Sandwich Bay Meets the Puffin Post

By: Jessie Bird

Sandwich Bay, Labrador

You've all seen the pictures that show this Bay in all its glory. A land little changed since the last sheets of ice pulled back. The bones of the earth lie below a very thin layer of soil and roots. But those roots are strong beyond imagining. They have to be. To survive and grow in this climate, roots need to be strong. Like the trees and plants that can thrive in this sometime inhospitable land, the people that likewise thrive have incredibly strong roots.

About 1000 years ago the first Europeans moved down this coast. The Vikings recorded the passage along the Strand in their Sagas. The Basque whalers left evidence of their industry further south in Red Bay. One of those whalers penned the first will written in Labrador and was later recorded in Spain. In the latter part of the 18th century, a permanent European presence was established in Sandwich Bay. Captain George Cartwright, "Old Labrador" as he became known, set up shop in Cartwright Harbour. Yet in the many thousands of years between the retreat of the ice and the arrival of the Europeans, successive waves of aboriginal peoples had made this coast their home. Many of us share that long lived line of attachment to this land. And it shows. You know what I mean, you hear it in the voices of the people who have developed an age's old attachment to their home. Now you see it in our pictures.

Many thanks to the folks from around the Bay who generously share the remarkable sights they encounter. Even the snaps of everyday happenings or sights bring back memories of home to those away. These pictures wouldn't be as remarkable without the attachment to the land and sights that show in every line. Just think of how much better a picture is of something or someone that you care about than shot of something that means nothing to you?

Sandwich Bay, Labrador

Since coming to the Post and joining in the Pub chatter, it's easy to see that most everybody feels that same kind of attachment to their home. Be it where they are living or where they long to be. Many have had to move away from the homes of their birth, and this trend shows no sign of changing in the near future. Sad isn't it? But the Puffin Post Pub gives us a chance to share and remember home.

For those of you who grew up listening to your parents stories of the places and times they grew up in, how many of you felt closer to that memory of place than the community where you live? How many more of the coming generation of transplants will feel the same way? Will they still feel the pull of the tides and long for the bracing whiff of clean, cold salt air? Will they still long to go home when they can?

Here's to everybody finding the place where their heart and soul belong. Here's to everybody finding their home and recognizing it when they find it. Remember to take lots of pictures and share them any way you can. Starting with the Post, of course!

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