Visual and Performing.Arts - Digital Archives Initiative - Memorial ...
This wrig e ttn F I ' tl Cf' by n Oll U'l'i.t:h l
2 - Dec ks Awash
Home gardening written by Sharon Gray
drawings by Peggy Barn ey
Fall work - important for next year's success
This time of year, there's not a
lot you can do about your garden.
If it has been successful.
you're busy reaping the benefits
a nd pu tt ing away produce for
wi nter. If you've had some
failures, this is a good ttrnefo
look over your notes (o r write
down your mistakes if you
haven't kept notes ) and try to
improve the soil for next year.
But before getting on to next
year, just a few words about
harvesting. Broccoli plants keep
p roducing 'side shoots' well on
into November, so don 't cut the
plants down after harvesting th e
central heads. With brusse!
sprouts, break off the lower
leaves 50 the plant can con
centrate its energy on immature
buds . Harvest the lower buds
fir st and keep harvesting we ll
into wi nter.
Ma ny vegetables can survive
r igh t th r ough snow and frost. If
you do n't have storage space,
yo u ca n cover root crops such as
ca rrots, parsnips, or leeks with
a t hick blanket of straw or
leaves, and pull them up all
winter. Or they can be successfully
sorted in buckets of
damp pe a t moss in a cool spot.
The peat keeps them moist and
crisp all winter. Potatoes and
onions need drier storage. I find
they keep well , if they are
packed in a box with straw or
leaves and put in a cool. dry
spot. Winter squashes and
pum pkins should be brought in
bef or e a heavy frost and stored
in a cool, dry spot. They'll ripen
slo wly and I' ve often enjoyed
pumpkin pie in February. As for
greens, if you sow ka le or ,
co llards in August, you can
harve st the se pla nts r igh t
th ro ugh the winter.
Bu t enough on last year's
garden, If yo ur garden didn't do
we ll this year, don't despair. By
now yo u should have ha d yo ur
soil tested (send a sa m ple to the
Federal Experimenta l Fa r m on
Double digging,
1bf' v l6w
Br ookfiel d Road, St . John' s ). If
lime stone is needed , be s ure a nd
work it in this fa ll. It 's import ant
4 - Decks Awash
Staying alive in the North Atlantic
In a previous i ssue, we looked
at survival suits, In th e second
ar ticle of a continuing series on
M arine safety, we look at life
ra f ts .
" Yo u have to realize you' re
working on something that could
save people's li ve s," said In
dustrial Marine P roducts (IMP)
life raft department m anager,
R on Stevenson. He cha tted as he
watched his m en c hec k out th e
mo nster as-men r af ts on th e eN
coastal vessels.
" To me, and most of the other
people I've worked with ov er t he
years, pa ck ing a ra ft is like
p a ck in g a parachute. You
al ways assume it 's going to be
used , so you don't do things
casually ,"
In Ron 's business, one can't
a fford to have an ything go
wrong. To mariners, whether
they operate coastal passenger
ships , longliners, o r sailboats, a
lif e raft represents t he last lin e
of d ef e n ce in the e vent of
d is a st e r afloat.
Li fe rafts come in many
shapes a nd sizes a nd a re
desig ned for differen t pu r poses .
" You can get a r aft for a small
s ailboat o r light ai rcraft tha t
wouldn't be ac ceptable for
lo ngliners be c a use it's not a pproved
by t he m ini stry of
tr e nspcrt for th at pa rticular
us e," Ron notes . Eligible for
subsidy, a pp ro ve d lif e rafts
have fe atur e s whi ch give it s
occupants a reasonable life
support system after they 'v e
abandoned s hip ,
To d o th is, the ra ft must
provide bu oy an cy , shelter, food
a nd wate r . Buoyancy IS
p r ov id ed through the in fl a ti un of
th e tubes th at m ak e up the raft
it self, as well a s th e double floo r
t hat the mi nistry of tran sp ort
sta ndards d em a nd fo r
Iong ttners. T he re a re fo ur m a in
b uoyancy se c tion s to a raft : the
lo we r body ring, up per body
ring, th e canopy arch support
tube and t he floor. Each o ne is
independen t of the others. Acting
together, the fou r systems
s ho uld be c ap ab le of s upporting
double the raft's capacity . If one
o r more are d ama ge d beyond
re pair d uring launching or while
occupied, the ra ft still floats.
Th e u ppe r a nd lower r-in gs ,
a nd the c an op y tube , a re inflated
by a spec ia lly design ed
ca r bon dioxide bottle . When a
lanyard is pulled, th e co mpressed
gas ru shes into the ra ft
a nd infl ates it qui ckly (a ver-age
8 to 10 seconds). The fl oo r
howe ver, is infl at ed by th e r aft's
oc c u p a n ts a fte r boa rd ing. Th is
is don e by a small manual pump
tha t also se r ves to reinflat e the
r aft's r ings and t ube s hou ld
seve re coo li ng deflate them.
Once afloat, sh e lter becom es
the next priority. The North
Atlantic is an inhospitable plac e .
wit h cold water a nd wind
producing severe ch ill fa c tor s .
Approved r afts use a doublewalled
canopy and insulated
inflatable double floor to ensure
that the temperature inside th e
raft r e m a ins bearable. Some
authorities sugg e st that a survival
suit see ( De ck. Awa'h.
April 19) can be of real v a lue
e ve n in a life -raft. offering an
e xtr a de gree of protection
against hypothermia.
All a p proved r a ft s ca r ry
e merg e ncy sup plies of wa te r
6 - Decks Awash
Special Section
Visual and Performing Arts
For the ne xt 51 pa ge s De-ck s
Awash ex p lo res the visual &
pertormtna a rts wo r ld of
Newfoundland. J oin us a nd J o hn
Joe E ngli sh , Gail Inne s , Mavis
P e n ne y . Ma n nie Buc hheit ,
J im m y L tnc aur and lots of
ot hers for pa ge s a nd pa ges of
Newfoundl and 's a r t, mUS IC ,
dance. photog r-aphy a nd film ,
and theatre.
Decks Awash - 7
A history of art in Newfoundland
It is only in the last 20 or 30
years that painting and drawing
ha ve been wide ly pr actised as a
formalized art by Newfoundland
residents . However, for over 300
years , explorers . visitors and
loc al re sid ents have sketched
our se tt le me nt s and harbours
for many of the same reasons
that today we take snapshots.
They simply wanted to record
an event or scene.
The ea r ly ru gged way of life in
Newfoundland did not encoura
ge th e leisurely pursuit of
art, nor did the schools and
churches generally support such
activity. E arly map-makers.
soldiers and oth er visitors who
kept jo urnals of their travels
around th e pr ovince are the
main source s ror drewtnas.
The fir st attem pt to formally
teach a r t was in 1813 when a
J .W . Nic ho ls e st ablished the St.
John's Art School, but few
det a ils are kno wn a bo ut the
sc hool.
Th e Ne wfound la nd Society of
Art was formed in 1925 and
co nti nue d until 1936. Mrs.
He ct or Mc Neil and A.E . Harris
were impor t an t names in the
or ganiza tion , but again, few
deta ils a re known . The names of
som e a rt teache rs and shortli
ved clubs a re availa ble in
r ec o rd s , but wha t is lacking a r e
som e pe rsona l accounts of art
activities in this province bef or e
Confederation.
The opening of th e
Newfoundland Academy of Art
in 1949 by Reg and Helen
Shepherd is probably the most
significant single event in our
art history because the
Academy was watched closely
by other Canadian artists. It
also helped many Newtoundianders
to become professional
artists. In addition. the
Academy gave art
prominence in our society.
Art was officially recognized
by the government in 1952 when
the Newfoundland government's
Arts and Letters Competition
was established. This competition
still continues, open to
Newfoundlanders of all ag es ,
from any part of the pr ovince .
Cash prizes are awarded in each
of several categories. based on
the decisions of jurors who are
professionals in the different
sections. After the competition.
an art show is assembled to tour
the Arts and Culture Ce nt re s
across the province.
It was in 1961 that the fir st
Arts and Culture Centre was
opened in St. John's a s
Newfoundland's Centenni al
project. Since then, others have
been opened in Corner Brook.
Grand Falls, Gander a nd
Stephenville. Som e of th e se
contain swimming pool s and
li br aries , but all have fac ilit ie s
fo r c lub meetings. theatre and
a r t ga lleries.
Since July of 1916. Me mo r ia l
Uni vers ity' s Extension Service
has bee n administering the Arts
a nd Culture Centre a rt ga lle r ie s .
helping Newfoundla nd artists to
g a in wider recognitio n and also
hosting s hows th at visit from
other pa r ts of Canada. The Extension
Service has played a
major ro le in the a r ea of visual
and pe rf orming ar ts in rural
Ne wfound lan d by a ss e m bling
s ho ws of loc al a rts a nd crafts.
offe r ing classes, spons or ing
mu si c and drama fe sti vals in
rural co mmunities, ope ning the
St . Mich a e l's Prints ho p and
working as a liaison with
Ca na da Council to establish a
Co m munity Artist-in-Res idence
Progra m , to name only a few
pr oje ct s .
Finall y , after year s of
discuss ion and proposals the
province now has a n Arts
Co unc il. established in July. 1979
by Premie r Br ian P e ckford. It is
hop ed tha t this Cou ncil will
improve the administr a tion of
c ult ural affairs thr o ug hout
Newfoundla nd and Labrador,
pr ov iding more prov inc ia l
funding and greater cont a c t
wit h th e isolated communi t ie s.
8 - Decks Aw ash
Poetic Realism and the
Newfoundland Academy of Art.
The only formal art school
Newfoundland has ever had was
an adventurous under t aklng for
two young students who had just
graduated from the Ontario
College of Art. In 1949, Reg and
Helen Shepherd returned home
to Newfoundland, bought a
house on Cochrane Street, in St.
John's, set up studios inside and
opened the Newfoundland
Academy of Art. Although art
supplies could not be bought in
the city, Reg She pherd recalls
those early years with enthusiasm.
"We converted the third
storey into an apartment for
ourselves a nd built our personal
studios onto the back of the
house. As a result our living. o ur
teaching and our creative work
all fit together under one roof.
We were totally in vol ved with
the place. But really, our success
depended upo n the good
advice of artists we kn e w on the
mainland - people such as
Robert Pilot, t hen president of
the Royal Canadian Academy
and the famous war artist
George Pepper. Wit hout their
help, I don't know if we could
have made it."
For twelve years, t he
Academy was open to almost
anyone who was interested. The
Sh eph e rds offered classes in
drawing, painting.sculpture and
art appreciation. It satisfied
those for whom art was just a
ho bby, but it a lso graduated a
number of serious artists who
went on to further training on
the m a inla nd.
The Academy closed its do or s
in 1961 at the peak of its ca reer,
with 120 students. "It was getting
out of control," note s Reg
Shepherd, running a han d
t hrough his t hick hai r. " We ha d
o nly t hree full-time teachers,
and we cou ldn't af ford to hir e
any more. Me a nwhil e , the
la r ge r number of students
meant that ad ministrative work
was t a king up too much of our
time. This put some strain upon
our teaching, but it was our ow n
work as artists that was really
suffering. Our origina l intentio n
after closing the sc hoo l was to
live as full-ti me artists in our
studio at South R ive r , Conce
ption Bay."
As it turned out, the year t he
Academy closed, Reg She pherd
ag r eed to fill in as art teacher at
Prince of Wales Colleg ia te in St.
J oh n's , to re place an in st ru c to r
wh o had left in mid-term. Th is
wa s to be for "just a fe w m onth
s " , but he ha s been there ever
si nce.
To overcome the proble m of
se parating his artistic caree r
from his teaching ca reer a ne w
paltern emerged in Reg
Shepherd's life : "1 never br ing
an y work home from school ," he
.R eg and H elen Shepherd in th ei r South River h om e - One of R eg 's works h an g s on the le ft a n d one of
Helen's hangs on the r ight.
here first in 1967 a s an Art
Specialist with th e University's
Exte ns ion Service and has
di vide d his time between
te a chi ng and his own art work.
Born in 1931, Don was raised in
Timmin s , Ontario. The rocky
Newfoundla nd landscape
remin ds him of home, but his
int ere st as an artist leans more
to th e people and the wild life of
th is pr ovince.
" My art tries to avoid sentimen
t a lity while reflecting an
a ppreciation of Newfoundland's
his tor y and traditional way of
lif e." Again, Don illustrates this
with a n example: "Some of my
work foc used on t he co nstruction
of a 'wriggling' fe nce'
Althou g h art is taught in m a ny
Newfoundlan d schools. there is
not en oug h training or exposure
fo r th e serious art student. Don
Wright, a Newfoundland a rt is t ,
observe s that, in fact, many
school s offer what a mo unts to a
"neg ative a rt pr ogr am " - one
that dis cou r a ge s c re a tiv ity
instead of e nco uraging it . Accordingly
, Don a nd ot her a r tis ts
in thi s pro vince, s uc h as George
Nosew or th y, ha ve unde r taken to
teach art to students in a way
that stimula te s no t only the kids,
but al so the artist and the
community th ey are working in.
Don ha s been teaching art in'
th e sum me r s for a bo ut te n
ye ars, but ha s worked directl y
through Me m or ial University's
Extension Service. In 196 9, Don
started the Sum me r Art
Program that r an for e ig ht
summer s bef or e bud get
restraints cu r ta ile d it. Up to IS
artists pe r year ( ma ny of them
art co llege st udents> were
employ ed as te a che r s in various
re gions of New fou ndland.
A re port on the pr og r am th-a t
Don wrote in 1971 descr ibes o ne
method of operation a nd its
effects: " It was always easy to
attract 15--20 children without
prelimina r y adverti sing. We
usually se t up on the government
wh arf. Most ch ildren we re
across a field . Whe n this appe
a r ed in a gallery, the security
g ua r d ca me up to te ll m e that in
his part of the is la nd it wo uld be
ca lled a 'garden rod fen ce ' . Ou r
resulting disc ussion was a
fa scin ating ble nd of pr a cti c al
a nd a rtistic unde r st a nd ing . If
m y work ma kes othe r peopl e
tak e m or e notice of their
sur ro undi ngs, the n I a m
s atisfied."
Th ough he produces so me
dra wings and watercolo rs, m ost
of Don Wr ig ht 's work is in th e
pr int m ed ium. Be c a use the
pr int -m a kin g pr oc es s involves
m any stages a nd lev el s of
desi gn , it correspo nds ve ry we ll
with Den's subject m a tt er, A
Art outside four walls
Deck s Awash - 11
pr int de vote d to boat-building
s hows several diff e re nt vi ew s of
the same boat a t di ffe rent st ages
of c ons tr uc tion. Anot her about
squid-jiggin g con ve ys the man's
contact with th e sea. The pr int
shows sq uid bein g hauled up,
flying thro ug h t he air, human
faces dimly-outlin ed through the
se a spray, everything swirling
c ha nging, a nd s pattered with
bla ck squid in k.
Don Wr ight ha s been living in
Port Kirwan, nea r Fermeuse.Jor
five years now , a nd his art is a
natural outg ro wth of his ever)'
day inv ol vem ent wit h outport
life: wood- cutting, fish -s m oking .
gardening an d ot her outdoor
skills.
Don Wright looks at on e of his " SqUi d-ha nds" prints from a series
design ed fo r a book .
\
Dec ks Awa sh -13
St. Michael's printshop - becoming
a part of the common experience
The idea of loc ating a printmaking
studio in a tin y community
on the Avalon's So ut he r n
Shore may at first seem a bs u rd,
but it was and continues to be a
dream come true (or loc al , a nd
now int ernational, a r tis ts .
Today. the St. Michael's Pr-intshop
has become a model of ho w
art should participate in the life
of a community.
" Ar ti sts from outside of
New found la nd often come here
to make prints, but they seldom
bring any plates or images with
them. Instead. they become
caught up wit h what they se e
a long the shore her e ," states
Heidi Oberheide, who runs th e
Printshop. She rocks gently in
her c hair as she says this. and
explains her po licy of having
each visiting artist leave at least
one print with her. Now , after
fi ve years of operation, the Shop
h a s a fa sci n a ti ng collection of
art.
Back in the early 1970s , Heidi
was living in St. Michael's , near
Tor s Cove, h a ving just completed
a summer of teaching
printmaking at th e Nova Scotia
Co llege of Art and Design. She
p r opos ed the idea of setting up a
printi n g st udio to Don Wright,
who was the n Art Specialist with
Me m or ia l Un iversity's Extension
Service. With help from
Extension a nd Canada Council,
an abandoned schoolhouse in
St. Michael's was remodelled to
p r ov id e the necessary space for
prin ti n g. Along with the
n e ce ssary equipment, a
photographic darkroo m and an
apartment for visiting artists
was installed. The Printshop
co ntinues to be ai ded by Canada
Co uncil an d MUN Extension.
Two methods of printing are
use d at St. Michaels:
lithography, which us es a
li mestone or alumimum plate,
or in taglio, which prints from
e tched zinc or copper. In both
cases plates a re treated with
va r io us com binations of acid
and gre a se to pro vide a surface
that holds a d esign in ink which
can be p r es sed onto paper a
limited numbe r of times . In
m ost cases, the prin ti ng surface
is n ot permanent, so a series of
prin ts from it ca n only be made
once.
Re gular activities a t the
P ri ntshop include classes of
fered throu gh th e Extension
Servic e , de monstr a tions of
printmaking a nd open house
sessions at whic h prints by
printmakers and crafts by local
p eople a re sold in a fr iendl y teap
a r ty setting. There is also a
p r og r a m through which people
tr a ine d in printmaki ng can re nt
t he sh op 's living and working
space for a month or two . Artists
co me from all over Canada to do
t his . A few Americans and
Eur op e an s h a ve a lso pa r -'
Uc ipated.
.. He idi Oberheide relaxes in the prin tsho p , h er seco nd home.
14 - Dec ks Awash
Two visiting artists, Anne Sarazin from Grimsby , Ontario (left) and Andie Wicherts from Calgary,
rollout a print at St . Michael 's.
For the past two summers, the
P rintshop has hosted a
gathering of about 15 artists for
two weeks. They come to participate
in a program called
" Ar t in the Newfoundland
Environment." While making
prints and sharing ideas. these
people also visit the nearby
island bird sanctuary. watch
whales, tour the coast, party
with local people, jig cod, talk
with biologists and folklorists
and generally participate in the
many aspects of life on the
Southern Shore. Usually their
work reflects their visual a nd
environmental experience.
"It is important that artists
not be aloof from common experiences,"
suggests Heide,
"and pr int m ak in g seems to
encourage greater contact
among people. To begin with.
there are usually three or four
people in the shop at one time.
working on different stages of
prints and talking with each
other. Then, people from the
village who visit the shop are
Intrigued by the printing process
and can appreciate that It is
difficult. They feel more comfortable
talking about images
and telling artists about their
own experiences. This is great
all around."
Originally from Germany,
Our footprints,
are everywhere
"Our Footprints
Everywhere" . hard cover
edition $18.00 plus $1.50 postage
and handlin&, It may be obtalned
by writing Labrador Inuit
Association. P .O. Box 10. Nain,
Labrador, AOP lLO.
A comprehensive record of
past and present Inuit patterns
of occupancy and use of wildlife
resources in northern Labrador.
Eleven essays examine archeological,
histori cal and
co ntemporary aspects of life,
Heidi has also lived in Illi nois,
USA. before co m ing to
Newfoundland . Ten years later,
she continues to find that her
own work as an artist is hel ped.
not hindered. by living in St.
Michael's and running this
printshop by the sea.
providing insights into the
relationship between Inuit and
their ancestral lands. The
people of Labrador speak. for
themselves and reveal their
integral dependence on natura l
resources. A valuable r efe r en ce
for anyone interested in gaining
a knowledge and under st a nding
of the people of northern
Labrador and of the problems
posed for them by developmental
change. Illustrated with
116 maps. photographs and
tables.
Arch Williams
fisherman turned artist
" I fishe d her e from 1926 to
1943," r ec all s Arch Williams,
puffin g on a cigare tte , " th en I
worked an oth e r 31 years
checking fish for th e Southern
Shore Trading Com pa ny. I
started pa inting in 1911 and now
that I'm retired I can spend
more time at it. "
Arch and his wife Veronica
live in a cosy little house by the
sea in Ferryland. Arch was born
in th a t house about 70 years ago.
His paintings reflect the
peaceful charm of an outport
summer day - brightly coloured
houses nestled a mong rich green
hills and a blue harbour.
In 1970, the Newfoundland
artist Gerry Squires moved into
the old lighthouse in Ferryland
as part of Memorial University
Extension Service's Artlst-in
Residence program. The next
year, he began offering art
classes, and Arch Williams was
one of his first students. " I first
went over just to help Gerry get
enough people for a full class,"
says Arch, casually. "My
painting started as a hobby, but
soon became quite a profitable
hobby, so I kept at it."
Th e University Art Gallery
has found th e paintings of this
Ferryland fisherman to be true
folk art. As a result, they have
featured Arch's work in four
shows since 1974, one of whi ch
toured the Maritime Provinces.
Many people wonder what
distinguishes good folk art from
bad art. According to Patricia
Grattan, Exhibitions Coordinator
at the University Art
Gallery, good folk art co m es
from people who have had little
or no formal art training , but
who posseses a natural sense of
colour and design .
" Ma ny folk a rt is ts ," says Pa t,
" ha ve been working aw ay
qu ietiy on the ir own for years
and are quite surprised when art
dealers or other outsiders be gin
to seek th em out, admiring the ir
wor k. , Folk art is generally don e
for personal satisfaction with no
intention of being sold . Some
artists e ve n refuse to sell a ny of
their work .
" Ba d a rt, on the other hand, is
done by peo ple who ha ve some
art tr aini ng or some notion of
what art should look like, but
th ey get mu ddled along the way
and take on mor e than their
techniqu e ca n handle. They ma y
know, for instance, that 'rea l
artists' m ix their paint, so the y
try this with out kno wing how to
do it right, an d end up with dull,
muddy colo rs .
" F olks artists instead stick
with bright colors straight fr om
the tube, colours that give their
work a simple a nd cheerful
quality. Th e y aren't conscious of
Veronic a and Arch Williams
Dec ks Awash - 15
how other people see things
as much as they themselves se e
them."
Arch Willi ams, like other folk
artists, often allows th e ov e rall
perspective and proportions in a
painting to go astra y while he
focuses on details such a s
windows. flowers and fences.
Folk art ha s been popular in
most of Canad a for about ten
years and in Newfoundland for
about six . The larger part of folk
art in Newfoundland consists of
hooked mats and paintings. In
other parts of Canada, wood
carving is a popular form of folk
art, but surprisingly enough, it
has not caught on here.
Arch Williams is amused by
the fuss that some people make
18 - Decks Awash
over his work . " P eople co me to
see me," he smiles, "and a s k
where my studio is . All I can tell
them is 'you're looking ri ght at it
- the kit chen table.' Although
they call it folk art, I don 't like to
put a name on it be cause no two
people paint a like. I g ue s s I've
done about SOpaintings . working
mostly from old photogr aphs. I
like to show what th e settlements
looked like in olden
limes with the salt-box houses
and fish flakes. You don't see so
much of that anymore, and I
think people miss it .
Arch Williams' most recent
painUng shows Port Kirwan 's
harbour surrounded by steeo
nut».
Becoming an artist is no easy task
"I think my drawing is much
better now than it was before I
was involved in the program,"
declares artist and teacher
Mavis Penney. "That year gave
me a lot more self confidence in
the work I was able to do , and it
has made me more confident
about others' opinion of my
work."
The " prog r a m" is the Community
Artist in Residence
Program, a 5 year old venture of
MUN Extension and the Canna
d a Council. Such people as
Gerry Sq uires, Ch ris Brookes,
Mannie Buchheit or Frank
LaPointe, among others have
availed of the program. Th e
program offers up to $10,000 a
year to a developing artist.
What makes the project unique
is that the grants go to
developing artists, rather than
people who've already made"
their na me in the world of art.
"I like the fact that the grants
are given on potential." Mavis
explains. "The Canada Council
and MUN Extension are will in g
to take a risk. You might giv e
out twenty communtiy artist in
residence grants, and have only
" Wom en Playing Chess"- a pencil drawing by Mavis Penney.
II
I
two or three " m a ke it " as
professional artists. When
applied, I wanted to spend the
time building up my drawings
and concentrating on portraits,
with the hope that I'd have
e nough pieces for an exhibition
at the end. There's no way I
would have been able to do it
without taking a part-time job .
And art is really a full-time job,
leaving very little energy for
doing anything else."
When the year finished,
Ma vis did not apply for a
second year of funding, feeling
that she'd "done what I wanted
to do. " The exhibition she'd
mentioned did take place, with
so me 24 pieces of work
displayed, ha lf of which were
sold, ne tt in g her about $2,000.
Had t he grant not been available
her output would have been less
and therefore her income for the
year far less than $2,000.
Mavis started her art career
"the same as most youngsters,
with a crayon and a pencil."
Growing up in St . John's, she
wa s a ble to attend schools that
had an art specialist on staff. In
un iversity , she combined art
with a n education degree. " I
wanted to go to a university on
t he mainland and do a fine arts
course," she says in retrospect,
"but I decided to slick around
and get some education courses
as well. It 's good to have
something to fall back on if you
need it."
That attitude is a realistic one,
given the challenges of making a
living as an artist. Throughout
hist o r y , artists traditionally
ha ve looked to patrons for
fina ncial s upport, es pecially
during the early years of thei r
ca reers, but "patron" is virtually
an unknown word in
Newfoundland. The job an artist
ta kes cuts into the time he or she
should be spending to develop
professional abilities. That Is
o ne reason why the transition
from gifted and dedicated
amateur to full time
pro fe s sio na l is difficult. And
that's another reason why Mavis
is so t hankful for the community
a rtist pr ogr a m .
Art er he r year as a com-
Decks Awash - 17
"The Sunbathers" in acrylic and pencil features Mavis Penney
he rselfin the foreground.
munity artist in residence,
Ma vis found she still couldn't
make a decent living. She then
took a job with t he 51. John's
based Mummers Troupe as set
designer, between print-making
stints at the St . Michael's
Printshop. Last fall, she be gan
teaching art and English fulltime
in Makkovik, Labrador, a
job she found to be a complet e
change of pace fr om her ar t.
While she enjoyed it, she did
very little of her own work. Sh e
still has her eye on a career as
an a rtist, but she's realistic
enough to know that being a
Newfoundland artist isn 't going
to be easy.
"It's tough to make a living
selling art," she points out.
"There are artists in
Newfoundland who've been
successful financially, but it 's
taken a long time and much of
their work is sold elsewhere. As
are most aspiring professionals,
Mavis is eyeing the lucrative
mainland Canadian and
American markets which can
absorb far more material than
Newfoundland's small
population.
If Mavis doesn't "make it", it
won't because she hasn't tried.
18 - Decks Awash
A is fo r A l vin
in th e wood s he do sin g
B is for Bob by
wh o hunts in the spring
The Labrador balladeer
takes up the paintbrush
To trappers alon g th e
Labrador coast. the Hunter 's
Alphabet son g is like a national
anthem. Listed in that son g is
almost every e ve nt and every
trapper known. Th e song was
made famous by Gerald Mit
chell. a Makkovik resident who
was "the Labrador balladeer"
in the early 60s.
Ever since he moved to Happy
Valley, Goose Ba y , 20 years ago ,
Gerald, now 42, has made a
point of coll ecting La-brador
songs. He sang a nd played them
on a radio show in th e early 60s
and again in th e 1970s and many
of his songs wer e re corde d on
two LP's .
Selt-teugbt. Gerald learned
how to play when he was eleven,
bu t music is not his only interest.
Gerald has alwa ys be en
interested in a rt. In fact, he
supports himself at odd jobs and
by sign painting , but he would
like to make his livin g as a n
artist. " I pa int in oils ," he e xplains,
" but I ofte n wo nder ed if
there was a no ther wa y of doing
art. Then I had a c ha nce to go to
St. Michael's printshop near St.
John's for a month. I was go ing
to try lithography there, but I
thought it would be a very e xpensive
to get a lithography
press to Labrador. So I ended up
doing linoleum prints at St.
Michael's. Now I'm trying to get
a loan to buy equipm e nt for
here."
Most of Gerald ' s prints reflect
his Labrador lifestyle. They are
based on th e m em ories of his
childhood days in Makkovik. " I
do paintings of people going into
the woods in snowshoes,
drawing water through th e ice
and snow or hauling wood to th e
hous e. I don 't put in the modern
things like snowmobiles."
Gerald sells his paintings not only for music, but for
through the Happy Valley Craft drawing as well .
Store and now that he is into
printing, he hopes to sell limited
editions of his sc e nes. " My work
is selling," he e xpla ins. " U' s a
living and fortunately I don 't
have to support a family. With
the prints, I hope to re ally make
a living."
While at St . Michael's Ger ald
worked with artist Don Wright
and made two original prints
which he is proud of. He enjoyed
his stay. " It wa s a com m unity
atmosphere, " he explains.
"Ideas ge t flying among a group
of people and you become enthusiastic
a bout what you are
doin g . I was the re in February
a nd Ma rch an d live d in the
printshop. Th ere was a lwa ys
someone to talk with."
The good part about the St.
Mic hael's e xpe rience, was that
it gave Gerald confidence in his
work as a n artist. He r e alized
that there were others like
himself and that what he was
doing was very important. The
experience also gave him the
impetus to commit himself to
art by making him want to
expand int o th e print medium
and buy a press.
For now , Gerald's music has
somewhat passed into the
background as he becomes
mo re involved in art. But Gerald
is one of the lucky ones. He is a Tw o linol eum prints of L ab r ad or
true artist with a natural .be nt life by Gerald Mitchell
2\ol.1lbs. Rhubarb
2 qts. water
1'14 cup sugar
Rhubarb Juice
Cut rhubarb &. stew in simmering water. strain
through cheesecloth. Add s ug a r. lemon, or a nge
juice &.cloves, refrigerate and serve while cold.
Mrs. HJ . Budget!
St. John's
Juice of two lemons
Juice of one orange
4 whole cloves
Amateur art is flourishing
" Something that we lack , is a
place wher e a n artist can go a nd
be trained full tim e... J a m
thinking of an academy for eig ht
or nine months a ye ar. " This is
the desire of Joan Short. artist.
and muslcian who serves as th e
President of the Art Associa tion
of Newfoundland and Labrador,
A group of nearly 100 member s
devoted to the needs of a ma teur
artists in the province, It wa s
formed In i960. initia lly to
support th e e sta bli shme nt of an
art gallery.
This objective has been met ,
but the association continue s
be cause of Its oth er ma jor role :
to stimulate local artists , " They
must be encouraged to go ah ead
with the ir artisti c plans: ' ex
pla ins Mrs. Short. "and not
become discouraged that th eir
works will not be vie wed, Th e
artist who hasn't yet had th e
opportunity to show his work
should be assured that thi s
obstacle will be overcome,"
One method of overcoming
this obstacle is to sponsor at
least two art exhibitions annually
but there-are other needs
of provincia l amateur artists
which also must be met . " The
me mbership of about one
hundred people is scattered fa r
and wide around the province ,"
explains Mrs. Short. " Ofte n it is
difficult for these peop le to
acquire supplies and learn th e
basic techniques which could
ena ble them to becom e
professionals. Man y of th e
youn g arti sts . cont act the
association wanting to know just
what the organization can offer
them to further their abilities ,"
Because of these request s
Mrs . Short feels that there is a
need for art training in th e
province. She thinks the re ar e a
fair number of loc al a rtis ts
wilUng to devote their tim e to
the instruction of aspiring artists,
e ven if it were only one
course per year. " A professi onal
artist has to live. and in ord er to
live he has to work."
If he could teach, he co uld
give his talents to so me bod y
els e."
According to Mr s. Sho rt, until
su ch an acade my is established,
other steps could be tak en to
assist th e seri ous a ma te ur to
bec ome a pr ofessional. One step
would be to show th e works of
pr ofessionals and a m ateur s
during the sa me exhibition.
There could be a great sharing
between th e gro ups whic h would
furt he r help th e strugg ling
a rtist.
This is not to assume th at the
amateurs of th e province are
seeking profession al sta tus . For
those amateu rs who purs ue art
as recreati on , Mr s. Short feels ,
" They should have the ir own
pla ce to ex hibit. "
The a rt movem ent in
Newfoundland a nd Labrador is
not identified by one pa rticular
style or form. However , th ere is
one distinguish ing fe atu re - the
impact which th e environment
has had on the artists. " You can
take a look at most Newfoundland
art and you see the en
vironment in which the a rtist
has been working. Th e a verag e
Newfoundlan der loves
Newf oun dl and . He loves th e
water, land scape an d sky . He is
part of his environme nt ." As
Mrs . Shor t points out the re a re
very few portrait a rtists in the
province.
Mrs . Short ex presses a n
exci te me nt for th e future of the
a rt ist in Ne wfoundland. Th ere is
a desire by the Art Association
to expand its activ ities an d Increase
its membership to 4()()..500
individuals . Also, th er e Is hope
that a full -tim e sta ff member
can be hir ed to help ans wer th e
needs of the isol at ed a rtis t. With
people in Goose Bay. Hibbs
Hole, Pl acentia Ba y, th e
Southern Shor e and other area s
of the pr ov ince, th er e is a need
to ensure th at co m munica tio n is
m aintained betw een the
members. " The re is ta len t out
there , but people don' t kn ow
Decks Awash -19
Joan Short
wheth er they ar e ta lented or not.
We hope to help th em ."
Bein g a wa y from th e matnstream
of North American art
can be de scribed as a " mix ed
blessing" by Mrs . Short. While
the independence allows the
local artist to develop his own
style. adding to the unique
quality of Newfoundland art, It
can also lead to stag na tio n.
According to Mrs . Short th is ha s
not yet been a difficulty in th e
pr ovinc e as the individua ls a nd
their art are still evolving. She
concludes, " Ne wfoundland ha s
such a wealth of folk culture
end owed with so mu ch natural
beauty th at it is ine vit able th at
visual arts will flourish. as indeed
. is happening now ,'"
20 - Decks Awash
Collecting and dealing in art
"I we nt to a one-room school
and we didn't get any art instruction,"
reflects Flo Pippy,
an av id Newfoundland art
collector, " but I always liked
art.
About 23 years ago when Flo
had left her home community of
Bareneed and had come to St .
John's and married, she began
to make up for those artdeprived
childhood days. She
began to collect art. " I first
started by sending away to a
magazine for a few reproductions
because there weren't
many artists in Newfoundland
at that time. Then I bought my
first original. It was of Bareneed
and it was by Kelsey Raymond
of Nova Scotia. Then I saw one
of Reg Shepherd's paintings
displayed at a bank in St. John's .
I asked him not to sell it until he
checked with me . I began saving
my m oney and I was going to get
it at Christmas. He eventually
brought it down to me, but
wouldn't let me pay for it."
For Flo Pippy art
collecting is a hobby. By many
she would be considered a
patron of the arts rather than a
serious a rt collector. The dif·
terence lies in the fact that Flo
buys a painting because it appe
als to her, not because of its
pot ential value or be cause a
critic g ave it a good review . She
also believes in helping up -andcoming
artists and she admits to
buy ing a painting because th e
artist could us e the support. F or
e xa m ple she has two paintings
by an alcoholic who was in
prison.
An avid art reader, she shuns
official openings, but does go to
the Newfoundland Arts and
Letters Competitions to see the
works of young aspiring artists.
She also co uld never bear
to part with her more than 5S
water colors, cka.wings, oils or
embroideries and she vows that
she never covets th e art work
owned by someone else. For her,
art collecting is a very personal
experience.
Fl o's art collecting has slowed
down som ew hat in recent
years, but not bec ause she is
losing int erest. She' s run ning
out of space. Ev er y nook a nd
cranny of her sp acious hous e in
St . John's Is fill ed wit h
Helen Parsons-Shepherd, Chr is
Pratt, Don Wri ght, Gerry
Squi res, or Yoka Gray, to name
just a few artists. There are
paintings in her living room , her
kit chen, hallway, bedroom
bath roo m and reo room. One
painting she hid in her clo set for
Flo Pippy with a still lif e by H el en Parsons Shepherd.
three months. By Gerry Sq uir es,
it was a mystical scene which
some people found ugly and
scary, but it appe a led to Fl o. It
was called " Time WI1l Be ar
Another Son " . Eventuall y sh e
hung it and it ha s become one of
Gerry's most famous paintings .
Fl o claims that s he does not
have a favourite artis t, but she
does have fav ourite paintin gs .
Reg Shepherd's " Ship Ca ug ht
in the Ice ," " Leaves" by Yak a
Gray, Hel en Sheph erd 's "Jug
with Dogberries " and Da vid
Blackwood's " Bur ning of t he
Churc h at Wesleyvi.lle" are a ll
fav ourit es , as are m an y by
Gerry Squ ir es. Ofte n she likes
these pictures because th ey
remind her of ev e nts in
Newfoundland 's history, suc h as
res ettlement or outpcrt life.
For ye ars Fl o bought directly
from the artist, but 7 years ag o a
gallery was opened on Wat er
Street and sh e be gan to buy
some of her art there. Ca lled,
appropriately enoug h, The
GALLERY, it is run by Ida and
Ernie Mauskop f. States Mrs.
Mausk opf , a Ne wfound
' lander, " We didn't have a
specific market in mind wh en
we opene d the GALLERY. We
just thought more attention
should be paid to Newfoundland
art. " We started in a very
relaxed way . We put everyone's
name on our mailing list who
came in. We also approached
the professional artists In
Newfoundland , such as Chris
Pratt, Helen P arsons-Sheppard,
Reginald Sheppard, Mary Pratt,
Frank LaPointe, David Black·
wood and oth ers and slowly
acquired their co-operation.
Since that time, we also have
been working toward improving
the standards of The GALLERY
with other recognized artists.
"We deal mainly in
Newfoundlnd art, but also show
other Canadian art. This enables
us to make exchanges with
galleries throughout Canada
and it gives the Newfoundland
artist a chance to show out of
the province through excha nge
ex hibitions."
While Newfoundlanders don't
buy that much "Canadian" art
there are people who visit t he
province, especially In t he
summer, who recognize and buy
certain artists because they a re
familiar with art on the
m a in la nd . Mrs. Mauskopf adds,
"There are certain people who
sell slowly, but we still want to
have their paintings." It is
partly a learning process. The
Mauskopfs believe in educating
the public about art and the only
way to do it is to expose them to
different styles and different
artists.
As for the nitty gritty of
buying and selling paintings,
Mrs. Ma uskopf e xp lai ns , " Often
people come into The
GALLER Y with paintings for
sa le . We always look at their
work and try to lead them to
sources which might benefit
them."
T hen there are some artists
that the Mauskopfs chase after.
"For example," Mrs. Mauskopf
ex plal.ns, "Gary Saunders left
Gander Bay. He was a very good
artist. When we found his new
address we wrote him. He was
delighted and sent us some of his
work. We framed them, as
we usua lly do with all the work
For years Newfoundlanders had gardens. But
a bout twe nty years ago the ca nned and frozen
variety of vegetables replaced the trad itional
s ide of t he road or back of the lot full of pot a toe s,
ca rrots, turnips. and cabbage. To day, as infla
tio n begins to fluorish, so again do ga rdens.
Although most of Newfoundland's root c rops
are picked until well into fall , by the end of
August, carrots are a.t their most delectable.
co ming he r e a nd we hung
t he m."
The artist usuall y tells the
deale r how much he would like
his pa intin g to sell for . If It 's
exor bitant, the Mauskopfs try to
c hange the artist's mind. As
Mr s. Ma usko pf explains, " If
your name is not known. it 's
be tter to start low . In a way you
are paying to be known."
In 7 years the art clientele has
changed. It used to be that only
peop le with money would buy,
but now Mrs. Mauskopf notices
that younger people are buying
art a s an Investment. And it 's
Ida M auskopfof The GALLERY.
Decks Awash - 21
even filtering down through the
school system. A fe w teachers
are br inging their students
thro ug h The GA LLERY to look
at paintings.
Flo Pippy was unique when
she started collecting
Newfoundland art. While few
can match her mammoth
collection, more and more
homes today are decorated with
original pieces rather than with
catalogue and calendar art. At
long last. Newfoundlander-s are
beginning to rejoice and be
proud of their own artists.
Throughout this issue we pay homage to the
carrot, and we also throw in a few recipes about
a vegetable very well suited to Newfoundland's
cli mate, Swiss and r hubarb chard.
"The treaitione t singer half
reclines on t he raised end of the
typic al wooden sofa and, after
p r ot esti ng modestly that he 'has
the cold' and 'ne ver could sing
anyway', he gives judicious
attention to the liUle movable
spitbox , filled with sa wdusf and
co nveniently placed under the
sofa. Then, fixing his eyes on
vacancy, he begins his
song... The ctitet characteristic
of his singing is the embellishment
of the basic melody
with the greatest possible
variety of tu rns, slurs, grace
not es, quavers, unexpected
accen ts, and subtle syncopa
uons. "
Ell.abeth Briltol
Greenleaf, from the IntroclucUon
to Ballad. • sea
Son.. of Newfoundland,
publlahed in 1833.
Th e m an y ball a ds that can
s till be heard in the ki tc he ns of
N ew foundla nd are the most
dis li ncti ve part of this province's
m usic a l he r ita ge. Though
Music
From Ballads to Bach
the ba llad tradition ha s its own
discipline, it is informal to the
extent that it continues by
persona l exchange between selftaught
s ingers and the only
meaningful dales that can be
listed are those when songs were
collected for publication.
The first major collection was
made in the summer of 1929 by
two energetic young women
from Vassar College in New
Yo rk-Elisabeth Greenleaf and
Grace Mansfield. Otber
noteworthy collections are the
small booklets published by
loc al r es ide nt Gerald S. Doyle in
1927, HMO, and 1955 which were
dist r ibuted free of charge and
fOlk Song. from Newfoundland,
co llected by the English woman,
Maud Karpeles, in 1930. All of
a bove however, are now ou t of
print, a nd in their place we ha ve
Ke nn e th Peacock's Son•• of the
Newfoundland Outportl-411
songs collected in the 1950's and
published by the National
Muse u m of Canada in 1965.
Newfoundland's dance music
Decks Awash - 23
played predominantly on the
fiddle and the accordian has
ne ve r been written down exte
nsively in books, but like the
songs has been transmitted
through the informal "times"
and "crowd ins" in out port
kitchens, and when men got
together for the seal hunt.
Another important area for
sharing music was the lumber
camps which housed men from
·a ll over Newfoundland and even
some from mainland Canada
and the United States. Though
much of the traditional music in
eastern North America can be
traced back to the British Isl e s ,
the isolation of Newfoundla nd
communities has allowed ma ny
very old songs a nd tunes to
s urvive unchanged through
se veral centuries of perfor
m a nce.
Tur ning now to classical
m us ic , we find that the fir st
music school in the province
opened in 1814, on Holloway
Street, St . John's. By the late
24 - Decks Awash
1830's , there was a Handel &
Haydn Society in that city, and
in 1887 the S1. John's School of
Music opened with instruction in
piano, organ, viola , and ' cello.
By the early 1900s, examiners
from the Trinity College of
Music in London were coming
regularly, Various recitals and
concerts were organized in the
city, but it was not until 1946 that
a branch of the Community
Concert Association was
established in Newfoundland.
This group has been instrumental
in bringing in top
quality chamber music en
sembles and similar small
group or individual classical
music concerts to many rural
areas of Newfoundland and
Labrador. Any community that
can organize enough patrons
willing to pay for season tickets
can subscribe to the
Association's yearly tour of
musicians from Europe and
other parts of North America.
The Kiwanis Music Festivals
"Newfoundlanders should
take a hint from Jamaica,"
suggests Neil Murray, a S1.
John's music critic. "It Is an
island like Newfoundland, but
the people there gave the
native reggae music such
support that it swept the world.
"Newfoundland's music is
just as distinctive and carries a
tremendous energy that can
captivate anyone, regardless of
their background."
Quietly sipping his coffee, Neil
Murray explains that despite the
distinct and popular style, local
musicians find it difficult to get
work in this province. "Clubs
and bars around the island seem
to hire either one-man acts that
use electronic back-up or else
large travelling show bands
from the mainland. Small duets
and trios have a hard time. Club
owners who do hire local bands
usually pay them less than they
have been held yearly in S1.
John's since 1952 and have now
spread to Grand Falls, Carbonear,
Gander, Corner Brook,
labrador City , and Stephenville.
Some of these are sponsored
by the Rotary and Lions
Clubs. though a more accurate
statement would be that the
music festivals are a triumph of
community participation
wherever they are held . There is
now a Newfoundland Federation
of Music Festivals that holds
Provincial Finals every year
and sends talented Newfoundlanders
to the National Music
Festival in Toronto.
The Newfoundland Symphony,
based In S1. John's,
began to come together informally
as a group of amateurs
in the early 1960s and by 1968
was a full orchestra, conducted
by Ian Mennie. Th e Symphony
generally offers about six
concerts per year, half of which
travel to a town outside of S1.
John's . In addition, small
Today's music scene
pay mainland bands, even
though in most cases the quality
of music is the same. The
mainland bands just offer a slick
presentation with costumes and
stage effects."
TaU , red-haired Neil Murray
hosts"Jigg's Dinner" ,the OZ FM
radio program that features
Newfoundland music and
recitations. A St . John's native,
he writes for the Newfoundland
Herald and has kept in touch
with music all over the province
for many years.
According to Neil, there is
very little jazz played in
Newfoundland but rock, country
and western and traditional folk
music are all represented.
Country and western music is
dominated by A. Frank Willis,
who has recorded an album in
Nashville and popularized the
one-man style of show In
Newfoundland's clubs. In the
groups of Symphony members
perform other concerts around
the province, many of which are
presented to school children in
conjunction with a lecture on
classical music and instruments.
The Department of Music at
Memorial University opened in
August 1975 and admitted its
first students In September 1976.
Already the Department has
been very active around the
province. For example, in the
1978-79 school year they held 128
concerts, about 80 of which were
off campus, and 116 of which
were free of charge, They have
taken over the operation of the
Summer Music Camp that was
started by MUN Extension in
1972, and in August 1978 a brass
quintet toured coastal Labrador
by boat, performing 21 concerts
in 17 days.
Thus, Newfoundland is offered
a variety of musical performances
that ranges from the
traditional to the classical.
fields of rock and blues It seems
that no one band stays together
for very long, but talented
musicians keep re-appearing in
the clubs and on recordings in
various combinations.
Turning to Newfoundland's
traditional music scene, it is
easier to get a clear picture.
"Ryan's Fancy" continues to
pack the clubs as the group
improves its repertoire of
traditional drinking music.
"Flggy Durr" and "The Wonderful
Grand Band" combine
traditional Newfoundland folk
music with modern rock approach
and instrumentation.
The West Coast of the island
appears to be the centre for
traditional music. Clade Sound
Studios in Stephenville records
much of the local talent. The big
names on the west coast are
fiddlers Emile Benoit and Rufus
Guinchud, apd Minnie White on
26 - Decks Awash
Peninsula , but th at
traditional music is being
revived, he has travelled to
festivals throughout Canada, the
USA, and Great Britain.
Wherever' he goes, the people
love his music.
Like Rufus, Emile Benoit
lives on th e West Coast of the
island and in recent years has
played his fiddle at many
festivals around North America.
Born on March 24, 1913 in Black
Duck Brook on the Frenchspeaking
Port au Port Peninsula,
Emile has lived there aU
his life . Through the years he
has earned his living by farming,
fishing, carpentry, and
blacksmithing. Of Emile's 13
children, some have picked up
guitar or accordion-playing in
t he past, but now his youngest
daughter shows an interest in
fiddling like her father. " She is
on ly eight years old," adds
E mile, " but I'm very proud of
that one ."
When it comes to their fiddling
styles, Rufus and Emile differ
considerably. Each man is
pro ud of his own tecbntques'vrbe
style you play makes all the
difference," says Rufus, "and
mi ne is right different. I hold the
Minnie White
fiddle against my right shoulder
instead of the left, and I use only
the middle of the bow . You can
put in notes and playa jig a lot
better with your fin gers than
you can with th e bow . People in
the Shetland Islands noticed that
right away about-my playing-said
they'd never seen such
balance on the bow . Instead of
shakin' that bow a lot, I conce
ntrate on the fingers of the left
hand."
By contrast, Emile Benoit
Don't handle 'er rough
" My accordion playing is
s mooth, like a violin sound,It
sa ys Minnie White, one of Nfld's
m ost well-known accordion
players, .. and I fit in ex t ra notesno
mo re than what sho uld be
th er e , but people can dance to
m y m usic easier than to other
pl a yers because there are no
not es left out."
Minnie lived her early life in
St. Alban's, Bay D'Espoir,
wh er e she began playing accordio
n at the age of eight. She
learn ed most of it from her
father , whom she describes as
"a very smooth accordion
pl a yer" , but by the time she left
hom e at age 16 she had stopped
playing. After a few years of
wor king in the Cod roy Valley,
Spruce Book , and Corner Brook,
she married Richard White in
1939 a nd settled in Tompkins
where she lives today,
"There was always a lot of
good accordion players around
home on the South Coast,"
recalls Minnie, "but once I got
up to t he Codroy I found that
m usic at parties came mostly
fr om Scottish fiddlers, so I
lea r ned to chord or vamp on the
piano and organ with them."
After her six children had
grown up and left home, Minnie
started to play the accordion
again. Now she plays once a
month at the Viking Lounge in
Port au Port, and every Sunday
afternoon at the Starlite Lodge
in Codroy.
plays in more of a French style
that emphasizes the use of the
bow. "The bow is like your
tongue," suggests Emile, "and
it has to come down strong on
the beat. When you br ing the
bow down like I do , it draws
music right from the heart. Play
the bow up like in western style ,
and the music is gone, disappears
into t he air. Fingers bri ng
a sweet tone and make the
people happy, but that bow's got
to work,"
Now that Emile and Rufus
have each produced an album of
their music, readers can mo re
easily appreciate their di ffe ri ng
styles. Bot h men, however, are
glad to see that traditio na l
music is now becoming mor e
popula r than rock and roll on the
West Coast. Emile has even
pla yed in rock bands, but
hastens to add, " The music is
too loud , too ha rd on the head.
There's no exercise in that. Ah ,
but the square dance, that's the
real thing."
If we head into another
economic depression, let us hope
that the many young fiddlers
now on the go will make it easier
on us , just as Rufus and Emile
did for their generation.
She has been playing at the
Star lite for four years, and
people often come from England
or Nova Scotia especially to
hear her play. "I cou ld be goi ng.
all the time," Minnie says
quietly, "but that would keep me
too busy. I don 't like to play any
more than what is really enjoyable.
My time at home, doing
needle work and other th ings is
also important to me."
Minnie also writes so ngs,
plays the ma ndolin, and has
recorded two albums that are
selling well both on and off the
island, Her m usic has he lped
spark a growing interest in
accordion playing on the West
Coast.
" I see more and more yo ung
people at the Starlite all the
time," Minnie adds, " a nd I
would say that traditional music
and country and western are
becoming more popular than
rock and roll."
When we asked if she had any
advice to offer the young accordion
players, she replied that
many of them seem to be
Decks Awash - 27
shaking out the music in a way
that distorts the sound. "There's
a lot of music in the ac cordion,"
Minnie's vows, "you don't have
to handle 'er rough."
Sonny's dream come true
OhSonny, don 't go away
1 am here all alone
Andyourdaddy's a sailor
Who never comes home
And the night gets so long
And the silence goes on
I'm feeling so tired
I'm not all that strong
These are some of the lyrics to
"Sonny's Dream" by
Newfoundland steger-composer.
Ron Hynes. His most-requested
song, it describes a situation
that should be familiar to many
Newfoundlanders.
The song records the conflict
between a young man's dreams
of fortune in faraway places and
his mother's plea for him to stay
and help out at home, because
his father is always away.
Like many Newfoundlanders,
Ron Hynes was raised almost
solely by his mother. "I was
born on December 7, 1950 and
lived in Ferryland until 1 went to
University," explains Ron. "My
father worked on ships and then
built communtcattons towers up
north. My mother and my four'
brothers and sisters saw him for
two weeks around Christmas
and another few weeks in the
summer."
A Country and Western style
tune, "Sonny's Dream" also
makes the song more
representative of the real
Newfoundland lifestyle and
music. Country and Western
music speaks directly to the
working classes all over North
America and Newfoundland is
no exception. "El Paso" by
Marty Robbins influenced Ron
greatly. "Even now," he adds,
"next to Bob Dylan, I would say
that Country and Western is my
fa vourite kind of music."
The Bob Dylan connection is
one that Ron developed when he
first came to S1. John's. He lost
interest in University during his
first year, but got caught up in
"The Void" - a Saturday night
coffee-house that is dear to the
memory of many musicians now
playing around Newfoundland.
It offered good company and
performing experience for folk
musicians at a time when their
music had "no commercial
potential" in St. John's.
"I was pretty much of an
aimless young hippie," Ron
admits. "All I wanted to do was
play the guitar and sing in those
days." However, compelled by
poverty, he went looking for a
job and ended up working for
CHCM radio in Marystown, for
retail stores in S1. John's and for
an encyclopedia ' company in
Montreal. Returning to
Newfoundland in the summer of
1971, he was paid $1 a day as an
actor 'a t the Eastport Festival.
This inauspicious beginning was
material to record, so I got a
lucky break."
the start of Ron Hynes' Flying back and forth between
professional music career.
That winter Ron wrote and
Toronto and S1. John's, Ron
spent the years 1972-71 playing
played songs at various pubs in in clubs around Ontario but
St. John's. His growing enthusiasm
and confidence made
returning here to work on the
..songs for four Mummers'
him decide to try his luck in theatrical shows. Since then,
Toronto. "I spent a solid year
pounding the pavement trying to
Ron Hynes has become part of
the Wonderful Grand Band
sell my songs to publisher-s and along with Brian Hennessey,
recording companies," he says Rocky Wiseman, Glenn Sim
without bitterness. "But finally, mons, Sandy Morris, and Kelley
totally dejected, 1 decided to 'Russell. The Band was featured
give up as a songwriter. When I on CBC's series "The Root
returned to S1. John's I got Cellar" and other shows, but
called by the Audat Company remains as a concert band that
who recorded the album 'Ron gets together for special
Hynes Discovery'. They were engagements since its members
looking for any Newfoundland work separately.
28 - Decks Awash
Writing about Newfoundland
for the Mummer's plays,
especially for th e Johnny Burke
show, gave Ron a greater appreciation
for Newfoundland's
traditional music. Johnny
Burke, " The Bard of Duckw orth
Street" soon placed with Marty
Robbins and Bob Dylan as an
influential performer.
"I admire the traditional style
of Newfoundland's lyrics,"
comments Ron. " They are
simple but so close to the heart.
Take the line from 'The Star of
Logy Bay', that goes 'I met her
aged fat her , who did me sore
confound', the feeling is expressed
very beautifully wit hout
being private or introspective
like modern songs. We are the
only province, besides Quebec,
that has a long musical tradition
to continually draw from, and
I'm amazed that we have
neglected it for so long."
No longer commuting to
Toronto, Ron is determined to
make his living in Newfoundland,
but spends as much time
Jimmy Linegar
Country western woes
In the experience of Jimmy
Linegar, the golden years of
country music in Newfoundland
were the early 1950s, when his
vo ice and guitar were heard
across this province on the
Great Eastern Oil Company's
Bargain Hour and when he
travelled by fishing boat around
the shores of Newfoundland to
play in virtually every outport
he could get to. The feeling of
freedom he had. and the ent
hus iasm of the audiences in
those days prompts Jimmy even
now to remark, "I'd far rather
be doing that then playing in
clubs. Often I'd barely make
enough to cover my room and
board and travelling expenses,
but it was a great adventure. My
first trip to S1. Anthony in 1956
drew such a crowd that I had to
give two shows. After three
hours of playing and singing to a
crowded hall without an amplifier,
I was pretty hoarse."
Born on Blackhead Road near
S1. John's on February 4, 1936,
Jimmy Linegar was first led
into country music by hearing
neigh bour Tom Hayward play
the guitar and by listening to an
.Al bert Slim record when the
Linegar family got a
phonograph in 1949. He was only
16 when he started on the
Ba rgain Hour. Besides the
outport tours, he used to play for
dances in communities nea r S1.
John's chording along to an
accordion for the lancers in
between country songs.
Jimmy's whole way of life
changed, however, almost
overnight when Elvis Presley
arrived on the scene in 1956 and
country music took a nose dive .
After working for a few months
at Eaton's sto re in Montreal, he
could see that roc k and roll was
not about to go away, so Jimmy
joined the Air Force for five
years.
Leaving the Air Force in
1962, Jimmy drove down to
Wheeling, West Virg inia, to
renew his friendship wit h Doc
Williams, famous fo r the WWVA
jamboree, and the country
singer, next to Ha nk Snow, who
ha s most influenced Ji m m y. The
next five years were spe nt
playing around Ontario with
groups such as Ernie and Ca ndy
Lindell and Henry La Riviere ,
The Singing Soldier. In 1966,
Jimmy recorded his only
original song, " Golden Strings"
and its 1,000 copies sold out
quickly.
Considering Jimmy's devotion
to country music and its
dwindling po pularity in the
sixties, it is not too surprising tht
he lost most of his self-respect,
to the point where he was consuming
three bottles of rum and
three packs of cigarettes per
day. Much to his credit, he has
as possible away from St.
Jo hn's. "People talk about ' the
isolated outports'," Ron observes,
"but in terms of
a wareness of our culture, it is
the main centres that are
iso lated and becoming
Ca nadianized. The problem
t hough, is that it is too hard to
make a living around the bay.
Our cult ure can't reaUy flourish
without a better economy. Peckford
has captured the hopes of
m any people and I hope he will
live u p to these hopes."
since totally kicked both habits.
In 1967, Jimmy Linegar
returned to Newfoundland with
all intentions of giving up music
forever, but it was not too long
before he was playing with a
variety of other musicians,
inc luding the traditional
Newfoundland singer John
White, a nd Rex Hemeon from
Bot wood , who plays country
rock. But the recent years have
been quite unsettled for Jimmy,
as he does not like country
m usic 's concessions to rock and
roll, with electric guitars and
dr um s .
"If I could get back into any
type of music today," Jimmy
re ports, " it would be bluegrass,
because it has been too stubborn
to change over the years, just
like me ."
In 1978, the University's
F olklore Department worked '
wit h ETV to prepare a half hour
show about Jimmy Linegar and
his music. This has become one
of th e most requested ETV
productions and Jimmy hopes
th at he will get a chance to do at
least one more before people get
sick and tried of seeing the same
one over and over again. "The
interest in old-style cou ntry
mu sic is obviously out there,"
says the energetic Shea Heights
singer". What I'd really love to
see is for cac to make a n
tnexpenstve
30 - Decks Awash
dland the best of all. Acc ording
to Noel, the traditional music in
Britain is strictly a thing of th e
past relying mostly on academic
research. Newfoundland's
tradition, however, is still part
1)f outport community life as
songs, tunes and recitations are
kept in circulation among the
people.
Unlike most touring bands,
Figgy Duff positively enjoys
going to small, isolated communities
in Newfoundland.
"Once we went to Ramea by
boat," recalls Noel, " and the
club there is really old , built on a
(ish stage held up by poles. We
literally had the place rocking-floor
heaving up and down,
speakers swaying back and
forth so they almost tipped over.
Great times. We make instant
friends after most shows like
that, and get invited to parties in
kitchens that are often more fun
than playing at the club."
One of the main reasons for
the band's su cc ess is that th ey
have made contact with local
musicians, m ostly am ateurs, in
all the co m m unit ies the y
have visited. " Le arning music
direct from the people instead of
from books makes you perform
it with much more heart," adds
Noel. " An audience will judge
you in comparision with the
musicians in their own community.
We oft en put the
mysterious sound of an electric
piano with pb as e-shitter into the
musical back-up of songs that
are traditionally done un ac
companied. In order for that to
succeed with a n outport
audience of all ages. the vocal
style has to be very authentic."
Pam Morgan performs most
of the lead vocals and was
singing and writing
arrangements from Nfld . folk
songs collected by Kenneth
Peacock before joining Figgy
Duff. She names Mose Harris of
Lethbridge, Bonavista Bay as
the singer who most helped her.
The Newfoundland songs she
sings have proven to be the
main source of comment from
the outport audiences who will
come forward to talk about the
last time they heard a particular
song years ago, or how the
version they know differs from
what Pam sings.
At present, the band personnel
are as follows : Geoff Butler
( accordian and nute), Noel Dinn
(keyboards, drums, backup
vocals), Pam Morgan (guit ar,
tin whistle, keyboards) and
Dave Panting (bass & mandolin).
Though Figgy Duff tries
hard to meet its audience's
requests for many types of fast
and slow material, it draws the
line at Country & Western songs.
"Basically, Country & Western
is just an imported substitute for
the moods that exist in
traditional music," says Noel
Dinn. "We're interested in
Newfoundlanders returning to
their own music."
Gongs and gannets in the garden.
"Have .you ever heard the
music of raindrops striking a
row of brake drums under the
house eaves? It has a sound
Uke gamelan - Indonesia6 or
chestral sounds," remarks Don
Wherry with a grin, " and the
random rhythm of the rain is
also exciting to work with ." .
Don is Newfoundland's most
highly-trained percussionist.
Besides his performances with
the Newfoundland Symphony,
Don teaches classes in his home
and continues to experiment
with new sounds and new
arrangements, bringing his
findings before the public in
travelling school concerts,
multi-media shows, and performances
by a twentieth
century music group called
"Fusion" .
Visitors to Dan 's studio may
sometimes feel as if they are in
an Oriental bazaar or someone's
back shed. Scattered among the
regular drums and xylophones,
various exotic bells, gongs and
drums from Africa, Brazil or the
Orient are old car springs, artillery
shells and bent spikes.
Each produces a different and
often delicate tonal sound.
Wrenches suspended on strings
sound like a set of wind chimes.
Simllarily, old artillery shells
make excellent gongs when a
saw cut is run part way down
one side. These, like other
gongs, can be played with a
fiddle bow as well as with a
mallet. " T he possibilities for
making music are limitless,"
adds Don.
Born on June 3, 1935, in
Hamilton, Ontario, Don Wherry
left school in Grade 10 to work at
a radio station and devote
himself to drumming with dance
bands. In these early years, he
lost two sets of drums when
clubs burned down, but that
didn't stop him. "People told me
I was crazy to drop out of high
school for the sake of music,"
says Don with some
amusement, "but six years later
I was teaching percussion at the
University of Toronto."
Don then played with the
Ottawa Philharmonic and later
with the Toronto Symphony for
13 years until 1973. The Toronto
conductor Seiji Ozawa was a
major influence in developing
Dan's appreciation for Oriental
attitudes to music and the rhyth·
ms of nature. His other connections
with classical music
included performances with '
CBC orchestras, the Canadian
Opera Company, the National
Ballet and the Festival Singers.
At the same time he was playing
with a variety of popular groups
lhat played rock and roll , jazz
and Latin music.
In 1973, Don moved to
Newfoundland. "I wanted to get
out of the nurry of classes and
performances I was involved
with in Ontario," he explains.
"In Newfoundland I found a
freedom to explore new musical
directions and get back to the
essentials. The possibilities for
Decks Awash - 31
Don Wherry. while on tour with his percussion gro up, holds the attention of students.
making music in this province
are very good - lots of audience
enthusiasm , particularly among
young people . The land and sea
here are fa ntastic. I often use
tapes of natural sounds in my
music ,"
Aided by Community
Musician Grant from the
Ca nada Council. Don has toured
a pe rcussion ensemble through
m any schools in rural
Newfoundland. He finds that the
st udents easily respond to the
musical and visual experience
offe red to them, Together with
Paul Bendzsa of the Un iversity's
new Music Dep artment, Don
has also been working as part of
a m usical group known a s
" Fusion" . This group selects
certain musicians and oth er
artists to participate in sp ecial
performances, usually at art
galleries. Though many details
of a "Fusion" concert are
wor ked out in advance. others
are left to the inspiration of the
moment. Don explains that
every performance of a piece is
unique - "A delightful surprise
for both audience and perfor
mers. "
Working with the sounds of
nature - heavy surf on the beach.
icebergs cr ashing ag ainst an
island or bird calls, fascinate.
but yet humble this versatile
musician. " Once when I was
recording a gannet colony at
Cape 81. Mary's, " Don recalls.
"I began to hear a rhythm to.
Decks Awash - 33
Toe tapping around Conception Bay
" T wo days in he aven" is the
way Frank Squ ir es. a fiddle r
from Witless Bay. described th e
folk festival th at took pl ace in
Ha r bour Grace on J uly 8.
Considering th at th e festival
lasted only one da y. tha t is
saying a lot!
The extra 'day' took pl ace
both before and after th e
festival, when the kit chens and
h alls around the community
we re th rown op en for old
fashio ned 'ti me s'. All provid ed
their own form of entertain me nt
with songs. tun es. ste ps an d
refreshments.
"You would be surprised at how
little money was inv olv ed in this
Iesttval." explains Bill Bowman
Jr.• Chairman of the Conce pti on
Bay Folk Arts Ass ociation a nd
editor of The Compass. Con
cep ti on Bay's weekly
new sp a per. " T he whole affair
cost well under $1,000. thanks to
th e ge nerosity and enthusias m
of people in this area. S1.
Franci s' High School gave us
fr ee use of the ir love ly field
overlooking th e Bay. and the
S.W. Moo re s Memorial Stadium
provided the stage materials.
Other fr ee donations included
equipment, food, beverages and
volunteer labour , t ha t ca me
from variou s local com pa nie s
and individu al s . No one tu rn ed
us down for a t hing. Th e S1.
John's F olk Ar ts Counc il was
also a gr eat help with their
advice and a ss ista nce."
The Con ception Bay Folks Art
Association is less th an a year
old and this was t heir first
festival. Much of thei r s uc ce ss
stems from the way the
Association is or ganized . They
a re not a select group. hut m r d
up of anyone tnro rc s tcc
pr es ervin g folk music and
dance . P eop le get toget her {rom
a lmo st eve r y community on t he
Bay . from Topsail to Bay de
Verde.
" We started last Nove m ber
with 20 people," re calls Bill
Bowman, "and now we h ave
about 60 members. Our monthly
Friday night meetings a re ver y
well attended because they
combine business with plea sure .
After about a n hour of
discussion and resolution s. out
come the instruments and th e
The Festival ope ns with a gang of fiddlers. Socks on the mikes
are to baffle hi l(h winds.
34 - Decks Awash
'time' begins. These parties
actually do a lot to encourage
our members to learn new
tunes, songs. recitations and
dances because their first
performance takes place among
an attentive but understanding
audience. Our meetings are as
important as the festival in
preserving folk arts."
Bill points to the small scale of
the festival as helping to keep
the atmosphere just right. "If
we had $50,000 to spend. I doubt
if we could offer a better
festival. A slick show with paid
professional groups would make
a lot of amateurs feel too nervous
to perform. expectatly the
older people. who have the most
to offer. At our festival. where
no performers are paid and the
audience pays no admission, the
atm os phere is one of simple
enjoyment. Some people get up
on stage for the first time,
F olk Fe stival s attract people of all ages.
treating us to songs we've never
heard before. That is what we
like to see ."
The audience felt very much a
part of this festival with many of
them joining the performers on
stage or eating with them in the
kitchen. This type of atmosphere
is bound to strengthe n
any community, as the ene rgy of
the young works alongside the
experience of the old.
36 - Dec ks Awash
Recording Newfoundland's music
When plans were first made learned as we went a long . At Last year they recorded Peter
for the sound studio in first we thought that com- Francis Quinlan's song "Nan-
Stephenville, it was just a couple mercial jingles would be our cy ." It was the only Newtounof
m usic ia ns wa nting to record bread and butter, with music dland recording to make the top
m usic their own way. Now , four reco rding as gravy, but soon the 100 on the island.
years later, Clode Sound St udio music took off at a run . Now we
ha s a steadily growing bu siness . are doing mostly music and
About to cha nge fro m s-n-ack to try ing to get back into com
16-track recording, Clode Sound m ercia Is a bit more."
should soo n sta r t m akin g Why would anyone choose
albums for distri bution a cross Stephen vill e for a sound studio?
Ca na da . "That's eas y " , replies Neil, "we
" We' re into ou r thi rd year of were living here and liked the
operation and thi ngs are getting area a lot. Located at the
be tt e r ," says Neil Bish op, chief Harmon Complex, we're close to
engineer at the studio. "We're St . Geor ge 's Bay with lots of
producing better equip me nt, ope n space a round. Musicians
better q uality recordings, a nd who come here really enjoy the
it's better business aU the time." set ti ng. In the middle of a long
Neil is one of several co- r ec ord ing session they can take
owners. Claude Caines, a break to go out and play ball in
m an a ger , is the only ot he r th e field. Those breathing
pa rtne r to be actually em ployed spaces are really important for
at the studio. Larry and Ma x ge tting the best pe rfor m a nce in
Th om s, and Claude House a re th e studio. It wouldn't surprise
a lso pa rt-owner s but they wor k m e if soon we begin attracting
at jo bs else-w here. bands from the ma inland
A fin an cial grant fr om ARD A bec au se of the atmosphere here
provided a bout half of the in Stephen vill e."
or igin al fund ing, a llowing th e Clod e Sou nd so far ha s
own ers to or de r th ei r eq uipment record ed m ore singles than
from th e Stat es a nd do the albums . The owners the mselves
build in g renovations them- played in several of the rock
selve s. " We sta rted out blind ," bands th at they ha ve recorded,
ad mits Neil Bis hop, "and such as " TNT " and "Pinnacle".
Neil Bishop's constant
musical involvement ha s gi ve n
him a good vantage point in th e
musical scene. He figures tha t
local rock recordings are not
getting played enoug h by the
radio stations. Country a nd
we ster n songs are more successful,
but now the re is a thi rd
area of interest - traditiona l
Newfoundland music.
"We have been working a lot
la te ly with Emile Benoit, Minn ie
White and other traditio nal
musicians. We are recording
m usic that should have been
recorded years ago . It's the
you ng people who are interested
in this ty pe of mu sic.
They bring the older mu sici an s
forward and that's really goo d to
see. The amount of exce lle nt
Newfoundland music that has
gone ou t the window is a sin.
With Clode Soun d. we want to
pu t a stop to th at kind of thing
a nd give Ne wfoun dla nd
musicians the quality of
recording they can deserve, at a
price they can afford."
Square dancing is a wellremembered
but rarelypractised
art today in
Newfoundland. Yet the time is
not long gone when young people
taught themselves to swing with
a broom-handle partner or to
dance the steps of "Double" in
the stable loft .
As Mrs . Jane Brothers of Port
Kirwan once told Folklore"
student Ray Fennelly. " The
square dance is. only just. you
get out and you take the
girl.,.. promenade right
around...tc ause when they used
to promenade of course. they
used to be lovely... if you didn 't
know how to dance. you just
didn't dance."
Though each community did
their dances a little differently,
so me dances were nearly
universal. The square dance, or
old-fashioned square set , was
performed in five or six parts
with a new tune for each part. A
typical sequence might be
Advance. Dance Up, Form a
Line, Chain Up, Close In . and
'Round the House.
The Lancers Is also danced in
a sq uare formation, but was
performed right through without
a break, as were the Old Eight,
Th e American Eight and most
Dance
Decks Awash - 37
All join hands by Colin Quigley
MUN Folklore Department
reels. Longways dances, performed
in two parallel lines of
partners, were als o popul a r . Sir
Roger, danced on Random
Island; Kitty's Rambles . from
the Cape Shore ; and th e Self ,
collected in Burin in 1930, are all
good longways dances.
Solo stepping is still to be seen,
perhaps more commonly than
the sets, as it only takes a single
performer to "crack 'er down ".
While collecting material for her
book Fo!bona' from
Newfoundla nd, Maud Kar peles
wrote the following description
of a dance held in Stock Cove .
Bonavista Bay in September of
1929: "The dancing was
dis tinguished by the
m agn ificent stepping of the
m en. This was tremendously
rhythmic and vigorous, and also
very individual."
At the old-rime dances. the
step dance or " Double" as it Is
often called. was performed
during breaks between square
sets and it was common to see
several pairs of men step
dancing, competing to determi
ne who was the better. A light
step was admired and many
claimed they could dance on a
glass plate!
Set danced were popular with
all classes of society in the
nineteenth century, but their
roots go back much further to
the early folk dances of the
British Isles. These dances
varied because people from
different communities adapted
them to fit the communities a nd
different types of mu sic, For
example, the Kissi ng Dance,
well-known in Newfoundland.
was the Cushion Dance in the
1600s and later a ballroom
version appeared in the 1880s.
Folklorists who study these
changes are careful not to accept
one form as the standard
and the other as inferior. All
variant forms are valid an d
contribute to a greater un
derstanding of culture.
Music. In particular, has
contributed to the unique
character of Newfound land
dances. Small communities
without instrumentalists often
depended on songs. or on nonsense
vocals known as gob ,
cheek or chin music. Mouth
organs, Un whistles and jew's
harps were co m mon at small
gatherings but for many years
the fiddle was the prtme dance
instrument. The louder, more
durable accordion allowed
dancers to make more noise an d
38 - Decks Awssh
still hear the music, so it
replaced the fiddle in many
areas, though accordion pl ay ers
are even now sometimes ca lled
" fid dle r s ",
Despite the advent of electronic
music, rock and roll a nd
disco. many of th e tradition al
dances are still popular , su ch as
the old-time waltz a nd step
dancing. The more intricate se t
dances rr e qutre a group ac-
cus tomed to d an cin g to gether .
Man y of t he individuals intere
st ed in these types of dances
ha ve r etreated to organize d
groups of se nio r c itiz e ns or
you ng people , m any of whom
perform at folk festivals.
Anyone wh o has been ca ug ht up
in these performances knows
how e njoyable they a re.
Th e unique Newfoundland
dances are fa r from for gotten.
Chronicles of a Bayman
by
Victor BuUer
As a young man I d id not mi ss
any dances. In those d a ys . we
danced square dances, cotill io n
a nd ladies' privileges. I h a ve
seen sixty couples on the dance
floor at one time. Th ere was a
number of excellent accordion
and violin players available .
Between dances the st ep dancers
would take the floor.
Sometimes I danced so many
dances that I could wring th e
pe rspiration from my shirt and
un d er we a r .
Abo ut forty years ago. I w as
skipper of a trading schooner. I
used to visit all the harbours in
the bay. On on e of my trips when
I was visiting Rushoon, m y m ate
Thomas Gilbert and I were
invited ashore to a box party and
d a n ce in the school. The people
of R us hoon were expert dance r s
as there was no other recre ation
in the community . Some of th e
young ladies had sort of a
competition step dancing.
Melin d a Chessman and t wo
other young ladies danced and it
really was interesting to w at ch.
Someone said. "Get Mrs. Hann
to dance. She will ' beat th em
a ll." The lady was Captain John
Ha nn 's wife . She really was a
perfect step dancer. She danced
so many different steps.
One of the best weddings and
dances I ev er enjoyed, occurred
at t he bottom of Long Harbour,
op posite where the ERCO pl an t
is no w situa te d. It was a double
we d ding. and John Norman and
Alec Pittm.an were th e
bri d egroom s. I first visited a
home of on e of th e bride s. To
st art t he ball r olling we had a
co u ple of d r inks. I did not lik e
hard liquor bu t wh en on e is in
someone else 's home one acts
according ly. I remained at th e
girls' hom e and added up a few
more d rinks. I then had to visit
Alec Pittman 's home and indulge
d in m ore d rinks.
Th e dance wa s held in Tom
Murra y's large fish store . He
was t he merch an t at th e time.
Th e young people enjoyed the
d an ce . Mu r r a y sa id . " Boys, it 's
time for t he old c ha ps to show
th e yo ung fe llows how to ha ve a
square d anc e ."
It was th e best dance I ever
enjoyed. After th e dance I was
feeling kind of fu zzy and thought
I should go onboard while I could
still na vig ate under my own
and considering the present
popularity of traditional music,
it would not be surprising to see
people on ce again forming into
lin es and sets as they dance to a
r ejuvenated jig or reel.
I would lik e to thank the
Memorial University of
Newfoundland Folklore and
Language Archives for the use
of this material.
steam. Soon I came to t he
fishing premises where our dory
was tied up . I came to the fishing
stage. but the door was locked.
However, there was a fish flake
by the side of the stage. I
crawled over the stage and then
[ sat and slid down to the corner
of the wharf, trying to be
careful. I went on bo ar d the
schooner and .tied the dory
securely to the schooner. I
r e ac hed the forecastle. hauled
my coat off and fell in the bunk.
The next morning the cook
said, " Sk ipper, the whole ass is
out of your pants." I looked
through the porthole and saw the
seat of my very fine pants
blowing in the wi nd . The seat
was hooked on a nail. Although it
was a costly party. I enjoyed
myself, the people being so
fr-iendly.
"Many people appear to have
a bad attitude towards modern
dance," explains petite Gail
Innes, "largely because they
have seen performances that
come out of a city environment.
Modern. dance accepts every
Shall we dance
type of movement, so many
productions try to convey the
abstraction and harried pace of
city life . Newfoundlanders often
lack a reference point for that
urbanized style of dance simply
because we have a different way
Gail Innes knows that practice is essential to dancing.
Decks Awash - 39
of life here."
Gail Innes. a 26-year-old
native of St. John 's, has
returned to dance in
Newfoundland after earning a
Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance
(rom York University in
40 - Decks Awash
Toronto, then going on to further
training and performances to
London. New York. and
Copenhagen. In 1974, she
masterminded the formation of
the Newfoundland Summer
Dance Theatre which toured
many regions of the province.
Since then. Gail has found ed the
Newfoundland Dance Theatre
with Lisa Schwartz and has been
offering dance classes in her
private studio,
Through the Newfoundland
Dance Theatre. Gail and her
partners tried to adopt modern
dance so that it would better
reflect the Newfoundland way of
life. Their first production was
.. Abandoned Ancestors," a
multt-medla show based on the
prints of the Newfoundland
artist David Blackwood, The
show was wetl-recetved by both
audience and critics, inspiring
the dancers to continue their
explorations,
"Both dance and theatre try to
create illusion,It states Gail,
"but dance usually takes the
illusion one step further, Like
painting, dance will work with
abstract aspects of nature, such
as moods and colors. trying to
evoke certain feelings without
being too literal. The last dance
I did, for instance, derived from
the many times I've gone out to
Tommy Sexton is one of Newfoundland's most versatile actors and dancers, Here he portrays some
well-known 'types ', Photo courtesy Nortblight Studios.
Middle Cove and ju st sat by the
sea. The dance in volved sea
sounds and someone walking
around on the be ach. Now I am
working on a piece a bout effects
of the weather on people's
feelings. I enjoy the challenge of
expressing moods through pure
forms and movement, without
words."
Tommy Sexton is another
Newfoundlander who received
most of his dance training on the
mainland but has returned with
the hopes of staying here to live
and dance. Recently, in National
Ballet examinations, Tommy
became the first Newfoundland
male to ever achieve Grade Two
standings. As an actor with
CODCO. he is able to see both
dance and drama beset by a
Crafts from Newfoundland
and Labrador will be exhibited
by the Department of Rural
Development, Craft Section, in
the Calgary Gift Show this year
fo r the first time. We hope the
Western Region of Canada will
provide an excellent market for
many of our products.
If you would like to show
samples of your work in the
Department's booth send them
to the address below before
September 1. We will display
your work and take orders for
CHARD
AND EGG CASSEROLE
40 cups chopped cook chard
Butter
Salt and pepper
8eggs
1 cup Swiss cheese grated
Butter
Salt and pepper
Serves 4
common problem : " What this
province needs is more small
theatres to seat four or ftve
hundred people. The Arts &
Culture Centres are few. and too
expensive for small companies
to perform in.
Bot h Tommy and Gail sha re a
conviction that too many dancers
neglect to continue perfor
ming when they start
teaching. which is usually a
necessa ry way of supporting
oneself. This often results in the
loss of finer points of their style.
Another belief they share is that
more dance should be taught in
the regular school system. Gail
insists that dance offe rs mental
as well as physical training:
"Learning how to do more and
mor e complex movements and
Crafts
yOU. The only cost to you is
postage of your goods to St .
Jo hn's.
When selecting yo ur samples
keep in m ind th at th e buy ers are
very discrimin atin g. The
sa m ples should be of the highest
qu alit y, we ll fin ished , a nd fr esh
looking.
Ano the r wholesale show
coming up is the Toronto Fall
Gift Show, September 16-20 .
Samples for this show are due in
the office by September 1. If you
wish to send samples to both
Decks Awash - 41
then learning how to fit them
into sequences is a very useful.
artistic skill. When I look at
society today. I see speed, high
pressure and lots of decisions.
Training in the arts seems to
encourage people to seek out
new alternatives and then make
their decisions more wisely."
Traditionally, it takes a while
for modern dance groups to
establish themselves, but ac
cording to Gail, Newfoundland
is an encouraging prospect.
Dance is becoming more and
more accepted and tourtng
groups. such as the National
Ballet, have expressed surprise
at the number of performances
they are asked to give when they
visit.
Shall we dance?
shows state this in your covering
letter.
All samples must be labeled
stating the wholesale price,
limits and restrictions whe re
necessa ry, and · whether the
sa m ple is for sale at the end of
the show.
ADDRESS:
Craft Section
Dept. of Rur al Development
Confederation Building
St . John's, Newfound la nd
AICST7
Cover bollom of shallow baking dish with chard.
D ot wi th buller. Season to taste.
Underfry eggs . Gently trsnster to top of chard.
Cover with cheese. Dot with butter. Sprinkle with
seasonin g s. Broil until cheese melts.
A perfect choice for a meatless di nner. Chard.
eggs, and cheese ha ve a marvelous afJinity for
on e ano ther.
42 - Dec ks Awash
Newfoundland had several'
distinguished photographers in
t he la te 1800's and early 1900'5
Among them were S.H . Parsons
who practi ced in t he 1870's ;
James Vey ; Robert E . Holl owa y
an d his daughter Elsie.
Photography
S, H . Parson s had hi s studio on Wa ter Street &: took ph otographs of
many well-known Newfoundlander s.
T ak en by J am es Vey, this ph oto shows Ihe beginni ng of a bi cy cl e r -ace ou tsi de of St . Thomas'
Church on Military Rd ., St . Jo hn's. A turn of the century photo. nolice:the fi sl tire on the
bicycle fender th ird from th e r ight. .
Robert E. Holloway was a noted amateur
p hotographer. His many shots of St . John 's and
rural Newfoundland at the turn of the century
were compiled into a book, now out of print.
CARROT SPONGE CAK E
3 cups shredded carrots
4 egg yol ks
2 cups sugar
IIh cups oil
2 cups flour
3 teaspoons cinnamon
2 te aspoons soda
Ih teaspoon salt
4 egg whites, stiffly beaten
Serves 6
Com bine in l ar g e bowl.
Sift t og ether three times, then add to carrot
m ixture.
F old i n t o batter. Pour into three lO-inch pans or
fo ur s-men pans. Bake at 350° for 20 to 30
minutes. Frost as desired.
Decks Awash - 43
Holloway's daughter, Elsie, continued the family
tradition - Unlike her father, she concentrated
on portrait photography.
CARROT SLA W
8-10carrots
1 green or red pepper
1 Bermuda onion
1 green apple (optional)
1 cup raisins (optional)
1/3 cup sugar
Ih cup cider vinegar
1,4 cup salad oil
lh teaspoon celery seeds
lh. teaspoon dry mustard
lh teaspoon salt
Serves 6-8,
Shred all except raisins. Mix together.
Combine and bring to a boil. Pour over salad.
Chill.
44 - Dec ks Awa sh
Photography remains underdeveloped
"Newfoundland would excite
any photographer who comes
he re. The light is incredibly
clear and its fascinating variety
gives a sense of depth to th e
land. Also. the area Is so clean."
Although he moved here from
Detroit eight years ago. Mannie
Buchheit. freelance photographer
and graphic artist. is
stin excited about
photographing Newfoundland.
Originally a native of Ontario.
he has now settled in St. John's
but spends as much time as he
can in Trinity Bay with his
wife 's family.Both in the city
a nd th e out ports. he finds the
p rovin ce rich in texture for
ph otog r ap hy - the different
styles of architecture, the moods
of the ocean. the rock formation
and people's faces deeply etched
wit h chara cter .
Despite New fou ndland's
visual appeal, photography
r emains underdeveloped.
Acc or din g to Mann ie. part of the
r e as on lies in t he fact that local
photo sho ps carry a limited
sel ection of equipment a nd
supplie s are more expensive
than on t he m ain lan d. But
Mannie thinks the real reason is
a shortage of courses and
competitions that co uld en
courage photographers to
develop their abUities.
"Before people can be ex
pected to appreciate the finer
points of photography as an art.
they muust learn the technical
aspects of how to use the
equipment properly. For four
years, I've been teaching
photography courses in St .
John's through the University's
Extension Service and these get
filled up on the first day of
registration. Obviously there is
a great interest in the subject. I
know that elsewhere in the
province camera shops offer
courses in photogra ph y, but I
suspect that many of the m ha ve
t he sa me p rob le m tha t I do - no
access to a darkroom to teach
the techniques of developing a nd
printing. The general shortage
of darkrooms in Newfou nd la nd
is also fru str a ting fo r tr ained
photographers who would lik e to
do th eir ow n pr intin g.
" There have bee n so me good
exhi bitions of phot ogaphy th at
have toured New fo und la nd, but
not ne ar ly en ou gh of them. What'
J would r eall y lik e to see is a
co llection of top -notch
Ne wfoundland photos put
toge th e r and judged by a
co m petent panel."
As is the case with other
p roficien t ph otogr a pher s in the
pr ovin ce , Ma nnie sells some
prints at craft fairs. but that is
about all . It is frustrating for
these people that their
docu m entar y and artistic
a bilities go un recognized.
Mannie thin ks the government
and t he industries shoul d te nder
co ntra cts for photo series to be
taken on specific to pics, instead
of me rely asking for su bm
ission s of ra ndo mly taken
shots.
" It's e asy to get discoura ged
by th e lack of su pport fo r
ph ot og r aphy," observes
Mannie, " but I can be pa tient.
Lately I' ve been doing some
painting instead - a pa norama of
S1. J oh n's har bou r that is 60 feet
lon g and almo st six feet high.
Some people mig ht be shoc ke d
to hear th at it is going to be
installed as a mural in 'Martha's
Pub' but I th ink it is a great
ide a . P eop le ar e e ntitled to see
art wh erever the y happ en to
be ."
Manni e B ucbb ei t , surrounded by St . J ohn 's harbour - a murs l n e p ain ted from ph otog r aph s.
48 - Decks Awash
Theatre
A history of Newfoundland theatre
P erhap s th e m ost un ique of all
Newfo undlan d tra d iti ons is
mum m e r ing , o r ja nneying, as it
is often c all ed , Or iginated b y
ear ly co lo n is ts fr om E ngl an d
a n d Ireland, mummerlng beg an
as a dram a ti zed co mbat bet
ween tw o he r oe s--ge ne r all y St.
P a t r ick versus St. George, or St .
Georg e vs . a T u r k is h kn igh t.
Th e se co m bats died out
around th e ti me of Wor ld War J,
b u t t he mu mmerin g t radition
con ti n u ed in another form .
During th e 12 days of Christmas.
p eop le wou ld disguise themselves
an d go around knocking
on th e doo rs of their neighbours.
While they sang, danced, and
cavorted about the kitchen, the
ho sts wo uld h a ve to guess the
m umm e rs ' or janneys' identities
. Once the guests were
recog n ized , they were given
cake an d rum to fortify them for
the trek to the next house.
Mummerin g had an interesting
psych ologic a l function in that it
allowed people a n escape from
their normal life , permitting
them to un leash hostilities and
otber emotions in a controlled,
accepte d s it ua tion.
Other tha n mum m ering ,
drama in rural Ne wfo undland
wa s on very informal b a si s ,
though m onologu es a nd pl a ys
we re r egula rly composed a n d
pe rf ormed . Th e take-ove r o f
sch ools, homes . or ba rn s for
th is p urpose m a y hav e been
t empor a r y, b ut ru r a l
N e wfo u nd la nders' in vol vemen t
with th eatre is p e r m an en t ,
despite th e la ck of historica l
fa ct s about it .
T heatre in St. J ohn 's however,
h a s be en well documented and
we are indebted to Paul O'Neill
for co mpiling the follo wi ng
informa ti on in his book The
Old elt City. "For the benefit of
th e poor, there will be perfo
r m an c e s on Tuesday evening
the 18th Inst. at the store lately
occupied by Mr . Wm . Row, the
celebrated tragedy of 'T he Fair
Penitent'''-thus ran the advertisement
for the first known
full length pla y performed in St.
John 's during the Spring o f
1817. Row's store seems to have
survived the fire of 1817 and
pro ba b ly hosted the fir st opera
perfo r m ed in the city in 1820:
" T he Duenna ; or th e Do ub le
El op e m en t. "
On November ath. 1822, t he
foundati on stone was la id for the
new St. J ohn 's Theatre at the
co rner of Duckworth St. an d
Queen's Road. The theatre
q uiCkly bec a m e a centre of
social scandal and malicious
gossip, coupled wit h the general
p r obl e m of hot candle wax
dripping on p at rons ' heads!
Th e a tr e at this time was totally
amateur, and all female roles
were played by males until 1847
when " t he celebrated Miss
Davenport" appeared on stage.
Il was later discovered that she
was a child prodigy of about
eleven years of age.
The Great Fire of 1846 sent the"
th e atre up in smoke, and
th e re a ft e r , the city received
visits from dozens of American,
Canadian, and British
p ro fes s io n a l travelling comp
a n ie s . These plays were perform
ed in such places as the
British Hall, the Court House,
and Armstrong's SaU Lo ft, until
t he Fisherman's Hall was buill
48 - Decks Awash
was not restricted to the city.
The Theatre Arts Club would
take its plays to Brtgus. Petty
Har bour a nd on the Sou th er n
Shore, for example where they
we re well r eceived . Howe ve r , a
ha ndic a p la y in tr an sp or tin g th e
pl a ys a ro und the pr ovin ce as
there wer e m an y pr op s an d
eq uip me nt needed for prop e r
stagtng a nd effec ts.
Thi s circumst a nce has be e n
overcome to some e xte nt by
such ne wer gro ups as CODCO,
the Mummers a nd R is ing T ide.
Holmes has great resp ect for the
effo r ts of these tr oup es.
" I don 't kn ow how they ca n
make a liv in g a t it. Th er e is a
limit to th e a mo unt they can
ea r n in this town because it isn 't
big enough a nd there aren't
e nough people int er ested to go . I
admire their s ucces se s to date
perhaps becau se I can un
derstand th e situa tion in which
they find th emselv es."
Profess ion als a re not th e only
a ct ors who a re pr aised by
Holmes . He felt th at th e
amateur pr od ucti ons whi ch
have bee n pr esen ted here are
usually equal and oft en su rpass
the quality of professional
shows. " P rofess ionals do it for a
livi.ng and amateurs do it for
fun," he ob serves. "This is a
narrow distinction that has little
to do with an actor's talent."
T he Kinsmen and other
musicals have been the main
project of Holm es ' spare time
over the past few years.
Although he will not be involved
in these productions this year he
will be returning next season to
help entertain the audiences of
Newfoundland.
Moving from an outport
kitchen into a larger world
Whe n it com es to writing
plays, t he r e is no substitute for
direct experienc e with people.
Since he graduated from MUN
in 1953, Tom Cahill has served in
t he Navy and has been a
brakeman on th e Ne wfoundla nd
Railwa y . In the late 19SOs, he
r an unsuccessfully for the
Conse r va ti ve Party and worked
on two newspapers • The
Evening Telegra m in St. John's
and the Weatern Star in Corner
Brook.
For almost 20 years, Tom
Ca hill has been working with
profes sio nal th eatr e a nd as a'
producer for CBC. but he has
ne ver had formal theatre
training. His kn owledge has
co m e through continual involve
m e nt with amateur
th e atre , beginning with variety
sho ws at the uni versity and in
th e na vy .
" When I think back to the
hu ge productions th at amateur
groups used to st ag e in this
province, I really wonder what
has happened to people's enthusiasm
for theatre ." Tom
Ca hill speaks these words
perched on th e edge of his chair
a nd looking mu ch younger than
hi s ag e of SO. " In th e early 1960s
there used to be as many as five
a m a t eur companies in St. John's
a nd three in Corner Brook. We
Tom Ca hill
nev er got mon ey from th e
government. In stead we used to
hustle around selling ad
vertising space in our programs,
rounding up mone y and props
from th e community and
rehearsing wherev er we could.
At one point we were rehearsing
'The Crucible' in the back kit-
chen of the Hotel Newfoundland,
"Theatre today, by conu-ast.>
seems dominated by welfare
artists who won 't even use a pay
toilet without a government
grant. When I go down to their
rehearsal hall I see IBM
typ e wr ite rs a nd sec retaries.
Th e last thing these peo ple have
to worry about is whe ther t he
play is goin g to pay for itself. I
think th eir produ ctions suffer
(rom ha vin g no nee d to please an
audience and being too detached
from the local community."
Tom's first major work,
" Tom morrow Will Be Sunday,"
was adapted from Harold
Horwood's novel of the same
name. It was used to open the
Arts and Culture Centre in St .
John's on May 22, 1967. It then
went on to win the national
Dominion Dr ama Festival. His
original pl a ys "Jodv . or t he
Starrtgan" (1972) and " As
Loved Our F athers" (1974 ) have
won Best Producti on and oth er
awards at Newfoundland's
Regional Dr am a F estivals.
Tom shrugs his shoulders at
this and says, " It' s nice to get
these awards, but I'm af raid
they mean ve ry little in artistic
terms. The problem with dr a m a
in Newfoundland and Canada in
general is that we 're all too
eady to praise plays merely
because they are about our
people. I get festival organizers
calling me up, asking for unpr
od uc ed plays about
Newfoundland, saying that they
wi ll perform them. I am
r e luc t a nt to send them anything
because I fee l that a play has to
be re -written during rehearsal,
af te r a number of actors and
c ritics have offered suggestions
fo r improving it. I think that
theatre companies here should
br ing in hard-nosed directors
fr om New York, Montreal and
Toronto, ones who have no
friends in the cast and can look
at the play in purely dramatic
terms."
Tom freely admits that, like
other Newfoundland
playwrights, he has been guilty
of writing plays about outports
in which he has never lived. He
says this was necessary to give
Newfoundland a body of serious
drama. Prior to the late 1960s,
theatre companies looked to
foreign plays for seriousness
and only comic Newfoundland
material was performed. "Now
th a t we ha ve serious native
dramas, it is time to improve
it," he states. "Otherwise we
are in danger of relying too
Decks Awash - 49
heavily on standard
Newfoundland ingredients :
hard times, quaint expressions
and old-fashioned sentiments.
My ne xt pl a y is going to have no
o utport pe opl e in it at all .
" I admire David French's
plays ' Leaving Home' and 'Of
the F ie lds La te ly .' They show
Newfoun dland people livi ng in
Toronto - a much more spacious
and interesting situation, one
that yo u don't have to be a
Newfoundlander to understand.
Maturity comes to our drama as
we get free of the outport kitchen
formulas and explore new
situations."
Creating shows about ourselves
" The American plays that
might make it in Edmonton or
Toronto won't make it here
because the lifestyle in
Newfound land is so unique that
it needs its own dramatic
litera tu r e, " explains David
R oss , a member of Newfoundl
and's Rising Tide Theatre t hat
pe rf or m s what could best be
te r med 'social action theatre'.
"We fin d a cause that interests
us ," David further explains.
"We assemble people who are
in terested in the same cause and
we work for about six weeks to
create a show.
"Ideally, every play we create
sho uld a ffect people's lives.
Tha t is what 1 consider the best
theatre to be about. One of our
goals wit h "Daddy, What's a
Train.' (a Rising Tide
Produ c tion ) was to say to people
across the is la nd , 'This is your
train a nd this is what it meant to
you . It 's pa r t of your culture and
it' s u p to you if you want to le t it
stay or go.' We wanted to show
the m the situation so they could
make a decis ion."
Chris Brookes, artistic director
of th e St. John's based Mumm
ers group, was one of the first
to bri ng this type of social action
theatre about in Canada. He
concur s with what David says.
" I am interested in making
soci al change," the 35-year-old
St . John's native explains. "I
think theatre has to reflect
society to itself in a very d irect
and immediately useful way.
My generation grew up wi th this
w ho le thing of the great
American ideal. We often felt
second-class and inferior
because the im portant culture
was in Ontario. But times are
changing."
It can safely be said that for
years Canadian theatre co nsisted
of plays borrowed from other
co unt ries - a native style of
th eatre ju st did n't exist. Theatre
Passe Muraille in Toronto has
made great strides towa rd
developing a Canadian style. It
began to look at social issues in a
vaudeville-type setting. Then
Newfoundland with its distinct
culture, grabbed hold of that
style, through the Mummers
and later Rising Tide . Now
theatre companies, similar to
Newfoundland's two, are
springing up everywhere in
Br iti sh Columbia, Saskatchewan
and of course, Ontario.
Chris Brookes who has degrees
in theatre from such notable
institutions as Yale University
and the University of Michigan,
started the Mummers back in
1972, along with several other
people who were committed to
th e development of Newfoun·
dl and through theatre. They
worked "collectively" in that
everyone helped write the plays.
Seven yea rs and 14 productions
la te r Chris is still committed to
th at ideal, despite some turbule
nt times. 'They Club Seals,
Don't They' which gave many
Ca na dia ns their first glimpse of
" the other side of the seal hunt
controversy" was, in many
ways, the troupe's most successful
creative collective effort
. 'Dying Hard' about the men
a nd women who died as a result
of the St. Lawrence mine was
perh ap s their most emotional.
'Buchans, A Minetown', a show
abo ut a bitter strike, and
'G ros Mourn' about the effect of
a nati onal park on the area
residents, were perhaps their
most political and the 'Bard of
Prescott Street' and 'Some
Slick' were probably their most
lyrical. But all plays which have
toured the province have
touched the hearts of
Newfoundland's residents.
A year ago, another theatre
company, called Rising Tide,
was formed. One of it's first
productions was the well
received 'Daddy's What's a
Train' which focused on the
Newfoundland railway and what
it meant to the people who were
employed by it and who lived
along the tracks. Their second
collective production which will
run this fan will look at the
future of Newfoundland and
what its resources will mean in
about 20years.
Both David and Chris agree
that audience reaction is what
keeps this type of play going.
Explains 34 year old David, a
B.C. native who has worked with
both the Mummers and Risi ng
Tide, "We always invite peop le
to stay and talk with us afterwards
and people do stay. As
soon as the lights go dow n, we
spill out into the audience and
talk to them. With 'Daddyts
What's a Train,' people came up
to us and said that such and such
was just like my grandfather
and so on. That's very
gratifying."
What Is unique about this type
of theatre is that the collectively
written plays are rarely performed
by other groups. Out of
all of the Mummers Droductions.
only one has been performed by
Decks Awash - 51
someone else. The material is
good, but often it's too localized
for mainland groups and upon
reading the script, other gro ups
sometimes will want to create
their own personalized collective
efforts. Furthermore, in
many cases, the performers are
creating roles especially for
themselves and they are ve ry
difficult for someone else to
perform.
Financing such theatre is
probably the biggest headache
for both companies. Without the
Canada Council, a federal
corporation dedicated to supporting
and developing the arts
in Canada, the two companies'
existence would be limited, if
not nonexistent. Ticket sales
only make up a fraction of the
cost of a production. But there is
no doubt about it. This type of
theatre Is here to stay. Dav id
Ross puts it very well whe n he
says, "The only two plays tha t
have ever sold out In Ste phe nville
Arts and Culture Centre
were our show 'Daddy, What's a
Train?" and the Mummer's
show 'They Club Seals, Don't
They?'. He further adds, "The
artistic climate here is very
healthy, not in the sense that it is
overflowing with money, but
because there is a uniq ue
culture here to be recorded a nd
peop le are interested in
recording and hearing about
that culture. In other pa rts of the
countr y they tend to be looking
ve ry hard for some part of thei r
past that is worth making a play
about.'
Amateur theatre is alive
and well in Labrador
"O ur first priority is to please
the local audiences of Labrador
City ra ther tha n concentrating
on co mpeting in the drama
fes tival," explains Kathy Pottle
of the well-known Carol Players
in Lab rador City/Wabush.
This amateur theatre compa
ny with numerous drama
awards to their credit attempts
to stage four productions per
year: one in September, a play
for the Dominion Drama
Festival, a third production and
a copte of one-act plays
sometime during the year. Also
they perform . variety shows
when they perform variety
shows when they can manage to
fit them in.
The Carol players have a paid
membership of 60-70 people,
with at least 30 others being
active. The success of the grou p
has always depended on "tryi ng
to fit in new me mbers". Fo r
example, the latest prod uctio n
entered into the Dominion
Drama Festival, The Crucible,
called for 23 Individuals to
participate. Fifteen of the m
were recent joiners.
Mrs . Pottle. a playwright
herself, indicated that many of
52 - Decks Awash
the teachers in La brador City
are active in the group. Dur ing
the su mme r when they have
time a way fr om school. they
often s cout around for ne w
plays. Th ere is g row ing in te r e st
in Canadian pr odu ctions so the
troupe tries to incl ud e t hes e in
its plans,
Almost totally dep en dent upon
the Support of the ir pat r ons, the
Carol Pl ay e r s a re con t inually
fund-r a is in g th ro ug h sponsoring
bingos and the like . Fortunately,
the audien ce s have been appreciative
of the company's
efforts and ge nerally have been
most supporti ve .
T he Ne wfou ndland a nd
Labrador Dra ma F e sti va l is th e
la rgest underta king th e group
faces, costing a pproxima te ly
$5,000 for tr a vel a nd r el at ed
e x pe nses. The provtnct at
department of touri sm,
re crea ti on a nd c ulture, subs
idi ze s ha lf of th e co st but the
troupe m us t find $2,500 on its
o wn. Th is for ce s th e volunteer
co m pa ny to be constantly
seeking sources of fin an cial
assistance. The g ro up a lso i.s
inv olved in th e Atl antic Drama
Festival which is sponsore d by
Eastern Provincial Air w a ys .
In s pite of th e rece pt ion th ey
At the Atlantic Drama tesuvet awards in
M arch 19 79, Arth ur !tf ot>"er of Ne w
Brunswick an d Gord on R alph of
Newfo u n d land. both dir ector s of play s.
were presented with $250 E .P.A . a wa r ds
by H arold Wareh a m of E .P.A.
ha ve r ec ei ve d , and the quality of
producti ons now established, t he
Ca ro l P la ye r s are still facing
e q uipment pr ob le m s . They use a
school a udi toriu m for re hearsals
a nd perfor m a nce s but t he
seats, m a de of tin a nd pl a sti c ,
a re un com fortable. As k ed
wh ethe r th e re may be hope of
building an Arts a nd Culture
Ce ntre in La br a do r City , Kathy
P ottle responds, "Due to
go ve r nment cutbacks. it doesn't
loo k too hopeful." All the same,
s he st ill speaks enthusiastically
about th e Carol P la ye r s and the
co ntributio n they have made to
a m a te ur th e atre in t he pr o vin ce .
Recently, an art ist said "Art
is All Over" , me anin g th at art is
everywhere, while at the same
time th at art with a ca pital 'A',
as a separ at e area of study, is no
longe r valid in th e m odern
world. Today many artists hav e
climbed out of their ivo ry tower s
and are more willing th an ever
before to dis cus s their work a nd
more interested in ha ving it
touch people's daily lives.
In the visual arts, we di scover
that many artists no lon ger
prod uce a single work su ch as a
painting, a scu lpture, or a film .
Instead, they are pr odu cing
adventures, re corded in several
ways, that follow long-term
re lationships between peop le ,
special places and objects. F or
example, one of the a rtists who
attended a recent workshop at
t he St . Michael's Printshop
spe nt 60 days getting here on a
long bus trip that was part of an
art pr oject.
As he tr avelled from Alberta
th ro ugh the USA and finally to
New foundland, Alex de Cosson
attached plastic tag-envelopes
to various buildings and oth er
objects that caught his fan cy .
Each tag contained a survey
sheet to be completed by
whoever found it , asking about
that pe rson's relationship with
the tagged object and other
questions. Completed forms
were to be mailed to hi s Albert a
address, where they now hav e
become part of an exhibit that
also includes photos taken
during the trip, pages from
Alex 's journal, small objects
along the way , and more.
As is t he case with much of
today's art, Alex's project
em phasizes the contribution of
people other than the artist
toward the end result. Theatre
has always used this approach,
bu t now other arts are usin g a
communal ' approach a s well .
Man y fields of science a nd
kno wledge that seem far
The Big Picture
What is art
removed from art are actually
bei ng studied by artists who
realize, th at in order to excite
t he per ceptions of modern
people, art must work wit h our
tec hnological wor ld to some
extent. Newfoundland mo dern
d ancer Gail Inn es reports tha t
" The Effort -Shape System of
Movem ent Analysis" which
dan cer s now study is also used
to pl an the eflicient layout of
astronauts' space capsules.
Th ere is an art to cooking.
fishi ng , lig hting a wood stove. or
a lmo st anyt hing , as long as it
re quire s careful judgement and
skill. P eople who make their
liv ing fro m art merely ex plore
fascinating aspects of life and
usually communicate them to
ot he r peop le. Some a rtists do
this so su cc essfu lly that th ey are
paid to co nti nue.
By m aking art a full -fime
Decks Awash - 53
activ ity , artis ts us uall y dev elop
a greater sensitivity to the world
around th em . In turn, they
transmit their findings to others
and enable them to see , hear and
feel new aspects and perspectives
of life .
Recently, Mary Pratt painted
a picture depicting the gutted
fore-quarters of a moose
hangin g fr om a hook of a tow
truck . Onc e th e initia l shock has
been ove rco me, people who see
this work m ay co me away with a
new a pprecia tio n for the beauty
th at res ides In death . Don
Wherry ma kes m usi c with old
sp ikes and ca r pa rts, while ot her
a r tis ts m ak e scu lpture s out of
si m ilarly neg lec te d objects ;
driftwood , dea d puffin s and
sea weed. In e very cas e , art
de mo ns trate s tha t " t hings ar e
seteom wh at th ey seem' and that
there is more to life than we
realize.
Part 0/ an envi ro nmental ar t piece by Yolanda Van Dyck
c re ati ng a sp eci al pt s ce for con te m p l ation.
54 - Decks Awash
"When I returned to
Newfoundland in the early
sixties, I remember going
around to the communities,"
explains Edythe Goodridge,
curator of the Memorial
University's Provincial art
galleries, and head of the visual
and performing arts section of
Memorial University's Extension
Service. "All kinds of
traditional arts were disappearing...
folk arts, music, crafts
and so on . You didn't hear music
in the kitchen any more and in
many cases the spinning wheels
had been sold. It
Edythe Goodridge has spent
the last ten years trying to
recreate a pride in Newfoundland's
art forms. A woman
whose energy is only matched
by her tongue, she will devote
hours and ideas trying to help an
individual or group get on its
artistic feet.
Her commitment to the arts
began in the early 1970s when
she started working with
Memorial's Extension Service,
an arm of the University
committed to community '
development. "A few of us
decided that cultural development
had to be considered as
part of community' development.
At that time, the
provincial government was
becoming sold on the concept of
rural development. The Eastport
peninsula was singled out
as a target area. And the
provincial government asked
the Extension Service to provide
additional programs for that
peninsula that would attract
tourists from the adjacent
federal Terra Nova park. We
designed a festival around that.
This was Extension's "entry
into the arts."
From then on Edythe, along
with some practising artists who
were hired by the Extension
Service. put their efforts into the
The growing up of
Newfoundland's art
nurturing of local arts. extension
offered practical advice
on how a rtists could obtain
financial assistance. It offered
innovative programs, such as
the summer arts program, the
community artist-In-residence
program and the St. Michael's
Printshop. It also offered
rehearsal space, jobs through
courses and opportunities to
exhibit through its art galleries.
Edythe became curator of the
art gallery in 1974 and she
literally opened its doors to
artists of all kinds...painters,
poets and playwrights. She
allowed them to come in , to
discuss, to exhibit and to per-,
form.
Today the artistic climate in
Newfoundland is perhaps the
most productive, flourishing and
distinctive in Canada. Extension
and the work of Edythe '
Goodridge can only take a little
credit. The interest and ability
were there all along. It just had
been momentarily numbed and
needed to be reawakened.
Edythe can see the difference
in the artistic climate by the
works now being produced. "In
the early 70's, the common
denominator was what I call a
lament or a dirge, but now there
is a very strong sense of
celebration," she states. This
renewed interest and vitality is
demonstrated by the fact that 5
young Newfoundlanders came
to Edythe from art schools
looking for jobs this summer.
"Imagine," she cries, waving
her hands wildly , "We actually
have 5 graduates of an art
school."
But there are still some people
who need convincing that
Newfoundland's heritage and
culture are important. " I find
that the 40-60 years clds are the
people that have consciously
abandoned their Newfoundland
ways," explains Edythe,' who
Edythe Goodridge .
herself is 40. "They are the ones
that are putting obstacles in our
way of revivaL Many of these 40
60 year aids are now
Newfoundland's leaders and it's
to them that one must look for
guidance, but they can do a lot to
stifle the interest. Art has to
become an important part of
community life again. But if it
doesn't get into the school
system, the government and the
day-to-dey life then it becomes a .
phenomenon rather than a
culture. It ends up as historical
information."
One way to help art become
accepted is the creation of a
Newfoundland arts council. This
is something that Edythe has
been fighting for . In the budget
which was brought down in July,
a provision for the establishment
of an arts council was
made. $180,000 was designated
for such a body . " I can have a
rest now,';' Edythe grins, as she
leans back in her chair. " My
hardest work is done. "
It's a pretty picture,
but does it sell?
Almost ever y artist will tell you that it is
difficult to make a living se lling poems, pla ys
or paintings. Sometimes it takes six months
to create a work that may not sell for years or
may only fetch $250 several months later.
That is why artists have had to depend on
governments, private in sti t uti ons or
patronizing individuals for backing. In
Newfoundland this is particularly true.
While m an y claim that mountains of money
ha ve gone int o th e arts, Edythe Goodrfdge .
Curator of th e provincial art gallery, states
that although this may be so, the money docs
not always reach the indi vidual artist. " Much
of this m oney in Canad a ha s gone into institutions
rather than to ar ti sts," she states.
In oth er words, it has gone to wards arts and
cult ure centres or art schools.
Mrs. Goodridge acknowledges that Canada
Council, a federally funded agency, has been
vital to the development of artists in this
province. " They have paid us special at
tention," she states, "because t hey
recognize the strength of our artists. By the
same token, the artists have made good use of
the grants, but they haven't plugged into all of
them yet."
Artists also support themselves by teaching
e ither within the sc hoo l sys tem as Reg
Shepherd and Mavis Penney do or by tea ching
for Memorial University'S Extension Service
as Mannie Buchheit and Yoka Gray do . The
art g allery also absorbs about a do zen artis ts
a ye a r.
" Apa r t from these sources" , explains Mrs.
Goodridge, " a r ti st s are now starting to get
jobs elsewhere because of a change in at-
Decks Awash - 55
titudes. Employers and co m m unit ies arc
starting to adjust to th e fa ct th at art ists do not
work 9-5, 40 hours a week."
In fact, artists work season all y , mu ch lik e
fishermen and farmers. If som eon e is wri ti ng
a play or developing a series of pa in tin gs or
drawings, that person ma y work all ni gh t and
all day for a four or si x month period. Men
tally and creatively exhausted, they m ay t ak e
the next several months off to renew th eir
creative energies.
"Sometimes this makes it diffi cult for an a r t
ga llery to work," explains Mrs . Goodridge in
re ferring to her rol e as Gallery cura to r, "but
we now kn ow when to expect the ne xt 'crop' of
work." She also adds that th e ga lle ry
sometimes tries to help out artists bet ween
"harvesting" because if an artist is se lfemployed,
there is no such thing a s un em
ployment insurance.
The artists, too , continually help e ach oth er .
Accord ing to Mrs. Goodridge, if a n artist ge ts
a grant or a job or makes a sa le, he or she
often share food , material. residence and so
on. Artists may not necessarily be consc ious
of this pattern, but those who are " ma king it"
are usually more than willing to help some one
who is just starting or who is between su ccesses,
The art community, like any com m unity ,
has its differences and unfortunately som e of
the squabbles become ele vated beyond all
proportions, but for the most part it 's a st ro ng
united community stretching throu ghout th e
entire province and in re cent yea rs it ha s
become more and more self-s uppo r-ting.
Trying to please the masses
" If we had to keep this place
running on art for art's sake, we
wouldn't have much money,"
muses John Perlin, sitting in his
51. John's Arts and Culture
Centre office. Responding to
comments that the Centre offers
too much 'low brow' material
like the Irish Rovers, Perlin. as
the Director General of the
provincial Arts and Cult ure
Centres, points out thatpleastng
the majority of the population
occasionally can be profitable,
as well as popular.
"The Carleton Show band is
the lon gest run ning success
story at the centre," says Perlin,
who fir st assumed his duties in
1967. "They're coming back for
their 12th or 13th visit, and they
always play to capacity
audiences . I' m a firm believer
th at this centre a nd others
belong to th e people a nd there's
a lot of people who want to hear
the Show band or Irish Rovers.
"We make mon ey off these
shows and we use that money to
support oth er less profitable
shows. We recognize that it's
important to strike a balance."
Trying to make sure that as
many Newfoundlanders as
possible see something of inte
rest in one of the province's
56- Decks Awash
fiv e Arts a nd Culture Ce ntres is
Perlin's job . In additi on to being
Director General of th e Arts a nd
Culture Ce ntr es , Perlin al so is
Director of Cultural Affairs with
the P rovincial gover n me nt's
department of tourism. First
formed in 1972, the di vision
Perlin heads performs se veral
functions. It operates th e
provincial Ar ts and Cult ure
Centres, runs the Arts a nd
Letters competition sponsored
each year by gov ernment and
administers a " s m all " grant s
and awards program aimed for
the most part at amateur arts '
organizations. The public
library system also comes und e r
this division.
The Grants and Aw ards
program, like the libraries a nd
the Arts and Letters Com
petition, is administered by a
small committee, and focuses on
amateur efforts. The committee
prefers to fund one-shot
programs, or supply groups with
' seed ' money, rather than acting
as a resource for professional
groups. Perlin, long associated
with amateur theatre 'groups,
sees this amateur focus as bein g
important.
"The fact that people earn
their living in another way
doesn't mean that th ey don 't
have an interest in cr eative or
artistic activities," states this
outspoken director who is th e
son of a noted historian, A.B .
Perlin, and Vera Perlin advocate
of education for the
mentally retarded. "The
symphony is a prime example ;
they have a number of
professional people, but th e vast
majority consists of housewives,
university . personnel,
secretaries or accountants. I
feel strongly that the government
should remain involved in
trying to keep a number of th es e
large community-oriented
programs going."
The number and range of
activities supported by P erlin's
Cultural Affairs Division is
startling. Various performing
arts councils around th e
province receive assistance , as
does the symphony. A Bonne
J ohn Perlin
j.
Bay weaving gr oup received a
$600 gr a nt last yea r to hel p keep
weaving cl asses go ing th r ou gh
the winter . Am at eur t heatre
groups receive assistance, wi th
the div ision oft en looking
favourably a t gr oups tha t ha ve
no other source of go ver nment
funding a nd who a tte m pt to
raise part of th eir own funding .
In addition to this so rt of ac
tivity, the gra nts a nd awar ds
progra m helps groups, such as
t he Riding Tide Theatre . to
c a r ry out special projects .
Whil e the preference is for
one -shot assistance, the division
often finds itself playing a nother
r ole .
" I suspect that groups s uc h
as t he Folk Arts Council an d
the Symp hony a re on-going
fundin g projects. That's a
problem wit h ve ry small grants
a nd awards programs; yo u ca n
ea sil y becom e lock ed into
funding those groups th a t ha ve
little other means of support,"
he admits.
In hi s dual ro le as Director of
Cult ura l Aff air s a nd Director
Ge ne ral of the Arts a nd Cult ure
Ce nt res, P e rl in holds a vast
amount of powe r in the arts'
communit y, a nd he sees two key
focuses for his divis ion in the
future . The first , despit e th e fa ct
that cl ose to 80 pe r cent of th e
Newfoundlan d people live within
range of the arts ce ntr es , would
be to fur th e r ex pa nd the network,
wit h La br ad or a nd the
Burin P en ins ul a bei ng a r e as he
feel s deser ve be tter fa cilities.
Th e ot her th r ust would in volve
th e pr ovin ce' S sc hools. Perlin
feel s it is imp or tant th at
children be ex posed to th e arts
a t a n ea r ly age. He notes t ha t
th e centres now ha ve a n
audience th a t is , for the most
part middle-aged , a nd feel s tha t
further wor k with you t h would
p a y di vid ends.
With a decade of solid ex
perience und er it s belt , P erlin
feels t ha t the Ar t Ce ntres h av e
s ucceeded in filli ng t heir
m anda te . "These buildings are
ce rtainly well utilized ," he
commen ts, saying that t he '
section r em ains a wa re of the
import an ce of bal a ncing the
offerings they ha ve for t he
public. Th e growth in th e centr
es ' activities, an d the ir public
accep t an ce , is sho wn in figures
for th e box offi ce r eceip ts for th e
St. J ohn 's fac ility. " Th e firs t
year I was her e , we too k in no
m or e tha n $50,OOO!at t he box
of fice ," remembers the only
direct or t he St. J ohn 's ce ntre
h as e ve r know n. "Th is year. m y
producti on a nd touring bu dget is
$325,000 an d the box off ice has to
ear n ba ck $275,000 of tha t. "
Editorial
It is easy to jump on the growing bandwagon
that praises all that is Newfoundland and all that
represents our roots. It is true that we do have
something to celebrate and create, but we also
should be constructive and concerned critics.
Lately there has been a tendency here for any
artistic work to receive generous praise. To say
or write otherwise is to be almost unpatriotic.
But this praise often turns art into unrealistic
Newfoundland propaganda, especially if it exploits
certains stereotyped elements. Some of
this propaganda is due to the fact that a great
d e a l of the art ( a s distinct from crafts, but in
cluding music, photography, theatre, etc. ) is
do ne by "come from aways". whose appreciation
of the environment may be more
senstive than a native's, but whose unde
rstanding of the society and the complexity of
social relationships, may be somewhat superfi
ci a l. This leads directly to the problem of artistic
training in Newfoundland.
It is usual for editorials to stress the need for
more funding of the arts. Our editorial is
st ressing more education. T he province needs a
ty pe of education that fosters and supports
Newfoundland artists. It also needs an art
co nsious public to receive and to be
d iscrim in a te ly critical of artists and their work.
Be s id e s the general need for post secondary art
ed ucation, a greater emphasis on art in the
sc hools, and facilities for the public are also
ne c e ss a r y . For example , the provision of da rk
rooms a round the province, operated much like
the St. Michael's printship, might stimulate a
greater awareness an d interest in the arts s ince
good photography doe s much to develop the
artis tic eye.
As noted by Ron Hynes, St. J oh n' s is culturally
out of touch with the real Newfoundland way of
lif e . It is also the place in Newfoundland suffering
most from "North Americanization".
Recipes
GLAZED CARROTS
Serves 4
Secre t: Serve this to carrot-hating children and
call it carrot candy.
6 yo ung carrots, cut in 2-inch fingers
Cook ba rely covered in water 15 to 20 minutes.
Dra in, reserving HIcup liquid.
4 table spoons butter
A dd to cooked carrots in saucepan alo ng wit h
reserved carrot liquid. Stir gently over low heat
to glaze carrots.
2 t able spoons brown sugar
o/.t,teaspoon salt
Decks Awash ---:57
This, p lus the fa c t that so m an y a r tists li ve In
rural areas, cou ld be use d to a rg ue that
Newfoundland art is cou nt ry, as opposed to
urban, art. T herefore, financia l a nd ed ucational
support for arts s ho uld be direc ted towards the
outports or the ou tpo rt way of lif e . F ur thermore.
if the arts are to become a n integral part of the
community life, a ll artists, be t hey painters ,
actors or photographe r s, sh ou ld look to the
community and priv a te enter prise fo r s up port.
Th is, again co mes back to e d ucation b ec a use
private enterprise mu st b e ed ucated to t he importance
of the arts.
Whereas science loo ks for on ly one a nswer to
any proble m, the a rts tr ain a n in div id ua l to
accept more tha n one interpreta t ion of reality '
and to accep t the views of oth e r s as an en richment
of one's o wn view s. Th us , a r t trains one to
expand one's mind a n d to seek a lte rnate
solutions to age old probl e m s . Art is n ot a frill as
so many peop le wou ld th ink . It is v ita l to th e
development of one's mind a n d on e' s se nse of
being. In Newfoundland where th a t se nse of
being is very strong, a r t is vi tal.
We close thi s issue on th e v is ual a nd perfor
m in g arts with a qu ote from Kenneth
Peacock. It comes from his article 'Songs of the
Newfou nd la nd Out po r ts' which was published by
the Nationa l Museum of Canada in 1965. "The
most startli ng pa ra lle l wit h tribal lif e is seen in
t he outport Newfo un d la nde r' s deep r espect for
human personality in a ll it s ecce n tr iciti e s and
deviatio ns. Far fr om for cing ever yo ne' to co nform
to some pr e con ci e ved formula fo r 'cor rect'
behaviour, out port cu lt ur e a d a p ts it se lf read ily
to t he bizarre a nd e xt raor d ina ry, even welcomes
it. Let us hope these rare attribu tes will not be
lost bot will h a ve a civiliz ing in fl ue nce on th e
technical revolution which Ne wfo u nd la n d is now
belatedly experie nc ing."
Rhubar b-and-Carrot
Ma r malade
4 c ups carrots
4 cups r hubar b
2 oranges
21emons
6 cups sugar
1 '0.1 c ups water
Peel carrots. Wash and dry rhuba rb , ora nges
a nd le m ons . Cut r h u ba r b In '0.1 in ch len g ths.
Sh r ed Carrots, oranges a n d le m ons ve r y thi nl y.
Comb ine all ' ing re dients an a b ri ng to boil,
stirring to preve nt scorching . Bo il for 1 hour.
Pou r into hot sterilized jars a n d se al.
Mis s Grace P erc y
Brigus
Concep tio n Bay
Newfoundland
60 - Decks Awash
(5) Finally, use the best
windows you can afford, with
doubleglazing on the south sid e
and triple-glazing on all other
sides. You won't regret the extra
cost. And if you want to make
these windows even more effective.
use close -fitting drapes
of fairly heavy material, to be
B y FraD Innel
drawn over them at night. when
most heat loss occ urs.
There are many other way s to
"beat the cost" of heating your
hom e , but time does n' t allow me
to di scu ss th em her e. If you're
inte rested in learning more
about this, and wish a cha nce
to dis cu ss some of th e options
A tisket, a tasket,
I found a yellow basket
open to you for saving energy in
both old and new homes, there
will be a workshop conference
on the topic this Fall (tentative
date: October 9 and 10) in St.
John's. For further details, See
the announcement accompanying
this article.
On Labour Day weekend last
yea r , I was in Stephenville
vis iting my son, and hearing
that Paula Warman had opened
a craft shop (Beaver Crafts), I
went along to have a look
around . A beautiful, cream
coloured basket caught my eye
and r ight away I put in an order
for Christmas.
Being cu rious abou t its origins
I did a little investigating and
discovered that a Mr . Edward
Young had made the basket. He
had learned the skill from
tho ny White of Shallop Cove ,
An
I visited Mr . White in his
home, determined to find out
what I could about basket
weaving in the Bay St. George
a rea. Mr . White showed me a
basket he had made many years
ago that was still being-used for
gathering potatoes. According
to him . these baskets can last for
fifty years if kept dry and "not
given a hard time".
Two ofAnthony White's baskets.
Mr . White , 64, wa tc hed his
fath er make a basket when he
was a boy . Afte r that he was
able to make them himself. He is
not sure who his father learned
the craft from . but he ttifnks' it
probably was an Indian
tra dition. Mr . White's father
was French (LeBlanc) and his
mo th er was part Indian.
Th e baskets were made for
pr acti cal uses, such as
gathering potatoes or berries.
Dur ing the "dirty thirties",
pick ing blueberries was the only Anthony White with hi s spruce root baskets
silent and listen for it. Within
minutes a large gray land rover
came bumping around the turn
and pulled up in front of the
boys.
" You the Murphy tr outing
party? " the driver asked.
"That's us," said Anthony.
"There's an alert out on the
radio to find you guys. We were
asked to help out with the
search. Who 's this? " he asked
somewhat suspiciously, looking
at Junkfood Jenkins.
"A friend," said Mr. Murphy
.... a very good friend."
Junkfood grinned and hobbled
into the land rover with the
others.
Several months ago , a fishing
vessel was caught in the ice off
Notre Dame Bay . A rescue call
came into the Search and
Rescue Emergency Centre
(SAREC) in St. John's. By the
time SAREC had radio co ntact
with its auxiliary helper, the
fishing vessel Annie Cordell, it
was already at the scene of the
accident and helped save five
me n.
This incident exemplifies the
A small boat in distress
success of the new Canadian
Marine Rescue Auxiliary in
improving search and rescue
services right across Canada.
Organized by the Canadian
Coast Guard. it is primarily
designed to serve fishing and
pleasure craft.
There are about 17,000 fishing
vessels around Newfoundland,
an d they are responsible for 65
per ce nt of the search and
r escu e incidents. Since
Decks Aw ash - 63
February of this year, the
Rescue Auxiliary has been
recruiting experienced
mariners with safe boats to
provide volunteer search and
rescue services that will supplement
the Coast Guard's other
facilities.
Because they know virtually
all that can be known a bou t local
conditions - weather, wa ter,
people and fishing habits · the
members ot tbe rescue team ca n
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