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Corporate body · 1908-1990

The Grand Falls and Millertown Mission was formed in the Twillingate District of the Newfoundland Conference of the Methodist Church of Canada in 1908. The boundaries of the mission extended from Millertown to Glenwood and included all places on the railway line, including logging camps in the vicinity.

The first Methodist service was held in a school in Grand Falls in 1906. Records indicate that there were 13 church members, and the congregation was ministered from Glenwood and Norris Arm. Probationary ministers were stationed at Glenwood and visited Grand Falls, Scissors Cove, Little Burnt Bay, and Norris Arm. By 1915, Bishop Falls, Glenwood, and Norris Arm were part of the Bishop Falls Mission.

In 1910, a new parsonage was constructed on Carmelite Road in Grand Falls, and Rev. William Muir became the first resident minister. A church was completed in 1911 on High Street and had a capacity of 300.

In 1914, the Grand Falls Circuit had missions in Grand Falls, Bishop Falls, and Millertown. In 1919, Grand Falls became an independent circuit and has remained so ever since.

The population of the town was steadily increasing; by 1922, the local congregation had outgrown the capacity of the old church so a new church was started. The church basement was finished in 1924 and was opened as the Bennett Hall. The church was finished in 1928 and dedicated as the Memorial United Church on 11 November. Rev B. Bugden was its first pastor. In 1923, a new manse was purchased. A third manse on Hill Road was purchased in 1963. The first Methodist cemetery in Grand Falls was opened on Valley Road. In the late 1920s, a new cemetery was opened on Lincoln Road.

The church in Grand Falls was organized from the beginning under the Session/Official Board structure. A Quarterly Official Board, Trustee Board, and a building committee were organized. Other committees dealing with Sunday school and temperance and moral reform soon followed. The Ladies' Aid Society was formed in 1910 and later became the Women's Association. Other women's groups followed, including the Women's Patriotic Association, the Currie Mission Circle in 1920, and the Young Women's Friendship Circle in 1950. The Explorer Group was organized in 1950, and by 1975 there were three groups of Canadian Girls in Training, one senior and two intermediate.

In 1922, a resolution was passed at the Quarterly Official Board meeting to ask the Presbyterian congregation of the town to amalgamate with the Methodist Church. However, the Presbyterians at St. Matthew's resisted the offer and remained opposed to Church Union.

In 1988, a new church building committee was appointed by the Official Board, and on 11 November 1990, the New Memorial United Church and Christian Education Centre was dedicated.

Robert Slade & Company
Corporate body · 1804-1861

Robert Slade & Company was one of several Slade family companies based in Poole and operating in the Newfoundland trade in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The original Slade firm was established in the 1750s by John Slade (1719-1792) with Newfoundland headquarters at Twillingate. John Slade later acquired trading premises in Fogo and established a branch business at Battle Harbour, Labrador. Robert Slade (1768-1833), John's nephew, was employed as a ship's captain. He assumed responsibility for the firm's business in Labrador and inherited (1792) a portion of his uncles' mercantile estate, John Slade & Co.

In 1804 Robert Slade formed his own firm, Robert Slade & Co., and established a trade at Trinity by acquiring premises formerly owned and operated by the Poole firm of Jeffrey & Street. Slade expanded to Catalina (1813), Heart's Content (1817), Bird Island Cove (Elliston) in 1822 and Hants Harbour (1835). Robert Slade directed his trade from a country house in Poole and employed agents to manage affairs at Trinity. James Gover was appointed manager (1804-9), succeeded by William Kelson (1809), who became a shareholder in 1822.

In the period 1804-1822, the firm traded under the name Robert Slade. In 1822 it became Slade & Kelson, when William Kelson, the company's chief agent at Trinity, also became a shareholder. Robert Slade died in 1833 and, from 1837 until 1850, the firm was styled Executors of the late Robert Slade Sr. After Kelson retired, the firm was renamed Robert Slade & Company and traded under that name until it was dissolved in 1861.

Under the management of William Kelson, Robert Slade's firm established an extensive trade with fishing families in Trinity Bay, utilizing the truck, or credit system. By the 1820s Robert Slade had become one of the larger Poole firms in the Newfoundland trade along with George Garland & Sons (Trinity) and Fryer, Gosse & Pack (Carbonear). Like the Garlands, Slade became involved in shipbuilding; the company fitted out fishing crews for the French Shore and the coast of Labrador and dispatched vessels to the spring seal hunt on the northeast coast.

In the 1820s Slade & Kelson encouraged permanent settlement in Trinity Bay, especially at Catalina and Bird Island Cove (Elliston) by opening and operating mercantile premises. When the firm closed out at Trinity, the Slade property was purchased by Alexander Bremner who formed a mercantile partnership with Walter Grieve and operated as Grieve & Bremner.

Corporate body · 1986-

The Norman's Cove Pastoral Charge was formed in 1986 within the Avalon Presbytery, Newfoundland Conference of the United Church of Canada. Rev. Ebbie W. Snow became its first minister. The appointments of the charge were Norman's Cove, Thornlea, and Fairhaven.

Although Norman's Cove was one of the first communities to be visited by Methodist missionaries in Newfoundland, it first appeared on the circuit list in the 1880s as part of the Railroad Mission with Chapel Arm as the centre. During its history, the congregation have been part of the various missions and pastoral charges formed on and around the isthmus. In the late 1880s, Norman's Cove became a congregation of the Whitbourne Mission, which was re-named Bay Bulls Arm Mission in 1911, with headquarters in Sunnyside.

The date of construction of the first Methodist church in Norman's Cove is uncertain, but a report on a missionary meeting held there in December 1913 stated, "The church was spotlessly clean, varnished and renovated for the occasion." A replacement church was dedicated in 1923.

In the late 1970s, Norman's Cove was listed as head of the pastoral charge. From 1980 to 1986, Norman's Cove was part of the Dunville-Norman's Cove Pastoral Charge, which included the appointments of Norman's Cove, Dunville, Fairhaven, and Thornlea.

Corporate body · 1911-

The first Methodist Minister recorded as being in the King's Point area was Rev. George Bond, who visited Three Arms in 1877-78, a short distance from King's Point. From 1883 until 1894, Harry's Harbour was part of the Little Bay Methodist Mission.

In 1894 it became part of the Nipper's Harbour -Tilt Cove Mission which included: Tilt Cove, Nipper's Harbour, Rogues Harbour, North West Arm (Burlington), South West Arm (King's Point), Jackson's Cove, La Scie, Shoe Cove Bight, Shoe Cove Brook, Caplin Cove, Indian Burying Place, Button Hole Cove, Harry's Harbour and Three Arms.

The boundaries changed again in 1897 and Harry's Harbour went back to the Little Bay Mission. In 1901 they were transferred to the Little Bay Islands Mission and were still a part of Little Bay Islands Mission in 1906. King's Point church was built in 1910 while it was part of the Little Bay Islands Mission.

In 1911 the King's Point Charge consisting of King's Point, Rattling Brook, Mansfield Point, Jackson's Cove, Harry's Harbour, and Three Arms was constituted and was ministered by Rev. R. H. Ball. Church Union took place in 1925 and the Methodist Church in Newfoundland became The United Church of Canada. At the time of Church Union in 1925, the mission included King's Point, Rattling Brook, Jackson's Cove and Harry's Harbour. Harry's Harbour church was dedicated for worship on May 22, 1927. The church stands where formerly stood a schoolhouse which was used also for divine worship.

In 1934 the pastoral charge was again divided, with King's Point and Rattling Brook being served by the Minister of Springdale, and Harry's Harbour, Jackson's Cove served by the Nipper's Harbour Minister. By 1951 King's Point again became a Pastoral Charge with its own Minister.

Construction of a new church commenced in King's Point in 1959 and, and when opened, served a membership of 154. Construction was started on a Manse there in 1963 and it was completed in 1964. Construction was started on a new church at Rattling Brook in 1976 and completed in 1977. This was their third church building over a period of seventy years.

Today, King's Point is a pastoral charge with preaching places at Harry's Harbour, Jackson's Cove and Rattling Brook.

Corporate body · 1791-1947

During the early migratory fishery Trinity was governed by Fishing Admirals, who were empowered to settle disputes among fishermen according to local customs and traditions. In 1729, by royal proclamation, the commander of the naval convoy in Newfoundland, became the governor of the colony. As the crown’s representative in Newfoundland, Governors appointed winter magistrates, Justices of the Peace, to maintain law and order outside the fishing season. The first magistrates at Trinity were Jacob Taverner and Francis Squibb, appointed in 1729. Initially the magistrates’ authority was challenged by the migratory fishermen, but as prominent merchants received appointments as Justices, the system gradually became respected, even though it had very little basis in law. By 1753 the magistrates presided over General Quarter Sessions to deal with civil disputes and from 1766 onwards, more serious complaints were heard annually in Surrogate Court, presided over by Naval Officers who were sent by the Naval Governors. By 1775 a local gaol was built at Trinity.

In 1791, a Court of Civil Jurisdiction was established in Newfoundland by an act of British Parliament, and John Clinch was appointed as a stipendiary magistrate at Trinity. By 1809 this Court had become permanent and was legally described as the Supreme Court of Newfoundland. The Court at Trinity was part of the Northern District Circuit. The stipendiary magistrates had both ministerial and judicial authority. They were able to receive information and complaints for indictable offences which could only be tried in Supreme Court; and as well they presided at the Court of Quarter Sessions, which tried offenders in summary criminal and civil cases. The Supreme Court held regular sessions to handle cases which came under its jurisdiction. There was a resident magistrate at Trinity until the late 1930s, after which time the magistrate at Bonavista held Court at Trinity as necessary. Nehemiah Short was the last magistrate with an office in Trinity.

In the 1970s, Provincial Court Judges replaced the former magistrates, and the Court for this area was centralized at Clarenville. Judge Coulton continued to preside over the Provincial Court at Trinity until the late 1980s. The last regular sitting of the Supreme Court at Trinity was held on September 5, 1947.

James Ryan and Company
Corporate body · 1875-1978

The Ryan family of Bonavista created a mercantile empire on the northeast coast of Newfoundland that was comparable in scale to many of the Water Street merchant houses of St. John's. James Ryan and his father, Michael Ryan, founded the fishery supply and general trade business at Bonavista in 1857. During the next three decades, James, along with brothers Daniel, Edmund, Nicholas and, to lesser degrees, Patrick, Michael J., and John, expanded the business into three separate firms with branch operations and barter shops in many communities throughout Bonavista and Trinity bays and along the coast of Labrador. James Ryan soon became the leading merchant in the shore fishery around Bonavista and also began supplying the Labrador fishery.

As Bonavista lacked a suitable harbour for schooner anchorage, James and his brother Daniel established a separate firm at King's Cove in 1875. Initially operating under the masthead of James and D. A. Ryan, the company soon became known as James Ryan and Company. Daniel moved to King's Cove to manage the operation and eventually became the sole proprietor. He handled trade in King's Cove for most of his life, with the branch becoming Ryan's main base for supplying the Labrador trade.

The firm remained a dominant player in the Newfoundland salt cod trade well into the twentieth century. The family members, operating out of separate branches, continued to maintain regular contact. By the 1930s, the firm experienced significant change as the older Ryan brothers had died and the branches were managed by in-laws. While the end of the family connection affected the conduct of the business, the decline of the salt fish trade had the more significant impact on the firm's future direction.

By 1953, James Ryan and Company had completely withdrawn from the fish trade, becoming primarily a wholesale and retail business. The firm carried on in this vein for several years, but was eventually closed in 1978 following the death of James's son, Herbert Ryan.

St. John's Football League
Corporate body · 1896-

Organized football, also called soccer, began in Newfoundland in the mid-nineteenth century, but it was not until 1896 that a permanent League was formed for the promotion of what one enthusiast repeatedly referred to as "our national game". The Newfoundland Football League was established on 15 March 1896 with a roster of seven St. John's teams including the Star of the Sea, the CLB, the CEI, the Methodist Institute, the Saints, the Rovers and the KAC. Games were originally played on the Llewellyn Grounds: after 1899 the League shifted its operations to St. George's Field. The League operated continuously until 1940, when activities were suspended for the duration of the war. In 1945 the League was reactivated, playing on the Ayre Athletic Grounds. A junior league of the Newfoundland Football League was formed in 1923. It was active from 1923-1928, again from 1932-1940 and, like its parent League, was reactivated in 1945.

In 1949, recognizing that their activities were confined to St. John's and that active football clubs were developing elsewhere in the province, the League adopted a new constitution, changing its name at that time to the St. John's Football League. At that time the League affiliated itself with the newly-formed Newfoundland Amateur Football Association (later the Newfoundland Minor Soccer Association). Further revision of the constitution in 1960 gave authority over League activities to the League executive, eliminating the need for extensive consultations on policy, scheduling and planning with representatives of every member team.

By 1977 the League was referred to as the St. John's Amateur Soccer League and appears to have had junior and senior divisions. In 2000 the Newfoundland Soccer Association lists the St. John's Minor Soccer Association as a member organization.

Corporate body · 1906-1987

The Englee Mission was established in 1906. Englee had originally been connected with the White Bay Mission. When the White Bay Mission was divided, the Northern section of the White Bay Mission became the Englee Mission. The first minister, Rev. L. Halfyard, was appointed to Englee in 1908.

Although the area covered in the Englee Mission wasn't specified when it was separated from the White Bay Mission, records show that in 1935 the Englee Mission served the needs of the people in the following communities: Roddickton, Hooping Harbour, Williamsport and Little Harbour Deep.

In 1968 Englee was designated by the Fisheries of Canada as a place of centralization, a place for fishery growth, development and social improvement. During the past three years, its population had increased as more than 50 families had resettled from such places as Roddickton, Main Brook, Canada Harbour, Hooping Harbour, and Williamsport.

Each of the communities under the Englee Mission had its own little place of worship, often in the form of a school chapel was the case at Pigeon Cove. The church at Pigeon Cove was at first a school building, owned by the church. In 1971, the school was turned into a church for the use of the families there. At Hooping Harbour, a new church was constructed in 1955 on the site of the old church which was destroyed by fire a few years earlier. The church at Flower's Cove was constructed a little earlier than the others, in 1956. At Roddickton, a new church was started in 1974, and the Opening and Dedication Service was held on November 24, 1974. The church was named the John Wesley United Church. The earlier church was accidentally destroyed by fire when a building near the church burned and ignited the church.

The Englee Mission boundary was changed in 1976 and several preaching points were dropped and Englee now had five peaching points at Englee, Flower's Cove, Main Brook, Pigeon Cove and Roddickton. Englee, Roddickton and Main Brook are situated on one side of the Northern Peninsula while Pigeon Cove and Flowers Cove are located across the Straits. For the next ten years, the Englee Mission took in the same preaching points.

By 1987, the boundaries of the pastoral charge had diminished and now covered Roddickton to Main Brook on the Eastern side and Pigeon Cove to Flowers Cove on the Western side.

Corporate body · 1973-

The Newfoundland and Labrador Sports Hall of Fame was established by the Newfoundland Amateur Sports Federation (NLASF) in 1973. The Federation was mandated to honour individuals, groups, associations, families, or teams that distinguished themselves in sports. Members could be elected in the category of athlete, athlete/builder, or builder for their role in the development and advancement of amateur sport. The six-member Board of Governors was appointed by the Board of Directors of NLASF (renamed Sport Newfoundland and Labrador in 1990) who also designated the chair and secretary. The Board of Governors appointed the six-member selection committee. The term of office for the board was three years; members served no more than two consecutive terms. Douglas Eaton, athlete and professor of physical education, was named the first chair of the Board of Governors and Gail Roberts was named in 1992.

Successful candidates are inducted into the Hall of Fame at an annual dinner held in the fall. The first inaugural dinner took place on 13 October 1973, when eleven nominees, including the 1901 Outer Cove rowing crew, were inducted. A booklet honouring Hall of Fame members was distributed at the 1995 Sports Hall of Fame banquet listing all inductees from 1972-1995. It also included a short biography and photograph of each member.

Part of the mandate of the Hall of Fame was the maintenance of an archives of sport-related records, including the administrative records of sports associations, the personal papers of athletes, sports promoters and builders, competition results, and other records pertaining to the history of sport in Newfoundland and Labrador. In 1997 Sport Newfoundland and Labrador transferred responsibility for this archives to the Provincial Archives, retaining an advisory role in the form of membership in a sports records committee which included representatives from the Provincial Archives and the provincial government. Sport Newfoundland and Labrador also arranged for volunteers to provide access to the archival collections.

Corporate body · 1833-

Holy Rosary Parish (Portugal Cove) was established in 1833 by Michael A. Fleming, vicar Apostolic of Newfoundland. As a vicariate Apostolic, the ordinary hierarchy of the church in Newfoundland was not yet considered to be fully evolved and since, technically, a parish is a portion of a diocese, no parishes can be said to have existed prior to the erection of Newfoundland as a diocese in 1847. However, the term "parish" appears to have been used informally to refer to a geographic territory possessing a church and resident priest (the term "district" was sometimes used). Regardless of the terminology, 1833 marks the establishment of Holy Rosary as a distinct organizational entity. Prior to this date, Portugal Cove formed part of the District of St. John's which then included the communities of Torbay, Pouch Cove, Topsail, and Petty Harbour.

The first Catholic church in Portugal Cove was built in 1833. The cornerstone of the present-day church was laid by Edward P. Roche, Archbishop of St. John's, in 1915. Extensive renovations were undertaken in 1981 and the church was dedicated and reopened by Archbishop A. L. Penney on 9 March 1982.

The territorial boundaries of Holy Rosary Parish have evolved since its erection in 1833. Originally, clergy stationed at Holy Rosary were responsible for making periodic visits to most of the settlements on the south shore of Conception Bay. However, much of this territory (roughly from Seal Cove to Topsail) was dismembered from Holy Rosary Parish with the erection of St. Edward's Parish (Topsail) in 1877. In 1907, Archbishop Howley detached the territory of Twenty Mile Pond and Major's Path from the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist Parish and annexed it to Holy Rosary, expanding its boundaries. In 1982, Holy Rosary was again dismembered when the community of St. Thomas was transferred to the newly erected Holy Family Parish (Paradise). Currently, the parish boundaries encompass the communities of Portugal Cove, St. Philip's, and the Airport Heights-Major's Path areas of St. John's.

Under the denominational education system, the activities of Holy Rosary Parish were intimately intertwined with Catholic schools operating within its boundaries, as the parish priest was responsible for their construction and upkeep. The first parochial school was built shortly after the establishment of the parish. By the 1960s, there were three schools in operation within the parish: Sacred Heart School and Roncalli School-Chapel in Portugal Cove, and St. Joseph's School at Windsor Lake. In 1968, Sacred Heart and St. Joseph's were closed and their students incorporated into Roncalli. Today, Roncalli operates as an elementary school and is no longer under church control due to denominational education reforms passed by the Provincial Government in 1997.

Pastors who have served Holy Rosary Parish since its establishment in 1833 include: Edward Troy (1883-1844?); Thomas O'Connor (1844?-1884); John Walsh (1884-1899); John T. Ashley (1900?-1911); Thomas Gough (1912-1934); Peter Sheehan (1935-1949); James T. Fennessey, Administrator (1950); James Loyola Lacey (1951-1979); James Hickey (1979-1986); Kevin J. Molloy, Administrator (1986-1989); Robert J. Ryan (1989-1996); and John McGettigan (1996- ).

In 2002, parochial affairs are directed by the Holy Rosary Parish Council and several committees and church societies, including the Finance Committee, two Service Committees, and two presidia of the Legion of Mary (this list is not exhaustive).