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Friday 16 July 2021

From the harbour to the cove

It was a great find. My husband discovered some old slides, long forgotten and misplaced over the years. From the 1980s, they were part of an assignment he did for cultural geography. Photos of my mother’s hometown of Maddox Cove and my grandmother’s hometown of Petty Harbour, Newfoundland worked well with the subject for the presentation. They were easy to digitize last week.


There are many old photos of Petty Harbour, a well protected fishing town tucked in an harbour in Motion Bay, just south of the capital, St. John’s. This area, a fishing station for the English in the 1600s was captured by the French in 1696, as the two countries fought over the fish from the waters and the land as a way station between the Old and New Worlds. The English eventually won.


Petty Harbour, like many areas of Newfoundland is rock, with a thin layer of soil in places. 





Houses are stacked over one another on the mountainside, the exposed rock visible all around. This is not a place with gardens and vegetable patches as every millimetre of soil is hard-won.


My grandmother’s family, Hearn, lived on the other side of the harbour, 





up the road and around the turn, tucked in under the mountain. Her father was a fisherman. 


A kilometre or so from Petty Harbour is Maddox Cove, down a road which is carved out of the side of the cliffs.





Here my great grandfather Edward O’Brien, an immigrant from Ireland, settled with his wife, Bridget Kieley and raised a family. The youngest son, Gus, was my mother’s father. He was a fisherman out of Petty Harbour and worked the farm in Maddox Cove.





There was more soil in the Cove and vegetable gardens were common, though my mother’s family worked hard to amend the soil with seaweed and manure. They raised chickens, sheep, cows and had horses to work the land.  


When I was young I spent summers with my grandparents in the Cove, in the days when there were only twelve houses there. Large families meant I had lots of playmates although Mary, Bernard and Margie were my best buddies. We had wonderful summer days, playing in the pool we dammed in the river, on the beach, in the woods, playing house and school and games with the other children after supper, in the old schoolhouse yard. Days weren’t long enough to do everything we planned. 


My grandparents were loving people who worked hard their entire lives. They would have been around my age now when I spent those summer days with them. I can understand their interest in my life and spending time with me. It is how I feel about my grandchildren.


These photos were wonderful reminders of family and friends in a place which helped shape my life.






30 comments:

Martha said...

Wonderful photos and memories. I'm glad you found the old slides. Thanks for sharing them with us too!

John's Island said...

I find these old photos very interesting. I am curious about what life was like in those days in those little communities. Can you imagine all day without any social media? :-) I would love to spend an hour or two with you over a cup of tea or coffee and talk about those summer visits you enjoyed.

Debra She Who Seeks said...

What a treasure trove of photos!

Anvilcloud said...

And I am humming that song by Great Big Sea that mentions Petty Harbour. Mind you that's the only part of the song that I know, and I don't even know the title at the moment.

Beside a babbling brook... said...

Wonderful find, sparking wonderful memories. So wonderfullllll!!!

thank you for sharing them with us.

I don't have grandparent memories, as they were all dead, by the time I was old enough to know them.

All who have such memories, are lucky people. My husband is one of them.

🌺 💖 🌺

The Padre said...

I So Agree With Debra, Such Treasures - Thanx For Sharing

Cheers

eileeninmd said...

Hello,
It is wonderful, you have these photos and the happy summer memories and time with your grandparents.Happy Friday, enjoy your weekend!

DJan said...

I loved hearing about your childhood memories of this place. You can sure see that soil is scarce in the area. And you were so fortunate to have such a great relationship with your grandparents. I am a little jealous. :-)

Elephant's Child said...

What an amazing find.
I grew up knowing no relatives other than the immediate family and like DJan I am a little jealous of your happy memories.

Rhodesia said...

What great memories for you and interesting photos for us. A great find. Cheers Diane

Rhodesia said...

What great memories for you and interesting photos for us. A great find. Cheers Diane

Bill said...

What wonderful memories of the early years. It's fantastic that you found these old slides. Thanks for sharing these treasures with us.

Ruth Hiebert said...

Fascinating.That is one of the things I like about pictures, they have the ability to stir so many memories .

William Kendall said...

Quite a landscape to have been in.

The Furry Gnome said...

Wonderful to find old photos like that where you have an actual connection.

Joanne Noragon said...

The pictures are a treasure.

Red said...

the Newfoundland terrain made people live a very different life. It was harsh be they did very well.

peppylady (Dora) said...

Looks like a hard life. But I can see people being pretty friendly.
Coffee is on and stay safe

dinahmow said...

I do read your blog, but rarely comment, which I suppose is rather rude. Like peeping in windows and running away!
But I do love your pictures and snippets of daily life.Thank you.

David M. Gascoigne, said...

This is the only province in Canada I have not visited, other than for a refuelling stop at Goose Bay, Labrador once, and it is pictures like this that make me realize what I have missed.

John "By Stargoose And Hanglands" said...

I always enjoy looking at photos from the past and from places I'll probably never visit in person. That looks a harsh, uncompromising environment.

Debbie said...

i enjoyed this entry marie, warm memories are always best. i assume most people living here were either fishermen or tied to the land in some way.

the landscape is so interesting and those colorful houses tightly packed, off in the distance. they make for a beautiful image!!

i wonder if you still see those "best buddies" anymore?? i didn't really have grandparents growing up, just one very special aunt whom i loved dearly!! i think i understand a grandparents love. although i do not have grandchildren, i have my great nieces whom i could not love more!!

what a great discovery these pictures are!!

Marie Smith said...

Debbie,

Mary died years ago. Margie died this past year. I haven’t seen Bernard since I was a teenager.

baili said...

such heartwarming and beautiful post dear Marie !

i am really happy for you that you could encounter with such treasured memories through such lovely find :)

i know how priceless these childhood memories my friend .i am so grateful for times that i spent with my grandparents .

glimpses of your grandfather and father's town are touching!

i so enjoyed journey down to the memory lane with you :)
thank you for this gift !

George said...

Great photos and memories.

PerthDailyPhoto said...

How exciting to find the old slides Marie. Wonderful old images and memories that they evoked. Sometimes I think we were much luckier as children than they are these days, things seem so much more complicated.

Anita said...

oh it is so nice to look back at old photoes and playgrounds!

Ilike the place a lot.Most be hard but so wonderful to live there

I am glad you shared this.
Thanx!

Greetings !

Helen said...

Such special memories to have. I wonder how different these views are now?

Marie Smith said...

Helen,

You will find photos of Petty Harbour today here: https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo/petty-harbour-newfoundland.html

MARY G said...

Love the photos. We don't have much soil here either - Shield country. I have a large rock garden in the middle of our back lawn, and I, wait for it, bought the soil to support the flowers in it.
A couple of bags did it. Sometimes I think of the pioneering Scots who tried to farm this land and my heart bleeds for them. Many of them ended up cutting and selling lumber and made a packet though.