The Diaries of Howard Leopold Morry - Volume 5

by Howard Leopold Morry, Christopher J.A. Morry

This book represents the fifth volume of what will ultimately be twenty-five volumes in a series of verbatim transcripts of the diaries of Howard Leopold Morry, written by him starting in 1939 and concluding with the last known volume in 1965. This fifth book is an entirely different kind of diary than the first four volumes. In those first four diaries, Howard Leopold Morry told us his life history for the first time. The fifth diary is more of a traditional daily diary, with day by day observations on current events, the weather, the fishery, births, marriages and deaths, and normal and unusual occurrences. But it also includes some reminiscences of his earlier life. And, in view of the timing of this diary, which nominally is the diary for 1940, but in reality contains some entries for the years from late 1939 until early 1945, needless to say much of the information conveyed pertains to the progress of the war from the perspective of a Newfoundlander with two sons overseas, one in the Royal Navy and the other in the Royal Artillery. It goes without saying, therefore, that these accounts are not given from an unbiased perspective. Why did Howard Leopold Morry take the extensive amount of time from his busy day as a fisherman/farmer, shop keeper and some-time local provider of government services that would be needed to keep such an extensive collection of diaries? Here he himself explains his motivations in one entry in this diary:
"Had a yarn after mass about old times & happenings, John Kinsella, Gus Costello, John & Jim Sullivan, Ned Healey & I. Old times are fast changing. No such thing as visiting around now. The Radio has changed all. When I was a boy, we used to visit old men to hear them tell stories of deeds of the Past and listen to old 'Come All Ye's' which told the stories of Love & tragedies & were a means of keeping folk lore alive. It's a pity that all the wonderful History of Ferryland, & in fact all Newfoundland is lost by the carelessness of its people not putting down in print the daily happenings."