Emerald Zone Corporation

Trail: Dorset Trail HWY 410

Mayor: Clyde Saunders

Deputy Mayor: Cheyanne Andrews

Councillors: Larry Butt, Jerry Ward, Shawn Tibbo, Paul Toms,Neil Ward

Address: P.O. Box 130, A0K 3M0

Telephone: (709) 675-2266 or 675-2460

Fax: (709) 675-2168

Email: townoflascie [at] nf.aibn.com

Availability: Monday - Friday; 9:00am - 5:00pm

Introduction

La Scie is located at the head of the Baie Verte Peninsula, between White Bay and Notre Dame Bay on the northeast coast of Newfoundland.

La Scie was used by the Basque fishermen who called the fishing station Port de Sege. The French named the town La Scie, meaning The Saw. This refers to the hills around the community which resemble the teeth of a saw.

La Scie was part of the French Shore, Le Petit Nord, from 1504-1904. After the French stopped fishing the area, La Scie was settled by Irish and English fishermen, many of whom were previously living in nearby Shoe Cove. Names such as Chipp, Clance, Budgell, Andrews, Critch, Toms, and Foster were some of the families who lived in La Scie from 1894-1897.

There are several small islands near La Scie. The most noted are the Horse Islands, which are two large Islands surrounded in places by dangerous rocks. Local names such as Hit or Miss Point and Nervous Point tell you the kind of reputation that the Islands have among the people who fish and use the waters near Horse Islands. These Islands were the largest islands in the area and people lived there until 1967, when they were all relocated to La Scie. Bishop's Rock off La Scie is important as a roosting place for salt water duck.

Population:

The town has 955 people.
 

Demographic Geography

The first record of settlers in La Scie was in 1857. At that time, there were only 14 people in the settlement, although the French used it as a fishing station from 1760-1840.

At that time, La Scie was part of the French Shore. The French would stay there during the winter months, but left in October. There were also English speaking people in La Scie in the 1860's. One noted Englishman was Daniel Duggen, he was chosen by the French to care for their property and fishing gear.

There were many battles fought between the French and English settlers of the area. The English lived mainly in the settlement of Shoe Cove, 4km away. Many of the Frenchmen were killed and legend has it that today you can still hear the moans of the Frenchmen at the sites where they were killed.

By 1891, there were 104 people living in La Scie. At that time there were 45 Methodist, 33 Roman Catholic, and 26 of the Church of England faith. Although the Methodist built a school in the late 1800's, none of the communities 36 children went to school. The Church of England built its first school in 1909.

In 1911, La Scie had 429 people, two-thirds of whom were Methodist, and the remainder split among the Roman Catholic Church, Church of England and Salvation Army. Each of these denominations had their own church in the community. The first church service in La Scie was held at the home of Jack Ryan.

There were 118 school age children in the community but only 84 attended school. They attended a one room school owned by the Methodist and the Salvation Army. In 1915 the Church of England started their own school. The Roman Catholics shared facilities with the protestants until 1920 when they built their own school. The United Church built their school in 1925 for themselves and the Church of England. Today, 1992, there are five churches in the town. These are Zion United, Bethel Pentecostal, Salvation Army, Anglican and Roman Catholic.

In 1941, the population had grown to 490, the community now had three sawmills operating in the town. They also had a nursing centre. Ten years later, in 1951, the population was 601. Most of the citizens were United. Then in the late 1950's the United Church opened a separate school for kindergartens and grade 1.

In 1955, La Scie became a local service district, and stayed that way until October 1961, when the town was incorporated. At that time La Scie made attempts to form a council but residents voted against it. During that time La Scie had a combined residents and nursing clinic which had a Department of Health doctor that served the area from Shoe Cove to Harbour Round area and Horse Islands.

Due to the mining activities in Baie Verte and the resettlement of residents from Horse Islands in the late 1960's the population of La Scie had dramatically jumped to 1255 in 1971. Mining was a major employer in the 1970's with 28 of La Scie's residents working at Rambler Mines in 1976.

Topography

La Scie has very little flat land except at the heads of bays or on old marine beaches.

The steep cliffs of La Scie rise some 400 feet from the sea. The water surrounding the area is very deep and allows for large ships to enter its Harbour. Most of the higher land inside the town limits is barren except for the ponds, lakes, and river valleys, which are heavily forested. The land in the area is not suited for vegetation and crops.

Local History

Fishing History

For a complete history of the Baie Verte Peninsula see the document "The History of the Baie Verte Peninsula"

Fishing was always the main employment for the people of La Scie. Most of the men spent long hours fishing off the islands surrounding the settlement. In 1891 there were 104 residents in La Scie, 32 of whom were fishermen. In that year the fishermen landed cod, salmon and herring worth $3,961.00. This was a very large amount of money at that time. By 1911, there were 429 people (72 families)living in the community. Among the fishermen there were six office workers, four farmers, four lumberers, three mechanics and two merchants. Most of the 72 families fished for a living. Their catch included cod, herring, salmon, seals and a small landing of lobster.

Early fish buyers included R. F. Bartlett, the Fishermen's Union Trading Company, La Scie Cooperative Society and Chipp and Company. These companies were all located on the west side of the harbour. In 1930 Fisheries Products Limited opened a fish plant which paid the fishermen 3 cents per pound for cod. The plant was only opened for 5 years. Bartlett's took over the machinery but never used it. R. F. Bartlett Company used their 20-ton capacity schooner to collect fish from local fishermen from Horse Islands and Brents Cove.

In 1948, the La Scie Cooperative Society was formed, it had a total of 148 members. The Society also bought cod and salmon from the local fishermen.

July 1960, saw the opening of a new fishplant with 140 employees processing frozen fillets. Job Brothers and Co. Ltd opened up another plant in 1963 and also took salmon along with the codfish. National Sea Products bought the plant from Job Brothers and Co. Ltd in the late 1970's. It employed 500 people in 1978, and in 1981 it employed 665 people. That year 16 million pounds of fish was processed at the plant. Approximately 40 percent of the fish was landed at La Scie. The rest came from 12 other communities on the peninsula. During that year fish was bought from 743 fishermen who operated 316 small boats and 28 longliners.

During the 1984 fishing season, National Sea purchased fish from 932 fisherman, 153 of whom were based in La Scie, while the rest were from the other communities on the Baie Verte Peninsula. Peak employment at that time in the plant was 700 people for the processing of cod, herring, flounder, squid, turbot, mackerel, and caplin. In 1989 the plant processed 22 million pounds of fish.

La Scie once received most supplies by coastal boat until the roads were built. The extending and paving of the roads made a big difference to the development and expansion of the town.
 

Commercial Trade

Bank of Nova Scotia
Wholesalers
Town Council

The Bank of Nova Scotia opens in La Scie for three days per week. Employees from the Baie Verte branch travel to La Scie to conduct the banking services for the town and surrounding communities.

The wholesaler within the community is W. M. Chipp Ltd. The town is also served by Lewisporte Wholesalers. Local Town Council feels that Legal Services would attract people to the community.

Education       

La Scie has two schools, Hillside Elementary and Cape John Collegiate.

Cape John Collegiate

The total enrolment at Cape John Collegiate is 229, with approximately 80 of these students from communities outside of the town. The school was built in 1976 with a total of 10 classrooms. Future plans for development include a guidance centre and improvements to the stage and acoustics. The school has a total of 15 teachers on staff. The principal at Cape John Collegiate feels that the school does have an overcrowding problem, especially the computer classes and the gym classes.

In September, 1995, Senior High students from Brent's Cove and Harbour Round started attending Cape John Collegiate as the RC Roman Catholic School Board and the Green Bay Integrated Board entered into a shared services agreement. Starting in September, 1999, students from grades 7 to 9 from Brent's Cove and Harbour Round will attend school in La Scie.

Hillside Elementary

Hillside Elementary has a total enrolment of 148. The school was built in 1963 and it has 10 classrooms. There are 14 teachers at the school. Extracurricular activities other than the regular sports activities are floor hockey and chess. Grades 4 to 6 from Nippers Harbour also attend school at hillside since September, 1997. Services available to the students are special education classes and guidance counselling. Because it is an Elementary school absenteeism is very low. Fire drills and bus drills are performed at the school each year.

Library

There is a public library and a CAP site in town.

Postal Services

La Scie has a Post Office with 4 employees presently working there.

There are no mail carrying services in the town, but there are post office boxes available for rent.

Health and Welfare

Although La Scie does not have a hospital, they do have a medical clinic with one full-time doctor working there.

They also employ 2 RNA'S, 1 receptionist and 1 janitor. There are no medical specialists in the town. For these services the residents of La Scie have to travel to Corner Brook, Grand Falls-Windsor, St. Johns or Baie Verte .

Fire Protection

La Scie has its own fire department and fire truck.

The department is made up of 18 volunteer firemen. The fire department is part of the town's local government. There are thirty three (33) fire hydrants in the town and local council feels that this is adequate. Residents and firemen are warned of fire by way of a pager system. The town presently has fifteen of them. Annual fire inspections are carried out in the town. An insurance classification of the town is available through Baine Johnston Insurance.

Transportation

Personal travel only.

10 km pavement
10 km gravel

Utilities and Power

La Scie is serviced by Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro.

Water Supply and Sanitation

La Scie has a natural water supply located one-half mile from the town. Garbage collection is provided.

It uses gravity flow rather than pumps. The water supply is inspected by authorities every three months. Private water systems are not inspected. The town does have some problems with freeze-ups in the winter but they have not had any problems with any dry-ups in the summer.

Garbage collection at La Scie is done once a week by a private contractor. They use a garbage packer which takes the garbage to the dump 5 kms away. The disposal area is supervised by a part-time dump attendant. There are no reported problems with rodents and bears.

Cultural & Social Data

Service Organizations

Successful Resident
 

There are many service organizations in the Town, with Girl Guides, Scouts, church groups, minor hockey, kick-boxing, etc. available for the entertainment and amusement of children as well as adults. The Community Channel and Public Library encourage greater access to communication and resources. It was a proud event in 1994 when the La Scie Jets, in competition with other teams in the Province, became the Herder Cup Champions.

Resident, Roy A. Burton has established himself as a successful artist, with his paintings displayed at the Franklin Gallery, Ewing Gallery, Trinity Folk Art, and locations throughout the province and the country. Roy gets his inspiration from home, and puts much effort into his work by researching his subject to make sure details are accurate. He averages about 30 originals a year, many of which are sold internationally.  As well, Roy is involved locally in promoting art, by speaking at schools, hosting workshops, and giving art lessons.