Archives for November 2019

The Bluenose

Picture the year 1921; in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. A quaint little town on this coast where fishing is the dominant industry. Here a fishing schooner is being built to fish the waters of the North Atlantic but it’s also being built to race. It will become a famous racing schooner and known as The Bluenose.

The design of this boat gives it a rather unique look and because of this it’s easily recognized. She is designed for the long, deep sea fishing expeditions on the Grand Banks. So in that design; the inside ballast is placed over the keel and the bow is raised. This feature provides more adequate space for crew members to eat and sleep comfortably while enduring the long hours at sea. Its a big build fin this little community. Anticipation is high. Its comparable to a racehorse in foal; with so much fuss, before it is even launched.

International Fisherman’s Cup

The International Fisherman’s Cup is a very prestigious race between American and Canadian fishing schooners. It’s held on a yearly basis and alternates between Nova Scotia and Massachusetts. Enter The Bluenose. Remember this is the 1920’s. The fishing industry is booming. The crew is well aware they have a fast boat and racing is on their minds.

Schooner Races

By 1921; The Blunose is a contender in the Fisherman’s Cup held off the coast of Nova Scotia. You guessed it! The Bluenose won hands down! The same happened in 1922 in Gloucester, Massachusetts. The schooner is fastly becoming an International celebrity. She is dubbed “The Queen of the North Atlantic!” In 1923 the race is held in Halifax, NS; with new rules implemented. The race is the best of three and The Blunose takes the first race quite easily. In the second she is disqualified for breaking a rule. Captain Angus Walters has a lot invested in the ship as both her captain and part owner. He appeals the decision. The judges rule against him. A very frustrated Angus hauls the boat out of the competition. In the end; the race is declared a draw and the prize money is shared. After this controversial race; The Fisherman’s Cup takes a 7 year hiatus from racing. Both sides involved are simmering mad about the whole situation and the outcome. A draw is unacceptable!!

In 1930; the Americans (in Gloucester, Mass) build a new ship called “Gertrude L. Thebaud.” Well it turns out that “Little Girtie” is pretty fast. So the owners invite the crew of the Bluenose down for a race. Angus takes the bait.(money is at hand) The Bluenose and her crew head out to give the upstart Americans a lesson in sailing. Well this time; The Bluenose gets beat by Little Girtie. An upset Angus returns home to make some minor adjustments to his schooner. He calls for a rematch to be held in Halifax; in 1931. Well this time she wins and bids adieu to Little Gertie and her crew for awhile.

Bluenose Final Race

Meanwhile; in 1937, the deep sea fishing industry is changing. Gone are the days of having a sailing ship. It is now more favourable to operate the much faster and motorised boats. So to accommodate for this; the masts are removed from The Bluenose and replaced by diesel engines. But it is not the end of the racing days yet. Gerties’ owners are looking to race the Bluenoce once again. Angus is very eager to keep racing! Even under financial strains; he manages to reinstall the masts and removes the diesel engine. In 1938, she sets out for Gloucester to race and win in her final deep sea schooner race.

Back home; the fishing industry is growing. The Bluenose design cannot compete for fish against the newer and faster boats. She gets tied up in the Lunenburg harbour and only goes out to sea periodicaly.

Whatever became of the beloved Bluenose! Well; in 1942; it gets sold to the West Indies Consortium and is converted to a cargo ship for the Carribean coastal trade. In 1946 and laden with bananas, she runs into a reef off the coast of Haiti. The crew is safe but the beloved Bluenose is abandoned, breaks up and slips into the sea; piece by piece. Its a very humbling end to the great ship known as “The Queen of the North Atlantic!”

Granny’s Kitchen Remedies & Household Hints

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Granny spent a great deal of her time in the kitchen. Preparin a meal; back in the day, was a huge undertaking. All foods were home grown, prepared from scratch and cooked in a big ol’ wood stove. That was a whole pile of work. Not only was Granny cooking; she was preparing remedies to keep her family healthy. She had all kinds of household hints to share about the activities of daily living. It was all a labour of love and survival!

Holistic Living

Now; way back when, life was not easy. People worked hard to provide a good life for their loved ones. Their survival and well being depended on shared knowledge of household hints and remedies. Household hints just made life easier. Access to medicine and health care was limited. There were diseases affecting their loved ones. People looked for ways to cure, provide comfort and relief. Therefore; most cures for what ailed ya, came from nature. These were prepared in kitchens just like Granny’s.

Household Hints

Granny ; like everyone else congured up all kinds of medicinal cures like tonics, tinctures, infusions, salves, soaps, laundry soap and whatever else was required. These methods and recipes all got passed along amongst families and friends; by word of mouth or demonstration. With limited resources; they turned to nature. They were pioneers of Holistic Living and Hoistic Medicine. Although; they didnt know it!

Natural Remedies

There was a whole lot of knowledge, teaching and learning that went along with this. One had to know how to identify the plants, know where to find them, learn about the medicinal qualities of each part, learn how to plant these plants, know how and when to harvest them, learn how to dry them, how to store them and how to use them in combinations for effective usage. Its knowledge that got lost to a lot of us over the years. But; thankfully there are people who did carry it along. In todays world; we have unlimited access to new technologies in health care, treatments and medications. Today; we still practice Holistic Medicine with some of these natural remedies that Granny used. So a big shout out to people like Granny!

Wildflowers

I dabble. The more holistic approach works for me. I love the household hints and old ways of doing things. An expert I am not! There are so many plants and their usages. Its a whole education in itself. I advise you to read up and seek assistance from the experts on anything deemed risky. So do be careful. I hope you will share your best practices so we can all benefit together. Household hints are just fun and easy ways to manage life. Even if we just share a information on the plants we grow in our area and what they were used for. We marvel at the beauty of a field of wildflowers; we see along our path. And they all have a secret purpose that we all may not know!

Folklore from East Coast Shores

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Def: Folklore – are traditional beliefs, customs and stories. They are passed along; by word of mouth, amongst family members and their communities.

Folklore

These stories are community based Folklore with traditions common to a culture, subculture or group. They can be oral traditions with tales, proverbs and jokes. Customary folklore are the rituals of celebration like Christmas, weddings, birthdays and dances. These are all passed along informally to individuals by verbal instruction or demonstrations. Old folklore changes with more modern times and new folklore gets created.

East Coast Folklore

So the East Coast has a diverse culture with many old traditional customs and beliefs that we all carry along with us. It will be fun to explore the Folklore from East Coast Shores. Do you have a story, a joke, a custom, a belief, a proverb from days of old? Do you have new traditions of your own that you created within your own family? Share the tales and legends from your community that got passed along; for, eons on strange goings on in yer community. Well lets just explore all that!

Mama’s Cornbread

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Cornbread is a favoutite of ours. Thought I would share Mama’s Cornbread recipe with y’all. Heard this slang the other day about cornbread. “His cornbread ain’t done in the middle!” Happy baking!

Ingredients:

1 cup flour
1 cup cornmeal
4 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup margarine
1/2cup white sugar
3 eggs (I use 2)
1/2 cup chopped green/red peppers
1 can cream style corn(14 oz)
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
good pinch pepper
pinch salt
good pinch cayenne pepper
2 tbsp jalepino peppers(optional)

Prep:

Combine flour, cormeal, baking powder, spices and set aside
cream margarine & sugar. Beat in eggs til light & fluffy. Add peppers,corn,cheese
Add flour mixture & blend well
Pour batter into 13×9 baking dish
Bake @325 oven for 45 minutes.(I bake 1 hour so its cooked in the middle)

Yum! Serve warm with butter! I also heat it up and pour maple syrup over top! Even yummier! Enjoy!

The Dungarvon Whooper

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The tale of the Dungarvon Whooper is a bit of Miramichi folklore from the 1700’s. New Brunswick was settled by strong and hardy people. They had to make a living from resources that only the Land and Sea could provide. Many settlers would fish or farm during the spring and summer months. When the snow set in; they were cuttin’ wood in the forests. Families had to be fed and income was needed all year round. It was back breakin’ work but they met the challenges head on.

Lumber Camps

Lumber camps were set up; in the interior of the province, to harvest the bounty of wood. These camps could accommodate many people and provided the bare necessities to survive a working life in the woods. The lumberjacks(as they were known as) would stay in the woods for weeks even months at a time. Now lumberin’ was real hard work; plain and simple. You know; there were no chainsaws in those days. At the days end from logging; a warm homecooked meal was welcomed. So the Cook in the camp was of prime importance. These men were hungry and had to be fed. ‘Magine that job!

Dungarvon River

Our story ’bout the Dungarvon Whooper takes us to the Dungarvon River. This river flows through central New Brunswick, to the Renous River and then on into the Miramichi River. In the early days; this whole area was prime for lumbering operations. It was not yet settled and possessed massive stands of lumber. Camps were set up all through out the area to capitalize on this booming industry. Work was plentiful.

Miramichi Folklore

The Dungarvon Whooper is a tale told about one of these camps in the late 1700’s. The story begins with a young fella by the name of Ryan(probably Irish). He travelled to NB from PEI looking for work. Somehow he found his way to one of the Dungarvon lumbering camps where he scored a job as a cook. On his very first day; and once the lumberjacks left for the woods, he found himself alone with the Boss of the camp. Now the Boss; who obviously had a bit of a greedy streak in him, noticed that young Ryan kept a money belt around his waist. Well; to make the long story short; a struggle soon broke, Ryan was strangled, dumped on the floor and robbed of his money.

Stormy Night

A snow storm was raging outside. The men returned to the camp to find poor Ryan lying dead on the floor. The Boss claimed he had been away for the day and acted surprised at this turn of events. It appeared to everyone that he died of natural causes. Due to the weather; it was decided to quickly bury him before the storm got worse.

Eerie Sounds in the Night

Well; after it was all said ‘n done, the men turned in for the night. They were awakened by a distinct whooping and wailing sound. They discovered the eerie sound was coming from the direction of Ryan’s gravesite. The blood curdling sounds persisted long into the the night. By the mornings light; the men high tailed it out of there. Periodically; and only at night; the whooping and wailing could be heard all through the region. It is said that a Priest(from Blackville) was brought to the camp site to perform an exorcism at the gravesite. But the wailing never ceased. Needless to say; the legend continued and no one ever returned to log at this camp!

Train Whistles

During this time; there was a nightly passenger train that ran from the Miramichi to Fredericton. This train became known as the Dungarvon Whooper. On a frosty winter night; the train whistle travelling through the night sky, resembled the skin crawling sounds of the Whooper. It was a reminder to all that knew the story. The locals soon dubbed the train the Dungarvon Whooper!.

If you ever pass through the area; on a cold winters night, beware of the whoop and wail of the Dungarvon Whooper! Thats mighty Scarey!

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