Random Island

Horse and Slide

I took my niece to a sleigh ride birthday party at Hatfield Farm yesterday, and that and seeing all the old horse gear and the sawmill on the property reminded me of years gone by when Dad would use his horse to pull out the wood for the stove and logs for the mill.

Back then and earlier most people had a horse in the family, and while it was a pet to some degree, it was mainly a work animal.  And I guess, depending on the owners, how much a pet and how much work varied. I know while ours did a lot of work, I think its obvious by her name, “Pet” how dad felt about her.

In the fall of the year, we’d usually make our way in on “the level” and cut wood from some stand. While we liked birch for wood, in our part of the province at least, firewood was usually softwood, generally fir and spruce.  We’d cut (dad more than me, I can’t say I was much use being a scrawny dude with not a lot of interest, but I did go and help) our wood and lay some cross pieces to keep the majority off the ground, and stack the rest in lengths on top.

Come winter snowfall, and I can’t really remember many winters without snowfall back then, we’d hitch up the slide (If anyone has a picture of the old double slides, please send to me, so I can add?) and put some horns in it and get Pet to tow it and us in.  We’d load it up with the wood or logs, and she’d pull it out.

I remember Pet was larger than a lot of the horses in our area, and strong as, well, a horse.  And she’d pull a huge load with us on top of it.

She did have her quirks though, being a true Smith at heart, and would not, could not pass a certain water hole without taking a drink, and no amount of persuasion (of which Dad’s version may or may not have involved swear words made up on the spot) would move her till she was done.

Once the wood was out, it would be re-stacked near the road or the house, left to dry some more and sawed into junks on the old sawhorse, sometimes even with an old bucksaw (pic again?) and then stored in the woodhouse.

January 13, 2013 by Uncategorized 1

The Old Wood Stove

The huge storm back home in Newfoundland got me thinking about how nice it is to be hunkered down with a nice wood fire when a raging blizzard blows around outside.

There was always just something different about the heat, hearing the wood crackling and popping.  When I was younger, most everyone had an old wood range similar to this one in their kitchen, with a wood box nearby.  I can still remember the names things had, damper, lifter, poker.

We’d open up the firebox either with the damper on the top, or from the door in front to feed in wood and slabs.  The oven would be stogged with bread baking nearly every day, and water on the side in the tank staying warm for washing, or whatever else.

The kettle was always on, and always full, and ready for a cup of tea, and underneath the oven, our ski-doo boots would be warming or drying after we’d come in from sliding on the old coaster, or making forts and tunnels in the drifts.  Up top our mitts and socks and vamps would likely be drying in the warmer.

One of the dampers often had multiple rings, and we’d have one open with the old wire handheld toaster over the top, toasting some of the fresh homemade bread and coating it with butter and molasses.

Seems like others remember too, I saw this range when I was looking at appliances this past fall.  Nice to be able to keep the old alive with the new, though a bit out of my price range.

January 11, 2013 by Uncategorized 7

Out on the Sound

Random Island is separated from the Bonivsta peninsula on the island’s north side by Smith Sound.  This is about 1-3 miles across in most places if memory serves.  Sometimes in my memory we’ve had the sound freeze completely over, and can remember people ski-dooing, skating to Harcourt, hauling wood on horse and slide, and of course, fishing.

In Newfoundland you go fishing for one kind of fish only, that’s cod.  Any other type of fishing has its own name (trouting, etc).  Nowadays with the moratorium on, even if the sound did freeze over, you’d not be allowed to go fishing, but years ago you could.

One of my most vivid memories of my Uncle Hay was one day him and I went out on our old ski-doo (I think it was that far back anyway).  This was an old Alouette, we bought off Ross Smith and it weighed about 17 tons I think, and had about a 400 cubic inch motor in it ( I may have exaggerated slightly). I remember the ski-doo just because it was so ancient and yet so powerful.  In any event, Uncle Hay and I drove out to some of our fishing marks and put some holes down through.  I think we used my old ice auger, but it may have even pre-dated me having one of those, maybe Uncle Hay had one. You’d probably think that ice on such a large body of water wouldn’t be thick, but I remember there being about 2-3 feet of ice to drill through.

Salt water ice, or at least on a body that large, doesn’t respond like fresh water ice.  Its “softer”, flexible, and you can feel the lop under the ice moving it up and down, and can hear the huge cracks like thunder when a crack opens up.

It was a beautiful winter day, sunny, sun felt warm, and was awesome to be out on the ice, doing what we both loved.  I really don’t remember if we got any fish, but that really didn’t matter to me that day.  I’m not sure where Dad was to be honest, possibly it was a work day, most likely was, but after Uncle Hay had retired.  Some days just belong to certain people or groups.  This was ours, or for me anyway.  Much love to Uncle Hay, and Dad as well.  We’ll fish again together someday.

January 5, 2013 by Uncategorized 1

Mercurochrome, Spirits of Nitre, Olive Oil and Oil of Citronella

Anyone remember these old medicines? Are they even still available? Well I guess technically Oil of Citronella was more used a insect repellent.  And yes I know you can get olive oil in the grocery store, but lets talk about the uses we had for them back in the day.


Mercurochrome was an antiseptic, often put on small scrapes and cuts. Left a red splash on the skin.  I can remember the little bottle now with the eye dropper style dispenser.  It had mercury and was removed from the market. Mercury is what made hatter’s mad.  Never had any noticeable effect on me though (cough).

Olive oil was warmed and used in the ears to break up wax as well as to alleviate ear aches.  Any other uses I don’t recall!

Spirits of Nitre – I remember this as a medicine to use for an upset stomach, or gas.  We always had this on hand as well as peppermint (which i don’t think was the same as peppermint extract).  Not sure if that was its official use, but hey if you know more please comment!

Oil of Citronella – My memory of this really just comes from one instance, my cousin Bill Smith gave me a partial bottle of this telling me it was the best thing to use for “fly dope” (insect repellent). I still remember the green glass bottles, and I know there were a ton more of these little glass bottles in households years ago.

Remind me of some more?
January 2, 2013 by Uncategorized 5

New Year’s Eve

Bluff Head Cove Pond

I’ve worked in the hotel industry, and have seen the posh black tie New Year’s Eve balls with the brass band followed by a fancy champagne breakfast.  And while that’s what many want and love, my New Year’s favorite was much simpler.

It may very well be a combination of trips that come together as one memory, but New Year’s Eve for me was best spent down at Randy’s and Everette’s cabin.  We all sat around the table, likely still wearing our skidoo suits because it was so cold, even with the old wood stove going behind us.  
The smell of a roast of moose cooking in the oven, covered in onions, a bottle or bottles on the table, and poker being played with the gang.  
The night I remember, while I can’t swear it was New Year’s Eve, we had been playing and all decided to go to bed.  It was bitterly cold that night, I remember warming my gloves on the atv’s exhaust trying to keep my hands warm.  Sometime after we had gone to bed, (And inceidentally, after a bottle of coke had frozen on the table), Shawn Avery and Rick Turley showed up, pretty hammered from what I remember, and got us all up again.  I think we’d probably have gotten up again anyway to relight the fire, it was soooo cold!
Sounds painful doesn’t it?  But it was a great time and memory.  
Happy New Year!
December 31, 2012 by Uncategorized 0

The Bookmobile

As long as I can remember I’ve loved to read.  I can remember reading Hardy Boy books way back when they were almost as big as me.

This was instilled and reinforced I’m sure by the travelling Bookmobile from the Newfoundland Public Libraries.  I think there was a library in Clarenville when I was a boy, perhaps in the fire station building? I forget for sure, but most of my reading came from the bookmobile.  These travelling libraries used to come to some rural towns back in those days, perhaps most, I really have no idea, but I remember it fondly.

Many a Hardy Boy adventure, and lesser known adventures such as Alfred Hitchcock and the Three Investigators, Tom Swift, and quite a collection of English kids books by Enid Blyton (anyone else read Five Find-Outers and Dog?) were inhaled voraciously by me.

I am also pretty sure I first read one of the first sci-fi fantasy books I ever read from here, that being A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle.

I still love to read to this day, and will always remember the smell of books in that little mini-bus, the walls filled, a desk installed behind the driver so he could just spin a chair round and stamp the little pocket at the back.

Was an event and treat to see that bus come down over the hill and run out to wait for the doors to open.

If anyone has any pictures of it, or recollections to add, let me know!

December 22, 2012 by Uncategorized 5

Church in Small Towns

While I’m no avid church goer, the church of years ago was more than about the service.  Each small town had its own church, with unbelievable amounts of local work and wealth (or lack of wealth) invested in it.

I remember the pulpit and pews in our old church probably cost more than the town made in a year, tho I really have no idea where they came from. Perhaps they were made my locals, it was all before my time.

I remember each week a family had a “turn”.  If it was your turn, you had to light and maintain the fire in the old old wood stove, as well as provide wood, and ring the bell.  Yes it had a bell, attached to an old rope pull, and as a kid, it was actually a treat to be the one to go ring it a half hour or so before service.

After the service was over, people would hang out outside and socialize for quite sometime, and traditionally most would invite the minister home for lunch/dinner. Of course when he accepted your invite the parents tried to have the kids be on their best behaviour.  Not really sure that part ever worked with me!

December 19, 2012 by Uncategorized 0

Outlet….

I’ve created many blogs over the years, and always felt like I abandoned them.  I think its mainly because I felt I had to write for others, and while my interests are varied, it never felt like everything belonged together. I felt noone else had any interest in what I was writing.

But I think what I really need is somewhere to just write a few words here and there, so lets try this again.

The blog is titles Random Island Memories, and a lot of my posts will be about growing up back home on Random Island, but be forewarned, I may veer off on tangents and be prone to rant occasionally.

December 18, 2012 by Uncategorized 1

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