tales-of-Fogo-Island
tales-of-Fogo-Island tales-of-Fogo-Island
true as I'm here! That was the first Christmas tree we ever seen, and wewas some tickled with it.An unusual Christmas tree!When Christmas Eve finally arrived, most people attended midnight mass orspecial candlelight services. Later, the children would be settled away in bed.In those days, there were no toys and games, but the children would be veryexcited. They would be overjoyed to find a homemade doll, a few candies or abit of fresh fruit in their stockings.Most people believe that though they did not receive expensive gifts, theywere much happier.Questions to think and write about:1. Do you think Christmas is the same today as it was years ago? Givereasons for your answer.2. What did the women do when preparing for Christmas?3. Why did the men have plenty of splits at Christmas time?
Forest FiresHave you ever wondered why some parts of Fogo Island are wooded whileother areas are barren?It is believed that forest fires played a role in changing the features of thelandscape. Lightening caused some fires on the island, while humans startedothers.The Beothuck Indians were among the first people to visit Fogo Island. Somepeople believe that they left their camp fires burning and that these firesspread to the forest. However, fires did not become a serious problem untilEuropean fishers arrived in the late 1500s. Amazingly, there is a closeconnection between drying fish and forest fires.To understand the link, consider the process of 'making fish'. After the fishwas salted, it would be washed and put outside on flakes, rocks or boughsuntil dry. In those days, there were no tarpaulins to protect drying fish from theweather. If it got wet, or burned in the sun, it would spoil.The early fishers needed to find a way to cover their fish. They looked tonature for a solution to their problem and soon learned that they could usetree bark. Bark could be taken in strips, flattened and dried to make a cheapcover for their flakes. This popular method of covering fish is even mentionedin the famous Newfoundland song, I'se the By:'Sods and rinds to cover your flake,Cake and tea for supper. . .'The bark, or 'rind' of the balsam fir was used most often because it was thickand could be peeled from the tree with ease. The process of rinding trees wasusually done in the spring and began with the removal of the lower branches.A narrow cut would be made into the tree as far as the inner trunk and aspecial spoon-like tool called a 'rinding shim' would be inserted under thebark. Then the bark was gently peeled away from the standing tree. This wascontinued until all the bark within reach was harvested.After being 'rinded' the tree would die. The fishermen called these trees 'whiteends' or 'whitings' because the trunk turned white or pale grey as it dried.They later cut these trees for useas garden posts, net bobbers or firewood. Inthose days, dry white ends for use as splits were a real treat.
- Page 34 and 35: the name of Saunders up in Herring
- Page 36 and 37: The McKenna family business has sto
- Page 38 and 39: southern end of Change Islands. Dur
- Page 40 and 41: The Newfoundland PonyWhen people ta
- Page 42 and 43: "Prince" poses for a photo while ta
- Page 44 and 45: The original St. Patrick's Church,
- Page 46 and 47: group would go over the hills behin
- Page 48 and 49: There were also special remedies fo
- Page 50 and 51: Green ribbon around neck: Believed
- Page 52 and 53: Removing the soundbone,or "splittin
- Page 54 and 55: Yaffling and piling dry cod.Lifting
- Page 56 and 57: 'Number Two' fish was not as good.
- Page 58 and 59: There were thirteen stores on the p
- Page 60 and 61: ShipwrecksWhen a schooner or other
- Page 62 and 63: The Wreck Commissioner was StoneyFo
- Page 64 and 65: The Dominion and AlarmMany sealing
- Page 66 and 67: Tragedy at the IceThe seal hunt is
- Page 68 and 69: time they made it, they found nothi
- Page 70 and 71: Jumping Ship on Fogo IslandOn Octob
- Page 72 and 73: Year's Eve, some of the men became
- Page 74 and 75: The Lumber WoodsMany local men fish
- Page 76 and 77: They would be hungry after a long,
- Page 78 and 79: Loading the Tractor Sleds Up With F
- Page 80 and 81: Lumber Woods TravelWhen on their wa
- Page 82 and 83: They did not have one thing dry to
- Page 86 and 87: Since 'white ends' in the forest we
- Page 88 and 89: Man's Best FriendToday, most dogs a
- Page 90 and 91: Retriever or the 'Landseer'. The La
- Page 92 and 93: Strange EventsThe Ghost ShipA young
- Page 94 and 95: The Light in the BightOne evening i
- Page 96 and 97: BoatsBefore the days of long liners
- Page 98 and 99: The first 50 foot long liner of Fog
- Page 100 and 101: the loss of his wife and his daught
- Page 102 and 103: could hear strange noises. These so
- Page 104 and 105: medical facilities and other servic
- Page 106 and 107: Mr. William Donahue and his family
- Page 108 and 109: Anglican Church Indian Islands, 196
- Page 110 and 111: The Beheading of Michael TurpinDuri
- Page 112 and 113: Bringing WaterYears ago, people did
- Page 114 and 115: The Good SheppardsOn the morning of
- Page 116 and 117: This is a copy of Nathaniel Sheppar
- Page 118 and 119: The Fogo ProcessMany people have he
- Page 120 and 121: When people watched themselves and
- Page 122 and 123: When the Markland finally came into
- Page 124 and 125: Bits and PiecesDrifting AwayOne day
- Page 126 and 127: Swan Skin MittsWhen birding and sea
- Page 128 and 129: TravelThis photo was taken in 1956
- Page 130 and 131: My First Pair of ShoesOne lady reca
- Page 132 and 133: A Poor Night, Not Too Long AgoApril
Forest FiresHave you ever wondered why some parts <strong>of</strong> <strong>Fogo</strong> <strong>Island</strong> are wooded whileother areas are barren?It is believed that forest fires played a role in changing the features <strong>of</strong> thelandscape. Lightening caused some fires on the island, while humans startedothers.The Beothuck Indians were among the first people to visit <strong>Fogo</strong> <strong>Island</strong>. Somepeople believe that they left their camp fires burning and that these firesspread to the forest. However, fires did not become a serious problem untilEuropean fishers arrived in the late 1500s. Amazingly, there is a closeconnection between drying fish and forest fires.To understand the link, consider the process <strong>of</strong> 'making fish'. After the fishwas salted, it would be washed and put outside on flakes, rocks or boughsuntil dry. In those days, there were no tarpaulins to protect drying fish from theweather. If it got wet, or burned in the sun, it would spoil.The early fishers needed to find a way to cover their fish. They looked tonature for a solution to their problem and soon learned that they could usetree bark. Bark could be taken in strips, flattened and dried to make a cheapcover for their flakes. This popular method <strong>of</strong> covering fish is even mentionedin the famous Newfoundland song, I'se the By:'Sods and rinds to cover your flake,Cake and tea for supper. . .'The bark, or 'rind' <strong>of</strong> the balsam fir was used most <strong>of</strong>ten because it was thickand could be peeled from the tree with ease. The process <strong>of</strong> rinding trees wasusually done in the spring and began with the removal <strong>of</strong> the lower branches.A narrow cut would be made into the tree as far as the inner trunk and aspecial spoon-like tool called a 'rinding shim' would be inserted under thebark. Then the bark was gently peeled away from the standing tree. This wascontinued until all the bark within reach was harvested.After being 'rinded' the tree would die. The fishermen called these trees 'whiteends' or 'whitings' because the trunk turned white or pale grey as it dried.They later cut these trees for useas garden posts, net bobbers or firewood. Inthose days, dry white ends for use as splits were a real treat.
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