The Logy Bay-Middle Cove-Outer Cove Museum

Photo by Annemarie Christie The museum took part in the St. John’s Doors Open event again this year, as it did in  2013. It is a wonderful event to take part in; it is advertised all over the city and  reaches a wide audience. The turn out at the museum this year was great, especially  in the afternoon! For a lot of people it was a first-time visit, and the visitors  consisted of a nice mix of locals and people from the city; a more diverse group than  visits the museum, generally speaking, children and adults both. Photo by Annemarie Christie People really liked the new Outer Cove Plane Crash exhibit. A few of the return  visitors had come specifically to see it! People loved hearing an embellishment on  the exhibit: I passed on the story I had heard from Robert Angus who heard the  story from Mike O’Rourke. Mike’s father was one of the men who went out in a boat  to try to save the pilot. The pilot had not survived, but they brought him back in. One  of the men held onto

For the majority of my life, I have romanticized about being a curator. I have always loved the idea of collecting beautiful, old objects - objects with their own past, and a narrative to tell - and displaying them in an interesting and informative way. This summer I was given the opportunity to curate my very first exhibit here at the Logy Bay-Middle Cove-Outer Cove Museum. Curator, Katie Harvey, putting the finishing touches on  The Mysterious Outer Cove Plane Crash  exhibit. Photo by Kenneth J. Harvey The idea just sort of fell into my lap. Gary Hebbard wrote an article for the Telegram early in the summer about a military plane that crashed into a house in Outer Cove in 1956. One of the members of our Heritage Committee sent it to me to put in our archival collection.  And so it began. I decided my first step would be to interview people in the community who could supply me with first-hand accounts of that day.  Easier said than done. The plane crash happened in 1956, s

The daughter of a woman who taught at St. Francis of Assisi donated a series of hand-made yearbooks to the museum last week. When reading through these books, I came across an entry that was made by our very own former Heritage Committee Chair, Delores Wheeler (nee Kinsella). Her entry reads:            "My name is Delours 'Tubby' Kinsella. My eyes are green and my hair is brown.      I was born on August 7th 1958 in St. Claire's Hospital.      We have ten in the family, nine girls and one boy.      The hobby I like most is collecting stamps to help the sick.      I have something that interests me and that is swimming. It interests me because it is something to do in the summertime.       My favorite joke is      Q, What did the man say when he threw the clock through the window      A, He said, 'See how time flies?'"  I asked Delores where the nickname "Tubby" came from, and she replied:      "I was a li

On this day in 1901, history was made. It was the 85th annual Royal St. John's Regatta. " Not a cloud was visible in the blue canopy of the heavens and the sun shone so hot that one could scarcely turn his eyes towards the skies for its dazzling brightness.  Just a slight breeze was blowing  which covered the lake with gentle ripples and added fourfold to its g reat natural beauty." - The Evening Telegram, 1901 A rivalry between Outer Cove and Torbay had been ongoing for years. Torbay had beaten Outer Cove by the slightest of margins in the morning race, so tensions were running at an all time high. The Outer Cove Fishermen's Crew was made up of the following men:  Walter Power, coxswain; John Whelan, stroke; Daniel McCarthy, No.5; Denis McCarthy, No. 4; Denis Croke, No. 3; John Nugent, No. 2; Martin Boland No. 1.   They entered the waters that afternoon for the championship race in their soon-to-be-famous vessel, the Blue Peter. They were facing off w

There is a heart-warming story that exists in this community, and it has been relayed to me by several visitors here at the museum. The narrative is of two Newfoundland woman who, completely by chance, ended up living side-by-side in Boston. Their names were Annie Burke (nee Cadigan) and Nellie Fitzgerald (nee Gibbons). Annie Burke (nee Cadigan) ca. 1915 Annie Cadigan was born in 1891, and grew up in the community of Logy Bay. When she was 12 years old, she fell through a fishing stage and severely injured her leg. Local doctors believed her leg was irreversibly damaged, and so advised that it be amputated. Her sister, Mary, lived in Boston, and thought it may be best to have her sister come and see a Doctor whom she knew there, Dr. O'Shea.  Nellie Fitzgerald (nee Gibbons) ca. 1914 Nellie Gibbons was born in the Redlands on the north shore of Conception Bay in 1888. She and a fellow named James Fitzgerald were writing to one another, and the courtship landed her in

By Annemarie Christie Annemarie discussing doll clothes                    Photo by Bill Brennan Nine little girls and their dolls arrived at the museum on Monday, July 27 th for the first ever Doll Day, presented at the Logy Bay-Middle Cove-Outer Cove Museum. The girls were dressed for the occasion, many of them in matching outfits with their doll’s outfit. Little girls, dolls and fancy clothes have a long history, some of which we explored during the event. The event was created to teach children about this history and to ask some thoughtful questions, while at the same time having fun with their dolls and even enjoying a little “tea party” after. Lila introducing her doll Lisa                                Photo by Bill Brennan The event began with the girls writing up name labels for themselves, and also for their dolls. I asked them to introduce themselves and their dolls, and explain why the doll they brought is their favourite. I then discussed the history

By: Annemarie Christie  You might wonder why monks would make appropriate figures for salt and pepper shakers, but they were very popular in the 1950s, and today these ceramic “Friar Tuck” salt and pepper shakers at the museum are a very collectible set. Logy Bay-Middle Cove-Outer Cove Museum: Photo by Annemarie Christie These two little charmers in the photo above reside in the Lifestyles section of the museum. They have no manufacturer’s name on them and no factory stamp. This leads to the conclusion that they were likely to have been manufactured in imitation of the Hummel “Friar Tuck” Monk salt and pepper shakers introduced by the German Goebel Porcelain Factory in the 1950s.   If they were genuine Goebel-made shakers they would have a Goebel mark (all genuine Hummel figurines have a crown mark, a bee in a v-shaped mark or one of the Goebel line marks on the bottom). The museum’s shakers could have been manufactured in the United States or Japan, and in spite of being an

Photograph by Katie Harvey The Logy Bay-Middle Cove-Outer Cove Museum presents a new exhibit which highlights the role of women in the household, and the history of women's beauty. The exhibit on beauty contains such items as: jewellery boxes, hair pins, a gold brooch and a very unique powder case. Photograph by Kenneth J. Harvey Powder cases, more commonly known as compacts, date to  the early 1900s. In those times,  make-up  had not gained widespread social acceptance, and so were concealed by women. Purses had special compartments to store your compact, and later they were attached to finger chains so they could be displayed.  It was considered taboo for women to talk about going to the bathroom, so they would excuse themselves to go “powder their noses.” Compacts were reusable in the past, but in the 1960s they began to be manufactured as disposable.  Photograph by Kenneth J. Harvey In the past, the household was strictly the woman's domai

Mena and Charlie Power. Photograph by Kenneth J. Harvey For Mena and Charlie Power, the day of the Outer Cove Plane Crash will forever remain etched in their minds, and not simply for the reasons you may imagine.  I had the pleasure of interviewing this lovely couple last week for our exhibit on the crash, and here is a brief part of the story they told: " Well it was a memorial day for us because that night, early in the  morning, rather, I went out to the hospital. I was expecting a  baby, a bit premature; I think it was four weeks premature .   It was early in the morning. Not a blade of snow. Just went with a pair of slippers, right? Yeah, and it was quite foggy when we were leaving, you could see the sky blowing in then; about 2:00 in the morning. Of course, James was born just as I got there.  This pilot had the same birthday – he died on his birthday." - Mena Power Want to hear more about Mena and Charlie's memories of that day? Their entire story, alon

Caplin on Middle Cove Beach. Photo by Julie Pomeroy. Guest Blog Post by Julie Pomeroy When I was on my way to work last Friday I noticed activity on Middle Cove Beach so I stopped in to see if the caplin were rolling. They were not rolling at that time, but there were still some there a few feet back from shore. While I was there I came across this couple, Mabel and Gerald Upshall. Mabel is originally from Bay Roberts and Gerald is from St. John’s. They lived in Toronto for many years but moved back home about 20 years ago and now live in St. John’s. They have been coming to Middle Cove Beach every year since they moved back home to get their feed of Caplin. Mabel and Gerald Upshall with their caplin. Photo by Julie Pomeroy. I saw them there about   8:30 that morning,  and they were telling me that they missed them rolling in with the tide earlier that morning but they were going to get what they could with their net. Gerald uses a landing net for catching caplin, s

Waiting on the caplin. Photo by Kenneth J. Harvey. Today is a good day. After weeks of (impatiently) waiting, the caplin have finally arrived at Middle Cove Beach.  Leading up to their arrival, the beach has been completely congested with people hoping to catch a glimpse of one of nature's most spectacular occurrences. Not to mention, they want to snag a few tasty morsels to bring home with them.  This event draws thousands of people to the beach every year, and the waiting, I have come to realize, is an event in and of itself.  Yes, there is quite the song and dance associated with the waiting. Local newspapers have been publishing regular updates, Twitter and Facebook are blowing up with people who want to know where the caplin are, what they are doing, and how long they have been doing it.  Needless to say, there is no shortage of instant information on the caplin scull. I followed #CaplinRoll2015 quite closely this year. That feed, coupled with t

Explaining the tools. Photo by Annemarie Christie. On Friday, July 3 the museum hosted a children's program for the first time called "Be an Archaeologist for a Day." The program was designed to teach children what it is exactly that archaeologists and museum workers do on a day-to-day basis, and also to cultivate their interest in heritage. We began with a mock archaeological dig. The children were all given tools to dig, and buckets filled with sand and artifacts. The children recovered things like candle holders, dinosaur bones, wooden beads, old coins, thimbles, and much more. Digging for artifacts. Photo by Annemarie Christie. Next, we cleaned the artifacts. The children learned that artifacts are very delicate, and so they must be handled with great care. We used toothbrushes and lukewarm water to clean the items they had found when digging. The kids each had an opportunity to share what they had found, which everyone did with great pride. We explai

If you take a drive through the community of Logy Bay-Middle Cove-Outer Cove during the month of May, you are bound to see a few may bushes that are being displayed by locals. What is a may bush you ask? Well, it has its  roots in Ireland, and is, as you may have guessed, predominately a Roman Catholic practice. People tie a fir or spruce tree onto their fences, or their decks - pretty much anywhere that is visible to passer-byers - for the month of May, and will sometimes leave them up until the end of June. People may decorate them in a variety of ways, using things like flowers and ribbons.  There are several different reasons why people engage in this tradition. In Ireland, this practice was believed to ward off evil, and bring good luck to those who took part in the practice. It is also typically associated with The Virgin Mary; May being "Mary's Month" in the Catholic Faith.  Lara Maynard writes: " Newfoundlanders who erect may bushes nowadays usually cite

We are very pleased to announce that Logy Bay-Middle Cove-Outer Cove Museum is featured in this month's issue of Downhome Magazine. The article highlights ten interesting and unique artifacts from across the province. We are honoured to be included in this exclusive selection of amazing artifacts; each an important parts of Newfoundland's culture and history.  Want to know a little more about the history of our featured artifact? Of course you do.  This artifact is known as a Sick Kit, or a Sick Call Kit. Sick Kits were used by priests to administer last rites to those who were too sick to leave their homes.  Roman Catholics often had Sick Kits in their homes, but priests also possessed them for any necessary occasion . They were easy to travel with, as the kit can be closed, and each item securely placed in its rightful spot.  Each piece in the Sick Kit had a unique and vital role.  The candles were lit when the priest came to the door, where he was gree

Mary Roche relaying her memory of the Outer Cove plane crash. Photograph by Kenneth J. Harvey As mentioned in previous posts, the museum is creating a new exhibit on the Outer Cove plane crash of 1956. Our curator, Katie Harvey, is conducting a series of interviews with people who remember that day. The exhibit will contain as many first-hand accounts of the event as possible. Mary Roche lives directly behind the house that was hit by the plane, and so she remembers the day very clearly. I interviewed her yesterday about her memory, and her story will be outlined in the exhibit.  Here is a small portion of what she told me: " I heard this big bang and I thought the horse was out . . . and I thought the kids were after throwing a rock and the horse bucked up against the house or something.  And I went out singing out, 'God bless it!' 'Mom, it's not us, we had nothing to do it. That's... Look down.'  And I said 'What is it?'