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Seal Fishery (Early
1940s)
The following story was written by an adult basic education
student at the Grand Falls-Windsor campus.
The early 1940s was an exciting time in the seal fishery. Both
men and boys worked hard to harvest seal. In these times, row boats were used
because there were no motors for the boats. The men and boys took turns rowing
the small boats for many hours in the early morning and the late evening. This
was usually done through channels in the rough ice. They often carried the
boats over large sections of ice to get to open water.
The guns used to kill the seal were large and heavy. Most men
used a ¾ muzzle loader. They also carried a powder horn and a leather
shot bag.
They used a gaff to retrieve the seals after they were shot. The
gaff was used to haul the seals from the water to the boat. The seals were
bought to shore, cleaned, and packaged for selling.
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Flipper
Dinner
Ingredients
seal flippers
salt pork (cut in
small pieces)
chopped onion
orange (keep peel on, cut in half)
apple
(keep peel on, cut in half)
cabbage |
carrot
turnip
potatoes
vinegar
baking soda
salt and
pepper to taste |
* number and amount of ingredients will vary according
to the number of servings needed.
Wash flippers in cold water. Fill a large pot 3/4 full
with water. Add two tablespoons of vinegar and two tablespoons of baking soda.
Bring to a boil. Add flippers and boil three to five minutes.
Place salt pork in bottom of roaster. Cook on stove top
until pork is rendered and golden in color. Place flippers in hot fat. Add salt
and pepper. Keep roaster covered and cook for two hours at 325 degrees
Fahrenheit. Remove from oven, drain fat, add onion, apple, and orange. Add
small amount of water to cover bottom of roaster. Return to oven. Cover and
cook for me hour at 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Cook vegetables separately.
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For an added treat, try this pastry
over your flipper dinner.
Pastry
1½ cups of flour
1½
teaspoons of baking powder
¼ cup of melted butter
Mix ingredients together with a small amount of water.
Flatten pastry with hands and place on top of flippers. Bake uncovered for
twenty minutes or until golden brown. Make gravy from liquid in bottom of
roaster and liquid that the vegetables were cooked in.
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