EXTRAS
CALENDAR CUSTOMS
THANKSGIVING
2nd Monday in October
by Gail Hussey-Weir
Created October 2020; updated October 2022

In 1957, the federal government declared that the second Monday in October would be designated as Thanksgiving Day. On January 31, 1957, Vincent Massey, the Governor General of Canada issued a proclamation stating: "A Day of General Thanksgiving to Almighty God for the bountiful harvest with which Canada has been blessed – to be observed on the second Monday in October." 

​Perhaps churches had made that proclamation sometime before that because the item below ran in the Submarine Miner of November 1954. 
All the early settlers of Bell Island farmed. They had to in order to survive. They would bring their surplus to George Street in St. John’s, the “farmers’ market” of its day, where it was prized for its high quality. Once mining started in 1895, many former farmers became miners, but they never gave up farming entirely. Most maintained small holdings, which they would work after coming off shift in the mines. When the Depression of the 1930s struck, resident miners were only getting a few shifts a week and families were living on $10.10 a month after deductions for rent, etc. They survived because the cost of living was low and with the help of the vegetables they grew. The mining company leased land to those who did not have any. Most of the 573 leases in 1931 were half-acre lots. The main crops were potatoes, turnips and cabbage. Below is a photo showing some of the plots between No. 3 Mine Yard and West Mines. Photo courtesy of A&SC, MUN Library. See more of William Lindsay’s photos at https://www.historic-wabana.com/lindsay.html
In the photo below, William and Mary Healey of No. 6 Range show off some of the beet they grew in their back yard in the early 1940s. Photo courtesy of their grandson, Johnny Parsley. "They had a nice sized garden behind their home on the Green. He worked the mine and still grew a large garden each year."
Kathleen and Jim Power, East Track, display a harvest of large potatoes, c. 1950s. Photo courtesy of their son, Hubert Power.