The Logy Bay-Middle Cove-Outer Cove Museum

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