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Frank O'Brien has been
inducted into the Saint John Heritage Hall of Fame because of the many magazine
and newspaper articles he wrote. He also did many oral history presentations
and he starred on his own Fundy Cable television program.
Frank O'Brien began his working days with Duvall's on Waterloo
Street in Saint John after completing high school. He later moved from Duvall's
to the Catholic Community Centre hardware store, where he was to obtain a
management position. In 1974, Frank retired as a meter reader for the Saint
John Power Commission and began to more aggressively pursue his passion for
history.
Frank was a Southwestern Irishman and loved to play the role of this. His extremely dry sense of humor made him unique in sharing history with the Saint John Community for nearly sixty years. Frank confessed that he once entered a contest for limericks on the beautification of Saint John under several foreign names. He cleverly managed to win first and second prize, and placed in six other. His humorous way of sharing history with people made some people think of him as the "Grand Master of History " for Saint John. He was always interested in everything that was going on around him and he was a viewed as a good storyteller.
Frank had a clever way of
"snatching" tidbits of information that he thought would be lost
forever if not shared. Old postcards and city directories were ways that Frank
was able to "dig up" history that was untold. Through all of his
"pavement pounding" and research, Frank was able to collect old
momentums that he took great pride it. Some of these momentums were books,
bottles, and photographs. He loved to share these articles with public.
Another way that Frank obtained information on the past was to talk to elders in the uptown area who could describe events and atmospheres of the 1900's. By interviewing the older generations Frank was able to salvage pieces of history that would be lost and forgotten forever when these elders past away. There were three basic questions that Frank would ask elders when he met them; where they grew up, where they worked, and where they went to school and by asking these three basic questions Frank was able to unravel a life time of stories.
Frank's particular interest was Saint John's History from 1900's
to the 1950's. This time period was not well documented so Frank took it upon
himself to make sure that it would be documented correctly. He was able to
document this time period by writing magazine and newspaper articles, involving
himself in public service events, and by starting his own television show.
Frank's television show provided little known historical facts in an amusing
way to the public. On the television set, a comfortable couch could be found to
create a relaxed environment so that Frank could "chat" with the
different guests. In the course of a one hour show Frank could rattle off as
many as twenty dates with no cue cards.
In February 1997, Frank was presented with the first ever Community Heritage Award. This was an award to recognize him for his contribution to the history and heritage of Saint John. The award was presented on behalf of the New Brunswick Historical Society, Heritage Saint John, the Saint John Branch of the New Brunswick Genealogical Society and the Saint John Preservation Review Board. This was Frank's first public recognition and he was honored to receive it as a "Thank-you" for his contributions.
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