Edgar Richardson (1878-1974) worked in a lobster canning factory owned by Will Harding from the age of 14 on an island in the Labrador region. He later moved to Sable River, Nova Scotia where, in 1972, he shared stories of his life on the Labrador coast with his neighbor W. Chris Robart who transcribed them.
Edgar Richardson (1878-1974) worked in a lobster canning factory owned by Will Harding from the age of 14 on an island in the Labrador region. He later moved to Sable River, Nova Scotia where, in 1972, he shared stories of his life on the Labrador coast with his neighbor W. Chris Robart who transcribed them.
Earle Sons & Co. Ltd. was a major mercantile firm in the Notre Dame Bay region during the period 1917-67. The company engaged in the purchase, production and export of salt codfish, cod oil, salmon, lobster, seals and other staple products, and in importing food, provisions and fishing equipment for retail.
The Earle family business was established by Henry J. Earle (1841-1934) who originally came to Fogo as a bookkeeper for Slade & Co. When the Slade Co. was dissolved in 1869, Earle formed a partnership with John W. Owen, a former clerk of Slade's, as Owen & Earle, and took over the Slade premises at Fogo and Twillingate. Around 1893, the company was dissolved with Owen carrying on trade at Twillingate and Earle at Fogo. By the end of the century, Earle also had branches in Twillingate, Herring Neck, and Change Islands.
With his sons, Henry Earle continued the business under his own name until 1917, when it was incorporated as Earle Sons and Company, Limited. His son Harold then took over the management of the business and expanded the operation to include canning and freezing fish. The Change Islands branch, which operated a lobster cannery until 1900, was phased out in the 1950s. The Twillingate premises were sold to a competitor, Ashbourne Fisheries Limited, in 1918.
Earle then rented premises from Colbourne's and continued to operate there until 1928. At that time, Harold Earle purchased a business from Rolls (his wife's relatives) in Barr'd Islands and land in Joe Batt's Arm and Tilting. The company operated cod oil factories in Joe Batt's Arm, Barr'd Islands, and Tilting until the 1950s. Premises at Wigwam Point (Fogo) were acquired from the Newfoundland and Labrador Export Company in the 1950s.
Final operations ceased at Fogo in 1967. The collapse of the Labrador fishery and the depletion of fish stocks in Notre Dame Bay brought an end to the Earle business after 74 years.
Alphonsus Gregory Duggan (1884-1971), trade unionist, was born in Holyrood, Conception Bay, Newfoundland, on 21 September 1884, the son of Mary Joy and Patrick Duggan. He married Hannah Mary Voisey of St. John's in 1912; she died in 1927. They had seven daughters: Mary, Margaret, Irene, Gertrude, Dorothy, Rita and Annie. He married Ellen Cahill Benning in 1929. She was a widow with three children: Richard, Mary and Nellie. Duggan died in Grand Falls on 27 July 1971.
Duggan received a sporadic education, and in 1900, he left Newfoundland for Glace Bay, Nova Scotia, obtaining employment in the coal mines. While there, he became a member of the Glace Bay Lodge of the Brotherhood of Railway Trainmen (1904). This introduced him to trade unionism, which was to play a major role in the rest of his working life. While in Glace Bay, he also furthered his education through night school.
In 1909 Duggan returned to Newfoundland, where he secured employment at the newly-established paper mill, operated by the Anglo-Newfoundland Development Company (AND), Grand Falls. He helped organize the local Pulp, Sulphite and Paper Mill Workers, and became the first president. He was also a firm believer in the co-operative movement and in 1919 he helped form the Grand Falls Co-operative Society. In 1949 he attended a conference in Grand Falls sponsored by the Newfoundland government, which led to the formation of the Newfoundland Co-operative Union, a body representing the interests of co-operatives throughout the province. Duggan became first president of the Union, a position he held for many years.
In July 1937, 25 delegates representing several Newfoundland unions met in Grand Falls and formed the Trades and Labour Council of Newfoundland. Duggan was elected its first President, a position he held until 1939. In the latter year, the Trades and Labour Council became the Newfoundland Federation of Labour (NFL).
Duggan was born a Roman Catholic and was a life-long member of that church. He was a founding member of the Knights of Columbus in Grand Falls and served as its Grand Knight. In 1965 he received a Pro Ecclesiae et Pontifice medal from Pope Paul VI for his contribution to church and state. He was also a member of the Order of Elks. He was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire for meritorious public service.
Duggan worked for AND from 1909-50. At the time of his retirement, he was employed in the electric department, and was a member of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW).
Robert Wakefield was a doctor in Mud Lake in 1905.