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DeeJa Awash
Vol. 9, No.2 April,1980
Southern Shore

Th Church ofSaint Peter and Saint Paul in Bay Bulls.

In this issue
Introduction
For the first time, Decka Awaah visits an area
that borders the capital city of S1. John's. The
Southern Shore which stretches from Cappahayden
to Petty Harbour is known for its rich
history, colorful characters, inshore fishery,
Irish brogue and staunch Roman Catholicism.
We dabble in just about all of it and we think you
will see that a large metropolitan city has
neither corrupted nor drastically altered a very
productive part of the province.
In our Constant Comments Section, Anthony
Murphy runs headlong into oil speculators,
Sharon Gray prepares for spring, Geoff Stiles
weighs the pros and cons of wind generators and
the remembrance of an early lobster fishery
signals spring for Victor Butler. Our Back
Section takes a QuiCk peak at a significant piece
of legislation, the Matrimonial Property Act.
In our June issue we will be looking at the
ailing construction industry.
Decka Awaah is a bi-monthly magazine for
people in Newfoundland and Labrador about
rural Newfoundland and rural Newfoun·
dlanders. Information rather than news orien·
ted, Decka Awash is based on the principal that
information is vital to the development of people
and communities. Each issue contains a Special
Section which alternatively concerns itself with
geographical areas and resources of the
province. The Constant Comments Section by
outside columnists provides practical in·
formation about today as well as information
about years gone by. The Back Section
contains information about the fisheries.
agriculture, consumer items, crafts, historical
events and interesting people.
Volume 9. No.2. April 1980
Editor: Susan Sherk
Reaearcher/Writera: Sally Lou LeMessurier and
David Wegenast
ProductionSupervlaor: Janet Oliver
Subscription and Circulation: Hazel Harris
Photography: Susan Sherk, Sally Lou
LeMessurier and David Wegenast
Photography - Printing and Processing: ETV
Photography, Memorial University of
Newfoundland, St. John's, Nfld.
Layout and Printing: Robinson-Blackmore
Printing and Publishing Ltd., St. John's, Nfld.
Special Section
History. . .
Fishing on the Southern Shore .
The people and the communities
EditoriaL...... . .
Constant Comments
Decks Awash - 1
Page
....... 3
.9
... 14
.. 49
Home gardening. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. .. 50
Community windpower...... ..51
Adventures of Anthony Murphy 53
Traditional singers and their songs .. 54
Chronicles of a bayman 55
Back Section
Matrimonial Property Act. ... . . 57
The Society of United Fishermen 58
Staying alive in the North Atlantic 59
Resource quiz. . 62
The last word .. . 64
For a free subscription if you live in
Newfoundland and Labrador, please write to
Decta Awash magazine, Memorial University of
Newfoundland, Extension Service, St. John's,
Nfld., AlC 557, telephone: 753-1200, Extension
3483, after May 4, 1980 call 737·8486. For those
living on the' mainland and abroad, a sub·
scription at $6.00 a year is available from the
above address. Cheques and money orders
should be made payable to Memorial University
of Newfoundland, attention: Susan Sherk.

Decks Awash
. tion

4 - Decks Awash
Cappahayden
This town was called Broad
Cove until Father J. J. Walsh
renamed it after his native
village in Ireland. Some families
now in Cappahayden used to live
in Round Cove, a mile or two
down the shore. John Sheehan's
great-grandfather was the first
Round Cove resident, arriving
from Thomastown, Kilkenny in
1854. Other early families in the
area were Murphys, Lawlors,
Flemings and Dooleys.
Renews
The earliest name for this
harbour was Rognoza, which is
derived from the Portuguese
word for "obstacles." When the
French explorer, Jacque Cartier,
put in here on his way back
to France in 1536, the place was
known as Rougenouse. Later, it
was called Renoose and
Renowse by English writers.
Renews was first settled in
about 1623 by Lord Falkland,
Deputy of Ireland. His colony
existed until 1626. The John
Berry Census of 1675 reports 57
residents, yet by 1696 this
number had been reduced to
seven. The first cannons were
placed on the Mount at Renews
All around the shore
in 1777, and batteries were
maintained in the harbour until
1815.
Throughout the last century,
the population of Renews was
considerably higher than the
present 436. There were 601
inhabitants in 1836, and a peak of
859 in 1869 before a gradual
decline resulted in a little less
than 600 residents by the turn of
the century. Economic
depression in the 1880s caused
many residents to seek work in
Boston and other American
cities.
Fermeuse and Port
Kirwan
Fermeuse is a community of
French origin and was founded
in the early 16th century as a
fishing station. With its two or
three small coves it was a safe
harbour for fishing boats. Port
Kirwan was probably the first
part of the bay to be settled.
The area, like others along the
shore, was primarily one of
subsistence agriculture and the
catching and curing of fish. In
1950, a fish plant was built at
Fermeuse and the fishing industry
changed gradually from
PortKirwan wit!J its iced-in fish plant on left.
saltfish processing to one of
frozen processing.
Aquaforte
This community was settled
sometime after 1812 when a
number of Protestant families
moved in from Ferryland. Their
surnames of Croft, Maher, and
Windsor are still found in
Aquaforte today.
Ferryland
This shapely peninsula was
known as Forillon on French
maps well before Baltimore's
colonists arrived. Other early
writers (mostly English) called
it Friezeland and even Fair
Ellen, but Ferryland became
the standard name used by Lord
Baltimore.
Among the early battles
fought at Ferryland, probably
the most famous occurred on
August 31, 1694, when Captain
William Holman defended the
colony against two French
frigates. Working from four
small forts, Holman kept his
men from fleeing into the woods
(normal practice in Newfoundland
colonies) and repelled the
enemy after a five-hour battle.
This was managed with only 30
guns against the French total of
90 guns.
Ferryland was securely
fortified in 1743, when Captain
Thomas Smith placed 20 cannons
on Isle aux Bois in three
different batteries. The island
was garrisoned until 1760 with
barracks, carpenter shop, and
smithy. Renewed in 1762, 1776
and 1812, the batteries were
finally abandoned in 1815.
In 1836, Ferryland is reported
to have contained 84 houses and
507 residents.
Calvert
This harbour is first mentioned
by Portuguese explorers
in 1504 as Rio das Pastos ­
"River of the Auk". It was first
called Caplin Bay in 1588 by the
English land agent Whitbourne,
probably due to the fact that
caplin traditionally swam up on
its beaches in greater numbers

6 - Decks Awash
Tors Cove to Bauline
Formerly known as Toad's
Cove, Tors Cove offered a safe
harbour for fishing boats as did
nearby Bauline. Just orr shore
from Tors Cove are two islands.
Fox Island and Great Island.
Fox Island is one of the few
privately owned islands in Newfoundland.
Owned by the
O'Driscoli family, it was given
to them by a member of the
Royal (amily many years ago.
Great Island is a bird sanctuary
and home to many puffin•.
Witless Bay
WiUess Bay offered shelter
from the northesterly storms to
the fishing ships returning to
Europe after the fishing season.
The harbour here was much less
diUicult to navigate than were
the narrows at St. John's harbour.
By 1770 this community
was almost entirely Roman
Catholic when there were 11
families in residence.
Bay Bulls
This old community has
probably the most colorful
history of any on the Southern
Shore, as it was the site of a
great deal of military action. A
forl was built there by David
Kirke In 1638, and attacked by
the Dutch admiral DeRuigter in
1665. During later decades, Bay
Bulls became a common place
for convoy commanders to
assemble their fleet in
preparation for the trans­
Atlantic voyage.
The population of Bay Bulls
stood at 68 in 1675, but rose to 172
in 1698. Beginning in 1696, Bay
Bulls was conquered five times
by the French, often in conjunction
with attacks on S1.
John's. In 1696, the English shipof-war
Sapphire (Called Zephyr
by the French) was captured
there. This is the wreck which
was partially excavated in the
early 1970s. Some ten or twelve
other ships are known to have
sunk there over the years.
The winter of 1704-5 saw one of
several French attempts to
expel the English from Newfoundland.
On January 26, 1705,
about 400 French soldiers
arri.ved in Bay Bulls after 11
days of overland marching from
Placentia, which included
wading through four rivers of
fioating ice. The war party
begged on bended knee for
shelter and stayed in the houses
and barns of Bay Bulls for two
days before striking off again to
attack S1. John's - such were the
informalities of colonial warfare.
A year-round Justice of Peace
was established in Bay Bulls in
1729. Nathaniel Brookes
acquired the position in the
1730$, became local Naval officer
in 1749, and led the townspeople
on a heroic assult on
the French in 1762. On June 24th
of that year, four French ships
under Count d'Haussonville
landed in Bay Bulls and marched
overland to capture St.
John's three days later. Brookes
led the Bay Bulls residents
through the woods to Petty
Harbour where they boarded
schooners and helped Lord
Colville o( Halifax recapture St.
John's on September 20th.
The path from S1. John's to

8 - Decks Awash
Early Irish connection
If it was primarily West
Counlry fishermen who came
to the Southern Shore, why
are its residents so steeped in
Irish traditions? Vessels on a
westward passage from
Bristol habitually stopped in
Ireland to load supplies
where they were often
cheaper. At the same time,
many ships took on young·
Irish servants and labourers.
The road and railway
The Southern Shore's first
road was opened about 1840.
If you think today's pot·holed
surface is bad, consider the
following Inspector's repOrt
from many years ago:
"The road is 1().12 feet
wide...There are several
stumps, and many large
rocks in this road; some of
the rocks are several tons
weight. In levelling this road,
boughs have been used, which
in future should not be
allowed."
Negotiations with the Reid
Newfoundland Company for a
The Boy's School is held in
a miserable hut. neither wind
nor water-tight· the books of
the children showed the in·
jury sustained from the rain
falling on them. The room
could not fairly accommodate
more than a dozen chldren. I
have found 21 huddled
together. halfof them obliged
to stand.
- Inspector's RepOrt from
1870, referring to the school in
Cape Broyle.
A Mr. Kelly taugbtscbool in
bis bouse in Cape Broyle as
early as 1832. Other than that,
the earliest evidence of
schools on the Southern Shore
seems to be in 1845, at which
time tbere was one in Renews
Education
Whereas most English
fishermen had families at
home, many of the Irish who
arrived in Newfoundland
were young, single, and
anxious to start a new life.
Some must have deserted
their masters, but many were
abandoned in Newfoundland
when their employers went
bankrupt.
railroad began in 1909, and by
1913, the St. John's to
Trepassey route was completed.
A sample fare was $3
return, Cape Broyle to St.
John's. Grocery and
drygoods merchants of that
city also offered free delivery
of merchandise to the
railroad station as an in·
centive for Southern Shore
residents to buy from them.
But it was soon realized that
traffic and freight were too
light to support the railway. It
sank deeper and deeper into
debt until it was closed In
1932.
with four pupils, another in
Brigus with 67 pupils, and two
schools in Calvert with total
enrollment of 74.
Sisters of the Presentation
Order have taught school on
the Southern Shore for over a
century. Convents were
established for this purpose in
Admiral's Cove _ now Port
Kirwan - in 1853, Ferryland
In 1858, and Witless Bay in
1860. In 1876, the convent at
Admiral's Cove moved to
Renews, which was the
centre of the parish, after a
fire had destroyed their
building in Admiral's Cove.
The Ferryland District
School Board was set up in
Mav 1863.
Famous
people
from the
shore
Captain William Jackman
(May 20, 1837 _ February 25,
1877) was born in Renews and
first became famous as
skipper of the Skipsworth, the
Hawk and the Eagle ­
returning safely from the ice
with large cargoes of seals.
He is most renowned, however,
for a daring rescue of 27
people from the wreck of the
Sea Clipper near SpOtted
Island, Labrador, on October
9th, 1867. This feat involved
27 separate swims of 1200
yards through the icy waves.
In 1868, the Royal Humane
Society presented Captain
Jackman with a silver medal
in recognition of his bravery.
Mike Shallow (1874-1948)
was born in Clare's Cove,
near Port Kirwan, and
became heavyweight
champion of the British
Empire in 1905 by knocking
out Jack Scales in the eighth
round. His fighting career
had begun when his family
lived in Boston duri.ng Mike's
boyhood. He fought a number
of times in St. John's and on
August 23rd, 1904, there was a
benefit held at Prince's Rink
to raise money to send Mike
to fight in England. John
Sheehan of Cappahayden
remembers hearing that
when Mike arrived In
England someone asked him
if be was the best man in
Newfoundland. Mike's reply
was, "No, but I'm the best
man in England!" In 1910,
Mike settled in Grand Falls,
where he worked as a
pipefitter with the A.N.D.
Company. Later he became
fire chief of the town.

Decks Awash - 9
Fishing on the Southern Shore
Beginning in the 1500s
vessels from Portugal, England,
France and the Basque
provinces fished on the Grand
Banks. Temporary fishprocessing
camps were built in
sheltered harbours and each
nation tried to retain its fa vorite
shore stations from year to year.
During the 1600s England
gained control of the eastern
coast of the Avalon Peninsula.
But try as they might, these
expert fish merchants could not
prevent setUement in New·
foundland. Soon, illegal seWers
were selling fish to the French
and Portuguese more cheaply
than the English. To add to their
difficulties, the English merchants
suffered from rising
costs and heavy losses to
privateers from France and the
13 American colonies. A
significant blow to the English
control occurred when they
signed the' Treaty of Versailles
in 1784, giving the United States
equal rights to the Newfoundland
fishing grounds.
In the following articles we
look specifically at the upper
Southern Shore from 1800 to
1980.
Goodridge
Makes Good
AS control of the Newfound·
land fishery shifted to New·
foundland, a great business
opportunity was seized by Alan
B. Goodridge of Paignton,
Devonshire who arrived in
Renews in 1820. There he bought
out the fish·merchants Stabb,
Rowe and Holom. Headquarters
of the business moved to St.
John's in 1857 and located on the
waterfront site now occupied by
the Murray Premises. The firm
played a decisive role in
establishing Newfoundland's
seafaring tradition, becoming
owners or part"'Owners of at
least 400 vessels. The first four
ships to fly the Goodridge house
flag were tbe Minnie. Rosins,
Clementine. and Mayflower.
Soon the company had seven
brancb offices, of which five
were on tbe Southern Shore:
Renews, Ferryland, Caplin Cove
(Calvert), Tors Cove and
WiUessBay.
Tbe firm of Alan Goodridge &
Sons went bankrupt about 1912,
although the two sons Alfred J.
and Richard F. Goodridge
established Goodridge &
Company in Ferryland.
Richard was the travelling
partner and according to his son
Harold. he crossed the Atlantic
92 times in his career. When this
operation met bankruptcy some
years later, the premises were
taken over by the Tors Cove
Trading Company under Avalon
and William P. Goodridge. Their
business lasted until approximately
1962 before being
overtaken by bankruptcy. At
present, the long line of
Goodridge merchants is
-
-
represented by Harold
Goodridge who operates a
carpet business in 51. John's.
OveraU, the Goodridge family
was very colourful, often ec·
centric. Alan's older brother,
Charles Medgett Goodridge. for
instance. served in England's
merchant navy, fought at the
seige of San Sebastian in 1812,
was later captured by French
pirates, escaped, and ship·
wrecked. He spent about three
years living a Robinson Crusoetype
existence with a dozen
other men. Marooned on the
Croisettes, a small group of
islands near the Cape of Good
Hope, the band was rescued by a
Dutch ship and taken to
Tasmania. Goodridge eventually
managed to return to
England and took up the
respectable life of a country
gentleman in Devonshire.
The politician of the family
was Augustus F. Goodridge,
born in Paignton, Devonshire in
1839. He became MHA for
Ferryland district in 1880 with
the Conservative or Merchant's
Party. In 1894, he served as
Prime Minister of Newfound·
land from April 11 to December
12, resigning during the great
bank crash.
The Goodridge house flag: white pennant and white star on red
background.

10 - Decks Awash
Inshore Fishery
in the 1800s
Handlines and jiggers were
the early methods for fishing.
Dories and whalers outfitted
with several banks of oars and
light, removable, sailing rigs
were the most popular. Boats of
20-ton capacity were being
build in Calvert by the 1830s and
were often used by a 5-man crew
for 10-day fishing trips.
The cod-seine was introduced
in the 1850s and cod traps came
along in about 1865. It is
reported that in 1883, 15 cod
traps were being operated in
Cape Broyle and they caught
3,971 quintals of fish.
Cape Broyle's
Whale Factory
In March, 1903, the Cape
Broyle Trading & Whaling
Company opened, with a licence
to take whales between
Ferryland Head and Cape St.
Francis. The Company took 300
whales that first year, 200 the
next, 80 in 1905, and closed up in
1906. The factory was re-opened
from 1910 to 1918 and in 1920 it
burned down.
Banking
Schooners
The deep harbours of Cape
Broyle, Calvert and Aquaforte
were well-known to captains of
the schooner fleets from
Massachussetts and Nova ScoUa
who began arriving on the
Southern Shore in the 18708.
There they loaded fresh caplin ,
for bait, and ice. Men from the
three communities involved
used to cut blocks of ice from
local ponds and stored it in sheds
along the shore. Caplin were
caught fresh when the schooners
arrived in June.
Decb AWalh spoke with
John Sullivan of Calvert and
Arthur Maher of Aquaforte
about their early days hauling
caplin and ice for the schooners.
"The most caplin I ever hauled
that was with four other men
helping. We used to get $3 a
doryload for it in the 1930s, then
$10 by the 195Os." Each
schooner would load about 8 to
10 doryloads of caplin and 4 to 5
of ice, though the advent of
diesel power allowed vessels
such as the A. F. Zwicker to
carry as many as 22 loads of
caplin. John started hauling
about 1926 and stopped when the
banking schooners did.
"I well remember the time in
1963 when Captain Henry Oxner
arrived here in the Theresa
Connor and couldn't get up a
crew,tt says John about the end
of the era. "Back in the '30s
there was once 34 bankers in
Calvert at the one time, a lot of
them native to Newfoundland."
Vessels that John often worked
for included the Bluenose under
Captain Angus Walters and the
Isabel Spindler under Captain
William Spindler.
"It was a dangerous racket,"
Arthur Maher recalls the days
when getting a bait and ice
contract often meant jumping
aboard a moving schooner as
she sailed into the bay. "But you
could sometimes earn $300
before breakfast by baiting two
schooners," he adds. Like John
Sullivan, Arthur Maher often
worked day and nigbt in the
days before the offshore
draggers.
Bonavista
Cold Storage
at Fermeuse
"Northeast Fisheries opened
a seasonal plant here in the
early 1950s," says Richard
Moores, General Manager for
Bonavista Cold Storage at
Fermeuse. "Since we took it
over in 1969 it has been a yearround
operation. Everything
from inshore trap skiffs to off·
shore draggers unload here. We
process all species, including
skate, catfish, and lumpfish
roe." Cod, herring, and squid
are the plant's bread and butter,
however, and last year their
total production reached approximately
5 million pounds of
'finished product, half o(which
was cod.
Richard Moores' office window
looks down at the wharf and
overhead vacuum unloading
system that feeds fish onto a
conveyor belt some 20 feet in the
air. At full production, the plant
can employ about 350 people
including 70 on the night shift.
Three cutting lines, four trimming
lines, and four packing
lines can all be going at once.
was 59 doryloads in one day," The Southern Shore's only year-round Illlhplant. Bonay/sta Cold
remembers John Sullivan, "and Storage at Fermeuse.

"It's unusual to find a labour
shortage in these days of high
employment," comments
Richard, "but we have had
problems recently with our
workers leaving in the spring to
go fishing or to work in a
seasonal plant, then going on
Unemployment Insurance when
the season closes. M a result we
"Thelirl." on the packingline.
have been employing up to 100
women - twice as many as we
used to."
There is no shortage of
competition, however. About
seven fish plants are found along
the Southern Shore within a
distance of 40 kilometres as the
crow rues.
Don little (ProducUon Supervisor) atop the conveyor bridge as the
Newfoundland Eaglelea yes the wharf.
Decks Awash - 11
"How's the
Fish?" - An
Inshore Report
from Renews
to Cape Broyle
Several common concerns
arose as Decks Awash spoke
with fishermen in Renews,
Kingman's (near Fermeuse),
Aquaforte, Calvert, and Cape
Broyle. Foremost was their
inability to get rid of all the
squid that were around. Plant
freezers filled up very quickly
and fishermen had to dump their
catches. Another widespread
problem was the shortage of
wharf space for unloading. This
reflects the recent increase in
the number of inshore fishermen.
Bernard Farrell
(Renews)
"A bit of dredging is badly
needed at the head of our harbour,"
Bernard reports. "There
is only about four-and-a-hall feet
of water now at low tide. Last
year I struck bottom seven or
eight times."
Cod was plentiful from May to
November, with most traps
landing about 200,000 pounds.
There were only six trap crews
011 the go in 1974, but now there
are fifteen. Repairs and an
extension to the government
wharf are expected in 1980,
which should alleviate overcrowding.
Felix
O'Shaughnessy
(Kingman's)
"Fishermen around here used
to be able to get a second trap
berth from the surplus in draws
at Renews and Aquaforte:'
explains Felix, "Now there are
too many fishermen to do that.
We also had to freeze the
Dumber of trap berths at ten,
which unfortunately prevented a
young fella from entering the
fishery."
Cod was "spotty" in spring
with traps netting 5,000 to 12,000
pounds. The faU fishery was
considerably better with normal
catches of 1,000 pounds per man

12 - Decks Awash
per day.
Though fishermen in the
Fermeuse area land their
catches right at the largest plant
on the shore, they are still
unloading with a prong. "The
manager at Bonavista Cold
Storage discussed adapting
their suction hose for small
boats a couple of years ago, but
nothing has yet been done,"
explains Felix.
The fleet in Fermeuse harbour
consists of 30 boats, including
four longliners. There were only
two or three instances of gear
damage by whales last year.
David Payne
(Aquaforte)
"Saving the inshore herring
fisbery is our biggest problem,"
states David. "For the last three
or four years, seiners have been
set in the mouth of our harbour
and taken most of the herring.
Now we hear that inshore
dragging licences have been
issued to boats 65 feet long and
under - that may destroy our
inshore catch altogether."
The inshore and nearshore
fisheries are in direct competition
in Aquaforte because
the harbour is about five
kilometers long, but only one
kilometer wide at the mouth.
This makes it very easy for the
moveable gear fishermen to just
wait at the harbour entrance for
the fish.
There are eleven cod trap
fishermen in Aquaforte and two
gillnetters. The trap fishery was
not good last year as catches
were less than 100,000 pOunds
per boat.
"Whale damage is getting
worse every year," complains
David. "One of my traps was
torn up three times last sum·
mer." Apparently, no one in
Aquaforte who lost gear to
whales has applied for com·
pensation from the government,
as they are entitled to do.
Finally, there is a matter of
improvements to the wharf and
the road to it. "For three years
our Fishermen's Committee has
been trying to get action on
this," reports David, "ever
since a wharf rebuilding project
was abandoned when hall
completed. The outside section
is now unsafe for a truck."
Mike Boland Jr.
(Calvert)
There are about 35 boats in
Calvert, all of them trap skiffs.
"We have about 32 trap berths to
draw for," explains Mike,
"which is too many. It is too
easy to get a bad one like [ did
last year - caught only 17,000
pounds in two traps. Another
problem is that three or four
gillnetlers in the community set
their nets too close to the cod
traps and take the fisb."
Caplin was what saved the
Calvert fishery. During July,
Mike Boland operated five
caplin traps and caught about
30-40,000 pounds each day out of
which some 2,000 to 10,000
pOunds of marketable females
could be culled.
Mike Hayden
(Cape Broyle)
"Boy, last year the fishery
was pretty bad," says Mike.
"Our boat only got 26,000 pounds
of cod in the trap, whereas we
got about 450,000 pounds the
year before and the same in
1977."
There was a small amount of
whale damage to fishing gear,
and a lot of squid had to be

dumped when the plant couldn't
take it. The major controversy,
however, surrounds the fish
plant in Cape Broyle. Everyone
that Decks Awa.h spoke to in the
town had harsh words for the
government about it. The plant
opened in October 1979 with a
licence to process squid and
caplin only, which means it
cannot open this year until late
June. "The owners didn't want
one copper from the government
in assistance money," explains
Jim Coady, Jr. "All they're
asking for is a licence for cod. It
would provide a lot of badlyneeded
employment here."
Competition with other fish
plants on the shore is apparently
why the plant is not allowed to
process cod, but that doesn't
Decks Awash -13
hold water with the local people.
"Il's a big injustice, is how 1
would describe it," says Jim
Coady.
"The plants were blocked with
cod for periods last summer and
the year before. If there is any
amount in the traps this year, it
will be worse than ever. There is
enough cod for all of the fish
plants on the Shore."
Port Kirwan community stage
In 1978, many of the residents of Port Kirwan built a community stage. Today, that stage is
owned and operated by the fishermen's committee of Port Kirwan. In the following pictures
taken by Newfoundland artist and Port Kirwan resident, Don Wright, the construction of this
buiI.dWg is documented.
I

vigil on the beach or their
bravery In the rescue of 44
people from the wreck. This
point of view is strengthened
when one consults the list of
people who received medals for
bravery at sea from the Royal
Humane Society, as a result of
the Florizel experience. Of the
35 medals given out, not a single
one went to a local fisherman.
John takes another slow drag
from his cigarette and gazes
around the gleaming kitchen
where his wife Theresa sits. A
fire is purring in the stove as he
reflects on changes in local
community life that have occurred
since the wreck of the
Florizel. "Things is after
changing nearly too fast," he
observes. "It used to be that
cutting wood and tending your
animals and gardens took up aU
the time you didn't spend
fishing. The women used to be
doing as much as the men."
Cattle-drivers to an auction in
St. JohJl's were common in the
faU of the year. People would
walk their livestock in from as
far up as Trepassey. It was a
three-day walk from Cappahayden
(under good conditions),
spending the first nIght
in Cape Broyle and the next in
Witless Bay. "My greatgrandfather
once drove 30 head
of cattle into St. John's all by
himself," adds John. "When the
auctioneer found out how far
they had come, he got an extra
$12 a head for them--a lot of
money in them days."
John admires the wit of the
old-timers and tells DecD
Awa.h a story about the Cappahayden
hearse. "They used to
have to carry the coffins to
Renews on a long cart. A buncb
of the people here got into a big
discussion about whether to buy
a fancy horse-drawn hearse.
One fellow was standing aside,
saying nothing. Someone asked
him for his opinion and he
replied, 'I know one thing ­
there'll be no one rushing to
have the first ride in it! !' "
But in John Sheehan's house,
other discussions go on far
longer.
Coming home
to Renews
"It's mostly due to the improvement
of the fishery,"
explains Bill Hynes, "that so
many young people are returning
to this area. In Renews and
Cappahayden there are about
six or seven new homes every
year."
At the age of 21, Bill left
Renews to work in the hospitals
in St. John's. After about 11
years, he returned to the
community, later becoming
postmaster and chairman of the
community council of Renews
and Cappahayden.
As one of the few councils on
the shore, the local people have
been improving their community
since 1968. Ambulance
service was first begun in 1972,
Decks Awash -15
and now there are seven fullytrained
drivers in Renews. A
community stage and baitholding
unit were built in 1977
with subsidies from provincial
fisheries. The following year, a
large community centre for
dances and meetings was built,
as was a firehall. The summerof
1979 saw two Canada Works
Projects get underway, one to
build a playground, another for
a new skating rink. About four
miles of road were also paved.
The council's funds used to be
boosted by a provincial grant
that paid 200% of the council's
own earnings up to $1,000, then
matched dollar for dollar
(paying 100%) the next $4,000.
Tbis year the system bas been
Blll and Doreen Hynes with Trevor, 9, and Bl.lr, 5, re.dy lor bedtime.

16 - Decks Awash
changed to provide a grant of
about 50% per capita, plus $3,200
per community road mile. The
Renews-Cappahayden council
fares quite well because they
have 10.7 miles of road.
"The fact that we're less than
100 kilometers from St. John's
has both good and bad aspects,"
observes Bill. "For the sake of
council business, or any
dealings with government, it's
an asset. The main disadvantage,
though, is that any
small businesses in this area
faces quite a gamble. People are
so used to going down to St.
John's for groceries and other
shopping. Similarly, our
medical facilities are unlikely to
improve.
Many people think a lighthouse
keeper leads a lonely life,
but Ray Fennelly disagrees.
Born and raised at the Bear
Cove Point Station near Renews
where he is now Chief Keeper,
Ray told us, "We always had a
lot of visitors. especially in the
lummer, and enough chores to
Besides a few small grocery
stores, there is now a beauty
salon in Renews, which suggests
that the prosperity of the fishery
is opening business opportunities.
Bill Hynes believes
that there would be good
prospects for small manufacturing
industries, and he is
probably right. The businesses
would have reasonable access to
S1. John's for supplies and
markets, plus they would effectively
compete in the local
area.
"People here can be quite
reluctant to change," Bill tells
us across his kitchen table, "yet
they will accept the change
when it comes. For example,
there was resistance to our
Light housekeeping
at the lighthouse
keep us busy. I'd do it all over
again.
"My father, Thomas, was the
[irst keeper of this station. It
opened in August 1914, and about
three weeks later had to be
evacuated due to a forest fire
started by sparks from the
train." Fortunately, the fire did
Jim CbJdley.tBeuCove PolDl
animals-at-Iarge by-law in 1977,
but now everyone seems happy
to have it. I guess it is understandable
when you consider
that the most people here are
over 50 years old. They are not
about to be opening new
businesses or changing the
community."
Tourism is another area in
which the Southern Shore could
be better developed, according
to Bill. The landscape and
historical attractions have
proven irresistable to many
visitors from the USA and
Canada who return faithfully
every year. DeeD A.alb
certainly agrees that coming
back to the Southern Shore is
better than staying away.
not burn its way out to the Point
and the following year, Ray was
born in the house shown in our
photo.
For about 40 years, the
Fennellys received all supplies
from 81. John's by schooner. A
hand-winch and boom were used
for unloading. Now there is a

18 - Decks Awash
lined with many religious prints
and photos, including priests
and sisters who have served the
community over the years. and
a chart of all the Popes through
history. She does not have much
use for the unfriendliness and
hustle of modern life. "People
used to walk the seven miles
from Cappahayden to attend
Sunday Mass here and never
miss a week." she recalls.
"Now, if they can't drive their
car to it, they won't go
anywhere."
Rev. J. J. Walsh. a community leader - (origin.1
photo in possession ofCatherine M. Squires).
Presenting the Presentation Sisters
Within the impermanence of
modern society. a great sense of
relief can be found by looking
over the annals of the Presentation
Order in their various
Southern Shore convents. There
you will onen see the same
handwriting and the same
colour of ink recording entries
for 40 years or more. With their
gardens. livestock. and school
students to look after. the Sisters
have maintained a productive,
stable way of Hfe for over a
century. Annal entries such as
"1883-There were no
significant events this year,"
are quite common.
The village of Port Kirwan
was named in honour of Mother
Mary Bernard Kirwan who was
first Superior of the convent and
school that were established
here in 1853. A native of Galway,
The Renews Convent libr.ry with Sisters Elinbetb Kennedy (left) Ireland. Mother Kirwan died
and P,ltrice Sullivan. only four years after moving to

what was then called Admiral's
Cove. In 1876, the convent
tsurned down and the five Sisters
moved to Renews which was the
centre of the parish. Superior at
this time was M.M. Joseph
O'Donnell from Tipperary. Rev.
J.J. Walsh from Thomastown,
Kilkenny was the first parish
priest who served the area from
1872 until his death in 1912.
Besides organizing the building
of church, convent, and
presbytery, he was local
Chairman of Roads and apparently
provided the parish
with the best roads on the Shore.
The graves of M.M. Kirwan
and M.M. Magdalen O'Neill,
located under the convent
chapel in Admiral's Cove, were
dug up by Father McCarthy in
1940 to determine their exact
location. Silver rings and rosary
crucifixes from the corpses
were given over to the
Presentation archives in St.
John's. .
The Ferryland Convent was
Players scramble for the puck
in the corner and refs are too far
away to see the deliberate
tripping, the sly stick-to-theribs.
Suddenly, gloves and
helmets are thrown to the ice as
players attack one another, fists
flying. The referees move in, but
are too late to prevent cuts and
bruises that send several
players off the ice and one young
fellow to hospital for stitches
barely ten minutes after the
game begins.
While attending a Sunday
night game between the Fermeuse
and Bay Bulls teams,
Deeks Awash spoke to Jim
Walsh, exasperated coach for
Fermeuse. "A Cella doesn't
mind some rough play, but what
we're getting now is entirely too
physical," complains Jim. "It
is not good hockey anymore.
There are excellent players
from all over the shore now
who' refuse to play hockey
6ecause it has gotten too
rough."
Fermeuse has the league's
opened in 1858 under M.M.
Ignatius Quinlan with two other
Sisters. There were 56 young
girls in their classes the first
year. SUbjects taught were
Religion, Good Manners,
Reading, Writing, Arithmetic,
Singing, Music, Physical
Exercise, and Plain & Fancy
Needlework.
Part of the convent building
burned, but was rebuilt. The
cornerstone of the new
Ferryland convent was laid in
1913.
The Witless Bay Convent
opened on June 3rd, 1860 under
M.M. Bernard O'Donnell, accompanied
by three other
Sisters. As they journeyed from
St. John's, people were waving
flags and firing guns for several
miles. The Sisters began
teaching school in the church
and had 100 children, aged five
to eighteen. A new school house
was built in 1861.
In more recent years, the
Sisters have ceased their far-
He shoots, he scars!
"least physical" team and
tonight's game puts them
against the "most physical
team". "It's discouraging for
us," adds Jim, "this being our
first year in the Senior League.
Average age of our players is
Decks Awash - 1Y
ming activities to concentrate
more fully on teaching duties'
and School Board administration.
Of the 14 Sisters on
the Shore, six are school principals.
During the summers,
they attend courses all over
North America to keep in touch
with new developments in
Education.
Sisters in the Order used to
spend their entire career in one
or two convents, but now there is
much more mobility. This
results in Sisters often being
strangers to the communities in
which they teach. Another
change in the local schools is
that not all of the teachers are
Sisters. "The old system was a
little more supportive," comments
Sister M. Patrice
Sullivan, Superior at Renews.
"This was due to us living and
planning our work together as
well as teaching together.
Nevertheless, we are quite
content with the way things
are."
only 20, while Bay Bulls' team
averages about 27."
Differences in age, size and
experience would not be too
serious, though, if the games
were well refereed. But in
speaking to fans and players,
BayBulls stick-handles through the Fermeuse defence.

20 - Decks Awash
Young fellas in Ferryland - "dyin' for a game ofhockey!"
Dec:ks Awash discovered that
sloppy, uneven officiating was
everyone's first complaint about
the games.
This year. there are four
teams in the Southern Shore
Senior Hockey League: Cape
Broyle, Fermeuse, Ferryland
and Bay Bulls. Various teams
from other communities, inc:Iuding
the defending champions
in Calvert, are out of the
league this year in protest
against rough play, or because
they could not get together
enough players.
Loyola Sullivan, a teacher at
Baltimore High School in
Ferryland, played for five years
in the senior league and
remembers the "good old days"
when a Sunday night game used
to bring a dozen or more
busloads of fans into the
Feildian Gardens in St. John's.
Attendance now is about one
quarterof what it was.
"If we had an arena
somewhere on the shore, interest
in hockey would boom
again," predicts Loyola. "About
three years ago there was
$400,000 in federal and provincial
grants available to build an
arena, but no one was willing to
take on the project." An arena
would have to be somewhat
centrally-located, which creates
a problem because there are no
community councils between
Calvert and the Goulds near St.
John's.
John Glynn is president of the
Southern Shore Physical
Recreation Association
(SSPRA) - the group that
organizes senior hockey and has
been trying to revive junior
hockey, among other activities.
At age 24, John is younger than
many of the hockey players and
he feels that his hands are tied
unless he gets more support
from communities and
businesses on the shore.
"The Senior Hockey League
was $2,100 in the hole last
October when I took over and we
have managed to avoid going
any deeper into debt," explains
John, "but the SSPRA is at its
lowest ebb ever. I would like to
get a softball league on the go
this summer. but I know that tt:e
co-operation just would not be
there to do it."
The sad part of all this, according
to Jim Walsh, is that a
strong Senior Hockey League is
needed to pay for the costs of
junior and minor hockey. The
minor leagues, in turn are the
life blood of the whole system ­
training players who move up
the line to senior hockey.
Neither league can survive
without the other. "I've never
seen such enthusiasm for minor
hockey as there is now," says
Jim. "They wants a game of
hockey some bad, and it's
shockin' that they can't get the
opportunity.',
For years now, hockey has
provided a spirit of community
among players, spectators and
fund-raisers on the Southern
Shore. It is still one of the few
organized activities for young
people. If hockey is allowed to
die, because of injuries, officiating
or lack of facilities, will
it be replaced by anything as
potentially constructive?
Here lies the wreck of the Islex, near Fermeuse, where she was
beached in 1948. A fire started aboard the vessel as she left Fermeuse
with a load of salUish. The crew abandoned the Islex, but
Martin Walsh and some other men of Fermeuse boarded her and
unloaded what they could before she was beached.

Animals of Aquaforte
J
Jim Maber surrounded byhungry mouths.
Decks Awash - 21
Have you ever wanted to
immobilize a horse?
"You just pull out his top lip
and wrap a piece of line around
it that has a bight in each end,"
begins Arthur Maher of
Aquaforte, gesturing with his
big brown hands. "Pass a
hammer handle through the
bights, then twist 'er up bar
tight. That's called 'the grin,'
and it will paralyze every nerve
in his body until you release the
twist. It's great for shoeing a
contrary horse, but you may
have to put him up against a
fence or he'll fall over."
Arthur has just bought himself
a 1980 diesel pick-up, but he still
swears by his tobacco-chewing
horse, Rudolph, when it comes
time lor a trip into the woods.
Arthur and his cousin, Jim,
who lives next door each keep
animals on their steep roadside
lots. They have 18 sheep, lour
ducks and two horses. Small
_ barns keep them in the winter,
but come summer they may go

Truckin' on down the road
It used to be said that "a
fishermen is one rogue, a
merchant is many," but these
days the expression could well
be re-written to illustrate the
small businessman's
helplessness when up against
large corporations. Deck.
AWaib spoke to Alfred Maher of
Aquaforte and Bernard
Kavanagh of Ferryland - two
businessmen who have been
involved in trucking for over 20
years.
"I used to leave Ferryland
about 5:00 in the morning,"
remembers Bernard, "and head
into St. John's with a bunch of
orders. What with dirt roads and
potholes, it took three or four
hours to get there. By about 6
p.m. I would leave to come back
with a load of general cargo. It
would take until midnight to
deliver and unload. I'd get about
four hours sleep, and then take
off again."
Bernard Kavanagh now owns
eight vehicles ranging from
step-in vans to an eight-ton
truck, His business was built up
in a carefully-controlled manner
with no help from the government.
"That's why it bothers me
to see those big outfits moving
in," says Bernard. "They get
mUUon-dollar grants from the
government, then go broke after
a year. Sometimes they're just
in it long enough to foul up the
man who's been here all along."
AUred Maher now has three
Ford trucks, ranging from 2Y.1 to
5 tons. As we drive up to the
Fermeuse fish plant, Alfred
frowns at a noise under the hood,
"You hear that? - second
power steering on a '79 truck.
There only puttin' out junk now,
and charging the earth for it. A
truck that cost $4500 in 1968 now
costs you $15,000."
Before the container business
started and before the big
trucking companies moved in
(rom the mainland, Alfred had
steady contacts with a variety of
Alfred Maher.
NOW IN PRINT!
The Fishery of
Newfoundland and Labrador
Decks Awash - 23
businesses operating throughout
Newfoundland. "The bottom is
outof this truckin' now," he says
in a slow voice, "I wouldn't hang
on to it anymore, except for the
sake of the young fellas. We've
got to give them more of a break
than they are getting now."
Men like Bernard and Alfred
have lived through some pretty
tough times to get this far, and
have learned to be very patient.
As Alfred Maher remarks,
"Big money goes fast." Let us
. try to prevent it from taking the
small businesses with it.
This bOok, written by the staff 01 Decks Awash, published by the Extension Service, Memorial University
01 Newfoundland, is seiling tor $6.25 in the following bookstores:
DiCks, Water Street, SI. John's
Classic Bookshop, Avalon Mall, SI. John's
Classic Bookshop, Downtown 51. John's
Coles, the Book People, Avalon Mall, SI. John's
Coles, the Book People, Village Shopping Centre, 51. John's
Coles, the Book People, Trlnlty-Concepllon Square, Carbon ear
EW, Harvey Gift Shop, Torbay Airport, St, John's
Memorial University of Newfoundland Bookstore.
If you can't get to any of these stores, the book Is also available from Shirley Murdoch, Circulation
Manager, Extension Service, Memorial University of Newfoundland A1C 557, 75301200, extension 3485.

24 - Decks Awash
Promoting the good life
"Child abuse, unwed mothers,
juvenile delinquency, the
welfare rate - these and other
social problems are
disproportionately low on the
Southern Shore," claims Gerry
Power, district administrator
for the provincial department of
social services.
While admitting that the
communities' stability may be
on the decline, Gerry explains
why the social problems are low.
The fishery is good, so that
unemployment is low and people
have enough money to get by on.
Individuals tend to be hardworking
and independent, not
used to relying on the government
for anything. Family and
neighbouring ties are still strong
enough to keep people from
straying very far into trouble.
"The church is a very important
stabilizing influence in
community life," begins Gerry.
"Especially because 95% of the
shore is Roman Catholic," adds
John Farrell of Renews, who is
also a member of the provincial
department of social services.
"People from different villages
have a lot in common." Gerry
and John cover an area that
extends from Calvert to St.
Shott's, but their offices are in
the Baltimore Medical Clinic
building in Ferryland.
"Many local people have
difficulty in contacting government
departments for information,"
Gerry points out.
"Our office is broadly considered
as a referral centre for
information on any government
social or economic program. All
people have to do is call us."
St. John's is very accessible to
most people on the Shore, and
their dependence on the city for
most shopping and services
hinders local busine'ss
development. "We're not close
enough to S1. John's for its
services to be convenient and
we're not far enough away to
have our own," is how Gerry
puts it. "For instance, there are
no banks between Trepassey
and the Goulds (a few miles out
of St. John'S). As a result, I
would say that about 70% of the
wages from the Fermeuse fish
plant are spent in St. John's. It
has been going on for so long
that it is hard to change, but
there are some hopeful signs for
local business. A good example
is the new salon in Renews - it's
a beginning."
Alcoholism poses a certain
threat to community life. Gerry
sees that two factors ­
availability of money and free
time - create an environment
in which people of all ages can
be led to do too much drinking.
"Here again, the church helps
control it," Gerry says. "And in
the past three years, Kinsmen
Clubs have also promoted a very
constructive type of socializing
through concerts, dances,
barbecues and other fundraising
activities. The money
they raise is then turned back
into the community in the form
of a playground or some other
facility."
Kinsmen clubs are active in
Renews, Fermeuse and (since
March 1980) in Ferryland. Other
towns from Cape Broyle on
down have the Knights of
Columbus doing similar community
work. As a result of
these clubs, along with churches
and schools, the good life is kept
within everyone's reach
Buying, cleaning
and preparing
seal flippers
Flippers, like any other
meat, require special care
·whlch begins with the purchase.
When buying flippers,
make sure the flesh is red,
ensuring freshness. To clean
flippers, soak them in cold
water with 1 tablespoon
baking soda for about Ih hour.
The soda makes the fat snow
white. Then take a sharp
knife and remove all traces of
fat. The most common way of
preparing flippers is to
render out fat back pork-dip
flippers lightly in salted flour
and fry until brown in pork
fat. Onions are optional - if
you like them fry them with
the flippers. Take from frying
pan when brown and put in a
covered roaster. Add onions,
make gravy to which has
been added Worchestershire
sauce to taste, pour over
flippers and allow to bake at
350°F until tender.

Tourist: Gee, do you people
live here in the winter too?
Resident: No sir, we dies in
the fall.
So goes an old joke from Cape
Breton that could equally well
apply to Newfoundland. Now for
the benefit of those who only see
this Province in the summer,
Decks Awash offers a winter
time glimpse of the ladies in
Renews and the boys of Calvert.
In Renews. the Captain
William Jackman Senior
Citizens' Club received a
Canada Works Grant to build
.some outdoor furniture for the
Winter Works
Community Centre. These
women, under forelady Theresa
Hynes, ha ve proven to be quite
handy with the tools and have
built benches, picnic tables, and
lounge chairs. Later this Spring
they will be landscaping and
constructing a barbecue pit.
Roughly left to right in our photo
are Patsy Goodridge, Gert
Devine, Kathleen Fortin, Terri
Farrell, Mary Johnson, Mary
Goodridge. Annie Jackman,
Theresa Hynes, and Ronnie
Hynes.
In Calvert, Chris Sullivan
Decks Awash - 25
operates the only formal boatshop
on the Southern Shore. By
special arrangement with the
College of Fisheries in St. John's
and Canada Manpower, Chris
has been teaching shipwright
skills to some of the local young
men. Together, they have built a
35-foot Cape Islander and a 31foot
trap skiff. Shown here in the
bow of the Cape Islander are
(left to right): Sean
"Chopper" Walsh, Derm
Sullivan. Leo Walsh, Sean
Sullivan. Don Sullivan, Chris
Sullivan. Gerard Walsh. Paul
Walsh, Cyril Sullivan and
Gerard Swain.

26 - Decks Awash
"There's more people after
coming back to Cape Broyle
than leaving," says Ann Coady.
Her husband Jim explains that it
is mostly due to the revival of
the inshore fishery. "In the last
five years, the number of people
fishing here has tripled," he
figures. "Now that the fish
plants are taking so many
species besides cod, and now
that Canada has the 200-mile
limit, there's money to be
made."
The Coadys with their four
children returned to Cape
Broyle last year. They had been
living in Labrador City since
1965, where Jim worked with
CIL Explosives, ultimately
becoming a production super·
visor. The return home was
well-planned in advance. as the
Coadys started work on a new
club in Cape Broyle about five or
six years ago. Several times a
year, Jim would get back to the
Living in Cape Broyle
community where his brother
and first cousin were looking
after the construction in his
absence. The San Juan Lounge
was opened on April 30, 1976.
Two years later, Jim and Ann
Coady completed house plans,
and their house was finished
before they returned home.
Though many communites on
the Shore have no clubs, Cape
Broyle now has three that draw
people together from cortlmunities
between Cappahayden
and Witless Bay, if not further.
"Sure, that's only traditional,"
remarks Ann, with a grin,
"Cape Broyle always used to
have the best Church garden
parties."
For those who are not fishing
out of Cape Broyle, the community
offers a few jobs at
garages. at the post office, with
the telephone company and the
small hydro-power dam. This
spring, there are also 14 men
Jim and Ann Coady with young Janice. age 1months.
building a wharf under a Canada
Works Program. Other people
work at the Fermeuse fish plant
and about 15 or 20 drive into St.
John's.
"One bad thing about this
Shore is the lack of facilities for
young people." confides Jim.
"An arena would be a real asset.
It could be used year-round for
hockey. roller skating, dances
and other activities." The lack
of an arena or other large
recreation centre along the
Shore points out the need for
more co-operation among the
communities, as no one town
could finance and manage such
a facility.
As Decks Awash sat in the
kitchen. eating one of Ann
Coady's fine fish dinners and
drinking tea, Joan Dalton, who
works at the San Juan, dropped
in and offered her comments on
family life in the area. "I grew
up in a family with nine brothers
and nine sisters," she said,
"which was not unusually large
at the time. People were a lot
closer and helped each other out
more than they do today.
"We were never any worse off
for having such a large family-the
older ones looked after the
younger ones. and there were
lots of hands to help with the
washing, bread-making, gardening.
fishing. hay-making and
tending the animals." In those
days of seU-sufficiency, it paid
to have a large labour force in
the family. "Dad used to go to
St. John's once a year in the fall
to buy a few barrels of beef and
pork, and sacks of flour," Joan
recalls. "We went through about
100 pounds of flour each week."
While pleased to see that
gardening and wood-burning are
making a comeback along the
Shore. Joan is not so keen on all
the old ways. "If I went to bed
one night and dreamt that I had
that many kids," she vows. "I
don't think I would wake up."

The heyday of small business
Every community seems to
have its starters - people who
are always trying something
new. You would have to go a
long way. however, to find
someone who has "out-started"
Mike Hayden of Cape Broyle. In
1954, he opened the first motel on
the Southern Shore. which is still
the only one. Two years later he
opened the Shore's first movie
theatre, its first snack bar and
started buying fish.
"I paid cash," Mike points
out, "the first bit of cash that
many of the fishermen had ever
seen." He trucked the fish to
plants at Harbour Grace and
Fermeuse in those days and was
soon buying fish from every
harbour between Renews and
Petty Harbour. During the
1960s, Mike had the first
Dominion agency on the Shore,
and in 1967 he opened the first
club beyond Witless Bay.
"It was much easier to open a
business back then," says Mike
i!'l a half-complaining, halfamused
way. "You never
needed licences or inspections.
After you were open for awhile
and making money, the Public
Health people would come by to
inspect it. Now you need
licences before even building the
place. They must be trying to
kill small business altogether.
Just look at this motel - it
would not pay me to put in the
heavier doors and extra fire
escape that I need for a fire
permit now."
Mike's Motel is tastefully
decorated with antique
engravings, ship models and a
collection of old hall-stands for
coats and hats. complete with
bevelled mirrors. "I had seven
rooms in the 'GOs, and added
another eight about 1970," Mike
explains. "There used to be a lot
of tourists staying here. plus
steady business from road
construction crews, Newfound-
land Telephone, and Light and
Power - companies that
retained rooms here for months
on end. Business had really
dropped off in the last three
years, though. Tourists now
have campers and trailers; they
don't stay in motels."
At the age of 20, in 1942, Mike
joined the Merchant Marine and
travelled all over Europe and
Australia for about 12 years. "It
was during my travels that I got
all the ideas for businesses,"
adds Mike. "Now that movie
Decks Awash - 27
theatre was a fine rig. I had 100
chairs in this room." he says
pointing to what is now the
bar-room, "and charged the
kids loe for matinee shows.
Adults paid 25(: in the daytime,
SOt at night. It was television
that finished that off in the early
'60s."
Changes in transportation
might finish off the motel. too, in
the next few years, but the bar
will stay open, as long as there is
a throat to wet and a tale to be
told in Cape Broyle.
Mike Hayden polishes up the oldest baron the shore.

28 - Decks Awash
Bad times for the bummermen
"The community stage is only
used by sheep and goats these
days," reports Petie Hawkins,
40, chairman of the Brigus South
fishermen's committee and fulltime
fisherman himseU.
"There's not a door or a window
left in her. No electricity and no
running water. You can imagine
that it gets pretty scummy
during the fishing season.
"The wharf's gone too.
There's a big hole in it. If
nothing is done, we're going to
have to fish elsewhere."
According to Petie, the
government has been told of
these problems, but no action
has been taken on the I5-yearold
stage.
"It was a beautiful building
when it was first built," he
recalls, "but they gave us no
money to look after it. And you
can't expect fishermen to put
their own money into something
which is open to anyone up and
down the Shore. The building is
useless now. The only solution
would be to partition off sections
of the building and put locks on
each section. Then the fishermen
could be guaranteed their
,gear wouldn't be touched."
For the 4 trap crews and 15 or
so bummermen (small-boat
fishermen), the facilities ha"e
been a real problem. They're
also beginning to worry about
the 20-year-old breakwater
which blocks the sea between
Lookout Point and the island.
They're hoping it will last
another few years. And the
shallow harbour is in constant
need of dredging. The other
problem facing the fishermen is
the dumping of squid. "Last
year you'd be an hour or more
calling people trying to get rid of
it," reports Petie. "I've trucked
it as far away as Salmonier."
Petie and Dorothy Hawkins with three of their five children, Connie
9, Pierre 6 months and Cindy 2.
For years the people of Brigus
South lived only in the cove, but
since the community got election
pavement from the high
road to the cove and since the
school bus refused to descend
the hill in the community, people
have been building along the
mile-long branch-road that
connects the community to the
highway. "There always were 22
families in the cove," says
Petie, a lifetime resident, "but
there are about 15 houses along
the branch-road now. ThE"
population has remained
around 100, but it's now
growing."
Some people work in St.
John's and both young and old
fish. Last year, about 300,000 ­
400,000 pounds of trap fish and
about 100,000 pounds of squid
went to Calvert and between
400,000 - 500,000 pounds of cod
and 200,000 pounds of squid from
the bummermen went to Martin
O'Brien of Tors Cove Fisheries.
"The fishing has improved
about 50% in the last 10 years,
especially since the price has
picked up."
While Petie is fishing,
weighing in the fish and trucking
it in his one-ton pickup, his wife,
Dorothy, a French Canadian
who settled in Witless Bay when
she was five, is running the only
store in the community. She
started it ten years ago because
there was no store after Fonse
Power had retired. Now her
children help outin the store.
During the winter the community
is quiet. Come spring Us
a hum of activity...fibre-glass
speed-boats whizz back and
forth, trap skiffs trying to
maneouver out of the shallow
harbour, children avoiding the
potholes in the wharf and
Dorothy providing everyone
with the necessary essentials.
Brigus is not so different from
other communities up and down
the Shore, it's just that the
facilities might be a htUe worse.

Decks Awash - 29
If the regulations don't get you,
the storms will
"Our biggest problem here is
the lack of competition. There's
only one buyer so they can do
what they like," explains John
Reddick of Bauline South. That
buyer is Tors Cove Fishery in
Tors Cove. "Other fish plants
won't look at us because they
figure it's out of their territory."
What upset John and the other
fishermen in the area is the
strictness with which Tors Cove
governs the catch. "UP in
Fermeuse they aren't particular
with the size. But the one we sell
to, they measure it. A 24" fish is
a large fish. Up in Fermeuse
they would probably get away
with 22", but here they are
particular."
Size, weight, grades and
quality will be bigger and bigger
concerns of fish plants in the
future as they strive to put a
good product on the market. But
switching from the days when
anything was accepted to today
when only the choicest fish is
wanted is tough on the fisher·
men who are finding their
fishery becoming more and
more restricted.
Size is only one restriction.
Licensing is another. Take the
salmon fishery. "There are only
about 4 crews from Bauline to
Tors Cove with a licence for
salmon," states Gerald Colbert
of St. Michael's.
Other regulations upset them
as well. Now they have to report
all subsidies for gear and fish for
the last five years. "We don't
have those records," they say
and then add, "why didn't they
tell us at the time...five years
ago?"
"These regulations are get·
ling us at every turn." explains
John. It used to be that if we had
John Reddick and his brother Bernie.
a good year we could get enough
to carry us through a bad year,
but now it's hard to provide for
those bad years." And when
they talk of bad years, they don't
always mean bad fishing years.
Sometimes it's the storms. "It
seems like the storms are get·
ling worse," he adds.
There was a time when
stages extended straight out into
the small unsheltered Bauline
harbour. In 1965, a fierce storm
struck the coast, destroying the
neighbouring community of La
Manche and washing all the
facilities out of Bauline. La
Manche never recovered and
today it is a ghost town, the
people having moved into
Bauline, St. Michael's, Burnt
Cove or Tors Cove. Bauline
received a community stage to
replace its former facilities but
in the meantime a lot of men left.

30 - Decks Awash
the fishery. About ten years ago
the fishery began to pick up
again. Today for every older
fishermen that retires there
seems to be a younger man
ready to take his place.
The fishermen of Burnt Cove,
St. Michael's and Tors Cove trap
and trawl and use gill and
salmon nets. Cod is the mainstay,
although they catch some
salmon and squid.
"The fishery was pretty good
here last year," Gerald Colbert
and Bernie Reddick report, "but
the trap fishery has been
declining these past few years.
Nine to ten years ago people
were getting more fish in one
trap than we are now getting in
three or four. We finally had to
set up gill nets the last of July
because we weren't getting any
more trap fish."
The boys have a theory as to
why the trap fishery isn't what it
used to be. "The water's getting
too cold. This is what puts the
slime around. You wouldn't see
that if the water was warmer."
MOSl fishermen agree that
they don't like using gill nets.
They say traps are the easiest
way to fish, "but if you can't get
fish that way, then you have to
try something else." Although
Gerald Colbert demonstrates
how to make Japanese cod
traps, he himself has never used
one on this shore, nor have the
other fishermen. They figure the
water's too deep. Besides the
Newfoundland cod trap has
always worked well for them,
when the fish are running.
Last year John Reddick and
his crew caught approximately
320,000 pounds of fish, of which
220,000 were caught in traps.
Fishing kept them busy up until
November. Since then they have
been going daily to their stores
to repair old nets and traps and
make new ones. "Who says
fishermen don't work in the
winter," scoffs John. With two
men working they can make a
new gill net, 50 fathoms long, in
3-4 hours. The total number of
gill nets John uses in a season is
20, plus four traps. And he
makes his own traps because
they cost $20 more to buy than to
make.
Although John Reddick is a
full-time fishermen, he also is a
tour guide. After a days' fishing,
John often takes tourists from
all over the world out to the
nearby Bird Islands to see the
famous puffins bob, fly and dive.
"One day we had 60 people. We
had to use three boats."
April signifies the beginning of
another fishing season. By now
John, Gerald and Bernie should
have their nets in the water. And
everyone will be waiting to see
whether it's going to be a good or
bad season.
The house at the end of the road .
"I never had the chance for
schooling, so I made darn sure
my children did," says Amelia
Colbert in her Bauline (south)
kitchen. Her daughter, Anne, a
nurse now studying for a degree
in sociology and psychology,
nods in agreement.
"I had six children...two are
teachers, one is a nurse, one
works with the Coast Guard,
another is a secretary and the
youngest is a university
student."
Amella Colbert and her daughter Anne
Amelia is not boastful. She
knew that education was important
and she made sure her
children got one. Nor is she that
different from many of the
families in Bauline. Education
has always been considered
important and most families
boast several teachers and
nurses. And master's degrees
are far from rare.
Bauline, although a small
community, has some of the best
fishermen in the area. And there
are several young boys going
into it as well. It seems that
whatever the people of Bauline
set out to do, they do well.
At the end of a side road that
meanders off the Southern Shore
highroad, Bauline is a picturesque
community. Houses
border a small pond, the homes
are large, substantial and white
and patches of garden still cling
to the hillsides. A community
stage is nestled between two
cliffs.
Amelia was born in the next
community of 8t. Michael's and
her husband, Matt, in tiny Seal's
Cove which lies between 8t.
Michael's and Bauline. They

uilt their house on a steep
hillside just up from the sea.
Matt had one of the first trucks
along the shore. For years he
would take the dry fish into St.
John's, bring back salt and
flour. Soon everyone knew that
he was going into town and they
would ask him to get a bit of
twine, pick up a battery or
deliver a message. Most days
he was gone in the early morning
until late at night. Finally
Matt and Amelia decided that it
might be worthwhile to open a
little store. While Matt continued
to deliver up and down
the Shore, Amelia, helped by the
children, ran the store. They
supplied everything from salt
pork to paint and twine. They
also had one cow, several hens,
ducks "for fun" and two gardens.
When the highroad from Tors
Cove to St. John's (about 28
miles) was improved and people
began to buy pickups, Matt's
two-ton truck was no longer in
such demand. Also, his children
were almost grown up, so 13
years ago he signed onto one of
the cable ships and he has been
at sea ever since...sometimes
for as long as three months at a
stretch.
Amelia doesn't mind. She still
has two children at home, lots of
grandchildren around her, two
cats, two dogs, a lovely garden,
Possibly the oldest home on
the Southern Shore is located in
Calvert. It now belongs to
Harold Power and is situated
just behind his gas station.
Brought over fror:n England in
The ocean view from St. Michael's.
church groups and knitting to
do. And her knitting isn't the
phentex kind..
Amelia has few complaints,
except that she, as well as her
neighbours, object to going to
Tors Cove each day to get the
mail. "Those who drive to St.
John's leave before the post
office opens and they come back
after it closes." She sometimes
goes several days without mail.
They also have to go to Bidgoods
in the Goulds for groceries. The
Oldest house on the Shore
The Power residence today ... and in the 1920's.
sections, it was originally owned
by the Sweetland family. One
William Sweetland was
definitely a merchant in town by
1815, but whether this was his
home is unknown. The house
Decks Awash - 31
other major problem is getting
the oil truck up her steep gravel
road in the winter.
Her daughter, Anne, gets
another cup of coffee to go with
her dried capelin. She's home on
a visit from upstate New
York. It was a surprise visit for
Amelia. And you can bet that the
problems with the mail or the oil
truck aren't weighing heavily on
Amelia's mind. Catching up on
Anne's news is more important
now.
was bought from John Keough
by Harold's grandfather, John
Power. According to Harold's
sister Kitty (Mrs. Vincent
Sullivan), the top story of the
house was reJT.loved about 1935.

32 - Decks Awash
"When I was growing up, I
lived down in St. Joseph's. It
was called 'the cribbie'. The
priest used to hold mass at a
small little church in Tors Cove
and then he would go down to see
the people at 'the cribbie'. Their
names were Carew and they had
a crib sent to them for Christmas
from the mainland. The old
people with broken English
would say 'lets go down and see
the cribbie'. Then when Father
O'Brien came around he
christened it St. Joseph's. There
used to be 20 houses down there.
They are all gone but 2. It's now
a part of Tors Cove."
The teller of this tale is John
T. Power. A well-known
Southern Shore figure, he is
often found at weddings, or
church socials giving
recitations, stories and poems,
such as Hustler Joe or St. Peter
at the Gate. At 74, his memory
and his black hair would make
many a young man envious.
He's got a recitation for
everyone and can keep you
entertained for hours.
Some say that fishing is in the
blood. In John T. 's case, it's
carpentry. His grandfather built
the Tors Cove church. His uncle
built the church in Renews and
after a short time as a school
teacher, a railwayman and a
fish-plant worker, John went to
St. John's and joined the carpenter's
union. He worked on the
Avalon Mall, St. Bride's College
and at Fort Pepperell. He would
spend his weeks in St. John's
and come home on the
weekends.
"At that time we worked 5Y.1.
days," John T. recalls.
"Saturday afternoon we would
go shopping and then we'd take
taxis and buses home. Back then
you could only go 25 miles-anhour
and it would take an hourand-a-half.
Now it only takes
half an hour. Sometimes we'd go
back Sunday night and more
times Monday morning."
John T. Power is an ardent
Tors Covian and is quick to point
out that the surrounding com-
Tors Cove tales
munities are a part of the Tors
Cove parish. "People used to
come to church here from as far
away as LaManche. They would
walk in the summer or take a
horse and carriage. Come
winter they would take a horse
and slide."
In the immediate area Tors
Cove is the largest community.
It's populated by mostly Powers
and O'Driscolls. Mobile is the
next largest community and
that's where the Kennedys,
O'Reillys and Hutchings liV'e.
Third in size is Burnt Cove
populated by Tees and then
comes Bauline and St. Michael's
with their Doyles and Colberts.
For years people lived down
by the sea in Tors Cove. But
about 30 years ago people began
moving up on the highroad. It's
easier on St. John's commuters,
but the real reason was lack of
land in this hilly community.
Those who don't commute to St.
John's now work at the fish
plant, fish or have small
trucking and busing businesses.
Like many of the communities,
Tors Cove lacks a
town council. John T. thinks it
might be a good idea. "We'd get
water and sewerage then." The
other problem, according to
John T. are the truckloads of
cows that are dumped each year
in the community.
John T. Power
The steep hills surrounding
Tors Cove make it a scenic spot,
but what makes it more interesting
are the four islands
just off its shore: Fox Island
Great Island, Ship Island and
Perry. The last two are
referrred to as Spear Island and
Pebble Island on the charts.
Years ago people lived on Ship
Island during the summer
fishing season and one family,
the O'Driscolls, had a fishing
room on Fox Island. Today it's
home to only sheep. Great
Island is the bird sanctuary,
home to the provincial bird, the
puffin.
While town councils and of(·
shore islands are interesting,
John T. much prefers to tell
stories. He remembers fondly
all the big times that required a
recitation. "You'd have a
garden party in the sum·
mertime with a supper and
dance at night. In the fall, the
crowd would get together and
have a concert. At Christmas
there were several and another
concert would be on St.
Patrick's Day." At the drop of a
hat he still tells a sad tale.
1 stood at eve when the sun went
down
By a grave where a woman lies
Who lured men's souls to the
shores ofsin
By the light ofher wanton eyes..•

Crowded hut sophisticated
Mobile High School was
bustling with activity when
Deek. Awa.h visited. It was a
beautiful sunny day and
students were milling around
outside in the school yard during
lunch break. Inside the gym, a
vigourous game of floor hockey
was underway.
Principal, Sister Chrysostom
Brennan, was escorting the area
vocational counsellor around to
the various classrooms, but she
did take time to chat briefly.
Sister Chrysostom only has been
principal since September but
she has been a teacher for some
30 years, 20 of which she served
as principal in other schools.
."Our biggest problem here is
one of over·crowding," she
explains. "The school has a
library and a gym. Home
economics is taught as are
biology, French and earth
science. String art, various
crafts and poster making are
also part of the curriculum. The
lunch room must sometimes
double as a classroom and
chemistry is not being taught at
the moment. There was no
teacher available to teach the
subject and anyway we are
using the chemistry lab for a
classroom.
"We have 320 students in
grades 7 to 11 and they come
from three feeder schools," she
adds. "The next high school on
the Southern Shore is at
Ferryland."
On the other hand, Carol Noel,
the French teacher, has a very
sophisticated French lab. There
are 16 cubicles with audio
equipment where the students
Decks Awash - 33
can listen to language tapes and
also listen to themselves. Miss
Noel operates the master can·
trol where she can hear in·
dividual students and correct
their pronunciation and
grammar where necessary.
French is compulsory in grades
7 and 8, but an elective in grades
9to 11.
The students, themselves,
appear to have many interests.

34 - Decks Awash
Decks Awasb talked with Grade
XI students, coincidentally, all
from Bay Bulls. The three, Al
Gatherall, Kim Kelly and Jamie
Maloney are all interested in
furthering their education after
leaving high school. And all
want to make their homes in
Bay Bulls.
AI. the son of a fisherman,
fished with his father last
summer and hopes to go the
Fisheries College to learn more
about the industry. Kim had a
baby-sitting job last summer
and hopes to go to Memorial
University in the fall to study
biology. Jamie worked at Bay
Bulls Sea Products last summer
and hopes to go to the Trades
College to pursue a career in
auto body work. They don't
object to being bused from Bay
Bulls to the high school. In fact,
they are much like high-school
students you'd find anywhere,
but as we were preparing to
leave, they all adamantly
stated, "It's Bay Bulls all the
way for us."
French teacher, Carol Noel, has
another interest in the area. In
the summertime, tours to the
Marine Drive, St. John's and
Conception Bay ha ve been in
operation and now she is trying
to develop one to the Southern
Shore. "We hope to go to Cape
Spear, the fish plant at Petty
Harbour, on to Tors Cove and
take a boat trip to the bird
sanctuary. I have two students
helping me, Noellene Kelly and
Lynn WilJjams. Another
teacher, Esther Moore, is also
involved. Brochures should be
available in hotels in late June. II
Sister Chrysostom Brennan, Principal ofMobile High School.
A lunchtime floor hockeygame at Mobile High School.

Decks Awash - 35
Father Purcell -
the Southern Shore traffic cop
Remember Victoria and
Albert, Queen and Prince
Consort of the British Empire?
Well, Witless BayPresbyteryhas
its very own Victoria and Albert.
Victoria is a sleek tabby cat
replete with collar and bell, and
Albert is a large, affectionate
English sheep dog who would
really prefer to be a lap dog, if
his master, the Reverend
Father Edward Purcell, would
permit such shenanigans.
Now Father Purcell is
something else. Practically
everywhere Deck. Awa.h went
on the Southern Shore people
advised us to go and talk to
Father Purcell. But the Father
is a very busy man and if he's
not conducting masses for the
parishes of Witless Bay, Mobile,
Tors Cove or Bauline, he's in St.
John's with the school board, at
a Knights of Columbus meeting
or off doing the million and one
things that he considers his
responsibility.
The convent, school, church
and presbytery are an imposing
sight in Witless Bay. The con·
vent was built in 1855 and the
Presentation Sisters have been
there ever since.
"We have to be very thankful
to the Sisters," says Father
Purcell. "They have had a
tremendous influence on the
lives of the residents. They were
the educators."
Father Purcell has been the
parish priest for the last seven of
his twenty-five years as a priest.
He is not only priest but a
community leader as well, and
is interested in everything that
affects the residents.
On being asked why there was
no town or community council,
Father Purcell explains, "The
older people here have a great
deal of influence in the community
and many of them didn't
want a council, so eventually the
St. John's Metropolitan Board
took over. Now there is some
control over development. To
build you have to get a permit
from the Metro Board. We have
our roads looked after by the
department of highways and we
do get excellent service. There
is a garbage collection
organized by the Metro Board
and residents pay a fee for this.
There is a rural development
committee that makes
recommendations regarding
projects in the area to the Metro
Board and the department of
rural development."
Father Purcell says that
Witless Bay and Bay Bulls are,
in some ways, like suburbs of St.
John's. He has an idea that the
Metro Board wanted to have
jurisdiction over the area
because they wanted to protect
the green belt and the watershed
around St. John's.
"Bay Bulls Big Pond has
already become part of the
city's water supply and I have
heard that if extra water is
needed, Country Pond or Gull
Pond at Witless Bay may be
used."
As far as oil and gas related
activities are concerned, Father
Purcell feels that Bay Bulls is a
likely service port.
"People are talking about oil
and gas and where service ports
are going to be located. I have
heard a rumor that the
government is planning on
driving a new road from the
arterial road to Bay Bulls which
Father Edward Purcell
The Presbytery at WiUess Hay. about 100years Ola.

BettyNorris
Bay for just six months.
Betty adds that there was no
work, and no way to make a
living when they came home.
Phil agrees, "There was plenty
of fish, but you couldn't get
anything for it. There were no
fish plants like there are today."
"Phil's father used to fish and
then dry his fish on the flakes
over there," explains Betty,
pointing out the window. But the
house was full. "There were
seven of them then. I forget how
much a quintal it was, but it was
hardly anything. There were
potatoes in the field. We used to
pick them, put them in sacks
and put them down in the cellar.
I thought it was all so different.
There was no money, but I used
to think they were really well off
because it was such a pretty
place and the land was so
gorgeous. It was a lovely life."
It was just too difficult to
make a living so Betty and Phil
decided that England offered
more opportunities. In January,
1948 she returned to her parents
and got a job. Phil stayed on in
foundland. He had a boat, so
what he made on fishing and the
sale of his boat was enough for
passage back to England in
August of 1948.
They made their life in
England and had a son, Wayne,
now an electrical technician.
Betty says they had a pretty
good life, but as they grew older,
Phil always wanted to come
home. "And this place was ours,
Dad left us the family home."
The home is a hundred-yearold
two-storey house set on 8. rise
with a pond on one side where
Phil keeps his boat which he
uses for sport fishing in the
summer. There is plenty of land
around and some of his family
live in nearby houses.
"We used to come home in the
summers and we gradually built
it up. We'd do a side one year
and something else the next.
Decks Awash - 37
Inshore fisherman Gus CahJII, left and Phil Norris
at the Newfoundland Quick Freeze Limited wharf
at Witless Bay.
Phil worked in a large steel
plant and the work was getting a
bit much. Our son got married
and my mother and father died
so we returned here in 1977."
Betty admits that life in
Witless Bay is far different from
life in Wales. There she, her
husband and son worked. But as
she grew older she found it more
difficult to cope. A lot of her
friends were widows and she
was frightened.
Phil is glad to be back. Be
goes trouting anrt jigging and
into the woods. And for the last
two years he has been working
part-time at the Newfoundland
Quick Freeze ·plant, which gives
him some extra cash and keeps
him occupied.
The Norris' are home to stay.

40 - Decks Awash
Then he saw an opportunity for
blueberries on the Southern
Shore. And in about 1936 he
began buying and selling them
to the Cold Storage Division of
Harvey and Company in St.
John's. Still not content he
began trucking dried fish on
commission. But despite all
these activities it was his
father's year·round mail service
that Con had kept going that
brought in the steady money.
By 1922, the Alan Goodridge
fishery business in the neighbouring
community of Witless
Bay had gone belly up. In 1940,
Can and his brother Walter,
bought it from the receiver. "I
moved out of Bay Bulls because
there was a merchant already
there," Con explains, "and there
was no major merchant in
Witless Bay."
By 1942 Con was running a
filleting plant in Witless Bay.
His timing was perfect. The war
in Europe was in full swing and
the population was in desperate
need for cheap protein. Con'
refitted the Goodridge premises
and sold fish to Harvey's who'
had huge cold storage facilities.:
The fish was then frozen andi
shipped to Europe. Con alsO'
went into the production and
exporting of dried fish around
1945. When the war was over, the
European market for frozen fish
abruptly dried up. Can saved his
skin by continuing to pack
saltfish from Bay Bulls to
Bauline South. He also maintained
a general supply
The Roman Catholic Church ofSt. Peter and Sf. Paul, Bay Bulls, is
evidence ofthe strong influence of the church on the Southern Shore.
business.
But Con was never one to be
happy with the status quo. He
was always looking for a good
opportunity and in 1952 he found
just that. He sought and
received an order from General
Seafoods in Halifax for iced
fresh cod. That year he sold 2
million pounds. The next year he
sold almost as much. The era of
the fish stick was coming to the
United States and the Halifax
firm was freezing the cod in
blocks and selling it to the
United States for fish sticks. Con
didn't see why he couldn't freeze
the fish himself and sell directly
to the United States. Armed with
letters of recommendation from
Harvey's, Con approached the
Boston markets in February of
\954. He talked his way into a SOiO
deal with O'Donnell USEN
Fisheries in Boston. He then got
a loan for $40,000 from the
government. At 11 p.m., August
22, 1954, he began freeZing his
first fish and Newfoundland
Quick Freeze was formed.
It was a good time to be
running a frozen fish plant.
Prices were low to the fishermen
and there was no end to the
fish. "We never had to look
outside of Witless Bay," recalls
Con. "It was all we could do to
take care of the fishermen
there."
About that time the government
started a mink business at
Dildo, Trinity Bay. The idea was
to feed whale meat that was
processed in Dildo to the mink.
But mink needed other supplements
to their diet such as
fish. George McNeil, a mink
rancher from Saskatchewan,
who had settled in Dildo, along
with Pat Murray, deputy
minister of resources, approached
Con about supplying
the mink farmers with fish. Can
agreed but laid down stringent
conditions. "Sign me over half of
your plant for processing for 30
years and I'll give you aU the
fish offal for the area plus pay
you It a pound for electricity
and for use of the building."
The deal was struck and a
year later the Dildo plant
became part of Newfoundland

Quick Freeze. By 1956 Newfoundland
Quick Freeze was
operating two plants. During
that year Con had added an
addition and received a grant of
land alongside the plant.
For the next eight years, Can
spent the fishing season in Dildo.
His brother, Arthur, managed
the Witless Bay operation. The
fishery was looking good and
they decided to open another
plant in St. Bride's on the Cape
Shore. A third brother, Walter,
looked after the plant, but it
didn't pan out and during the
1960s it burned down. So the
O'Briens rebuilt it for use as a
feeder plant. By then a fourth
brother, Rudolph, opened a
small fish plant in Bay Bulls.
Bay Bulls Sea Products Ltd. For
awhile Quick Freeze bought the
fish and then later Birdseye,
who were operating the Moores
plant in Harbour Grace, bought
it.
By the late 1950s Con was
getting itchy. He liked being
boss and he didn't like working
with other companies. He
decided to break loose from
Quick Freeze, though still
retaining his shares. His
brother, Rudolph, went to
Placentia and Con took over the
Bay Bulls operation. Soon after.
Quick Freeze was sold to W.R.
Grace in the United States who
later sold it to another American
company.
By this time a fifth brother,
Martin, was working at Newfoundland
QuiCk Freeze without
any major shares in the company.
He, too, decided to strike
out on his own and he bought
property, originally a part of
Goodridge's estate in nearby
Tors Cove. The government had
sunk a fair amount of money
into the premises and Martin
had a good bargain. Soon after,
Con bought a small fish plant in
Renews, but it burnt down
shortly after.
By the 1970s, the O'Briens
were found in many of the
harbours on the Southern Shore
and along other parts of the
Avalon Peninsula as well. But
they were never outwardly in
competition with one another.
Each plant had its own fishermen
and when the O'Brien's
went looking for new territory,
they didn't look in their
brother's backyard. In fact, they
helped one another out. During
the season, fish hit at different
times. One brother would send
the surplus fish to another
brother's plant before putting it
up for grabs. "We almost have
Decks Awash - 41
one buying station between us,"
says Con, "and since the union
now sets the prices, we're not in
competition. We may have our
dirty tricks between us, but
blood is thicker than water and
intwotothree daysitsover."
In 1980, Bay Bulls Sea
Products will collect fish from
Bay Bulls. S1. Shotts. Trepassey,
Portugal Cove South. Portugal
Cove North, Torbay and S1.
John's. The fish is processed
either at Bay Bulls or at a small
plant in S1. John's. They have
also gone into partnership with
Art King at Cottle's Island,
Notre Dame Bay. Today. Newfoundland
Quick Freeze
operates plants at Witless Bay.
South Dildo, Placentia Bay, plus
five feeder plants at Branch, St.
Brides, Riverhead, Admiral's
Beach and Petty Harbour. Tors
Cove Fisheries Ltd. takes fish
from Tors Cove and the neighbouring
communities of Burnt
Cove, S1. Michael's, Bauline,
Brigus South. Cape Broyle,
Ferryland, Fermeuse and
Torbay.
The O'Brien brothers made it
in the inshore fishery. Theirs is a
tight family, a Newfoundland
mafia free from crime. And Can
is the cod father.
Families that fish together,
stay together
The family has always been
important in Newfoundland.
Mainlanders and sociologists
often look in amazement at just
how close-knit it is.
The Gatheralls of Bay Bulls
are a good example of why Newfoundland
families are so close.
Harold, 55; Francis, 54; Len, 48;
and John, 40, still fish together.
And another brother, Michael,
44, fishes on his own. All the
brothers live within a stone's
throw of one another and they
always can be found in each
other's houses. In fact, they
spend so much time together
that they often finish each
other's thoughts.
Both Harold and Francis have
been fishing since they were 12.
Len took a few years off to work
at Fort Pepperell in S1. John's
and John has been fishing since
he was 14.
Originally there were 11
Gatherall children, nine boys
and two girls. Deaths have
reduced the family to six
brothers and one sister.
Like most fishermen on the
Southern Shore, the Gatherall's
use trap skiffs. They have two 31
foot boats with diesel engines
that they use for salmon or
trawling, but they only use one
during the trap season. The
Gatheralls have four traps. The
other 13 trap crews in Bay Bulls
use between one and four traps
which are set on both sides of
Bay Bulls harbour and for about
six miles towards Petty Harbour.
According to the
Gatheralls, out of the 30-40
available trap berths, only 8-10
are good ones. In fact, in recent
years, the best berths have
changed because the bottom has
shifted, wrecks have interfered
with the fishing and because the
fish are now smaller. And the
smallest of these fish tend to
come into the harbours where

42 - Decks Awash
the best berths uscd to bc. Today
number four and five al·e actually
better bcrths than
number one and two.
For the GatheraUs. May 15
and the salmon fishery start the
season off. The boys are at it 7
days a week until June 1.
Depcnding on the weather. the
Francis. Harold and Len Gatherall
Whale watching
Would you like to be a
whale watcher this summer?
Memorial University's Whale
Research Group is enlisting
the help of anyone who will be
on or near the water over the
summer to help record whale
sightings. If you agree to
help, we'll supply you with a
whale guide and a notebook to
record sightings.
trap season begins betwccn the
first and second week of June
and lasts until the beginning of
August. Then the trawling
season starts and lasts until late
October or early November.
During that time a few fisher·
men may go after the squid. In
the winter the fishermen make
Humpback, fin. minke and
pothead whales are commonly
seen around
Newfoundland's shores. and
last summer rarer varieties
such as beleugas, sperm and
killer were reported. In
identifying whales, certain
key features should be noted
such as the size of the whale.
whether it travels singly or in
a group. the presence or
absence of a dorsal fin,
their traps.
With so many years at the
fishery. the Gathcralls have
seen a lot of changes. But to
them the biggest change is that
the labour has gone out of it.
"Up to the 1960s you had to
spend hours and hours at it.It
say the Gatheral1s all at once.
"When you came in with your
fish, that was when the work
started. Fishing now. compared
to 20 years ago, is a cushy job.
The fish plants do your work."
The other change is the
regulations but the Gatheralls
realize that they are a necessity,
especially some form of licen·
sing. The Bay Bulls men.
however. are lucky in some
ways in that they depend on the
cod which is not yet a tightly
controlled fishery. "But we are
dependent on the salmon. too. to
make a living, and if we lose the
salmon licence we could be in
trouble."
The biggest problem for the
Gatheralls. who represent about
10 percent of the full-time
fishermen in Bay Bulls. are the
facilities. "We have a wharf, but
the water's too shallow." the
Gatheralls report, "And there
are no haul-up facilities in case
of an emergency."
The Bay Bulls men are trap
men ... no gill net would cross
their bow. But trapping is a
gamble. "If it's a bad trap
season you don't make any
money. Maybe the last week you
get a lot of fish," they say.
Maybe that's one reason they
stick together as as family-families
are needed when the
gambles don't payoff.
whether the whale sticks its
tail out of the water as it
dives, and the frequency and
shape of the "blow" as the
animal surfaces to breathe.
If you would like to be a
whale watcher, just send your
name and address to:
Whale Watcher
Whale Research Group
Psychology Dept.
Memorial University.
St. John'•. Ale 557

Backbone of Newfoundland
the inshore fishery
Bay Bulls Sea Products is an
inshore plant. It depends upon
the trap, trawl and gill net cod
fishery. From Bay Bulls the
frozen cod blocks are shipped to
the United States and European
markets.
But this inshore plant could
not exist by cod alone. Its gravy
is the squid which is sent to
Japan. And the desserts are the
herring which are frozen and
sent to Germany, the caplin also
frozen for the Japanese market,
the salt cod for the saltfish
corporation and crab for Japan.
Last year between 8 and 10
million pounds of fish went
through the plant between April
and November. This fish was
handled by approximately 1,500
people during the course of the
year. Some may have worked
for a day, others year round, but
all received a pay check from
Bay Bulls Sea Products.
What keeps this large inshore
operation going is its trucking
sy'stem. Bay Bulls Sea Products
,owns 10 trucks and leases an
'additional 10. Con O'Brien, the
plant owner, keeps a tight
control over the system. He has
a phone in his car and spends
most of the fishing season
making sure his vehicles are
where they are needed, even if
U's at 5 a.m. in the morning.
Those trucks will ke6p the plant
going 24 hours a day if need be.
Fortunately the fish don't
strike all at once. If there's a big
load in Torbay to deliver, it
doesn't mean that Bay Bulls is
experiencing a glut. But
sometimes the season can be
slack until late July and then all
of a sudden 220,000 pounds might
be caught in one day.
"It's a chancy business,"
comments Con who feels that
the inshore fishery has not been
given enough aHention. "The
inshore fishery is the backbone
of Newfoundland," he comments.
"It's what's kept all
these communities going over
the years. To emphasize the
point he briefly explains the
history of the inshore fishery.
"There's no such thing as
stages. Newfoundland has
SByBulls
Decks Awash - 43
always had small factories. The
fishermen would catch, clean
and process the fish at these
factories which some historians
mistakenly call stages. It
At its peak there were over
15,000 small factories. each
employing a few hired hands.
Exporters would market the
fish.
In Bay Bulis the scene began
to change about 1954. That was
the first time the fishermen sold
to a plant, but they only sold
their surplus. If they didn't
catch the fish. they didn't sell it.
But then stocks began to dwindle
and the fishermen couldn't
afford to keep their hired hands,
nor could they afford to salt.
They began selling whatever
they had to the fish plants.
But the newly emerging inshore
plants were facing their
own difficulties. They were
experiencing a short season,
rising costs, more sophisticated
machinery, a dwindling supply
and weak markets. By 1974, the
inshore fish plants were facing
total collapse and the federal

44 - Decks Awash
government stepped in so as not
to have complete social chaos
for the 15,000 fishermen. "The
province did little," comments
Can.
In order to survive, plants
such as the Bay Bulls Sea
Products had to go farther afield
for fish. And, according to Con,
they had to enlarge their plants
in order to deal with the amount
of fish that might come during
the short trap season. Consequently
during the bleak '60s,
many inshore plants expanded
their facilities.
Today it's looking up. The fish
are beginning to come back. But
Can says, "It's only the squid
that is keeping these plants
operating."
Can is an inshore man. And
it's no surprise that he has little
love for the offshore fishery.
"We not only have all the plant
workers dependent on us, but we
have all the inshore fishermen
and all the communities which is
a darn sight more people than
the numbers employed on
trawlers." In other words, the
inshore fishery is labour intensive
and given the unemployment
problems in Newfoundland,
the inshore fishery
should come first...even at the
expense of the offshore fishery.
Con's solution is for the in-
shore plants to get freezer
trawler licences (Day Bulls Sea
Products already has one) so
that the fish can be caught in the
summer, frozen aboard and then
processed during the winter.
That way, the inshore plants
could be supplied on a continuous
basis.
Its an age-old argument
i.nshore versus offshore
(there are virtually no
longliners on the Southern
Shore). But there's one thing for
sure. Can O'Brien is an inshore
man and his company, Bay
Bulls Sea Products, is dependent
on a healthy inshore fishery for
a solid future.
Bay Bulls on the threshold of change
"I don't think there was
anything on paper, but it was
generally agreed upon that Bay
Bulls would be a suitable spot
for the basing of surveillance
vessels by federal fisheries to
patrol the 2OO-mile zone,'" says
Ambrose Hearn of Bay Bulls.
On one of the days that Deck.
Aw..h visited Bay Bulls, our
reporter met two fishermen
down at the harbour. They
refused to be identified and
would not agree to an interview,
but they did mention two things:
one, that they were tired of
hearing about what was going to
be done for the fishermen in Bay
Bulls and two, if DeeD Aw••h
really wanted to know what was
going on in Bay Bulls, Mr. Hearn
was the one to talk to.
Mr. and Mrs. Hearn live in a
large, comfortable home. "Both
my wife and I are retired. I
worked for the provincial
government for 22 years, the
last 14 as a fisheries field
representative. My wife worked
raising seven children."
The Hearns are justifiably
proud of their family. "We have
five university degrees, a
beautician and a gear specialist
in the family," declares Mrs.
Hearn.
"We felt it was important to
have a good. education and none
of the children gave us any
trouble," adds Mr. Hearn, He
The Ambrose Hearn house at Bay BuUs
maintains that they were ahead
of today's problems such as
drug abuse so that it was easier
for them than it might be for
parents bringing up a family
today. Their youngest is 24.
Mr. Hearn goes back to the
question of the harbor facilities
at Bay Bulls. "Originally,
during World War II, there was
a navy base here and there was
a number of buildings built.
After the war, the buildings
were used mainly for storage.
Earle Sons, formerly of Fogo
Island, had a sailfish operation
here. But about 10 years ago
when the Sailfish Corporation
began, they gradually phased
out their operation.
"Other shipping companies
used the wartime buildings for
storage, but gradually the wharf
facilities deteriorated to such a
degree that it wasn't possible to
load and unload. That resulted
in the buildings not being used."
This explains why there was
no complaint when the federal
government moved in last fall
and tore down the remaining
buildings to make way for the
proposed development. Mr.
Hearn is not sure just what is
going to be built there or if
recent oil and gas developments
offshore on the Grand Banks
might have changed any
proposed plans. He says that the
original plans were for patrol
boats to survey the 200-mile
limit. A quick check by Deco
Aw••b revealed that a marine
services facility for research

Petty Harbour - take two
Petty Harbour may soon have
a reputation as the Hollywood of
Newfoundland. In the summer
of 1976, this town that lies only 20
kilometers from St. John's
served as the location for Orca
- a movie about a killer whale's
revenge upon a fisherman. Now
in the summer of 1980, it will be
the set for a movie version of
Farley Mowat's A Whale for the
Kil1ing.
How do the town residents feel
about all the attention? They
love it. "That time they filmed
Orca was the best summer we
had here yet," David Hearn told
us, while mending the leader to
his cod trap. "There was lots of
excitement, and a good bit of
money to be made by renting out
your boat or acting as part of the
crowd."
Deck. Awa.h also spoke to
Edgar Chafe and learned that
the townspeople were paid $20
per shift. which was often just a
couple of hours long. The movie
crew of about 15 people brought
along a fog-making machine,
bought some old boats, and built
a house on the Point. Scenes
were then shot of the house and
boats burning.
Despite the subject of these
two films, Petty Harbour
fishermen have very little gear
damage due to whales. There
are about 56 trap berths in the
community, and about the same
Dumber of boats no
10DJ{liners. Catches in the cod-
traps last season were "decent"
according to Mike Hearn, and
ranged from 100,000 to 350,000
pounds per trap. The fall
fishery, using hand-lines was
much belter. "Each boat was
catching an easy 2,000 pounds
per day," Mike reported.
The Pelty Harbour fleet has
expanded by about 15 boats in
the last six years, and
moonlighters are causing
resentment among the full-time
fishermen. "It's especially bad
with squid," declares Mike
Hearn, "because so little gear is
required to catch 'em. Due to the
number of moonlighters, squid
quotas were set so low that it
was not worthwhile for the fulltime
fishermen." Mike is
quick to add the Union will soon
have moonlighters barred from
selling their catches to the plant.
There is a five-year Canada
Works Project under way in
Petty Harbour now that will ring
the harbour with about 2,000 feet
of new wharf space and two
more slipways. "What we really
need here," says Mike Hearn,
pointing his twine needle, "is a
bit of harbour dredging. They've
been talking about it and stalling
us now for ten years. We came
close to getting it last year, but
John Crosbie put the axe to it."
Deck. Awa.h spoke to Garth'
Evely, Acting Regional
Manager of the Small Craft
Harbours Board, about the
problem. He explained that
Decks Awash - 47
cancellation of the project for
last year was part of overall
financial restraint in the federal
government. The dredging
project was submitted again this
years as a high priority, and will
probably be approved for
Summer 1980.
Pelty Harbour may lack
channel water, but fish plants
they have. In fact. three of
them: Bidgoods, Newfoundland
Quick-Freeze, and Newfoundland
Food Processors.
Bidgoods is now well-known
across Canada wherever Newfoundland
products such as
partridgeberry jam, salt cod,
and seal flipper pie are sold. The
company got its start in Pelty
Harbour about 1950, when Roger
Bidgood. at the age of 26, began
wholesaling goods up the
Southern Shore to Trepassey.
Some five years later, he started
salting fish and was soon buyng
caplin. salmon. herring, and
other varieties - selling them
smoked, salted. or pickled. Now
their range of products includes
rabbits. lobster, berries, dandelion
greens, and other
vegetables. As much as possible
is bought from local farmers in
the Goulds. No other company
handles such a wide variety of
Newfoundland produce. "I
employ about 75 people," Roger
Bidgood told us. "and we sell
Newfoundland products
wherever we can. In seal flio-
Petty Harbour's south side, with fish-drying flakes in foreground and Anglican church on left. The
north side photo shows the Roman Catholic church'on Jeft. Curtis Whitten, Brian Lee and Wayne
Westcott are trying to pole a new wharfcrib into place.

048 - Decks Awash
'*',
Richard Clements, plant
foreman at Newfoundland Food
Processors. The plant opened in
May 1911 and processes all
species including crab and
lumpfish. DREE will assist
them this year on a project
costing ovez' $200,000 to improve
cold storage and smoking
facilities. The plant employs up
to 100 people at peak season.
pers alone. we handle about
3,000 dozen a year."
Thc changes that have occurred
in Petty Harbour over
the years have been mostly
positive, according to Bill Stack,
a retired fisherman in the
community, "I can mind when
fish was so scarce here in the
1930s that we were told to keep
the fish's belly toward the boat
when hauling him over the side,
just so other people wouldn't see
that you had caught one,"
recalls Bill. "Three men could
fish all day for 30 fish. At the
same time we had a bit of a feud
on the go with people who came
up from the South Coast and
settled in the Battery. by St.
John's. They used to trawl on
our grounds and destroy it by
tearing up the bottom
vegetation,"
Bill Stack had to rebuild his
fishing stage three limes, as did
many others in the town. There
have been three big seas wash
into the harbour since 1927, the
last in 1966. For eight years now
the harbour has been protected
by heavy breastwork, or break·
waters.
One recent development that
has displeased local people is
the closing of the Anglican
elementary school. "Those little
children having to go by bus to
the Goulds," exclaims Mary
Stack, "it shouldn't be allowed.
Many of the Anglicans 8I'e now
sending their kids across the
bridge to the Catholic school."
Gone are the days of bitterness
between the people of
two different churches in Petty
Harbour. one of the last communities
on the Shore to have a
large population of Anglic9.ns.
With a revitalized fishery, new
wharf space, and a movie to star
in, Petty Harbour looks forward
to a busy and prosperous
summer.
David Hearn (lett>, Mike Hearn and Frank Chafe (right> in their
Petty Harbour twine store.
Herbert Weir spent 10 years as a grocery salesman along the
Southern Shore before he and his wife Marguerite bought this shop
in Petty Harbour in October 1955. Gus pynn built the shop in 1933.

Editorial
"Lots of time ", 'If you come back and don't
stop in, we'll be furious", "give us a call
anytime", "Can't you come down and visit for
the day"....such were the words that greeted
Deeka Awasb as we drove up and down the
Southern Shore talking with people.
Newfoundland coined the word
"hospitality" but it must have begun on the
Southern Shore. Mind you, It's winter time
and the pace is slower. As Con O'Brien of Bay
Bulls said, "Come spring, I wouldn't be able to
talk to you, girl." And we know that to be true
because the Southern Shore has a very
productive inshore fishery.
But the hospitality goes beyond the slowness
of winter. It goes right back to the traditions of
the Southern Shore. Brewed in Ireland and
steeped in Newfoundland for a long time, the
people have a facility to talk that is unlike
other parts of the province. The tales are
taUer, the story is longer, the recitations more
frequent. Rick Cashin's parents are from the
area but his fame, and his uncle Peter's fa,me
as orators would be easily matched in a speak·
off contest held on the Southern Shore.
The ability to talk is equally matched by the
ability to produce...not just large families, but
achieving ones as well. Part of this produc·
tivity might be a result of another tradition on
the Southern Shore, close-knit families. As
evidenced in Bauline, parents want their
children to achieve either at the fishery or at
academics, but they have got to be the best.
Supported by a strong church, the family has
withstood the test of time. One only hopes that
as preSSures mount up, especially from off-
Decks Awash - 49
shore oil, the family structure does not break
down.
Not all is rosy, however, on the Southern
Shore. While families and community spirit
are alive and well, it is disturbing to continually
see the petty jealousies and rivalries
that exist between communities. As inflation
increases and the provincial debt mounls,
more and more communities will have to
work together, especially for facilities that
are too expensive for anyone place to bear.
Right now it appears that very few set·
tlements want to put that extra effort into
getting along...together. There's individual
community spirit, but little overall shore
spirit.
Such organizations as the Kinsmen and
Knights of Columbus will go a long way
towards breaking down petty jealousies and
community rivalries. Such clubs will also help
in providing constructive outlets for individual
energy.
It's difficult to understand why so few
communities have a municipal form of
government. Perhaps most surprising is the
largest community on the shore, Bay Bulls. A
municipal government is more than a tax
collector.. .it's an organized body to plan for
the future. And that future is goi.ng to be
pretty important as increasing pressures are
placed on communities when large companies
move to Newfoundland and seek land, housing
and workers for the oil industry.
The Southern Shore has its own flavour, call
it warm and colourful. Let's hope it doesn't
remain within each community, but spreads
from place to place.
----Population Figures (1976 Census)I-----.
Petty Harbour _ 824
Bay Bulls -1105
Witless Bay - 888
Mobile-ISO
Tor's Cove - 3&4
Burnt Cove - 134
S1. Michael's-62
Bauline East - 73
Brigus South - 74
Cape Broyle - 711
Calvert - 436
Ferryland _ 780
Aquaforle - 172
Fermeuse - 531
Renews-436
Cappahayden _ 87

50 - Decks Awash
Constant Comments
Home Gardening
Extend the season with plastic
Written by Sharon Gray
Drawing by Peggy Barney
Newfoundland has such a
short growing season (an
average of 105 frost·free days
around St. John's) that home
gardeners need to use glass and
plastic to grow many
vegetables. Without spending
much money you can easily
start transplants under cold
frames, and during the growing
season plastic can be used to
warm up soil around such heatloving
vegetables as tomatoes
and squash.
Cold frames are a standard
garden aid, easily constructed
with a few boards and a clear
top. Last year I kept carrots,
beets, leeks and greens growing
into January with large
moveable frames built from a 4
by 8 translucent "sunroots"
panel nailed on a twelve-inch
plywood box frame. I really like
moveable frames as they can be
placed wherever needed. They
do need to be weighted down.
however, with rocks or they are
likely to blow away in the wind.
Old storm windows can be easily
converted to moveable or
permanent cold frames, and in
the spring such windows can
usually be scavenged during
clean-up days.
A roll of 6 mil plastic is a good
investment for any garden as it
can be put to a variety of uses.
Before planting a bed, lay a
sheet of plastic over the
prepared soil and weight it down
with rocks. A few sunny days
will quiCkly warm up the soil,
and seeds will germinate more
quickly. After the seeds are
planted the plastic can be laid
over the bed again, this time
with tiny knife slits for ven·
Ulation. Water the seed bed
thoroughly before laying the
plastic down, and you won't
have to water again. I've found
this method particularly useful
with small, slow germinating
seeds like carrot which can
easily die if they dry out.
Root crops like carrot, beet
and parsnip do best directly
seeded into the garden but many
vegetables can be started in·
doors. Broccoli, cabbage.
brussel sprouts, cauliflower,
lettuce. leek and celery all do
well when transplanted,
provided precautions are taken
against pest, wind and sun
damage. Just remember that it
is a terrible shock to go from a
warm, windless window to the
harsh outdoors. Transplants
should always be "hardened"
off slowly either under a cold
frame or by placing the young
plants outdoors each day for an
increasing length of time until
they can survive a cool night. If
you are hardening off tran·
splants under a cold frame, be
sure to lift the lid on sunny days
so they don't overheat, and give
them at least four or five nights
without the protection of the
glass to ensure they are ready to
go into the garden.
The most important thin,g with
transplants is to start off with a
good potting mixture. Soil by
itself is not the right thing _ it's
too heavy, and unless its
sterilized its likely to have a
fungus that causes"dampingoff"
in seedlings. This is a common
and disheartening occurrence _
young seedlings just keel over at
soil level and die. The first
precaution is a proper potting
mixture - equal parts of peat,
vermiculite and soil is a good
mix, light and airy. But the soil
part must be sterilized - the
easiest way to do this on a small
scale is to bake pans of soil in the
oven at 350° until steaming all
the way through. If you don't
want to go to the trouble of
sterilizing soil you can use a
soilless mix of sand, peat moss
and vermiculite. I like to start

seeds of( in a soilless mixture
and when they have germinated
transplant to individual "cell
pak" containers filled with a
mix that is part sterilized
garden soil. These "cell pak"
containers are cheaper than
peat pots. reusable, and avoid
transplanting shock.
Other precautions against
"damping off" involve keeping
the humidity low - don't
overwater, and water with
warm water early in the day so
the young plants aren't sitting in
cold. wet conditions at night.
And don't overcrowd seedlings
_ better to thin and avoid
problems. One final comment on
"damping off". You can buY a
chemical control called "no
damp" and this seems to work
well according to other gardeners
I've talk to. But if you
observe the basic rules of
sterilizing soil, controlling
humidity, and not overcrowding
seedlings, you should not have
any problems.
Most vegetable seedlings are
ready to set outdoors six to eight
weeks after planting. Celery,
leek and most flower seeds need
three to four months. While
young plants are indoors or
under a cold frame, fertilize
them regularly. Three days
before transplanting water well
with a high phosphorus fertilizer
- something with a high second
number like 10-40-10. If you
aren't using cell paks or peat
pots you can lessen root shock in
transplanting by taking a knife
and cutting a block of soil
around each transplant a few
days before setting out.
Water transplants well when
they finally do go into the garden
and protect against wind and
sun for a week or so with some
Community windpower:
is it practical?
by GeOffStlle.
Taking power from the wind
has always seemed a sensible
allernative for Newfoundlanders.
In the past, many
homes used "Windcbargers"
and other small electricityproducing
windmills to power
lights and a few appliances.
Wben the power lines (or diesel
generators) arrived, most
families tossed the old windmill
overboard, happy to be rid of the
burden of maintaining batteries,
bearings and towers.
Today, however, the increasing
costs of electricity
have prompted many
Newfoundlanders particularly
those wbose communities
depend on power from
diesel generators - to ask if a
return to wind generators would
be possible or practical. In this
issue of DeekI Awa.b and the
next, I'll be looking closely at
this question - first, by
reporting on an important ex­
Periment in community wind-
power, and second, by looking at
how individual households
might use the wind for electricity
and even for heating.
Tbe idea of "communitysized"
wind generators is a
relatively new one, although it
obviously makes sense. By
spreading both the initial and
running costs of a windmill over
an entire community, it should
be possible to reduce the cost of
wind power to balf or less of the
costs of individual household
units. In addition, the wind
generator can be built away
from the comm unity proper,
reducing noise and safety
problems.
One experiment in community-sized
wind generators is
already underway in
Newfoundland. Newfoundland
Hydro - the provincial crown
corporation which generates
most of the province's power ­
signed an agreement in 1978
with tbe National Research
Council of Canada (NRC) to
Decks Awash - 51
sort of "cap" - for example,
half a milk-carton or a tin-can
with the ends cut out. It's best to
transplant in cloudy. wet
weather with no wind. To
protect against root maggot
damage use dlazinon or wood
ashes in a circle around brassica
(cabbage family) transplants.
For all transplants protect
against cutworm damage with a
stiff cardboard collar around the
stem. It usually takes about two
weeks for transplants to fully
adjust to outdoor conditions so
make sure they don't dry out
during this time.
As for using plastic during the
growing season, just cover the
ground around squash and
tomatoes with clear or black
plastic. This will keep the soil
temperatures a little higher and
speed up growth and fruit
production.
erect and test a large wind
generator near its Holyrood
generating station. The longrange
goal of this experiment
was to see if it might be practical
to place similar wind
generators in the province'!! 51
"isolated" communities - that
is, those communities which still
depend on higb-priced diesel
power. Ideally, wind generators
could then provide most of the
power for these communities,
with the diesel generators being
used only for back-up.
The windmill used for this
experiment is a far cry from
the old Windcharger. It's called
a "vertical-axis wind turbine"
(VAWT), because where most
windmills revolve on a shaft
that's horizontal, this one
rotates on a vertical sbaftl The
"blades" are also usual, being
'stretched in a curve from top to
bottom of the shaft (see picture)
- giving it the appearance of an
"eggbeater".
The advantage of this design

54 - Decks Awash
Uncle Tom was pacing_up and
down the kitchen when the boys
walked in. "Land grabbers!" he
shouted at the boys. "I told them
five times that I am not interested
in selling this farm, but
they don't seem to understand!"
He opened the oven door and
looked at his homemade bread,
baking in three large pans. The
smell of freshly baked bread
filled the kitchen and JWlkfood
eyed the oven with enthusiasm.
"I'll give you some of that in a
minute with molasses," said
Uncle Tom.
"Lassie bread," said Anthony
with enthusiasm, "what a
treat."
"Some of the others have
already sold out their farms,"
explained Uncle Tom, as he cut
the bread. "Took the money and
ran. Good money. Hard to turn
down. As a matter of fact, all the
land around me is pretty well
sold. That is why they are
putting so much pressure on me.
I am on an island in the middle
of a big sold-out area."
"What are you going to do?"
asked Junkfood.
"Live," said Uncle Tom,
"Live here like I always did, like
my folks did." Uncle Tom
finished his slice of bread and
walked over to the window.
"Look", he said, "why don't you
fellows come over to the club
with me for a game of darts and
then you can stay overnight."
The boys phoned their parents
to explain their change in plans.
On Saturday night the farmhouse
club was hopping with
activity. Uncle Tom and the
boys took over the only vacant
dart board and settled in for a
game. On stage a group called
"Pease Pudding" pounded an
endless round of Newfoundland
and western songs. Anthony
noticed that they were being
watched very closely by a lone
man at the bar. He wore a long
leather coat and his hair was
styled in a brush-cut. He was
ordering whiskey and drinking it
straight. The boys continued
their game with Uncle Tom.
Toward the end of the game,
the man in the leather coat
walked across the dance floor
and spoke to Uncle Tom. "You'd
do well, Mr. Jenkins, to consider
our last offer. It's our final one;
think it over!" With these words
he disappeared through the
doorway and into the night.
It was shortly after this incident
that Uncle Tom and the
boys left the farmhouse club and
began to walk back towards the
house. The fog had cleared and
the night was clear and starry.
Uncle Tom opened the gates to
his garden and as he did so,
some primitive instinct urged
him to look behind the house. He
saw an orange glow in the sky.
"It's my shed. Myoid tool shed
is on fire!" exclaimed Uncle
Tom. "It's next to my barn.
We've got to save my barn!"
"I'll get help!" shouted Anthony.
He ran back to the farmhouse
club while Junkfood and
Uncle Tom ran to the house for
buckets of water.
Anthony barged into the club
and jumped onto the stage. He
grabbed the microphone from a
blonde-haired girl who was
singing a hurting song. "Tom
Jenkins' shed is on fire! His
barn and house are in danger!
You have got to help!"
Norman Chafe, a middle-aged
farmer snatched the
microphone from Anthony.
"Grab anything that holds
water!" he shouted, "and come
over to Tom's place. We'll form
a bucket brigade."
Within seconds, a chain of
human beings formed a bucket
brigade from the farmhouse
club to Tom's shed. They were
successful in overcoming the
flames before the fire could
spread to the barn.
As Junkfood walked back to
the farmhouse, he noticed that
someone had painted a crude
sign under the kitchen window.
The sign read - Move out old
man, while you still can!
To be concluded.
Traditional singers and their songs
Pat Greene: singer and songwriter
by Eric West ..
Traditional music has gone
through many changes in Newfoundland
in the past 30 years
and Pat Greene of Freshwater,
Placentia Bay, typifies how
singers have adapted to different
styles of music. He has
been influenced by country,
blue-grass, traditional and
religious music.
Pat (Paddy to his friends) was
born in Harbour -Island,
Placentia Bay and grew up
learning the songs his father
sang. To those songs he added
others, heard while whaling
down on the Labrador during his
teens. While on the Labrador he
began to write his own songs.
The first, "Noble's Prayer", is a
comical song about a fellow who
was working with him.
In 1966 Pat Greene and his
family moved to Freshwater
during the resettlement
program. Today, many types of
music and instruments are
heard at home-fiddle, banjo,
guitar, mandolin and accordian
_ because friends are constantly
dropping by for a few
tunes and songs.
Since Pat retired from his taxi
business a few years ago, he has
had much more time to devote to
music and has written several
songs. In 1974 he wrote "The
Whaling Song" which recalls his
days in Labrador. "My Harbour
Island Home", written two
years later, is a nostalgic song
about his original home. He has
written a song about the loss of
the Cape Royal in 1977 and the
follOWing year, a beautiful
tribute to his wife called "Our
Silver Jubilee". Besides his own

songs, Pat still sings the old
ballads he learned as a child,
such as "The Dance on Peter's
Street", "The Banks of
Gaspereau" and a local song,
"Jim Collins".
A visit to Pat Greene's nearly
always leads to singing and his
wife, Eva, always makes a
stranger feel at home. Newfoundland's
music is very much
alive and the tradition of songwriting
is still strong in Freshwater,
Placentia Bay,
II you know of aDy tradlUonal
.IOD,-writerl or lingerl, drop
Eric a Dote c/o of Decks Awalh,
ExtenaioD Service. Memorial
Univerlity. St. John'l.
In my dreams I often wander
To myHarbour Island home,
I'd live and be contented
On that island I would roam.
The people there were friendiy
And would greet you with a smile;
Take me back to Harbour Island
Where I lived to as a child.
Many years now since I have left there
But my memory it is clear.
We weren't rich with gold or silver
Just poor people living there.
This island has a memory
That will never fade away,
Here's adieu to HarbourIsland
Where I spent my childhood days.
Decks Awash - 55
Chronicles of a Bayman
by Victor Butler
Before 1880 no lobsters were
being caught in Placentia Bay.
Although they were plentiful,
they were of no commercial
value to fishermen. A resident of
Chester, Nova Scotia, came to
Long Harbour and built a large
lobster factory opposite where
theERCOplant is now situated.
He brought men with him who
were experienced in making
lobster tins and the packing of
lobsters in one-pound tins. In all,
MyHarbourIslandHome
Let me tell to you a story
About my childhood days,
Let me take you to an island
That's out in Placentia Bay.
In my mind Ioften wander
Once again I'd like to roam,
'Cross the blue Placentia water
To myHarbour Island home.
I can see mylather rowing
In his dory along the shore,
Hea vy loaded down with fire wood
As I played around the door.
I hear my mother calling,
Ican see the rocky hills;
I can see the Harbour Island
In my dreams I always will.
Those days are gone forever
They never will return,
No one lives on that island
It just stands there all alone.
'Cause the water washes 'round it
And the sun so brightly shines,
A picture oftbis island
Will be always in my mind.
Sung and composed by Pat Greene in 1916:
he employed 30 men. The men
catching lobsters used large
home-built punts with 16-feet
oars. They used 60 lobster traps.
The factory paid the fishermen
one dollar for a hundred lobsters.
It was not long before C.D.
Chambers built a lobster factory
in Harbour Buffett and John
Warren built a factory on
Gaultons Island in Tacks Beach
and Joseph Ingram set up a
business at Woody Island. But
the price paid was so low that
individual fishermen built their
own small factories and packed
their own catch of lobsters and
the price of lobsters gradually
increased. It was not long before
the large factories were
discontinued as fishermen could
earn more money packing their
own lobsters.
In 1938, the Maritimes
Packers (rom Pictou. Nova
Scotia hired premises at Harbour
Buf(ett and bought lobsters
to ship to the mainland. At first.
they paid five cents per pound,
but after a time they raised the
Victor BuUer, despite tlve
operations this winter, still
manages to write his regular
column.

Back Section
Matrimonial Property Act
From time to time, DeeJl:.
Awash brings to the attention of
its readers various pieces of
information that might be of
importance. We consider that
the Matrimonial Property Act is
one of the most significant
pieces of social legislation ever
enacted by the government of
the province. In this article we
point out certain highlights of
the legislation.
The Matrimonial Property
Act was agreed to on December
14, 1979, and is due to become
law on July 1, 1980. Basically,
this Act was undertaken to
ensure that the contribution of
both spouses to a marriage is
recognized.
According to the Act, under
Section 3, "The purpose of this
Act is to reform the law with
respect to matrimonial property
in order to:
a) recognize the contribution
made by each spouse to a
marriage;
b) give one-half interest in the
matrimonial home to each
spouse;
c) provide for the negotiable
sharing of most other property
acquired during a marriage;
and
d) provide for judicial discretion
in sharing business assets built
up by a spouse during a
marriage."
In Part I of the Act, the
matrimonial home is defined. In
effect, the matrimonial home is
that place where the spouses
reside and which may be owned
by either spouse. This dwelling
can contain up to three apartments
or be either a house, a
condominium, mobile home or
trailer. The Act specifies that a
person and his or her spouse
may have more than one
matrimonial home.
The Act also specifies that the
house is to be equally shared
even if:
/
I ,
....---- ..... , ,
. ,
"a) the matrimonial home
acquired by gift, settlement,
inheritance or otherwise by one
or both of the spouses prior to
the marriage;
b) the spouses entered into the
marriage before this Act comes
into force;
c) the matrimonial home was
acquired before this Act comes
into force; or
d) a proceeding to determine the
rights as between spouses in
respect of property bas been
commenced and not decided
before this Act comes into
force."
In addition, the Act provides
for division of assets sbould the
marriage be dissolved.
In Part II of the Act,
matrimonial assets are considered.
"Matrimonial Assets"
includes all real and personal
property acquired by either or
both spouses during the
marriage, such as homes, cars.
furniture, appliances. etc., with
the exception of
i) gifts. inheritances, trusts. or
settlements received by one
spouse from a person other tban
the other spouse and any appreciation
in value of them
during the marriage,
il) personal injury awards.
Decks Awash - 57
, ,\
I
I
I
I
I,
except the portion of tbe award
if any. that represents campensation
for economic loss.
iii) personal effects,
iv) business assets (e.g..
property, primarily used or held
in connection with a com·
mercial, business, investment
or other profit making purpose),
v) family heirlooms, and
vi) real and personal property
acquired after separation.
Part III of the Act makes
provision for a man and a
woman to enter into a marriage
contract, before or during the
time that they are co-habiting.
Thus, if a married couple
decided to hold property in a
way other than outlined by the
Act, they are free to contract out
of the provisions of the Act. The
Act does not apply to common
law arrangements.
According to the department
of justice, the government of
Newfoundland and Labrador is
embarking on an extensive
information program to
acquaint Newfoundland
residents on the implications of
the Act. A pamphlet to explain
the Act is to be distributed to
every household in the province.

64 - Decks Awash
I enjoyed your February
issue, especially Peat. for peat's
sake, having harvested peat for
fuel at the age of eleven. I'm
now approaching eighty·two. In
Mr. Nat French's article he. or
someone, said the Newfoundland
peat was seven to eight
thousand years old. I'd be in·
terested in knowing if now ­
seventy years later _ the
conditions of the said product, is
as good as I remember it. If my
memory serves me right, the
quality was first-rate. Regal'·
ding sawdust and chaff from
sawmills for energy. it's inferior
to peat but much easier to get
and cleaner to handle.
R.L. Steveuon
St• .John'" Newfoundland
I read "Chronicles of a
Bayman" in Decks Awash and
as I lived in Kingwell at one
lime, I know Mr. Butler very
well. But I have never read
where he made either a rescue
or saved a life.
I am going to tell you about
my late husband, Mr. Brown,
who died about 9 years after we
moved to Little Harbour.
Up in Placentia Bay, a mile or
so from Kingwell. there is an
island called Barren Island
where we women used'to go for
OUT winter berries. In late
September, four of us would row
on four oars having an older
woman at the stern with an oar
to keep us straight. We would
land on a place on the island
called the Harbour. Older people
used to go out by themselves to
the head of the island to save
walking over the island.
This morning, being a fair
morning with little wind to the
southeast and sunny, we left for
the island. Keeping an eye on
our little punt, we met Mr. and
Mrs. Rheuben Boutcher coming
in our direction. Having moored
our punt safely, we climbed the
hill to the lop to pick berries.
About one o'clock, the wind
freshened and it became cloudy.
We women got our crowd
The last word
together and walked back down
the hill to our punt, keeping a
lookout for Mr. and Mrs.
Boutcher. By this time. the wind
was picking up speed and it was
almost dark, but there was no
sign of the Boutchers. There was
nothing we could do and there
was no way we could pull back to
the island and It came to rain.
Now Major Arthur Boutcher
of the Salvation Army was Mr.
Boutcher's son and he came to
our house to see if Mr. Brown
could go out to look for them.
Mr. Brown only had a fifteen·
foot motor dory. So he told
Major Boutcher to come back at
daylight and he'd see what he
could do.
Il was still an ugly morning
with high seas and the wind
blowing. Anyway. they oiled up
and proceeded to the island. only
to have to land at the Harbour.
As Major Boutcher was
crippled, he could not climb the
hill. So Mr. Brown went up over
the island to see If he could find
the people. It was only a small
cove at the head of the island not
big enough to pull the punt up
very far. Getting up where he
could see, Mr. Brown saw Mr.
Boutcher sitting on the barren
eating bread and cold water
while Mrs. Boutcher was down
under the punt by the bank. She
was very sick as the water came
under the punt and she could not
be moved.
So Mr. Brown walked back to
where they had landed and told
Major Boutcher about his
mother and father. Now Port
Royal is only about 1/4 of a mile
from Barren Island. Mr. Brown
went there and got four men and
a fish barrow and took it back up
to the island and up to where Mr.
and Mrs. Boutcher were.
So they put Mrs. Boutcher on
the barrow and brought her
down and landed the men back
at Port Royal. Then they took
Mr. and Mrs. Boutcher home.
But Mrs. Boutcher took sick and
did not live too long. Mrs. Ben
Courtney, their daughter at St.
John's, took her father to live
with her and he was 96 years old
when he died. His remains were
brought back to Kingwell and
buried beside his beloved wife,
Emma.
Mn. Moodella Brown
UtUe Harbour E ••t
PlaeenU. Say
Come spring do you take to
the meadows with your
trowel and pail and begin
digging up the tender dandelion
shoots? Is rose-hip tea
a favorite and have you ever
used curly dock to cure a
cold?
Deco Awa.h is looking for
the history. uses and recipes
of such wild Newfoundland
plants as wild roses, dan·
delions, stinging nettles, and
curly dock, to name just a
few. We are not. however,
interested in berries or
mushrooms.
Just write us,
Deco A.aah Ma,ulDe
Extension Service
Memorial University of Nfld.
St. John's, Nfld. AIC 557
Attn: Susan Sherk.
PLEASE NOTE: ADDRESS AND TELEPHONE
CHANGE
For anyone interested in Visiting our office
in St. John's, we are now located at 202
Elizabeth Avenue.
Also after May 4., 1980, our new telephone
number will be 737-8486.

,
,'\
, .'
1/
'f'; Cove _ one of the many scenic Southern Shore communities.