The Cold Plunge: Sable Chief, Signal Hill and a Storytelling Circle

In this post I start my first full day in Downtown St. John’s with a hike up Signal Hill, an encounter with a furry Newfoundlander, and share spooky stories at a Storytelling Circle.

Newfoundland boasts many firsts:  

Sites that feature the earliest known Ediacaran fossils on earth.

The first English settlement in Canada (Cupids).

The first responders to the Titanic.

The first transatlantic wireless signal.

Signal Hill National Historic Site is a hill that overlooks the harbour and city. The highest point, Ladies’ Lookout, is 167 m (548 ft) high.

Due to its strategic placement overlooking the Narrows, the only entrance to the harbour, fortifications date back to the mid 17th century. As its name implies, centuries before the advent of ship-to-shore radio, signalman perched on Signal Hill and surveyed the ocean for ships headed toward the port of St. John’s. Flag signals flown on the hill communicated the names of arriving ships to those who inhabited the harbour-front below.

On 12 December 1901, the first transatlantic wireless transmission was received there by Gugliemo Marconi.

It was clear and sunny morning, but there was still a chilly edge to the wind. I left the townhouse without a jacket but returned for it before I got too far. I wouldn’t actually need it until right at the end of the walk.

I started along the steady incline toward the top of Signal Hill. I heard a car horn sound, and a faint cheer from further along the road. If you look very closely at the above photo, you can see a line of people walking down the hill along the footpath. This was a school group, signalling to passing cars to toot their horn, giving a triumphant cheer when the driver responded. It was delightful to witness.

Cabot Tower is a stone fortress at the top of the hill where soldiers and signalmen were once stationed. On the main floor of the tower the Heritage Shop offered a selection of gifts, craft, music and books. Detailed information of the site is available at the Visitor’s Centre. In addition to the site’s history, it boasts breathtaking views of St. John’s and the rugged coast of the Avalon Peninsula.

I spotted Sable sitting majestically with his owner, local man Ed Jackman. Ed brings Sable to the lookout every day, as a novelty for visitors who love taking pictures with him. I certainly thought it was a novelty to see a Newfoundland dog in Newfoundland. It was the highlight of my visit to Signal Hill.

I was also astonished to learn that this enormous pup was indeed still a puppy, just fifteen months old. How big would he be once he was fully grown??

I was intrigued by the name Sable, and would later learn on my visit to The Rooms museum that Sable Chief was a Newfoundland dog that served as the mascot of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment during World War I.

I started the steep descent along the hiking trail leading from Cabot Tower to the Battery neighbourhood below. The weather came over cloudy, and I was glad I brought my jacket after all.

The hiking trail naturally ended at the entrance to The Battery, a neighbourhood of colourful fishing shacks perched on the escarpment below Signal Hill. Some shacks were older, some were newer builds, all in the same style. It would seem, if you want to live in Downtown St. John’s, you have no choice but to live in a brightly coloured house.

I stopped by The Battery Cafe, which came highly recommended, for a salmon bagel and a cup of London Fog, a tea latte brewed with classic Earl Grey. I had once bought a bag of London Fog tea leaves in Australia but had never seen it again. I was delighted to see the drink on offer at almost every cafe in Canada.

That afternoon, I sat in the living room of the townhouse with a cup of tea and admired the oddities and curiosities dotted around the room.

I returned to The Battery Cafe that evening, where a Storytelling Circle event was being hosted by St. John’s Storytelling. Storytelling in Newfoundland is a legacy of the province’s Irish and Scottish ancestors. The St John’s Storytelling group has met in St. John’s each month for the past sixteen years, sharing tales of Newfoundland and Labrador and keeping the tradition of oral storytelling alive. They even host an annual festival.

Several storytellers shared that night, including myself, although I branched away from the traditional theme and shared an excerpt from Parasomnia, my story about the Old Hag.

My Airbnb host Jodee had contacted the co-host of the event on my behalf and given them a heads up that I would be attending, advising of my research about The Old Hag. During the evening, a handful of other attendees offered their experiences and knowledge on the subject, including Lance McVay, an author from California and the special guest storyteller and host of the evening’s event. Lance shared with me about the black cat, a New Orleans equivalent to the Hag who was said to sit on the victim’s chest while they lay paralysed.