James Martin Griffin inherited Griffin’s Garden, along the Battery road, in Cherry Orchard, Carbonear after his father, Martin Griffin, died in 1907. Jim, as he was called, lived in Cherry Orchard until 1939 when he moved his family to Brown’s Garden on Irishtown Road. During his tenure in Cherry Orchard and even after he had moved, Jim had kept a garden and grew and cut his own hay.

One day while out cutting the hay, Jim heard a man behind him call out his name. “Jim!”. He turned around and called back, only to discover that no one was there. He continued on with his work until the same voice from behind called out his name a second time. Jim turned around again and called back, to see that there was no one there to have called out to him. He continued on working away, until a third time the voice called out to him. Jim quickly turned around, only to be met with a blow to the face. Jim was knocked unconscious and awoke later with his face blackened all on one side. His face was hurt so badly that he was bound to his bed for a considerable amount of time. Unfortunately, Jim never saw, nor found out who or what it was that had assaulted him. 

Despite never catching the culprit, Jim and those he told, always believed that those pesky fairies were the ones responsible.