Mississippi History News-Letter, Volume IV, Numbers 7-8

Professional correspondencehttps://egrove.olemiss.edu/jws_clip/1351/thumbnail.jp

Northeast Folklore Society Newsletter, Vol. 30

On July 26, 1985 — almost two years ago! — Robert O. Walsh, now of Yuma, Arizona, wrote us in response to an account of an incident mentioned in Tom Tilton: Coaster and Fisherman (Northeast Folklore XXIII 1982), starting on page 62, in which he is identified only as Pinhead. Here is his own account of that incident, and our thanks to him both for sending it and for being so patient in waiting for us to publish it..

Northeast Folklore Society Newsletter, Vol. 11

Linda Madden, a sophomore at the University of Maine at Orono, kind of fell into an interesting job this summer. When her S.P.E.D.Y. [Summer Program for Economically Disadvantaged Youth] supervisor asked if she\u27d rather interview old folks instead of wash desks, she said yes, even though she\u27d not the slightest notion of what-all it entailed. Being a bright and energetic young lady, with a more than average amount of perserverance, she set about learning how to interview, who to interview, and why. With only nine weeks in the program, she had to work fast, necessarily limiting her contacts and subjects. She decided that a quick look at her town (Lisbon Falls) through the memories of three lucid and cooperative citizens would yield what she needed. So she set about jogging their memories on such events as the fire of 1906 and flood of 1936, as well as the once-famous Cowing\u27s Tavern, and of course collected all sorts of information about ice-cutting, snow rolling, and town dances in addition

Oral History Interview with Irving Hunter

Copies of audio recordings in the WBLZ collection of oral history interviews with Irving Hunter, conducted by Sandy Ives and Lisa Feldman on behalf of the Northeast Archives of Folklore and Oral History in the spring of 1975. The first interview is in Hunter\u27s office just before his retirement as station manager. The second session was a class visit to AY 123, Folklore Fieldwork, on the campus of the University of Maine. Hunter is asked about his recollections of early days of radio in Bangor, the economics of the station, remote broadcasts, and several specific artists, particularly the Western or Hillbilly music groups that played in the region. Recorded March 12 and April 13, 1975.https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/wlbz_station_records/1189/thumbnail.jp

Northeast Folklore Society Newsletter, Vol. 35

When we brought out Tom Tilton: Coaster and Fisherman back in 1984 (actually it was Northeast Folklore -XXIII: 1982) we included a story about a Captain Pinhead on page 62, just the way Tom told it to Gale Huntington. The book hadn\u27t been out long before I got a smoklngly angry letter from one Robert O. Walsh saying he was Captain Pinhead and that story was all wrong and he wanted us to do something to set the record straight. The only thing I could think of was to suggest he write up what really happened and we\u27d publish it in the Newsletter, which he did and then we did (#30, January 1987). He told his story very well, and since he claimed he had a million of them I suggested he get to work and tell some more. I\u27m damned if he didn\u27t take me up on it, and I\u27m doubly damned if now he hasn\u27t gone and published a hundred of them in a book: Swordfish, Sculpins, and Suds: Memoirs and Adventures By A New England Seaman, Of Seamen, And Other Worthy Characters (Tilton Brothers: Box 68, Rye, NH. 03870). First off, he begins in his Preface, the narratives contained in these pages are true! ... My intent in writing these accounts is just to relive old times and adventures, and to pass along to those who love the sea experiences I have had and been through. Some of them are funny, some not so funny, some positively hair raising, but for sure we can take Bob Walsh at his word : they happened! He did all his writing in Yuma, Arizona, where he now lives. I\u27m a lot older now, he says, and can\u27t do anywhere near the things I used to, but I can make tapes to my buddies that are still alive on the Vineyard and other places, and I can dream and remember! What else has an old sea dog got but memories? Well, we can thank Bob for sharing a hundred of those memories with us

Northeast Folklore Society Newsletter, Vol. 15

The Common Ground Country Fair will return this year on September 22, 23, and 24, at the Fairgrounds in Litchfield, Maine. Successful last year beyond all anticipation, this no nonsense, leisurely living-oriented event brought together homesteaders, established farmers, city folk with country ideas, and others in an environment of peaceful learning and sharing, greatly enhanced by the enormous variety of wholesome food, the aromas of which insured steady lines in the eating area. This year there will be demonstrations in tinsmithing, spinning angora wood, solar greenhouses, plant dyes, chair caning, using seaweed, to name just a few. Featured speakers will be Wendell Berry, Jeff Cox, and the Nearings. There will be at least 11 different animal displays, including a chicken flying contest! There will be booths representing small farm machinery, alternative energy sources, shelter, and social action. Entertainment will include Marshall Dodge, Noel Stookey, the Danville Junction Boys, Wild Mountain Thyme, the Pine Hill String Band, Joe Perham, and more

Northeast Folklore Society Newsletter, Vol. 29

This issue is coming simultaneously with Northeast Folklore XXIV and XXV, The Northeast Archives of Folklore and Oral History : A Catalog of the First 1800 Accessions. This 200+ page guide to the holdings at the Northeast Archives has been long-awaited by many, and I am sure will enlighten many more on the depth and breadth of material available in Orono. In addition to the Society\u27s publishing the Catalog , the Archives has been involved-over the past year with the production of From Stump To Ship : A 1930 Logging Film . Details on this historic film are included in this issue

Northeast Folklore Society Newsletter, Vol. 13

Argyle Boom, Vol. XVII of Northeast Folklore, is now being sent to Northeast Folklore Society members and libraries, and is ready for sale from our office. It is a readable book on what at first appears to be an unreadable subject. Written and edited mostly by Sandy Ives, with a back up crew of some twelve fieldwork students and eighteen informants, the book covers (in the usual exhaustive Ives Style) the description, operation, and peripheral data of the Argyle Boom and neighboring booms as they existed in the first two decades of the 20th century. An enormous operation in its day, the Argyle Boom system was responsible for sorting and rafting all the logs cut and dumped into the upper Penobscot each year. This amounted to something like 200 million board feet! The section on the daily lives of the workers should perhaps have been longer, in view of the possibility that not all readers will be familiar with lumbercamp life and will therefore have nothing to compare this description with. But maybe this criticism stems from the fact that I find the human side much more interesting than the details of sorting and rafting, and so would have liked to see more of it. Anyhow, what there is is very good

Northeast Folklore Society Newsletter, Vol. 1

This Newsletter will come out twice a year. The next 1962 issue should appear before Christmas. I would like to appeal to all members to keep the Editor posted on what they are doing in regard to folklore. Are you collecting anywhere in the New England-Maritimes area? Are you a teacher using folklore in your classes in some way that you have found particularly effective? Are you at present involved in some research or writing? I would also appreciate clippings and notices of events that you feel may interest other members. This is your Newsletter; I only edit it, and I\u27ll always be glad to have your notes and opinions

Northeast Folklore Society Newsletter, Vol. 33

The Northeast Archives of Folklore and Oral History is pleased to announce two new additions to its staff: Teresa L. Hollingsworth of Berea, Kentucky, who is filling the newly created position of Folklife Coordinator, and Mary E. O\u27Meara of Saratoga Springs, N.Y., who will replace Alicia Rouverol as the Archives\u27 Associate Director. Ms. Hollingsworth, a graduate of the Folk Studies Program at Western Kentucky University, was the staff folklorist at the Kentucky Folklife Program at Berea College, and conducted extensive folklife surveys along the Ohio and Kentucky River Valleys