Light and Dark of Halloween

(Oct 31, 2015)

Halloween Night - that division between light and darkness - an't complete without "the boys"
You know, that bunch of older teenage boys that show up late on your door steps.
...

Right on cue they knocked tonight, sometime after 9 pm, carrying massive bags of treats.
After I handed the collective 6 that landed on my front steps the usual portion, I decided to offloaded all that was left. They were like savages - sweet savages mind you, but those sweet treats were like gold. A whole months of sugary stock danced in their heads.

After I closed the door, I thought about them - how this would likely be their last Halloween gig. How tonight they were out and about on this cold and windy dark night trying to capture the last taste of their youth. This year, the Halloween trek was perhaps the cool dare; next year, it won't be cool for those boys to be seen out with prowling the streets with the young ones. Perhaps that is why they come knocking so late?

It got me thinking about my Halloween nights back in my rural cove a few decades ago - ok, many decades ago.

I can't remember when I Halloweened it last, but one thing I know Halloween back then didn't quick resemble the extravaganta of today.

First of all, there was the swag that carried the load - we were hip - we used only the "Pillowcase" brand - rarely brandished today. Whatever worn-out old pillowcase your mother could sacrifice, that was it.

Costumes didn't come from the store - we knitted creativity with whatever clothing we could find. We couldn't google or order a costume idea. We made do.

Then there were the treats - there weren't many, really. Apples were the main hit as I recall. Those miniature bars and chips were a generation away. 

And our clothing didn't keep us as warm as the high tech clothing of today. We endured many frigid fall-cold Halloween nights in northern Newfoundland.

But all in all, though it wasn't the big orchestrated event, we kept the Halloween spirit alive just as they do much more easily (and with better loot!) today.

Still, I do remember even back then, us "Halloween boys" did the last trick-or-treating of our lives right up until the last division between light and dark - i.e youth and adulthood.
Some things never change, thankfully.

The Stamp of the Cod

A bounty of giant Codfish has been swimming in waters off NL for thousands of years.

No wonder this fish has had such a defining place in this province's rich past.  

So much so, that Cod, in its salty state, was once the currency of this place.

The majesty of Cod - as a fish and its role as economic and cultural shaper - was recognized as early as 1865, when it was honoured with a pictorial on a postage stamp.

Newfoundland was a self-governing Dominion of the British Empire from 1855-1933.  From 1857-1947, Newfoundland issued over 300 postage stamps.   This 90-year period, according to Terranovapub.com,  ...  spanned five monarchs and two world wars, that saw the conquest of the North Atlantic by air, the change from sail to steam, and the invention of radio, the airplane, and the light bulb.   http://www.terranovapub.com/newfoundland-stamp-designs.html    

A review of some of the literature on Newfoundland’s old postage stamps reveal they are renowned for their beauty, history and high collector value. They also are unique in the world as nearly every aspect of the early development of the Newfoundland nation is depicted upon them:    A study of Newfoundland postage stamps is a study of Newfoundland history, politics, natural resources and geography. Many parents educated their children using Newfoundland postage stamps as valuable reference material, prior to union with Canada on March 31, 1949. http://visitnewfoundland.ca/briefstamp.html     

While the first Newfoundland postal stamp was issued in 1857, it was not until 1865 that a pictorial was released which celebrated the Codfish -  the mainstay of the Newfoundland economy and the major commodity which formed trade networks and cross-cultural exchanges. Newfoundland is known as the first country to show a fish on its adhesive stamps.  The green stamp, with a Codfish depicted swimming to the left, would be criticised by Albert Perlin (1937) for its design flaw – omitting the split in the Codfish’s tail.   

It would not be the last time that King Cod would be featured on a postal stamp in the Colony of Newfoundland.   The blog spot "Big Blue" provides the following information on the issuing of Cod stamps:   "Between 1880-1896, three stamps with  a new Codfish  design were released. The 2c yellow green, and the 2c green were issued in 1880 and 1896 respectively, while the 2c red orange was produced in 1887."   http://bigblue1840-1940.blogspot.ca/2014/05/newfoundland-pictorials.html 

In 1932, two varieties of the 1 Cent stamp were issued - with the first  one printed in green (Jan).   By August 1932,  the colour was changed to grey.   These stamps were part of the “First Resource Issue”.  One paid tribute to Cod as currency in the Newfoundland nation; and was based on a photograph by renowned photographer Robert Holloway. 

Although described by Albert Perlin as “possibly the ugliest stamp Newfoundland had ever issued” (1959:128), NFLDStamps.com offers this perspective,  "The stamp realistically portrays a catch of fresh cod. The caption could be a painful reminder to inshore fishermen that they were rarely if every paid in cash by fish merchants and therefore had to pay their debts literally in ‘fish’ (the generic term that applied specifically to cod). http://www.nfldstamps.com/userfiles/files/2.%20History%20of%20Newfoundland%20Stamps.pdf

In 1937 King Cod was featured on a postal stamp with a member of the Royal  family - King George VI.    This is the  first stamp of the Long Coronation Issue of Newfoundland and it shows a Codfish to the left of the King's  oval portrait.

The Cod fishery would also be spotlighted in two other postage stamps according to Professor Thomas Nemec. Former secretary of the St. Johns’s Philatelic Society:
1)  8¢.  “Fishing, One of the Colony's Resources.” A crew of inshore fishermen in two boats is depicted ‘hauling’ or unloading fish from a codtrap. The design may have been based on a contemporary photo. The Colony’s fisheries were its economic mainstay.

2)   Leaving For The Banks.” Ten two-masted schooners in full sail are also depicted sailing through  the Narrows. Since their crews fished offshore on the Grand Banks the vessels were called ‘bankers’.    Historically, some storms were famous for having caused the deaths of hundreds of fishermen.   http://www.nfldstamps.com/userfiles/files/2.%20History%20of%20Newfoundland%20Stamps.pdf

By June 23, 1947, Newfoundland issued its final stamp. These stamps were used for letter, parcel and airmail until April 01, 1949, when they were replaced by Canadian stamps.

Postal stamps, predating Newfoundland’s entry into Confederation, remain valid for mail posted anywhere within Canada - if you can find one; or have a friend who is kind enough to share these special gems.

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|KP