Living Heritage Podcast

Often well-meaning people clean or “restore” old gravestones in ways that actually damage them or hasten their deterioration by using the wrong methods. In this episode of the podcast we talk with Andrea O’Brien and Robyn Lacy about some tips and tricks for cemetery cleanups including headstone cleaning and repairs. We also learn more about the work happening in the Immaculate Conception Cemetery in Cape Broyle including some stories of local characters buried in the cemetery.

Many of the traditional features of the English countryside such as dry stone walls and hedge banks were originally created and maintained by rural craftsmen, using the skills that were passed from father to son. In recent years, these skills have been at risk of being forgotten. The Devon Rural Skills Trust was established in 1980 with a view to safeguarding the future of those traditional skills while the men and women who practiced them were still able to pass on their knowledge. During this time the Trust has trained thousands of people, providing them with the skills and knowledge to practice traditional rural skills. One of those people is Chris Baker, the Trust’s Publicity Officer. We chat about the work of the Trust, hedges, stone walls, Devon’s link to Newfoundland, and cabbages. 

For over 40 years, Dan Snow has been building dry stone constructions in his native Windham County, Vermont and beyond. From the practical to the fantastical, his works in stone fuse vanguard vision with old world techniques and traditions. His work has been the subject of articles in numerous journals, including “This Old House”, "Vermont Magazine" and “Vermont Life” magazines, and the “New York Times" and the "Boston Globe.” Way back on 18 August 2010, Dan and provincial folklorist Dale Jarvis sat down for a chat at the Two Whales Coffee Shop in Port Rexton about the tradition and the art of stonework, the place that dry stone wall building holds in the heritage of Newfoundland, and his dry stone courses taught in partnership with the English Harbour Arts Centre. 

During the late 19th and early 20th century, Henry William Winter, an ambitious self-taught furniture maker in Clarke's Beach, Conception Bay, mass-produced furniture using simple hand tools and a few primitive machines. These included a foot-powered jig saw, a foot-operated lathe and a larger lathe designed to be driven manually or powered by a dog. His home stands today, beautifully restored by his family, as a Registered Heritage Structure. Recorded on October 4th, 2008, folklorist and storyteller Dale Gilbert Jarvis had a conversation with the grandson of this legendary furniture maker, William (Bill) Winter, and Newfoundland furniture expert Walter Peddle, about Henry William Winter's life and legacy.

Black Cat Cemetery Preservation specializes in historic gravestone and monument conservation and restoration in Canada. Husband and wife team Robyn Lacy and Ian Petty, have a combined 20 years of experience in the heritage sector as archaeologists, gravestone conservators, and cultural heritage technicians. They have worked across Canada and the United States, as well as on the Isle of Man, recording gravestones and cemeteries, conducting archaeological surveys, mapping sites, and evaluating heritage structures and landscapes.

Dr Andrew Jennings is based in Lerwick, Shetland's capital. He enjoys everything about life in this beautiful archipelago, from rowing in the local yoal team and taking part in the Fire Festival, to walking the dog and experiencing the wild Shetland weather. Living in Scotland's most northerly islands, with their Nordic cultural inheritance, inspires his research and his teaching. He is the programme leader on the MLitt Viking Studies, Island Studies, Orkney and Shetland Studies and Highlands and Islands Literature.

We chat with folklorist Dr. Anna Kearney Guigné about the new CD - Doughboys and Molasses, Oh!, which offers listeners a fresh perspective on the musical heritage of the Gros Morne region on Newfoundland’s west coast. Available on disc and digital download, the album features 22 carefully restored tracks originally recorded from local singers by folk song researchers in the mid-20th century. 

Also included are four new performances specially commissioned for the compilation from musicians Anita Best, Matthew Byrne, Daniel Payne and Jim Payne. The accompanying booklet explores the stories of the songs, the singers and the collectors, as well as the role of singing in family and community life.

Folklorist Wyatt Shibley interviews retired local politician Lorraine Michael about what it was like growing up with Lebanese roots in downtown St. John’s. Lorraine talks about family memories, the origins of the Lebanese community, and the importance of sharing traditional food.

In the final episode of the Baccalieu Trail Series, host Natalie Dignam teaches listeners how to create their own podcast.

In 2020, Heritage NL designated a concrete footbridge in Bowring Park as a Registered Heritage Structure, one of the first modernist structures in NL to be recognized as such. The bridge was designed in part by influential architect Blanche Lemco Van Ginkel, and it has been an object of fascination and study for Newfoundland architecture student Sarah Reid. Folklorist Dale Jarvis chats with Sarah about her interest in the footbridge, and shares some of the audio she recorded in conversation with Blanche Van Ginkel herself.