Raddest People I know: My Nan, she’s got mad skills!

My Nan, aka my grandma, is from Newfoundland. That’s where she has always lived, and she’ll live there til the day she dies. I had the opportunity to visit her last summer, I hadn’t seen her in over 15 years! Newfoundland is kinda outta the way, being the eastern most island in Canada, so that’s why I didn’t see her for so long.

Pictured here at “Grandfather’s Rock”, just outside her childhood home in Bonavista, Newfoundland. It was super cool to see where she grew up, beside the Atlantic Ocean. It was freezing cold. (Even in July, when I visited, only 10 degrees!Brrrrrr…)

My nan made me a heritage quilt. She said it has Newfoundland’s history, and since I don’t live there anymore (I spent part of Grade 4 & 5 there), I should remember where I came from. I think it’s so cute, she drew all pictures with marker and crayon, then ironed over it and sewed it on Newfoundland Tartan (the green plaid). I guess DIY runs in the family.

It’s 4 x 5 squares, queen size. I’m gonna go through each quare and tell you what they mean.

First up is the map of Newfoundland, with a pink sailing boat (for John Cabot who discovered Newfoundland and gave it it’s name, and a whale by Bonavista (I saw 4 while I was there!)

In the old days, the only way to travel was by the Newfoundland Bullet train:

I guess they had to make their own fire for tea:

An old school motorboat:

Here are some fishermen on a dock, getting ready to go out to sea. The fishing industry is the livelihood of Newfoundland, there’s so many bays and inlets, it’s hard not to live by the ocean. This is actually what it still looks like, men smoking and preparing the nets.

I this is what the stove looked like during my Nan’s childhood, woodburning:

This drawing is of the coast, with a little poem for the fishmen out at sea that reads “As loved our fathers, so we loved/Where once they stood we stand/Their prayer we raise to heaven above/God guard thee Newfoundland”

My Nan says this is to remember my Great-Grandfather, who was a soldier in WWII. The caption reads “In the first World War, Newfoundland maintained it’s own infantry regiment, which was started in the early fall of 1914.” On the statue it says “The Fighting Newfundlander”

The old school house my grandma attended as a girl, complete with wooden floors and a wood burning stove. (She actually took me to this place, close to the first picture of my Nan, still standing)

Newfoundland’s provincial flower, the pitcher plant:

The place is full of lakes and streams too, you can catch a ton of fish! (And I think they did, that’s why they banned cod fishing)

Cleaning and gutting fish, she calls it Splitting. The old men still dress like this, wool sweaters, wool hats, rubber boots and beards. Not everyone, but a good handful:

Nan had a hard time explaining this one. It’s titled, “The Time” which kinda means the fun time you have when you’re hanging out and listening to music and enjoying yourself, kinda like the time of your life. These men are rocking out on the fiddle and the accordian.

Purity was a brand of pantry items, but now they don’t make anything anymore. Pretty sure it was only available in Newfoundland. My nan was quite found of their biscuits and you know how it is when they stop making something you love, you miss it! (Like that blueberry juice that used to be available at Family Mart!)

Some other grandma’s spinning and knitting. Did you notice the grey cat in a few of these pictures? And the kid all wrapped up in cloth?

There’s this special kinda whiskey in Newfoundland, called Screech. It tastes kind like Sangsom (Thailand), or like Captain Morgan’s Spiced Rum, it’s whiskey with some kinda herb in it. Fucks you up so much that people were known to start making out with fish. (jk) This pic is called “Screeching In” – when you drink it for the first time they make you kiss a cod fish as initiation. My Dad loves this shit, but you can only find it in Newfoundland. They don’t sell it at the airport.

Here’s where they kept all the vegetables and jams and food storage to keep for winter. I guess they didn’t have freezers?

They didn’t have plumbing for a long time either, so if you wanted to go to the bathroom, you had to go outside to The Outhouse. If you’ve never seen one, it’s a little shack with a toilet seat over a giant hole. It’s kind of a good thing it never gets really hot. The words at the top, Recyclables: The Eaton Cataloge and The Family Herald – that’s what they used for toilet paper!

This shows berry picking. This is really popular, since many people make and eat jam. There are a lot of kinds of berries: patridgeberries, strawberries, blueberries, and they also use apple and rhubarb.

I just had to bring back some homemade jam!

The last pic is of the “Mummers”. This is kinda like Halloween, but with a twist. Anytime in the winter, groups of men would get dressed up in costumes and go door to door, like Trick or Treating, but for alcohol. They’d hang out at anybody’s place who’d take them, have a drink and then move on, so it’s also like a pub crawl. Interesting custom. My dad said he used to do this, but I don’t think anyone does it anymore.

Just so you don’t get the wrong idea, this quilt represents my Nan’s time, not present day. She’s 50 years older than me. The people I met in Newfoundland were always warm and suuuper nice, the store clerks calling you Love, and it had a real small town “down home” friendly atmosphere. It’s a trip to go there cuz of how they talk, and the environment and their whole style. I recommend going there someday if you can. A lot of it hasn’t changed and has een preserved cuz it’s on an island, and most people don’t go there just to travel.

She also made these rad hooked rugs, shown as a wall hanging. She made they out of Burlap potato sacks, and old t-shirts. I got her to teach me how to do it while I was there:

And this one:

I’ll leave you with a shot of my nan and me, we sure look alike!