This Royal Newfoundland Regiment drum is a history mystery

An antique drum that appeared on the doorstep of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment's museum last year has sparkeda search into its past that spans decades andprovinces, raising more questions than answers in the process.

The instrumentwas welcomed with open arms upon its arrival, particularly because of its relatively newer vintage than most of the museum's objects, which date to the either the First or Second World Wars.

"We don't have a whole lot of items from the post '49 Royal Newfoundland Regiment, so to have something as special as a bass drum coming in to the museum, it got us pretty excited," said Frank Gogos, the museum's chair.

The big drum, meant to strap onto a musician's chest for a marching band, was in great shape, with red lettering, a caribou appliqu and numerous stains, or what Gogos called, "a really nice patina."

"We know this drum is fairly old, and it's been played well, and a lot," he said.

But beyond those simple facts, it's proved difficult for Gogosand his colleagues to pin down much more about the drum.

A history buff helps out

Even itsformer owner is at a loss for much of an explanationabout the drum's origins.

A self-described history buff originally from St. John's, Tim Sheawas gifted the drum by his wife almost 20 years ago, while the pair were living in London, ON.

"She came across it in a little antique shop just outside of town. And me, being a Newfoundlander as well as a history buff, she said 'that's your gift,'" he recalled.

"I've been dragging it around ever since."

The drum survived moves to St. Catherine's andPeterborough, always occupying prime display space in their homes. But when the couple retired and moved back to St. John's, it became the victim of downsizing and was passed on to a friend, who in turn gave it to the museum.

While that accounts for the drum's recent adventures, what happened prior to its appearance atthat Ontario antique storeis a mystery to Shea.

"The dealer that we bought it from back in 2000had no prior knowledge of it at all. He wasn't even surewhere he got it," said Shea.

A few clues

Back at the museum, with little to go on, Gogos and his colleagues managed to assemble a few clues about the drum's past,traced through archival video.

"It first appears in our collection in 1964 during a summer camp being held in Makinson's, and there's a very clear shot that year of the drum being played and used during parades." he said.

Markings inside the instrument reveal more hints: Gogos discovered handwriting, visible through a tear on the drum's skin, confirming the drum was, in the 1950s, owned bythe 166thRegiment Band.

But concrete answers as to where the drumoriginally came from, and how it ended up in Ontario, remain elusive.

Despite those lingering questions, Gogos and the museum do know one sure thing: they're happy to own it, and have it proudly on display.

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