Kevin’s great great grandparents settled Bakers Point. The original house on the homestead is still there - it is a lovely post and beam home and the oldest on the East Jeddore coast. Kevin spoke of the beams and studs fastened by wooden pegs, of the 22 inch roof boards ripped from the largest trees in the day that now lie silently holding secrets beneath asphalt shingles that I suspect replaced the original wooden roof shingles. He also spoke of the 15 inch square sills upon which the house rests. The Bakers invited me to go for a boat ride. You can imagine my immense thrill in being invited on a summer Sunday afternoon to tour Jeddore in Kevin’s original Newfoundland Motor Boat. Before our ride we visited with Baker’s friends— loved Roger"s goats, laughed in their kitchen, and marvelled at our hostess Brenda’s truly exceptional piecework. The rising tide flowed to the shores of their property as our already lofty spirits lifted.
Kevin’s stable, sturdy, Newfoundland Motor Boat is one of the very few left powered by “Make-and-Break gas engines” and the only one in Jeddore. Make “n’ Break engines were used in the early in the 20th century and are disappearing just as so much of our Canadian heritage has. The Make ‘n’ Break engine has a story of its own and a fascinating one at that.
Atlantic engines were, and still are, built by Lunenburg Foundry in Lunenburg. In the old days, 60% of their output went to Newfoundland and they had branch service and sales facilities in St. John’s. The patterns and tooling were still in the Lunenburg factory and they can still build a two-cycle make and break engine if you could pay for it.” https://everythingaboutboats.org/lunenburg-foundry-ltd/
The grace of a wooden hull is unparalled in my experience, and the Newfoundland Motor Boat is no exception. I felt very safe and deeply secure in this boat. The Newfoundland Motor Boat was the workhorse of the inland fishing industry in times passed. Our captain and engineer Kevin told me that these boats descended from "three-stick moulds" brought from Britain and Ireland centuries ago. The genius that developed the three-stick mold remains unnamed. Three stick moulds could be adjusted to create boats of different sizes, made of local timber with methods also brought by settlers from England and Ireland, styles did vary somewhat but the basic boat moulds continued to be handed down through generations.
Kevin’s boat is 25 feet long and as we toured Jeddore, the magic of the water, waves, and wooden hull, took us to eagles resting in black spruce, piers of wood and stone, and an afternoon of sheer bliss.
Roger and the boys
One of Brenda's quilts on her clothes line
Roger loved his beautiful daylilies
Out Brenda and Roger's front door
Kevin's Newfoundland Motor Boat
The Make'n'Break
About to set to sea
Fish factory still operational at Bakers Point on East Jeddore Rd ships Silver Hake to Spain
Two boys two boats
Home of God now home of man
Susan's snack time! Great roasted almonds, bananas and watermelon!
Island shore
Our Pilot, Captain and Engineer
