MEMORIES OF NEWFOUNDLAND

PART III,  The Final Chapter

I arrived in Newfoundland with little skill outside of my chosen profession. I did not have the savvy and skillfulness that allows you to get into projects that ordinarily require a pro.  And yet, by the time I left, 25 years later,  I learned skills that would otherwise be left unlearned had I stayed in an urban setting.  Filipinos have a capacity for ingenuity and creativity. Given a chance, we draw on this amplitude. Besides house building ( in Part I ), I will detail many exploits that I got into in the following parts of this article.

An important factor is a rural culture of self-reliance that has been NL’s historical birthright pre-confederation ( NL joined Canada in 1949 ).  You also have to be “young and foolish” and confident that whatever you do is not a matter of life and death. ( sometimes! once trying to weld a leaky gas tank ( already empty of gasoline and aired out for days ) with a brazing torch, the tank blew off; I thought so was my brain!)—a strong culture of not being intimidated by inevitable mistakes and instead learn valuable lessons from experience.

PAVING MY ( OWN) DRIVEWAY

Mainlanders visiting rural areas of the province ( the “outports”) sees two stockpiles in the garden  ( in NL, a yard is called a  “garden” ).  A  pile of firewood and a pile of asphalt chunks. As a visitor was saying: ” I understand firewood, but what’s with the asphalt?”

With the completion of the TCH ( Trans Canada Highway ), it had many less-than-ideal stretches.  Through the years, the roads saw lots of straightening, abandoning stretches of pavement throughout the province.  The locals began to “mine” the asphalt, recycled them to pave their driveways. ( interestingly, when NL abandoned the railways, removing the tracks  and ties, the locals mined the crushed stones and used them for concrete applications ) It was common to see the simplest of houses with paved driveways.

I was part of that craze.  When an old stretch was torn down, we were ready with picks and shovels to load our pickups with broken asphalt.  ( the strength of pavement is when it is flat and resting to a subgrade, but once it is ruptured, it does not take much to reduce it into chunks ). But, with over 120  ft of the driveway, it took many trips to ( different locations ) accumulate enough to get started.

In the early days of do-it-yourself paving,  people scoured the local dump for an old ( cast iron ) bathtub and a 100 gal hot water tank. First, the tub is raised in cinder blocks, chunks of asphalt put in, and firewood to melt them. Next, the recycled water tank is filled with water or concrete, then fashioned like a steamroller. Finally, the driveway is leveled, large stones removed, then flattened by running the car back and forth tight pattern.

I used a 45 gal drum and furnace oil ( diesel ) and old burners ( recycled from inefficient furnaces )  to melt the asphalt. As a result, it has the same consistency before it became the roadway.  With a wheelbarrow, a rake, a roller, and a garden hose, we ( the wife, my 13 yr. old son, myself, and the occasional neighbor ) paved a 120′ x  20′ x 3″ driveway.  Only the seams would foretell ( because it took us a few days to complete it ) that it was not a pro job; otherwise, it was unrecognizable from the highway it once was.

A MENAGERIE IN MY BACKYARD

 One of the perks of rural living is the abundance of land on which you can pretty much do whatever fancies your mind. Birds and other feathered creatures have always been a passion. With a duck pond, I raised several species of ducks.  Then came the chickens, turkeys, geese, quails, and later a pig. Having these creatures in a semi enclosure presented problems that were at once unintended and unforeseen.  One funny incident was a loudspeaker announcement at school thus:  “Mr de Leon, your ducks are out on the road, holding the school buses!” I was quick on the main road in a suit and tie and a yardstick to shoo them back to the house. I also had a couple of nesting Emdens ( domestic geese )  fond of chasing the newspaper boy.

Unless you have a heated barn, the herd must be culled before the winter.  I had several laying chickens in a small shed to keep it warm enough to prevent the water from freezing.  I kept the quails in the garage. ( can’t keep quails ( Coturnix ) with other birds because they scalp themselves when startled ).  It presented a couple of problems., Maintaining hundreds of quails in an attached garage caused a stink in more ways than one, as the feed also attracted rats in the house.

Another unforeseen consequence was the kids making pets out of the birds ( and the pig ), so when the time came for the pork chops and the drumsticks on the dinner table, none of them had any appetite for them.  The fresh eggs were as far as they would eat. But the duck pond served them well as a skating rink in the winter, learning to paddle a canoe and fly casting in the summer.

MORE SERIOUS ENDEAVOURS

Assuming the principalship position of an integrated high school in a multi-denominational community ( NL at the time had a Denominational Education system in which each church operates their school.  An integrated high school serves all denominations)  was fraught with a delicate balancing act. As a CFA ( “Come From Away” ), making significant changes was viewed with suspicion.  Status quo had been the modus operandi in most tight-knit rural communities. My postgraduate programme in the summer and off-campus courses with MUN ( Memorial University of NL ) provided significant relief from the drudgery and pressures of the classroom.

The community had many organized activities for the kids, hockey and x-country skiing in the winter and sports activities at school. When I started a Judo club ( having had a long association with the Sampaloc Judo Club in Manila and later as President of the UST Education JC), it blossomed into a whole-blown Karate School (  training at a Canadian military base ). I thought of a full-time Karate club independent of the school. However, it proved to be a viral activity in rural outports because they do not have access to it like the bigger centres do. As a result, I have had to turn down expansion to other communities and took only children above 7.

This local initiative grew into a four community undertaking ( with so many more clamoring for their own ) and became known as BBCR  ( Bonavista Bay Chito Ryu ). As the sole instructor, the nightly foray to a different community, plus my training on weekends, proved unsustainable. The nightly physical exertion ( and long drives to various venues ) took its toll. ( returning home from training one rainy night proved disastrous to my beloved Honda Prelude after hitting a moose on the highway )  What started as an outlet from stress turned out to be more additional burden.  I was hoping that my senior students would carry on at some point but pursuing their post-high school education means they must leave for the city or the mainland.

Ever a sucker for a new undertaking, a different opportunity came when son Marcus got involved with competitive archery ( and later became a provincial delegate to the 1993 Canada Summer Games in BC).  Porcupine Creek of Calgary, Alberta, invited me to be a distributor of archery equipment for NL. This small start blossomed into Marc’s Archery.  We became the biggest distributor of archery supplies on the island until I left in 1995. Like Karate, we were traveling around the island for tournaments, sports shows, Phys. Ed. clinics etc. As well, we organized and popularized bowhunting on the island. Marcus still holds many junior provincial records in the indoor Olympic Recurve category.   

LANGUAGE, IDIOMS, AND NL FIGURES OF SPEECH

Any talk about  NL can never be complete without any mention of language.  Like the weather, the NL manner of expression is unique in Canada.  To get a sense of this, recall an ad of Nissan X-trail, “Bonavista Edition” 2006 ( named after Bonavista, NL,  a fishing community famous for its lighthouse and as a landfall for John Cabot, the legendary English explorer ). Listen to this nationally advertised Nissan Bonavista:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3m-y-qAbpL0

It is unique enough to warrant “A Dictionary of NL English,” a 770-page multi printed compendium of Newfinese, as some would call it.  So it’s not only the way it’s spoken but also the words and phrases that have no equivalent anywhere else ( perhaps some similarity with its origin in Southwestern England and Ireland ).  Usage can be outright confounding. (where we would say Good Evening, they would say Good Night! )  Showing up for a lunch invitation could be confusing because the traditional NL lunch of tea, cheese, and crackers is close to midnight, such as after a hockey game ( Sat. night “Hockey Night in Canada” )

Some have little connection to what is said:  “I dies at you” actually means “You are funny!” Some expressions could be out of place unless you’re in NL.  “My dear, ” my love,” or ” my ducky” are familiar expressions even as mundane as in a grocery check out. Try “How are you my love” to a stranger in a bar in Toronto.  A fat lip could be in the offing.

Nowhere else would one refer to a woman as “boy” (pronounced “bye”) or “son.”  It is a common affirmation to say “yes bye” or “yes my ( pronounced as ” me” ) son” whether you are conversing with a man or woman.” Oh me nerves” or ” you got me drove” are typically an expression of exasperation. Four letter words?  There it starts with L-A-R-D  ( Lord ), such as ” Lard Dyin’ Jumpin’ Jaysus”!

The British version of  “a wink and a nod”  (an indirect signal of approval or disapproval, depending on context )  has evolved differently in NL.  There is a slight tilting of the head from left to right ( or R to L but never both ways ) while winking with one eye. Often this is accompanied by an approving “yes bye”!

UNUSUAL AND COLOURFUL PLACE NAMES

While every province in Canada can claim curious place names, NL seems to have a fair share of highly unusual, sometimes controversial town names. To be sure, a lot of these tags were historically around before they became politically untenable.  “Gayside” was renamed “Baytona” for obvious reasons. “Hibb’s Hole”  is now “Hibb’s Cove,” “Carbonear” used to be “Clown’s Cove.”  One town that has resisted every pressure ( even from the House of Commons but vigorously defended by MP John Crosbie ) to change its name is the town of Dildo.  (Pop. 1,234) A  referendum has firmly entrenched the name.  Long before its designation as a sex toy,  Its historical roots could be traced to late 1800s.  It has become one popular place to visit, especially since Jimmy Kimmel ( the comedian ) accepted honourary Mayorship.  Today, it boasts a trendy Microbrewery, Museum, and Hotels.

In what is known as the Baccalieu ( this name is derived from the word “Bacalao,” which is Spanish for codfish ) Trail, a string of sweet-sounding towns of Cupids, Heart’s Content, Heart’s Desire, and Heart’s Delight. Only about 15 minutes apart and with a population ranging from 750 to 200 are a tourist draw, even to pose for pictures beside highway signs.

This one is hard to miss because it is right off the Trans Canada Highway and home to the only oil refinery on the island, “Come By Chance.”  Other notable names are Jerry’s Nose, Happy Adventure, Tickle Cove, or Little Seldom. So, where did these names come from?  One persistent theory is that Captain Cook came up with these names for his odd sense of humour and amusement.

Then, of course, Fogo Island, the largest island off the northeast coast of NL, had caught the attention of the “Flat Earth Society.”  They have designated the island as one of the four corners of a flat earth.  More likely, the super deluxe Fogo Island Inn has become a magnet for celebrities in which to watch icebergs.  David Letterman, in one of his interviews, had publicly enticed Barack Obama to visit.

WHAT’S THE FUTURE LIKE

The demise of the cod fishery and the subsequent depopulation of the coastal outports have put traditional practices and language in severe descent.  As the older generation pass and young people move to more prominent centres and the mainland ( Alberta in particular ), the continuity of customs and culture ceases.  Where once upon a time, a  “Newfie Joke” is a conversation staple, young people today are no longer charmed with the term “Newfie”  to begin with and are not on board with jokes that ridicule.

What then might be the future of this unique province of Canada. In a word: “Different.”    NL is the only province whose population has declined.  ( the town’s population where I lived, worked, and raised a family has declined by 33% ).  The old staples are gone;  the Seal Hunt is reduced to a minor activity like Cod fishing ( now called “food fishery” ).  The young folks who moved to the city, the others who pursued a college-dependent career have all lost the unique language of the outports. ( I counted 261 ghost towns in NL )  Even the “Swish Barrels” have disappeared.  ( I remember lining up for these oak rum barrels sold by the NL Liquor Board.  Swishing hot water in a precise sequence can extract about 20 bottles from these barrels ).  The imported rum ( marketed as NL “Screech ” )now comes in plastic drums. (sad!)

Retiring former residents of NL from other parts of Canada remain staunchly loyal to the “Rock” and are known to retire to their old communities.  I have now lived in Ontario as long as I have in NL, but the annual visit remains the highlight of each year, ready for a scent of saltwater and a whiff of fog.  This is a special year as I would be joining son Marcus for the moose hunt.  “Got to get me moose bye!”

edwingdeleon@ gmail.com