Fishermen's Mittens

Hello Everyone,

As I’ve mentioned before, we might have a tendency to mock those who faithfully follow superstitions related to the sea, but we should have more respect for them. Especially in the years before ship-to-shore communication, the stress of living and working within a fishing community was profound. People were determined to be as positive as they could be, since fishing was the only way of life available to them, but the very real dangers that were faced daily could not be ignored.

One of the ways in which many mariners and their families felt that they had some control over their lives came in the form of superstitions.

One superstition focused on the colour of mittens worn by fishermen.

Home-made mittens were used by both inshore and offshore fishermen. The women in the families would often knit thick, large wool mittens for their loved ones. The mittens would shrink from the cold Atlantic waters, and would become almost water-tight.

In Nova Scotia, the mittens were often made of white wool. Mittens with any colour were thought to bring bad luck. There is a story told of one captain of a fishing schooner who, after discovering that a member of the crew had brought grey mittens with him, turned the schooner around and returned to port. The offending mittens were removed from the vessel. There are many other stories where coloured mittens were thrown overboard.

Why was the colour of mittens important? Undertakers often wore gloves that were grey. A connection was made that coloured gloves and mittens were harbingers of death.

It was only a small part of life aboard a fishing schooner, like the Museum’s Theresa E. Connor, but it was important. It helped to give a sense of comfort, to both the men at sea and their families at home. Fishermen’s mittens are made on site at the Fisheries Museum of the Atlantic, here in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia.

Wishing you Smooth Sailing,
Heather

Fisheries Museum of the Atlantic in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia

Hello Everyone,

When you visit Lunenburg and the Fisheries Museum of the Atlantic, you can be assured of an experience that focuses on excellence and authenticity.

Our streetscapes are filled with structures that are proudly maintained and painted in almost every colour of the rainbow. "Red" is the colour of choice along the waterfront and the Museum buildings are gleaming examples of that selection. The bright buildings beckon with the promise of activity, fun and a look into the seafaring history of Atlantic Canada.

The Fisheries Museum of the Atlantic sits on the edge of the waterfront, complete with the vessels Theresa E. Connor and Cape Sable. During the summer we have full programming, which includes excursions in the harbour with one of our smaller vessels, the Maud R.M. The sounds of the make-and-break engine aboard the Maud R.M. fill the air, taking us back to the turn of the 20th century. In those days, the put-put-put sound was familiar all along the coast, when the water ways were the highways for those who lived next to the ocean.

Whether you come by land or by sea, we look forward to sharing our stories and experiences with you.

Wishing you Smooth Sailing,

Heather

Looking into the Past

Hello Everyone,

Lunenburg is lovely in all seasons. This morning, the beauty of the harbour and the skyline was breathtaking. Overlapping strokes of lavender and blue nestled together, painting a picture that renewed spirits in this last week of January!

It made me wonder how many eyes have looked to the mouth of the harbour, and the many scenes that were observed over the years.

The old time schooner fishery of Atlantic Canada saw schooners that were away from their home ports for months at a time. Families had a vague sense of when their loved ones would return, but it was far from an exact science. The summer trip, which was the longest, easily stretched from June to September. Vessels could return to port in the first days of September, or circumstances might keep them away until October.

There was no method of direct communication from ship to shore. Letters could be sent back and forth, but that was only from one vessel to another, if one of the schooners was headed to port. If the fishermen had to stay at sea to get more fish in their holds, they often stayed.

The uncertainty at home was keenly felt. The delay could mean one of two things: the vessels could be engaged in fishing, or they might have been caught in a storm or cut down by a steamer.

When schooners rounded Battery Point and entered Lunenburg’s front harbour, the sigh of relief would have been palpable. The only added hesitancy would have come if a schooner had their flags at half-mast. This would indicate that the vessel had lost one or more of its crew.

Many eyes have been drawn to the Lunenburg harbour, for many reasons. It is ever changing in its beauty and is a picture that is worth more than just a thousand words!

If you have an opportunity to visit the Fisheries Museum of the Atlantic, you’ll be captivated by the exhibits and the people. It’s a true showcase of Atlantic Canada’s heritage. Come to see the waterfront for yourself!

Wishing you Smooth Sailing,
Heather

Mug Up!

Hello Everyone,

Aboard Lunenburg schooners, mug ups meant ‘lassie cookies and big, steaming cups of tea. Huge slabs of fresh bread, butter and molasses. Tea biscuits and baked beans. A little bit of whatever you could "lay your hand to".

"Mug ups" were an important part of life aboard fishing schooners. The men would go to the galley and have a hearty feed, whenever they could take a break. It was a time to re-fuel themselves, have a momentary sit down in the forecastle and warm up before going back to work or going to their bunks.

The cook and the galley stove had few breaks. Bread, cookies and full meals had to be kept at the ready. Even during the poorest of times, the owners of the vessels understood that the crews needed to be well fed. Healthy, contented fishermen were able to work with all their strength; a crew that was half-starving couldn’t fish the North Atlantic with any success or degree of safety.

‘Lassie (molasses) cookies were favourites of crews from Lunenburg. They were huge, usually soft and always a treat.

The term "mug up" made an easy transition from ship to shore. It was used in coastal communities by the mid-1800s, if not earlier, to describe any snack throughout the day or evening. From the Dictionary of Newfoundland English: "Had a mug up at the Skipper’s house, after which he and one of his men took me in their punt and rowed me up to the head of the Arm." (Manuscript, Howley, 1869)

Mug ups are special events at the Fisheries Museum of the Atlantic. This coming summer we plan to have them to help celebrate the 70th anniversary of our schooner, Theresa E. Connor. ‘Lassie cookie, anyone?

Wishing you Smooth Sailing,
Heather

She Sells Sea Shells ...

Fine dining, especially in seafood restaurants, often involves succulent scallop dishes. Whether they are wrapped in bacon and broiled, pan fried or in a chowder, scallops can be prepared and enjoyed in many ways.

The final presentation of scallops on a dinner plate, however, bears little resemblance to the bivalve in the wild. Many visitors to the Fisheries Museum of the Atlantic are astounded when they visit our aquarium and see what a scallop "really looks like".

The scallops that we eat are actually only one part of the entire scallop. Neatly enclosed within two curved shell halves, the edible meat is the adductor muscle. The muscle is well-developed, since scallops swim by using the muscle to open and close their shell. The clapping motion can sometimes result in the scallop making a sound, as it moves along the ocean bottom.

Scallops have been well-represented in ancient rites (often as fertility symbols), used by Christian pilgrims as a sign of devotion to a particular Saint and have been heraldic symbols. The family crest of Sir Winston Churchill includes scallops.

They also appear in many well-known paintings, including Botticelli’s "The Birth of Venus".

Whether your interest in scallops is culinary, historical or of an aquatic nature, you can enjoy your fill at the Fisheries Museum of the Atlantic.

The Nova Scotia Museum has an excellent page about scallops at http://www.seasidelive.ca/oceansliveEnglish/ Click on "3D Creatures" and it will take you to the section that includes an interactive unit about scallops.

Wishing you Smooth Sailing,
Heather

Beauty: In the Eye of the Beholder

Hello Everyone,

Some of the most beautiful sights in the world are framed through my office window, here at the Fisheries Museum of the Atlantic. Visitors to the Museum see it on a grander scale, of course, since they are able to stroll along our wharves or watch from the decks of our vessels.

Lunenburg’s front harbour is both picturesque and the foundation of industry.

A few minutes ago I watched an inshore fishing boat returning to port. The light green hull cut neatly through the water and the resulting wash of waves was an ever expanding series of V’s.

Yes, it’s all very pretty and we could easily be lost in the momentary beauty.

The inshore boat, though, is coming back after hours of lobster fishing. The boat left near dawn, joining others from the area, and chugged its way out to its lobster traps. The traps were then hoisted aboard the boat, lobsters removed, bait refreshed and the traps reset. No matter how warmly the fishermen dress, the North Atlantic is freezing cold in the winter. No matter how numb your fingers, you still have to be able to handle the lobsters with a degree of dexterity, or risk having a crustacean grab hold with a feisty claw!

Lobster seasons vary in the Maritimes. Lunenburg is in Fishing Zone 33, with the season being from the last Monday in November to 31 May. The fishermen are not able to work during the entire period of the season, due to poor weather conditions.

Fishermen are also involved with the Federal government, in efforts to maintain a healthy stock of lobsters. If they catch any female lobsters with their tails "berried" (having eggs ~ they look a bit like berries), they place a V-shaped notch in the tail and then release the lobster. The notch is visible for years and it is illegal for anyone to catch and keep a notched lobster. Other conservation efforts include releasing lobsters that are under a certain length or weight.

All in all, lobstering is a labour intensive, difficult job.

It’s good to keep that in mind, when admiring the beauty of the seacoast and the attractive lines of the boats!

Wishing you Smooth Sailing,
Heather

Sticking Tommy

Hello Everyone,

The object pictured above is one that could once be found in the thousands, but is now, to quote an older member of the community, "as scare as hen’s teeth".

It is called a Sticking Tommy.

In effect, it is a portable candle holder and was used extensively in the schooner fishery.

The two points are used to "stick" the Sticking Tommy. If a fisherman needed extra light in the hold of the vessel, he would stick the horizontal point into a post or beam. If they needed light on deck, the end point would be driven into the rim of a barrel or some other upright structure.

The Dictionary of Newfoundland English (University of Toronto Press, 1982) refers to such objects as a tommy-sticker, with the following definition:

tommy-sticker: makeshift candle-holder. "When we’d want to stick the candle up for to burn, where he wouldn’t burn the wood, we had a tommy-sticker. There’s a cone-shape in the top-end large enough for the candle to go into, and a point, a spear on the end, and another spear on the side where we could stick him up perpendicular or stick him up on the side of the ship, or anywhere."

Similar objects were used in coal mining.

Wishing you Smooth Sailing,

Heather

When Cod was King

Cod.

For some of us, the word "cod" evokes a series of images that are reminiscent of Kipling’s Captains Courageous. Men working with and against the cold North Atlantic, engaged in backbreakingly hard work. The all important daily catch of fish. The careful salting and preserving of it. The race homeward, to get the best prices and to see loved ones, after months on the Banks.

Around here, the cod were so important that if you said the word "fish", you were actually talking about cod. Lunenburg was at the centre of an economy that saw hundreds of schooners set sail every year and sent thousands of quintals of salt fish to the West Indies. The economy was international and flourished for more than 200 years.

Until the collapse of the fisheries, due to over-fishing and mismanagement of the natural resource, cod were the mainstay of the industry. The expression "Cod is King" was more than just a saying; it was a mantra for a way of life.

Fishing for cod, whether aboard a colonial schooner or in the dories that came later, was hard work. Unlike the thrill of a sport fishery, once you catch your cod you don’t have to fight to bring the fish to you. Cod are normally found within six feet of the bottom. Due to the change in water pressure, the fish immediately loses any resistence. The difficulty, back in the old days, was in the weight of the fish. It was not uncommon to have to haul, by hand, a cod that weighed 100 to 300 pounds ... a complete deadweight.

With the freezing spray of the North Atlantic hitting the fishermen and a good chance of being bathed in a thick fog, fishing for cod was never easy.

The cod were salted in the hold of schooners, like the Fisheries Museum’s Theresa E. Connor, and when the hold was full, they returned home. On land, the fish were dried and carefully preserved. Fish that were landed at Lunenburg in September would eventually find their way to various places, including the West Indies and Portugal, by December or January.

Although the captain, the cook and the mate were all paid in September, the remainder of the crew had to wait until the proceeds from the sail of the salt fish arrived home. This meant that the labours of work from March to September were often not rewarded until February of the following year.

Once the bills were paid, the families of fishermen continued to live their frugal existence.

The stories of fishermen and their families are part of the reason for the Fisheries Museum of the Atlantic. Our retired fishing captains, aboard our schooner Theresa E. Connor and the trawler Cape Sable, share their experiences with visitors. Museum interpretive staff share their knowledge through programmes and conversations. Exhibits chronicle the best of times and the worst of times, from times of prosperity to occasions of losses at sea.

We will always remember.

Wishing you Smooth Sailing,

Heather

Old Town Lunenburg

Hello Everyone,

We talk about the Fisheries Museum of the Atlantic, here in Lunenburg Nova Scotia, but we haven’t really said very much yet about the town of Lunenburg.

The community was founded in 1753. The first Lunenburgers were called Foreign Protestants by the British, who brought us here to settle the land.

Most of us spoke only German; we were from the same areas as those who became known as the Pennsylvania Dutch. In fact, it was because the Pennsylvania Dutch were such good settlers that caused the British to advertise for more of them, approximately twenty years later!

If those first Lunenburgers could return today, there would be aspects of the community that would be familiar to them. Lunenburg is the only colonial settlement to have retained the grid pattern that was used by British military planners, when creating a new town or city. The architecture, mostly of wood, reflects the entire evolution of the town; there are buildings from the 1700s right through to the present time.

In 1995, UNESCO designated Old Town Lunenburg as a World Heritage Site. If you check the UNESCO link on this page, it will take you to more detailed information about the designation.

Most of all, though, Lunenburg is a vibrant, living community at the edge of the sea. We’re not trapped in a bell jar; time has not stood still in Lunenburg, although the chapters of our history have been carefully noted and preserved.

Lunenburg captures the essence of seafaring Atlantic Canada. Beauty, charm, industries and celebrations are in full abundance. The Fisheries Museum of the Atlantic is located on the historic waterfront, in Old Town Lunenburg.

Wishing you Smooth Sailing,
Heather

Red Sky in Morning ...

Hello Everyone,

Looking out at the harbour this morning, it’s easy to see that another winter storm is approaching. The normally calm surface is breaking, with wave over wave, and whitecaps are already in evidence. The sky was pregnant with the promise of "weather", at daybreak. It seemed so heavy and ripe that I reached out with my fingers, as if to touch the sky.

Mariners of old had to rely on what they saw and what they felt, in order to judge the weather. Their ability to read the signs was critical to the very survival of their vessel and their crew. In this day and age, we have G.P.S. units that tell us when we have arrived home and we have access to instant weather reports. Years ago ... but still into the 1930s for many North American fishing schooners ... mariners had no such means of assistance.

Old sayings, like "Red sky at night, sailor’s delight. Red sky in morning, sailors take warning" were not only catchy phrases. Mariners would take note of the colours of the sky; if there was a lot of red in the morning, it meant that there was a strong chance of a storm.

Those of us who live next to the sea understand that we have countless reasons to be thankful to the mariners who risked their lives in every moment of their profession. Whether they were part of the crew of sailing ships that transported freight or if they were fishermen, plying their trade, they made it possible for families on land to survive and prosper.

That they were able to do it all without the navigation aids that exist today is nothing short of a miracle and is a tribute to their determination and hard work.

Wishing you Smooth Sailing,
Heather

Knock three times

Hello Everyone,

No, the title isn't meant to be read as lines from an old song.

If anyone from Lunenburg and the surrounding area hears three knocks and there is no apparent source, it means only one thing: we've heard a forerunner.

Forerunners are never meant to be nasty or evil. They are warnings that someone we know, most often someone related to us, will die within three days of hearing the knocks. It's generally felt that this is to give us time to brace ourselves for the news of the loss.

There are stories of those who have been lost at sea who have come, in almost a ghostly apparition, to announce the news themselves. In many of these stories, the news of the loss of the fisherman is not confirmed for weeks. When the confirmation is received, it is revealed that the loss took place at almost the exact same time as the "forerunner".

While we don't pretend to know everything, there have been countless stories of forerunners in Lunenburg County, for many generations. Many of these stories conclude with confirmation of the passing of a loved one.

As Shakespeare once wrote, "There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, Than are dreamt of in your philosophy."

Wishing you Smooth Sailing,
Heather

Lunenburg "hung on a fish hook"

Hello Everyone,

There’s an old saying that Lunenburg "hung on a fish hook". It means that the future and good fortune of the town relied completely on the success of the fisheries.

For most of our 255 year history, this has been accurate. The first generation of Lunenburgers consisted mostly of farmers. By the time of the second generation, we were well established as a place for shipbuilding and for fishing.

Like many coastal communities in Atlantic Canada, we starting fishing close to shore, then moved out towards the various fishing banks of the North Atlantic.

Canada’s oldest saltbank schooner, Theresa E. Connor, is the flagship of the Fisheries Museum of the Atlantic. Launched in December 1938, the schooner was born into a time of danger on the Banks. The Theresa E. Connor did not start fishing until the first months of 1939; in less than a year, the world was at war, again.

Fishing schooners were in danger from enemy U-boats as well as from convoys and large shipping vessels. Torpedoed and cut down, men and vessels were lost at sea.

Theresa E. Connor survived the war years. Equipped with an engine, as well as sails, the men fished from little dories and salted their catch in the hold of the vessel. Eventually the Theresa E. Connor went fresh fishing, as well. This meant that the men still fished from the dories, but the fishing trips were shorter, as the catch was put on ice in the hold. Since the fish were not salted, they were "fresh".

The spirit of adventure has not dimmed along the Atlantic coast. A visit to the Fisheries Museum of the Atlantic guarantees memories of the best of Nova Scotia!

Wishing you Smooth Sailing,
Heather

Where Down is Never Up

Hello Everyone,

Planning a visit to Lunenburg, Nova Scotia? You’ll find that the folks are generally very friendly, the food is incredible, the tours of the town are fun and the museums are fabulous. We’re also one of Atlantic Canada’s leading cultural communities, with 19 art galleries. Old Town Lunenburg maintains its charm as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This all takes place within a community of 2,300 people!

Superstitions have had a way of creeping into the lives of Lunenburgers for as long as memory can recall. Although some of the habits seem comical, it’s important to realize that the superstitions originated as a way for people to feel that they had control over uncontrollable aspects of their lives. In the age of sail, when loved ones were away from home for months at a time, families would do anything that they could, to protect those who were on the North Atlantic.

In my childhood, I watched my mother carefully follow the same ritual, each time she baked bread. The hot loaves would be carefully tipped, partly to one side, and eased out of their pans. They were then put upright, on cooling racks.

This didn’t seem odd to me. It was only after I began working at the Fisheries Museum of the Atlantic that I discovered that it is an age-old tradition. Whenever there were friends or family at sea, the women would never turn a pan upside down ... nor would they turn a loaf of bread upside down. The fear was that if they did, the schooner on which their loved ones were sailing would be caught in a storm and would capsize.

As I said, this was a way of dealing with daily fears. A strong belief in the superstitions gave a sense of control in lives that were forever fraught with uncontrollable elements of nature.

Wishing you Smooth Sailing,
Heather

Threescore and Ten!

Hello Everyone,

2008 is a special year at the Museum. The last of Canada’s saltbank schooners, Theresa E. Connor, is 70 years old this year!

The Museum had its start aboard the schooner, in 1967; since then we’ve grown to occupy a set of buildings that once housed a huge fish processing plant, a carpenter shop, boat building shop and an ice house. Theresa E. Connor is now joined at wharf side by the trawler Cape Sable, giving a well-rounded view of fishing on the banks of the North Atlantic.

One of the great things about the history of the fishery, on the Atlantic coast of Canada, is that it led to a migration of fishermen and their families. Many Nova Scotians went to the Eastern Seaboard of the United States, establishing a strong link between those left at home with their cousins in the "Boston States". Many fishing families from Newfoundland came to Nova Scotia; their vim and vigour injected a strong burst of energy in the workforce of places like Lunenburg.

We’d love to connect with families who have roots connected to Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. Do you have a connection to our schooner, Theresa E. Connor? The vessel fished from early 1939 until the 1960s.

A saltbank schooner is one that preserved its’ catch by salting it, rather than keeping it on ice. The method of preserving fish in salt is one that dates back thousands of years. When technology developed to the point that there was a steady supply of ice available for the fishing fleets of the North Atlantic, "salt" fishing gave way to "fresh" fishing ~ fish were kept fresh, on ice, and the vessels returned home within weeks, rather than months.

Wishing you smooth sailing,
Heather

Our First Blog!

Hello Everyone,

The title may not be original, but the project is totally new! This is the first blog for the Fisheries Museum of the Atlantic, in Lunenburg Nova Scotia. (http://fisheries.museum.gov.ns.ca)

The Museum is a multi-faceted site, with exhibits, a stunning aquarium, Canada's oldest saltbank schooner, a theatre and lots of activities. We're open year around, with full programming available from 17 May to 18 October, seven days a week.

Over the coming weeks we'll be talking about special events for 2008, as well as offering general ramblings from the Museum's historian. Check back here for curious stories from our past, as well as features like "Learning the Lingo" of fishermen and those who live by the sea!

Wishing you smooth sailing,
Heather