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CHAI'rEll2
FIELDWORK
This chapter presents an account ofmy fieldwork experiences while collecting the
life history namui\'es of men and women \\ho had fished on the Labrador. My fieldwork
consisted ofthree main parts: 1) archival preparation. 2) field trips on the Labrador. and
3) fieldwork in the communities ofColliers and Conception Ilarbour. To set the scene for
the in-depth description ofeach component ofthe experience ofgoing on the Labrador.
my first field trip to the Labrador is given as a personal experience narrative. The various
locations visited are shown on the map in Figure 1. The route followed staned by
Canadian National (eN) bus at St. John's (q.\'.. Figure I, 21).thcn proceeded by boat
from Lewisponc (q.v.. Figure I. 20). and continued as far north as Nain (q.v.. Figure 1,
2).
Origins oflhe Study
While nn undergraduate student in Folklore at Memorial University or
Newlolll1dlnnd, [ wrote several tcrm papers bascd 011 fieldwork in my home community
or Colliers. Through that rcsearch, I became interested in the rolk history or Colliers to
the point where I decided to do a community study. and I was encouraged by the faculty
to do this as 3 Master's thesis. Although J was living and working in $1. John's as an
undergrodu3te, I spent my free time at home observing the folklore ofmy family and
interviewing some of the older people in Colliers,
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