1n& In·<br />
dUitry today 1a that our cOlb have exceeded<br />
what the market will bear. There ia • big<br />
demand tor our fish - but our production<br />
COlts are too blgb."<br />
"There 11 Dot too much fish. There I.s a<br />
market for every 'lnile pound of flah. We<br />
hive to gel people 011 UIe. We Ire Doll0log to<br />
catch the flab if we let everyone go on mc<br />
DeCKS AWASH - 25<br />
after they get 10.tamp•. That'. only 10week.'<br />
work and we need 52 weeks. UIC should only<br />
be a lafety net for people to faU into when aU<br />
ellefilii."<br />
"We should have a fiJlhlng plan. Each year<br />
we know the total aUowable catch. We .hould<br />
know beforehand wbere we are going to sell It,<br />
We sbould never be aUowed to catcb an1 flah<br />
unIe.s we know we can seUit."<br />
"The government has a role to play - theJ<br />
set quotas and licence. and the1 negotiate<br />
with tountrlu on a government·tolovernment<br />
bull. But when it comea down to<br />
the commercial fiJlhlng companies - a<br />
compaIlJ in Canada and,let'••a" a compan1<br />
in We.t German1 should be able to sit down<br />
and decide on bow the1 are going to MID their<br />
bualneu- that'. their role."<br />
HAllthis nonaellle thil1ear about over-thelide<br />
lale. - wben the t.b.In& .urfaced. we went<br />
to I meetIDg OD I SllurdlY. OD SundlY. I<br />
phoned around and .aid, Ilf tomorrow mor<br />
DIDg you .IDIto lOll fUlb. lhIo p11D11areldy to<br />
bU11t.t The pbone never rana:."<br />
..Aa far blck as 1871I areued thiI over-the-<br />
Iide Illel bll with Romeo LeBIIDC . HIa
Harbour Grace for Portugal on<br />
10 November 1952. Ironically,<br />
this October, Federal Fisheries<br />
imported 2000 MT of mackerel<br />
frozen in Norway and Scotland<br />
for use as bait in the Newfound ·<br />
land winter fishery.<br />
Northeastern Fish Industries<br />
continued to expand and by late<br />
1962 plants had been completed<br />
at Port de Grave and Old<br />
Perlican. Unfortunately.<br />
Skipper Si (as he was af·<br />
fectionately called) died in 1962.<br />
at age 62. before the plants were<br />
in operation.<br />
" Demand was soft in the U.S.<br />
in 1960 so with the freeing of<br />
sterling in London. we contracted<br />
with Birdseye for a<br />
sizeable tonnage of cod blocks .<br />
This had a firming effect on the<br />
market. You know. if you have<br />
only one customer. you're in<br />
trouble," adds Alec Moores.<br />
" The demand for cod increased<br />
both in Britain and the U.S.. and<br />
Birdseye. even today . is still the<br />
largest buyer of cod in the<br />
world.<br />
"In 1965. Birdseye took an<br />
equity position of 51% in Ncrtheastern<br />
Fish Industries. There<br />
was no FIRA (Foreign Investment<br />
Review Agency) then.<br />
Birdseye, a subsidiary of<br />
Unilever, has the largest sales of<br />
food products in the world .<br />
But by 1968, there was a slump<br />
in the fishing industry. Ad-<br />
Boal s tied up at the Ocean Harvester s' wharf .<br />
ditional working capital was<br />
needed and Birdseye decided<br />
they could no longer function as<br />
they had projected. On<br />
December 13, 1968. just three<br />
years after the original deal,<br />
they sold all the properties.<br />
boats and all - their fishing<br />
assets to the provincial<br />
government.<br />
"I still felt there was a good<br />
future here, so with principals<br />
Cyril Babb of Harbour Grace. F.<br />
W. Bryce of Montreal and<br />
DECKS AWASH - 27<br />
Gloucester. and other<br />
shareholders. we incorporated<br />
Ocean Harvesters to purchase<br />
the assets of Northeastern Fish<br />
Industries Ltd. in 1969.<br />
" The provincial government<br />
offered the assets of the cornpany<br />
through the financial<br />
newspapers. Some companies<br />
expressed interest but the only<br />
firm offer was from Ocean<br />
Harvesters in February 1969.<br />
The government rejected our<br />
offer.<br />
Newfoundland Fishermen, Food and Allied Workers Union<br />
CONGRA TULA TlONS<br />
to<br />
DECKS AWASH<br />
on your return to publication<br />
from<br />
Newfoundland Fishermen, Food and Allied Workers<br />
representing inshore fishermen, trawlermen<br />
and fish plant workers throughout<br />
Newfoundland and Labrador<br />
P O. Boll 5158. 44 Tolbay Road, 51 John 's, Newl oundland. Al e 51/5 Telephone (709) 753-8830; Telell 016-3227
28 · DECKS AWASH<br />
Boats at the Marine Centre. Many fishermen resorted to smaller. tower cost<br />
boats to fish tor the scarce cod this year.<br />
"Instead, the government<br />
incorporated a company called<br />
the Harbour Grace Fisheries<br />
Corporation and Bonavista Cold<br />
Storage was retained to operate<br />
it. In July of 1969, Ocean Harvesters<br />
bought the plants at<br />
Harbour Grace, Port de Grave<br />
and Old Perlican but the Fermeuse<br />
plant and the four stern<br />
trawlers (built in 1967)were sold<br />
to Bona vista Cold Storage. Thus.<br />
we were left with one<br />
inoperable. aging side trawler,<br />
the Newfoundland Trainer, and<br />
the offshore catching arm of our<br />
plants was effectively gone."<br />
Ocean Harvesters now had<br />
plants but no catching capacity<br />
in the offshore while inshore<br />
fishermen were bringing their<br />
fish to other plants. In addition,<br />
with only inshore fish available<br />
at best, the plants were seasonal<br />
in operation. Obtaining additional<br />
offshore fishing licences<br />
proved impossible for in 1973<br />
under Federal Fisheries<br />
minister Jack Davis, a freeze<br />
was placed on additions to the<br />
existing Canadian fleet .<br />
"From the very beginning in<br />
1969, we had made a commitment<br />
to find full-time employment<br />
in Harbour Grace,"<br />
says Alec Moores, himself a<br />
native of Blackhead, Bay de<br />
Verde. "I can tell you we had<br />
some rough years. We had<br />
somehow to Interest inshore<br />
fishermen.<br />
"We undertook the development<br />
of the caplin, herring and<br />
mackerel (pelagics) stocks.<br />
Quotas were just coming into<br />
being and we got Federal<br />
Fisheries to permit an Inter-bay<br />
fishery from Cape Race to Cape<br />
Dauld. This meant that<br />
fishermen couId move freely<br />
from bay to bay and on the<br />
northeast coast to fish for<br />
pelagics. Now we had a herring<br />
fishery in April, a caplin fishery<br />
in June, a mackerel fishery in<br />
August (squid were to start in<br />
1975), coupled with the cod and<br />
turbot fishery all the way between."<br />
The whole idea was to make<br />
the fishermen less dependent on<br />
anyone species.<br />
"My approach was to tell the<br />
fishermen to maximize on<br />
whatever species that would<br />
make them the most money in a<br />
given period of time during their<br />
fishing season. Practically<br />
every species that we're allowed<br />
to catch - we process it."<br />
Meanwhile Ocean Harvesters<br />
had about 20longliner trapboats<br />
built In an effort to attract more<br />
men into the fishery - an effort<br />
that met with mixed success as<br />
many of these men had bad little<br />
experience with fishing. In time,<br />
however, the more experienced<br />
fishermen again started to bring<br />
their catches into Harbour<br />
Grace.<br />
Although the old aide trawler<br />
waa inoperable, Ocean Harvesters<br />
kept up ita licence.<br />
However, Federal Fisheries<br />
decreed that in order to<br />
retain the licence the company<br />
had to have a trawler by 31<br />
December 1981. Faced with the<br />
loss of their only trawler licence,<br />
the company purchased the<br />
seven-year old Norwegian-bullt<br />
stern trawler, Harvest Star.<br />
This was not without<br />
misgivings. "We knew that 1982<br />
would be a poor year for the<br />
fishery." comments Alec<br />
Moores. "I wouId have<br />
preferred to wait until after this<br />
year to buy a trawler. Low<br />
catches inshore and our lack of<br />
access to the offshore have<br />
combined to make our 1982<br />
landings the worst since 1962.II<br />
The main problem has been<br />
one of quotas. There are four<br />
enterprise quotas for Fishery<br />
Products, National Sea,<br />
Nickersons and the Lake Group;<br />
and there is the "Others"<br />
category in which are 18 companies<br />
including Ocean Harvesters<br />
and 35boats.<br />
"We exhausted our cod quota<br />
in 2J3KL in May. After refit we<br />
went to 2GH and now some fish<br />
is again available in 2J3KL."<br />
The viability of the Harvest Star<br />
(with a capacity of 150 tons of<br />
iced fish) depends on the<br />
distance she has to travel.<br />
(2J3KL is about six hours away<br />
but 2GH, off the coast of<br />
Labrador is, of course, much<br />
farther.)<br />
"The industry is hungry for<br />
venture capital. We tried in 1978<br />
to get Romeo LeBlanc to let<br />
Unilever and Nordsee (the<br />
catching arm of Unilever) take<br />
an equity position in Ocean<br />
Harvesters. I know that Mr.<br />
LeBlanc maintained that we had<br />
to let foreign nations have access<br />
to fish we do not catch; we<br />
can't be dog-in-the-manger. But<br />
1 say we have only three<br />
economic biocks that can afford<br />
our fish: the EEC, the U.S. and<br />
Japan. We need friends 10 the<br />
market. Let them invest in our<br />
plants with the hope that they<br />
can get a good return on their<br />
investment."<br />
In 1980. in the three Ocean<br />
Harvester plants there were<br />
2000 workers who qualified for<br />
tnc benefits. There were 2700<br />
fishermen who brought raw<br />
material to the plants. Mr.<br />
Moores estimates that last year<br />
the volume of fish processed was<br />
down by 10% and that this year,<br />
it is likely to be down as much as<br />
40% because there was no squid.<br />
With a realistic approach<br />
taken by people who manage<br />
and control the resources with<br />
certain changes we can have a<br />
viable operation and this area<br />
could develop into one of the<br />
more sound economic areas in<br />
Canada," concludes Alec<br />
Moores with conviction . II
From inshore cod to offshore swordfish<br />
ordon Stone of Bryant's<br />
GCove has just pulled his<br />
trap boat longliner into the<br />
Ocean Harvester's wharf .<br />
"The caplin was good this<br />
year," he says . "but the cod is<br />
scarce," he adds. looking<br />
dejectedly at the small catch for<br />
the day . "I guess I'll fish to the<br />
end of the month so I'll have<br />
enough stamps."<br />
This is the third summer<br />
Gordon has had the Miss<br />
Bryant's Cove which cost him<br />
$60.000 .<br />
The Ultramar fuel truck is<br />
fueling the boat with diesel for<br />
which Gordon pays 38.2f a litre.<br />
The driver, Carl Penney, tells<br />
us that diesel fuel is tax free to<br />
fisherman. Ultramar has been<br />
selling diesel fuel to fishermen<br />
in Harbour Grace for IS years<br />
ever since they installed their<br />
tanks there in 1967.<br />
A lot of fishermen have pulled<br />
up their larger longliners for the<br />
season because the cost of<br />
operation Is too high for small<br />
catches they have been getting<br />
lately. Many have resorted to<br />
smaller motor boats that cost<br />
far less to run and maintain.<br />
Meanwhile. alongside the<br />
Miss Bryant's Cove is the Becky<br />
M registered out of Aransas<br />
Pass, Texas. She has been<br />
fishing (or swordfish 0(( the<br />
Grand Banks and is about to<br />
make her third trip for the<br />
season. The boat has been<br />
taking three- to four-week trips<br />
and has been returning to<br />
Harbour Grace where Ocean<br />
Harvesters freezes the catch of<br />
swordfish and provides ice and<br />
supplies to enable the crew to<br />
make further trips. At the end or<br />
the season the Becky M will pick<br />
up the season's catch and return<br />
to Massachusetts to sell it.<br />
.. It 's much more practical to<br />
come into Harbour Grace than<br />
to go aU the distance to<br />
Massachusetts each time. "<br />
explains a member of the Texan<br />
crew. "This is the first year that<br />
we have been coming into<br />
Harbour Grace." I!<br />
DECKS AWASH - 29<br />
Gordon Stone fllllng up tor tomorrow at Ocean Harvesters' wharf .<br />
Swordfishing boat the Becky M at Ocean Harvesters' wharf .
June 23rd at about six in the<br />
evening when this Faroese<br />
trawler Nesbuguin ran right into<br />
us. The captain was charged,<br />
convicted and fined $1000 for the<br />
offence of operating a vessel<br />
while under the influence of<br />
alcohol. I called a lawyer<br />
because my boat sustained over<br />
$50,000 damage and we<br />
managed to get a $200,000 bond<br />
before the Nesbuguin left<br />
Harbour Grace. But, so far, we<br />
haven't received any compensation<br />
and I don't know when<br />
and if we'll receive anything.<br />
Cecil, who was born in St.<br />
Jones Within, now fishes out of<br />
his home port of Heart's Content.<br />
He explains that apart<br />
from the damage sustained to<br />
the vessel, he has lost the<br />
Tbe Citizens<br />
Looking to the future<br />
"'C"veryone is aware, every<br />
.£Ibody is concerned as to<br />
what might happen if oil did<br />
come ashore," says Charlie<br />
Monks, chairman of the Harbour<br />
Grace Impact Committee.<br />
"But, right now, as far as<br />
potential development regarding<br />
oil, everything is on hold<br />
until the jurisdiction question<br />
between the provincial and<br />
federal governments is<br />
straightened out."<br />
The Impact Committee held<br />
its first session on February 18,<br />
1982.The main purpose was not<br />
to provide answers but to give as<br />
much information as possible to<br />
engender discussion about<br />
community development.<br />
Charlie Monks, who is<br />
Special' Projects Coordinator,<br />
Department of Social Services,<br />
Government of Newfoundland<br />
and Labrador, in Harbour<br />
Grace, explains that the Impact<br />
Committee was set up not only<br />
to look at the possible social<br />
impact of oil but also to look at<br />
other special needs in the<br />
community.<br />
balance of his fishing season and<br />
when the accident occurred<br />
Ocean Harvesters was paying 9t<br />
to 11t per pound for caplin.<br />
"The caplin were really good<br />
this year, and we were right in<br />
the middle of this when the<br />
accident happened. And after<br />
that we would have been into the<br />
cod, turbot and mackerel. I fish<br />
with my brothers Edgar and<br />
Albert and my two nephews ,<br />
Lindo and Derek. Altogether<br />
with our families there are 15<br />
individuals dependent on this<br />
boat for their living .<br />
Under Canadian law, liability<br />
is determined by several factors<br />
and the law is designed not only<br />
to protect Canadian vessels but<br />
also foreign vessels . For<br />
example, sometimes the<br />
Charlie Monks<br />
DECKS AWASH - 31<br />
liability is limited to $100 per<br />
foot of the offending vessel ,<br />
depending 00 the circumstances.<br />
The matter can be<br />
a.complicated one, and in Cecil<br />
Pitcher's case , it must be<br />
decided by the courts.<br />
"I'm very upset. you might<br />
say ," says Cecil. "And I'm<br />
getting pretty impatient,<br />
because all this whole thing has<br />
done is cost me money. Why I've<br />
even had to hire a couple of<br />
extra men to help put the<br />
wheelhouse back on because it's<br />
work we can't do ourselves. I've<br />
got a la wyer who is working on<br />
the matter but I'm sure in a<br />
hurry to see things settled."<br />
And to Cecil Pitcher and his<br />
crew, we hope it's possible to<br />
settle it soon. "'<br />
"For example, in the needs of senior citizens. We are<br />
Placentia area a citizens' hoping eventually to form a<br />
committee did a survey on the regional community developneed<br />
for a senior citizens ' home ment committee," continues<br />
and now have placed the results Charlie, a native of King's Cove,<br />
of that survey with the govern- Bonavista Bay, who has lived in<br />
ment. So we are looking at such Harbour Grace for the last eight<br />
things as the training of years. " There are many things<br />
retarded children as well as the that such a committee can ec-
32· DECKS AWASH<br />
complish, but it is difficult to get<br />
large numbers of people involved.<br />
But I'm sure that most<br />
areas have the same problem."<br />
An ardent hunter and sports<br />
fisherman, Charlie Monks is<br />
very optimistic about the town.<br />
"We have quite a lot going for<br />
us. Not only do we have the<br />
Ocean Harvesters fish plant.<br />
Terra Nova Shoes, and the<br />
Marine Centre, we also have<br />
quite a number of small<br />
businesses, the RCMP. over 40<br />
civil servants, fishermen,<br />
farmers, and some people even<br />
commute to St. John's to work.<br />
Theoldandthe new<br />
We have our regatta at Lady<br />
Lake and the Trinity-Conception<br />
Fair. And our population is just<br />
around the 3.000 mark.<br />
"In my opinion, Harbour<br />
Grace has got to be one of the<br />
most prosperous communities in<br />
Newfoundland." 11<br />
Home of Senator and Mrs. Eric Cook. formerly the 01· Modern, new houses also are part 01 Harbour Grace.<br />
nces of Munn and Company .<br />
Harbour Grace ba. an UlustrioUJ put.. town. Yet a cloaer loot. al.lo reveals that new<br />
evidenced by some of the older building. in the bouaing developments now are evident.<br />
People need challenges<br />
"peOPle need challenges.<br />
and I think that perhaps<br />
we don't challenge our young<br />
people enough." asserts Monsignor<br />
Joseph O'Brien. sitting on<br />
an upright wooden chair, the<br />
Fall sunshine spilling into his<br />
office. He looks like a man who<br />
has accepted many challenges<br />
in his time. "We have some<br />
very fine young people here.<br />
very fine," he continues, "but<br />
they live in a world that, in offering<br />
more security. loses its<br />
sense of challenge. Central to<br />
tbis is the Unemployment Insurance<br />
Act. a great improvement<br />
over the old times<br />
when there was no assistance,<br />
but not a substitute for self·<br />
sufficiency for the young and<br />
able." Monsignor O'Brien<br />
recalls his own youth during the<br />
Great Depression. One of a<br />
family of ten, "We never bought<br />
vegetables - grew our own.<br />
kept cows and made our butter."<br />
Fewer people today<br />
cultivate gardens, and Monsignor<br />
O'Brien doubts whether<br />
we could survive a depression as<br />
well as our parents and grandparents.<br />
Monsignor O'Brien reflects on<br />
some of the older Harbour<br />
Gracians. many of them now<br />
passed on. "They were great<br />
people, very refined. cultured<br />
people. They were the product of<br />
a simple school system. Each<br />
teacher was obliged to teach<br />
almost every subject, the<br />
curriculum was flexible. and<br />
there was less emphasis on<br />
technical subjects. Today, in the<br />
scientific age, a different form<br />
of education is necessary.<br />
"You point out the school to<br />
me that is teaching Latin today.<br />
I know ODe boy we have had up<br />
here in school, really bright. but<br />
Monsignor O'Brien
34 · DECKS AWASH<br />
19S5. just a few months after<br />
completing his bas ic training, is<br />
now in charge of the Harbour<br />
Grace detachment. There are 20<br />
people in the division : 18<br />
policemen and two female office<br />
workers.<br />
"We do our best to get to know<br />
the people in the area and we<br />
also have a visitation program<br />
to aU schools each term. It is<br />
Important that people know<br />
what we do." says George<br />
Andrews. " qid you know this<br />
detachment was the first<br />
detachment located outside St.<br />
John's and has been here since<br />
1949?"<br />
Serious crimes such as<br />
murder are not a major<br />
problem. but the area has its Constable K.L Naylorat the ACMP booth at the Trinity-Conception Fairwhere<br />
share of break-and-entry, theft. he met and talked withmany young people.<br />
cheque writers. willful damage<br />
and sudden deaths. Staff Andrews<br />
has agreed to the interview<br />
despite being extremely<br />
busy. We 'are constanUy interrupted<br />
by phone caUs . Suddenly<br />
he rises from his chair,<br />
"I'm afraid I hav e to rush off to<br />
Port de Grave," be apologizes.<br />
as be grabs his briefcase and<br />
hurries down across Water<br />
Street to the waiting helicopter<br />
on the waterfront. ns<br />
Staft Sergeant George Andrews<br />
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Fun at the fair<br />
t the Trinity-Conception<br />
A Fair is one of its<br />
organizers, the energetic Mrs .<br />
Bobbe Hatch. She has been<br />
involved with the fair ever since<br />
tt started 24years ago.<br />
"I guess you might say I' m a<br />
Jack-of-all-trades," she says,<br />
grinning from ear to ear.<br />
"Whatever anybody wants done,<br />
I've tried to get it done<br />
somehow." And one certainly<br />
gets the impression that she<br />
does , too.<br />
"I look after the baby show<br />
and the children's programs. We<br />
have a prince and prince ss and<br />
we have a costume parade for<br />
children 12 and under . I sta rted<br />
that because there was nothing<br />
for the children. We had 80 kids<br />
in costume and I was up at 7:30<br />
a.m. getting the horses re ady for<br />
the parade," laughs Bobbe. " It<br />
is an awfullotoffun!"<br />
The fair started on Thursday,<br />
September 23 and ran until<br />
Saturday, October 2. Bobbe says<br />
that she loves aU the acti vity but<br />
admits that by the time it closes<br />
she is pretty tired. The fair was<br />
originally an agricultura l and<br />
crafts fair , but over the years it<br />
had become more of a trade fair<br />
with various companies and<br />
organizations having booths to<br />
display their product s and<br />
describe their services.<br />
Last year, it was decided to<br />
bri ng more crafts back in so<br />
Bobbe contacted all the senior<br />
citizens' homes , the Womens'<br />
Institutes and personal friends<br />
who did crafts to ask if they<br />
Modest manager<br />
iCk Power, ma nager and<br />
D coach at S.W. Moores<br />
<strong>Memorial</strong> Stadium in Harbour<br />
Grace is a modest cha p who only<br />
reluct antly admits to being a<br />
hockey player. This tr im 40year-old<br />
started playi ng on his<br />
native Bell Island.<br />
DECKS AWASH - 35<br />
Mrs. Bobbe Hatch and Mrs. Gladys Sheppard wit h one of the beautiful handmade<br />
quilts. Note the hand kni t sweaters in the background and the hooked<br />
mat at the rig ht.<br />
would display their work. Agai n<br />
this year she has helped set up<br />
the booths and the re is quit e an<br />
impressive display of handknitted<br />
goods, quilts , afgha ns<br />
and macr am e.<br />
"I guess I'm one of those<br />
people that just has to get involved<br />
and keep busy ," confides<br />
Bobbe who cam e with her<br />
husb and and son to Har bour<br />
Gr ace from Ontario 30 yea rs<br />
ago . " My husband was transferred<br />
with CNT and we subseq<br />
uently adopte d a little girl<br />
and have been here ever since.<br />
All the work I do is volunteer , I<br />
wouldn't have time for a reg ular<br />
job."<br />
The Womens ' Institutes have<br />
provided a lot of the handicrafts<br />
and are manning the booth.<br />
"We are getting more and<br />
more handwor k her e now,"<br />
" I was in sports all my life,"<br />
he admits. After atte nding<br />
Trade School in St. Jo hn's, he<br />
moved to Corne r Brook for a<br />
year where he played for the<br />
Royals. " They brought coach<br />
Danky Dorr tngton in that year<br />
and we won the All Newfoundland<br />
Championship." Dick next<br />
expla ins Mrs . Gladys Sheppard,<br />
Pre sident of the Harbour Grace<br />
Wornens' Institute. The Institutes<br />
were formed in Newfoundland<br />
in 1965 to help rural<br />
women improve their skUls in<br />
the home, to aid their communities,<br />
to improve their<br />
ability in self-educatlon and to<br />
develop leadership .<br />
" The Institute has been here<br />
at Harbour Grace for 12 years, to<br />
explains Mrs. Sheppard. " There<br />
are monthly meetings. You<br />
might say we get together and<br />
exchange our talents. The Institute<br />
now runs sessions on<br />
duffle work , knitti.ng,<br />
cro cheting, quilting and<br />
ma crame. We have made<br />
Dowers from discarded pantyh<br />
ose and we've also done some<br />
doll-making. We really enjoy<br />
ourselves." II<br />
went on to manage Gander<br />
Stadium and act as captain of<br />
the Gander Flyers. In 1968 be<br />
came to Harbour Grace as<br />
stadium manager and coach of<br />
the Conception Bay CeeBees , a<br />
highly successful hockey team<br />
that included the famous<br />
Faulkner brothers, Alex, Jack
38· DECKS AWASH<br />
Maintaining the br eed<br />
n July 3, 1982. Today<br />
O Magazine carried an<br />
article entitled "The 115 Best<br />
Things about Canada". Ninth on<br />
the list was the Newfoundland<br />
Dog . Megan and Boh Nutbeem<br />
of Harbour Grace probably<br />
would not agree with Ws rating,<br />
they. no doubt. would rate the<br />
dog first. Perhaps they are<br />
somewhat biased . but Dot<br />
without reason. The Nutbeems<br />
have raised se veral hundred<br />
Newfoundland dogs . and the fact<br />
that the dog appears on the list<br />
at all is in part tribute to the<br />
efforts of Megan and Bob who<br />
took what was a declining breed<br />
and re-estabUshed it as a showwinning<br />
dog .<br />
"I've had dogs all my We.II<br />
recalls Megan . sItting In her<br />
Rideau<br />
land." In 1953 Mega n acquired<br />
her first Newf oundland. JUl.<br />
from the Honourable Harold<br />
MacPherson in St. John's,<br />
Captivated by ber qualities. the y<br />
decided to breed her . It was at<br />
this point that they made a<br />
ratber surprising discovery.<br />
"We found that there were<br />
fewer tban a dozen pure-bre d<br />
Newfoundlands in the province<br />
," exclaims Megan . After one<br />
unsuccessful attempt to breed<br />
Jill with .a local dog, the Nutbeems<br />
turned to Switzerland.<br />
Why Switzerland?<br />
" That 's very simple," sa ys<br />
Bob. "In 1953you found a truer<br />
originallype of Newfoundland in<br />
Switzerland than you could find<br />
anywhere in North Amer ica.<br />
including Newfoundland.,.<br />
The reason for this goes back<br />
to 1890 when a Professor Heim<br />
was charged with reinvigorating<br />
the St. Bernard breed. He had<br />
some of the best Newfoundland<br />
puppies sent to Switzerland an d<br />
there they were carefully bre d<br />
to the St. Bernards that were in<br />
danger of dying out. Selected<br />
Newfoundland males were bre d<br />
with St. Bernard bitches, but<br />
never the other way around. In<br />
that way, the St. Bernards<br />
gained qualities of the Newfoundland.<br />
but the Newfoundland<br />
remained unchanged.<br />
"We went to Switzerland and<br />
selected parents for our new
stud dog ," explains Megan . In<br />
due course Romy arrived and<br />
when he came of age he was<br />
bred to Jill. The Nutbeems had<br />
not set out .to be breeders of<br />
champion Newfoundland dogs .<br />
they had just wanted a pair of<br />
good specimens of the breed.<br />
"But when we discovered the<br />
tru e state of things we became a<br />
bit nationalistic," confesses<br />
Bob. "We decided to take on the<br />
responsibility of trying to<br />
reinstate the breed. At that time<br />
if anybody wanted a Newfoundland<br />
dog, Newfoundland was Dot<br />
the place to go. We wanted Newfoundland<br />
to become the place ."<br />
Megan recounts the history of<br />
the breed. "There were dogs<br />
here in 3000BIC. Lei! Ericson. in<br />
1000 A.D. brought over his big<br />
black mastiffs and they mated<br />
with the local dogs . Over the<br />
years most ships that came in<br />
here had a dog or two on board<br />
that might have mated oecasionally<br />
with the local dogs <br />
enough to re-invigorate the<br />
breed without changing the<br />
strain."<br />
There are numerous stories of<br />
Newfoundland's saving lives.<br />
They ha ve an inherent instinct<br />
for swimming. "You'll get dogs<br />
who don't really like water too<br />
much, but when it comes to the<br />
push, say, somebody is<br />
drowning, they're gone," says<br />
Megan. "In the winter they were<br />
used to haul logs . They were also<br />
used as a kind of radar on ships<br />
_ if the ship were heading<br />
towards shore and the captain<br />
didn't know how far the land<br />
was, the dog would stand on the<br />
prow and when its head pointed<br />
straight ahead, they knew land<br />
was near." One can imagine<br />
how such deeds were accomplished<br />
as their Newfoundland<br />
dog, Rideau, plods into the<br />
room.<br />
Harbour Beem became a<br />
registered kennel in 1956and the<br />
Nutbeems gradually built up<br />
their strain. There would be<br />
times when the mother would<br />
die; they were to lose utters, but<br />
gradually success came.<br />
"By 1972, we had 35 Newfoundlands,<br />
16 Cocker Spaniels,<br />
6 English Setters, and with that,<br />
one summer we had 82 Newfoundland<br />
pups," Megan<br />
remembers. "We were not in the<br />
business of just producing<br />
numbers of dogs - we needed<br />
such numbers to be able to breed<br />
within our own strain, but not<br />
inbreed - we wanted to fix the<br />
strain." And no doubt they<br />
succeeded as is evidenced by the<br />
magnificent, alert Rideau.<br />
At this point, Bob interrupts<br />
good-humouredly, "The trouble<br />
was, Megan was beginning to<br />
lose so much money that I<br />
thought a little financial<br />
guidance was necessary. We<br />
had all the dog buildings, heat<br />
and light, two kennel men, vet<br />
fees, drugs and food supplements."<br />
"A Newfoundland up to eight<br />
months does eat quite a lot,"<br />
admits Megan. "About 8-12cups<br />
of burger bits or chow daily. And<br />
in June, I get as many kids<br />
together as I can and we go to<br />
fetch caplin. I wash, bag and<br />
freeze them. We boil it up into a<br />
stew at least once a week.<br />
Nothing is thrown out in this<br />
house - even the vegetable<br />
juice goes to the dogs,<br />
everything except bones."<br />
Megan has, over the years,<br />
served as a surrogate<br />
veterinarian when there was<br />
Harbour Grace<br />
596·5143<br />
Compliments of<br />
MOORES, FINN<br />
and ANDREWS<br />
Barristers and Solicitors<br />
DeCKS AWASH 39<br />
none available in the area.<br />
Today, she says she works as a<br />
receptionist at the Harbour<br />
Grace Animal Hospital and we<br />
notice that her direct line from<br />
the clinic rings incessantly. She<br />
answers it, "Yes, I understand,<br />
well, it sometimes will help if<br />
you ... Obviously, she is<br />
frequently caUed upon to give<br />
advice on animal care.<br />
The Nutbeems now have four<br />
Newfoundlands - one dog and<br />
three bitches.<br />
"We're winding down in terms<br />
of actual breeding," says Bob.<br />
"But we are still influencing the<br />
breed internationally through<br />
judging." When Megan and Bob<br />
together with Ken and Peggy<br />
Saltman formed the Conception<br />
Bay Kennel Club, bad weather<br />
often made it difficult for judges<br />
to fly here for dog shows.<br />
"The best thing we could do<br />
was become judges ourselves,"<br />
Bob explains offhandedly. "It<br />
took us from '65 to '71 to become<br />
all-breed judges. We do get to<br />
travel around quite a bit, in fact,<br />
we were in South Africa this<br />
summer. But we get to see a lot<br />
of airplanes and hotel rooms<br />
too." As judges. they have<br />
become almost as well known as<br />
they are for their strain of<br />
Harbour Beem Newfoundlands.<br />
I!I<br />
Bay Roberts<br />
786-7714
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Harbour Grace, Newfoundland
42· DECKS AWASH<br />
in Newfoundland, religion is<br />
taken very seriously, whether<br />
people are regular attenders of<br />
church or not." In the last six<br />
years the size of the United<br />
Church Congregation has<br />
remained constant, he observes.<br />
The three leading<br />
denominations in Harbour<br />
Grace in descending order of<br />
size are Anglican. Roman<br />
Catholic. and United Church.<br />
In addition to his duties as a<br />
minister, the Reverend Bailey is<br />
much involved with committee<br />
work. For example. he is the<br />
chairman of the Avalon North<br />
Integrated School Board. We<br />
asked him for his comments on<br />
the Dew grade 12 program.<br />
"Initially I was disappointed."<br />
he admits. "because the new<br />
high school program was not<br />
going to give the students first·<br />
year university as it does in a lot<br />
of other provinces. With our<br />
grade 12 you will still come out<br />
with junior matriculation."<br />
Ed Bailey then goes on to<br />
outline the advantages. "But<br />
most people don't go on to<br />
university and this will give<br />
them a broader education. They<br />
will have the opportunity of<br />
taking an extra science,<br />
Canadian law, which we didn't<br />
have before. as well as Newfoundland<br />
culture and business.<br />
They will leave school better<br />
educated and, let's hope, be<br />
better equipped to live in today's<br />
world ."<br />
Reverend Batley has five<br />
children. Sharon and Paul are<br />
Reverend Edward Bailey<br />
Harbour Grace United Church<br />
away continuing their post<br />
secondary education but Janet,<br />
Denise and Hea ther will ha ve an<br />
opportunity to avail of the new<br />
high school program.<br />
Other committees that<br />
Reverend Bailey sits on are the<br />
Library Board. the Museum<br />
Board. and the Ministry Personnel<br />
Committee. Commenting<br />
on the church board he sa ys,<br />
.. It's a very democratic body,<br />
we would never set up a committee<br />
to do anything that does<br />
not have lay representation.<br />
"Our church was at the<br />
forefront in Newfoundland in<br />
getting on top of oil impact, and<br />
how it would affect the people,"<br />
As long as eight years ago.<br />
Reverend BaUey completed a<br />
week's continuing education<br />
program on the social effects of<br />
oil in Scotland.<br />
Reverend Bailey concludes.<br />
"Harbour Grace is a fair ly<br />
structured, traditional town.<br />
proud of its history and just a<br />
little sad that it has lost its<br />
former glory ."<br />
At this point gurgling noises<br />
from the kitchen tap announced<br />
the resumption of the Harbour<br />
Grace water service. With<br />
renewed appreciation of the<br />
marvels of the modern world <br />
running hot water, the safety<br />
rator and instant coUee - we<br />
parted. 11
,". DECKS AWASH<br />
think we were as weak as we<br />
was. " Actuall y, they had not<br />
eaten for five day s. The doctor<br />
gave each man half a glass of<br />
milk and a piece of biscuit <br />
which promptly made them feel<br />
worse. They had been hungry<br />
without realizing it .<br />
Andy leans forward in his<br />
chair. He explains that unknown<br />
to them the captain had also<br />
landed alive on the same island ,<br />
but on the other side. "So the<br />
captain, he was in Barb ados<br />
often , he knew the fellow who<br />
ran the drugstore who sa id, 'Did<br />
you hear the news? There's a<br />
shipwrecked crew ove r in S1.<br />
John district.' Sam Noseworthy,<br />
he couldn't believe it. He called<br />
us all one by one. 'You stay right<br />
wher e you are, I'm going to send<br />
a taxi out for you'.<br />
" The whole island seemed<br />
excited by the event. Flags<br />
adorned the sailor's taxi and the<br />
crowds wanted to shake hands<br />
with us. We were there a week.<br />
Barb ados was a place where<br />
the y'd never see you stuck .<br />
They'd ask you if you wanted a<br />
cigarett e, and they knew you<br />
had no money , so they gave us a<br />
pack of cigarettes. They were<br />
re ally ver y good to us."<br />
Andy and the ship 's crew left<br />
Barbados on the Canadian Otto<br />
bound for Halif ax. There they<br />
passed four days before taking<br />
the Rosalind to St. John 's. It was<br />
Ofboards, committees and causes<br />
"Ithink there must be more<br />
interesting people you<br />
could talk to in Harbour Gr ace,"<br />
declares Dr. Roy Goodwin, as he<br />
bustles out of his surgery amid<br />
his busy waiting room, filled<br />
with anxious patients. "But, if<br />
that's what you want , I'll be with<br />
you as soon as lean, " he adds,<br />
grinning broadl y, shaking han ds<br />
and disappearing into the inner<br />
sanctum that is the precinct of<br />
all dentists.<br />
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To register : Send cheque or money order, payabl e to <strong>Memorial</strong><br />
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Service , <strong>Memorial</strong> University of Newf oundl and, St. John' s, NF, A1C5S7 .<br />
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A short time later, his patients<br />
reassured and sent on their way ,<br />
he briefly refers to his involvement<br />
with the Harbour<br />
Grac e Impact Committee.<br />
"We're bogged down because<br />
Hiberni a is bogged down with<br />
the question of jurisdiction<br />
between the two levels of<br />
government, so I guess we'll just<br />
have to wait until firm decisions<br />
1. Principl es of Account ing<br />
2. Personnel Management and l abour Relations<br />
3. Business Finan ce<br />
4. Principl es of Criminol ogy<br />
5. Crim inal Procedure and the Administ rallon of Criminal Just ice<br />
6. Crime and Social Bohaviour<br />
7. The Nature of Dlsat illty<br />
8. Work ing with Disab led People<br />
9. The Agency and Baste Int rodu ct ion to Publ ic Programmes<br />
10. Health ,lifestyl e and the Prevention of Disabi lit y<br />
Extension Service<br />
Oorrespcndence Offerings<br />
Memorlel University of Newtoundlend<br />
the night before Christmas and<br />
the Rosalind's captain was at<br />
the customs office when the<br />
mate told him that the first sheet<br />
of a cargo of Iron they were<br />
unloading had jam med in the<br />
hatch.<br />
"Put the hatches back OD<br />
her ," roared the captain. " I' m<br />
eating my dinner on Christmas<br />
Day with my family in St.<br />
John 's ." They replaced the<br />
hatches and put to sea in a stor m<br />
not unlike the one Andy had<br />
encountered some weeks before.<br />
But this time they ran "rtght<br />
dead before it" and Andy<br />
arrived safely home for<br />
Christmas. rtI<br />
I'<br />
Roy Goodwin<br />
are made . When Peckford and<br />
Trudeau agree the Commit tee<br />
will revive. So there's not muc h<br />
action there. to<br />
Amongst Roy Goodwin' s<br />
many activities is serving as the<br />
President of the Harbour Gra ce<br />
Board of Trade. He says that the<br />
Board's aims are those of any<br />
board of trade: to promo te<br />
business welfare aod to encourage<br />
new business, as well as<br />
to help members. Former<br />
Premier Frank Duff Moores<br />
was president in the 19505.<br />
" At the moment the Board bal<br />
expressed dee p dissaUsfactlon<br />
with the PUblic UtillUes Board<br />
decision to allow Newfoundla nd<br />
Telephone to increase the ir
ates. Members of the Board<br />
feel that there should be no increase<br />
in rates unless there is an<br />
increase in service. We are<br />
paying too much for too little."<br />
But Roy Goodwin always has<br />
at least one or two causes to<br />
champion. A former member of<br />
the Avalon North Integrated<br />
School Board. this time he is at<br />
odds with the Integrated<br />
Education Committee. "The<br />
Department of Education<br />
allocated $22.3 million to aid in<br />
implementation of the new<br />
reorganized high school<br />
program. The Department<br />
decided that St. Paul's High<br />
School here needed a gymnasium<br />
and set aside $340.000 for<br />
the purpose. I wrote Max Riggs<br />
of the Integrated Education<br />
Committee who informed me<br />
that the Committee had decided<br />
not to build the gymnasium. I<br />
wrote the Premier who wrote<br />
me that he would have the<br />
matter looked into, and the<br />
Compliments of ...<br />
Minister of Justice has written<br />
to assure me that the IEC was<br />
perfectly within its rights to<br />
make the decision. My point Is<br />
that there is a serious flaw in the<br />
system.<br />
" The Department of<br />
Education decides we are going<br />
to have grade 12, how it is to be<br />
Implemented and then allocates<br />
the funds for the implementation.<br />
I assume these<br />
are very carefully thought-out<br />
decisions. But what is the point<br />
if the Integrated Education<br />
Committee can reverse these<br />
decisions?" And Dr. Goodwin<br />
intends to pursue the matter<br />
until he receives what he considers<br />
to be a logical answer.<br />
One may wonder why he is so<br />
worked up over the matter when<br />
ail the Goodwins' Iour children<br />
have already gone through the<br />
school system. His wife Alison<br />
says that if he rirmly believes in<br />
something he leaves no stone<br />
DeCKS AWASH .S<br />
unturned until he sees things<br />
changed, or at least receives a<br />
plausible explanation as to why<br />
they cannot be changed.<br />
Roy Goodwin was born in<br />
Harbour Grace in 1918, has<br />
practised dentistry ror 39 years,<br />
and clearly would not like to uve<br />
anywhere else.<br />
"There is no doubt in my mind<br />
that the town has great promise<br />
or growth both in the rishery and<br />
industrial commercial activity.<br />
And look at the potential for the<br />
port of Harbour Grace 81<br />
described in the Kellogg Report.<br />
I am sure that. over time. the<br />
concept or the superport is<br />
feasible," he muses as he walks<br />
the 50or so yards Irom his otnce<br />
on Water Street to his home just<br />
around the corner.<br />
"You know, I think Newfound·<br />
land is finally beginning to<br />
realize that commerce must<br />
follow industry - rather than<br />
the reverse... m<br />
OCEAN HARVESTERS LIMITED<br />
Operators of fish processing plants located at Harbour Grace,<br />
Port de Grave and Old Perlican.<br />
Dedicated to processing volume markets for all species of fish<br />
caught by our Newfoundland inshore fishermen.<br />
Pioneers in developing volume markets internationally for all<br />
pelagic species, i.e., caplin, mackerel and herring.<br />
Water Street<br />
Harbour Grace<br />
Newfoundland<br />
Telephone:<br />
596·5111<br />
596·6673
46· DECKS AWASH<br />
Fires, fellows andfiretrucks<br />
H<br />
ar bour Grace Fire Brigade<br />
was formed following<br />
the disastrous fire of 1832.<br />
Today, under its chief John<br />
Pike. it is still a volunteer<br />
organization with 49 active<br />
members and a waiting list of<br />
hopeful applicants.<br />
"When] joined back in 1962,<br />
we had only one truck and a<br />
four-wheel drive," says Ted<br />
Ash, father of six, crew chief<br />
and 2O-year veteran of the<br />
brigade. "Today we have three<br />
trucks, a crash van, and a four'<br />
wheel drive." Ted is very proud<br />
of the new pumper truck. It cost<br />
$65,000, 15% being a grant, but<br />
the other 25% had to be raised by<br />
the town.<br />
"We raised the 25% ourselves."<br />
beams Ted. "it didn't<br />
cost the town a thing." He points<br />
to the new fire truck. It's<br />
beautifully polished and a panel<br />
on its side is covered with dials<br />
and valves. "She carries 500<br />
gallons of water, so we can go<br />
straight to a fire without first<br />
connecting to a hydrant."<br />
However. once connected. the<br />
input valves need careful<br />
regulating. This pum per is so<br />
powerful that it can collapse the<br />
intake hose. It can actually suck<br />
wate r from the town sup ply<br />
Membersof HarbourGrace VolunteerFire Brigade, lett to right, CyrilWhile.<br />
ThomasMahaney. Randall Babband Lloyd J . Pynn.<br />
faster than the hydrant can<br />
deliver it!<br />
The brigade will answer calls<br />
in Harbour Grace, Old Perlican.<br />
Riverhead, South Side and<br />
Bristol's Hope. They will also<br />
fight fires in nearby towns,<br />
provided the fire chief there<br />
reques ts them. The burning of<br />
St. Francis School in 1912is well<br />
remem bered. There was a high<br />
wind with fla ming debris flying<br />
around. Fortunately, the<br />
brigade bro ught the fire under<br />
control. It could have been a<br />
TedAshat " the controlpanelofthe pumpertruck.<br />
repeat of 1944when half the town<br />
burned down. Of course. the<br />
brigade is better equipped<br />
today. Still . a number of oil<br />
companies have storage tanks in<br />
Harbour Grace. "If the tanks<br />
went up." notes Ted . "we<br />
couldn't control it."<br />
Being a voluntee r<br />
organization, the firemen have<br />
full-time jobs elsewhere. The<br />
moment a fire is reported, two<br />
alarms are sounded. Those who<br />
hear them rush to the station.<br />
Others are contacted by phone.<br />
On average 30 men respond. The<br />
men each have the ir own fire<br />
clothes in separate lockers. At<br />
one time they didn't. which<br />
meant that a man might arrive<br />
at a fire with a size 10 boot on<br />
one foot. a 12on the other, and a<br />
jacket that didn 't quite fit. Seven<br />
men assembled comprise a crew<br />
under the direction of the crew<br />
chief. and they take a truck<br />
immediately to the fire . The<br />
majority of chimney fires today<br />
are caused by woodstoves,<br />
either improperly installed, or<br />
poorly maintained. The most<br />
dangerous job in firefighting is<br />
going into a burning building.<br />
Some of the firemen have taken<br />
a special course at Gander. and<br />
they are the ones who operate<br />
air-breathing equipment.
Despite these obvious<br />
dangers. there is no shortage of<br />
applicants. All appear to enjoy<br />
the comradeship of the brigade.<br />
They even have a club adjoining<br />
the premises where the engines<br />
are kept . Those chosen have to<br />
undergo a six-month<br />
probationary period . Ted's son<br />
Paul is one of these. The training<br />
is conducted by the four crew<br />
chiefs , the assistant fire chief ,<br />
and the chief himself.<br />
From the immacuiate con-<br />
"Bssicelly, we're into a lot of frustration.. "<br />
ed Pike took office as<br />
T mayor of Harbour Grace<br />
in November 1981."My number<br />
one pr iority was that the town<br />
should have an economic base to<br />
work on." declares Ted. At<br />
present his prime concern is<br />
with the ailing fishing industry.<br />
One of his first acts on taking<br />
office was to telegram the then<br />
Federal Fisheries Minister,<br />
Romeo LeBlanc , inviting him to<br />
"Look first hand at what we<br />
had."<br />
reply .<br />
Mr. LeBlanc failed to<br />
Short ly after, Ted became<br />
Chairman of the Joint Mayors of<br />
Conception Bay North. a group<br />
that includes the mayors of<br />
Carbonear, Victoria , Spaniard's<br />
Bay, Upper Island Cove, Bay<br />
Roberts, and Harbour Grace.<br />
The group presented a brief to<br />
the Kirby Task Force on the<br />
fishery where they emphasized<br />
that despite Harbour Grace<br />
having one of the oldest and best<br />
fish storage and processing<br />
facilities in eastern Canada,<br />
production remained low<br />
because it iacked raw material.<br />
The brief included a solution to<br />
the problem. "I feel very<br />
strongly about the joint venture<br />
concept." asserts Ted.<br />
.. Although this idea had been<br />
unsuccessfully advanced by<br />
Ocean Harvesters in 1911. we<br />
again advocated a commercial<br />
venture with Iorelgn fishermen<br />
whereby they would land fish at<br />
Harbour Grace for processing at<br />
iocal fish plants in the area."<br />
The idea is an attractive one.<br />
It would ensure year-round work<br />
at fish plants without the expense<br />
of buying more trawlers,<br />
and it would lead to healthy<br />
injections of foreign capital and<br />
expertise.<br />
"The Kirby Task Force was<br />
sympathetic," remarks Ted,<br />
"as I'm sure they were to all<br />
groups. Still, we're wondering<br />
Harbour Grace from the South Side .<br />
DeCKS AWASH - .,<br />
dition of the fire hall YJith Ita<br />
impressive equipment and the<br />
obvious pride and pleas ure the<br />
men take in their work, it would<br />
seem that Harbour Grace is<br />
better protected against fire<br />
than at any time before . II<br />
just what their reeommendations<br />
are going to be."<br />
Mayor Pike has some<br />
reservations about the aeo-mue<br />
economic fishing zone. "At<br />
present it takes 55 to 6S bours<br />
steaming for Ocean Harvesters'<br />
dragger to reach the fishing<br />
ground. With the increased cost<br />
of 011. this is expensive, but it's<br />
particularly galling to pass<br />
along by foreign boata who come<br />
lin here taking raw material and<br />
then ship it back to their own<br />
countries."<br />
As mayor, Ted is justifiably<br />
concerned over the fate of the<br />
fisheries. Speaking of the town's<br />
fish plant he declares, IOU Ocean<br />
Harvesters were to clole in the<br />
summer of '83, Harbour Grace<br />
would literally-become a ghost<br />
town ." He Is also critical of<br />
government policy towards<br />
some of the larger fish<br />
processors. "It appears to me<br />
that when these companies get
48· DECKS AWASH<br />
in trouble, there is always<br />
somebody to pump money in to<br />
keep t.hem viable. They just<br />
have to say , 'Look, we can't<br />
make ends meet', and the<br />
federal government comes<br />
across to help them out. In this<br />
area, while the companies avail<br />
themselves of grants or monies<br />
available, it is not nearly to the<br />
same extent."<br />
Harbour Grace. in common<br />
with most Newfoundland municipalities,<br />
is concerned about<br />
its financial position . The<br />
days are gone when a financially<br />
An open-doorp olicy<br />
J<br />
im Yetman, town clerk of<br />
Harbour Grace, looks<br />
tired but cheerful. A contractor<br />
knocked out the town's water<br />
supply during the nigbt and Jim<br />
troubled council could appeal to<br />
the Department of Municipal<br />
Affairs and say, "We need<br />
$50,000 - we are in trouble<br />
here." Council is now working<br />
on its 1983budget. "It's a major<br />
thing trying to supply services<br />
that people need and try ing not<br />
to increase taxes, which right<br />
now seems inevitable. It goes<br />
back to the point that if we had a<br />
sound economic base for Harbour<br />
Grace the tax base would<br />
fa11in place automatically."<br />
Ted Pike concludes, " We' re<br />
not trying to grab everything for<br />
bas spent the day getting it<br />
reconnected while his office bas<br />
been fending off pbone calls<br />
from irate citizens. Particularly<br />
distressed by the lack of water<br />
Roof repairs at St. Paul's Ang lican Church today .<br />
Harbour Grac e, we want our<br />
share, and it's got to be a joint<br />
thing. We must look at the area<br />
as a region rather than one<br />
community in isolation fro m<br />
another." Commenting on the<br />
process, however, he remarks,<br />
"Basically we're into a lot of<br />
frustration here ." In September<br />
of 1982, on the day after the new<br />
minister of Federal Fisheries,<br />
Pierre De Bane took office, Ted<br />
telegr-ammed bim asking him to<br />
come to Harbour Grace . He is<br />
awaiting a rep ly. "<br />
are the finalis ts for the Miss<br />
Newfoundland contest staying<br />
at Archibald's botel.<br />
Jim bas been town clerk for<br />
two years. Previously, he was a<br />
loans officer at a bank. "It's<br />
quite a change," admits Jim .<br />
"Before I did just one thing.<br />
Now I'm in and out meeting<br />
government officials, dealing<br />
with engineers and contractors,<br />
and all the time trying to make<br />
sure the town's interests are<br />
served". While Jim admits he is<br />
not an expert on such things as<br />
engineering matters, he adds<br />
that by questioning all concerned<br />
groups and having the m<br />
answer in laymen's terms often<br />
clarifies matters for everyone.<br />
Jim was born in Harbour<br />
Grace and , except for a ten-year<br />
period, bas lived there tontinuously.<br />
He took over his<br />
present job " from scratch". The<br />
previous town clerk bad already<br />
departed before Jim moved in.<br />
His job is to implement the<br />
decisions of Council. "It's quite<br />
a task," he admits. "Seven<br />
people don't always think the<br />
same, or want the same things<br />
done. It Jim had just got used to<br />
his job when there was an<br />
election and the Council was<br />
changed.<br />
"The water system in Har <br />
bour Grace is pretty good," he<br />
explains. " The town had a 20<br />
Ineb main put in at the time<br />
Birdseye took over the fish
50· DECKS AWASH<br />
is gone ."<br />
Being a child was an arduous<br />
Occupation in Maud's day .<br />
"Then children had to help plant<br />
vegetables, do the ground , and<br />
help make the hay - they did a<br />
man's work . Today , they are in<br />
school until they 're 20 but they<br />
do more sports than we did.<br />
There is no comparison in th e<br />
way we dressed. We were quite<br />
happy to get hand-me-downs.<br />
Today, if they can't go to a store<br />
and buy something for a child ,<br />
they don't want it. We barely got<br />
the necessities. Ther e is more<br />
money wasted today on soft<br />
drinks, chips , and bars than<br />
people had to live on back in the<br />
'408."<br />
Maud recalls the old stores of<br />
Harbour Grace before the great<br />
fire of 1944. HI can remember<br />
going to Charlie Godden's store.<br />
A very genteel man . He would<br />
bave a white shirt and dress suit<br />
Wings offame<br />
ill Parsons is 76 going on<br />
B60. "I keep active so I<br />
don't have time to get old," he<br />
jokes. Bill is director of the<br />
Conception Bay Museum which<br />
is housed in the old customs<br />
house at 1!arbour Gra ce<br />
l<br />
Maud Peddle<br />
on in the store , and his hair was<br />
combed just so. They were<br />
gentlemen in those days . If they<br />
met a lady on the street, they<br />
would touch their hat. Such<br />
featured on this issue's cover .<br />
Bill is well qualified for the<br />
pos ition, being able to offer an<br />
eye-wi tness account of many of<br />
the historic events depicted in<br />
the muse um.<br />
Speaking of one of the permanent<br />
exhibits, the Aviation<br />
Bill Parsons and some of the pictures he took in the Aviation room of the<br />
Conception Bay Museum.<br />
, respect."<br />
Maud keeps incredibly bus y.<br />
Besides work ing full time at the<br />
Harbour Lodge Senior Citizens<br />
home she finds time to be the<br />
Worthy Mistr ess of the Ladi es<br />
Orange Benevolent Association,<br />
Deputy Treasurer of the<br />
Provincial Grand Lodge of the<br />
LOBA, and Pr esident of the S1.<br />
Mary the Virgin Deane ry<br />
Branch of the Anglican<br />
Women 's Association.<br />
Asked what she would like to<br />
see improved in Harbour Grac e,<br />
Maud re plies, "More employment.<br />
A person feels more<br />
independent when he works for a<br />
living , rather than going to the<br />
post offic e and get ting a<br />
cheque." She would also like to<br />
see the old K y le painted, an old<br />
ship grounded at the hea d of the<br />
harbour and one on which Maud<br />
made annua l pilgrimages with<br />
her parents to the Labrador<br />
fishery . m<br />
Room, Bill says, "I spoke with<br />
every pilot who attempted the<br />
Trans-Atlantic cross ing fro m<br />
Harbour Grace. In 1929, when I<br />
was 22, I worked as a stringer<br />
for Associ ated Press (AP ). I<br />
would send them time of arrival<br />
and departure , the type of pla ne,<br />
weather conditions and any<br />
other pertinent information."<br />
Bill's fath er . Reuben Parsons,<br />
was a professional photographer<br />
and photograph ed every arrival<br />
using a large view ca mera with<br />
glass plates. These were too<br />
fragile for tr ansportation to<br />
AP's office in Boston, so Bill<br />
took his own pictures using a<br />
smaller Kodak film camera.<br />
The film s were rushed to<br />
Whitbourne to be put aboard the<br />
express train. Five days later<br />
they would be in Boston. Many<br />
of these ori ginal photos taken by<br />
Bill and Reub en may be seen in<br />
the museum today .<br />
" I think that of all the flights<br />
at the time the one that impressed<br />
me most was Amelia<br />
Earhart 's, I don't think this was
features<br />
Message from Dr. LeslieHarris,<br />
President, <strong>Memorial</strong> University<br />
t is a genuine pleasure for me to be able to<br />
I write these few words of greeting to all of<br />
you who have made possible the revival of Deek.<br />
Awub.<br />
I was gratified by the large number of<br />
representations made to me in support of the<br />
magazine following my decision to suspend<br />
publication; I was overwhelmed by the tangible<br />
support implicit in the number of you who voted<br />
with your cheque books to have the publication<br />
restored.<br />
Please accept my sincere thanks and my<br />
commitment that we will do all that we can to<br />
ensure that the community service represented<br />
by Deeks Awasb will continue.<br />
Nevertheless. you should know that our<br />
financial capacity is still marginal and I am<br />
emboldened to ask you. as friends of the<br />
magazine. to use your best powers of persuasion<br />
to convince all your friends that they. too. should<br />
be subscribers. l!I<br />
home'gardening<br />
Ross Traverse answers questions on<br />
gar dening in Newfoundland<br />
Q. I started a vegetable garden for the first<br />
time this spring. I dug up the sod and mixed in<br />
manure and planted seeds. The vegetables came<br />
up but growth was slow and the vegetables were<br />
stunted. What can I do to get better results next<br />
year?<br />
A. Manure alone will not supply enough plant<br />
food. to grow most vegetables. You need to<br />
correct the acidity in the soil. This is done by<br />
applying agricultural limestone and digging it<br />
into the soil at the rate of at least 10 lbs . per 100<br />
sq. ft. This can be done in the fan or early in the<br />
spring. Organic matter in the form of manure<br />
and/or peat. should be mixed thoroughly with<br />
the soil in the spring. To feed the plants. a<br />
general purpose fertilizer such as 6-12·12 should<br />
be raked into the soil at the rate of Sibs. per 100<br />
sq. ft. Many of the leafy vegetables like cabbage<br />
and lettuce should be side-dressed during the<br />
Summer with a high nitrogen fertilizer.<br />
If it rains a lot during the growing season, you<br />
Deed to apply more fertilizer than if the weather<br />
is dry. Limestone neutralizes the acidity in the<br />
soil and enables the plant to take up the plant<br />
DECKS AWASH - 53<br />
food. .<br />
Q. I have seed left over from last year - how<br />
can I be sure it is good to plant?<br />
A. As a general rule. it is best to buy new seed<br />
each year. However. if you are going to plant old<br />
seed. you should do a germination test. This can<br />
easily be done by counting out at least 25 seeds on<br />
a wet. folded towel. placed in a saucer. The<br />
paper towel and saucer should be covered with a<br />
plastic bag to keep the moisture in. After seven<br />
days. the seeds that have sprouted (germinated)<br />
should be counted. and then you can calculate<br />
the percentage germination. If less than 50% of<br />
the seeds germinate. you should get a fresh<br />
supply.<br />
Q. Will fertilizer keep from one year to the<br />
next?<br />
A. Yes. providing that the fertilizer is kept dry.<br />
Any lumps can be broken up before spreading on<br />
the garden.<br />
Q.l have a strawberry patch that is overgrown<br />
and I want to transplant some plants into a new<br />
bed this fall. Is this a good time?<br />
A. No strawberries should not be planted in the
54· DECKS AWASH<br />
fall. You don't gain anything by fall planting<br />
because the plants need a full year's growth to<br />
produce fruit the following year. Also you are<br />
running the risk of losing some of the plants<br />
during the winter if you plant in the fall because<br />
the plants may heave out ot the ground .<br />
Q. This year I grew turnips. They looked fine<br />
on the outside. but when I cut them open, the<br />
center was sort of light brown and sticky. What is<br />
the problem?<br />
A. You have a problem which is quite common<br />
in Newfoundland called "Brown Heart" in<br />
turnip. It is caused by a boron deficiency in the<br />
soil that can easily be corrected by applying<br />
boron in your fertilizer. In the form ula on the<br />
fertilizer bag, it will be marked with a "B-3-15<br />
6B" , If you forget to apply boron at the beginning<br />
of the season, it can also be applied in a soluble<br />
spray with a material called "Solubor". You<br />
must be careful with Solubor because it can be<br />
quite toxic to the plant. Follow the instructions<br />
on the package very carefully. If there are no<br />
instructions on the package, then use a dilution<br />
of one teaspoon in five gallons, but make certain<br />
you apply it as a very fine spray to the leaves of<br />
the plant.<br />
RO" will aml.lr ,aMl,mln, quutlOOI . MaU your queltiool to Rou<br />
Traverse. Deckl " ....b. Extenllo.n Service . Memori al Unlvenlty of<br />
Ne.. louodland. St. John'I,NY. AleSS7. i1 r<br />
Message from<br />
the Director<br />
ofExtension<br />
Elayne<br />
Harris<br />
his issue of DeeD Awalh is a very speci al<br />
T one for many reasons. First, it is specia l<br />
one for many reasons. First, it is special becau se<br />
without you, it would not have been possible.<br />
Your expressed disappointment about the<br />
decicision to cease DeeD Awalb publication was<br />
a critical factor in encouraging Memori al<br />
University to consider an alternative financia l<br />
approach. The promptness with which you<br />
responded to the call for subscriptions has<br />
allowed this November-December issue.<br />
Second, it is special because you have told us in<br />
a very tangible way that you hold one of the<br />
Extension Service activities, the DeeD Awal b<br />
magazine, in high esteem. All of the staff at<br />
Extension are heartened by this encouragement<br />
and now bring fresh energy to this and other of<br />
our activities.<br />
We at Extension extend our good wishes to you<br />
as you continue to use our educational services to<br />
make your personal and community life more<br />
satisfying and productive.<br />
As the new Director of Extension Service, I<br />
would like to thank you all and send you best<br />
wishes for Christmas and the New Year. II
Rural development agreement<br />
byTOIIJ Col1lnl, E.ecutiveDirector<br />
NOd. andLabrador Development Counell<br />
n a few short months : a unique and in<br />
I novative development program, a<br />
program which has had far-reaching effects on<br />
the province as a whole. will come to an end . If it<br />
is Dol renewed. ODe of the most potent forces for<br />
social and economic change in Newfoundland's<br />
history may be jeopardized.<br />
There are 50 volunteer-based regional<br />
associations operating in Newfoundland and<br />
Labrador today. Sharing a common mandate for<br />
coordinated social and economic development.<br />
they have been funded for the past five years<br />
under the terms of the Rural Development<br />
Subsidiary Agreement. Despite its formidable<br />
title. the agreement is probably one of the most<br />
imaginative and creative programs ever<br />
initiated in Canada. Funded on a 90-10 federalprovincial<br />
basis, and jointly administered by the<br />
Department of Regional Economic Expansion.<br />
and the Department of Rural, Agriculture and<br />
Northern Development. the agreement is the<br />
offspring of ARDA II and ARDA fII, both of<br />
which emerged out of a combination of local,<br />
Who cares about our resources?<br />
cac Cares,<br />
Land & Sea<br />
with Dave Quinton<br />
and Paul Harrington<br />
Wednesdays at8 P.M .<br />
(7:30 in Labrador)<br />
onCBC TV<br />
DECKS AWASH - 55<br />
provincial and national development priorities.<br />
The agreement provides each development<br />
association in the province with an administration<br />
grant of $16,500 per year plus a<br />
matching grant of up to $5.000 for monies raised<br />
from non-government sources. The<br />
requirements for eligibility are minimal:<br />
representation from 75% of the community<br />
within the region through democratic elections,<br />
participation in a training session, and Incorporation<br />
of the association. Underlying these<br />
relatively straightforward criteria however, is a<br />
carrot-and-stick philosphy. The support given to<br />
local people is in direct proportion to the ability<br />
to work together. and to cooperate effectively. A<br />
larger perspective is a prerequisite to administrative<br />
funding. Similarily. funding for<br />
several projects will then likely be determined<br />
by an association's willingness to plan and<br />
coordinate its overall activities.<br />
Unfortunately. the subsidiary agreement,<br />
which was signed in 1978, is due to expire in<br />
March of next year. A proposal for a<br />
replacement program has been submitted to the<br />
federal government by the province but as yet<br />
there is no clear indication of any. or indeed if an<br />
agreement can be reached between the two<br />
levels of government.<br />
In the meantime, several possible alternatives<br />
exist - direct federal funding to associations,<br />
total provincial support, or some' combination of<br />
the two. There is little doubt however. that a<br />
renewed joint federal-provincial agreement<br />
would best serve the needs of the rural<br />
development movement as a whole.<br />
For the moment of course, it is business as<br />
usual. with development associations throughout<br />
the province gearing up for a busy winter. For<br />
the thousands of volunteers involved tbere is<br />
admittedly some concern for the future, but<br />
there is also a strong feeling that the momentum<br />
of the rural development movement will and<br />
must be maintained. "<br />
The Pre sbyterian ce mete ry at Harbour Grace. Privately<br />
end ow ed for pe rpe tual car e, It is beautifully maintained<br />
even though ther e is no lo nger a Presbyterian Kirk at<br />
Harbour Grac e. •
56· DECKS AWASH<br />
letters<br />
Y<br />
OU may recognize the Pelley<br />
name as a common Ne wfoundland<br />
name. My ancestor s came from<br />
Poole in 1710 and settled In Hant's<br />
Harbour. My grandfather moved<br />
across the bay to George's Brook<br />
and started manufacturing brick s in<br />
1830. Over a period of years he<br />
General Contractors<br />
Specializing In all types of heavy construction proje cts ,<br />
Including water and sewer systems , road bulldinq,<br />
bridges, wharves, and buildings,<br />
For more Information, contact Brian Babb, Peter Babb,<br />
Joe Drover.<br />
Telephone : 722-2966or 596-5041 ,<br />
BABB CONSTRUCTION<br />
LIMITED<br />
P,O, Box 160<br />
HarbourGrace<br />
Newfoundland<br />
AOA2MO<br />
operated a sawmlll and had six<br />
sch oon ers for shipping his prod ucts.<br />
Much of the brick used in the<br />
building of <strong>Memorial</strong> Univers ity are<br />
Pell ey bricks . Th e murals in the<br />
universit y were sculptured green at<br />
the Pell ey Brickyard in Milton, and<br />
fired in the ir kilns . II<br />
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF<br />
NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR<br />
VOLUME ONE· A to E<br />
'American opinion: Persons, places and things are treated<br />
exhaustively,,, the style Is factual, clear , and popular,<br />
and information is current ... The text is weI/laid alit , easy<br />
to read, and has numerous clear, black -and-white<br />
illustrations. The coverage ;s much more detailed and<br />
exhaustive than that In. the Encyclopedia Ceneaiene.<br />
Highly recommended. Choice ,<br />
Canadian opinion: Schools and libraries in Newfoundland<br />
will certainly want to have the volume , Morris Wolfe<br />
In Books in Canada,<br />
AUantlc opinion: From the moment I read the first entry '"<br />
I was hooked. The longer sections '" are rich In detail and<br />
well written, Pat Lotz in Atlantic Insight.<br />
Newfoundland opinion: Fascinating and impressive, Dr.<br />
Patrick O'Flaherty, Major undertaking and no province ,<br />
can boast of such an achievement. Paul O'Neill. An<br />
impressive work which will fill an enormous need.<br />
Provincial archivist, David Davis,<br />
Volume Two: Expected publication date, February 1983. Available at<br />
your lavourlte bookstore or at 119 Portugal Cove Road, 51. John's , NF.<br />
A1B2N1<br />
y mother's ancestors. after<br />
Mjumping ship at Harbour<br />
Grace, bei ng indentured to the ship<br />
owne r, eve ntually migrated to Seal<br />
Cove. White Bay. My parents, after<br />
bei ng married at Seal Cove,<br />
migrated to Montreal where I was<br />
born in 1910.<br />
My wife's ancestors were settled<br />
at Bishop's Cove and Spaniard's Bay<br />
prior to 1810 and were there before<br />
Sir Guy Carlton. The story is that<br />
they diss uaded him from settling<br />
there, saying that the fishing was<br />
better further along the coast. Her<br />
family, the Dawes, migrated to<br />
Montreal in 1923, but she was born in<br />
Bishop's Cove.<br />
So. you see, we are both very<br />
much in effect. if not in fact. Newfoundlanders.<br />
We always enjoyed<br />
Deck' A.llb and were very<br />
disappointed at its discontinuance.<br />
It is now our hope that publication<br />
will be resumed and it is with<br />
pleasure that we enclose our sub<br />
scription.<br />
H. Jl. Pelley<br />
-<br />
layer'. CUJI. P .Q.<br />
JOBJCO
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