Do you know this missus? Newfoundland folklore archive hopes to give women their due | Canada News Media
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Do you know this missus? Newfoundland folklore archive hopes to give women their due

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ST. JOHN’S, N.L. – For decades, folklorists at Memorial University have had a Mrs. W. R. King to thank for sharing the local superstition that a lid left off a kettle as tea was steeping was a sure sign a stranger would soon come knocking.

But it was not until a project dubbed Missus Monday took off that researchers at the Newfoundland and Labrador university were able to put a full name to their mysterious source. They now know Mrs. King’s first name was Myrtle, and she worked as a switchboard operator in St. John’s, N.L.

The project of the university’s Folklore and Language Archive aims to find the first names of women who contributed remedies, recipes and local beliefs, but were only credited as a “missus,” with their husband’s last name and often his first name or initials. Nicole Penney, an assistant archivist at the centre said men and unmarried women had their first and last names included, but the tradition was to identify married women with their husbands’ names.

“We wanted to put it out there that these women had lost their names, basically,” Penney said in a recent interview. “They’re all amazing pieces of folklore, and these women deserve the recognition.”

From fairies that lure berry pickers over cliffs to “charmers” that can heal toothaches, Newfoundland has a rich folklore tradition that began with the English and Irish fishermen who began settling on the island in the 17th century. Fascinated, an American anthropologist named Herbert Halpert established the folklore archive at Memorial in the 1960s.

Researchers and students began collecting tidbits from people across the province, writing them down on index cards along with the name of who supplied them and where they were from. Over the next three decades, more than 120,000 cards were filled out with wisdom and anecdotes from many of the far-flung fishing villages dotting Newfoundland and Labrador’s shores. The cards now sit in a towering filing cabinet at the archive office in St. John’s, organized chronologically in 25 drawers, Penney said.

The cards map out the beliefs, expressions and rituals that informed everyday life in these communities, helping scholars better understand the social history of the province.

Mrs. Lloyd Head of Carbonear said a spruce bow tied to a gatepost would ward off evil spirits and keep crops safe, according to a card from 1977. Mrs. L. Hynes of Bishop’s Falls would make cough drops she called “bull’s eyes” by boiling together molasses and Vicks VapoRub, according to another, from 1984.

Mrs. M. E. Breen in St. John’s heard it was good luck to blow a kiss to a crow, said a card from 1985.

In 2019, wanting to know who these women were, staff at the folklore archive began posting the cards to Facebook and Twitter (now known as X), asking if anyone might be able to identify the “missus” in question. They posted the cards on Monday, and called the effort Missus Monday.

So far, they’ve posted 165 cards, and identified 21 contributors, she said.

Last year, Marilyn Butt saw a Missus Monday post about a Mrs. Thornhill, who said people would describe dancing as “(putting) the leather to the lumber” in Pool’s Cove, N.L., a remote community of about 150 people along the southern shore of Newfoundland.

Butt is from Pool’s Cove, too, and she’s part of a Facebook group where residents past and present collect information about their roots in the community. With help from group members, she was able to confirm that the dancing missus in question was Rhoda Thornhill, who died in 2015, at the age of 92.

“Rhoda’s husband and my dad are first cousins,” Butt said in an interview, adding that Thornhill was “very musical.” She’s happy Rhoda Thornhill will get proper credit for her contribution to the province’s folklore history.

Penney said she plans to keep the Missus Monday project going for as long as she can.

“We know that we’re not going to identify all these women, but we want to just put it out there. It’s good to know who they are and give them their credit,” the archivist said.

“These women’s names might have been completely lost had it not been for this.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 18, 2024.

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Brian White scores second-half goal, earns Whitecaps 1-1 draw with Dynamo

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HOUSTON (AP) — Brian White scored in the second half to rally the Vancouver Whitecaps to a 1-1 draw with the Houston Dynamo on Wednesday night.

Houston (12-9-8) took a 1-0 lead into halftime after Ezequiel Ponce scored on a penalty kick in the seventh minute of stoppage time. Ponce’s third goal this season came after Amine Bassi drew a foul on Whitecaps midfielder Pedro Vite following a video review. It was Ponce’s sixth career appearance, all starts.

Vancouver (13-8-7) scored the equalizer in the 73rd minute when White, who entered in the 60th, used assists from Fafá Picault and Ryan Gauld to find the net for the 13th time this season. Picault’s assist was his fifth, matching his career high for a single season. Gauld’s assist gives him a career-best 13 on the season.

Yohei Takaoka, who had clean sheets in his last three starts, finished with one save in goal for the Whitecaps.

Steve Clark saved three shots for the Dynamo, who remain one point behind Vancouver in the Western Conference standings.

Houston, which was coming off a 4-1 victory over Real Salt Lake, has allowed just 33 goals this season.

Vancouver — 6-2-2 in its last 10 matches overall — leads the all-time series 10-9-6.

The Whitecaps remain on the road to play the Los Angeles Galaxy on Saturday. The Dynamo travel to play Austin FC on Saturday.

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First career goals by Tom Pearce, Nathan Saliba rally Montreal to 2-2 draw with Revolution

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FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — Tom Pearce and Nathan Saliba scored in the second half — the first goals of their careers — and CF Montreal rallied for a 2-2 draw with the New England Revolution on Wednesday night.

“In the second half, the guys came out a little more ambitious and above all, more connected,” Montreal head coach Laurent Courtois said. “It was a great second half of resilience and fighting spirit. Nathan and Sam were impressive.

“Impressive in covering the gaps and compensating for the teammates, and the individual defending – yes it’s true, it is a lot of weight on their shoulders, but that’s the job.”

New England (8-16-4) jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the 24th minute on Bobby Wood’s third goal of the season. Teenage defender Peyton Miller notched his first assist in his fourth career start and sixth appearance and Carles Gil picked up his ninth of the season. Peyton, at 16 years, 315 days old, is the eighth youngest player in league history to record his first assist.

The Revolution took a two-goal lead in the 35th minute and held it through halftime when 19-year-old Esmir Bajraktarevic took a pass from Gil and scored his third goal of the season and career in his first full season in the league. It was the 73rd regular-season assist in Gil’s career, tying him with Steve Ralston for the most in club history.

Montreal (7-12-10) pulled within a goal in the 54th minute when Pearce scored off a free kick after defender George Campbell drew a foul on New England’s Mark-Anthony Kaye. It was the first goal for Pearce in his third career start and fourth appearance.

“Playoffs are the goal. Maybe it wasn’t in the best form, but in the end, we are picking up a point,” Pearce said. “We came into this game confident, ready to play our own game. Everyone tries their best, whenever the players are called on, we are always ready, and we are always giving it our best.”

Montreal scored the equalizer in the 68th minute on the first career goal by Saliba, a 20-year-old midfielder. Saliba has made 34 starts and 48 appearances with Montreal in his two seasons in the league. Campbell snagged his second assist of the season and the third of his career.

“It’s an incredible feeling, it’s a goal I’ve been waiting for a long time. I’m extremely happy that I was able to score it and that it can help the team take this important point on the road,” Saliba said. “Pearce’s first goal gave us really good momentum and we kept up the pressure to go for a second goal. We got more solid defensively, and we came back ready after halftime, to push for these 3 points.”

Aljaz Ivacic finished with four saves in goal for the Revolution.

Jonathan Sirois stopped four shots for Montreal.

New England beat Montreal 5-0 on the road on Aug. 24.

New England leads the all-time series 16-13-4. Montreal improves to 5-8-2 on the road against the Revs.

The Revolution travel to take on Charlotte FC on Saturday. Montreal returns home to host the Chicago Fire on Saturday.

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Adolis García’s home run backs Cody Bradford as Rangers beat Blue Jays 2-0

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ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Adolis García hit a two-run home run in the sixth inning, Cody Bradford pitched seven strong innings after the worst start of his career, and the Texas Rangers beat the Toronto Blue Jays 2-0 on Wednesday night.

The win kept the defending World Series-champion Rangers alive in the AL West race, trailing first-place Houston by 10 games with 10 to play.

García launched an inside sinker over the left-field wall off Toronto starter Bowden Francis (8-5) after Wyatt Langford singled.

“He swings hard, he swings a lot,” Francis said of García. “I guess the velo was dropping during that time.”

Bradford (6-3) allowed five hits and no walks while striking out six.

The seven shutout innings are the most in a game during his two-year career. He was knocked out of his previous start after allowing career highs in hits (nine), runs (eight) and homers (three) in 3 2/3 innings in a 14-4 loss at Arizona.

“Throughout the week, you’ve got to try and digest what happened, see where I can make adjustments, whether it was just game plan went wrong or just poor execution, or a little bit of both,” Bradford said. “Then you flush it.”

Bradford was perfect through four innings before Alejandro Kirk opened the fifth with a smash back to the mound that caromed off Bradford’s left foot and rolled into right field for a single. It extended Kirk’s hitting streak to a career-high 12 games.

Spencer Horwitz’s double to left-center put runners on second and third with no outs before Bradford retired the next three batters.

Blue Jays manager John Schneider credited Bradford’s “deceptive fastball.”

“When you’re throwing 89, 92, you’ve got to have pretty good deception with that at this level,” Schneider said. “Kept us off balance.”

Kirby Yates pitched a perfect ninth inning for his 31st save in 32 opportunities.

Francis, who took no-hitters into the ninth inning in two of his previous four starts, allowed a double to Marcus Semien, the Rangers’ first hitter of the game. He gave up five hits and one walk in six innings.

Francis has a 1.96 ERA in nine starts with 54 strikeouts and seven walks since being moved back into the starting rotation in late July.

“I don’t even want to get complacent, on cruise control,” Francis said. “Just keep attacking.”

TRAINER’S ROOM

Blue Jays: SS Bo Bichette was a late scratch with a right middle finger contusion suffered during infield practice. Schneider said the team will get back x-rays on Thursday. Bichette was activated Tuesday following a calf injury and played for the first time in two months, going 2 for 5 with one RBI at the plate. … INF Will Wagner (left knee inflammation) will have the knee scoped on Thursday. Schneider said Wagner should be ready to start spring training. Wagner, son of former major leaguer Billy Wagner, was acquired from Houston at the trade deadline.

UP NEXT

Rangers rookie RHP Kumar Rocker (0-0, 2.25 ERA) will make his home debut against Blue Jays RHP Kevin Gausman (12-11, 4.02) in the series finale. Rocker allowed one run in four innings at Seattle last Thursday in his major league debut.

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