By Aubrey Barfoot I was 11 years old, cod fishing for the season at Fishot Islands with my grandfather, Aubrey Piccott, of Brookfield, NL. We had settled into our small summer residence in late May, after a calm trip on the Winnifred Lee, a Wesleyviille schooner. Mid-afternoon one Saturday, my uncle Kenneth asked me to go…
By Kim Thistle Let’s have some fun. We are going to design a pot for your step or patio together. First of all you must choose a container. Many people pick beautiful mosaic or intricately patterned pots that catch their eye due to the beauty of them. When using this sort of container, keep in…
By Todd Hollett When I was a kid, I spent a lot of time at my uncle’s cabin on the banks of Freshwater Pond on Newfoundland’s Burin Peninsula. While there I always enjoyed the warm summer days spent wading in the shallow waters, navigating through the pond vegetation, and catching sticklebacks and small striped fish…
Cyril and I married in February 1968. Three years later we welcomed our first son, Keith. I purchased a little blue suit for him and took a picture. When he outgrew it I put it away. Three years later another son, Dwayne, was born; out came the suit and we took a picture of him….
In early 1917, the Canadian Expeditionary Force had just secured Vimy Ridge. The Newfoundland Regiment, now under the leadership of Lt.-Col. James Forbes-Robertson, was to continue the campaign and launch an attack against an objective known as Infantry Hill. Alongside their comrades from the First Essex Regiment, the Regiment struck east from the village of…
by Marie Bishop Another eventful few months, good grief! Wouldn’t it be wonderful to sneak away to a quiet space, zone out on local and world affairs, and relax in the calmness of your surroundings? This oasis could be right under your nose, in your own home. Second only to the kitchen, the bathroom is…
By Edward Seaward In July 1997, I visited Newfoundland for the first time since I was a child. In 1968, after the London, Ontario factory he worked in closed, my father decided to move the family back home, which of course included my mother, sister and me. I’d visited St. John’s once before, 1966, for…
Thank you to everyone who helps us create Downhome magazine every month by contributing personal stories and photos. Downhome would not be the same without you. Of all the wonderful submissions we published in 2020, these two have been chosen for a $500 shopping prize and the title Submission of the Year. We award prizes…
Can a mysterious light in the sky foretell a storm? By John Gillett, Twillingate, NL When I was young, just 10 years old in 1957, on a warm September night around 9 p.m. I climbed a hill called Ochre Pitt, a small hill just above our house in Hart’s Cove on Twillingate Island, Newfoundland. I used…
Even if you must stay home this Paddy’s Day, you can still get your green on and celebrate Irish culture. By Nicola Ryan When I was young, way back in the late 1980s, my folks threw a couple of St. Patrick’s Day parties that rivaled Christmas for the amount of preparation and decorating that went…
