So, what have I been up to? Well, let me tell you. Thursday I spent most of my day going through the rest of the oral history interviews that are available through Memorial University's Digital Archives Initiative. They are so fun and candid and, while I was not the one conducting the interviews, I feel as though the interviewers were exceptionally skilled in the questions they asked because I really feel like I got a glimpse into the lives and minds and hearts of some people from Mount Pearl. It has for sure given me some insight and direction into both how I want to do my own interviews and podcast, as well as where it is I need to pick up from where the person before me left off. There is some really good material in there and I'm looking forward to working with it to create something that people will (hopefully!) enjoy listening to.
I also stumbled onto some resources on the City of Mount Pearl's website that proved very useful, and through those, I discovered a Facebook group called "You know you grew up in Mount Pearl Newfoundland if..." This group is amazing. I personally didn't grow up in Mount Pearl, but the people who did use this group to share old memories and photos and videos and newspaper clippings and basically anything that you can imagine, as long as it has to do with Mount Pearl. Videos of Christmas parades from the 80s, flyers from Dominion that was once in Centennial Square, honestly, everything. It was amazing. From the interviews I have listened to, I got a sense of how important community and identity are to the people of Mount Pearl, and I saw it come to life through the posts in this group. Whoever created this group, if you're reading this- thank you. Not only does it coincide with the values of the museum, (ie the appreciation of local history, the preservation of community identity, and the sharing of personal histories), but it provides a place for the people of Mount Pearl to help with that. And to me, that is incredible.
So that was my Mount Pearl rabbit hole, as I have been so fondly calling it when referencing this branch of my research. As I have said before, my project for this summer is to write and produce a podcast for the museum's radio station, and in order to do that, I have been slowly but surely researching various elements of the things outlined in the mandate for Admiralty House Communications Museum. So while the people of Mount Pearl are important, (duh!) so is its history. And that's why today, I started off on a quest for more knowledge about James Pearl, the man responsible for establishing Mount Pearl in 1834. Pearl took 500 acres of land and planted the seeds that would eventually grow into the blooming municipality that is Mount Pearl. Sarah showed me a book called Pearl: The Man and the Place and to be honest, I have yet to put it down. It's super interesting and it's answering all the questions I didn't know I had.
For the rest of today, I will probably continue down a side-alley of my Mount Pearl rabbit hole to focus more on the earliest days. I feel like having an understanding of James Pearl and his motives will help me formulate questions for both myself as a researcher, and for the people I hope to interview. After that, though, I plan to zoom out a bit with my scope and start looking for ways to incorporate other aspects of the museum's mandate into my podcast. It's no secret that the museum works hard (and succeeds, in my opinion) to promote the history of the museum and building itself, as well as its importance and how it fits into history in several different ways (ie SS Florizel disaster, the First World War, Marconi, etc.) I have a few podcasts planned to showcase the Mount Pearl side of things, so it's looking like next week will take a shift in that I'll be going down a wireless communications history rabbit hole.
I can't wait to paint a more composite picture and bring the museum's objectives to life on the airways, because it's already been done here in person. But, as you can tell, I have a lot of work to do, so this is where I leave you. I will once again mention if you have any stories about life in Mount Pearl or if you or someone you know has any experience with broadcast and might know a thing or two about the history of communications in Newfoundland, do not be afraid to communicate with me! Have a great week everyone!
Oh, and for your viewing pleasure, here is an example of a uniform that would have been worn by James Pearl! Pretty snazzy if you ask me!
Until next time!
Lauren
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