The Twine Loft – August 2018

Passed On: Justin MacKay MacDonald – Montague, P.E.I. fisherman

MacKay, 20, passed away tragically on June 9 as a result of a boating accident in Murray Harbour, P.E.I. Born in Charlottetown, he is the son of Tammy Crossman and Barclay MacKay. Justin will be sadly missed by his family and friends.

Passed On: Chris Melanson – Weymouth, N.S. fisherman

Melanson, 59, passed away tragically on June 9 as a result of a boating accident in Murray Harbour, P.E.I. He left behind three daughters and many other friends and family.

Passed On: Charles Parsons – St. John’s, N.L. mariner

Parsons, 76, passed away at home on June 26. For 38 years, he was a Lieutenant-Commander in the Canadian Naval Reserve. He was also a first mate on the Norma and Gladys — a fishing schooner that was later converted into a floating museum by the provincial government in the 1970s. He was also Aide-de-camp to Fred Russell, former Lieutenant Governor of Newfoundland and Labrador. Charles was president of the St. John’s business, M.A. Parsons and in his spare time was an avid builder of model airplanes.

Passed On: Thomas Drakes – Riverport, N.S. fisherman

Drakes, 88, passed away on June 13 at the South Shore Regional Hospital in Bridgewater. Born in Millers Passage, Newfoundland, Tom was brought up by his grandparents, Charles and Eliza (Drakes) Sheppard. He started his fishing career at the early age of nine, fishing with his grandfather on the Grand Banks. At 15, he moved to the Lunenburg area where he went dory fishing and later received his engineer’s ticket and continued scallop fishing with Adams and Knickle, Clearwater and Fisheries Products International. He then took a leave from fishing in the 1980s to work on the oil rigs. Longing to return to fishing, he went with Scotia Trawlers and then started a business selling fish to many around the area up until recently, when his health started to fail.

Passed On: Arnold Shand – Bear Point, N.S. fisherman

Shand, 87, passed away on June 22 surrounded by his family at Roseway Hospital. Born in Bear Point on September 17, 1930, he was the son of the late Lloyd and Rowena (Banks) Shand. He left school early to go fishing with his father. During later years, he went to Ontario to work on the lake boats. Upon returning, he fished with his own boat and later his son Steven went in the boat with him. After retiring from fishing, he worked for years at Alpheus Halliday Fisheries, where his working career was cut short by a forklift accident in 1990.

Passed On: Harold Brannen – Overton, N.S. fisherman

Brannen, 68, passed away on June 15, in Yarmouth Regional Hospital with his family by his side. He was born in Yarmouth on April 16, 1950 to the late Amos Jr. and Martha (Nickerson) Brannen. At the age of 15, Harold started working at Amos Brannen & Sons, his grandfather’s fish plant, and soon after began fishing. He loved anything to do with the boat, the wharf and being on the water. Harold often said his favourite pastime was pulling up his lobster traps to see what was inside. You could find Harold during the off-season working on lobster gear at Bayview, one of his favourite places.

Passed On: Joseph LeBlanc – Hebron, N.S. fisherman

LeBlanc, 75, passed away peacefully on June 29 in Yarmouth Regional Hospital. Born November 28, 1942 in Surette’s Island, he was a son of the late David A. and Ann Estelle (Fitzgerald) LeBlanc. He worked as a scallop fisherman for a number of years and he was a member of the Native Council of Nova Scotia.

Awarded: N.L. 2018 Seniors of Distinction Award Recipients

First awarded in 2009, the Seniors of Distinction Awards are intended to increase recognition of seniors in the province and increase visibility of seniors in society.

Harrison Campbell, Pinsent’s Arm

Harrison Campbell was born in the tiny community of Pinsent’s Arm in 1950 where he grew up and made a home for his family. Harrison is most certainly a family man, wanting the best for them and always concerned for their safety. For over 50 years, Harrison has been making a living working as a fishermen, catching many different species of fish throughout the summer, including crab, whelk, herring and cod. Harrison has passed his traditional skills and knowledge on to many others including his two sons and young grandson. The sea and fishing industry has always been a passion of Harrison’s and in the past few years he has joined the NunatuKavut Governing Council as a senior member and has been catching salmon and codfish to supply the senior community. This council represents the territory of the southern Inuit people of Labrador. Harrison has always been a big volunteer in his area, serving on many associations and committees to help better his surrounding communities. These committees date back as far as 1972 when he was a member of the East Shore Development Association. He also served on the Labrador Development Association, Fishermen’s Committee, Canadian Rangers, and Local Service District for which he has been the chair for the past 20 years. He continues to volunteer his time helping fishermen by working on the Small Crafts Harbour Authority and he has been the director of the Labrador Fishermen’s Union Shrimp Company for the past 30 years. He is also a past recipient of both the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal and Golden Jubilee Medal and more recently he was awarded with the Labradorians of Distinction Medal. Harrison is well-known all along Labrador and he enjoys spending his time volunteering and helping out anyone and anywhere he can.

Captain Joseph Prim, St. John’s

Born in 1927, Captain Joseph Prim joined the British Merchant Marine at the age of 16, beginning what would become a lifetime of work in the marine industry in various capacities. Captain Prim served for two years on the North Atlantic during World War II and spent 10 years as a ship’s Master running to Labrador with fishermen and supplies for coastal communities. He also served as Captain of numerous vessels and his career culminated in the position of the last Marine Coastal Superintendent for Newfoundland and Labrador with Marine Atlantic. After his retirement, Captain Prim focused on volunteer efforts, particularly in areas which contribute to the preservation of the province’s marine history, more specifically the contribution of the 333 Newfoundland and Labrador men and women who lost their lives as part of the Merchant Marine. He co-chaired a committee to design, raise funding for, and complete a monument to the Merchant Marine Navy in 1997. The Merchant Navy Memorial, developed with the late Fred Adams and Paul Johnson, is located at the Marine Institute and displays the names of those 333 Newfoundland merchant seamen and 435 Navy ratings who lost their lives during World War II. Captain Prim is also involved with the Kiwanis Club, the Coastal Railway Museum, and is the Director of the CN Pensioners Association. Along with the late Michael McCarthy, he is the co-author of three books about the province’s maritime history which are intended to preserve our seafaring heritage, and has done a great deal of research to document shipwrecks along the east coast of the province and preserve this information in map format.