Out From St. Leonards By Irish Descendants

During the 1960s, you could look out over the ocean in Newfoundland and see houses floating by. Natural disasters weren't the cause; governments were. Soon after Newfoundland joined Canada in 1949, the governments of Canada and the newly formed province resolved to centralize the islands population, moving people from isolated outports to larger growth centres. Rather than abandoning their homes, many resourceful Newfoundlanders winched them down to the shoreline, attached empty oil drums to the foundations, and then towed them by fishing boat to their new communities. This process of centralization, or resettlement as it was called, ultimately led to the displacement of nearly thirty thousand people. More than three hundred communities, many with histories stretching back centuries, would die a rapid death. Video By James R. Yetman Newfoundland Treasures Video Production http://newfoundlandtreasures.com