Them Days, iconic Labrador magazine, celebrates 40 years of storytelling

Them Days, which has chronicled the history and people of Labrador, is celebrating its 40th anniversary this week.

The iconic magazine started in 1975 as a one-time book produced by the Labrador Heritage Society, and has been published quarterly ever since.

For the last 40 years, Them Days has featured stories from across the Big Land, as told by locals themselves.

From trapper tales to interviews with fishermen, the magazine has celebrated and remembered days gone by in Labrador.

Aimee Chaulk, editor of Them Days, said the magazine's launch heralded a new era of storytelling for the region.

"Before that time, Labrador history wasn't really told by Labradorians," she said.

"It was always told by people who came from away, showed up for a little time and then left again — so this was probably really the first time that people in general got to see Labrador history as told by Labradorians."

Recording life in the Big Land

Chaulk thinks the magazine, which is published in Happy Valley-Goose Bay, has always been a source of pride for people across Labrador.

"Life in Labrador hasn't always been easy, we have a harsh climate, we're remote," she told CBC News.

"A lot of the stories often feature life [that] was harsh, was tough, but we made it — and we were happy even though we didn't have much."

Susan Felsberg, who volunteers with Them Days, thinks many of the stories featured in the magazine may have not been recorded otherwise.

"They were stories that just went around the kitchen table and out the front door, but now its written and its there, and some people have a complete collection," she said.

The people who work at the magazine say it wouldn't have been possible without Doris Saunders, the driving force behind Them Days for nearly 30 years. 

"Doris was a Labrador spirit and she was a small and petite person and she always behaved like a spirit," said Felsbeg.

"She would go around haunting people and of course she travelled on the coast — which were her original roots — and wherever she went she attracted and encouraged storytelling."

Them Days has a series of events planned to celebrate its 40th birthday and will be issuing a number of special publications throughout the year.