'Everybody has a story to tell'

History in the Labrador Straits may no longer come on a scratchy reel. Thanks in large part to Gertie Fowler and Ann O'Brien, both from L'Anse au Loup, and Marie Marshall of West St. Modeste, the area's past is becoming clearer.

Spearheaded by project co-ordinator Cindy Robbins, part one of the traditional skills, stories and interview portion of the Coastal Heritage Experience (CHE) began Oct. 6, and was followed Nov. 7 with an oral history workshop by Helen Woodrow, an adult literacy specialist and oral historian.

Ms. Fowler, Ms. O'Brien and Ms. Marshall, who make up the Oral History Collection Team, visit seniors and people with traditional knowledge along the Straits to conduct interviews, using digital voice recorders, to get a glimpse into the ever-fading past.

"Most everyone has a story that they can tell," Ms. Marshall said.

The collection team then uses its newly-learned computer knowledge to upload the interviews into a secure database at the E.M. Taylor Resource Centre in Forteau, before entering the information into a separate offsite database.

The purpose of the project is twofold: To ensure heritage preservation and to use local traditions to develop new tourism experiences for testing next summer.

"It seems that people are travelling to look for a more personal contact. They don't want to just visit historic sites, they've done that, and they want to have more of a personal experience that links them to the traditions," Ms. Robbins explained. "That's where we're headed towards the end of the project."

It is important for visitors to know the history behind local items and the ways of life while visiting the area, in order to add a higher value to their Labrador experience, she added.

"A lot of what we're looking for is going to be about traditional ways of doing things that have become hobbies now but were part of survival. Fifty years ago you didn't make quilts because it was a nice craft and it was a hobby and it was fun to do - you made quilts to keep the family warm," she said.

Which is exactly the sort of tradition the collection team is focused on gathering through its interviews, as well as the oral history behind local food recipes, remedies, boat building and transportation - and survival - to name a few.

"It's like having an artifact," said Sheila Downer, project manager and executive director of SmartLabrador. "If we dug up some sort of stone tool that was dated back to the Archaic Indians, we would find a way to preserve it and make sure that was protected.

"Also, we recognize the value of that knowledge to our tourism industry. Everybody's interested in the story, and everybody has a story to tell."

Ms. O'Brien agreed.

She knows the urgency of preserving history, because if not found and kept, these stories will be lost forever.

"A lot of beautiful stories are dead and buried," she said.

The project, conceived two years ago, is a partnership between SmartLabrador and the Labrador Straits Historical Development Corporation, and is funded through the Department of Industry Trade and Rural Development and the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, with Parks Canada and the zonal board on the advisory committee.

Ms. Fowler, Ms. O'Brien and Ms. Marshall were hired under the newly-formed Targeted Initiative for Older Workers, a program aimed to provide training and new job experiences, which was administered by Human Resources Labour and Employment.