LARK HARBOUR THE YORK HARBOUR BLOW·ME·DOWNER ABOUT THE OUTER BAY OF ISLANDS, NEWFOUNDLAND ISSUE 93 : 2015-08-07 NEWFOUNDLAND & LABRADOR 2015 August 07 Friday Editor: Stuart L Harvey P.O. Box 17, Lark Harbour, NL, Canada, A0L 1H0 Tel: 709-681-2256 Email: [email protected] Web Page: www.blowmedowner.webs.com PARKS CANADA DESIGNATES ELEVEN New Férolle Peninsula, at New Férolle, NW Newfoundland NL LIGHTHOUSES AS HERITAGE SITES Point Amour, at L’anse Amour, Southern Labrador. This lighthouse is perhaps of most interest to people of Lark Harbour and York Harbour because, as well as being the tallest lighthouse in Eastern Canada and the second tallest in Canada, its last keeper before it was automated was the late Maxwell Sheppard, 1935-1986, of Lark Harbour, son of Linton George Sheppard and Henrietta Maud Gabriel. The six other Newfoundland lighthouses are: Cape Race, Avalon Peninsula, received SOS from Titanic Cape Spear, most eastern point of Newfoundland, near St John’s Cape St Mary’s, Avalon Peninsula Fort Amherst, The Narrows, St John’s Green Island, Catalina Long Point, Twillingate In addition to the eleven in Newfoundland & Labrador, 63 others were also designated across Canada, in every province except Manitoba. They were selected from a list nominated by each province. Details of the nomination process can be seen at Heritage Lighthouses of Canada and Petitioned Lighthouses. THE FASCINATION OF LIGHTHOUSES IGHTHOUSES ARE ALWAYS FASCINATING, especially those Lwhich are famous, like Eddystone, or Wolf Rock, off the coast of the British Isles, or Cape Race, Newfoundland. Perhaps the fascination lies in their remoteness, or the stark and uncompromising way they stand on some of the most rugged and forbidding headlands in the world. Or maybe it is their association with some legendary event, like the sinking of the Titanic. As a child growing up near the Port of Grimsby, an important POINT AMOUR LIGHTHOUSE, LABRADOR, IN 1986 British fishing centre in the 1950s, I was always fascinated by Photograph by Tom Cunningham, VO1CA lighthouses, and took every opportunity to visit them. And when as ARKS CANADA recently designated eleven Lighthouses in a teenager I found myself growing dissatisfied with my life in high PNewfoundland and Labrador as Heritage Lighthouses. They will school, I fantasised often about leaving school and looking for a job receive $22 million in support from Parks Canada and will be as an apprentice lighthouse keeper. Life on a rock in the ocean had a maintained as attractions to be visited by tourists. Four are located in romantic appeal then. Western Newfoundland and one in Labrador. They are: I discussed the idea with a friend, Clive, a distant cousin who had some of the same feelings about school as I did, and one day we spoke Belle Isle South End Lower, near St Anthony, Straits of Belle Isle of it to our PE teacher, Mr Flunder, a young teacher fresh out of Cape Anguille, at Codroy, Southwestern Newfoundland college who often chatted with us and was always prepared to listen. Cape Ray, at Cape Ray, Southwestern Newfoundland Continued on page 2 Page 2 The BLOW•ME•DOWNER Issue 93 2015 August 07 Friday Continued from bottom of previous column COMMUNITY CALENDAR Nothing ever came of it, but it was fun while it lasted. I still relish the exhilaration it provided for us two sixteen-year-olds, and to this LH = Lark Harbour YH = York Harbour JB = John’s Beach day I recall with enjoyment that short period of time when we were the HC = Holy Communion MP = Morning Prayer EP = Evening Prayer talk of the school. Mr Flunder remained a good friend and enjoyed P&P = Prayer & Praise; HB = Baptism; MHS = Mem Hymn Sing the joke with us, admitting that he had been taken in by it for a while. ( = Full Moon And sixty years later I still have a fascination with lighthouses, 2015 SEPTEMBER 2015 remembering that escapade every time I see one. - SLH 7th Labour Day 22nd Fall begins - Autumnal Equinox th 27 ( Sun NO PROBLEM TO KNOW THAT 2015 OCTOBER 2015 ELECTIONS ARE COMING 12th Mon Thanksgiving Day 19th Mon Canada Federal General Election F YOU HAD ANY DOUBTS that elections are approaching — as of 24th Sat United Nations Day IAugust 1st, it’s 79 days to the Federal vote and 121 days to the 27th ( Tues Provincial — a mere glance at the news will illustrate how both sitting 31st Sat Hallowe’en governments are cleaning up their acts. For example, the Feds are looking at assisted suicide, a topic gaining increased support across 2015 NOVEMBER 2015 the country: Ottawa appoints panel to review assisted dying and at the 1st Sun Back to Standard Time - Clocks back 1 hour Provincial level Workers comp appeals system will be reviewed. 11th Wed Remembrance Day These are just two examples, one Federal, the other Provincial, of 25th ( Wed issues that have been either steadfastly denied or ignored by sitting 30th Mon NL Provincial General Election governments until they awoke to the fact that their positions in the polls are extremely precarious leading up to the elections. Now both 2015 ADVANCE DATES 2 015 governments are starting to cover their mistakes or omissions. Dec 21st Mon Winter begins The Federal election is set for October 19th, and the Provincial for Dec 25th ( Fri Christmas Day November 30th. It’s surprising how keen some of these politicians are Christmas Day and New Years Day are both Fridays to hang onto their seats. Could gold-plated pensions after ten years Full Moon ( also occurs on Christmas Day 2015 that far exceed anything the ordinary citizen can hope for, even after thirty or forty years in the work force, have something to do with it? Surely not! THE FASCINATION OF LIGHTHOUSES As voters we can attribute varying causes to actions by our worthy Continued from page 1. politicians, but if a government steadfastly refuses to discuss a topic We told him of our idea about leaving school and apprenticing as even though it has been a hot issue for years with many people, lighthouse keepers. He discouraged us, of course, and was rather although perhaps not by their acknowledged supporters, cynicism is sceptical about the idea, but we began to think it would be fun to bound to surface. pursue the idea further. But I beg you, dear reader, do not be influenced by editorial I discussed it also with my favourite aunt who lived in the same ramblings such as these, nor by what the politicians feed you as house with my widowed mother, my grandparents, and me, and as excuses. Don’t let them blame previous governments for their own always she was prepared to talk to me about anything, including a dilatory behaviour. Make up your own mind, based on how you see career as a lighthouse keeper. Somehow my aunt showed me that the issues. And especially don’t let them fob you off with, “Honestly, leaving school at that point would be a stupid decision to make, not to we didn’t know these things mattered to you”. mention the fact that there would have been a regular Armageddon Everything matters in an election, especially your opinion. The with my mother, so I never spoke to her about it. worst damage that can be done to a democracy is when ordinary Eventually my cousin and I gave up the idea, but a prank seemed citizens do not cast their vote. The greater the number of people who in order: we would put together a letter, purporting to be a reply from don’t vote, the easier it is for manipulative politicians to swing the Trinity House, the administration of the British Coast Guard Service, vote their way by, among other methods, going to great trouble to get in which my cousin Clive and I were both accepted as potential their own supporters to the polling stations while discouraging those apprentice lighthouse keepers. We would be trained for the job and they know will vote for the opposition. And the current political scene then assigned to an isolated post off the coast of England. My in Canada is loaded with manipulative politicians. sporting aunt cooperated with us and took our letter to her office and had it typed up for us, making it look as official as possible. The following day I took the letter to school, showed it to Clive, and we presented it to Mr Flunder who, to our surprise, swallowed it hook, line and sinker, as the genuine article. Of course, the deception HAVE A SAFE AND RELAXING did not last very long, and it was soon revealed for the practical joke SUMMER it was, and all came to an end. But while it lasted it was a great source of entertainment to us. Continued at top of next column The BLOW•ME•DOWNER Issue 93 2015 August 07 Friday Page 3 Obituary Obituary SAMUEL LESLIE SHEPPARD ROSETTA MARY ROBINSON 1942 - 2015 Née BROPHY 1925- 2015 T IS WITH LOVE and joyful reflection that we, the family I T IS WITH HEARTFELT of Samuel L Sheppard, ISADNESS that we announce announce his peaceful passing the passing of Rosetta Mary into the arms of the Lord, on Robinson on Monday, July 20th, Thursday, July 9th, 2015, at the 2015 in Yellowknife at the age Long Term Care Facility in of 89 years. Corner Brook at the age of 72. She wi l l b e lovingly Sam will be lovingly remembered by her eight remembered by his wife of 49 children: Sonya Robinson years, Anne (née Miller), his (Darren House), Bonnie White children, Bradley (Allison), and (Troy Harnish), Byron B e v e r l y ( K e r r y ) , h i s Robinson, Donna Gauthier, grandchildren, Caitlyn and Patricia Yule (Dan), Sheila Christopher, and a large circle of Penney (Alex), Ray Robinson family and friends.