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Allhough I did not find any archival accounts of Newfoundland women sewing grass I did observe the process during 01) stay at Tickeraluck Point with the two Rich families. Susan Rich. a Labradorian. was teaching the proccss to her daughter·in-Iaw Marie and her daughters from a pre\rlous marriage all ofwhom were originally from Ne\\ foundland. The follo\\ing description ofthe process comcs from lane. 11lc seawater grass. which is found along the landwash. i picked and dried using a wire screen to hang it up indoors for about two to three days. Then it has to be kept in a cool dry place. Before using. the grass is dipped in water and rolled in a coil until it can be folded \\ithout being cracked. orne people washed it in soapy water (hard cake Sunlight soap) and greased it with butter or lard or any kind of grease (bacon fat) to keep the grass soft. Take three or four strands ofgrass and run it through your mouth to soften it. thcn lie it in a knot. pi it the grass for sewing. Then tie it in a knot. Thread the needle with the split grass. bend it back. and sew in a coil [fonn a coil around the knot and carry on sewing in a circular motionJ Start with a coil: three or four strands ofgrass tied in a knot. The grass has to be licked before it is cut or the sharp edges (splinters) will cut the lips. The grass inside is called poke because it is poked in. When the grass stans to get thin. il is pokcd in. You start with an o\'al beginning. poke it through. then go around and around. l69 Susan used to teach a six·week life skills progmnl 011 sewing grass to the children in grades four and five in Rigolet. Thc techniquc is believed to have been brought from Alaska by an old Inuit woman. Grasswork was being sold in 1984 by thc inch, a dollar ,m inch, up to twelve inches. Allcr twelvc inches it is two dollars an inch. George Rich, Susan's husband. had made a doll's cradle ofgrass. Janice, Maric's daughter. had made a tea cup and, unlike most of usan's students, she liked to scw in the summer. Susan has made three baskets and George made a gun bag which was part ofan international exhibit in spring of 1985. ". MU FLA 86-013. C8674. 114
The gun bag, which was sold for one hundred fifty dollars, was resold in ew York for one thousand dollars. George told me that back in thc old days. the [Grenfell) mission would send in empty barrels and people would sew grass to fill the barrels. In exchange they received a barrel full ofsecond·hand clothes which hardly e\'cr fit untilthcy were cut o\er or cut down. l70 Occupationall-lazards Elilabcth Ryan was not the onl)' Colliers woman to be injured because ofthe Labrador. Alice (Doyle) McGrath. despite her father's objcctions. went on the Labrador for one summer as cool.. One Saturday night in Septcmber. \\hile carrying in the washtub. shc ··torc up her sidc" and had to be sent home on the Kyle. Shc was paid sixty dollars and gi\'en a new plaid coat for her summcr's work. 171 Occasionally. cvcn minor injuries. ifnot treated properly. could lead to scrious complications. Kilty McCarthy recallcd the following incident that occurred during her third and last summer on the Labrador. They put me headin', you knew what that is putting your hands down in the fish and tcaring the heads off 'em. Pull it right off. [drovc a bonc in it. My God! I never put in such a time in me life. Used to have puncheons for putting the livers in. Beggar, lbey took that up and put it on me linger. That was all right. I used to be up. I was two weeks with the linger going around the place all night long. I couldn't sleep. It turned blood poison. Here. beggar, they went to work and he put it down and poisoned the linger altogether. The next thing they had to do was take me up to Injun (Indian) Harbour Ilospit31. Only one doctor and onc nurse. There was nativcs of Labrador. Huskimos (Eskimos). whole lot there in the one hospital. 110 MUNFLA 86·013. C8674. Sarah Baikic of Rigolcl. Labrador, demonslrated lhe grass sc\\ ing tcchnique al the Fifteenth Annual ewfoundland llnd Labrador Folk Festival. August 1991. She and I prepared a poster display. "Grass Sewing in Rigolct. Labrador:' to accompany the demonstration. 111 MU FLA 86-013. C8634. 115
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THE PLACE OFTHE LABRADOR FISHERY IN
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS During my studies
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TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT . ACK OW
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CHAPTER 5 . Harbour Days . __ . Son
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CHAl'TEIII INTRODUCTION The purpose
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Grein (Lear) Hussey's Ollr Life on
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FOLLOWING PAGE Figure 1. Map showin
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FOLLOWI G PAGE Figure 3. Fishing Ar
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History of the Labrador fishc'1,IO
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March 30. 1833, at the age ofsixty-
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with a "God save you kindly". 'ow t
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tmditional parish of Harbour Main w
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job is done. Seldom in the history
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workers, union organizers. or vario
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Van Gennep stales that the second s
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is nn important one for folklorists
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Until I became interested in the La
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an adult, had been told that my "fr
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From Happy Valley.) did not have a
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on the coast wherc the Colliers peo
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than the To\'erner, but Ihere were
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I did as I had done on the first la
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Tales ofaccidenlal drowning figure
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Point. their summer salmon fishing
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so doing things like washing clothe
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crew member was apprehensive aooUi
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well. and in the Old Age Home in Ii
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I made sure that people did not tak
Page 78: experiences about which few partici
Page 81: "going in collar," which marks the
Page 85: Some of the reasons why people were
Page 88 and 89: transcribed songs and a better reco
Page 90: (3.1) When the water came in the ho
Page 93 and 94: Tom Doyle was born in Colliers in 1
Page 95 and 96: Genernlly take 8-10 days. On her on
Page 97 and 98: One lime. I remember. we were trave
Page 99: Sex on the Passage Somctimes when I
Page 102 and 103: ller name it is Miss Katie Flynn. s
Page 105 and 106: y bal1cning down the hatches for lo
Page 107 and 108: Summary thcn they would get the goi
Page 109: CllAI'TEIl4 o TilE LABRADOR Oflhc t
Page 112: might have expedited the harvesting
Page 115: Bonavista, Trinity Bay. then drop o
Page 119: and most names ofthe crew she had w
Page 122 and 123: C,D,: Had 10 be married before that
Page 125: at Salmon Bay and Bonne Bay until s
Page 129: was unfairly chastised by Dr. Paddo
Page 132 and 133: the dcadly.177 This section summari
Page 134 and 135: It is unclear if the girl was impre
Page 136: epertoire but mostly he and other L
Page 140 and 141: So Uncle Nick went up the next day.
Page 142 and 143: songs. or tell a few stories. Such
Page 144: II was and is a Labrador custom to
Page 148 and 149: When I told this story to the peopl
Page 150 and 151: eturned to ask that the deck boards
Page 152: CHAPTERS E DI G TilE SEASON: HARBO
Page 155 and 156: common folks around would make up a
Page 158 and 159: Jack Conway recalls dances he alten
Page 160 and 161: gulching when the dogs were after m
Page 162: J.D. Always playing tricks. C.M. Di
Page 166 and 167: Harbour Oa)'s: Summar)' Entertainme
Page 170: 'arr:tlivcs or Dealh and the Supern
Page 174 and 175: otTthe description ofjigging for th
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and whcn I gcts homc - if I get hom
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such as the passagc down and the ac
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generational memory, but identity a
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and my father demonstrated that the
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community cconomy. Migration has be
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much during the period ofmy study a
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IlIULJOGRAI'IIY Bascom, William. "F
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Iliscock. Phillip. "Folklore and Po
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MUNFLA illS 84·220 (Collector: Cla
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Jill's Questionnaire for the Coasta
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Questionnaire API'ENllIX II 1. When
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37. Did you look forward (0 going o
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195 J
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197
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