Newfie Land

Newfie is a colloquial term that refers to the people from Newfoundland (pronounced here as ‘new fund LAND’). It can also refer to the place where they live. We mention this because we had a chance to go there and see it up close and personal.

Our plane is waiting

Hurry President, let's go!!

The Mission President invited us to attend a Conference of the Newfoundland Saints. Probably two or three hundred Saints live on Newfoundland in four branches. Three are in the populated southeast corner of the island near the capital city of St. John’s. The fourth one is across the island at Corner Brook. Previously there were two or three other branches that have fallen on hard times. Activity and new convert baptisms continue to be challenging for the growth of the Church in Newfoundland.

Sister Aitken with members from the branches

A Mexican/Canadian family with whom we enjoyed visiting



Some of the Newfie elders and recent member (on left)

Our conference was attended by Elder David Murray, an area authority from Toronto. His attendance was the first time that a Seventy has visited the island. He spoke in both sessions of the conference. Also in attendance were President and Sister David Robinson, President and Matron of the Halifax Nova Scotia Temple. President and Sister Aitken (he is a counselor in the Mission Presidency and they live on PEI) also joined us. One of the featured speakers in the two sessions was our own Sister Janice Foley. Elder Lawrence Foley got to sit and take notes and say a closing prayer. What a surprise that was!

Elder Murray with the Simpsons from Cape Spear

Besides attending the conference sessions we had time to see some of the local sites. The capital city is St. John’s. It is the oldest English-founded city in North America dating from before 1620 and currently has a population of about 200,000. It has hilly streets lined with colorful buildings and sits on a deep water harbor connected by the Narrows, a long inlet to the Atlantic Ocean. Before the conference began on Saturday afternoon, we had time to walk around the downtown area. One interesting sight was a Russian ship that was confiscated by the Canadian government about a year ago. Apparently they couldn't pay the required fees and so the crew was let go and the ship has been in the harbor ever since. The town people collected money to send the crew back to Russia.

Fun colorful homes in St. John's

Russian ship

Court House downtown St. John's

One of several hills that overlook St. John’s is Signal Hill. Due to its strategic placement it has been important for the protection of the city throughout history from hostile military forces. For this purpose some military installations were built on the hill.

Looking down on lighthouse from Signal Hill

Cargo ship entering the bay

View of St. John's Bay from Signal Hill

Mileage signs on Signal Hill

An item of personal interest was the Marconi wireless transmitter set up on Signal Hill in 1901 to communicate with the Poldhu wireless station in Cornwall, England. About 1995 we stayed in a cottage in Cornwall close to the Poldhu station and would walk past the station on our daily walks along the Cornish cliffs. We never dreamed that someday we would see the other end of the first wireless transmission of the telegraph.

Marconi's tower atop Signal Hill

Cape Spear is located close to St. John’s. It is traditionally considered the easternmost point in North America. Items of interest there include the Cape Spear Lighthouse and a gun battery installed during World War II to defend the entrance to St. John’s harbor. Our visit to Cape Spear was on an exceptionally clear day which is quite rare. Usually the area is covered with fog and mist. The view of the approach to St. John’s Bay and the neighboring coastal seascapes were breath-taking.

Simpsons, Foleys, Aitkens and Elder Murray at Cape Spear

Lighthouse @ Cape Spear

We finished up the sightseeing portion of our trip with the Robinsons and Aitkens and

a visit to Bell Island. This island is located in nearby Conception Bay, a short drive from St. John’s. The island is about 2 miles wide and 6 miles long. It is a 20 minute car-ferry ride from Portugal Cove. Bell Island is a small island ringed by steep cliffs. It is a pretty sleepy place but we had a fun time driving around and looking at the beautiful rock formations formed by the waves.

Ferry to Bell Island

Larry on ferry

View from the cliff on Bell Island

Elder and Sister Foley near the cliffs of Bell Island

More rocky cliffs

Derelict wharf on Bell Island

All good things must come to an end and so it was with our Newfoundland get-away. We were blessed with good spiritual talks during the conference and beautiful sunshine to enjoy the beauties of this remote part of the world. On our way to the airport we stopped at lovely Bowring Park for a short stroll and then we were off in the clouds.

Flower garden at entrance to Bowring Park

Duck pond

Peaceful stream running through the park

Cloud formations on leaving Newfoundland