- IE ITMA P00169
- Person
- 1904-1980
Born on 4 September 1904 in Branch, Anthony Power is remembered as a great entertainer. He could sing and dance, and he had a gift for storytelling—especially ghost stories. His parents, Joe Power (of Branch) and Esther Tobin (of Ship Cove), were the source of many of his stories and songs.
On 3 September 1951, Anthony married Mary Nash, whom he’d met at a dance and who was a great storyteller in her own right. Together they performed on many occasions in St John’s: at the Folk Festival in Bannerman Park, at Memorial University, and in the LSPU Hall. They also travelled to Ontario in 1977 to perform at the Mariposa Folk Festival, sharing the stage with several other Newfoundlanders from the Cape Shore. More locally, they performed in concerts and at house parties. Their home was a frequent site for songs, stories, and socialising.
Anthony worked as a fisherman and a farmer throughout his life, raising cattle, sheep, chickens, and a horse on his farm. Like many of the men from the area, Anthony also went away to work as a logger in the lumberwoods of Central Newfoundland when he was a young man. Later, he worked at the American military base in Argentia when his children were young.
Anthony and Mary had seven children, two of whom passed away at birth. Their son Tony continues their tradition of storytelling, and their daughter Carolann Lyver is a singer. She still sings one of Anthony’s songs, “When the fields are white with daisies.”
Anthony died suddenly on 10 January 1980.
On 3 September 1951, Anthony married Mary Nash, whom he’d met at a dance and who was a great storyteller in her own right. Together they performed on many occasions in St John’s: at the Folk Festival in Bannerman Park, at Memorial University, and in the LSPU Hall. They also travelled to Ontario in 1977 to perform at the Mariposa Folk Festival, sharing the stage with several other Newfoundlanders from the Cape Shore. More locally, they performed in concerts and at house parties. Their home was a frequent site for songs, stories, and socialising.
Anthony worked as a fisherman and a farmer throughout his life, raising cattle, sheep, chickens, and a horse on his farm. Like many of the men from the area, Anthony also went away to work as a logger in the lumberwoods of Central Newfoundland when he was a young man. Later, he worked at the American military base in Argentia when his children were young.
Anthony and Mary had seven children, two of whom passed away at birth. Their son Tony continues their tradition of storytelling, and their daughter Carolann Lyver is a singer. She still sings one of Anthony’s songs, “When the fields are white with daisies.”
Anthony died suddenly on 10 January 1980.