Living Heritage Podcast

Have you ever had a nut king? Do you know what a silver mint is? Did you know chocolate and candy were produced in Bay Roberts in the 1950s? Listen to this podcast to learn about Adler's Chocolate Factory in Bay Roberts. Terra discusses the research she has completed at the Centre for Newfoundland Studies, and the interviews with two women who worked at the factory, Irene Mercer, and Margaret Sparkes. Tune in to hear about the work the women did, the uniforms they wore, and the friends the made. If you know about stories about the chocolate factory let us know at [email protected].

In this episode we discuss some of the projects the ICH (Intangible Cultural Heritage) Office is working on this summer. First up Dale, and Terra discuss their research in Bay Roberts on significant sites in the town. These include memories from the chocolate girls about their time working in short-lived Adler's chocolate factory, stories of the jacky lanterns of Fergus Island, the Klondyke causeway, and the history behind the mummer murder gate. During the second part of the podcast, Dale introduces Rachael, who is working out of our office this summer in collaboration with the Craft Council of Newfoundland and Labrador. Rachael is working on two projects including craft at risk, and the history of 275 Duckworth Street. She is working to create a database of craftspeople around the province and identifying crafts at risk. Rachael is also researching the history behind the Craft Council's new building. So if you have memories of, or worked in the Newfoundland Clothing Factory, The Telegram, or Compu College on Duckworth, or have memories about the sites in Bay Roberts let us know at [email protected].

Learning the stories of a place is one thing that tourists seek out when they travel. But what if some of those stories deal with darker themes? Towns and tourism operators are coming to see the value of what is known in the industry as "Dark Tourism."

In this podcast, Folklore MA candidate Katie Crane talks to us about her studies in the field, escape rooms, pirate lore, coffin hardware, and her recent participation in "The Thrill of the Dark: Heritages of Fear Fascination and Fantasy" Conference in Birmingham, UK.

Katie Crane is a graduate student in the Public Sector program of Memorial University's Department of Folklore. She has worked for the Logy Bay-Middle Cove-Outer Cove Museum, the Historic Sites Association of Newfoundland and Labrador, and for Admiralty House Communications Museum. Her academic research interests include public folklore, museums, heritage interpretation, legends, linguistics, and language revitalization.

In September 1913, flying was very new, very risky, and very exciting. Records were made, then broken. No one had ever flown across the Atlantic nonstop. Lord Northcliffe, the owner of Britain's Daily Mail, wanted to change that with a contest. Many teams were ready to try in 1914—then the Great War broke out and the contest was put on hold. In November 1918, just three days after the Armistice, the race was back on. The right departure point would be key. For a few exciting weeks in the spring of 1919, the teams set themselves up here in Newfoundland.

2019 marks a century since the first nonstop flight across the Atlantic and Admiralty House is creating a new exhibit titled "Field to Flight". The exhibit will highlight some of the major players of a historic race and feature Margaret Carter, a St. John's women and her perspective on the race. We chat with Museum Manager Sarah Wade about the air race, but also manage to talk about Twinkletoes the cat, fur coats, and beer!

We are starting a new virtual museums project with our partners in the historic town of Bay Roberts. In this episode, we talk about the places and stories that make Bay Roberts special, and ask for your help in identifying locations of folkloric and historic interest in the community. We talk about children's games and Cable Avenue verandahs in an interview with best friends Wanda and Roxanne, and then sit down for a chat with Sandra Roach of Coley's Point, and Margaret Ayad of Bay Roberts. Listen to the end, and you might pick up some tips on staying safe from the fairies!

Your favourite holiday-loving folklorists are back! Dale Jarvis and Terra Barrett explore the world of calendar customs in Newfoundland and Labrador, pulling some festive audio clips from the Digital Archives Initiative. We start with Valentine's (or is it Valentime's?) Day memories from Daphne Gillingham and Susan Mitchell; Claudia Earle and Nancy Knight share some somber Easter memories; Betty Rumbolt talks about her Upper Island Cove Easter buns; Peggy Snow recalls the Littledale May Walk while Shirley Ryan and Patricia Whalen reminisce on cold plate and Marysvale garden parties; Frank Beson of Windsor and Juanita Keel-Ryan of Bailey's Cove, Bonavista light a torch for Bonfire Night; and we finish with Joan Keating and her memories of the downtown St. John's Christmas Raffle.

In this episode, folklorists Terra Barrett and Dale Jarvis play some clips from past oral history and folklore interviews archived on Memorial University's Digital Archives Initiative, all on the theme of work, occupations, and business. We've got a little bit of everything, from the Terra Nova Motors jingle with Linda Kane, to memories of mill baskets with Barbara Smith (and a mill workers recitation by Terry Penny), memories of railway disasters with Clayton Tipple and Baxter Tuck, an olfactory memory of the railway cook car with Lindo Palmer, and newspaper tales with Bryan Blackmore and Joe Moore. Plus, an update on our future Solomon's Lane project!

On 18th of February 1942, over 200 American sailors died when the USS Pollux and USS Truxtun ran aground during a winter storm near St. Lawrence, The two ships, accompanied by the USS Wilkes, were headed for Argentia American navy base carrying war supplies. Due to the rescue efforts of the people of St. Lawrence and Lawn, 186 men survived the ordeal. In this episode, we chat with local historian and tour guide Carl Slaney about the dramatic event, and the work happening now to ensure the memory of the Truxtun and Pollux disaster is not lost.

In October 2018, Heritage NL staff rushed down Water Street to rescue an old shop sign from the business of Lewis and Grunia Ferman, Jewish merchants and WWII resistance fighters. That event unlocked a flood of stories and memories about the Ferman family, and about other merchants who had business in St. John's and beyond. In this episode, we look at the legacy of immigrant merchants in Newfoundland, with clips from interviews about both the Ferman shop, and the multicultural shopkeepers of Windsor who are featured in a new Virtual Museums of Canada exhibit.

In this episode, Holly Everett discusses her research on roadside memorials, grave markers, memorial assemblages, and culinary tourism as well as the 50th anniversary of Memorial University's Department of Folklore, and the upcoming Folklore Studies Association of Canada conference. Dr. Holly Everett is an Associate Professor in the Department of Folklore at Memorial University, cross-listed with the School of Music's Ethnomusicology program. She is the author of Roadside Crosses in Contemporary Memorial Culture (2002), as well as articles in Contemporary Legend, Cuizine, Ethnologies, Folklore, the Folklore Historian, the Journal of American Folklore, MusiCultures, and Popular Music and Society. Holly is also the current Head of the Department of Folklore at Memorial and the President of the Folklore Studies Association of Canada.