Placentia's Stuart Simpson Wins Memorial University's "Rant Like Rick" Contest

Winners of the Rant Like Rick Contest.

One of the 3 winners is Placentia's (well, Point Verde's) own Stuart Simpson, well-known locally for his acting and general community spirit (Stuart is currently student president at Laval High School).

You can view Stuart's rant here (scroll down; he is the 3rd one listed).

The site says:

If there’s one thing Stuart Simpson has, its passion. Passion for music, passion for acting, passion for writing, and passion getting involved. It’s no wonder this Placentia, Newfoundland and Labrador native was a natural fit for the Rant Like Rick contest. A two-time acting award winner, Stuart says the contest was an innovative and fresh opportunity to use his talents to express his opinion and earn money for tuition. Stuart’s passionate rant focused on the growing popularity of Facebook, and how the social networking site seems to be consuming his peers, “whenever anyone is within three feet of a computer they are nearly on Facebook, and even when they’re nowhere near a computer, they’re thinking about Facebook,” says Stuart. Stuart’s antidote to the Facebook epidemic is to get offline and get involved. In his free time, Stuart enjoys writing, reading, and drawing, serves as President of his high school student council, and is a member of his high school’s drama club..

Point Verde School

Keeping with the Point Verde theme of late: Jeananne Ralph (Mott) has kindly sent us this photograph of the old Point Verde School House. It was taken by her mother Ruth Mott (Young) in the late 1930s or early 1940s. As always, click to see a larger version.

It's interesting to see how Point Verde has changed. With much fewer people farming, the open fields and meadows are all growing in.

Point Verde Girl Celebrates 90th Birthday

Don Ladolcetta was good enough to forward along the following report to the Blog. Joan Greene, his mother, is descended from the family of lighthouse keepers, back before the Point Verde lighthouse was automated. She recently turned 90, and although she's spent almost 57 of those 90 years in the USA, her big birthday bash was decided Newfoundland-themed.

As Don says in his report, photos of the old lighthouse are hard to come by, and these (plus one other he sent which I did not post in the interest of space) are the only ones he could come across. Does anyone else have any pictures of the old Point Verde Lighthouse? I'm sure everyone would be very pleased to see them.

Joan Greene daughter of Joseph and Louise Greene (who were the lighthouse keepers at Point Verde for many years) turned 90 last month. Joan had 8 brothers and sisters in the family including Mary, Bridie, Monica, Angela, Madge, Leonard, Fred, Gussie all of whom grew up in the Placentia area. Joan moved to the US in 1951. Her family threw her a big birthday party where many of the descendants of Joe and Louise Greene turned out. The attached photos are of the lighthouse and surrounding buildings which may be the only photographs of the site in existance because the buildings were torn down quite some time ago. Additional photos are attached of the recent Party activites such as a screechin in for all the Yanks in attendance and playing the Newfoundland Reel on the spoons by Joan and son Don complete with Norwestern headgear. The party included Codfish with scrunchins, corned beef and cabbage, toutons, figgy duff and a variety of other Nefoundland cuisine. A good time was had by all. The Greene family intends to come out to Placentia this coming August for the first ever Greene Family reunion

Bald Eagles in Placentia Bay

The fact that Placentia Bay has one of the highest concentrations of Bald Eagles in North America comes as no surprise to anyone who's lived in this area. They're a common enough sight for anyone who rambles around this bay.

A few years ago, National Geographic did a story on bald eagles, and, in addition to Alaska, they talked of Placentia Bay as an eagle stronghold.

They even dispatched a photographer here; he spent 10 days camped out on a beach (sadly, the article doesn't say which) during the caplin scull, taking photos. His field notes are available to read on National Geographic's website (click the link).

Also, the Peregrine Foundation has
archived this article on their website, all about the eagles of Placentia Bay. It says that only 5% of the eagles that have been tagged in Placentia Bay have ever shown up at feeding stations elsewhere. This is a strong indication that the population is year-round, not migratory.

Just to prove the point, here are some amazing photos that were recently forwarded to the blog by local artist Christopher Newhook. As always, click on an image to view a larger version.

Here's what he has to say about them:

Took a drive up to Point Verde Beach (near Glenn's Cove) before Christmas and stumbled upon a flock of eagles, apparently feeding upon something on the beach. There were a total of 6 in the area but I could not get them all in one shot. The best I could do was 5.

Kevin Collins joins the Youtube Revolution

Renowned local singer, songwriter, and performer Kevin Collins has taken his music around the world. Now, his music can make the journey even when Kevin is relaxing in his Point Verde studio. Yes, Kevin Collins is on Youtube, with plenty of music videos available for all the world to see.

Clicking the link above will take you to a list of all the videos that have been posted. At the moment, there are 15 videos available, such as From an Island to an Island or The Golden Years. You might even recognize some faces and places (I know I did!).

Here's a link to Kevin's official homepage. Many thanks to Tom O'Keefe and Ray Miller for forwarding this information on to us!

Fallow Period Over!

Phew!

Well, I'm back. I must apologize for a near silent month. Looking at the visitor statistics, though, a fallow period might even have been healthy for this blog! I hope, once you've discovered it, you'll come back regularly. Let your friends know, too. Updates should be frequent once more --- this site is designed to be something you look at several times a week, as it's always being updated (except when I take some time off!)

In future I will try to make any rest breaks significantly shorter!

This here is a picture of Point Verde, taken by your's truly only a couple of days ago. I can assure you, it was every bit as cold as the picture suggests. It was a pleasant and calm 0 degrees in Southeast that day, but on Point Verde beach the wind off the water was raw enough to freeze the face off ya!

There's a flurry of updates coming down the pipe, so hold on to your hats.

Best wishes for 2008,

-Michael Collins, Maintainer

Local Placenames

This is a partial (and perhaps only partially correct) list of local placenames in the Placentia area. If you know any that aren't listed here, or wish to correct one that is, please email placentiablog@gmail.com, or even just leave a comment on this entry.

Some of them are commonly known, others less so. Many seem to be falling out of use.

---

Brulee - The marshy area behind the (new) hospital and the mall.

Swans - An older area of town, around the base of cemetery hill. Does anyone know the approximate boundaries of Swans? Does it extend over to St. Edward's School and the Star Hall, or is it just around The Boardwalk bar and lounge?

Sleepy Hallow - The stretch of homes above the Regatta Grounds.

Bond's Path - From Blockhouse Hill to Smelt River. Thought of as part of Southeast by many, but historically a separate community. Older homes seem to center on the brook that flows in the valley before Burnt Woods. Does anyone know the name of this brook? We grew up calling it Bond's Path River.

Crevecoeur - The cliff facing the ocean, just west of Freshwater.

Herring Cove - On the North East Arm, around the turn-off for Ferndale.

Glen's Cove - The landward side of the brackish pond or barachoix (crossed by a causeway) just past Point Verde. This was a community in the past; the old highroad went around the coast and crossed a small bridge at the brook at the base of the cove/pond.

There are plenty more --- this is just a hastily composed collection. Please feel free to add to it, or correct things that are here!

Paul Rowe's Book Launch - TONIGHT in Placentia!

The Silent Time
A novel by Paul Rowe

Paul Rowe's new novel, "The Silent Time," will be launched tonight, Monday October 29, at the Placentia Public Library at 7:00 pm.

Attendance is free!

Paul, a Point Verde native, will read from his book; copies will also be on sale and available to be signed. Coffee, tea, and snacks will be generously provided by the Library.