It was in the 1840s when Stan Sheppard first set eyes on Harbour Breton, Newfoundland. He hardly knew how to describe it. It was beautiful, certainly, but threatening too. It was nothing like the gentle, rolling countryside of England he’d left behind; cliffs seemed to rise from the sea like walls. It was as if the landscape were telling him he was unwelcome, as if it wanted him to stay away, as if it had secret to keep. Stan Sheppard had a secret, too; a secret he’d carried across the Atlantic. Back home in England no one knew him as Stan Sheppard, back home he was called Mildred Baxter. And ..read more

Tilt Cove Copper Mine, National Archive UK, Public Domain Newfoundland weather is unstable at the best of times, and March is not the best of times. In March the island’s weather can vary from warm and sunny to snowy, and bitterly cold. The wild swings can make for some very dangerous conditions, as they did in Tilt Cove in 1912. It Was Supper Time On March 11, 1912 winter still held Tilt Cove in its grip. Postage stamp depicting mining at Tilt Cove Francis Williams, the manager at the town’s copper mine, had just arrived home for supper. He was thankful to be inside. The weather was terribl ..read more

  Ellen and Ned Dower were real, historical figures; that much is true. The Dowers lived in Conche, on Newfoundland’s great northern peninsula, in the latter half of the 19th century. They are well-remembered, not so much for their successful business or contributions to the community but, for the tale of an impossible visit Ellen paid to her husband’s sealing ship in the spring of 1872. Winter in Conche It was winter 1872 and Ned Dower was looking through the window at the schooner, Elsie. He owned the ship with his brother John. She wasn’t a big boat but, the Elsie was profitable and, b ..read more

Eagles are amazing predators. With eyesight 4-times better than a human’s and the ability to dive out of the sky at speeds of over 120km/hr, an eagle is able to spot the smallest creature and grab it before anyone knows what’s happening. That’s exactly what transpired in Gaultois, NL in the 1880s, when an eagle set it’s eyes on a baby but, thanks to a determined mother, the story has a happy ending. Just Two Minutes It was too hot in the kitchen; the baby was crying again. The young mother couldn’t blame her, the heat was oppressive. There was little to be done about it, really. Warm weather o ..read more

It was 1848 and £1900 was a small fortune; enough money to change a life. It was certainly enough to change the lives of two young men named Brady and M’Naughton, if for no other reason than they’d stolen it. The duo had robbed the Bank of England in Manchester and, in doing so, became the subject of a trans-Atlantic manhunt that brought them to Newfoundland. Before it all unravelled, they lived large in St. John’s leaving behind a mystery that remains unsolved to this day. The Robbery Generated by Bing AI, edited. In 1848 William Francis M’Naughton was a clerk for the merchant firm of Mssrs ..read more

It was January 2, 1947 and everyone was nervous — drivers, pedestrians and maybe especially, horses. Drive Slowly, Drive Safely, Drive Right ad, Evening Telegram, Dec 23, 1947. MUN DAI At 1 minute past midnight, changes to the Newfoundland Highway Traffic Act had come into effect and motorists had a big adjustment to make. For the first time, all drivers were expected to abandon life-long practice and begin driving on the right-hand side of the road. Until 1947, Newfoundlanders had driven on the left — as they still do in Britain and Australia. Much of the rest of North America had adopted th ..read more

At the dawn of transatlantic aviation, the Gander Airport could legitimately call itself the ‘crossroads of the world’. Aircraft travelling between mainland North America and Europe used of the runways of the central Newfoundland town to replenish their fuel. In the early days of aviation, security wasn’t what it has since become. Passengers were able to leave their planes, explore the airport, and rub shoulders with the people of Gander. The people of the town got to meet some of most famous and infamous people on the planet. Photo of a collage at Gander International Airport depicting some ..read more

Lobster pot Christmas Tree, Salvage, NL In Newfoundland, Tibb’s Eve (or Tib’s Eve) is the name given to December 23rd. It’s sort of the unofficial start of the Christmas season. The day is recognized in different ways by different people, but for many it is a day to party with friends. It has become (and probably always has been, to some degree) tied to drinking. These days bars have embraced the pseudo-holiday and compete to attract customers. I suspect finding patrons is not especially difficult. By December 23rd many Newfoundlanders have returned to their home communities for Christmas — c ..read more

The minute she saw the mittens, Sarah Singleton knew John Pelley had killed her brother, and no tale the old trapper told her was going to change her mind. She had to keep calm and use her wits, if she hoped to make it out of Shallow Bay alive. Barely a week earlier, Sarah had been safe at home in Rocky Harbour. Well, not home exactly. Sarah kept house for the Bird firm. The Bird house provided board and lodging for men in Bonne Bay on firm business. Among them was John Payne. He worked at the local trading post and had spent the winter under Sarah’s care. The remainder of the rooms were fill ..read more

It’s the first weekend of November: time to set the clock back an hour and put an end to daylight savings time for another year. Newfoundland began observing daylight savings time just over a century ago. The dominion was ahead of many North American jurisdictions in enacting the scheme, but not nearly the world leader it might have been had people only listened to local businessman, politician and time-tamperer John Anderson. John Anderson John Anderson, MUN DAI, Creative Commons John Anderson was born in Scotland and came to Newfoundland in 1875. He started off working for James Baird Ltd ..read more