In which we learned about Dr Wilfred Grenfell, written on Saturday, 20 August

We drove into St Anthony today, with the goal to learn about the Grenfell Historic Properties, and to look for icebergs off the coast at Fishing Point.

We didn’t see any icebergs but we did see some whale spouts at Fishing Point. We also saw a lot of fishermen fishing and cleaning their catch.

One of the fellows on the overlook with us said that the gulls are such cheerleaders when you're fishing, because they know they will get part of the catch!

Dwayne got a picture of his honey - and yes, it was that cold. When we had been on the ecological preserve the day before, I had a windbreaker on top of all of that (jacket, scarf, camera vest).

We then went to the visitor’s center and went through the Grenfell Interpretation Centre. We had never heard of Dr Wilfred Grenfell that we recalled before coming here.

Some of the quotes that we saw there:

“I have the utmost faith in unwritten sermons” – Wilfred T. Grenfell

Regarding his wife, Anne MacClanahan: 

“Nearly ten years have rolled away since our marriage. The puzzle to me is how I ever got along before.” – Wilfred T. Grenfell

The information board said of their meeting:

“Anne met Grenfell aboard the Mauretania crossing from England to New York in 1909. He wasted no time and asked her to marry him. “But you don’t even know my name,” she said. He replied that he was only interested in what it would become.”

She seemed to be the perfect match for him – acting as secretary and editor of his manuscripts. Grenfell said, “the autobiography, Labrador Doctor, and other books of little stories were really written by Anne, but called mine.” 

Another information board said:

“Grenfell designed several Christmas cards for the Mission, exhibiting his artistic skill with pen, pencil, and brush. Northern animals were a predominant motif. He sometimes made cartoon-like sketches when autographing his books, giving added value as collectors’ items.

…. As a little girl, Rosamond Grenfell remembers her father sitting at the dining room table with her mother and Grenfell House, as her father designed and painted this Christmas card.”

This picture looks very familiar to me, and I associate it with Aunt Libby. I wonder if she had it somewhere in her house, or if she and Granny came up to Newfoundland at some time and sent this to us.

A postage stamp created in Dr Grenfell's honor

From there, we went to the Grenfell house.

This was the picture from the information board. The house is now surrounded by trees and bushes so there was no way to get a picture of the exterior.

A polar bear rug in the main living area

A stuffed seal was also in the living area.

The information plaque with this said, "The reindeer are native to North America where they are known as caribou. This type is called the woodland caribou of the Canadian Forest. Reindeer stand between 2-4 feet at the shoulders and weigh as much as 600 pounds."

A set of dog team hooked rugs (they ranged in size from 8"-12" in diameter).

I had to get the name of this milk cow! I think one of the things we read was that Dr Grenfell encouraged the keeping of milk stock so the fishermen's families would have access to that as a source of food/fat.

One of the banks that Dr Grenfell would give to people when he lectured to encourage them to save their pennies to contribute to the medical work in Labrador and North Newfoundland.

 

We ended the day back at Ship Cove where we wanted to see if the whale had survived the night. There were a number of boats in the area, but we could not see whether there was a whale carcass.

Lots of gulls around the boats in the area where the whale had been the previous day.

Another iceberg!

Some lupines that were in front of a house in Ship Cove

We drove around town and saw a fisherman who confirmed that the whale had gotten itself loose overnight. It did a lot of damage to the fishing nets and lines – so even though we were glad that it had gotten loose, the fisherman was not too happy.