The Forerunner
It's a wet and miserable day outside, but the museum is cozy and we've got the kettle on. It's the perfect type of day to have a mug up and share some stories. My favourite kind of stories to tell on a wet and windy day are ghost stories, and I think I've found a good one.
I've been doing some digging in the collections of the Digital Archives Initiative at Memorial University, looking for interesting stories from the Logy Bay-Middle Cove-Outer Cove area. This one comes by way of correspondence between "Big Willie" Croke and Martin Boland.
"Big Willie" tells the story of Jimmy Carroll, a planter from Outer Cove, who had signed on as a deckhand for the S.S. Beverley when he was young. The S.S. Beverley was to transport codfish between Harbour Grace and Gibraltar in the winter of 1918. According to "Big Willie" Croke, Jimmy said, "I was living on top of the world that day and so excited I couldn't sleep that night. When I told the old fishermen the next day how lucky I was, they soon took the wind out of me sails." The Beverley, they said, was built as a pleasure boat for the St. Lawrence river, and they did not consider her to be seaworthy. "The fishermen said the Beverley wasn't fit for the Roaring North Atlantic and, carrying a heavy load of salt fish, they doubt she would ever reach the other side."
That night, Jimmy went to bed, but after the discouragement from the fishermen, he didn't sleep any better than the night before. He was up all night thinking about the words of the fishermen. Perhaps he would have decided not to heed their warning if not for a spine-chilling event. About four years before, Jimmy's older brother, Watty Carroll, had gone off to the seal fishery but had never come back. Their boat and all the crew had been lost at sea, and no trace of the wreck had ever been found. Well, coming on morning, Jimmy claims that Watty appeared at the foot of his bed, still dressed in his oil-skins and dripping wet. Water ran down his body and pooled at the floor by his feet. That was enough for Jimmy to decide that perhaps sailing on the Beverley was not a good idea! When he gathered up enough courage, he high-tailed it to St. John's and signed off as a deckhand.
The ghostly appearance of Jimmy's brother was likely a forerunner, an apparition that warns of disaster or death. In Jimmy's case, he heeded the warning and was spared. The ill-fated S.S. Beverley sailed out of Harbour Grace, Newfoundland, and was lost at sea on January 21st somewhere between Harbour Grace and Gibraltar. None of the crew were recovered. It seems that two other men from the Logy Bay must have heard Jimmy Carroll's story. Andrew Deveraux and Tommy Cadigan attempted to sign off as deckhands but were not as lucky. They said, "To Hell's Flames with Mr. Dawe and his load of fish, we are not going", but they were caught by the company's "flatfooted coppers" and forced aboard. Andrew Deveraux and Tommy Cadigan's names both appear on the list of those lost on the S.S. Beverley.
If you'd like to read more stories from "Big Willie" Croke on what it was like to grow up in Outer Cove, his correspondence can be found on the Digital Archives Iniative ("Big Willie" Croke).
Do you have a ghostly story from the Logy Bay-Middle Cove-Outer Cove area that you'd like to share? We'd love to hear from you! Drop us a line here at the museum, or drop in for a cup of Tetley, and spin us a yarn!
Katie (Museum Coordinator)
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"Big Willie" tells the story of Jimmy Carroll, a planter from Outer Cove, who had signed on as a deckhand for the S.S. Beverley when he was young. The S.S. Beverley was to transport codfish between Harbour Grace and Gibraltar in the winter of 1918. According to "Big Willie" Croke, Jimmy said, "I was living on top of the world that day and so excited I couldn't sleep that night. When I told the old fishermen the next day how lucky I was, they soon took the wind out of me sails." The Beverley, they said, was built as a pleasure boat for the St. Lawrence river, and they did not consider her to be seaworthy. "The fishermen said the Beverley wasn't fit for the Roaring North Atlantic and, carrying a heavy load of salt fish, they doubt she would ever reach the other side."
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That night, Jimmy went to bed, but after the discouragement from the fishermen, he didn't sleep any better than the night before. He was up all night thinking about the words of the fishermen. Perhaps he would have decided not to heed their warning if not for a spine-chilling event. About four years before, Jimmy's older brother, Watty Carroll, had gone off to the seal fishery but had never come back. Their boat and all the crew had been lost at sea, and no trace of the wreck had ever been found. Well, coming on morning, Jimmy claims that Watty appeared at the foot of his bed, still dressed in his oil-skins and dripping wet. Water ran down his body and pooled at the floor by his feet. That was enough for Jimmy to decide that perhaps sailing on the Beverley was not a good idea! When he gathered up enough courage, he high-tailed it to St. John's and signed off as a deckhand.
The ghostly appearance of Jimmy's brother was likely a forerunner, an apparition that warns of disaster or death. In Jimmy's case, he heeded the warning and was spared. The ill-fated S.S. Beverley sailed out of Harbour Grace, Newfoundland, and was lost at sea on January 21st somewhere between Harbour Grace and Gibraltar. None of the crew were recovered. It seems that two other men from the Logy Bay must have heard Jimmy Carroll's story. Andrew Deveraux and Tommy Cadigan attempted to sign off as deckhands but were not as lucky. They said, "To Hell's Flames with Mr. Dawe and his load of fish, we are not going", but they were caught by the company's "flatfooted coppers" and forced aboard. Andrew Deveraux and Tommy Cadigan's names both appear on the list of those lost on the S.S. Beverley.
If you'd like to read more stories from "Big Willie" Croke on what it was like to grow up in Outer Cove, his correspondence can be found on the Digital Archives Iniative ("Big Willie" Croke).
Do you have a ghostly story from the Logy Bay-Middle Cove-Outer Cove area that you'd like to share? We'd love to hear from you! Drop us a line here at the museum, or drop in for a cup of Tetley, and spin us a yarn!
Katie (Museum Coordinator)
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