The Diaries of Howard Leopold Morry, 1939-1965, Vol. 25 (Jan 31 1965 - Feb 18 1965)

• Format: Book
• Language: English
• Subjects: Newfoundland; Newfoundland studies
• Online Access: http://collections.mun.ca/cdm/ref/collection/howardmorry/id/1975

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. The current volume is almost exclusively of the type in which reminiscences of the past take the forefront. In this twenty-fifth volume, the diary transcribed nominally covers the very brief period from January 31,1965 to February 18,1965. But in reality, these dates simply represent the start and the finish of the writing and there are almost no details given of what was happening in the present time between those two dates. The lion’s share of the diary that constitute reflections on the past, is largely repetitive of thoughts recorded in earlier diaries. This is useful as it serves to pick up accidental errors in dates and names that have entered into some of these accounts and also, on occasion, provides additional detail on the subject matter. This diary is also unique in one unfortunate respect. It exists only in the form of a photocopy of the handwritten original, and an anonymous typed transcript of that original, both of which appear to have been made soon after the diary was written. The handwritten diary itself is missing or, if it still exists, its location is unknown. Upon first reading this diary, it seemed strangely familiar, as if I had seen it somewhere previously. Then it dawned on me. This was the memoir that someone gave to Stewart McLean as background material when he wrote a ...