launching
We launched Dear Mr. Smallwood: Confederation in the words of those who lived it last Wednesday and what a blast it was!
stacks of (really fat and super juicy) books! The ones in the back almost look like the Confederation Building!
Over half our contributors were presents, and a number of them brought friends and family along (one brought several family members along!). And there were lots of general public members, too. I’m told there were over 80 people there!
The Great Hall, Queen’s College, Memorial University…. waiting for the festivities to begin.
The evening featured readings of some of the letters (scroll through the images below to get a sense of a few letters, as well as some of the essays and reflections included in the book).
We also had games - Confederation Bingo and the Confederation Game Show, as well as Pin the Bow Tie on Joey - and a lot of laughter and general merriment. We wanted a kitchen party vibe, and I think we succeeded.
The answer? 223! 203 individuals, 10 organizations; 5 schools, 4 churches and the I.O. Lodge!
Pin the bowtie on Joey! Thanks to Randy Drover at Memorial UP for finding this photo and also, for erasing the bowtie on it!
Confederation Bingo was won by a family member of one of our contributors. With thanks to MUN Press for the game prizes.
This book has had a long journey into publication (any book does, but this one seemed to hit every single hurdle along the way, starting with Snowmageddon in those halcyon pre-pandemic days).
One of our contributors, Gemma Hickey, with venerable Newfoundland author, Bernice Morgan (herself the mother of Jennifer Morgan, another of our contributors). Photo courtesy of Gemma’s Facebook page.
So many thanks to all of our contributors, to all the behind-the scenes folks who made the book happen, to those who came to the launch, and to those who wrote to Smallwood in the first place. What a journey.
As we write in the introduction:
Our deepest thanks to the Newfoundlanders and Labradorians who chose to put pen to paper to write to the premier …. Thank you for giving us a window into your lives. Thank you for sharing your concerns, hopes, and fears and for pushing for a brighter future for yourselves and those who would come after you, and in this way, for making Newfoundland and Labrador the place it is today.
Dear Mr. Smallwood is available from your favourite online retailer and can be ordered in to any bookstore in the country. It’s also available directly from Memorial University Press.
From left to right: co-editor Vicki Hallett, contributor Angela Antle, and me - all of us wearing bow ties in honour of Joey Smallwood. Vicki’s and my bow ties courtesy of one of our former students, Jen d’Eon. Photo courtesy of Angela Antle.
Dear Mr. Smallwood: Confederation in the words of those who lived it, is edited by Sonja Boon and Vicki Hallett, with contributions from Angela Antle, Terry Bishop-Stirling, Jessica Bound, Andreae Callanan, J.T.H. Connor, Heidi Coombs, Linda Cullum, Elizabeth Dane, Lesley Derraugh, Violet Drake, Sheila Hallett, Joanne Harris, Gemma Hickey, Robert Hong, Daze Jefferies, Mi’sel Joe, Sharon King-Campbell, Kate Lahey, Julia Laite, Shannon Lewis-Simpson, Dave Lough, Jennifer Morgan, Emily Murphy, Sheila O’Neill, Jasmine Paul, Andrea Procter, Colleen Quigley, Shruti Raheja, Amy Sheppard, Sarah Simpson, Gina Snooks, Jocelyn Thorpe, Patricia Way, and Miriam Wright.
per a receipt enclosed with a letter: 25 cents!
(c) Sonja Boon, 2025.
