A day of berrypicking turned into a night of struggling to survive in the outdoors for these four children.
Reprinted from the Downhome, June 2019
By Lester Green
Annie Green(1920-1926) and sister Margaret(1924-2010) St. Jones Without, Trinity Bay.
It was a sunny afternoon on May 11, 1926, when three children from St. Jones Without, Trinity Bay, NL decided to go up on the barrens. They were excited to go picking the juicy partridgeberries that had been sweetened by the past winter’s frost. Unknowingly, they were being followed by six-year-old Annie Green. She kept her distance as they climbed the steep path behind Ferry’s Cove that led to the barrens.
Leading the group was Mary Blanche Penney, the oldest of the three at 13 years old. Her friend Alice Hiscock was nine, and Alice’s first cousin, Charlie, was seven.
Annie watched as they disappeared behind the ridge. She caught up with them a short time later, but by then it was too late to return her home, so they continued on together and soon located a patch of berries. They began picking, filling their containers and mouths with the over-ripened, juicy partridgeberries. They continued to wander on the barrens, searching for more, not realizing that little Annie was reaching exhaustion. At some point, she fell behind.
When the others realized Annie was no longer with them, they began shouting her name. They decided to split up and search, with the Hiscocks going in one direction and Mary Blanche in the other towards Little Heart’s Ease. In their desperation to find Annie, they failed to notice the evening fog creeping over the barrens and blanketing the hills.
Alice and Charlie successfully located little Annie, but by then it was too dark and foggy to find their way home. The three nestled behind a large rock that offered some shelter from the night air. They huddled in desperation to keep warm. No one knew where Mary Blanche was.
Annie complained about the cold and soon began to shiver. Alice removed her pink sweater and wrapped it around little Annie’s shoulders and held her as tightly as possible. Alice hoped that someone would soon find them.
Motor boat leaving the Beach and crossing St. Jones Without Arm to Ferry’s Cove. (Photo courtesy of Annie Green, Winterton)
Back in St. Jones Without, families began to worry about the children who had not returned. A search party was quickly organized, but it was morning before they discovered Alice and Charlie. Little Annie appeared to be sleeping beside them. Tragically, the cold had proven too much for her and she had slipped away during the night to be with the angels. The official cause of death was “succumbing to exposure.”
Next, searchers turned their attention to finding Mary Blanche, who had set out in the direction of Little Heart’s Ease the evening before. After their tragic discovery of Annie’s body, they could not predict what they would find. Later that afternoon, Mary Blanche was found, alive, in an area above what is locally known as “the Flat” at Little Heart’s Ease.
The residents of St. Jones Without experienced mixed feelings. They rejoiced at finding three of the lost children alive, but mourned the death of little Annie. The little girl’s burial at Methodist church was well attended by the community.
Burdened by the tragic loss of their oldest daughter, Eldred and Amelia (Coates) Green could no longer remain in the community. They moved to Winterton with their remaining daughter, Margaret, who was only two years old when her big sister died. She had just a photo to remember her by. Margaret’s family recalls that she often mentioned the grief and pain that she saw in her parents’ faces, but they never spoke about the tragic loss of their precious daughter. They didn’t have any more children.
Amelia passed away in 1968 with a heavy burden that she had carried throughout her life. Eldred passed away in 1974. Both died with a broken heart caused by a tragic event that happened on the barrens of St. Jones Without and swept little Annie from their arms in May 1926.
Tragedy on the Barrens – PDF – Downhome Article
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Transcribed by Emily Seward, January 2022.
These transcriptions may contain human errors. As always, confirm these as you would any other source material