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The First United Church congregation at Corner Brook was formed 15 March 1925 under the ministry of the Bay of Islands Methodist Mission. The congregation was composed of Presbyterian and Methodist families. This date not only constituted the forming of the congregation but the opening of the new Church Hall for church services and functions.

The roots of Corner Brook's Presbyterian congregation can be traced to Bay of Islands in 1877, when Rev. David Creelman and others organized a congregation in Petries. This group received church membership from the Sheet Harbour Presbyterain congregation in Nova Scotia through the connections of Christopher Fischer, who had come to Corner Brook from Sheet Harbour in 1871 to run a sawmill at Humber Arm. The congregation established the first Presbyterian Sunday school in Petries (located in the west end of Curling) in the early 1870s. In the early 1890s, Presbyterian families held services in a school house until a church was built on the corner of Park Street in 1898. This was the first church erected in the original settlement of Corner Brook. Catechists to the church were supplied from Halifax and supervised by the minister of the Grand Falls Presbyterian Church. Appointments included Nicholsville, Corner Brook, Petries, and Mount Moriah.

By 1907, Methodist families had begun to attend services at the Presbyterian church, and by 1914, Methodists were being asked for co-operation in arranging services. In 1919, Rev. William J. Morris, pastor of the Methodist church at Curling, started holding services there; The increased demands on the church facilities in the Corner Brook area eventually led to the formation of new congregations and pastoral charges in Humbermouth and Corner Brook. The construction of the Corner Brook Paper Mill began in 1923 and resulted in an influx of hundreds of people into the area. The increased demands on the church facilities necessitated the construction of the Church Hall, which opened in 1925.

The next year, the congregation became a self-supporting entity as the First United Pastoral Charge of the United Church of Canada, Newfoundland Conference, Grand Fall's Presbytery. However, the Church Union was not totally successful in the Corner Brook area. A separate Presbyterian congregation continued there; by 1955, it was known as the St. Paul's Presbyterian Congregation.

The United Church congregation built a new manse in Corner Brook in 1927. The ever-increasing population placed greater strains on the Church Hall, and in 1936, under the tenure of Rev. G. L. Mercer, the idea for a new church was conceived. Fund-raising began, and in 1946, the First United Church was dedicated.

Rev. George L. Mercer was appointed to the charge in 1929 and quickly brought its organization into line with the Session/Stewards/Official Board structure outlined in the United Church Manual.

The congregation continued to grow in Corner Brook West, and by 1956, a church expansion programme was initiated. The First United Hall on Park Street was opened in 1958, and the Oakland House Sunday School-Church Hall was opened in the Country Road area in 1958. (Oakland later became a separate pastoral charge.) By 1959, a second manse on Park Street had also been purchased and was in operation.

St. Patrick's Parish was established in 1831 and included the communities of Bay Bulls, Witless Bay, Mobile, Tors Cove, Burnt Cove, St. Michael's, Bauline and La Manche. Prior to this, these communities were part of the much larger St. John's Parish which stretched from La Manche on the Southern Shore to Holyrood, Conception Bay.

In 1893, St. Patrick's Parish was divided. Bay Bulls and Witless Bay remained in St. Patrick's Parish. The remaining communities were transferred to the the jurisdiction of the newly established Sacred Heart Parish, with Mobile as its centre. In 1921, Mobile was removed from Sacred Heart Parish and transferred back to St. Patrick's Parish.

Additional jurisdictional changes to St. Patrick's Parish occurred in 1921 when Archbishop Edward P. Roche separated Bay Bulls from St. Patrick's Parish and created the Parish of Saints Peter and Paul, with its parish centre at Bay Bulls. This left the communities of Witless Bay and Mobile under St. Patrick's Parish.

In 1965, Sacred Heart Parish was dismembered and the parish came under the jurisdiction of St. Patrick's Parish. In 1996 St. Patrick's Parish and Sacred Heart Parish were canonically suppressed. The successor parish was the newly created parish Our Lady, Star of the Sea.

Freedom of religion had been granted to Roman Catholics in Newfoundland in 1784 and Rev. James O'Donel, vicar apostolic, was selected to organize the Catholic Church in Newfoundland. Sometime before 1796, O'Donel built the first Catholic Church in Bay Bulls, then part of St. John's Parish. The first priest appointed to St. Patrick's Parish was Rev. (later Dean) Patrick Cleary. He chose Witless Bay as the centre of the parish where he built a presbytery and started the construction of a church in the 1830s. This church, the current church in Witless Bay, was completed by Dean Roche ca. 1877. In 1989, when renovations were being made to the presbytery at Witless Bay, newspapers dating from 1840 were discovered in the walls of the house, suggesting that this was the original house that built by Cleary built and the oldest surviving Roman Catholic Parish presbytery in the Archdiocese of St. John's.

Education in St. Patrick's Parish was organized by Dean Cleary. Shortly after the Education Act of 1836, a school was established at Witless Bay and staffed with lay people. By 1844, there were Catholic schools in other communities in the parish, including Bay Bulls and St. Michael's. In 1860 the Presentation Sisters established a convent and school in Witless Bay. They educated the girls while the boys were educated in a separate school by a lay teacher. In 1915, Rev. Patrick J. O'Brien added two new rooms to the convent and school which allowed the boys and girls to be taught by the Presentation Sisters. In 1948 the Convent school at Witless Bay was renovated and called St. Bernard's School after its foundress Mother M. Bernard O'Donnel.

In 1920, Rev. O'Brien also built a new three-room school at Bay Bulls. In 1921 the Sisters of Mercy were invited to St. Patrick's Parish. They established a convent in Bay Bulls and directed the operation of the schools in the community; In the 1970s Rev. William Lawton, who had established the first parish council in Tors Cove-St. Michael's, organized the St. Patrick's Parish Council. By 1975, the men of St. Patrick's Parish had formed a District Council of the Knights of Columbus and called it the Dean Cleary Council in memory of the early pastor. Other community organizations which have been active in the parish include the Ladies Auxiliary of the Knights of Columbus, the Legion of Mary, the Columbian Squires and the Girl Guides and Boy Scouts.

Some of the priests who served the people of St. Patrick's Parish (est. in 1831) are as follows: Dean Patrick Cleary (1831-1882); Dean Roche (1882-1916); Patrick O'Brien (1916-1922); J. J. Greene (1923-1934); T. J. Gough (1934-1954); Richard McGrath (1954-1968); Francis Coady (1968-1970); William Lawton as administrator (1970-1973); E. J. Purcell (1973-1986); Tony Bennett (1986-1987); Francis Puddister (1987-1990); William Pomroy (1990-1995); and Robert Ryan (1995-1996).

Although the Shoal Harbour Mission wasn't mentioned in Minutes until 1871, the early settlers of Shoal Harbour, who came from Hants Habour on the south side of Trinity Bay, had settled there by the mid 1800's. It is believed that these people being of the Methodist faith built a little church that was dedicated to the glory of God and opened for worship on February 11, 1866. John Tilley, Moses Tilley, Aaron Tilley and David Palmer were the builders of this first little church. The mission at that time had thirty appointments.

This was their place of worship for 26 years during which time a considerable number of families moved to the area. Not long after the opening of the first church, a parsonage was built and the first residential Minister, Rev. William Swann, arrived. He was stationed at Shoal Harbour from 1871-1872 during which time he spent six months in the area with 30 appointments to visit, most of the which worship during the week night and rarely on Sunday.

As there were no roads then, or for many years after, the Missionary had many dangerous journeys. For the early years the only church in the area was at Shoal Harbour. This church was soon followed by a church at Lower Shoal Harbour (now Clarenville) and George's Brook. Because of the large area to be covered in the Shoal Harbour Pastoral Charge, Shoal Harbour, Lower Shoal Harbour and George's Brook had lay readers who helped out the Minister.

Somewhere between 1872 and 1885, the first church was turned over for re-modeling and used as a school and a new church opened for worship on June 30, 1892. A forest fire swept the area shortly after destroying many of the homes and the church and parsonage as well. All church records previous to 1892 were destroyed in the fire.

In 1874, the Shoal Harbour circuit included the whole bottom of Trinity Bay with more than twenty appointments which was supplied by two men, of whom Thomas W. Atkinson was one. During this same period, a church was completed at George's Brook, and one was made suitable for services at Lower Shoal Harbour, and several others were in course of erection. During his three pastorate, Rev. Atkinson witnessed the building of six churches and school houses and many members were added to the church.

Boundary changes in 1878, saw Shoal Harbour divided into two missions - Random North and Random South and later the former went back to the title of Shoal Harbour. Several other missions were made out of portions of the old Shoal Harbour field. The present appointments are Shoal Harbour, Clarenville, George's Brook, Broad Cove and White Rock.

On December 30th of that year a firm decision was made to build a new church and this, the third church, was dedicated on December 9, 1894. Then in summer of 1903, a forest fire again swept the area and the third church was burned down. A church was dedicated early in 1903 at White Rock and another at Broad Cove, now Harcourt, in the pastorate of James Pincock. We have no record of when the fourth church was started at Shoal Harbour but the Trustee Board Records show that the exterior of the church was completed during 1906 and on October 31, 1907, the new church was dedicated by Rev. Sydney Bennett, Minister at Britannia, acting on behalf of the President of Conference, who was unable to attend.

The cornerstone of a new church at Clarenville, formerly Lower Shoal Harbour, was laid on August 13, 1923, by H.G. Coppin, Chairman of the District. At the time of the union of the Methodist, Presbyterian and Congregational churches to form the United Church of Canada in 1925, the Shoal Harbour pastoral charge had four preaching places and Rev. Isaac Davis was administering to 164 families there.

The Opening an Dedication Service for a new church at George's Brook and Milton was held on July 29, 1962 under the pastorate of Rev. Edward George Bailey. Late in 1962, the congregation of Shoal Harbour decided that the old church was inadequate for their present needs. Work began shortly afterwards on the new church and it was completed on the outside. The closing service for the old church was conducted on June 28, 1966 and then the old church was demolished. For over a year, worship was conducted in the basement of the new church while it was being finished . The dedication ceremony for the new church was conducted on September 15, 1968.

Presently the pastoral charge of Shoal Harbour administers to the following communities: Harcourt, Milton-George's Brook, Monroe, Shoal Harbour.

The St. John's Curling Association, commonly known as the St. John's Curling Club, was established on 8 July 1910 when two men's clubs, the Terra Nova Curling Club (fl. 1863-) and the Micmac Curling Club (established 188-), voted to amalgamate at a joint meeting. The consitution and the by-laws of the Association were adopted at that same meeting. The Association was incorporated under The Companies Act.

The mandate of the St. John's Curling Association was to foster and promote curling in the city. Throughout its history, it has also raised monies for the war effort and various city charities. Although the St. John's Curling Association maintained close relationships with the Ladies' Curling Club (organized 1906) and cooperated in hosting many curling events, the latter was not totally integrated until 1959. The first woman president, Jane M. Martin, was elected in 1982.

From 1912-1941 the Association leased their facilities from the Newfoundland Curling Rink Ltd. The curling rink was located on Forest Road, next to the Prince's Skating Rink. The Association purchased the curling rink in the fall of 1941, but on 28 Nov., before the curling season commenced, the rink was destroyed by fire. On 25 Jan.1943, the Association officially opened their new rink on Factory Lane. To help finance the new facility, public skating and dancing were offered at the rink. This continued until 1955, a year after the St. John's Memorial Stadium was opened. In 1976 the old rink was sold and the Association constructed a new facility on Bonaventure Avenue, which was officially opened on 22 Oct. 1976.

Albert H. Salter (1877-1940), the first secretary-treasurer, commenced the systematic recording of the Association's activities. These records were stored at the club building until 1941, when Peter Ledingham, the honourary secretary, rescued them from the fire. At the request of the Association, a pictorial history, Through curling years, the 75th, was written by Clifford K. Andrews in 1986.

The Association currently is governed by a five-person executive elected at the annual general meeting. The Committee of Management, consisting of the executive, past-president, and six elected members, is responsible for club activities and curling arrangements and regulations. They also appoint appropriate sub-committees. The Committee is assisted by an elected advisory board.

Methodism has a long and noble history in the Random area. The whole of the South West Arm of Random was settled between 1865 and 1880. At Northern Bight, the first arrivals were James Styles and D. Benson, the former was a Methodist. Random first appeared in the Minutes in 1871 in connection with Shoal Harbour. This mission had thirty appointments. By 1874, the circuit included the whole bottom of Trinity Bay with more than twenty appointments. In 1878, Shoal Harbour was divided into two missions - Random North and Random South, and later, the former went back to the title of Shoal Harbour.

Random South became head of the pastoral charge with a total membership of 238 under the pastorate of Rev. K. Davis. The first Methodist building went up in 1878 and Edgar Taylor was appointed as the first resident pastor. The first church was erected in 1899 and the new church, much larger than its predecessor, in 1923.

At the time of the union of the churches to form the United Church of Canada in 1925, Random South was still head of the circuit with thirteen preaching points and a membership of 223. Boundary changes in 1930, saw Hillview, which was formerly called Northern Bight, being made the head of the circuit under the pastorate of Rev. Chesley Howell. The pastoral charge included: Adeytown, Deep Bight, Hatchet Cove, Loweburn, North West Brook, Queen's Cove and St. Jones Within.

In 1933, Little Hearts Ease was added to the pastoral charge and the name was changed to the Hillview-Little Hearts Ease Pastoral Charge and more preaching places were added to this charge for a total of twelve preaching places. Hillview was combined with Little Hearts Ease until 1955.

Boundary changes after 1955 resulted in Hillview being combined with Sunnyside to form the Sunnyside-Hillview pastoral charge and it remained like this for a period of six years. Little Hearts Ease became a pastoral charge on its own with seven preaching points.

Then in 1974, Random South appears as pastoral charge as a result of the amalgamation of the two former charges of Little Hearts Ease and Hillview with a total of eleven preaching points stretching along both sides of North West Arm in Random South. In 1985, the pastoral charge of Random South was disbanded and ceased to exist. The charge was split into two pastoral charges - Hillview and Little Heart's Ease.

The Girl Guides, a girls' voluntary organization, officially began in United Kingdom in 1910 under Agnes Baden-Powell. That same year the Girl Guide movement commenced in Canada when the first company was officially registered in St. Catherine's, Ontario. A Canadian headquarters was established in Toronto in 1912, and the Canadian Council was federally incorporated in 1917.

In Newfoundland four "Lone Guide" companies were established in St. John's (1920-1922), with their headquarters located in the United Kingdom; "Lone Guide" companies permitted girls to participate in guiding activities when registered units were not available in the locality. The Newfoundland Girl Guide Association was officially founded January 15th, 1923 in St. John's, Newfoundland and consisted of these four companies.

The aim of the organization is to challenge and assist girls and women in their personal development and to help them to become responsible citizens. Girls between the ages of six and seventeen enroll in various units under the guidance of volunteer leaders to take part in activities to earn badges, cords and certificates in a variety of fields. Camping, nature activities, and community outreach activities are predominating features of the Girl Guide movement.

From 1923 until Newfoundland's confederation with Canada in 1949, the Newfoundland Girl Guide Association was administered by the Overseas Committee of the British Girl Guides and was headed by the wife of Newfoundland's Governor as the appointed Dominion Commissioner. The Newfoundland Association directed all guiding activities according to British standards. In 1949, the Newfoundland Girl Guides joined the Girl Guides of Canada and the name was changed to the Girl Guides of Canada, Newfoundland Council. The Dominion Commissioner became the Provincial Commissioner, who was elected by the Council and appointed by the Chief Commissioner of the Girl Guides of Canada.

Mandated by the National Council, the Newfoundland Provincial Council is composed of the Provincial, Area, Division and District Commissioners, the Executive Committee, representatives from the Standing and Ad Hoc Committees, Associations and Honorary members. The Provincial Council performs the functions previously conducted by the the Newfoundland Association (1924-1949), by directing all Girl Guide activities in Newfoundland according to national standards. The Provincial Headquarter in St. John's Newfoundland services as the sole office of the Provincial Council All other activities from the areas, divisions and districts were conducted in designated areas of the province and the administrative records were in the custody of the respective Commissioners and Leaders.

The Newfoundland Girl Guides are divided into areas divisions and districts. Each level?? is headed by a commissioner and council. Each district is composed of various Units and headed by Unit Leaders. Senior Branches such as Junior Leaders, Cadets, Links and Trefoils are administered by specific Advisors and Commissioners of the Provincial Council (I'm finding this a little confusing - I think it's just the wording). In Newfoundland, as of 2006, there are 11 areas, 31 divisions, 121 districts.

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.

Holy Trinity Parish, originally called the Ferryland Mission, was established in 1789 by Bishop James Louis O'Donel; it extended from Brigus South to St. Mary's Bay. The extensive parish was sub-divided on several occassions. In 1834, St. Mary's Parish, which included Trepassey and surrounding areas, was created. The following year, the communities of Port Kirwan, Fermeuse, Kingman's Cove, Renews and Cappahayden were placed under the jurisdiction of Holy Apostles Parish. In 1934 Archbishop Edward Patrick Roche transferred the communities of Brigus South, Admirals Cove and Cape Broyle to the newly-created parish of the Immacualte Conception. From 1934 to 1998 Holy Trinity Parish included the communities of Ferryland, Calvert and Aquaforte. In 1998, Holy Trinity Parish was eliminated ("canocially supressed") and the communities of Calvert, Ferryland, and Aquaforte became part of Holy Family Parish.

While 1789 is noted as the official date of the creation of Holy Trinity Parish, in actuality, the presence of Roman Catholic clergy dates back to 1627-1628, when Lord Baltimore brought two Jesuit priests (and later a third) to minister to the first Roman Catholic settlers, making these priests the first ones in British North America to be attached to a specific community and population. After Baltimore left Newfoundland for Maryland, the Jesuits priests stayed for some time. Their presence and their celebration of mass (a penal offense at the time) was discovered by a Church of England minister and they left Ferryland.

The first priest appointed to the Ferryland mission was a Rev. Fitzpatrick. He was succeeded by Rev. Ewer (sometimes seen as Yore) who became the first parish priest of Ferryland when it was established in 1789. In 1791, permission was given by the Governor to build a church in Ferryland and it was Rev. Ewer who built the first chapel and presbytery in the parish. The current stone church in Ferryland was built in 1865 by Rev. Murphy. The people of the parish carried the stone for the church from Stone Island to Ferryland.

Calvert (previously known as Caplin Bay), a mission of Ferryland Parish, had its first Roman Catholic church built in 1860. A new church was built around 1920 and, by 1956, the church had undergone some reconstruction. In 1971, Calvert's church was destroyed by fire but another was quickly built.

It is known, however, that a mission church was built in Acquaforte in 1958 and the old one was torn down. When this "old church" was constructed is not known.

The first schools established in Ferryland parish were non-denominational. In 1844, however, with the establishment of separate Roman Catholic and Protestant school boards in Newfoundland, a Roman Catholic and a Protestant school were established in Ferryland. The Protestant school closed in 1847 and these students attended the Roman Catholic school. In 1852 the Ferryland Commercial School was established and taught the boys of the community. The year 1858 saw the arrival of three Presentation Sisters to Holy Trinity Parish. These sisters had left the Fermeuse Convent in order to establish a Convent in Ferryland. They also established a school in their Convent, Sacred Heart School, and began to teach the girls of the community; The first school in Calvert was only a winter school and was opened in 1862. In 1955, the schoolhouse in Calvert was enlarged and a new school was built on the North Side for grades kindergarten to grade three.

The first school in Aquaforte was a Protestant school that had been established sometime around 1846. This school served both the Roman Catholic and Protestant population. In 1852, however, a separate Roman Catholic School was established in this community.

The 1960's brought a lot of changes to the schools in Holy Trinity Parish. A central high school, called St. Joseph's, was built in Ferryland, in 1962, for grades 8-11 and the Convent school, Sacred Heart, housed grades K-7. In 1968, Baltimore Regional High School was built to house grades 9-11 from Holy Trinity, Holy Apostles and Immaculate Conception parishes. This new school meant that the Junior schools were closed in Calvert and Aquaforte and the convent school, Sacred Heart, became a primary school with St. Joseph's as a Junior High School. In 1978 Baltimore Regional High School was destroyed by fire but a new one was built by 1980. The Presentation Convent School closed in 1986 and by 1989 a new St. Joseph's Elementary School was built in Ferryland to teach grades K-8 students from Calvert to Aquaforte.

As with most Roman Catholic parishes the people of Holy Trinity Parish were involved in the activities of the parish. As early as 1938 a letter mentions the establishment of the Sodality of the Children of Mary in the parish. Holy Trinity Parish also had a Parish Council which, as one of it's activities, officiated the 200 year celebration of Ferryland as a Parish in 1989. Some other groups within the Parish include the Catholic Women's League, the Kinsmen and Kinettes of Lord Baltimore, the Women's Institute, Historical Society, Guides, Pathfinders, Brownies, Scouts, Cubs and Beavers. While some of these groups have a direct relationship in the organization of the parish, other groups belong to the communities in the Parish and partake in the parish's events and activities. Please note that this list does not give a complete picture of all the groups within the parish but reflects only those that were mentioned in the fonds.

Some of the priest who served the people of Holy Trinity Parish are as follows: Rev. Fitzpatrick ([1784?]-1789); Rev. Thomas Ewer [possibly Yore] (1789-1805); Rev. Ambrose FitzPatrick (1806-[1812?]); Rev. Timothy Brown (1812-[1836?]); Rev. James Murphy ([1836?]-1870); Rev. Michael Clancy (1874-1884); Rev. Lawrence Vereker (1884-1918); Rev. Alfred Maher (1919-[1927?]); Rev. W. J. Ryan (1927-[1931?]); Rev. J. A. Cotter (1951-1964); Rev. John Corrigan (1966-[1977?]); Rev. Dermot McGettigan (1977- 1982); Rev. Kevin Molloy (1982-1986); Rev. J. Kevin Mckenna (1986-1990); Rev. John McGettigan (1990-1996); and Rev. Paul Lundrigan (1996-1998).

Football, or soccer as it is now called, has been played throughout the province since the mid-nineteenth century. Discussions were taking place as early as the 1930s about the necessity of having a body to coordinate regional competition, but it was not until August 1950, at the initiative of John V. Rabbitts of St. John's (see John V. Rabbitts fonds) and Fred Tessier of Grand Bank, that the Newfoundland Amateur Football Association was officially established. An existing organization called the Newfoundland Football League was composed exclusively of St. John's teams: this organization agreed to change its name to the St. John's Football League at the time of the new organization's creation (see St. John's Football League fonds). The first All- Newfoundland Football Series was held in St. John's on 28-29 August 1950. Holy Cross of St. John's played a team from St. Lawrence who had won the Burin Peninsula championship, with Holy Cross winning the first two games of a projected three-game series and thus the first All-Newfoundland championship. A team from Corner Brook had also been scheduled to play but had been prevented from traveling to St. John's by a railway strike.

The League was active in 2001 as the Newfoundland Soccer Association. The Association is funded mainly by federal, provincial, and municipal grants as well as corporate sponsorship. The Association offers programs for minor players, coaches, and officials (both on and off season), Canada Games teams (selection, training, uniforming), as well as introduction of indoor soccer. It has organized local championships as well as participating in national competition.