Upper Island Cove crafts a fitting memorial for deceased firefighters

By Olivia Bradbury\Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

In July of 2021, the Town of Upper Island Cove opened a new park: the Robert John Clarke Community Garden. The park is home to Upper Island Cove Volunteer Fire Department’s Firefighter’s Memorial, which commemorates the department’s deceased members.

The land the park is built on is located at the corner of Spoon Cove Road and Back Road, across from the Upper Island Cove Community Centre. It’s the site where years ago, Robert John Clarke Sr., owned a shop, gas station, and snack bar. The shop has been gone was decades, and until a few years ago the land was still owned by the Clarke family. Clarke Sr. died in 1987. His great-grandson, Robert, owns Clarke’s Country Corner, a convenience store and gas bar in a different part of Upper Island Cove.

Grandson Robert explained that he and several other family members were part of the community’s Parks and Recreation Association, which had discussed developing green spaces within Upper Island Cove. A number of factors led his family to want to donate the piece of land as a town green space.

“My grandfather inherited it from his parents, and we wanted to have some sort of a lasting legacy as a piece of the town,” Clarke explained.

Coincidentally, for years, the Upper Island Cove Volunteer Fire Department had been discussing a project of its own: the creation of a firefighter’s memorial.

“It all just kind of went together,” said Clarke.

Several locations had been suggested for the memorial, but ultimately it was established on the piece of land that Clarke’s great-grandfather once owned.

“There was a very strong desire for the memorial to be created and with the donation of the land it made it possible,” Clarke said.

Firefighter Stephen Walsh, who has been a member of UIC’s fire department for 23 years, recalls how the memorial came about. He said the fire department’s First Assistant Chief Darren Mercer, who is also a member of the town council, really spearheaded the project.

After the land was donated, Walsh said, the development of the site required a lot of time and groundwork; essentially the department had to turn a gravel parking lot into a park. Sods, clay, and cement were brought in. Initially, red stone pathways were placed in the park, but it was later decided to replace the stone with pavement to make the park more accessible for visitors. There are three flagpoles behind the monument, flying the flags of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, and the Upper Island Cove Volunteer Fire Department.

Firefighter Raymond Sharpe came up with the idea to use fire hydrants as the bases for the flagpoles, and they were subsequently acquired from Bay Roberts. “It was a perfect fit,” said Walsh.

Slade’s Funeral Home provided the memorial’s stone monument. The centre consists of the Maltese Cross with the name of the fire department on it. The left side of the monument bears the firefighter’s prayer, while the right bears the names of deceased firefighters. Before the memorial was placed, the names of all deceased members of the fire department were engraved on it. More names have been engraved on the stone since. As the brigade’s members age and pass on, the fire department contacts Slade’s to add their names to the memorial. Once the space on the front of the monument is filled, names will be added to the back.

“All our names will be there eventually,” said Walsh.

Many families in Upper Island Cove have had people serve in the fire department. Many current firefighters have late relatives whose names are on the memorial, including fathers, uncles, cousins, and sons.

The Robert John Clarke Community Garden is also the first location on the Shoreline Heritage Walk, a route in Upper Island Cove that leads walkers along the shoreline and is dotted with storyboards detailing Upper Island Cove history along the way. There are benches in the community garden where people can relax, and a tap from which to get water. It is a highly visible and accessible area, which makes it an ideal memorial location. People can go there, enjoy the park’s tranquility, and see the names of all the brave individuals immortalized on the monument.