Overall Winner

“My picture depicts four different scenes of “Growing Up in Them Days”. The top left corner show a boy copying pans (jumping clampers) which was a popular, yet dangerous pastime. The top right corner shows a clothesline with a homemade quilt hanging. Hanging out clothing and bed clothes was a chore young girls had to do. The bottom left corner shows an oil lamp which was the main source of light and the pot-belly stove was the main source of heat. There is homework on the table which was done by the glow of the oil lamp. The bottom right corner shows a young boy cod jigging. Cod was the main source of food back then.”

“Growing up in “them days” is teaching your children about their heritage. I want to learn about my aboriginal culture of where I came from. I want to learn more about my Mi-Kmaq people. How they built teepees, how they hunted for food with a bow and arrow, and learn how to make a canoe from caribou skin.”

“The title of this abstract is “Them Days” and it represents “Growing Up In Them Days” in Newfoundland and Labrador. The abstract incorporates color, life, and tradition. “Them Days” includes the fishery and its brightness represent its vibrance and importance as it was a labor intensive process which involved every member of the family. The flag and Pitcher Plant has been unique and represents Newfoundland and Labrador as well. The schooner, waters, and most importantly fish, are a significant part of this province and truly capture life in “Them Days”.”

“I drew a picture of how kids used to spend a day outside. I have a boy fishing and a girl sliding on seal skin (because they used to skin seals and that was something they done to make work fun). Also in my picture I have other things that you would see back then such as clothes on a clothesline, a wooden house, a punt, salt fish drying on a board, and a chicken. I added in a chicken because kids would collect the eggs from the chickens and either sell them or take them for own use.”

“In my drawing I have four pictures. One of them is of mummering in the winter at Christmas which I think was a huge activity. Another one is washing clothes on a washboard which was the only way they washed clothes. Also I did a picture of a woman cleaning her floors on her hand and knees which is what they did to clean floors. Another picture I did was of a farm. Many families had farms to survive.”

“My picture is an Inuit man seal hunting. Seal hunting on the Gulf of St. Lawrence started in the 1500’s. At around 1723, seal hunting became an annual event in Newfoundland and Labrador and expanded quickly near the turn of the 18th century. The seals were used for their pelts for trading and making clothing to keep them warm. Their fat was used to get seal oil for lamp fuel, cooking oil and lubricants. Inuit also ate seal meat to keep their bellies full. As of today people still continue to kill seals and still wear lots of seal skin clothing because Newfoundland and Labrador sure is a cold place!”

“The image I drew was of kids doing blanket toss in their traditional clothing. Kids played it a long time ago, they would use seal skin for it and have others to hold the edges while they enjoy bouncing on it. I have only ever did blanket toss once, but it wasn’t seal skin so it’s pretty much a loss to our culture because trampolines came along and replaced them.”

“My stamp is about resettlement. Resettlement happened around 1929 when people were forced to leave their home and travel across the ocean on a boat with their houses.”

“My design is of an older man who was “born and raised” in Newfoundland. He grew up when Newfoundland was not yet a part of Canada and when the fish off the rugged coastline were plentiful. Now he’s looking out over the fishing community he grew up in and in the bay you can see the reflection of the post-confederation flag of Newfoundland, and he’s remembering “growing up in them days”.”