Random Island

Peace, Serenity, and Put Put

Waking up and looking out over the waters of Smith’s Sound, you can really believe you can hear the world breathing. Its so still, the blue sky and blue water, serenity. Then you hear the unmistakable sound that gave an engine its nick name, put put put goes an old Atlantic Make and Break engine.  I know there was another manufacturer as well, but all I can remember now is people talking about a 2 Atlantic when referring to these.  They were staples of the Newfoundland fishing industry for probably 70 or more years.

Most people whose livelihood came from the fishery had one of these equipped in their main fishing boat.  Nowadays people seem to keep their speedboats at a wharf or pier, but back then and probably still for some, a fisherman kept his boat off shore a ways on a collar.  I can only assume it was to prevent damage from storms or high winds, but I really don’t know the reason.  People kept a flat (a flat bottom boat) or a dory or rodney to get out to their main boat.  I can’t really do a collar justice, but its basically a wooden contraption anchored to bottom by a grapnel, which you could moor your boat to.  Here’s a link to the Dictionary of Newfoundland English definition.

Another unique thing to see related to this was seeing the old timers using a sculling oar to make their way out to the collar.  Someone skilled with such an oar could really make a rodney move!  A sculling oar is similar to other boat oars, but longer, with a handle, and a slightly different blade.  A skilled user could manipulate this oar as both a propellor and a rudder and steer and propel a boat.  I’ve tried it some in the past myself, and while I could make it work a little, its quite a talent or art.  I’ll never forget how quickly Uncle Lionel Kelly could make his rodney fly across the water.

Its a Tuesday evening here now, but in my mind its an early Saturday morning, and you can hear a loon cry across the water, a make and break put putting down the sound, and the quiet splash of water dripping from a sculling oar as Uncle Lionel makes his way to his collar as the early morning vapor rises over the sheet of glass that is Smith’s Sound.

April 16, 2013 by Uncategorized 0

Party Lines

Nowadays if you hear someone deep breathing on the phone, its likely an obscene phone call.  Back in the day though, you were likely to hear several at once. I remember when we got our first telephone, back in those days all of the island was on the Hickman’s exchange, so it was a 547 number, I remember that much, but I’ve forgotten the rest.  That first phone was of course about 20 pounds, and a rotary dial.  I’m not sure if we got the white one right off the bat, or if we had the standard black, but I remember us having a white one most.

Many or perhaps most people won’t know this, but years back very few people had a private phone, it cost a fair bit more money to have your own line, instead we were on a party line.  That meant whenever anyones phone rang, so did yours.  Each person had their own special ring assigned to the number, one long, one short, 2 short and a long, etc. Of course in small town anywhere, gossip is an art form, and these lines only added to that ability as people would listen in to catch all the juice.  Everyone knew everyone’s business even more back then.

To this day I think the name party line lingers on when we say “She’s such a gossip, her mouth is like a party line!” Yes yes, hang me for using she instead of he too if you want :P.

Some people were a little less capable of listening in than others. You had to wait till the right person had answered and pick up gently, and not snore into the receiver! Sometimes you couldn’t hear who was talking over others breathing.  Not always being the politest of people to my elders, I remember yelling “Get off the phone” – of course some would make excuses and say they thought it was their ring, others would just anonymously hang up, and I’m sure the most brazen just stayed on the line.

Later on we moved up in the world, with everyone getting semi-private lines; only 2 people sharing a line.  I can’t remember if we heard each other’s rings now or not, but I do remember you’d hear a little dingle when the other person picked up.  This didn’t, of course, stop listening in, but limited it at least somewhat.  I’m really not sure how the gossip channels survived! I may be wrong, but getting these may have coincided with us moving to the Clarenville exchange, at least from Elliott’s Cove up.  I am not 100% sure, but I think that was all at first, I believe Weybridge and Lady Cove moved to that exchange a bit later.

Of course now we all have cellular phones, smart phones, and wireless, but the old party line will always be a memory of growing up.

April 12, 2013 by Uncategorized 2

The Old Outhouse
All that remains of Uncle Hay's old outhouse. Thanks Eric Cooper

All that remains of Uncle Hay’s old outhouse. Thanks Eric Cooper

Last night the rain was coming down, making a soothing noise, but reminding me of many cabin trips where we’d have to brave the rain to use the facilities.  For some reason I was also reminded of The Red Green Show, and the poems Red used to recite.  I came up with my own poetic masterpiece to suit my mood….

It is raining.

An April rain, chilling and cold. Making a half frozen slush to shuffle through for a midnight outhouse run, where it plays a tap dance on the tin roof, then drips down the back of your neck.

It is raining.

You think I’ll have to turn down offers? In any event, the old outhouse was an integral part of growing up, and while many were rough and ready, especially those built for cabins in the woods, those people had for their living areas were surprisingly more than you’d expect, and as much as it can be, a pleasure to use.  Back home, “down on the land”, Uncle Hay had and kept up an outhouse out the path from his house.  It was a bit of a trek if you were short taken I’m sure, but as kids sometimes when you had to go, you had to go.  This outhouse was, for the genre, beautiful in my eyes.  It was well walled, well painted, had a window, and well maintained roof, and Uncle Hay kept a nice supply of toilet paper out there.

What made it even better was that he, or perhaps it was Brad and Paul, I’m not really sure, kept a supply of comics and reading material out there.  More time than necessary was spent in there keeping up with Archie and Jughead! In any event, I have fond memories of that old commode, and while its an odd topic to write about I guess, its a part of home that brings back fond memories.

April 6, 2013 by Uncategorized 2

Cleaving Splits

Its a wet and windy start to April here, not April showers, but more like April falling sideways cold needles.  Makes me want to hunker down with a nice wood fire.  I wrote before about the old wood stove, and how it was such a cosy part of home.  Well today I’m reminded of getting the thing lit, while we were bivvering with the cold, especially if it was a fire at the cabin.

Slabs stacked for winter.

Slabs stacked for winter. (Eric Cooper Picture)

To start a fire of course you need gas… um I mean you need kindling.  To us Newfoundlanders tho kindling is a foreign word, what you really need is splits.   Part of the evening chores of bringing in a wood box of wood, also included filling a split box full of splits. What are splits? Well they are slabs that have been cleaved on a chopping block.  And what are slabs you may ask? Well slabs are the sides of wood left over from when a log has been sawed into lumber at a mill.  We’d buy them by the pickup load from the local mill if you didn’t have a mill of your own, and they’d be used as part of your winter wood supply, great for getting a bit of heat in a hurry.

Everyone had a big old log or stump in their woodhouse to cleave slabs, or split wood on.  We’d lay a slab down on it, or perhaps prop it up against it and chop an axe down through till we had some splits about an inch or two wide with nice jaggly edges to catch easily when put in the stove with some old newspaper or catalog pages.

Also unfortunately, many a foot or hand has been cut with someone being a little too careless with the old axe, luckily I never was, tho I did catch the toe of my steel nosed boot once.

Anyway on a April sideways wet needle rain kinda day, a load of slabs keeping a wood fire going would be a welcome way to warm my cold feet.

April 1, 2013 by Uncategorized 2

Good Friday Trouting

Growing up back home, one of the Easter traditions was a Good Friday trouting trip.  These were sometimes a walk in the woods in back of home, or sometimes a trip in car to a roadside pond, but were often a whole family event.

The great thing about the whole trip was that you never knew from year to year what “kind” of trouting you were doing! Lots of Easter weekends it would be ice fishing, and on others you’d be fishing with a rod and reel on the shore of a completely ice free pond.

Of course one of the other memories of those days was the fact that it may not have been a rod and reel you saw people using.  A lot of people used a bamboo pole.  I’ve never actually tried it, and really haven’t seen it done in years, so now, thinking back on it, I’m a little puzzled on how people actually pulled a fish in. I assume once the hooked it, they had to pull the line in hand over hand!

The picture on the left wasn’t a Good Friday trip (at least I don’t think it was).  It was taken I believe in 1969 (making me 4 at the time) when all of my Dad’s siblings except one (Herven) had gathered together for the first time in years, and the last time too as I know I never saw Aunt Mae again.  I only have faint memories of it, but the whole family and some Aunt’s and Uncles made our way into Friggin’s (Fagan’s) Cove Pond for a family trip, so it reminds me somewhat of Good Friday fishing.

I’m not sure if the Good Friday trouting trips are as much of a tradition now as they were, I know as I got older, I always liked to go, but it became more with friends than family, but I guess that’s part of growing up.

Fishing isn’t the same in Nova Scotia for me, I don’t know where to go, and there are too many fish types to catch, and not know what to do with.  Back home we had trout and that was about it.  Still though, I think when Hayley gets a bit older, I may see if she’d like to go on a fishing trip.

Happy Easter everyone.

March 29, 2013 by Uncategorized 6

Sports Day at Vardyville

Spring is coming (please please please, I’m begging!) and while its still early, it brings back to mind Sports Day at Random Island school.  Back for the first few years when we went there, every year we’d have a sports day, with races, discus, shot put, and the like.  There’d be ribbons, and prizes, and a great time.

The highlight of this was that it was held, at least early in the school’s history at Vardyville Park, also known as Reub’s Farm.  To the best of my knowledge, and I can only go from memory of conversations, Reuban Vardy had a farm on this land, which was just over the Britannia road from Hickman’s Harbour. In my day, it was a private park with a store/take out and pinball machine, and a rudimentary ball field (at least I think there was a ball field).   I remember fries and hotdogs and snacks throughout the day.

Events tend to run together over the years, and these sports days were in the mid 70’s after all, but I do recall the pinball machine.  It cost 10 cents and I’d play what felt like for hours, but of course it  wasn’t because I also remember spending a ton of time outside, racing, throwing shot put, and participating (badly) in whatever events we had.  And of course, watching Randy Baker and I think Shawn Avery playing stretch with every school boy’s crush, Miss Sargeant.

I’m not sure what became of the park, but in any event, it was a beautiful spot of land, with the rattle in the background, and we as kids had a great time there every year while it was still the host site, and it holds a special memory of my youth.

UPDATE: Added a couple pictures scanned from yearbook.sportsday1Sportsday2

March 25, 2013 by Uncategorized 13

Jiggs Dinner

I’ve been told that the term “dinner” is used to reference the main meal of the day.  Back home in Newfoundland, that was traditionally the midday meal especially for fisherman, who had been out in boat since 4am.  The evening meal was usually lighter and called supper.   This carried over for most everyone, and we all called the midday meal dinner in school and elsewhere, even though for commuters, the supper meal was the bigger meal.  On Sunday though, midday dinner was usually the feast meal of the week, and that feast was usually Jiggs Dinner.

Jiggs Dinner was made up of all the traditional Newfoundland vegetables  boiled up with salt beef.  Salt beef sounds disgusting to some I know, but og my god, its like ambrosia for the initiated!  Missing from our dinner on the left is peas pudding.  Yellow peas boiled up with the rest of the vegetables in a cloth bag.  I never liked the stuff, so perhaps there’s more of a secret to it than that :).

Accompanying Jiggs Dinner was some sort of “roast”.  Nowadays, chicken or beef from the store is more usual, but back home, it would likely have been

Rabbit and Chicken in the pot, lots of onions.

Rabbit and Chicken in the pot, lots of onions.

moose, caribou, a duck or, as seen here, rabbit.  Whatever the meat, traditional Newfoundland roast was smothered in onions.  And the coup d’etat was the gravy.  The secret to the gravy was to add some of the vegetable juice to the meat drippings, make a flour and water thickening, and of course, add the Cross and Blackwell gravy browning.

After dinner, dad would likely help with the dishes, and then head off for a nap as the post meal coma would kick in.  Later that evening, we’d have the left overs potato made into potato, mustard and beet salads along with pickles, beets and cold meats, and perhaps some Kam to make a cold plate for our Sunday supper.

February 24, 2013 by Uncategorized 3

Random Island Ghosts

In books, it seems every small town has numerous ghosts.  But I really can’t remember many ghost stories from back home growing up.  There may be many I’ve never heard, and if so would love to hear about them, so let me know!

I do have two stories of a “ghostly” nature, though how ghostly you can decide.  One remains unexplained and backed up by rumor I’ve heard, the other, well…. you’ll see.

The first story may have been a prank, I don’t know, and not sure anyone would remember the story now but me.  But back home in Apsey Brook, near the old one room school, was a shed for coal, aptly enough called the coal house.  Years after the school was no longer used for school, the coal house was still there, with its kilroy was here drawn on the wall, and small pieces of coal caught in the seams and corners.  It had sliding doors; just wood in a groove, with a hole through for a handle to pull.

Usually the main door was usually partly open, but the day in question, Keith and Lorne and I (I being the younger brother tagalong) were over near there, and the door was shut. Suddenly Lorne points at the door and says look!  We look, and, and to our (or mine anyway) surprise, and a little fear, a big eye was looking out of the hole in the closed door.  We stared for a few seconds and finally Lorne runs over and yanks the door open.  To the tune of a loud “Baaaaa” one of Jim Phillip’s sheep runs out.  Looking back now I can’t imagine anyway it got in there, so I’m going to assume the kid had a prank played on him!

The second story is mostly rumor I heard, and “common knowledge”.  How true any of it was is anyone’s guess, but I do have a small recollection that backs it up.  Uncle Ingham Smith died in 1972, and his wife Sybil eventually(maybe immediately? I don’t recall, I was only 7 :)) moved in with her son, Roy.  Their grandson Roger when he got married moved into the old house for a period before building his own in Elliott’s Cove and moving.  Rumor has it though, that the reason he moved was that Uncle Ingham was haunting the house.  Lights would go on and off, the fridge would open, footsteps would be heard.  Of course this may have been just that, rumor, but it was an interesting story.  I do have one memory though that backs it up, though perhaps faulty electrical could be the cause.  I recall one evening in particular, when no one was home in the old house, looking over across the brook and seeing the light over the door go on and off several times.

Ghosts? Perhaps a sheep got in the house as well? I don’t know, but those are the only ghost stories I know of from Random Island.  Share yours in the comments?

February 24, 2013 by Uncategorized 3

Trick or Valentine?

Happy Valentines day to all who happen to drop by here.  While Valentine’s day is based upon the feast of St. Valentine, its become more of a commercial exploitation, in my opinion at least, to profess your love with commercial items.  Be that as it may, it still is a warm feeling to surprise those you love.

As kids we exchanged valentines at school, and I’m sure they still do today, but there is one thing I’m not sure is done anymore.  When we were kids, after supper on Valentines day, we’d make out cards for all in our community and sneak around door to door.  We’d slip the appropriate card under the door and then knock and run and hide.  Once we heard the door open and close off we’d go to the next house.

I have no idea where this tradition came from, or if its still carried on, but its a part of my growing up I’ll always remember.

February 14, 2013 by Uncategorized 0

Gravel Roads

I remember when Random Island first got pavement. It only came down as far as the end of Elliott’s Cove if I remember correctly.  We used to call it Election Pavement, because it was slapped down really quickly just before or just after an election call in 1972, with no road upgrading whatsoever.  Still though it was something I guess, a modernization.  Pavement came to the rest of the island in fits and starts over the years, but finally we all got it.

There was something to be said for the gravel roads though.  Of course a lot of those words aren’t meant for polite company, especially after the second flat tire of the day, or being choked with dust in the summer.  In later years, they used to come by and oil the roads, though what the “oil” was I don’t remember.  It did help with the dust, though with hindsight, probably was toxic too.

Gravel roads were fun as a kid though, I remember using the potholes like pylons and weaving through them on my bike.  Also hated when the grader came because it always made the road full of crushed stone and gravel, which was sure to cause a wipe out at some point.

Gravel roads were good for drawing hopscotch games in the dirt with a stick too, and of course there’s nothing like a real gravel road to get a real mud pie from when it rained.

This picture was taken in the late 60’s I believe. I was about 3-4 here.  In the background behind the church, you can see Apsey Brook’s old one room school.  The truck I believe was dad’s.  To the left is what we called the school garden path.  Across from the school was a beautiful garden we used to play on, and that path led to it.  Later on the land was sold or appropriated by the government, and used to dig out gravel.  A crying shame.

If you look closely at the path, you can see an old concrete pipe.  I blame that pipe for my slight claustrophobia, as I once got stuck in it.   Its also the path I remember from my coaster riding days, was a lot of fun to come down there and go across the road and down over the garden.

February 10, 2013 by Uncategorized 0

Random Posts

  • Bud Fights!Bud Fights!
    Spring is here finally (knocks on wood to not jinx it) and greenery is springing up everywhere.  I really can”t recall what time of year wild...
  • The Great Railway Phone CallThe Great Railway Phone Call
    In the summer of 94, Bernard and I, and a couple more, Junior and Craig I think, I forget who because a larger crowd met us...
  • The Boys (and Girls) of SummerThe Boys (and Girls) of Summer
    By Eric Cooper Today marks the beginning of a new baseball season as the Chicago Cubs get set to defend their World Series title. It brings...

RSS Attiq Sports

  • UFC hits MSG on November sports calendar November 1, 2024
    Jon Jones faces Stipe Miocic for the UFC heavyweight title, and the auto circuits wind down. Here’s a look at 10 highlights on the November sports calendar, including rivalry games in the NFL and college football. NBA Regular Season (November 1-30) The first days of the November NBA regular-season schedule feature a back-to-back set for […]
    Dave Crowley
  • MLB playoffs begin on October sports calendar October 1, 2024
    Major League Baseball begins its postseason schedule, and the NHL and NBA start their seasons.  Here’s a look at 10 highlights on the October sports calendar, including the big matchups on the NFL schedule. MLB Postseason (October 1-30) Baseball’s playoffs get started right away in October with the Wild Card Series taking place from October […]
    Dave Crowley
  • It’s kickoff time on September sports calendar September 1, 2024
    The NFL regular season begins in Kansas City, and the MLB regular season comes to its close. Here’s a look at 10 highlights on the September sports calendar, including marquee college football matchups. MLB Regular Season (September 1-29) MLB playoff berths will be decided in September as teams play the final four weeks of their […]
    Dave Crowley
  • The NFL returns on August sports calendar August 1, 2024
    The Summer Olympics come to an end while the National Football League inches back into the sports spotlight. Here’s a look at 10 highlights on the August sports calendar, including a major tennis event. 2024 Summer Olympics (August 1-11) The Summer Olympics in Paris will wind down over the first week of August and come […]
    Dave Crowley
  • The Olympics arrive on July sports calendar July 1, 2024
    Two major soccer events come to a close and the Summer Olympics get underway in Paris. Here’s a look at 10 highlights on the July sports calendar, including major tennis and golf tournaments. MLB Regular Season (July 1-31) The first Sunday Night Baseball matchup of July has the New York Yankees hosting the rival Boston […]
    Dave Crowley