Confederation 75 – Trinity Historical Society Archives

The mandate of the Trinity Historical Society Archives is to collect, preserve, and make accessible a variety of records, manuscripts, and photographs “relating to the history of the town and citizens of Trinity and the Trinity area.” The archives comprise 20 metres of textual records, some of which date back to the 18th century. The collection is housed in the Lester-Garland House. It includes business, parish, and court records as well as voters’ lists, school registers, and poor relief books.

On September 13, 2024, former ANLA PDO Lara Maynard visited the archives to examine some of its holdings in connection with the period immediately prior to and at the time of Confederation. She snapped several series of photos.

 

Ryan Brothers Ltd. ledger 1947-48 from the Trinity Fonds – 1.01.014.

Ryan Brothers was a major mercantile firm in the region.

This ledger contains records from the immediate pre-Confederation years – 1947-48 . It lists business transactions with some prominent Newfoundland companies of the time, the names of which will still be familiar to many Newfoundlanders and Labradorians. These include Bowring Brothers Ltd., Browning Harvey Ltd., Crosbie & Co. Ltd., Dicks & Co. Ltd., Gerald S. Doyle Ltd., Colonial Garage Co. Ltd., Harvey & Co. Ltd., Horwood Lumber Co. Ltd., Purity Factories Ltd., Parker & Monroe Ltd., Royal Stores Ltd., and St. John’s Gas Light Co. Some firms – Browning Harvey and Purity – still exist today, while other businesses such as Royal Stores, Parker & Monroe, and St. John’s Gas Light, are defunct. 

The photographs below are of assorted pages from the 1947-48 Ryan Brothers Ltd. ledger

Newfoundland Government Bulletin, April-May 1949

According to the Encyclopedia of Newfoundland and Labrador, Vol. 4, this paper was published in 1943 by the Newfoundland War Savings Committee, and then from 1943-1953 by the Department of Finance. In 1945, it was renamed the Newfoundland Government Bulletin. It still published savings stamps, but it also included announcements from and information about the activities of government departments.

The photographs below are from the Newfoundland Government Bulletin, April-May 1949.

Front page Headline “Confederation Ceremonies Held at Government House”
Page 5 headlines “Newfoundland Welcomed By P. M. St. Laurent” and “The King Blesses Union of Canada And Newfoundland” 
Page 6: The First Premier Hon. Joseph R. Smallwood photo, showing him with a cigarette in a holder – a very “of its time” image.
Prices at the time: products include butterine, eggs, bread, evaporated milk, beef, confectionery, tobacco, cigarettes, molasses, salmon, code, soap, salted meats, and baking powder.
Jim Miller of the Trinity Historical Society on September 13, 2024, at Lester-Garland House, Trinity, perusing its copy of Newfoundland Government Bulletin, April-May 1949.
Trans Canada Airlines (TCA) ad “Welcome Aboard Newfoundlanders!”

The Daily News Souvenir Edition, Thursday, March 31, 1949

The Daily News first appeared on the streets of St. John’s in 1894. More than 50 years later, it was on the streets with a souvenir edition of the paper as Newfoundland entered Confederation – a copy of which is in the collection of the Trinity Historical Society Archives.

The photographs below are from the souvenir edition of The Daily News, March 31, 1949

The Daily News, 1949
Jim Miller, General Manager of  the Trinity Historical Society, on September 13, 2024, at Lester-Garland House, Trinity, holds a copy of The Daily News Souvenir Edition from March 31, 1949.

Contributed by the Trinity Historical Society Archives and The Association of Newfoundland and Labrador Archives