The Barrelman

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The Barrleman was a name adopted by Joseph Smallwood for his fifteen minute radio programme on the Broadcasting Corporation of Newfoundland 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 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 Barrleman in a program of making Newfoundland better known to Newfoundlanders.^[1]

The show consisted of The Barrleman (Smallwood) telling anecdotes 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.^[2] In November 1943 Smallwood left the programme 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.

[edit] References and notes

[edit] External links

• The Best of The Barrelman (1938-1940)