PUBLICATIONS
F.F. JARDINE ARTICLES
"Fortieth Anniversary of Wabana Mines, Bell Island," 1934
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"Forty-Fourth Anniversary of Wabana Mines," 1938
"Fortieth Anniversary of Wabana Mines, Bell Island," 1934
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"Forty-Fourth Anniversary of Wabana Mines," 1938
Frederick F. Jardine (1879-1944) was born in St. John's in 1879 to Mary (Koorner) and William Jardine. He was educated at St. Bonaventure's College, St. John's. In 1907, he moved to Bell Island to work as a Filing Clerk with Dominion Company. He was appointed Justice of the Peace in March 1920. Over the years, he contributed writings on local history and lore to several publications. On January 31, 1910, he published a magazine, Red Hematite, as a souvenir of Wabana (no copy found). He was the editor of Newfoundland's first agricultural journal, Newfoundland Agricultural Magazine, launched in October 1921. Two of his articles on Bell Island history are: "Fortieth Anniversary of Wabana Mines, Bell Island" in The Daily News year end review, 1934, and "Forty-Fourth Anniversary of Wabana Mines" in The Evening Telegram, Dec. 24, 1938. He was married twice, first to Mary Margaret (Maggie) McCourt (c.1880-c.1914) in 1904, and second to Lucy Neary (1891-1979) in 1919. He died of heart failure March 12, 1944 and is buried in the Roman Catholic Cemetery, Bell Island. Sources: Encyclopedia of NL; Addison Bown's "Newspaper History of Bell Island"; Vital Records; NL Census.
The "Forty-Fourth Anniversary of Wabana Mines" article was published in the Evening Telegram December 24, 1938 on pages 12 and 14. It is fairly long, so I have divided it as Mr. Jardine did into four parts. Part 1 covers the years 1894 to 1906; Part 2 covers 1907-1917; Part 3 covers 1918-1926; Part 4 covers 1927 to 1938.
The last topic he covers in Part 1 is the discovery of the large fossil, believed to have been a Pterodactyl. Mr. Jardine was not living on Bell Island when the fossil was found in 1902, so he would have learned of it second-hand. When this article was published, it spurred a response from Arthur House, who was the man who actually discovered the fossil and knew the story first-hand. Between these two knowledgeable gentlemen, we learn a great deal about the early development of the Wabana Mines and the men who were involved in the hard work, things that we would never have known if they had not taken the time, in the late 1930s, to write their stories.
The last topic he covers in Part 1 is the discovery of the large fossil, believed to have been a Pterodactyl. Mr. Jardine was not living on Bell Island when the fossil was found in 1902, so he would have learned of it second-hand. When this article was published, it spurred a response from Arthur House, who was the man who actually discovered the fossil and knew the story first-hand. Between these two knowledgeable gentlemen, we learn a great deal about the early development of the Wabana Mines and the men who were involved in the hard work, things that we would never have known if they had not taken the time, in the late 1930s, to write their stories.
These articles are located in "Mining Operations" under "History" in the top menu. To read the 1934 article, click the left button below, or the right button for the 1938 article: