Land And Sea

Clara Oliver

2012-07-01T14:17:51Z

Clara Oliver, in many ways, is your typical healthy 86-year-old woman. But in other ways,she's anything but typical.

Clara grew up in the heart of St. John's downtown west end. But when she was a teenager, her family moved just outside the city. To the country. Where Clara was introduced to outhouses, mosquitoes...and her future husband, David. The man who would instill his love of the country on her.

Now, at 86, Clara regulary goes trouting in summer...ice fishing and rabbit catching in winter. She makes her annual trip to her son and daughter-in-law's farm every February...where she scratches her outdoors itch. This year, Land and Sea went with her.

What My Eyes Have Seen

2012-06-24T14:14:42Z

L'Anse au Loup's Rodney Barney has a genetic, incurable eye disease. He was declared legally blind ten years ago, and as each year goes by, his vision gets a little worse.

Yet, every Spring, Rodney is back aboard the boat, gutting codfish and hauling herring traps. On the water, unless you knew the difference, you would never guess Rodney Barney is blind.

And it seems there's no limits to what this blind man can do. In his shed he makes beautiful and complex patio chairs...chairs a woodworker with 20/20 vision would be proud of.

You have to see it to believe it. The truly inspirational story of Rodney Barney.

Originally Organic

2012-06-17T14:12:19Z

Newfoundland and Labrador may be more widely known for its rock than its soil. But that hasn't stopped centuries of farmers from digging up the earth and taking on the challenge of making things grow. Of course, most use fertilizers and pesticides to help ensure a bountiful harvest. But some determined land owners go a much more natural route. This week on Land & Sea we'll tell you the story of an organic farm in Portugal Cove and Mike and Melba Rabinowitz...the farmers who wouldn't grow their grub any other way.

Indian Islands Reunion -- Archival Special

2012-06-10T14:10:28Z

Notre Dame Bay's Indian Islands was once a thriving community. But like so many others in the '50s and '60s, it was abandoned. Indian Islanders resettled.

But for one very special weekend in 1988, the Islanders came home. Hundreds flocked to the Indian Islands reunion, young and old alike. They pitched tents where old homesteads used to be. They met old friends, relatives...they reminisced, remembered...and they celebrated a past way of life.

In this archival special, Land and Sea takes you back to the Indian Islands reunion. Thirty years after the community had been abandoned.

Feel Free to Sit

2012-06-03T14:08:09Z

Ask Otto Young what he likes best, music or people, and he has a job to answer. He's a people person for sure, and he meets many over the course of a summer. Otto and his wife own and operate three cabins in Little Harbour, and they've had people stay from all over the world.

But Otto is also a musician, a craftsman, and an artist...not to mention, a natural born entertainer. Roll all those things into one, and you end up with one of Twillingate Island's biggest attractions.

Southern Shore Sri Lankans

2012-05-27T14:03:21Z

The idea of leaving home to find work is nothing new to Newfoundlanders and Labradorians. The same can be said for new immigrants finding their way to our rugged shores. More and more of these newcomers are discovering opportunities in rural towns and communities all over the province. This week on Land & Sea we'll introduce you to the Southern Shore Sri Lankans. A job ad on the internet brought two families half way around world. We'll tell you about the transition they've made from the Indian Ocean to the Atlantic and all the challenges they've faced along the way.

Bill Kelly

2012-05-20T13:45:38Z

Bill Kelly hosted Land and Sea in Newfoundland and Labrador for eight seasons, in the flamboyant fashion that was uniquely his. He was hosting in 1990, the year of the worst cuts to the CBC this province has ever seen.

Programs were cancelled, including Land and Sea, and viewers all over Newfoundland and Labrador were enraged.

So was Bill Kelly.

Despite fighting his own battle with heart disease, Bill spearheaded the fight to save the show he loved. And he won.

The Myers lll - Archival Special

2012-05-13T13:22:07Z

It was a tragedy that rocked the Northern Peninsula.

On one stormy January day, 25 years ago, The Myers lll was lost with all hands. Five men perished...four brothers and a family friend. The brothers were from Bartletts Harbour, where their wives and children were left to try and make sense of it all.

Land and Sea went to Bartletts Harbour soon after the tragedy. In this archival special, you'll hear from some of the people hardest hurt by the loss of the Myres lll...the people who vowed they'd never forget.

The Mummer Man

2012-05-06T18:03:53Z

Alan Young first started mummering when he was eight years old. He's almost 79 now, and he's still mummering. Alan's missed only one Christmas, and that was the year he was in hospital with a broken leg.

Alan can remember when mummers were so numerous in Twillingate, you'd have to wait to get in a house...wait until the first batch of mummers had left. Back then, people mummered throughout the whole Christmas season...from Boxing day, till Old Christmas day.

It's a treasured tradition Alan refuses to get go of....a tradition he still keeps alive in Twillingate. For the pure love of it.

Alan Young is the undisputed mummer man. One of Twillingate's greatest Christmas gifts.

Escape from the Cape

2012-04-29T18:01:36Z

When it comes to coastal communities, you'd be hard pressed to find one more exposed to the elements than Makkovik, Labrador. And when residents head out in a boat away from what little shelter there is in that community, there's no telling what they'll encounter. This week on Land & Sea we'll introduce you to three men who have a story of survival and luck few in Makkovik would have imagined possible.

The 21st Century Bayman

2012-04-22T17:58:50Z

Even as a boy, Terrence Howell always looked at things differently...with an artist's eye.

He grew up around the bay, in a traditional outport family. He lives in outport Newfoundland now. In Grates Cove, on the Avalon Peninsula. But in many ways, Terrence is anything but your typical bayman.

Terrence is an artist, a world traveller, and a craftsman. And he's found productive, profitable ways to use all his talents in his workshop and studio in Grates Cove. The building that used to be a two room school house.

He's a blend of the traditional, and the artistic. Terrence Howell is a 21st Century Bayman.

The Igor Quilts

2012-04-15T17:55:49Z

Kelowna, British Columbia is about as different and as far away from Newfoundland as you can get in this country. But now, there's a link between Kelowna and Newfoundland...thanks to one hurricane, and the kindheartedness of a handful of Kelowna quilters.

When Hurricane Igor ripped through Newfoundland in the fall of 2010, it left many outports in tatters. Igor downed trees, flooded homes...washed out roads and bridges. When a small group of ladies in Kelowna heard about the distruction, they thought they could provide some warmth in the aftermath of the storm. In the form of handmade quilts.

Greenspond -- Archival Special

2012-04-08T17:53:53Z

Twenty-five years ago, Dave Quinton and the Land and Sea crew visited Greenspond, Bonavista Bay. The island outport was on the upswing at the time. Many of its younger people were moving back home....returning to the fishery and the traditional ways of life.

Some had thought Greenspond would go the way of so many other outports during the resettlement era...that the rocky island would eventually be abandoned. But Greenspond proved to be a place resettlement couldn't kill.

Resettlers Remember

2012-04-01T17:50:30Z

In the 50's, 60's and 70's thousands of Newfoundlanders chose to leave their tiny isolated communities. They packed up everything they owned, houses and all, and towed their lives across the water to resettle in larger centres. Better roads. Better education and healthcare. Better lives for their children. For many, the promise was fulfilled.

Still, looking back, the lives they led in those quiet little towns were pure and simple. At least that's how Tom and Phyllis Cutler remember it. Join us as the Cutler's take us back to their home of Fair Island. Learn about how life was there fifty years ago and hear the reasons why they decided it was time to move on.

The Car Buffs of the Bay

2012-03-25T17:44:46Z

It all started 30 years ago...when one man from St. Mary's Bay Newfoundland brought home one classic car...a '57 Ford Fairlane. That car infected the bay like a fever. Now, every second shed or garage in St. Mary's is home to an antique car or truck. Vintage vehicles, adored and pampered by the car buffs of the bay.

Some buy, and some buy to restore. And it all comes together at St. Mary's annual Gulch Beach Festival...a car show uniquely Newfoundland. A car show with outport flavour, and pride.