Contents

Prologue
Acknowledgements
Highlights
Introduction

August
Montreal
Goose Bay
The boat journey to Port Hope Simpson
Poor fishing season
Arrival in Port Hope Simpson – first impressions

September
Getting ready for teaching
Bad tooth decay
Getting started
Progress
Eagerly looking forward to the mail boat and getting stuck in to life out here
Classified nobody works here on Sunday

October
Dealing with some problems
Winter’s approaching
Clive arrived last night
Reflecting about my teaching
The social life
I think …
The start of winter
Enjoying myself
Needs self-control…not to say anything to him
Winter’s arrived!

November
Off hunting at last!
He did the same for me.
The first combined school trip
“My room”
I must not forget the sleeping bag
More details about the combined trip
Recording some local expressions
Christmas planning and more time spent reflecting
Mind you, it has been good…
Off to a wedding
Trying to get something done
Money stolen!
Coping
Grade 3: Patsy Paul, Lester Penney and Gordon Ward;
Funeral today
Collecting firewood
The funeral I mustn’t forget
Timetable at school
Scott and work!
Pressure brought to bear
My mid-day meal today was this
A table at last!
Managing ourselves and the children we teach
Greta’s learning. I knows that.
Trying to keep warm
The ice rink
Intend to try and learn
Lights! …before Christmas

December
Thoughts about the food
Effects of the weather
Late
Cruising
Tidying up the place?
Supper
Morning walk to school
Typical lesson
Midnight
Fighting
Reading and having faith
There is a lot to meditate on in this book
Having fun in the snow
Putting up Christmas decorations in the school
Where I am staying is very cold
Walking on water!
It was slightly nerve racking…
Keeping warm
Parade
Boxing Day
“The Play", "The Tyme" and "The Show"
Trip on the dog - team
A poor New Year's Eve

January
Lots of cruising
Jannying
Settled - in at school
The mail plane arrived today.
Mail at long last!
Newfoundland's sinking!
Paid for what I like doing.
Riding the big bird
Relaxation
“Getting Lost” and getting back to Port Hope Simpson
Mary’s Harbour by Don Campbell and two others
Tackling problems along the Labrador coast
Contrasting Mary’s Harbour with Port Hope Simpson
Malicious gossip
The effect of Claude’s reprimand!
Seals
Destroyed by lice
Foot bitten by Peter, the pet husky dog
A day spent cruising
Scott’s house. There is a… quiet atmosphere…
School examinations
A little miracle, my nose almost dropping off and a frozen hot water bottle!
No school
Bullet put down
Having a ramp
Cruising again
A reminder from Sukey
Talking about work or doing something?
Uncle Bob’s happening
Be quite a bad complaint…the ‘flu
Having fun on Aubrey’s skidoo
Ice hockey result: Port Hope Simpson 8 Mary’s Harbour 4
Roll your own!
Welfare assistance
Self – knowledge and getting on with the people
A quiet sort of life here.
I’ve just had a scattered ride on a skidoo…
Teaching observation
The mountie is in about the theft of my money
Asked for $10 per day
The Cat ate my Toothpaste!

February
Sunday
Telephone Connection for Port Hope Simpson
Improved Diet
My Sealskin
Keeping Clean
My Beaver's Tail has gone!
Enjoying my Job
Medical Assistance Arrives for Port Hope Simpson
Was spent very nicely
Eyesight Affected
Some Forward Planning
Grow Your Own Food Crop
I hope she’ll be OK
The Amazing Husky Dogs
Trying to Prepare a Seed-Bed
Enjoying the Place
Losing that "Monday Morning Feeling"
More Sealskin Scraping
Naturally Inspired Thoughts
“The Daughters of Mercy" and Jim Penney's Wound
Out here
More and More Sealskin Scraping
Dance on Over at the School
In School
Many a Slip
Smelting
Claude Kippenhuck caught about one hundred and twenty.
Fed - Up with Sealskin Scraping
Sandra's Expectant
My Smelting Trip
I chopped a hole in the ice
Freezing Cold
Trying to Warm - Up Again
What Not to Do
Travelling at about 25 m.p.h.
Port Hope Simpson's Valentine Day's Custom
A Wonderful Test from Ursie
Drawing a Sketch Map of Port Hope Simpson
Snow is being drifted by a strong wind
How do you get a porcupine from its hole?
The 'Flu
Just finished my dinner of meat, turnip, potato and bread pudding with tea and biscuits for afters
A Marriage
Port Hope Simpson's Telephone Lines Improving?
Teaching Made Easier
wedding went off today
The Promise of a Whale's Tooth
Down to the Wedding
The Coldest Day Since I Arrived
Still Trying to get Warm
Seed Germination
In on Friday to wire the School
Loan Offer of a Skidoo!
It’s the first offer I’ve had made since I’ve been here. Loaning somebody your skidoo in Port Hope Simpson is almost the same as hiring out your wife!
Sealskin Mat
Frozen Hot Water Bottle
An Outstanding Memory
Working My Way Home on a Wood Boat?
Wiring up the School at Long Last
No Mail Today 64
A "White Coat"
Seeing - in St. David's Day
The Saga of the Sealskin
A Game of Football with the Boys
A Shout for Help from Guess Who?
Fixing the House's Stovepipe
The Promise of a Whale's Tooth Souvenir

March
Celebrating St. David’s Day
Scott on Boards
Great Fun on Scott’s Skidoo
Scott’s Slipped Disc, A New “Water and Wood Lugger” for the House and Having Fun on the Skidoo
Nurse Harris came in today
Final Preparations for Wiring
Feel
Getting the Wood Ready for the House
Actually Wiring – Up!
Tom Sawyer
Scott’s Off to Mary’s Harbour for treatment
With Rita
Wiring the School, No Mail Plane, People Coming and Going, A Big Skidoo Race is Planned and “On the Drunk”
Clive’s Thoughts about His Life out at Rexon’s Cove
I think it will be worthwhile noting…
Enough of Vague Abstractions…Back to Reality
Patience is a Virtue!
Taciturn people
Rita is taciturn
Stephen's Second Fire Scare in his House
And then clear again this evening
Reflections about the Theft of Money
The School is almost completely wired Up Now
The Next Latest, Little Adventure
Top of my wellingtons
Thinking About a View of God
Application of Abstract Thoughts
The Mail Plane Winging in from Charlottetown
So I dressed up with two sweaters and a parka
Sick as a Dog
The yellow "Wheeler Northland" plane takes off
Miss Cairns, Pentecostal Teacher Gassed!
“Well I’m off”
More Crowd Control
The nurse said…
Miss Cairns is Recovering
Looking Back
Also, she should have been taken back into Mary’s Harbour when she took sick coming out.
Back to More “Common and Garden Matter”
Registering the Cold
When I woke up this morning it was not as cold as last night.
"An Ugly Blot"
The Nurse, Doctor and Dentist are all coming in
Indoors all evening just taking it easy
Time's Whizzing By
The Future
Learning Difficulties and Teaching Organization
Suffering! Bowels Upheaval!
Morning.
Good 'ole English Food
Christy Brown
The extracts seem excellent stuff
Broken down Skidoo, Snowshoes and the Novelty of Hauling Water has Worn Off
Malnutrition
In bed
Port Hope Simpson – At Night:a poem
Some mail
The Mounties are in
Mounties
Scott's Back Home
Slightly clouded sky
It's Difficult
Ouch!!!
Widespread Tooth Decay in PHS
Only 12 people have been to see the Dentist
The Drunk and the Flying Plaster Cast
Planning for Ferryland
Refreshing Talk
It’s out in the Open Now!
Dealing with the Problem and Learning from the Mistake
Money had been “nicked”
Thank You Nurse, Margaret Harris
Teeth Hauled by Peter the Dentist
The weather today is “crooked”
Peter’s Plans for the Future
Dealing with the Freezing Cold Weather in My Room and Food Problems
“Wonderful fine”
A “Shower” for an Expected New Arrival and Ted Penney, Poor Bloke, is now blind in One Eye
Presents for the baby
Stepping From One World into Another
Very Hungry Again
Feed with vegetables
Multi-Vitamins to the Rescue
A Couple of Realizations
Struggle to get over to Uncle Bob’s after supper
How Many Children Can You Fit in the Same Bed?
And the Time is just Rolling By
Start of the Easter Break and Hoping to get Out to Mary’s Harbour
School went fine today
Feeling Lethargic
Pure-blooded Huskies
Mental Fatigue
Off to Mary’s Harbour on My Snow - Cruiser
The Holiday Begins
Having Fun
The Big Skidoo Race

April
Having a Great Time!
to Mary’s Harbour
“The Unknown Labrador"
huge hydro-electric development of Churchill Falls
some men still manage to catch 20,000lbs (of salmon)
still no roads
Benefiting from my Holiday
A Fresh View on Life out Here
International Grenfell Association
The Money Saga
Meeting to Organize "The Tyme"
Advertising "The Tyme"
Learning the Ropes about Teaching
Back into Life in PHS Again
Wish I could be more enthusiastic about Pete
An Extra Charge for the Skidoo!
Preparing for the Tyme
Managed to do some work over at the School
The Tyme is a Dud!
My Bearskin's a Cub's!
The Tyme should go ahead
Bertrand Russell, a Great Philosopher has died
Navel - Gazing 97
He had four different wives
The Tyme is on…
Saturday 11th…
The Tyme in More Detail
Rest and Relaxation
Pete wasn’t over at all…
Reading and Thinking
In Good Spirits
All ready
Charlie Ward: A True Man
Haircut Time for Pete
I am going to give Pete a haircut “the once”
Scott and Family are off to Mary's Harbour
Had to turn back because of freezing rain
A View of England from Labrador
Ready for Battle with the Labrador Night
Ready!
The Dangerous Furnace at the School
Living Alone at the House
The Mail Plane has arrived
Trying to Improve my Nutrition
The Sty on My Eye!
The weather can change incredibly fast
Politicians Take over My Classroom!
Thursday 16th…Scott and Family are back
Family Rivalries in PHS
The Northern Lights
Received all my mail today
Dealing with Trivialities
Scott's crashed his komatik
Some Very basic Carpentry for the School
A sawn plank of lumber
Redge Russell, Boat Builder
His speedboat…he took four or five days to build it
Cleaving as Good Exercise
Bruce Hiscock's Leg is on the mend
The Importance of Reading
More Reading, Clive's in from Rexon's Cove and Lonesome People
Dudley Moore…British comedians
Scott's Birding on the Outside
My Flaming Furnace
Wake up one morning to find
Showing Off and Applying to Extend My Stay in Newfoundland
Nothing Much Happens
Returned to Pete’s
Examination Tips
Off My Cat Food
"The Happening" at Charlottetown
Quite a few people have gone
Stomach Cramps
One Measly Letter
Encouragement for Claude’s proposed sawmill
Scott's Back with Ducks and white coats
Must be a "Hard Rig" Moving Out
Stephen's Wonderful Stereoscope
Getting in the Firewood Early
Snow and ice isn’t going to be around much longer
Keeping up my Spirits
The Saga of My Sty
Mr. Frank Roberts, our School Inspector pays a visit
Probably to do more harm than good to call a Parents’ Evening at this late stage
Important News about the Coming Year's Fishing
Arrival of the late-comers
It sounds Like a Much Fairer Scheme for the fishermen
The Watchdog of the Labrador
Keep in touch with matters that affect their lives
Recovering and planning to go out to Mary's Harbour
Asked Rube on the telephone yesterday morning
Cutting Hair, Supper and a Mountain Cat's paws
Which he’d caught in his trap around Skinney’s Water
The Mary's Harbour Trip is off
Morals burn and heat the house I suppose!
Mary's Harbour is on Again!
Hair - Rising: Our Skidoo Crashed through the Ice!
The Skidoo and I part company: Broken Tow Bar
Stephen was coming on behind
Through the Ice we go again!
Very Brief Stay at Mary's Harbour
Broken Skidoo Ski!
New Ski Fitted
We followed the same footing we made coming in
Broken komatik Tow Bar - a Temporary Repair
A Badly Cut Finger
Passed on all the news about the two patients
A Terrible Accident has happened

May
Echoes of Home
Winter is closing and spring is coming at Last
Going fishing with Ray Hiscock
Port Hope Simpson is preparing for its summer migration
Testing My Volunteer Spirit!
Won’t get anything more
Feeling Down in Spirit
Felt down
Final Exam Preparation
5th It’s All Change with the Weather
Fixing Broken Sunglasses
Taking Photographs and Writing Exams
Ed Osmond’s getting married
Maybe the “S.S. Springdale” is coming?
Writing More Exams and Taking More Photographs
Life Here is tied down So Much by the Weather
The ice will be too thin
Exams Duplicated, Living the Life and Preparing for the Future
Gone Fishing Through the Ice
Trout cooking Over an Open fire: from under Ice to Stomach in Under Ten Minutes
Sandra Burden, Kimie’s girlfriend stayed to supper
Mail Plane Lands on Floats
The Land is Reverting Back
Reflections on the Past Year
I’ll just have to come back sometime or other.
Sandra Cook’s had a Baby Girl!
Wednesday 13th The Bay Ice is Thawing
I don’t have any more news
Spectacular Movement of Bay Ice
“The Itinerant Artist”
“The Sociable Wood Cleaver with Bad Stomach Ache Who Gives Medical Advice”
Outside the house a very impressive woodpile
Food’s running Out in PHS
“Drawings, Drawings, Drawings…”
Sunday 17th getting organized for trout fishing
One “Pick”, a Wellington Full of Icy Water and a Very Wet Sock!
Sam’s trout that was jammed in the ice hole
Fishing Boats Now Floating on the Bay
“What Goes Around Comes Around”
Results Time
I’ve only kept…down a Grade promoting…
Messing About on the River
Fishing again
Vacating Pete’s Lodgings
The Warmth is back
Had beans for breakfast which was very nice
Tying Final Exam Dates in With Moving Out
Increased Class Size
I’ve caught something At Last!
Afternoon school went OK
Three Cheers for Claude!
Good Luck!
End of Term Arrangements
Making full use of the Flannel Board
Off for an Evening Walk
Maybe problems getting out?
Ray will be going out on Saturday
Caught a Real Fish at Last!
Fear of Ice Drifting Back In and Blocking Exit to the Outside
Shooting Rube’s Boat
After supper I will be going up to see Rube
Trying to Teach Very Young Children
The Art of Brushing Your Teeth
It’s the first time that anybody has ever told me that I have to brush my teeth up and down
What I’d Give Right Now For…
Got Quite Used to the Food
Planning for a New Road?
Trying my luck again
No Qualified Medical Treatment for Dean
Cheesed - Off
Moving – out and some families left behind
Royd Kippenhuck
Increased Classroom Efficiency!
The New Government – Set Fish Price and Dastardly Deeds Afloat
Completely Cut – Off George’s Cove
The “S.S. Springdale” Steams In to Port Hope Simpson
I heard today that the Springdale is in at about 8.00 p.m. today
School Work and Word – of – Mouth Historical Evidence about Port Hope Simpson
After supper of Bologna and baked beans
Just Passing the Time…
A lunch of partridge berry jam
Latest Bug – Sore Throat
Cheese, Egg and Chips!
Still Freezing and Damn “The Labrador Cold”
Gone Fishing Again
Drawings for Mat - Making
Amazed!
I hope this “cold” will soon clear up
Darwinian Expedition
What’s going on Out There?
Let Loose…
Looking Forward To…
And looking back
On Life Out Here

June
Well Done Claude!
Tidying Up
A Gift the First Salmon of the Year
The first salmon caught here this year
Sawing up Sticks and Cleaving Junks
New Telephone System by June 15th?
Brave Little David!
Wonderful easy cleaving the wood because its grain
Freezing Weather Again
Claude's New Motorboat
Went Over to Bart’s
A List of Foods Eaten
Keeping Busy
Swimming, sprained ankle and mosquitoes at “Civilization in the Wilderness”
Plenty of Mail
A Surprise Flying Visit from the School Board
Sign Painting
Complaining to the School Board
The Value of Saying "Thank You"
Light that is Unfit for a Mole to Work by
Claude's Meeting
Seeing is believing!
Just had supper of beans and pork and mandarin orange jelly
Difficult to Get to and Difficult to Get Away From
The Local Lingo
It is June Isn't It?
I’ll feel quite sad
Another Accidental Death by Drowning
I have had supper
He might actually be trying to walk somewhere right now
The Impact of the Tragedy
Self - Improvement through Work, the Mountie is in and his Plane Took -off
At a height of about 200 feet
The Body Still Isn't Found
Tidying up some Stock and Staff Rooms
All the Pieces of Paper that Accumulated Inside the Desks
Further Speculation about What Really Happened
Superstitious Talk
Everything that Bill said or did before he went missing has been…
I would find Wallace at Ron Notley’s
The Body was "Turning"
Route Planning without Really Knowing Where I was going
If she won’t stop there…
Deep Grief
Getting Ready to Leave
Although I still Didn’t Know for Sure Whether I would go out
My Passport's in and I'm off!
Goodbye Port Hope Simpson
Talking with Two German-Speaking Swiss Ladies
Food a Wonderful Luxury
A Real Bath at Last!
Off Again and My Luck's In!
I was awake by 5.30 a.m.
Fantastic "Barker and Slasher" Operations
What have I seen at Burnt Point?
Guess what Game?
First - Hand History about Sir Dr. Wilfred Grenfell, Labrador Explorer
Some Things I Really Appreciate
I have not had Breakfast yet
The Wood Ship is in!
The Captain Agrees Provided…
Gorthon Shipping Company to be contacted in Sweden
So Near Yet So Far…
In the Captain’s Cabin
No Luck yet…
Fingers Crossed
Maybe News I thought
This Was It…
News of the Very Best Kind!
Difficulty Boarding
The Owner's Cabin, Like Stepping from Harlem into Buckingham Palace
I should be paying at least $10.00 each day
Life aboard Ship
Dinner is at 5.00 p.m.
Lazy Days

July
A Wet Awakening
Preferential Treatment
The Ship Has Shrunk!
Maybe See Ireland?
I have had only a slight headache
Bye Bye Sty
Land Ahoy Jim Lad!
Our Pilot is on Board
We will reach the mooring by 11.30 p.m.
Phoned Home
I took him a Cheese and Cucumber Sandwich
Dropped Anchor
From Ship to Train to Home
A taxi from outside Exmouth railway station
Great Welcome
Wouldn't Have Missed It for The World