1

Matt, Rose and Charlie Lake
1950's?
Oderin, Placentia Bay, Newfoundland, Canada


Credits:
Elizabeth Lake

2

Oderin Customs

Some of the old customs at Oderin:

*If there was no priest to say mass on Sunday morning someone would say the rosary.
*During May the rosary was read at 6 PM every evening
*Before mass the bell would be rung half an hour in advance so everyone had time to be there. At 12 noon the bell was also rung it was also a time of prayer
*At a death in the community while the corpse was being carried to church the bell would sound one blast every few seconds, after leaving the church on way to the grave site it would continue this toll. The bell was usually rang by the hired hand or housekeeper, sometimes by the priest himself.

This brass bell was taken by someone in Parker's Cove and was in the process of being sawed up for scrap. It was recovered by the people of Little Bay, who were going to have it restored and put on site of the church, which is now closed and was turned into a heritage house in 1998.

*****As of 2001 the bell was being installed at Marystown Church

3

Moving Houses
20th Century, Circa 1960's
Oderin, Placentia Bay, Newfoundland, Canada

4

From the personal journals of Matt Lake Sr.

Oderin Parish was large and could only be covered by boat, it stretched from Rushoon to Monkstown at the bottom of Paradise Sound. Father Doody was sent to the parish in 1956. Being a fisherman from St. Mary's Bay, he seemed to be fearless, he had a new boat built by the Manning brothers of Little Harbour and had two diesel engines 24 Horsepower each installed. His hired man Pat Mullett covered the parish with his visits and putting on Morlies at Pat's Death a few years ago, Father Doodys remark at his eulogy was, "Pat must have sensed the joy of heaven every time he saw the Bread Box coming out of the fog", the only navigational aid was the marine compass in 1956. Father Doody was replaced by Father Walsh in 1962. Sacred Heart parish was established in 1913 with Father Coady, wound up with Father Walsh in 1966. The new parish at Christ The King was named Christ the King and missing from the Parish was Oderin, St. Joseph's, Little Harbour, Big and Little Paradise. From now on there was no need of a boat to cover the new parish.

As researched by Matthew Lake...

Father Morris was ordained in 1873 at St John's NL. He was just 23 years old when he was sent to Oderin to administer to the people of Placentia Bay, a 40 mile stretch of rugged coast line. During his ten year stay he built a beautiful church at Oderin and another one at Marystown. Fr Morris left in 1883 to build a Boys Home in St John's. For the next 30 years the Burin Parish looked after the Oderin and surrounding areas spiritual needs. In 1913 the Bishop had a new house built at Oderin with the intention of having a Bishop stationed there to cover both Placentia Bay and Fortune Bay. For some reason, it never materialized.

The following is a list of priests who served Oderin:

Fr. Coady 1913- 1915 ( First priest)

Fr. Ryan 1915-1918

Fr. Bride 1918-1919

Fr.Dee 1919-1921

Fr. Leamy 1921-1929

Fr. Savin 1929-1930

Fr. Flemming 1930-1937

Fr. Brown 1937-1938

Fr.Mulloney 1938-1948

Fr. Dunn 1948-1952

Fr. Murphy 1952-1956

Fr. Doody 1956-1962

Fr. Walsh 1962-1966 (Last priest)




Note: The Oderin Church was moved to Little Bay where it stands today as the Little Bay Heritage Centre

5

Lake Brothers
unknown
Oderin, Placentia Bay, Newfoundland, Canada


Credits:
Elizabeth Lake

6

Name Missing

Why the name of Oderin was taken off the road maps is a mystery. This island was occupied by the french back in the 15th and 16th centuries their graveyard is still there. There are 5 or 6 cemeteries on the island the largest one Roman Catholic. In the 18th century the English built some ninty boats on Ship Cove Island, its amazing why they would want to forget such a rich history. The Government are spending millions of dollars promoting tourist trade and on the other hand trying to bury our rich heritage. Some of the islands in the vacinity that had no history or no livyers still has its name, maybe its coming true the words of Jack Davis Minister of Fisheries at the time of Resettlement , "we are prepared to lose a generation of Newfoundlanders to make the program work" then their communities could be wiped off the map and the planners can move to the next victim it seems this was the plan in 1966 and now carried out.

7

Lake Brothers
Sept 1964
Oderin, Placentia Bay, Newfoundland, Canada


Credits:
Elizabeth Lake

8

Note: 2 separate entries from the personal journals of Matthew Lake Sr.

The Beach Pond

The Beach Pond has changed a great deal over the centuries, the Beach rocks washing in through Lance Cove Gut with the southerly storms and the north westerly winds with its seas piling the beach rocks high and extending the beach towards Castle Island. In the 15th and 16th centuries legend has it there was only a foot path between the pond and the salt water. It's also believed there is an opening between the pond and the salt water the bottom of the pond is about level with low water yet no water comes in or goes out. Any water above a high tide will come through the beach rocks, it may have been a dry dock of some kind or a safe harbour for small boats. Whyt it was planked with Black Oak is also a mystery, in 1967 a core sample was taken and found to be black oak. They tried to pump it out but the pump would get clogged with mud and it became too expensive, so they gave up on the venture. Legend still has it Peter Easton's pirates gold is buried beneath this black oak... Who knows...

For some reason Peter Easton is associated with this pond perhaps because of the black oak plank. This wood only grows in South America and Easton was known to plunder all up the American Coast. Legend has it Peter Easton's boat and another pirate boat faught a battle on Oderin Banks, Easton's boat one the battle. By this time a storm from the south was raging they had another anchorage and more treasure buried in Cape Roger Harbour. This boat crashed on Cape Roger Head, one of the crew scaled the cliff he was hanged from a tree leaving the name Gallow's Harbour. It's believed he told of the beach pond and its treasure trying to save his own life. Local divers have found the ship the water is to deep to work, Peter Wakems Treasure Book on buried treasure described the Beach Pond but omitted the name of the island your guess is as good as mine, maybe with new technology someone will tell us. It's against the law to interfere with these sights.