Spaniard’s Bay accepts memento of a special mayor

By Olivia Bradbury/Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Elaine Neil-Smith, sister of the late Edward P. Neil, presented two donations to Spaniard’s Bay council last month in memory of her brother, a former mayor.

Neil-Smith told council it was a privilege to present the donations in memory of her brother.

“As a lot of you know, Ed was a firm believer in community and giving back to the community,” she said. “He served the community in a number of positions — councilor and also mayor at one point. I know that he would be delighted to know that the town is being taken care of and held in such high esteem and being looked after so well by you folks here this evening.”

The first donation was a framed photograph of New Harbour Road.

The Neil family grew up in Green Head, Spaniard’s Bay, and when Edward married he moved to New Harbour Road. Years later, he found a photograph of New Harbour Road that included his house. He made a copy for himself and one for each of his three children, who still have the photographs displayed in their homes. After Edward died, his children saw fit to give his copy of the photograph to Neil-Smith and her husband, Charlie.

“We held it in high esteem and put it in a place of prominence,” she said.

Since Charlie passed away a couple of years ago, Elaine has downsized, having sold her house. She decided the photo needed a new home, and thought there was no better place than the town office. She contacted Town Manager Tony Ryan, who told her the Town would be honored to display it.

Neil-Smith also made a monetary donation in her brother’s memory.

Afterwards, she presented yet another donation to the town, a vintage Legionettes softball jacket. Years ago, Neil-Smith was a member of the Spaniard’s Bay Legionettes, a softball team sponsored by the Legion. The team won a championship in 1976.

Mayor Paul Brazil welcomed the donation.

“We don’t have a whole lot of sports memorabilia, but there is a significant amount out around,” he said. “Some of the key people who had knowledge of that sort of thing — your brother, Mr. (Wes) Gosse, Mr. (Gerald) Fitzgerald – the three of them have passed on now. And that’s a wealth of sports knowledge and history and culture of the town lost. So we try to pick up as many of the pieces as we can to see if we can salvage some of it.”

Brazil noted that when he was a young boy, there were not many organized sports in Spaniard’s Bay, or in the area in general.

“Harbour Grace had a stadium, but for most people, if you lived and grew up in Spaniard’s Bay, that was pretty much out of reach,” said Brazil.

One year, however, Edward Neil organized a bus on Saturday mornings to bring youths, including Brazil, to the Harbour Grace stadium to play hockey.

“He believed in making things available for young people,” said Neil-Smith. “He was a firm believer in that.”