The ms
Veendam arrived in St. Anthony about 7:00 am while we have breakfast . The ship is cleared by 8:15 and we step off
the tender at 9:30am. St. Anthony has a
population of about 2500 people and is all about Sir Wilfred Grenfell.
The
tender docks at the Grenfell Historic Properties operated by the Sir Wilfred
Thomason Grenfell Historical Society.
You might wonder "Who is this guy?" I certainly did.
Born
in 1865 in the north of England -- Sir Grenfell is credited with being the man
who changed the life of the people of Labrador and Newfoundland. He joined the Royal National
Mission To Deep Sea Fisherman shortly after entering the London Hospital Medical School in
1883. In 1892 he was sent to
Newfoundland to investigate the conditions in the Labrador fishery. He was the first doctor to visit the
region. The deplorable conditions he
found inspired his lifelong passion to help these people live better
lives. Dr. Grenfell practiced medicine,
built hospitals (including hospital ships), established schools and orphanges. He also developed cottage industries such as
rugmaking so people had something to do when fishing was slow. He was a model of how "one man can make a difference". Although he also inspired many others to
help since he knew he could not do this alone.
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| Model of one of Grenfell's Hospital Ships. |
We
toured the museum -- watched a short film on his life and visited his
home. I love house museums and this one
was fabulous. The house where he, his
wife, Ann and their three children lived was built in 1910 --- high on a hill overlooking the
harbor. It looks just like they were
still living in it. He died in 1940 and
she two years earlier.
 |
| Phil in the Grenfell's Living Room! |
 | |
| Pat on the Grenfell's Porch! |
Leaving
the house we walked to the hospital where in their entrance rotunda are several
murals carved on the walls. The artist
is Jordi Bonet and the scenes celebrate the cultures of Newfoundland and the
importance of the Grenfell Mission in the development of the region. Very impressive!
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| Phil in the Grenfell's Kitchen! |
 | |
| Pat on the Approach to the Grenfell's house! |
Well
-- we're hungry so it must be lunch time -- on we go in search of a place to eat with wifi
-- a tall order we realize. "Jungle
Jim's" -- a tavern of sorts located in a hotel fits the bill --- the food
is good and they have wifi.
After
lunch, on the two mile walk back to the tender dock -- we pass Riff's --
so we go in. This is St. Anthony's
"WalMart". Phil has broken
his reading glasses so he hoped to find a pair at Riff's -- nothing to his liking
was here.
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| Phil at Jungle Jim's! |
Just
on the other side of the tender dock is a supermarket and a pharmacy. As soon as we enter the supermarket the smell
of the baking croissants lets me know I am in a supermarket in the North
Atlantic -- but no reading glasses just
sunglasses.
The
pharmacy has reading glasses but not the strength that he needs. He's using my back-up glasses so he is fine.
Well
we have had another full day -- this time in St. Anthony, Newfoundland ---
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| St. Anthony, Newfoundland from the Sea! |
Thanks
for Reading!
Pat
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