The Bible and the Basket

By Dennis Flynn

Ward Mercer (age 63 as of this writing in March 2023) of Coley’s Point, Newfoundland and Labrador and his wife Trudi nurse strong cups of fragrant coffee beside the cosy woodstove where we peruse a neatly-arranged album of photographs.

“My father travelled on the Kyle from here to Labrador many times for work and he loved that ship and always spoke very highly of her,” he says with a smile, explaining that in 1996 he and his father rowed out in a small boat and had “the better part of a day aboard her.”

“It was wonderful to hear all his stories as we actually walked around and looked at all the places he had told me about so many times. Of course, he also had great tales about the crew who served on the Kyle and friends he travelled with on those voyages, so it is a day I really treasure.”

Ward points to a beautiful painting of his parents by well-known Labrador artist Sheilagh Harvey depicting the stylish couple circa the 1950s aboard the Kyle. This prompts me to ask if Ward himself had ever travelled to Labrador on the vessel.

“Only once when I was three months old, but I hope you will forgive me as I don’t remember much about it,” he replies with a grin. “My mother took me down in a wicker basket about the Kyle in the spring of the year and brought me back in the very same basket in the fall. I’ve been to Snug Harbour, Labrador many times since, but always in much larger travel arrangements.”

Aware of the lack of cameras along parts of remote rural Labrador in those days I casually say, “It’s too bad you don’t have a photo of yourself with the basket as it would have been a wonderful souvenir.”

Trudi gets a playful look on her face. “Oh we can do much better than that. Go get the basket and show him, Ward,” she gestures.

He returns holding an immaculately kept wicker basket lined in Easter yellow complete with a pearl- white blanket and pillow. “I’m not sure how my late mother kept it so clean and please don’t ask me to sit in it because I am pretty sure I don’t fit anymore,” he jokes.

After the laughter subsides, I grab a few images of the treasured keepsake. “Maybe you can help me with a good deed that has been needing doing for a long time?” Ward asks.
He produces a well-worn book with “Holy Bible” stamped in gold letters along the ribbed spine. Venerable, but familiar enough in appearance and accoutrements, I recognize it as a mass-printed Bible found in churches, religious schools, and well- to-do homes in earlier times.

“There’s a triangular piece of land where the roads from Coley’s Point, Otterbury, and Port de Grave meet,” Ward begins. “A number of churches stood there and when the last one, the old Bareneed United Church, was torn down this bible somehow got tossed out, perhaps by accident.”

He explains that this particular bible has a very special dedication. The book was found in the trash and, with an affinity for old books, Ward held on to the bible, explaining that he “gratefully accepted custody to keep it safe.

“It has been with me a long time and I always hoped it would find a way home to the direct descendants of the man in whose memory it was dedicated,” he shares. “Josiah Lacey was killed in an accident in Boston. I don’t want the bible to sit on a shelf or in a box in a museum where nobody will ever see it or use it. I’d really like for someone related to the man to get it. It should have a place of pride and respect in their home. I’ve contacted the Bareneed group on Facebook and John Newell has been very helpful, but maybe if you pass it along as well it might be of assistance? As far as we know Lacey’s remaining relatives moved to the mainland years ago and probably are not even aware the bible still exists.”

With that, I go to the “Family Register” page and read the inscription in tidy dark ink that has withstood the test of time:

Bareneed: January 16, 1918 Presented to the Methodist Church. By William and Eliza Lacey.
In memory of their beloved son Josiah Lacey, born January 18, 1885. Was converted 1910.
Was killed by electricity endeavouring to save his fellow workers lives at Boston, Mass.
June 25, 1914.

Mr. Newell’s fine research cited the Bay Roberts Guardian Newspaper (Friday, July 03, 1914): “Mr. Josiah LACEY, son of William Lacey, at the Dock, met with a fatal accident at Boston recently. His body will be brought home. He is survived by a wife, father and mother, four brothers and two sisters.”

John also came across a document rom the City of Boston, Building Department Report, outlining the fatal accident on the Number 4 freight elevator in the building located at 279-291 Commercial Street on June 25, 1914, that killed four employees (including Lacey) and injured four others when a broken wire on the elevator caused a short circuit that charged the machine in the Quincy Market Cold Storage Company.
A follow-up post from John reads: “Did some more research on Josiah Lacey. His headstone references a wife Sarah Jane. They had a son born after he died. He was Josiah (Joe) Lacey Jr. born, 06 SEP 1914, Coley’s Point, possibly died 1980 in Scarborough, Ontario. Looks like he was raised by his maternal Grandparents Adam and Elizabeth Gray in Coley’s Point. In 1935 he was living in Coley’s Point with his wife Ellen and newborn son Roy.”

As I take my leave I promise to investigate further. I visit the hillside grave of Josiah Lacey in the old Bareneed United Church Cemetery, where his headstone rises above shrouding snow. Two hands share an eternal embrace while a hopeful caption flanks the image: “We shall meet again.”

A fitting end to the story, at least for now.

Anyone with information on the Josiah Lacey Bible is encouraged to contact editorial@downhomelife.com