Downhome's Grant Loveys recently visited the workshop of a man we've dubbed the "Shoal Harbour inventor." Oliver Vardy spends his days thinking up and constructing new and unique musical instruments. Perhaps the most unique is an invention that Oliver calls the Melody Chord Harp. It is essentially a combination of guitar, harp an...
Out of This World
From our vantage point, Newfoundland looks very small. The Gaff Topsails, hundreds of square kilometres of stunning west coast land covered in snowdrifts so immense they resemble dunes, is just a small white smudge on the province's grey-green face - like a spoonful of sugar dumped on a slab of speckled granite. Newfoundland's innumerable ponds are, from here, no more than a collection of icy spots connected by threads of river winding chaotically around hills
Finding Your Roots Online
Although they are defined differently, the terms "genealogy" and "family history" are often interchanged. Genealogy refers to tracing family lineages for a family tree. Family history, on the other hand, is much broader and includes biography information, pictures, letters and other documents associated with a person or family. Both are very demanding tasks, often requiring extensive research. Like most tasks, they begin with a desire and a plan and then a knowledge of the resources
Making Ugly Music
As Dale Jarvis explains in the December 2012 issue of Downhome, the traditional Newfoundland ugly stick may have its roots somewhere off The Rock. "Similar percussion instruments were known in Europe as far back as the 16th century. British Army marching bands used a stick covered with bells called a 'Jingling Johnny' into the 19th century. Today in England, folk musicians play a version of the ugly stick called a 'Mendoza' or 'monkey stick.' In
Newfoundland and Labrador Paranormal By Kirsten Joy
Call me crazy, but I'm a long-time believer in the paranormal. How could I not be? I grew up in the Mockbeggar area of Bonavista, a historic, ocean-hugging part of town well known for spooky activity. Another house I lived in, in nearby Elliston, was separated from an old graveyard by just a few trees. The creepy experiences I grew up with led one of my more logical friends to
Downtown St. John's was the place to be on Sunday evening, April 18, as George Street hosted the biggest street party of the year with JUNOS on George. As the stars of the Canadian music scene schmoozed with fans on the red carpet outside Mile One Centre, the next street down hundreds of more fans crowded George Street where they were treated to a visit by Ricky and Bubbles of the
Ancient Places of Eastern Canada
Eastern Canada is a treasure trove for archaeologists who come from around the world to study the fascinating history waiting to be unearthed from the ground upon which we walk. In many cases, the "treasures" found date back thousands of years, or even represent our only links to entire societies and distinct cultures that have long gone extinct. Read on for a tour of some of our most ancient places.
Burnside, Newfoundland
Five thousand
Surviving in the Great Outdoors
How often do you turn on the local news and hear reports of people missing in the wilderness? Oftentimes, the missing person is one who planned on spending a leisurely afternoon or weekend enjoying the great outdoors, perhaps hunting, fishing, hiking or camping. We are all at risk of becoming lost while in the wilderness - and the middle of nowhere is a scary place to be when it's getting dark, you have no way
Strange Weather in the Forecast
By Josh Pennell
The first time I saw black-and-white photos of a frozen St. John's harbour, I remember marvelling at the image of young boys strolling across wide pans of ice in the same place where I'm used to seeing cold, black water. In a way that any politician's rhetoric or environmentalist's warning could never do, those pictures made me think about the impact of climate change. Seeing them brought to life those grandfatherly
