Emma Lang

With the support of a funding through Scholarship in the Arts, I was able to visit Port Union, Newfoundland and Labrador from May 10 to May 13 and meet with the staff of the William Ford Coaker Foundation. The purpose of this trip was to gain a better understanding of the archival materials and objects held by the foundation which relate to the Fishermen’s Protective Union (FPU), as well as begin the process of  establishing personal connections with those who have first hand knowledge of the FPU and who may be potential sources later on. The trip included two days of travel and two days in Port Union meeting with the members of the foundation and exploring the town.

            Prior to arrival in Port Union I had been in contact via email and phone with Edith Samson, the only year round staff member of the foundation, and she had agreed to meet with me and discuss my project. Upon my arrival at the offices of the foundation, on May 11, I discovered the office in an uproar. New summer staff were being trained and  put to work rearranging the gift shop prior to the opening of the summer season and Ms Samson was also continuing the daily work of the organization, this led to a somewhat unconventional visit.  Over the two days that I spent in Port Union my conversations with Ms Samson sometimes took place in her office and sometimes while we assisted with the moving of shelving in  the gift shop or as watched as the crew painted book cases.  While these unconventional circumstances occurred out of necessity, Ms Samson was well aware that they also served a very useful purpose in demonstrating that to the summer staff, all members of the local community, that while I may be an outsider I was also willing to pull my weight and wasn’t just interested in coming into the community to take their history and not give back in any way.

            Over the course of the two days I gained a comprehensive knowledge of the holdings of the W. F. Coaker Foundation including objects, previous oral histories that have been collected, the archival materials on site and a list of potential interview subjects and how best to approach them. Ms. Samson gave me a detailed tour of the Factory including both the exhibits and storage areas as well as explaining the plans for updating the exhibits and some of what she faces as a small organization with a large collection. I was very impressed with how much they manage to do despite their small staff.

            On my second, and final day, in Port Union Ms Samson had arranged for me to be given a tour of the town by Harold Coaker Russell who was born in Port Union and has lived there for most of his life. Mr. Russell is seventy-nine and was born two years prior to William Coaker’s death. He has clear memories of the immediate legacy of Coaker and how he and the FPU were viewed by those in Port Union. Mr. Russell was an invaluable source on the history of the town and those who lived in it and happy to share his history. While this was a very preliminary meeting I gained useful background information and look forward to talking with him more in the future.

            The trip accomplished everything that I had hoped and provided me with a strong understanding of the role that materials held by the W. F. Coaker Foundation will play in my thesis, as well as providing me with information about previous oral histories done in the community that might be of use.  Additionally Ms Samson invited me to return in August for one of the community dinners she hosts for Elderhostel/Road Scholar groups to meet local community members. This will enable me to meet with potential sources in an informal environment and allow members of the community to hear about my project in a low-key setting. Through this invitation and my conversation with Mr. Russell I left Port Union confident that in addition to gaining the information about material sources available I had laid the ground work for conducting useful oral histories of members of the Port Union and FPU community.