By Craig Westcott
The Town of Bay Bulls unveiled a cannon donated by the family of the late William (Bud) Joseph O'Brien last week.
The cannon is believed to be from the wreck of the HMS Sapphire, although that has not been confirmed. If the cannon is from that wreck, it would mean it is over 300 years old.
The cannon, which town staff cleaned and restored under the guidance of Memorial University’s Archeology Department, was discovered when the harbour was dredged in the mid-seventies.
“Bud seen it from the office coming up in a clam bucket, went down and had a look, and took it home,” said Mayor Neil O’Brien.
The cannon sat in the O’Brien backyard ever since.
Family members, including sons Con and Arthur and wife Janice O’Brien, were on hand for the presentation.
“I don’t know if Arthur was even born when this showed up. I was about 10 or 11 years old, and as born in ‘66, so it was around ’76 or ’77, that they dredged this up,” said Con. “One of the things I can remember about this cannon, is that dad would always challenge the young fellers to see if they could move it. And it weighed a lot. It was something that we could never pick up. But anybody who came to the house with their children, the first thing father would say is, ‘Come out now, and we’ll who’s the strongest one here, we’ll see who can lift up the end of the cannon.’ And I can only remember one fellow, a fellow by the name of Mark Spenser, who had a cabin in the Witless Bay Line, and Mark was an athletic sort of fellow, and by God, didn’t he ever pick it up one day and stand it up on its end.”
Janice spoke of her late husband’s nature and love of the community.
“I met Bud in 1998, and for the 22 years that I knew him, I can honestly say that I was never bored,” said Janice. “He was a fascinating, interesting man who loved history, and loved reading, and loved Bay Bulls. He was like a homing pigeon when it came to Bay Bulls. Wherever he was, he wanted to go home.”
She recalled that Bud always wanted to do something more with the cannon then let it sit and waste away.
“That cannon was out in the yard as you came out the back door, and every time he walked past it, he would say, ‘We’ve got to do something with that cannon.’ And I agreed with him, I said ‘Yes, you should do something with that cannon before it disintegrates or before the sod grows over it.’”
As part of the presentation, the O’Brien boys played some songs, and with that, the cannon and a memorial to Bud were unveiled by family and friends.
All in all, it was a good time, one which Con said his father would have enjoyed.
“Dad would be delighted,” said Con. “He loved a little recognition. He always thrived on that. And if he was here today, well, he’d be talking a lot longer than the rest of us, I can tell you that.”
