The Burnt Head and Spectacle Head Heritage Trails are a project of the Cupids Trails Committee. The interpretation project involved conducting oral history interviews with residents of Cupids and using archival interviews, images, and documents from community members, the Cupids Legacy Centre, Cupids Historical Society, and Memorial University of Newfoundland's Folklore and Language Archive. The results of this work provide visitors with information about the abandoned communities and natural landscapes at discrete 'stops' along both trails.
Although we have scoured the archives and interviewed community members, we know that more undocumented details exist about these abandoned communities and many stories are left untold.
We hope that the stories we have shared here will paint a clearer picture of what life was like when these communities thrived. We also hope that anyone we were not able to speak with, who has memories of people who once lived in these communities, might be willing to share this information with the Cupids Trails Committee, so that we may add more stories, photos, and audio clips to this blog. Please get in touch by using Contact Us on this page.
Funding for this project was provided by the Centre for Social Enterprise at Memorial University of Newfoundland
Writer: Katie Crane, Department of Folklore, Memorial University
Editor: Sandy Newton
Guest Editor: Nellie P. Strowbridge
Project Leads: Peter Barnes, Andrew Walsh, Chris Woodworth-Lynas, and the Cupids Trails Committee
Special Thanks: Bob Bishop; Sarah Croft, Centre for Social Enterprise, Memorial University of Newfoundland; Cupids Historical Society; Cupids Legacy Centre; Roy Dawe; Dale Jarvis; Lloyd and Linda Kane; Peter Laracy; Sean McGrath; Memorial University of Newfoundland Folklore and Language Archive; Town of Cupids.
Signposts installed by Wendell Kennedy and Don Pike of Pro-Line Carpentry, Burnt Head.
Signs produced by Colton Dawe of The Vinyl Frontier, Bay Roberts.