Cecilia Smith is no stranger to hard work - she came by it honestly from her parents, Alan and Mary Offrey of Eddies Cove West.
When Smith was a young girl in the 1930s, her father taught her to take care of herself in the woods and how to trap bear near Deep Gulch Brook.
He also taught her how to use a shotgun, though these days she hunts bear with a .308 rifle.
Spring was a busy time for Smith. Her garden is planted with rhubarb and her greenhouse is filled with peppers, celery, tomatoes and cucumber.
She and her husband, Roland, have been busy going at their cabin setting up a bait bucket with meat, fish and fat to attract the bear that's in the neighbourhood.
"The worst thing you can ever face is a surly bear, and this time of the year they're hungry and that makes them worse," said Smith.
"They eat up the berries and the grounds and whatever they come in contact with. I feel I'm doing the environment a favour by keeping the bear population down. The bear I killed this week weighs about 500 lbs."
Smith feels times are changing.
"No one visits anymore. You can go a week and not see anyone, and maybe it's because of television. Everyone is sat back watching TV, not getting any exercise and their limbs are stiff. Not me," said Smith, who did a little dance to show how spry she is.
"I get up every morning and don't stop until it's bedtime. I'm busy at something all the time and if God spares me I will celebrate my 91st birthday on Oct. 19, and I'm looking forward to it," she said with a big bright smile.
90-year-old bags another bear
Ninety-year-old Cecilia Smith with the bear she shot this spring. - Photo by Sylvia Payne-Gould/Special to The Northern Pen
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Published on
June 22, 2010
- Published on July 1, 2010
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Sylvia Payne-Gould
I feel I'm doing the environment a favour'
Cecilia Smith is no stranger to hard work - she came by it honestly from her parents, Alan and Mary Offrey of Eddies Cove West.
When Smith was a young girl in the 1930s, her father taught her to take care of herself in the woods and how to trap bear near Deep Gulch Brook.
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Comments
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- Roy
- - November 30, 2010 at 16:13:08
I usually use donuts for bait!! (only fresh) California style
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- Ben
- - July 2, 2010 at 15:04:45
Baiting a bear and killing it - shame on you! And the bears eat the berries - who would have thought!! She's the type that give Newfoundlanders a bad name. She thinks everyone is sitting around watching TV ---- Get a life, Cecilia -- People are doing all kinds of good work - for others and for the environment. Stop baiting the wildlife - help humanity for a change.
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- Sindy
- - July 2, 2010 at 15:04:42
This is a savage act, that bear did not need to die. This woman has to let go of her Fathers ways from many years back. She should be made to stop. Baiting is cruelty, and very unfair to the animal. Doing the enviroment a favour?? I don't think so, the Bears and all animals are here for a reason. Stick to the greenhouse Lady.
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- bob
- - July 2, 2010 at 15:04:04
I am a hunter, and I hate bears, but this woman baiting these bears to her cottage is wrong. The other cabin owners in the area may have small kids out playing, etc., and she is bringing these bears into the area were they should not be with the baiting. Is she going to patrol the whole area and get every bear? I don't think this was the only bear that she attracted, do you..
I don't know why anybody with a clue thinks that this is a good idea. This woman should be ashamed of herself. She is creating a big problem for her neighbors, and I know this area up the coast and she does have neighbors... -
- Dave
- - July 2, 2010 at 14:59:33
This woman is brutal and the coverage she continues to receive is equally brutal. Stuff like this is why we are such a newie joke. Then you have supporters like Sharon who are idiots.
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- Seamus
- - July 2, 2010 at 14:58:31
Ok, what this woman is doing is wrong for so many reasons. Bob, you're completely right about her putting others in danger. I don't have a problem with hunting for food, but this is just ridiculous. I lived in Banff for a few years and if an old lady had killed a black bear for no other reason then to prove she was a Spry 90 year old, she would have been thrown in jail. And doing the environment a favour? How, by removing an animal from it's rightful place in the food chain. Genius of a woman.
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- Darrell
- - July 2, 2010 at 14:58:18
Is this the same lady Land and Sea done the TV show on a few years back.
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- Sonia
- - July 2, 2010 at 14:58:15
To set up a bait for a hungry bear then wait to blow it's brains out is just plain cowardly. She don't like the idea of bears eating the berries - what else are they supposed to eat?? That's how they survive. Naturally, if someone is foolish enough to put out a food bait for a bear it will sniff it out from miles away. She is the one bringing the bears around. Shame on her! Did the Wildlife people read this story. Are you allowed to bait bears and kill them?? It seems very cruel.
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- Darrell
- - July 2, 2010 at 14:56:00
Sharon I agree Newfoundlanders soon forget where they came from.I guess we all weren't born with the silver spoon in our mouth.One day you complaining we have to kill off all the moose because they are on the roads and people are hiting them with there cars.Then everyone is one here saying it is cruel to kill the animals well guess what you can't have it both ways.You either support it or you don't if you don't like what you read don't read it but remember that cow you just eat from the store was killed the same as any other piece of meat.
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- frank
- - July 2, 2010 at 14:55:44
She's doing this strictly for the media attention. She loves it.
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- Leo
- - July 2, 2010 at 14:55:41
It wouldn't hurt for Cecilia to show a little respect for the creature she just killed, instead of painting the black bear as some sort of environmental impostor. Carl, you sound like you have a head on your shoulders, regardless of whether or not your arms are wrapped around a tree.
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- Doug
- - July 2, 2010 at 14:55:35
I spend every spare minute outdoors but I don't see anything particularly newsworthy about spreading a pile of food around and then sitting in a tree or perhaps on top of her cabin and shooting a bear regardless of age. If she'd killed it with her bare hands, then it would be worth writing about.
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- Heather
- - July 2, 2010 at 14:55:32
bob from CB - excellent point.
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- DB
- - July 2, 2010 at 14:53:45
No trouble to see the citiots are as clueless as always.
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- Krista
- - July 2, 2010 at 14:51:32
edmund from NL writes: ' This lady is tremendeous. She eats the meat and uses the pelt for making useful things like a rug, clothing items etc. I suggest you take a look at this link
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/newfoundland-labrador/story/2007/06/26/black-bear.html
a story done a few years ago same woman who states Bear meat it's up to anyone's self to eat it, but I wouldn't eat it, she told CBC News. Smith instead took the bear to the local dump. Maybe you should do some research before commenting! -
- Sharon
- - July 2, 2010 at 14:51:04
This mad woman spends her time putting food on her table - while some sit here in front of our computer all day and make sorry comments about her doing so. More power to her I say - I hope she kills a bear every year for many years to come!
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- mary
- - July 2, 2010 at 14:50:50
We are the ones trespassing farther & farther everyday into natures playground. The animals were here first and they have no boundary markers. It's sad to see unless they pose a danger to the public, I don't think anyone should bait them to come to them. The animals have to scavenge for food, it's their natural way of survival. Us humans in nl. have not come close to starving yet. I don't agree with killing for the sake of killing, it's such a waste of wild life. We all have a place on this planet and we should respect the wild life and their habitat. I too love moose steaks when killed by gov't issued license.
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- Brad
- - July 2, 2010 at 14:50:31
Sharon do you attract moose, trout and berries into your backyard? The more you say the more you prove Dave's point. Nobody cares about the hunting for food aspect, its the way the animal was baited into the area, thats not hunting, it is equivalent to shooting a moose from the pickup. If I owned a cabin in the area, I wouldn't want some 90year old woman with an itchy trigger finger firing off a rifle.
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- Telling it like it is
- - July 2, 2010 at 14:50:15
Is the bear population actually that high that it needs to be culled?
I do not recall such a statement or review but if I have can someone send me the link....
Secondly, NOWHERE in this articles does it state this woman actually uses any of the meat from this bear. If she does great, but why not mention that.
All that is implied from this articles is we have a trigger happy hunter who enjoys shooting bears and planting greens.
But since she feels she has the right to shoot these animals, perhaps I should place a 6 pack, lotto tickets and a VLT outside my front door and start culling this over populated province? -
- Denise
- - July 2, 2010 at 14:48:52
Instead of coming down on this woman we should all think that it's wonderful that she can still get out of bed at her age let alone do the things that she does. For anyone who dares to criticize her for what she does go look at the CBC show Land and Sea that they did on her a few years back. She has more energy at 90 than I do at 45 on most days. If we all followed her lifestyle there would be a lot less stress on the health care system in this country for sure. Long live Cecilia.
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- Carl
- - July 2, 2010 at 14:48:28
Why doesn't someone stop this mad woman? The bears are not harming anyone. The only reason they go to her cabin is that she baits them so she can shoot them. You don't have to be hard-working or spry for that. You just have to have to be wasteful and ignorant. If she doesn't want to encounter bears, she should stop baiting them and stay out of their habitat. The bears are part of the natural environment, and she is destroying the environment, not helping it.
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- Darrell
- - July 2, 2010 at 14:47:19
Edmund I asked a simple question why must you answer be in the form of a stupid retort and simple yes would have been fine.
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- Seumas
- - July 2, 2010 at 14:46:11
Yes, lets do the environment a favour and kill everything we see!
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- Philosopher
- - July 2, 2010 at 14:45:51
The author of this piece made some stunning errors of logic. She states that Cecilia Smith came by hard work honestly from her parents. What did she assume was the alternative? Stealing hard work from somebody else? What a daft article. Pulling a trigger on a shotgun does not equate hard work.
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- George
- - July 2, 2010 at 14:45:18
Hey SHARON, why don't you dress up as a bear and go for a walk near her cabin. Any clown can bait an animal and wait around to shoot it.
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- Sharon
- - July 2, 2010 at 14:44:20
So when I go moose hunting in the fall and kill a moose to put food on my table - its wrong - and I am am idiot for doing so. And when i go trout fishing in the spring and summer to put food on my table - its wrong - and i am an idiot for doing this as well. Because in doing these things I am taking away from the environment! Pretty soon people won't be able to pick wild berries because it will harm the environment. Its sad that a woman killing a bear for food gets so much attention, when there is so much going on in this world that needs attention but gets none.
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- yvonne
- - July 2, 2010 at 14:39:31
Yes! Someone stop her, please! It breaks my heart to see that bear in the truck. it did nothing to harm anyone. It was hungry, food was put out for it, so it could be shot. The bear would not be around her cabin if the food was not there. If she was attacked it would be her own fault. She says she is a spry 90 year old, if she wants to do something for the enviroment, grab some garbage bags and get out and clean up. That gun should only be used for self defence.
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- edmund
- - July 2, 2010 at 14:39:02
Carl,
You sound like one of those she talks about that never gets out to experience the thrill of the outdoors and sits around all day being critical of what others do to enjoy themselves in the outdoors. This lady is tremendeous. She eats the meat and uses the pelt for making useful things like a rug, clothing items etc. You should be admiring her vim, vigor and vitality. Go hug another tree in your backyard, if you have one. -
- Edmund
- - July 2, 2010 at 14:38:32
Hey Darrell, DA, what a question. How many other 90 year old women (or men for that matter) do you know that go out and trap or shoot black bears!!!!!!Oh, the answer is yes, surprise!!!
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- Ben
- - July 1, 2010 at 21:54:16
Baiting a bear and killing it - shame on you! And the bears eat the berries - who would have thought!! She's the type that give Newfoundlanders a bad name. She thinks everyone is sitting around watching TV ---- Get a life, Cecilia -- People are doing all kinds of good work - for others and for the environment. Stop baiting the wildlife - help humanity for a change.
-
- Sindy
- - July 1, 2010 at 21:54:11
This is a savage act, that bear did not need to die. This woman has to let go of her Fathers ways from many years back. She should be made to stop. Baiting is cruelty, and very unfair to the animal. Doing the enviroment a favour?? I don't think so, the Bears and all animals are here for a reason. Stick to the greenhouse Lady.
-
- bob
- - July 1, 2010 at 21:53:06
I am a hunter, and I hate bears, but this woman baiting these bears to her cottage is wrong. The other cabin owners in the area may have small kids out playing, etc., and she is bringing these bears into the area were they should not be with the baiting. Is she going to patrol the whole area and get every bear? I don't think this was the only bear that she attracted, do you..
I don't know why anybody with a clue thinks that this is a good idea. This woman should be ashamed of herself. She is creating a big problem for her neighbors, and I know this area up the coast and she does have neighbors... -
- Dave
- - July 1, 2010 at 21:47:04
This woman is brutal and the coverage she continues to receive is equally brutal. Stuff like this is why we are such a newie joke. Then you have supporters like Sharon who are idiots.
-
- Seamus
- - July 1, 2010 at 21:46:34
Ok, what this woman is doing is wrong for so many reasons. Bob, you're completely right about her putting others in danger. I don't have a problem with hunting for food, but this is just ridiculous. I lived in Banff for a few years and if an old lady had killed a black bear for no other reason then to prove she was a Spry 90 year old, she would have been thrown in jail. And doing the environment a favour? How, by removing an animal from it's rightful place in the food chain. Genius of a woman.
-
- Darrell
- - July 1, 2010 at 21:46:16
Is this the same lady Land and Sea done the TV show on a few years back.
-
- Sonia
- - July 1, 2010 at 21:46:11
To set up a bait for a hungry bear then wait to blow it's brains out is just plain cowardly. She don't like the idea of bears eating the berries - what else are they supposed to eat?? That's how they survive. Naturally, if someone is foolish enough to put out a food bait for a bear it will sniff it out from miles away. She is the one bringing the bears around. Shame on her! Did the Wildlife people read this story. Are you allowed to bait bears and kill them?? It seems very cruel.
-
- Darrell
- - July 1, 2010 at 21:42:40
Sharon I agree Newfoundlanders soon forget where they came from.I guess we all weren't born with the silver spoon in our mouth.One day you complaining we have to kill off all the moose because they are on the roads and people are hiting them with there cars.Then everyone is one here saying it is cruel to kill the animals well guess what you can't have it both ways.You either support it or you don't if you don't like what you read don't read it but remember that cow you just eat from the store was killed the same as any other piece of meat.
-
- frank
- - July 1, 2010 at 21:42:13
She's doing this strictly for the media attention. She loves it.
-
- Leo
- - July 1, 2010 at 21:42:08
It wouldn't hurt for Cecilia to show a little respect for the creature she just killed, instead of painting the black bear as some sort of environmental impostor. Carl, you sound like you have a head on your shoulders, regardless of whether or not your arms are wrapped around a tree.
-
- Doug
- - July 1, 2010 at 21:41:59
I spend every spare minute outdoors but I don't see anything particularly newsworthy about spreading a pile of food around and then sitting in a tree or perhaps on top of her cabin and shooting a bear regardless of age. If she'd killed it with her bare hands, then it would be worth writing about.
-
- Heather
- - July 1, 2010 at 21:41:55
bob from CB - excellent point.
-
- DB
- - July 1, 2010 at 21:38:55
No trouble to see the citiots are as clueless as always.
-
- Krista
- - July 1, 2010 at 21:35:11
edmund from NL writes: ' This lady is tremendeous. She eats the meat and uses the pelt for making useful things like a rug, clothing items etc. I suggest you take a look at this link
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/newfoundland-labrador/story/2007/06/26/black-bear.html
a story done a few years ago same woman who states Bear meat it's up to anyone's self to eat it, but I wouldn't eat it, she told CBC News. Smith instead took the bear to the local dump. Maybe you should do some research before commenting! -
- Sharon
- - July 1, 2010 at 21:34:16
This mad woman spends her time putting food on her table - while some sit here in front of our computer all day and make sorry comments about her doing so. More power to her I say - I hope she kills a bear every year for many years to come!
-
- mary
- - July 1, 2010 at 21:33:52
We are the ones trespassing farther & farther everyday into natures playground. The animals were here first and they have no boundary markers. It's sad to see unless they pose a danger to the public, I don't think anyone should bait them to come to them. The animals have to scavenge for food, it's their natural way of survival. Us humans in nl. have not come close to starving yet. I don't agree with killing for the sake of killing, it's such a waste of wild life. We all have a place on this planet and we should respect the wild life and their habitat. I too love moose steaks when killed by gov't issued license.
-
- Brad
- - July 1, 2010 at 21:33:19
Sharon do you attract moose, trout and berries into your backyard? The more you say the more you prove Dave's point. Nobody cares about the hunting for food aspect, its the way the animal was baited into the area, thats not hunting, it is equivalent to shooting a moose from the pickup. If I owned a cabin in the area, I wouldn't want some 90year old woman with an itchy trigger finger firing off a rifle.
-
- Telling it like it is
- - July 1, 2010 at 21:32:50
Is the bear population actually that high that it needs to be culled?
I do not recall such a statement or review but if I have can someone send me the link....
Secondly, NOWHERE in this articles does it state this woman actually uses any of the meat from this bear. If she does great, but why not mention that.
All that is implied from this articles is we have a trigger happy hunter who enjoys shooting bears and planting greens.
But since she feels she has the right to shoot these animals, perhaps I should place a 6 pack, lotto tickets and a VLT outside my front door and start culling this over populated province? -
- Denise
- - July 1, 2010 at 21:30:32
Instead of coming down on this woman we should all think that it's wonderful that she can still get out of bed at her age let alone do the things that she does. For anyone who dares to criticize her for what she does go look at the CBC show Land and Sea that they did on her a few years back. She has more energy at 90 than I do at 45 on most days. If we all followed her lifestyle there would be a lot less stress on the health care system in this country for sure. Long live Cecilia.
-
- Carl
- - July 1, 2010 at 21:29:51
Why doesn't someone stop this mad woman? The bears are not harming anyone. The only reason they go to her cabin is that she baits them so she can shoot them. You don't have to be hard-working or spry for that. You just have to have to be wasteful and ignorant. If she doesn't want to encounter bears, she should stop baiting them and stay out of their habitat. The bears are part of the natural environment, and she is destroying the environment, not helping it.
-
- Darrell
- - July 1, 2010 at 21:27:48
Edmund I asked a simple question why must you answer be in the form of a stupid retort and simple yes would have been fine.
-
- Seumas
- - July 1, 2010 at 21:26:04
Yes, lets do the environment a favour and kill everything we see!
-
- Philosopher
- - July 1, 2010 at 21:25:37
The author of this piece made some stunning errors of logic. She states that Cecilia Smith came by hard work honestly from her parents. What did she assume was the alternative? Stealing hard work from somebody else? What a daft article. Pulling a trigger on a shotgun does not equate hard work.
-
- George
- - July 1, 2010 at 21:24:43
Hey SHARON, why don't you dress up as a bear and go for a walk near her cabin. Any clown can bait an animal and wait around to shoot it.
-
- Sharon
- - July 1, 2010 at 21:23:11
So when I go moose hunting in the fall and kill a moose to put food on my table - its wrong - and I am am idiot for doing so. And when i go trout fishing in the spring and summer to put food on my table - its wrong - and i am an idiot for doing this as well. Because in doing these things I am taking away from the environment! Pretty soon people won't be able to pick wild berries because it will harm the environment. Its sad that a woman killing a bear for food gets so much attention, when there is so much going on in this world that needs attention but gets none.
-
- yvonne
- - July 1, 2010 at 21:14:49
Yes! Someone stop her, please! It breaks my heart to see that bear in the truck. it did nothing to harm anyone. It was hungry, food was put out for it, so it could be shot. The bear would not be around her cabin if the food was not there. If she was attacked it would be her own fault. She says she is a spry 90 year old, if she wants to do something for the enviroment, grab some garbage bags and get out and clean up. That gun should only be used for self defence.
-
- edmund
- - July 1, 2010 at 21:14:07
Carl,
You sound like one of those she talks about that never gets out to experience the thrill of the outdoors and sits around all day being critical of what others do to enjoy themselves in the outdoors. This lady is tremendeous. She eats the meat and uses the pelt for making useful things like a rug, clothing items etc. You should be admiring her vim, vigor and vitality. Go hug another tree in your backyard, if you have one. -
- Edmund
- - July 1, 2010 at 21:13:21
Hey Darrell, DA, what a question. How many other 90 year old women (or men for that matter) do you know that go out and trap or shoot black bears!!!!!!Oh, the answer is yes, surprise!!!
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