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Little Bay Islands, Nfld., was once a thriving outport of 600 people, but now only 38 live there. It's one of many dying communities that are trying close themselves down, with residents relocating elsewhere with the government's help. Photographer Darren Calabrese explores everyday life in a ghost town

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A crowd gathers in Maurice and Gloria Levor's kitchen for a pot luck supper, known locally as a scoff, in Little Bay Islands.Darren Calabrese/The Globe and Mail

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Mike Konkle leaves the Levors' pot-luck supper with a plate of food to catch the last ferry to the mainland.Darren Calabrese/The Globe and Mail

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Matt Tucker takes the MV Hazel McIsaac ferry to visit his grandparents in Little Bay Islands.Darren Calabrese/The Globe and Mail

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Mike Konkle brings flowers and plants from his Ontario home to share with the community in Little Bay Islands, where he spends the summer.Darren Calabrese/The Globe and Mail

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Jules Racenet leans on the 25-foot trap skiff that he has been restoring for three years.Darren Calabrese/The Globe and Mail

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Ray Newman stops cleaning his morning's catch of cod to recall his years in the commercial fishing industry.Darren Calabrese/The Globe and Mail

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Wincel Oxford, 84, boats home after an evening fish.Darren Calabrese/The Globe and Mail

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Newfoundland's tricolour and modern flags hang on a clothesline with the Canadian flag.Darren Calabrese/The Globe and Mail

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Doris Tucker enters the unused H.L. Strong Academy gymnasium to prepare for her sewing and crafting circle.Darren Calabrese/The Globe and Mail

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Gordon Weir, 81, doesn’t want to leave home but the government’s offer is a good one, he says. His basement freezers are stocked with jars of homemade rhubarb relish, pickles and stewed moose.Darren Calabrese/The Globe and Mail

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Flowers and overgrown bushes crowd an abandoned home in Little Bay Islands.Darren Calabrese/The Globe and Mail

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Unrepaired fishing stages sit at Little Bay Islands. The remaining cod fishery in Little Bay Islands is purely recreational.Darren Calabrese/The Globe and Mail

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