My father, Robert Blackburn, was requested to edit a supplement about Newfoundland for the Canadian Encyclopedia in 1949. In 1962, he thought it would be a good idea for the family to visit this newest province to see if the interesting research he had done was accurate. In 1962, I was 12 years old and…
Written by Evelyn Sulley It was a warm yet very cloudy day in the summer of 2018 in Quidi Vidi Newfoundland, and Lucille was sent by her mother, Christine, to pick blueberries to make blueberry duff. Her father had gone out to fish for the day, so it was just her and her mother at…
On the rugged shores of the Bonavista Peninsula, where life can be tough and resources are scarce, neighbors lean on each other in ways that define what it means to be a community. A recent $15,000 donation from an anonymous donor from Trinity Bay North to SaltWater Community Association proved this tiny town has a…
Dear Sir: Readers may remember a song entitled “A Few of My Favourite Things”, from the Broadway musical, “The Sound of Music.” This song has been recorded in over 100 different versions, and it has inspired me to write about a number of things in my own experience which make my life meaningful and uplifting,…
The news is out. War has been declared. If you don’t believe me, just check your latest grocery store flyer. Now, you can see for yourself, it’s on the front page, almost dead centre. Thank God it won’t start until Thursday, we still have 48 hours to prepare. Only 24 hours if you live outside…
“A Cat Named Timmy” By: Phalma Hobbs Timmy came into our lives in the spring of 1970, my youngest daughter, four years old, wanted a kitten. The neighbor’s cat had a brood of kittens they were trying to find homes for, so off she went with her older sister to pick one up. I remember…
My Mother’s Rocker By: Phalma Hobbs I remember my mother rocking my younger sisters and brother in that old rocker. I guess I had my turn in it, likewise my older sister and brother. We were nursed through everything from an earache to whooping cough in my mother’s rocker. Mom would use her chair when…
It’s the memory of past struggle that keeps me grounded – not that I have reached any degree of wealth or fame or ever will. No regrets, life has been good to me. Not in terms of financial gain, but personal relationships. Thank God for every one. The year was 1967, it was my second…
by Sam Johnson In the early days of growing up, heat in the home was usually in one place – the kitchen. The stove was as central to the kitchen as the table, even more so. It was the means of providing warmth for that room and a little for the rest of the house…
by Elaine (Murphy) Hickey I am compelled to recount and share this true story about the heroism of our cousin Molly Burke, to whom we owe an enormous debt of gratitude. As the eldest of eleven children born to Leo and Emma Murphy of Mount Arlington Heights, NL, I can remember my mother telling me…
