| Summary: | The twenty five volumes in this series differ in composition between two diary formats: the first format is that of an unbroken narrative of events in the life of the author, Howard Leopold Morry, or of the history of the community in which he was born and raised, Ferryland, Newfoundland; the second format is that of a conventional daily diary reporting on events of the day, including the weather and sea conditions, the ups and downs in the fishery, births, marriages and deaths of family, friends and neighbours, and newsworthy events at the local, national and international level. None of the 25 volumes are actually all of one format or the other. They all contain a larger or smaller component of each form of diary. This diary is unlike all the others because it only exists in the form of a photocopy of a transcript. The original diary has been lost. It is believed that the transcript was prepared at Howard’s request by a staff member at the Provincial Library who saw value in having his memoirs made available more broadly, but this is not certain, as there is no identification given on the transcript as to the identity of the person who prepared it. The period covered in this transcript is shorter than most of the diaries – less than nine months. At the beginning of the transcript, there are two pages of reminiscences which have been seen previously in earlier diaries and which were perhaps transcribed by the typist from one of those diaries. The only section of the diary that is completely new is the traditional type of daily diary beginning on July 14, 1957 and finishing on April 3, 1958. It seems clear that the transcriber did not complete her or his task and finished at April 3, 1958 rather than at June 16, 1958, when the next diary in chronological sequence begins. So we are, unfortunately, never to know what events were recorded in the intervening two months unless the original diary should eventually be found. Like all the Volumes in this series, this transcript is rendered in a form as true to the ...
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