The Jenniex House in Norris Point: A Must Visit

By: Sharon Martin

Kitchen Area: The Jennix House, Norris Point, NL. Photo: Mike Lester

Experiencing the rugged beauty and breathtaking scenes of Gros Morne National Park one can just imagine what it must have been like to live from day to day and scratch a living from the land or sea in this diverse landscape. One can do just that by visiting the Jenniex House which has been restored and filled with artifacts donated or put on loan to the house by immediate family members, by relatives and by friends of the Jenniex family.

In 1995 Mrs Alma Jenniex donated her house to the Norris Point Heritage Committee and it was relocated to its present location offering spectacular views of the tablelands and Bonne Bay.

Originally the Jenniex House was built in Neddies Harbour in 1926. The house was built on the beach partly placed over the water.. It had a log foundation consisting of six inch logs fastened to floor joists. The walls were built from rough lumber one inch thick and insulated with sawdust and wood chips. The floor insulation was birch rind and tar felt.

As one wanders from room to room you cannot help but be magically transported back in time and reading material on the premises does just that. It opens the door to the day to day lives of the Jenniex family especially the chores carried out by Mrs Jenniex who raised 14 children in the house.

Mrs. Jenniex did an amazing amount of work as did most women in the past...She would help the children every night with their homework at the kitchen table. They studied their lessons by the light provided from kerosene lamps. All of the cooking was done on a potbelly wood stove. The family hauled all of their own water. All of the children’s clothes were hand-washed and scrubbed on a washboard. Soap was made from seal fat boiled with a can of lye. Ashes from the wood stove would also be boiled with lye until it got stringy. It was then shaped, cut in blocks, dried and sliced. This mixture was used to wash clothes. The clothes would then be ironed with flat irons.

When the children got sick there were home remedies for their aches and pains. A sore throat was treated with a special molasses candy. It was made by boiling molasses, pepper and kerosene oil. This was boiled until it reached a taffy consistency. Then with buttered hands the candy would be pulled, rolled out and cut into pieces.

The Jennix House, Norris Point, NL. Photo: Mike Lester

There is an older model sewing machine upstairs. Mrs. Jenniex would have considered this a luxury. Knitting was a favorite pastime and means to clothe a family. She would shear the sheep, wash the wool. Card it, pick it and spin it. Drapes and bedspreads were all hand made out of flour sacks.

Like many other women of the time, Mrs Jenniex kept a garden outside for growing vegetables. Partridge berries were picked at Kildevil Mountain. Mrs. Jenniex would walk there and overnight in a shed, returning to Norris Point the following day with a load of berries in tow.

The home was also the center of social activity. During the day when older children would have been in school, Mrs. Jenniex and the younger children would socialize with neighbors sitting together talking and knitting. Playing cards was also a popular activity during long winter nights.

Like many men of the time Mr. Jenniex was a jack of all trades. He worked in the woods, was employed for a time with Lundrigans and he worked on the bridges near marble Mountain in Corner brook. He also helped to build many of the Gros Morne National Park houses in Rocky Harbour.

The Jenniex house also supports a gift shop and one can enjoy a freshly baked muffin and refreshment on the premises. If stepping back in time is your "cup of tea" a visit to The Jenniex house will fit the bill.

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