In 2006, the government of Newfoundland and Labrador became acutely aware that the province needed a new image if it were to promote itself to the world in a unified manner. The concern arose after a special audit in 2005 found that 43 different brands, letterheads, and logos were being used in various government departments, as well as in the business community.

Kevin O'Brien, the minister responsible for business development said that “there is so much information, much of it incorrect, about us out there that nobody can tell what is real and what isn't.” In a public statement, Premier Danny Williams said there was “a need to make a sort of united, unique statement of what we are all about as a province.”

After several months of research, development of a new image, and the expenditure of $1,000,000, the new provincial logo was unveiled at The Rooms in St. John's on Tuesday, October 3, 2006. The meaning of the three pitcher plants above the words “Newfoundland Labrador” is as follows:

How will the world recognize us? They will recognize us by a symbol that represents our natural beauty, humanity, and the strength of our collective character. One that has adapted to this place over generations, survived everything the world has thrown at it, and thrived. It's a symbol of our creativity, of our way of looking at things differently, of our belief that there really is no place on Earth quite like this place. The pitcher plant. At once both simple and amazing. Possessed of a fierce determination. Standing proud in both sun and storm, head to the wind. And always growing. It's a symbol of who we are, and what we're made of. [sic] One symbol, one voice. And by it, the world will recognize and know us from now on [sic].

The new logo for the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Courtesy of the Department of Tourism Culture & Recreation

Well, mislabeling and the presence of uncoordinated and unsubstantiated information is not a new problem; misrepresenting the history of various places in Newfoundland has been most prevalent in the area of culture and tourism since the advent of the internet. Some communities of the province are portrayed so differently by various interest groups within a given region one has to wonder about the authenticity and reliability of their information. There is no evidence of a unified effort for accuracy. For example, all those people who attempt to obtain information about certain aspects of Argentia's history are faced with the same problem. There are so many misconceptions and fabrications floating around that it is almost impossible to distinguish the facts from all the rumors, conjecture, and misdirected personal opinions that are posted on various websites.

Of all the places in Newfoundland that have been the subjects of newspaper stories, radio and television news programs, miscellaneous magazine articles, and books, not one has had its history distorted to the extent that Argentia has. Almost a decade into the twenty-first century, there is a tremendous amount of erroneous information in circulation about French Argentia (Petit Plaisance prior to 1714), Colonial Argentia (Little Placentia between 1714 and 1901), and American Argentia from 1941 to 1994. With the advent of the internet, all that erroneous information has spread ten thousand fold. Unfortunately, most of it has arisen from the same few disgruntled, uninformed, and/or premeditated sources.

The vast majority of the incorrect information included in books during the early-1990s — much of which is now boldly displayed on hundreds of websites — was based on folklore tales and unsubstantiated stories told by a few disgruntled former Argentia residents. The misconceptions and fabrications pertaining to American Argentia arose from two sources: Newfoundlanders who started rumors on various aspects of U.S. Naval operations because they had no access to military information and formed opinions as to what they believed was occurring; and a number of former U.S. servicemen relating and embellishing stories about certain operations to give listeners or readers the false impression that they were associated with core events more closely than they were. In many cases, they had absolutely no involvement in the operations they were describing; it was all well-repeated information they had read or heard at some time in the past and used it to try and impress others.

There were a few cases where former servicemen falsely claimed to have been part of certain noted operations in Argentia. It was rather difficult to understand why they felt compelled to display such false bravado because their claims could be checked through official military records. In some cases, research revealed that those individuals were stationed at other installations thousands of miles away when the events they were describing in Argentia took place. Perhaps they were not aware of the fact that people who are familiar with Argentia's history are willing to take the time and research the details behind the stories they are being told.

Most of the information pertaining to Argentia that is posted on hundreds of websites is a perpetuation of distorted reality.

Jacque Anatole Francois Thibault (1844–1924) — better known by the pseudonym Anatole France — once wrote, “If a million people believe in a foolish thing, it is still a foolish thing.” So it is with the much misinformation that is in circulation about Argentia and the people who believe it to be accurate.

Officials with the U.S. Navy at Argentia were masters of misinformation and misdirection … expressions used by the military because they were somewhat nicer terms for outright deception. If they wanted to conduct certain operations without being scrutinized or pursued by the media, they “timely leaked” stories about concerns that were sure to catch the attention of the local population to sources they knew would “spread the word.” Those in command at Argentia were very familiar with the idiosyncrasies that existed among the local population, and that knowledge allowed them to mitigate any potential negative situation in advance.

Their opinion of “What the eyes see and the ears hear, the mind believes,” was extremely accurate; in every instance, local residents acted in a predictable manner. The same strategy was used on the ordinary military personnel; they were told only what officials wanted them to know, and everything else was “dressing.” Consequently, many of the misconceptions and fabrications — which were initiated by certain misdirected local residents and former U.S. military personnel — are still in circulation and believed to be true. At the time, those people were so preoccupied with what they believed was happening, they missed what was actually taking place.

While some of the misinformation about Argentia's history now in circulation resulted from mistakes made because of inadequate research, most of it was the result of conjecture and outright fabrications.

According to ancient Egyptian beliefs, there are “three things that come not back” … “an arrow shot on its path, the spoken word, and an opportunity lost.” While the spoken or written words of the people — many of whom are now dead — who put a significant amount of misinformation about Argentia into circulation will “come not back,” Argentia.org will not have an “opportunity lost” by not addressing the many misconceptions and fabrications about Argentia's history that are now in circulation. As for the arrow traveling on its path, we hope that Argentia.org will become just as potent a symbol in its efforts to bring the correct history of Argentia to the world.

The purpose of this section of Argentia.org is to address the most notable of those misconceptions and fabrications by identifying their sources and giving readers the correct information. Only by taking this action will an accurate account of Argentia's history be available for the generations to follow. This project is not a condemnation of individuals, but it is a critical analysis and repudiation of the erroneous work they made public through various means for personal satisfaction or monetary gain. While some organizations and individuals — and/or their relatives — may be offended by being identified on this website, they left themselves open to such close scrutiny when they took it upon themselves to publicly propagate false information about the history of Argentia and famous events associated with it.

A Few Last Comments

No person or organization is perfect and we do not perceive ourselves to be any different. While we have strived very hard to make this website as flawless as possible, there may be mistakes. If you see any typos or out-of-place punctuation marks, please let us know so that the necessary corrections can be made. Words that do not appear as spelled in the various Canadian dictionaries do not constitute misspellings.

If you feel any information on this website is not accurate please do not challenge it with quotes from any of the sources whose information is being repudiated in this section. The information of those sources has already been proven to be inaccurate and unreliable. Quotes from other sources without proof of origin are also not acceptable. If you have information that is contrary to what appears on Argentia.org, please back up your claim with authenticated archival, church, government, or military records. Upon the receipt of such information, we will launch a research investigation as to why different records exist in order to reach a definitive conclusion and clarify the situation.

Thank you for your interest in Argentia.org.