Deer Lake Transportation Circa 1920's

Here is a vintage 1920's photo showing the Deer Lake Powerhouse and some local boys with their goat-drawn wagon.

On the Rocks

A combination of high wind and unseasonable rains in the high country have cleared the snow revealing lichen encrusted glacial erratics.

Lunar Eclipse

Tonight I tried my hand at photographing a lunar eclipse and failed miserably. This image with the earth's shadow beginning to penetrate the bright moon was the only photo that showed any detail. I'll try again in 2010 !

Valentine Tulip

The freezing cold temperatures kept me near home today so I decided to capture some valentine tulips before they fade away.

Tower Sunset

If it looks good - Shoot It ! Today I went ski-dooing with my neighbour, Dave and his brothers. It was a generally dull day and the country looked a bit be-draggled after a recent thaw. Rains had cut down the snow and I was not inspired to photograph the landscape. Just as we were getting back to the truck, nature suddenly staged a grand sunset and I shot these unplanned images.

Fishing Stage and Boat - Tilting

Fishing boat images in Newfoundland have become cliche. Every Tom, Dick and Harry with a camera takes pictures of boats. I, too, am afflicted with this malady and cannot resist photographing a boat moored peacefully near a fishing stage on calm reflective water. The Newfoundland fishing boat is as much a cultural icon as the grain elevator of Saskatchewan.

On the Waterfront - Twillingate

There is something about ancient abandoned buildings that stir feelings of longing or nostalgia within me. I have no connection to these sunlit facades, yet, they speak to me of long ago events, of human tragedy and yes, happy times also.

The Barbour House

This historical heritage home is found in Newtown, Bonavista Bay and was originally built for Captain Benjamin Barbour and his family of nine sons and two daughters in 1875.

Although Benjamin Barbour himself was not involved in the sealing industry, the rest of his family were involved. Fourteen of the descendants of Benjamin Barbour became captains and ten of those were sealing captains. The Barbours were considered one of the most prominent sealing families in Bonavista Bay.

The Barbour Home is typical of the larger merchant houses built in many Newfoundland communities in the latter part of the nineteenth century. The interior also has 32 rooms including 12 bedrooms, two dining rooms, one upstairs parlour and two kitchens.

The house was owned for a number of years by Benjamin Barbour's grandson, the late Captain Carl Barbour, who used it primarily as a summer home.

The Heritage Trust currently uses the house as a museum, preserving many of the artifacts and furniture for visitors to see, although the Barbour family still have access to the home for their own use.

Sleepy Cove Mine

Little is known about the Sleepy Cove copper mine but today's visitor can still find remnants of the abandoned mining equipment scattered about green meadows near the village of Crow Head on Twillingate Island. The mine was staked in the early 1900's. Of the three ships that arrived to remove the ore, one carried 560 tons to an unknown destination, the second abandoned loading when high winds drove it on the rocks and the third took ore to New York where it remained unclaimed. The mine closed in 1917, having been a bust !

Another Time

This old merchant's premises in Morton's Harbour echoes with the ghosts of another era. Looking through the shattered windows I could see oil lanterns, flat irons, fish tubs and myriad other sundry items, including the remains of a horse drawn sleigh tucked away in a far corner.

High and Dry

"In the late spring 'trapmen' would be busy in their 'store lofts' mending the nets....it was an area where cod traps, trawls and other fishing equipment were stored in winter, and where dry fish was stored during the curing process in late summer and early fall. The loft usually cantained a small stove for warmth."

Waiting for Spring

Trinity Two Summers Ago

Trinity provided filming locations for the 2001 movie, "The Shipping News" and the 2002 TV movie, "Random Passage".

Back Yards of Trinity

A backyard in Historic Trinity, Bonavista Bay, invites the passerby to stay for a while.

Trinity ".....the best and largest harbour in all the Land." Whitbourne, 1620

Billy Parsons - Miner

World -famous photographer, Yousuf Karsh came to Newfoundland in 1949, shortly after confederation and revisited the island in 1954. One of the photos that Karsh took in 1954 was of Billy Parsons who worked in the iron ore mines of Bell Island for fifty years. The photograph of Billy was the inspiration for the giant mural painted on the brick wall of a building in Wabana, the main community on the island.

Winter Scene in Bowring Park

When the blizzard ended, a mantle of powdery drifts cloaked the earth with a beautiful solitude.

Chapel Hill Road - Deer Lake c1926

My hometown of Deer Lake received its name from the lake you can see in the background of this vintage photo. The first European settlers who came here, not having seen caribou before, called them "deer". Caribou could be seen crossing the lake from north to south in great numbers on their annual migration south; hence the name Deer Lake. As Mrs. Adella Boyle recalls, "When I came here in 1925, there were huge herds of caribou and deer. You could watch them cross the lake. As the first of the herd would reach the opposite bank, the last of the herd was just entering the water."

On the right side of Chapel Hill Road looking towards the lake, log cabins were built for the employees of the power plant operated by the Newfoundland Pulp and Paper Company. You can just see the front of the closest cabin - "Wilton's Cabin". In the 1960's these cabins were stll standing but you could not tell them from regular houses because they were clapboarded over.

Winter Bouquet

Today we had "weather" - rain, wind, sleet, ice pellets and just plain misery! All in all, a good day to photograph a bouquet of flowers, a reminder of the bright days to come.