Placentia to be featured on CBC this Monday

This Monday, Placentia will be featured on CBC Radio's Morning Show. I'm not sure what or who else will be featured, but I know local musicians and artists Kevin Collins, Larry Foley, and Bill Rose will be on.


Unfortunately, I don't think the Morning Show's website mentions any specific info (I just had a quick perusal, but of course I might have missed it). If anyone has more information please leave a comment on this entry (I've had to put a spam filter on, a sign of the blog's success I suppose, but don't let that deter you).

I have also heard Radio Noon may be doing something . . . ? I have been away this week and haven't been keeping up. I'll post again when more information comes my way.

In any case, 94.1 fm is the frequency CBC is broadcast from, right here in Placentia. Be sure to tune in on Monday!

Bread Oven and Phil Meade

In the latest edition of Downhome Magazine (formerly The Downhomer), on page 82-83, Placentia's own replica of a French community bread oven gets a look in (for more information on the oven and to see a picture of it, look at its profile on the Doors Open Placentia site).

The article also includes a summary of the history of beautiful Rosedale Manor (built 1893), as well as a small biography on Philip Meade and Linda Grimm, who operate it as a Bed and Breakfast.

There's two nice pictures of Phil (who is also, by the way, a professional pastry chef) by the outdoor bread oven, which is in full flame. The old Placentia waterfront is visible in the background.

It brings me back to the summer before last, when I was lucky enough to go down to the oven when Phil was baking bread. It tasted so amazing, fresh out of the oven with partridgeberry jam on top.

Old Pictures of Placentia

Several people have submitted old photos of the area recently, and I'm very happy to post them here for public viewing and comment.

They're all new to me. It's amazing to wonder how many other old photos there might be tucked away in private collections. If you have a photograph of Placentia pre-World War II, you should have copies made for safe-keeping, and maybe consider donating a copy to the Archives (located at the Placentia Public Library). Old photos are treasures!

As always, click on the image to view a larger version.

The first comes from Harry Smith. It shows people drying fish on Placentia beach. I've never seen this before, and it really drives home how different it is to read statements like "the expansive beach at Placentia was used to dry fish" versus actually seeing it done.

Unfortunately, Mr. Smith didn't say when this was taken. If anyone knows, or has a tidbit of information about the picture, email us!



The next series are provided by Chris Newhook, and they relate to the previous blog entry about Southeast. As was said in that entry, Southeast Placentia was a popular resort spot for the well-to-do of St. John's (and sometimes further abroad). This first picture is titled "A Morning's Catch," is dated 1892, and is connected to 'Fulfort's' (or, Fulford's) hotel (one of the many hotels that used to be in Southeast). I assume these are vacationers . . ?





This is the same spot, Fulford's Hotel, 33 years later, in 1925. Such a gathering of automobiles was not a common sight in 1920's rural Newfoundland. This demonstrates how popular Southeast was as a get-away for wealthy families of the day. Also, take note of the chicken standing in the lane.




The following shot is of the Riverview Hotel (labeled as 'Fulfort'). Mr. Newhook has kindly transcribed the caption in the upper right-hand corner, which obviously corresponds to the people standing in the garden.

"1 - James Howley

2 - Angela Lannon (nee Folfort)

3 - J. Brancombe

4 - Mrs. N. Fulfort (nee Power)

5 - Ned Fulfort"

It is labeled 'circa 1908.' As with all of the images above, anyone with extra information is warmly invited to email it to placentiablog@gmail.com --- or write it down and drop it in to the Placentia Library, the blog's headquarters.


The final image comes once again from Harry Smith, and it relates back to a previous entry, showing Mr. Bernard Penney's beautiful hand-carved model of the Jerseyside Placentia train station. This is an image of the station itself, with the coal storage building beside it. I believe the current 'Coalyard' playground on top of Jerseyside Hill gets its name from this?

Tourism Associations

Tom O'Keefe has been kind enough to email us this story, which appeared in last week's Charter.

A Perfect Fit: Tourism Associations Merge to Form New Group.

A precis: The Irish Loop and Avalon Gateway tourism associations have merged to form the Southern Avalon Tourism Association. The two organizations, representing the Southwest and Southeast Avalon respectively, still exist as separate entities when it comes to other issues such as rural development, but they've joined forces on Tourism.

Here is the new board of directors for SATA, photographed at the merger. They are (back row, left to right) Billy Luby, Rick Hayden, Margie Hatfield, Jeff Peddle, Chris Mooney; (front row, left to right) Elaine Murray, Stan Cook Sr., Maureen Sullivan, Marjorie Gibbons, Martha Mullowny, and Calvin Manning.

Calvin Manning, executive director of Avalon Gateway, sums up the motive behind the move: "What they're promoting is not that different than what we're promoting. We're promoting coastal scenery, we're promoting our Irish heritage, we're promoting bird watching, whale watching, archaeology – archaeology in Ferryland, archaeology in Placentia.”