Growing up in Lewisporte in northeastern Newfoundland, Ella Manuel acquired a love of fishing that stayed with her for the rest of her life. In this story she tells of days on the rivers of western Newfoundland and of her encounters with men who could not accept the idea of a woman fishing expertly. On the Lomond River she glories in the thrill of fly fishing, and first hears about the remarkable Emma Tapper, who was completely at home on any river.

Send us a Text Message.

In the 1940s, as Ella Manuel was thinking of how to earn a living in Western Newfoundland, she met some disgruntled fly-fishermen from the southern United States. This may have led to the sports-fishing venture she later developed at Killdevil Lodge.

Send us a Text Message.

Ella Manuel returned in the mid-1940s to Newfoundland, a divorced mother of two small boys. Chatting with American sportsman Lee Wulff about the need for fly-fishing camps in north-western Newfoundland, she suddenly decided to start a sports-fishing venture. In Lomond, the once busy logging town in Bonne Bay, she set up a summer-time operation at Killdevil Lodge. Though it did not prosper, Ella gloried in the beauty of her surroundings.

Send us a Text Message.

A few years after her Lomond venture, having sold Killdevil Lodge to the Anglican Church, Ella Manuel returned to Bonne Bay. She rented a house for the summer in Woody Point, made many new friends, and began to think of settling down.

Send us a Text Message.

Having discovered the beauty of Woody Point and its friendly people, Ella Manuel decided to build a house for herself. Little did she know the challenges and frustrations that awaited her as she befuddled the builders with her plans.

Send us a Text Message.

Here Ella Manuel faces frustration as she challenges power company regulations, but finally succeeds in connecting her new house on the hill in Woody Point to electric power.

Send us a Text Message.

In the next 4 episodes, Ella Manuel describes the goings on of a typical year in mid-twentieth century Bonne Bay, now the heart of Gros Morne National Park of western Newfoundland. The events she relates might well have taken place in many another outport, for they illustrate something of the traditions and culture of rural Newfoundland and Labrador.

This episode begins as Ella returns to Woody Point after a winter on the Mainland, rants about the protests over the seal fishery, meets old friends again, hears new stories, and samples funnel buns

Send us a Text Message.

In this second episode of a typical year in mid-century Bonne Bay, Ella Manuel tells of watching a house being moved, launching her new rodney, entertaining the Rockefellers, and joining a grand party in the old Orange Lodge.

Send us a Text Message.