In 1991, Joseph (Joe) Joy and Francis (Frank) Smith — mayor and town clerk respectively for the Town of Freshwater — produced and sold the video 60 Years of Change to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the expropriation of Argentia and the re-settlement of all the residents who lived there. Joy and Smith stated that they had spent "13 months and many hours of research” putting the video together. While their efforts were commendable, the final product was fraught with erroneous information … much the same that had been put in circulation by people who were relying on clouded memories, had insufficient information about the subjects they were discussing, or just speculating about events they thought had occurred. Unfortunately, their research did not include accessing government records in Newfoundland, the United States, or Great Britain. Since the errors in 60 Years of Change are so numerous, only the most prominent will be addressed in this section of argentia.org.

During their introduction, Joy and Smith told viewers that they would be presenting photographs from the 1930s up to the 1990s. The photo — a collage of aerial views that had been joined together as one long strip — shown and described as being in the 1930s were not from that era. The components were aerial views of Argentia, and the first aerial survey of the region was not carried out until the arrival of the Americans. Those photos had been taken by the American aerial survey crew during the U.S. military's first year in Argentia. Prior to showing them on the video, the official U.S. Navy identification labels had been cut away. Eileen Houlihan published a three-frame section of that same collage on page 44 of her book Uprooted: the Argentia Story.

Here are the other most blatant errors, in order of occurrence, that were made in 60 Years of Change. There is plenty of written and photographic documentation to substantiate each entry of factual information.

Comment by Smith: “The Americans occupied a total of 8,987 acres of land in the area.”

Factual information: Land in the Argentia region was acquired by the United States in five ways. The initial lease consisted of 3,392.0 acres, the first subsequent lease of 8,918.9 acres, and the second subsequent lease of 76.0 acres in area. There were 69.0 acres that were acquired through purchase, and the Territorial Harbour control rights consisted of 8,858.0 acres. Thus, a total of 21,313.9 acres — or 33.3 square miles — of land and water in Placentia Bay came under the control of the United States.

Comment by Smith: “Argentia was known as Little Placentia until 1905, when Father St. John, who was the parish priest at the time, suggested that the name be changed to Argentia.”

Factual information: Father St. John effected, not suggested, the name change, which became official on January 1, 1901. Refer to Misconceptions and Fabrications of Eileen Houlihan for specific details. Also refer to Misconceptions and Fabrications Propagated by Olive Power and the Red Island Website to read the entire history of Holy Rosary Parish.

Comment by Smith: “The people were left on their own to move or transport their possessions and building materials any way they could.”

Factual information: That was incorrect and there are check stubs and receipts in existence to prove it. The Commission of Government absorbed the cost of moving the people out of Argentia. The government provided the wooden crates in which residents packed their belongings and paid for the trucks that hauled them to the new locations.

Comment by Smith: “There was no such thing as a town plan.”

Factual information: That is also untrue. Surveyors from the Commission of Government, in conjunction with U.S. Army surveyors and engineers, had Freshwater completely surveyed and broken into building lots by June 1941. That was no easy task, considering that Freshwater was on the side of a steep range of hills — stretching from Crèvecoeur to Clark 's Pond — which separated it from Argentia. There were 166 lots covering an area of 5,225,000 square feet, or 120 acres. The average size of each lot was .73 of an acre. Although the lots were numbered from one to 173, only 166 were part of the re-settlement plan. The residents of Freshwater owned the first seven lots.

On Monday, June 30, a draw for the first 79 lots was held in Anthony Smith's General Store in Marquise. Four lots were chosen in the first three draws. Philip (Philly Ross) O'Reilly drew lot number 17, Hugh Roche drew lot number 18 for himself and lot number 19 for his sister Bride Cunningham, who was unable to attend, and James McGrath drew lot number 20.

Only 28, or 16.9 percent, of the 166 lots were ever occupied, and they were all together in the southeast section. All the lots in the northwest section were left vacant and eventually reverted to Crown Land . The people who drew those lots would not build and live on them because they considered the area too far away from the main settlement and too close to the U.S. Army ground troop training area in Point Moll.

People like Cornelius Smith, Lucy Cunningham, James Smith, Alphonsus Power, Philip McCue, James Leonard, Bernard Dollimont, Denis O'Reilly, Mary Roche, Mary Power, Mary Maher, Richard Healey, Paul Kelly, John McGrath, and Patrick Dunphy purchased building lots at various locations in Freshwater from private owners who lived in Freshwater and Jerseyside.

Comment by Smith: “The name Marquise was a French term for a large field tent and had some connection with the French in Placentia.

Factual information: Actually, the place-name Marquise was named for the French jewel known as the Marquise. The details of how that place-name came into existence are too lengthy to include in Argentia.org.

Comment by Joy: Joe Joy introduced an aerial photo of Argentia and said, “Frank, this is Argentia in the 1935 era.”

Factual information: Actually, it was an aerial photo from 1941 that had been taken by the U.S. Navy's official photographer.

Comment by Smith: “This lighthouse was operated by the Foran family until its demise in 1942. The house section was built by the Foran Family.”

Factual information: The Forans did not operate the lighthouse in Argentia until the end of 1942. Also, the lighthouse and the living quarters were built by the government, not the Forans. That was a misconception propagated by Brother Francis Foran for reasons known only to him. Refer to Misconceptions and Fabrications of Brother Francis Foran for details.

Comment by Smith: After introducing an inverted photo as being that of the “first raising of the American flag over Newfoundland soil in February 1942,” he and Joe Joy made remarks about a “mild winter” and “everyone in their [sic] shirtsleeves.”

Factual information: February 1942 was the coldest winter on record during the 1940s and the snow was anywhere from three feet to twelve feet in height. Smith and Joy later contradicted their observations by introducing U.S. Navy photos showing snow on the ground.

For the record, there is no photographic record of the first U.S. flag raising at Argentia in February 1942 because the official U.S. Navy photographer was in Iceland at the time, and everyone else was banned from having a camera. Refer to Misconceptions and Fabrications of John Cardoulis to see the correctly oriented version of the photo referred to by Frank Smith. Refer to Misconceptions and Fabrications of Ron Young of Downhome Inc. to read the complete record of the ceremony that was conducted when the American flag was first raised over Newfoundland soil.

Comment by Joy: In reference to the construction period, he stated, “They worked 24 hours a day, every day.”

Factual information: By the end of February 1941, it was obvious that not much progress was going to be made during daylight hours. The work force was increased to almost 6,000 and construction continued 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. In order to accommodate the extended hours of work, hundreds of powerful floodlights were erected. The continuous construction lasted nearly five months. The night work, however, had to be stopped during the last week of July. Actually, Thursday, July 24 was the last time construction was carried out at night.

Several freighter captains had reported seeing what they believed to be German U-boats less than a hundred miles off the southeast coasts of Newfoundland, and the Newfoundland Constabulary officer who was posted in Argentia at the time notified Lieutenants Stephens and Silliman. That information led Lieutenant Stephens to the conclusion that the bright lights might make Argentia an easy target if a U-boat should happen to move into Placentia Bay. Consequently, he put a stop to all night work.

Comment by Smith: As he introduced a photo of the Holy Rosary Church, he said, “Between 1831 and 1941, Argentia was served by seven different priests.”

Factual information: Between 1831 and 1941, a total of 25 priests served at Holy Rosary Parish in Argentia … 13 as parish priests and 12 as curates. There were four periods — a total of 154 days, or five months and three days — when Holy Rosary Parish was without the services of a full-time parish priest. Read the entire history of Holy Rosary Parish in the section Misconceptions and Fabrications Propagated by Olive Power and the Red Island Website.

Comment by Smith: As he introduced a photo of President Roosevelt on the deck of the HMS Prince of Wales, he said, “This was in Argentia harbour with the south side in the background.”

Factual information: Argentia harbour could not be seen from the Prince of Wales. What Smith identified as the south side of Argentia harbour was actually the western section of the hill known as Cooper Head near the mouth of Ship Harbour.

Comment by Smith: As he showed a photograph of a large ship with the superstructure crowded with military men, he said, “This is the Augusta.”

Factual information: The photo was that of the HMS Prince of Wales during the Sunday morning prayer service that was hosted by the British delegation at the Atlantic Meeting. It was taken by the Paramount Pictures crew from above the battleship's aft heavy gun turrets. It is now one of the most used photos from the collection that was taken during the Atlantic Meeting.

Comment by Smith: In reference to the schools, he stated, “The students at Marquise had to walk four miles to attend school at Point Roche.”

Factual information: The total distance to and from school was 1.7 miles. The length of the entire Argentia peninsula is only 1.5 miles.

Comment by Smith: In relation to the re-location of the railway in 1921, he stated, “The railway terminal was moved from Placentia to Argentia.”

Factual information: The railway terminal was never in Placentia because Placentia was separated from the entire Argentia region by the infamous Placentia Gut. The railway terminal was at the base of Castle Hill in Jerseyside. That was a rather strange claim coming from someone who had spent his life in Freshwater.

Comment by Smith: In reference to automobiles, he stated, “The first car came to Argentia in 1927.”

Factual information: Father Adrian Dee brought a new 1923 Model T Ford from St. John's to Argentia in July 1924. It was one of only six cars ever to drive on the roads in Argentia until the Arrival of the Americans. The other five car owners were: Philip (Long Phil) O'Reilly, a 1923 Model T Ford; Anthony Smith; a 1925 Ford Coupe; Frank Cleary; a 1925 Dodge; Denis O'Reilly; a 1928 Chrysler; and Joachim Murray, a 1928 Chrysler.

About three-quarter of the way through the video, Joe Joy and Frank Smith introduced a photo of a Marquise area where construction had been almost completed. Along the northern edge of the completed barracks were a group of houses that were identified as Argentia residents' houses that were “still in place and being used by the Americans.” Actually, those houses did not belong in that area. They had been moved to that location on skids from other parts of Argentia as temporary dwelling for the Newfoundlanders who were in supervisory positions during the primary construction period.

Collectively, those houses were known as “Hollywood.” That nickname was given to the area by an American civilian whose name was not recorded and is no longer remembered because it reminded him of a Hollywood movie set he had seen in the past. Hollywood was composed of 16 houses that had been owned by: Thomas Cooney, Bernard Dollimont, Martha Dunphy, Michael Dunphy, Francis Fitzpatrick, Michael Griffin, Lucy Houlihan, Matilda Hunt, Alexander Maher, John Maher, Marcellus Maher, William Maher, Fergus Ryan, Joseph Sampson, Anthony Smith, and Michael Smith.

Near the end of the video, Frank Smith again referred to the single photograph collage and pointed out specific areas of Argentia. As the camera panned to the far right of the photo, he stated, “There's [sic] as it was in the 1930s. There's [sic] some seaplanes in the harbour. There's the USS Prairie coming into view. She ultimately caught fire and was destroyed.”

The ship Smith identified as the USS Prairie was the seaplane tender USS Albemarle. The aerial photo was taken in the spring of 1941; the PBY aircraft that can be seen were attached to anchor buoys at the time. Also, a dredge can be seen as it was deepening the harbour where the northern section of the Fleet Dock traffic would eventually be secured.

On Wednesday, May 27, 1942, a fire broke out at the Fleet Dock where the ammunition was being unloaded from the starboard side of the USS Prairie. Two men were killed and two severely burned but the vessel was not destroyed. There was more than one million dollars worth of damage done to the Prairie and $250,000 worth of damage to the Fleet Dock.

After the fire, the USS Prairie sailed under its own power — and escorted by four destroyers — to the U.S. Navy's dockyard in Boston for repairs. The Prairie was completely re-fitted within 10 months and it was back in Argentia by the middle of March 1943. The Prairie went on to become the longest-serving ship in naval history … with active duty in World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and the Persian Gulf War. Many naval vessels throughout the world have been re-commissioned, but the USS Prairie was the only one to have been re-christened after 50 years of service. It was not destroyed as claimed by Frank Smith.

Also near the end of the video, Frank Smith stated, “The responsibility of re-locating the people belonged to the Commission of Government. This Commission of Government, from all accounts, did not have the foresight, nor [sic] consideration, to assure these people of an orderly transfer to a new town site.”

It was not made known who gave Frank Smith the “all accounts” for the video, but it is safe to say that they arose from the same few misinformed and disgruntled sources that had been spreading erroneous information long before 1991.

The Commission of Government was blamed for a lot of things that it did not do. Contrary to common belief, the Commission of Government — although inexperienced in such matters, and not in favor of the Lend-Lease Agreement — was well organized and efficient. It also maintained excellent records. If one particular failing were to be cited during the expropriation process, it would surely have to be the craven obedience with which the commissioners kowtowed to the demands of the British government and the U.S. Navy.

If anyone is interested, all records pertaining to the expropriation of Argentia are on file at the Provincial Archives of Newfoundland and Labrador (PANL). They include the residents' completed questionnaires, their testimony before the arbitration board, government and private assessments of properties, American military assessments of properties, photographs of all properties, maps, surveys, and numerous other related documents.

The members of the Commission of Government knew they should have some assistance with the unprecedented events that were about to take place, but such help could not be found in Newfoundland, Britain, or Canada. Only the United States government had experience re-locating large groups of people.

On Monday, January 6, 1941, L. E. Emerson, Commissioner for Justice and Defence, presented an in-depth report to the Commission regarding the re-location of the Argentia residents. Part of his report read:

Some individual must be charged with the management of the enterprise. We have never yet tackled a problem of this complexity in this country and there is no one here who has had any practical experience of sufficiently wide character to be able to speak with the authority, which experience alone, can give. We may choose a man who will in fact handle the problem very well. If we do we will be lucky.

My own suggestion is that we should ask the Unites States Government to lend us a man from one of their departments who is familiar with the transference and re-establishment of rural populations. As soon as our minds are clear as to the issues and as to the matters, which should be laid before them, the people of Argentia must be addressed by someone in authority.

On Thursday, January 9, 1941, after a private caucus meeting, Governor Walwyn sent a telegram to the United States government requesting that it supply a “Political Officer with wider experience than is available here in Newfoundland to oversee expropriation and re-settlement.” Assistant chief of the U.S. State Department's Division of European Affairs, John D. Henderson, turned down that request. He replied to Governor Walwyn's request with the following terse and self-explanatory reply:

Such an appointment might be regarded by American officials, already in Newfoundland, as an interference with their mandate.” The ideas on re-settlement of such a person might prove to be lavish and involve considerable expense for the Governments of the United States and Newfoundland.