Harbour Herbie is in honour of Herbert J. Weir, grocer and the co-founder of Herbie’s. He was born and lived his entire life in Petty Harbour. Herbie and his wife, Marguerite opened Weir’s General Store in the Spring of 1951. An avid storyteller, Herbie enjoyed chatting with his customers over the grocery store counter. Herbie performed in many of Petty Harbour’s concerts and was always ready to “rig-up’ for the annual visit by the Mummers. Given his fondness of playing the fool, we think Harbour Herbie represents the Mummers with “Humps on their backs an’ mitts on their feet,” in The Mummer’s Song (1983) by Simani. The song describes the visit by the Mummers to a typical Newfoundland outport home and can be viewed at
http://www.virtualmuseum.ca/community-stories_histoires-de-chez-nous/times-times-times_le-temps-le-temps-le-temps/gallery/the-mummers-song-by-simani/
