I was not born in Newfoundland, but my parents, and grandparents and those before and many since were, and still are there. Growing up I heard "Newfie" used all the time, and I didn't know it meant anything more than coming from the Rock. When kids would ask me what I was, I said "Newfie," proudly, not knowing there were any who thought it belittling, unsettling or an insult. Ah the mind of a child eh?! I had many tell me as soon as "Newfie" was heard, some joke they thought was funny, and almost test to see if I got upset because of the term used. I'd just shake my head, and say, "You know why there are so many Newfie jokes? Because the Newfies made 'em all up; they know how to laugh at themselves, they're a good bunch, and never the friendlier you'll find." I was asked many times why a Newfie would laugh at themselves, so I'd add, "When you work that hard, in hard land, and hard waters, in hard weather, you have to laugh at it all." I started researching my family, interested in where all the things came from that made a whole province known as "Newfies," and how it was all over the world people knew who a Newfie was. What a surprise I found. Newfies do wear rubber boots, it's almost a rite of passage. It's a wet place, surrounded in ocean – you need rubber boots! It was a poor place – if you're talking money – but nothing else about the family I learned about was poor. Large families, fishermen, women home with babies, ship builders, millers, farmers, they cleared the land, rock and all, and built up towns, and somehow all looked after each other. Neighbours, strangers, they helped anyone. Why? Because they needed help. They recycled long before it was something to do. Sure, most kids did not go far or finish in school. They had to work, help out with things. They patched their clothes and they patched their shoes, and then they went to work. They worked, and they worked hard. Men spent months away from home to earn that pay. For families who chose to populate Islands off the coast, in harder water, it was harder yet...but still they did it all. I have never known the hard work or suffering my family endured, but I read and read all I could, and if the term "Newfie" is based on those folks, once more I can say I am proud to use the term, hear the term, and shout it loud...I'm a Newfie. Oh sure I was born in Toronto, an export, but I was made in Newfoundland! You can't change anyone's mind once it's made, but you can always be proud of who you are, the people who came before - and they called themselves "Newfies!"   Submitted By: Angel Stroud-Caza