Thursday, October 01, 2020

Trip Report - Part 2

One of the areas we had all wished to see was St. Anthony, a town at the very tip of The Great Northern Peninsula. Mainly because Dr. Grenfell had started a mission there. We had read a few books on him and his life was fascinating, dedicated to the improvement of the lives of the impoverished inhabitants of Newfoundland and Labrador and their health and wellbeing.

We saw the interpretative centre which was enormously interesting, and were shown a great video of this man who did so much for the people.


His artifacts and correspondence were enlightening. He had raised so much funding from around the world and attracted the attention of many young privileged people who volunteered their help in this then primitive country.

One such book about a volunteer was Dear Everybody. A socialite from New York immersed in the culture of Labrador volunteering in the remotest and poorest village. I highly recommend this riveting read.

Dr. Grenfell's house, filled with his daily life.

We took a break to visit the lighthouse on a foggy day with the horn going.

And then had one of those surprising lunches in the middle of nowhere, featuring naan bread wrapped around curried chicken and marvelous cappucinos and lattes and soups.

To be continued.......

15 comments:

  1. How wonderful to learn (in my case anyway) about inspiring people when so many in the news are the complete opposite. A lighthouse in the fog? Perfect timing, and I will admit to a tinge of jealousy.
    I am loving traveling vicariously with you - many thanks.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. He was a true hero, EC, I never read anything negative about him. A humanitarian of the highest order and seemingly without an ego.

      XO
      WWW

      Delete
  2. It's a rather interesting looking house. My sister lives near a lighthouse with a fog horn. I've only heard it once and it is so loud.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Andrew, I jumped high one time when standing by a lighthouse for a pic, it went off. I now check for approaching fog!

      XO
      WWW

      Delete
  3. Your trip just gets better and better. Grenfell was a visionary.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. He truly was Joanne, I long have been an admirer.

      XO
      WWW

      Delete
  4. I've never seen a square framed lighthouse before, they're usually round. I like the square one.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Rather different River, and kind of squatty, I liked it.

      XO
      WWW

      Delete
  5. While in St Anthony I visited Dr Grenfell's home. In his bedroom a book he authored lay on the bedside table. I sat on his bed and opened it at random to read a harrowing story of Dr Grenfell being trapped on an ice floe with his dogs overnight after visiting a sick patient. To keep warm he had to kill one of the dogs and use the carcass as a kind of overcoat. He was spotted and rescued in the morning. I felt like I got to know who he was in real life, reading that story in his old bedroom surrounded by his belongings. He loved his dogs and they loved him.

    ReplyDelete
  6. There was a storyboard about this Annie in the Interpretative Centre. As you say, he adored his dogs and relied on them so it must have been a really hard decision to sacrifice them for his own life. I love your story about him, sitting on his bed.

    What an extraordinary man he was.

    XO
    WWW

    ReplyDelete
  7. Dr. Grenfell's house is so pretty and inviting. And that meal you had was just awesome, something I myself would love to eat.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Did a lot of giggling go on? Very interesting, have never heard of this gentleman.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We laughed ourselves silly so many times. Only one conflict, our lives are not perfect. but sorted with love and understanding.

      XO
      WWW

      Delete
  9. As mentioned, I am adding this to my plans for a trip, hopefully,next summer.

    ReplyDelete

Comments are welcome. Anonymous comments will be deleted unread.

Email me at wisewebwomanatgmaildotcom if you're having trouble.