Hello everyone, it's Nora checking in. You may or may not be familiar with me, but I have had the absolute pleasure of working as the Assistant Manager at Admiralty House since October 2019. Unfortunately, my time at Admiralty House has come to an end. I recently resettled to a small mountain town in Alberta along with my husband, and my dog, Fig Newton. I wanted to take the time to write this note to thank everyone who has made my time at Admiralty House so enjoyable and to reflect on the experiences I have had over the past year and a half.
When I started at Admiralty House in October of 2019, I was on a contract that was set to expire in March 2020. I couldn’t complain – as a newcomer to Newfoundland, and a new graduate, this position was an incredible opportunity in a field I am passionate about. Supported by the Young Canada Works – Building Careers in Heritage, this contract seemed like a dream come true.
I hit the ground running at full speed – only two weeks after I started, the Museum Manager,
Sarah Ryan
, left for a well-deserved vacation! She got married! I felt truly honoured to be trusted with the museum while she was gone for a month, and I won’t deny that I had many a nightmare about something terrible happening while I was in charge. Luckily for me, it all went well, and I gained a ton of practical experience in administration and management. 
Once Sarah returned, I got to dig deep into a couple of really exciting projects. I was particularly excited to start working on the Wintry ReMix exhibit scheduled for February 2020 as part of the Frosty Festival. I love art, especially as an amateur creator myself, and I couldn’t wait to get the show together. Adjudicating entries had to be one of the most interesting experiences I’ve had and it was a pleasure to see all of the amazing submissions we received for the show. Every artist involved in the 2020 Wintry ReMix show will forever have a special place in my heart. I’d be remiss in talking about the exhibit without mentioning my co-organizer,
Lucy MacLean
with the Association for the Arts in Mount Pearl (AAMP). Her practical knowledge of art, design, and gallery installation was invaluable – without her, I would have been surrounded by art on the floor, an inconsolable lump. The week of the show opening added a few grey hairs to my head, but it was an experience I will never forget. 
Suddenly, our world turned upside down. March 13 was one of the strangest days of my life as we went home, grabbing digital copies of our files, boxes of supplies and not knowing what the next few weeks would look like (keep in mind, my contract was set to expire in a couple of weeks as well). We, like many, expected to be back in the office before Easter.
I was extremely fortunate during COVID-19, not only was my contract extended, but I was able to work from home for Admiralty House. It was weird, I missed the social aspect of work, and sometimes it felt like the craziness of the world would never let up but I am so proud of the content we created and the work we did during this time. One of the highlights for me was creating our children’s activity videos – I never anticipated this job would teach me how to make stop-motion animation or how to tie nautical knots. I also feel privileged to have been involved, in the small capacity that I was, in the launch of Admiralty House’s Virtual Museum of Canada exhibit, “The Loss of the S.S. Florizel”. During the lockdown, I also got to combine two of my passions, cooking, and history, as I filmed (and taste-tested) our Admiralty Eats video series, where I cooked heritage recipes that might have fed the men stationed at HM Wireless Station in Mount Pearl.
Once we reopened, I had the pleasure of working with our summer students on several projects. I worked closely with our student Tim on one very memorable project – identifying the burial sites of those on board the S.S. Florizel’s final disastrous voyage. Our research took us to several cemeteries around St. John’s – a unique experience to work in the field. I will never forget those visits, there is something deeply personal about visiting cemeteries, and you feel a connection that is different than when you read names on paper.
One of the initiatives I am most proud of has been our series “Stories from the Station”, which we launched in September 2020. Doing a deep dive into the lives of the men who were stationed at HM Wireless Station in Mount Pearl sometimes feels like a gargantuan, never-ending task, but it’s one that fills me so deeply with joy. I love being able to bring these men to life, a century after they worked at the station, and to shed some light on the diverse backgrounds and experiences these men had. I’ve grown attached to each man that I’ve profiled and am so glad I have had the opportunity to learn about their lives.
I even liked Admiralty House so much I got married there in November with Sarah as my witness!
I’ve been so fortunate to finish my time at Admiralty House working on our Frosty Festival memories project. Interviewing our community members, engaging with people online, and helping facilitate a good laugh over old pictures has been a delight.
I would be remiss in not thanking the following people for making my experience at Admiralty House so wonderful:
Sarah Ryan, you are a wonderful, devoted, and passionate Museum Manager, and I am so glad that I got to call you my boss, and that I continue to be able to call you my friend.
The
Admiralty House Communications Museum
Board of Directors, I have enjoyed meeting and working with you all and appreciated all your support during my tenure. 
Our summer staff,
Madelyn
, Katherine, Tim, Tiffany, and Kyle brought such energy to the museum, something that we all needed after the spring that we had. I will cherish my memories of summer 2020. With the
Association for the Arts in Mount Pearl
, I worked closely with a number of your members/executive, and I am grateful for the positive relationships I’ve built with your community and the support that your team showed, particularly during Wintry ReMix. The community of and the
City of Mount Pearl
, what can I say, you’ve been a great audience for my social media efforts, always highly engaged, asking great questions, and contributing much to my knowledge and understanding of the community. And everyone else who made this job a hugely pleasurable experience, I’ve had the chance to interact and meet so many different people from around Newfoundland through this experience and I appreciate everything and everyone that I met.
I wish Admiralty House all the best in the future and know that I will always keep the community of Mount Pearl in a special place in my heart.
- Nora Allen, Assistant Manager, 2019-2021
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