ICH Blog: So Long and Thanks for all the Hits!

ICH Blog: So Long and Thanks for all the Hits!: After a good run of two and a half years, my time with the Intangible Cultural Heritage Office is coming to an end. I started working wi...

Puppy Photobomb!!

 

Ernestine (Forward) Pike with her sons Ernest, Ralph and Arthur Jr.
 and dog Buster in Roger Williams Park,
Providence, Rhode Island
Rorke Family Fonds
[ca.1924]

I just love this archival photobomb but the best part is definitely that kid's facepalm, just perfect.

A note on the back of the photograph reads, "Those flowers are lilies, perfume wonderful. In Roger Williams Park, Sunday, 6pm. Buster is in a hurry to get around to the boys. The roses in the park this year are considered the best in New England."

Holland's Hotel

Sometimes I fall in love with a photograph, not because the photographer was especially skilled or the subject matter extraordinary, but because it leaves me wondering about those captured in the image. I love the photograph below, it has a Grapes of Wrath feel with a touch of Whistler's Mother, found in the stern woman to the right. I assume the people in the picture were asked to pose, looking off in the distance or directly at the camera, like the Bill the Butcher fellow in the middle. I'm a lover of popular culture and this photograph resonates with me because it has an undeniably cinematic feel,  suggestive of a sepia-toned screen shot from a motion picture of Hollywood's Golden Age.



VA 81-5.2 Holland's Hotel
"At Holland's Hotel: Topsail"
Item consists of Aunt Flo Pike, Laura Cousens, and
Mr. and Mrs. Holland and Mrs. Burt sitting on the front porch.
Woman at left is holding her knitting on her lap and
woman at right is seated in a rocking chair.
[between 1900 and 1924]
[Collection MG 374] Charles C. Cousens collection
Courtesy of: The Rooms Provincial Archives

And then this one has puppies, what's not to love?


IGA 1-173 Man wearing breeches holding three puppies
[19??]
Courtesy of: The Rooms Provincial Archives

Snowshoeing on the Roof: Winter Scenes that Make Our Snowfall Look Like Summer

It's been snowing in St. John's for several days now and I've been hearing quite a few complaints about it. We don't usually get this kind of snow before January or February and with more snow and freezing rain on the way, I think many people are fed up with it.

While you will never, in a million years, get a Newfoundlander to stop talking about the weather (seriously, if you meet a Newfoundlander and can't think of anything to say, mention the weather, we love it) I'm going to point out that this could be much much worse.

So here's a bit of perspective, because it's only December and we could get another 5 months of this, easy.



[A24-98] Courtesy of The Rooms Provincial Archives. March 1912 

On March 11, 1912 an avalanche struck the house of Francis Williams, manager of the Cape Copper Company, in Tilt Cove, NL.  Francis Williams, his thirteen year old son and two servants were killed. His wife and two daughters were rescued. The same avalanche also destroyed the home of Mr. Cunningham, JP, the telegrapher and customs officer. His three year old son was injured and a servant named Emily Day, age 28, was killed.


[A24-99] Courtesy of:  The Rooms Provincial Archives. March 1912 

 Clearing out the driveway got nothing on this:


VA 118-33.7; "After a 'sou wester'; weariness and vexation of spirit" :                    Man shovelling snow from roof. International Grenfell Association. 1908. Courtesy of: The Rooms Provincial Archives

VA 118-33.7; "After a 'sou wester'; weariness and vexation of spirit" :                    Man shovelling snow from roof. International Grenfell Association. 1908. Courtesy of: The Rooms Provincial Archives

                     VA 118-33.7; "After a 'sou wester'; weariness and vexation of spirit" :
                   Man shovelling snow from roof. International Grenfell Association. 1908.
Courtesy of: The Rooms Provincial Archives

When you can showshoe on the roof, then complain to me about the weather.

A 43-10; St. John's Snow shoeing on the roof of a house,                  possibly Merrymeeting Road. Date Unknown.                 Courtesy of: The Rooms provincial Archives

                     A 43-10; St. John's Snow shoeing on the roof of a house,
                 possibly Merrymeeting Road. Date Unknown.
                Courtesy of: The Rooms provincial Archives

You've got to really look at this one...

[A 43-9] Train coming through a tunnel cut in the snow [circa 19-]
Courtesy of The Rooms Provincial Archives

Below we have a man standing next to fire hydrant that was dug out from under 18ft of snow.


[A 42-51] Courtesy of The Rooms Provincial Archives.

[A 42-51]
Courtesy of The Rooms Provincial Archives.





Save the Sea Krait! or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Seal Hunt.

Yesterday, in St. John's, Newfoundland, Sam Simon and Pamela Anderson offered $1 million to Canadian sealers in a hope to “facilitate and achieve a government buyout” program in order to end the seal hunt. Like many Newfoundlanders I was insulted by their audacity and ignorance. They spouted the same old "killing baby seals" argument we've heard over and over again. One that has been outdated for thirty years.

I'm not going to get into the whole debate here, you've heard the pro-sealing side of it before. You know, about how this is not a dying industry and how the seals are in no way endangered. Seals are a significant source of income for thousands of families in coastal communities in eastern and northern Canada with sealing representing approximately 25-35 percent of their total income. Also, the Northwest Atlantic harp seal population is healthy with an estimated population of 7.3 million animals, over three times what it was in the 1970s. Likewise, I won't get into how the seal hunt helped make it possible for the original settlers to stay in Newfoundland all year round, when cod wasn't enough to make a permanent settlement viable, but seal oil was. I won't get into how this is part of our heritage and a mere $1 million buy out is insulting beyond reproach.

Obviously, I support the seal hunt and believe one of the main reasons we get so much flack from groups like PETA and their (in)famous mouthpieces is because seals are so damn cute. Clowns of the sea and all that. With their constantly smiling faces and large round eyes, you can't help but want to hug them. Humans love cute things. It's just science.

Pictured Above: Cuteness personified
[A 3-5] Young seals, ca.1910-12
Courtesy of: The Rooms Provincial Archives

So my argument to these two "advocates" is that they instead offer this money to help a not-so-cute animal get a second lease on certain existence. Take the axolotl, for example, a salamander that can regrow its limbs. Or better yet, the sea krait, a very squishy looking poisonous sea snake. These animals actually need help, but will you see public service announcements shot with a fish eye lens focusing on these guys? No, no you won't. You know why you won't see public service announcements shot with a fish eye lens focusing on these guys, but will see SO many cute, adorable seal videos that tug at your heart strings? Because there are a shit ton of seals to get thousands and thousands of hours of footage of! The axolotl and sea krait are actually endangered, so you know, not so easy to find.

Pictured Above: Not-so-cute
The axolotl

Anyhoo, I could go on and on, but you get the picture. And speaking of pictures, here's a few Christmas cards that use images of the seal hunt. Happy Holidays!

[A 18-24] Hoisting pelts aboard, ca. 1900
Courtesy of: The Rooms Provincial Archives



[A 18-14] Sealers Breaking Ice Jam, ca.1900
Courtesy of: The Rooms Provincial Archives

Nurse Storr Prepares for Surgery

VA 118-44.5; "E. Storr, game for any function": Mission nurse Eleanor Storr prepared for surgery Date of creation: [1908]  Eleanor Storr was a trained nurse, licensed midwife and apothecarist who was supervising nurse at St. Anthony from 1908-1912. Courtesy of: The Rooms Provincial Archives

VA 118-44.5; "E. Storr, game for any function": Mission nurse Eleanor Storr prepared for surgery

Date of creation: [1908]

 Eleanor Storr was a trained nurse, licensed midwife and apothecarist who was supervising nurse at St. Anthony from 1908-1912.
Courtesy of: The Rooms Provincial Archives 

Nurses have been an integral part of patient care in Newfoundland and Labrador since European settlement began. Before the 1920s, there were few professional nurses working in outport Newfoundland. Several organizations tried to remedy this issue by recruiting nurses outside Newfoundland and funding their placement in rural communities. The first of these was the Grenfell Association, which had been recruiting nurses from Great Britain and North America since the 1890s, to work in remote communities in southern Labrador and northern Newfoundland.

A 7-186. Answering a Hurry Call.
Nurse and [doctor?] crossing over dory to get to larger boat called Water Bear. Dry dock in background.
Date of creation: [1930]
Courtesy of; The Rooms Provincial Archives

In 1934 the Commission of Government established a district nursing system, recruiting nurses and posting them to remote communities where they worked with little supervision or medical support. These nurses were responsible for maternity cases, school health, nutrition, child welfare and other community health needs. A second nursing service, the Public Health Service, was created in 1937, and the two services combined in 1941. Many of these nurses were stationed in cottage hospitals, but many others worked on their own without the support of a doctor or extensive medical facilities. After Confederation, funding increases, old age pensions, family allowances, and health insurance allowed better access to health care and increased the need for trained nurses.

For more info on nursing in Newfoundland check out the Intangible Cultural Heritage nursing collection on MUN's Digital Archive

Babies in the Flower Beds

Here's a sweet and simple post featuring a picture I thought was very cute. This picture is entitled Four Empy Baby Cots and comes with the following description:

Item consists of Four cribs, the "Flower Cots", labelled Scotch Thistle, Pansy, Snapdragon, and Wild Rose; babies are not visible; cart with bassinette to weigh babies to right.



VA 104.28.1 "Four Empy Baby Cots" [192-]
International Grenfell Association photograph collection
Courtesy of The Rooms Provincial Archives