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education. reliving American history. and enjoying other areas Oflhc
country (emphasis minet'
Their assessment ofthe benefits oftrnvcl. however. docs apply to the Labrador
experience. They state. for example. that "one ofthe greatest values oftra\'e1 is self
renewal" and that travel
prO\;des educational experiences which can be gained in no other way. It
can sU'Cngthcn marilOl andfamily ties by providing important shared
experiences which today's increasingly fmgmcntcdfamilie.r often lack.
And a change in scene can often improvc our mcntal and emotional wcll
being (emphasis mine).so
Ifone substitutes the word "group" (i.e.. the Labrador fishcnnen) for the
underlined words in the preceding quotations and by keeping the quotations in mind
whilc reading the accounts from members ofthe group. the parallels \\ ill become clear.
The annual migration. however. ofthousands of Newfoundlanders. which went on
until the mid-twentieth century. was more than a working summer vacation. Rather. it
was, in Van Gennep's term, a rite ofpassage. 51 This is perhaps not surprising given that
migration appears to be a central part ofvarious important stages of the lifc cycle:
beginning or cessation ofeducation, entrance into or retircment from the labour force,
marriage or dissolution ofmarriage, either through divorcc or the death of a spouse. As J.
Wolpert stales:
49 John E. Rosenow and Gerreld L. Pulsipher, Tourism: 71,e Good, the Bad and the Ugly
(Lincoln. E: Century Three. 1979), p. 3.
SO Ibid.
51 Arnold Van Gennep, The Rites ofPassage (1908; rpt. Chicago: University ofChicago
Press. 1960).
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