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Vol 38 • No 03
$4.99
August 2025
Eat Well on a Budget
Fish and Brewis Breakdown
Mercer’s Mission The Food Fishery Fighters
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life is better Published monthly in St. John’s by Downhome Publishing Inc. 43 James Lane, St. John’s, NL, A1E 3H3 Tel: 709-726-5113 • Fax: 709-726-2135 • Toll Free: 1-888-588-6353 E-mail: mail@downhomelife.com Website: www.downhomelife.com Editorial Editor-in-Chief Dillon Collins Assistant Editor Nicola Ryan Editor Lila Young Art and Production Art Director Vince Marsh Illustrator Mel D’Souza Illustrator Snowden Walters Advertising Sales Account Manager Ashley O’Keefe Marketing Director Tiffany Brett Finance and Administration Accountant Marlena Grant Accountant Sandra Gosse Operations Manager, Twillingate Nicole Mehaney
Warehouse Operations Warehouse / Inventory Manager Carol Howell Warehouse Operator Josephine Collins Retail Operations Retail Manager, St. John’s Jackie Rice Retail Floor Manager, Water Steet Crystal Rose Retail Floor Manager, Avalon Mall Jonathon Organ Retail Floor Manager, Twillingate Donna Keefe Retail Sales Associates Kim Tucker, Destinee Rogers, Emily Snelgrove, Alexandria Skinner, Colleen Giovannini, Emma Luscombe, Rebecca Pevie, Morgan Powless, Adriana Hann, Keith Lamkin, Martina Rogers, Hayley Warren, Annie Woelfel, Makenzie Aylward
Subscriptions Customer Service Associate Jennifer Kane Founding Editor Ron Young Chief Executive Officer/Publisher Grant Young General Manager/Assistant Publisher Tina Bromley
To subscribe, renew or change address use the contact information above. Subscriptions 1-Year term total inc. taxes, postage and handling: for residents in NL, NB, PE $49.44; NS $49.01; ON $48.58; QC, SK, MB, AB, BC, NU, NT, YT $45.14. US $54.99; International $59.99
Canada Post Canadian Publications Mail Sales Product Agreement #40062919 The advertiser agrees that the publisher shall not be liable for damages arising out of errors in advertisements beyond the amount paid for the space actually occupied by the portion of the advertisement in which the error occurred, whether such error is due to the negligence of the servants or otherwise, and there shall be no liability beyond the amount of such advertisement. The Letters to the Editor section is open to all letter writers providing the letters are in good taste, not libelous, and can be verified as true, correct and written by the person signing the letter. Pen names and anonymous letters will not be published. The publisher reserves the right to edit, revise, classify, or reject any advertisement or letter. © Downhome Publishing Inc. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without permission of the publisher. We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada.
Printed in Canada
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around the bay
Contents
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34 Let the Games Begin The biggest Canada Games in history touch down in NL Dillon Collins
50 Baccalieu Bound Falling in love with Heart’s Delight-Islington Wayne Parsons
90 From Our Readers
34 it’s on!
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Fish and Brewis and Fisherman’s Brewis: Two Different Meals Lloyd Walker
106 Catching Gulls An age-old method for collecting ‘summer pets’ Lester Green August 2025
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Contents homefront 8 Between the Lines A note from the Editor
10 Letters From Our Readers A trip
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10 cruisin’
to Newfoundland, Chocolate chip muffins, and NL’s ugliest dish
14 Downhome Tours The British Isles 16 Then & There Recent news, notes, events, anniversaries and more from across NL and beyond. 18 Why is That? Why does our skin freckle in the sun? Linda Browne
20 Life’s Funny Dino Days Linda R. Hart
20 dino-mite!
21 Say What? A contest that puts words in someone else’s mouth
22 Lil Charmers Summer Lovin’ 24 Pets of the Month Ruffin’ It 26 Book Nook Downhome dives into the latest and greatest in Newfoundland literature
28 Fresh Tracks Wendy Rose reviews Rube & Rake’s Good Time After Bad 4
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summer living 1-888-588-6353
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Contents
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58 local colour
features 40 Mercer’s Mission One woman’s path to help vulnerable creatures Pam Pardy
44 Fish Fight Barry Fordham’s pledge to overhaul the food fishery Kim Ploughman
explore 58 Hung Out to Dry Is the
66 stops along the way
clothesline prose or poetry? Cassandra Filice
64 What’s in a Name? Chain Rock Dale Jarvis
66 Route 380: A Tourist’s Paradise The history and attractions of Robert’s Arm Fred Parsons
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Contents
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dinner on a dime
home and cabin 72 Stuff We Love Canada, Games Nicola Ryan 74 Ask Marie Anything Interior designer Marie Bishop takes your questions.
78 Everyday Gourmet Southeast Asian Style Noodle Salad Andrea Maunder
82 Downhome Recipes Dine on a Dime: Six Tips to Eat Well on a Budget
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72 let’s play, eh!
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94 a look back
reminiscing 94 Flashbacks Classic photos of people and places.
95 This Month in History The first known letter mailed from the new world
96 This Month in Downhome History 100 A Boy from St. Lunaire Part Three: My Journey Lorne Compton
112 Puzzles 124 Colouring Page 126 Classifieds 128 Mail Order About the cover Clothesline conversations are the subject of this month’s cover. Kingston, Ontario’s Harold Feiertag captures a piece of our province’s colourful history near Spillars Cove, NL. Elsewhere, tourism hot spots and the return of the Canada Games highlight our final issue of summer 2025.
Cover Index Eat Well on a Budget • 82 Canada Games Returns to NL • 34 Baccalieu Bound • 50 Hung Out to Dry • 58 Fish and Brewis Breakdown • 90 Mercer’s Mission • 40 The Food Fishery Fighters • 44 www.downhomelife.com
the back porch 132 The Labrador Current To End and Begin Nathan Freake 134 What Odds Paul Warford’s hardly a Nintendo novice. 136 Ties to Home Going Home Dianna Brown
140 A Fisherman’s Legacy In tribute to Rendell Clarke, Lobster Fisherman Paul Clarke 144 Photo Finish August 2025
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explore
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All photos by Wayne Parsons
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Islington
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Mad Rocks Trail in Bay Roberts
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Brigus
Hawaii, Vancouver, Italy, or anywhere I’ve travelled. We quarantined for the next two weeks, so we got busy painting and remodelling. Although accessing the items was a challenge, to our surprise, the hardware store in Cavendish delivered all the supplies we needed. During this whole time, we befriended our lovely neighbours from across the fence, who would shout from their deck, “Wine run?” And sure enough, they would buy us wine and we’d send them the money. After our two-week probation was finished, with great anticipation, we went for a drive up the Baccalieu Trail Highway. We stopped to visit quaint little communities like New Perlican and Winterton, witnessing historic Heart’s Content, and the sheer natural beauty of Salmon Cove made us glad we moved to the Bay de Verde Peninsula. Over the next few months, we immersed ourselves in this region
and explored every nook and cranny. We hiked local trails like the Spectacle Head and Burnt Head Trails in Cupids and took in the awe-inspiring views in the area known as Mad Rocks. We explored easy-to-moderate hikes up and down the Baccalieu, which allowed me to write about our adventures for Tourism Newfoundland and Labrador. When I was growing up in the eighties, there were hardly any manicured trails like the ones today. But now, volunteers and trail organizations are erecting networks of walkable pathways all over the province. Fortunately for my wife and me, we have well-maintained trails in our backyard in Heart’s Delight-Islington. The Western and Northern Point trails hug the shoreline overlooking Trinity Bay, where it’s not uncommon to see whales and dolphins just offshore. As weeks turned into months, the love for our little community grew. Continued on page 56
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Brigus
Burnt Head Trail in Cupids
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Shag Rocks near Whiteway
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