I grew up on the coast of Labrador in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. In 1992, I moved to Goose Bay to fly fixed wing aircraft for Air Labrador. Growing up on the coast of Labrador was very special. In the summertime, my family moved to Square Island, a little fishing community on the barren headlands of southern Labrador. Square Island is 13 miles to the east of Charlottetown, Labrador, which was our winter home back in those days. Summertime was when everybody moved to Square Island, or one of the other small fishing villages, to go fishing. We’d go from our snug little winter town to what we called outside to our summer homes. As a boy, I was always excited when springtime came, knowing that I would soon be moving to Square Island. My favourite playground.
In this book I am trying to let the newer generation of kids know what it was like growing up in places like Square Island. Today, looking at Square Island and a lot of those other little fishing villages all they see now are ghost towns. But before the cod moratorium all those little fishing harbours were thriving with life. Most all my stories are based on the truth. Most of the names are real. There may be some mistakes in names, but I’ve tried to paint a picture of the way it was as best I could. I hope you enjoy this book. I hope it brings a smile to your face. And I hope it will bring back a lot of memories for those of you who grew up on the Labrador coast.
