Living Heritage Podcast Ep209 Dry Stone Walling with Ken Tuach

Ken Tuach. September 2021.
Photo by Harnum Photography.

In this episode of the Living Heritage Podcast we talk with Ken Tuach about dry stone walling in Newfoundland and Labrador, his family's history in stone work, and the dry stone craftsman certification process. We also hear snippets of audio from the stone wall workshops Ken led as well as a short clip from Lara Maynard with Heritage NL on the importance of Heritage Skills.

Dry stone wall workshop at Lakeview, Brigus.
September 2021. 
Photo by Harnum Photography.

Ken Tuach is the owner and operator of NL Flagstone, a quarry in Pynn's Brook, NL. NL Flagstone produces quality masonry and landscaping stone and has been operating since 1994. The also create stone installations including outdoor living spaces, patios, paths, seating, stairs, etc. Ken is a certified level three dry stone craftsman and led two dry stone workshops for Heritage NL in Brigus this fall.

Dry stone wall workshop at Kent Cottage. 
October 2021. 
Photo by Harnum Photography. 

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Living Heritage is about people who are engaged in the heritage and culture sector, from museum professionals and archivists, to tradition bearers and craftspeople - all those who keep history alive at the community level. The show is a partnership between HeritageNL and CHMR Radio.

Theme music is Rythme Gitan by Latché Swing.

Living Heritage Podcast Ep205 The Devon Rural Skills Trust, with Chris Baker

Stone walling training course, south Devon.

Many of the traditional features of the English countryside such as dry stone walls and hedge banks were originally created and maintained by rural craftsmen, using the skills that were passed from father to son. In recent years, these skills have been at risk of being forgotten. The Devon Rural Skills Trust was established in 1980 with a view to safeguarding the future of those traditional skills while the men and women who practiced them were still able to pass on their knowledge. 

Laying hazel with a billhook on a south Devon farm from one of the DRST training courses.

DRST’s 2019 hedge laying competition, showing bank with small trees/shrubs laid on top.

During this time the Trust has trained thousands of people, providing them with the skills and knowledge to practice traditional rural skills. One of those people is Chris Baker, the Trust’s Publicity Officer. We chat about the work of the Trust, hedges, stone walls, Devon’s link to Newfoundland, and cabbages. 

Credit: All photos courtesy Chris Baker, used with his permission. 

Finished product of a wattle hurdle course

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Living Heritage is about people who are engaged in the heritage and culture sector, from museum
professionals and archivists, to tradition bearers and craftspeople - all those who keep history alive at the
community level. The show is a partnership between HeritageNL and CHMR Radio.
Theme music is Rythme Gitan by Latché Swing.

So, what is a Folk School anyway? Join us on April 28th, and find out!

Amidst a resurgence of interest in everything from knitting and baking to blacksmithing, Heritage NL is hosting an online discussion about how folk schools in other parts of the world teach those kinds of traditional skills. “Folk Schools and Crafts Education” is scheduled for the evening of April 28th, and attendees are encouraged to think about how the folk school model might be applied in Newfoundland and Labrador.

“Over the past 20 years, a growing interest in the folk school model and creative education has contributed to supporting, encouraging, and revitalizing craft and handmade skills,” says Dr. Kelley Totten, Assistant Professor of Folklore at Memorial University, one of three panelists participating in the session. Totten has been a student and employee of folk schools in the United States, wrote a dissertation about folk schools, and is currently expanding that research to look at folk schools in Canada. 

The other two panelists are currently working at folk schools in the US. Jessa Frost is Program Director at North House Folk School in Grand Marais, Minnesota, where they teach a range of skills including timber framing, outdoors skills, art and traditional crafts like leatherworking, tinsmithing, soap-making, net-making and basketry. And Martha Owen is a Resident Artist at John C Campbell Folk School in Brasstown, North Carolina who specializes in everything related to wool, from keeping her own flock of sheep to spinning, knitting, dyeing and feltmaking. 

"Traditional skills and crafts are at the heart of Newfoundland and Labrador's heritage," says Heritage NL folklorist Dale Jarvis. "We are very excited to host this session to share ideas on how we can continue to nurture those skills for the next generation.”

Folk Schools and Crafts Education will be hosted on Zoom at 7pm on April 28, 2021 and is open to anyone with an interest in learning about the folk schools model or supporting local crafts traditions and skills training. It’s free but registration is required and details are on Heritage NL’s website and Facebook page or you can register directly at www.heritagecraft.ca.

Living Heritage Podcast Ep204 Dry stone wall building and its place in Newfoundland's heritage

For over 40 years, Dan Snow has been building dry stone constructions in his native Windham County, Vermont and beyond. From the practical to the fantastical, his works in stone fuse vanguard vision with old world techniques and traditions. His work has been the subject of articles in numerous journals, including “This Old House”, "Vermont Magazine" and “Vermont Life” magazines, and the “New York Times" and the "Boston Globe.” 

Way back on 18 August 2010, Dan and provincial folklorist Dale Jarvis sat down for a chat at the Two Whales Coffee Shop in Port Rexton about the tradition and the art of stonework, the place that dry stone wall building holds in the heritage of Newfoundland, and Dan's dry stone courses taught in partnership with the English Harbour Arts Centre. 

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Living Heritage is about people who are engaged in the heritage and culture sector, from museum
professionals and archivists, to tradition bearers and craftspeople - all those who keep history alive at the
community level. The show is a partnership between HeritageNL and CHMR Radio.
Theme music is Rythme Gitan by Latché Swing.

Living Heritage Podcast Ep196 - Roger Tinney, furniture maker

 

Roger Tinney is a furniture maker based in Vancouver Island, British Columbia. Originally from Prince Edward Island, Roger inherited some of his skill as a carpenter from his father and grandfather, and then expanded his knowledge of furniture-making after moving to British Columbia. We chat about family origins, working with wood, finishes, and the importance of whimsey!

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Living Heritage is about people who are engaged in the heritage and culture sector, from museum
professionals and archivists, to tradition bearers and craftspeople - all those who keep history alive at the
community level. The show is a partnership between HeritageNL and CHMR Radio.
Theme music is Rythme Gitan by Latché Swing.

Wooden Boat Heritage 2016 - Heritage Skills

Heather Elliott (Youth Ambassador and Wooden Boat Board Member) and Crystal Braye (Wooden Boat Museum Folklorist).

Last week the Wooden Boat Museum of Newfoundland and Labrador hosted Wooden Boat Heritage 2016 which was a three day event focused on the celebration and use of wooden boats and traditional skills. There were speakers from across the world – Basque Country, Connecticut, New York, Washington, Scotland, Nova Scotia, and many parts of Newfoundland. The speakers focused on different elements of wooden boats and gave presentations on how reconstructed wooden boats can celebrate the past and renew interest an interest in maritime heritage, how wooden boats can be used in experiential learning and in tourism, and how wooden boats can be used to teach youth new skills they can use in many aspects of their lives.

Aside from the presentations about wooden boats there were also musicians who performed, and facilitators who moderated working groups to develop new ideas on how the Wooden Boat Museum should develop over the next few years. The highlight of Wooden Boat Heritage 2016 was the Heritage Skills Challenge in which participants, and youth volunteers learned how to use a variety of tradition tools and skills which would be used in building boats and fishing. The event took place in Petty Harbour and was organised in partnership with Fishing for Success. Here is a selection of photos from the event!

Terra Barrett of the Heritage Foundation learning how to knit nets.

Ema Kirbirkstis (Youth Ambassador) casting a net.

Facing off in the adze challenge.

Wooden Boat Museum Board Member Frank French and Eileen Matthews of Heritage New Perlican working together on the double ended saw.

Adam Green of Rock the Boat and Youth Ambassador Emma Lang face off in the splitting fish challenge.

Evelyn Ansel explaining how caulk a boat with oakum.

Youth Ambassador Lisa Daly tying a withe (wiff).

Rowing competition.

Which skill is your favourite? What would you like to learn?

~Terra Barrett