''The Barrelman'' was a name adopted by Joseph Smallwood for his fifteen-minute radio program on the

Broadcasting Corporation of Newfoundland The Broadcasting Corporation of Newfoundland (BCN) was the government-owned public radio service of the dominion of Newfoundland.Jeff A. Webb, ''The Voice of Newfoundland: A Social History of the Broadcasting Corporation of Newfoundland''. Unive ...

to promote pride in Newfoundland's history and culture. The show began as a column in the ''Daily News'' newspaper, and later appeared as a radio show on St. John's radio station VONF (Now CBN) in 1937 and became part of BCN's schedule when the network was established two years later. Within a week of its 1937 premiere, it had gathered an appreciative audience that it caught the attention of F.M. O'Leary Limited who began sponsoring it. The program was aired six nights a week and remained on the air for seven years. The opening introduction was always;

F.M. O'Leary Limited presenting ''The Barrelman'' in a program of making Newfoundland better known to Newfoundlanders.

The show consisted of ''The Barrelman'' (Smallwood) telling

anecdote An anecdote is "a story with a point", such as to communicate an abstract idea about a person, place, or thing through the concrete details of a short narrative or to characterize by delineating a specific quirk or trait. Occasionally humorous ...

s and tales illustrating the culture and likeable attributes of the Newfoundland people in a historical context. The program made Smallwood a household name throughout Newfoundland.Memorial University News Release
In November 1943 Smallwood left the program to operate a pig farm in Gander, and was succeeded as the Barrelman by journalist Michael Harrington. Harrington continued the show until 1955. Subsequently, Smallwood became a leading figure in Newfoundland politics. A barrelman is an individual who was stationed in the

crow's nest A crow's nest is a structure in the upper part of the main mast of a ship or a structure that is used as a lookout point. On ships, this position ensured the widest field of view for lookouts to spot approaching hazards, other ships, or land b ...

of a ship and was the first to spot any sign of danger and the one who first sighed land. It was an appropriated term to distinguish Smallwood's relay to his message of making Newfoundland better known to Newfoundlanders.

References and notes

External links

''The Best of The Barrelman'' (1938–1940)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barrelman, The Culture of Newfoundland and Labrador 1937 radio programme debuts 1955 radio programme endings Canadian talk radio programs 1930s Canadian radio programs 1940s Canadian radio programs 1950s Canadian radio programs