Hearts and Voices:

Cultural Selection and Historical Revival in Miramichi, New Brunswick, 1950 - 1970

by

Jared Lutes

B.A. (Honours History), Atlantic Baptist University, 2008

A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of

Master of Arts

in the Graduate Academic Unit of History

Supervisor: Greg Marquis, Ph.D, History

Examining Board: David Creelman, Ph.D, English William Parenteau, Ph.D, History Sean Kennedy, Ph.D, History

This Thesis is accepted by the Dean of Graduate Studies

THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW BRUNSWICK

September, 2010

© Jared J. Lutes, 2010

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Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Acknowledgments

At the risk of sounding cliche (which is itself a cliche), this project survived only

with the support of others. My supervisor, Dr. Greg Marquis, has gone above and beyond

his required responsibilities, making himself available at all hours, always offering

relevant and kindly advice, and by responding promptly to my ill-timed questions, despite

busy academic and music schedules of his own. Also, thanks to my partner-in-life and

best friend, Marie-Josee, who has, during the last year and a half, often taken upon her

shoulders many of my family duties during my bouts of isolated travelling and writing.

She has also many times actively engaged my topic in conversation, which has often

helped me to avoid a few cognitive dead ends. I also have to thank the archivists at the

PANB, who were always agreeable, especially while I requested that same case multiple

times. Finally, I am very thankful to the University of New Brunswick, which financed

much of my studies and research.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Abstract

By the 1950s, despite academic advances, folk music collection and promotion remained

with amateurs interested in local heritage. Amateur historian and folklorist Louise Manny

garnered enough authority in New Brunswick's Miramichi region to present an image of

the local folk as firmly rooted in the late nineteenth century lumbering culture from

which her upper-class family had profited. The Miramichi Folksong Festival captured a

selective tradition situated in a simpler era, ignoring the realities of industrialization,

modernization, and urbanization. It was the first and longest running of its kind in

Canada. Similar to Helen Creighton in Nova Scotia, Manny's efforts presented a

nostalgic respite for a community challenged by economic boom and bust cycles. In

contrast to the socially and culturally revolutionary tone of the 1960s, with its popular

folk music boom, Manny's largely amateur event was a rare example of a folk festival

intended chiefly for celebrating the local community.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Contents

Acknowledgments ii

Abstract iii

Introduction v

Chapter I: Folklore Historiography andProfessionalization in North America 1

Chapter II: The Complementary Multiplicity of the Folk Revival, 1958-1968 33

Chapter III: The Miramichi Context and the Early Folklore Career of Louise Manny ... 60

Chapter IV: Tradition, Solidarity, and the Miramichi Folksong Festival 99

Conclusion 147

Bibliography 154

Curriculum Vitae

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Introduction

Introduction

The more their perspective on the past is distorted by myth and stereotype, the less able they are to cope intelligently with the streams of decisions and judgements which a complex society sends their way.1 -E.R. Forbes

How have traditional images, especially that of the bygone lumberman, persisted

and thrived for English New Brunswick? Regional historian E.R. Forbes points out that

"myths become popular when they serve the purposes of those transmitting and/or

receiving them".2 In the case of New Brunswick, one of those popular transmitters was

amateur folklorist Louise Manny, herself a cultural icon. Her various public history

ventures and association with benefactor Lord Beaverbrook rendered her a local cultural

authority on the Miramichi region. Manny, like her Nova Scotia folklorist counterpart and

friend, Helen Creighton, set about to preserve a selective traditional-historical heritage

version of her community, and in so doing attempted to freeze-frame a fading (but

dynamic) musical oral tradition that had supposedly existed in the late nineteenth century.

During their quests, however, these cultural enthusiasts inevitably selected the material

most in keeping with their personal worldviews, and the entire process had the added

effect of preventing extraneous ideological incursion. The result has been a regional

internalization of the constructed and anti-modernist concept of what cultural historian

1 E.R. Forbes, Challenging the Regional Stereotype (Fredericton: Acadiensis Press, 1989), 12. 2 Ibid, 9.

VI

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Ian McKay defines as the Folk. In other words, like Forbes' "myths", Louise Manny's

selected folk songs "persist because they are useful" in that respect.3

In his essay, "The Marketing of Tradition", folklorist Terry Brewer suggests that

to successfully 'market' their ideologies (e.g. social justice, representation, continuity,

profit) through a medium such as a folk festival, an authority such as Manny would stand

to benefit by appropriating what McKay's calls the 'folk' and their symbols. Brewer

claims, "Traditional practitioners may be stereotyped as illiterate, backward, 'simple

folk', or romanticized as pre-industrial artisans or minstrels. As such, they are

'nonprofessional' in popular understanding."4 In the case of the Miramichi Folksong

Festival, local working-class people such as Wilmot MacDonald and Nick Underhill were

'discovered', recorded, aggrandized, and placed amid recreated nineteenth-century

lumbering scenery before an eager audience. Manny, an immediate descendant of the

local lumbering middle-class, wielded enough authority to be able to select singers and

songs most in keeping with her own desire for a communal solidarity based on her sense

of traditional-historical heritage in her Miramichi.

The historical framework of cultural production, or the 'invention of tradition'

schema, as applied to the Maritimes has been a hot topic within academia since McKay

began discussing the subject in the early 1990s. McKay argued that cultural producers in

Nova Scotia privileged a Scottish/fisherfolk past by bringing those themes to the

forefront of cultural expression, especially through the songs collected by folklorists

3 Ibid, 7. Ian McKay, The Quest of the Folk: Antimodernism and Cultural Selection in Twentieth-Century Nova Scotia (Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press, 1994). 4 Terry Brewer, The Marketing of Tradition: Perspectives on Folklore, Tourism and the Heritage Industry (Enfield Lock: Hisarlik, 1994),55.

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Helen Creighton. Although McKay's case study focuses on Nova Scotia cultural

producers, the insights provided within The Quest of the Folk can drawn upon to make a

case for a similar process of cultural production occurring at Louise Manny's popular

folk festival.5

This thesis examines Louise Manny's work with local folk songs and their singers

as an example of 'cultural selection' - an exercise that was part of her broader mission to

preserve and promote a traditional image of history in the Miramichi region. The

evidence suggests a mission that was expressly nostalgic and conservationist in function.

This thesis situates Manny's activities within the historiography of twentieth century

North American folklore, as well as more specifically within the folk revival of the 1950s

and 1960s. The the life and influence of Louise Manny has received little academic

attention. The secondary-source literature dealing with this influential woman is confined

largely to booklets or book chapters penned by local writers. The main primary research

sources for this project are Manny's papers (now housed in the Provincial Archives of

New Brunswick) correspondence contained at the Beaverbrook Collection housed at

UNB Fredericton, several New Brunswick newspapers, and two interviews - one with the

current director of the festival, and whom is also a veteran performer.

Although the Miramichi region's various river-side towns were making significant

strides towards industrialization and modernization, post-WWII optimism also featured a

nostalgic revival of heritage fostered by both Manny and Lord Beaverbrook. And later,

5 Other than the definitive Quest of the Folk, McKay's cultural history work spans other herein-cited pieces such as "Tartanism Triumphant: The Construction of Scottishness in Nova Scotia, 1933-1954." Acadiensis XXI, no. 2 (Spring 1992): 5-47; "History and the Tourist Gaze: The Politics of Commemoration in Nova Scotia, 1935-1964." Acadiensis XXII, no. 2 (Spring 1993): 102-138.

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throughout the 1960s, amid newspaper advertisements displaying increasingly shorter

skirts and longer sideburns, Manny's Miramichi Folksong Festival (MFF) remained

remarkably unchanged. It is quite likely that this localized revival and its festival

centrepiece could not have taken place anywhere outside the Miramichi, or at any other

time.

A necessary component of cultural continuity put to task for community solidarity

of course is historical tradition. Manny had already earned her place as Newcastle's

foremost amateur historian - being the first president of the local historical society,

Newcastle's first public library director, Beaverbrook's favourite historical consultant,

and a regular contributor to local newspaper columns. By the time she had discovered the

folk in her part of New Brunswick in the late 1940s, Manny was well-prepared to make

use of their powerful symbolism to inspire further pride in the past of the Miramichi.

Rather than simply presenting another lament about local leaders promoting

nostalgic images of the past, this thesis will also point to the related effect of persevering

communal solidarity, achieved in part by Manny's efforts, in a region that has

experienced economic and social hardship and a faces an uncertain future. But for Louise

Manny, as with Helen Creighton in Nova Scotia, the former's folk were a direct line to

the past - albeit a version that she preferred - and one that was at once romanticized,

aggrandized, and most of all - a source of pride.

The first chapter of this thesis constitutes a survey of the professionalization of

North American folklore studies from its beginnings as a nationalistic-minded collection

of customs, disappearing oral tradition, and later to the application of nostalgia by non-

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academic and local historians in Manny's time. The chapter will also offer a treatment of

Canadian folkloristics, with special historiographical discussion of folklore collectors -

both professional and amateur - in Atlantic Canada.

Chapter II reviews the historiography of, as well as the unique political, purist,

and popular aspects of the North American folk revival that peaked in the period from the

late 1950s to the late 1960s. As explained herein, it is mainly coincidental that Manny's

tenure as MFF director paralleled this era almost precisely, as the effects of the larger folk

resurgence almost completely passed by the localized Miramichi folk revival. The

chapter will nevertheless provide a broader context for the New Brunswick festival,

which was both associated with, and at variance with, the more urbanized, middle-class,

and youth-oriented folk revival of the time.

Chapter III continues to narrow the focus, beginning with a socio-economic

history of the Miramichi area and concluding with a discussion of Manny's early folklore

career. One of the main points of this chapter is to demonstrate that the communities of

Newcastle and Chatham were successfully modernizing in the 1950s and 1960s - just as

they had done in the past via both lumbering and pulp and paper. Despite this, Manny's

localized folk revival looked to the past for some measure of continuity.

Chapter IV explores in detail the organization, staging, repertoire, finances, press

coverage, and other commentary of the MFF. This section suggests that Manny exercised

full control over 'her' event, including what singers and songs were permitted. By the

time she had retired in 1968 the event was still wholly traditional in tone, even while

increasing numbers of 'folkies' and 'hippies' loitered in the Square outside the

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Beaverbrook Theatre every summer. This chapter also includes a review of Manny's

popular book, Songs of Miramichi (1968), suggesting that her process of cultural

selection lives on through this canonized work. The songs collected, recorded,

transcribed, and put on display resuscitated not only a fading oral tradition, but bolstered

an already-cohesive community around that same tradition.

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Chapter I: Folklore Historiography and Professionalization in North America

Writing within the social and academic upheaval of the 1960s, American

folklorist George W. Boswell pointed out that "definitions of folklore are more varied

than fingerprints".6 Indeed, by that time the study of folklore had progressed from being

the mere curiosity of an aristocratic few, to embodying the essence of nationhood, and

finally as the holistic expression of life and culture among the common people and their

kin. Even by the 1970s, however, the academic approach to folklore had eluded clear-cut

categorization and was still guarded jealously by the divergent scholarship of both

anthropologists and literary historians. The ongoing dissension in academia continued to

foster the semi-professional and amateur collection of oral tradition in places like Atlantic

Canada, by cultural authorities such as Helen Creighton and Louise Manny. This chapter

will provide historiographical context by describing the traditions and methodologies of

North American folklore research, surveying the relevant American and Canadian

historiography and eventually focusing on the Maritime provinces, and New Brunswick

in particular, as a function of the larger trend of professionalization.

Diffusionist folklorist and long-time president of the American Folklore Society

MacEdward Leach defined folklore more traditionally, as "accumulated knowledge of a

homogenous unsophisticated people," while Richard Waterman described it as a

communicative "an art form...which employs spoken language as its medium".7 More

comprehensively, Aurelio N. Espinosa stated folklore to be "the accumulated store of

6 George W. Boswell and J. Russell Reaver, Fundamentals of Folk Literature (Oosterhout: Anthropological Publications, 1962), 11. 7 Ibid, 11.

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what mankind has experienced...as distinguished from scientific knowledge".8

Depending on the avenue of introduction to the topic then, whether via anthropology, the

Humanities, or English, folklore has at once defied easy taxonomy, while demanding a

good measure of recognition and treatment within the above-mentioned disciplines, each

of which endeavours ultimately to describe the human experience.

To round out an internationally-minded discussion, however, is a survey of the

developing tradition of folklore research in Atlantic Canada - especially in Nova Scotia

and New Brunswick - will be explored with a view to facilitating the assessment of the

career of Louise Manny in subsequent chapters herein. The Maritimes enjoyed one of the

oldest European oral traditions in North America, while at the same time suffering from a

virtual lack of resident professional folklorists. Within this context, untrained enthusiasts

such as Louise Manny had nevertheless achieved - unchallenged - their own ends through

folklore.

Folklore Study in Nineteenth Century Europe

Any serious historiographer of folklore cannot hope to describe adequately the

trajectory of that field during the twentieth century without first considering its

foundation within the preceding one hundred years. And no early example of folklore is

as prominent within the popular consciousness as the work of Jakob and Wilhelm Grimm

of Germany. The two brothers produced seven editions of their popular yet harshly

8 Ibid, 11.

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criticized Children's and Household Tales between 1812 and 1857, which eventually

went on to describe more than two hundred regional tales. The Grimms were adamant

about remaining true to the original source material which they had either garnered from

the storytellers first-hand or else uncovered in previously published literature. However,

their exposition of 'fairy tales' was in fact secondary to their research into the field of

linguistics, and consequently the tales themselves were significantly sanitized and

patterned for children's use.9

Other antiquarians were more purposeful in their use of the ancient tales they

uncovered. As early as the end of the late eighteenth century German philosopher Johann

Gottfried Herder emphasized the nationalist character of the local peasants by describing

their folk music. Herder would serve to inspire the Grimms several years later, and they

did indeed present many of their tales from the point of view of which modem folklorist

Simon J. Bronner describes as the romantic notion of "a golden mythic medieval age of

humankind that could still influence and reform the present".10 Becoming increasingly

concerned with the concept of German nationalism, such scholars during the eighteenth

and nineteenth centuries endeavoured to track down a folk whom which they believed

enjoyed a direct link with a common Teutonic past.11 This era marked the transition

wherein the study of the past expanded to include the nationalistic endorsement through

the idealization of historical myth as well as fact.

9 Dundes, Alan, International Folkloristics: Classic Contributions by the Founders of Folklore (Lanham: Rowman Littlefield Publishers, 1999), 1. 10 Bronner, Folk Nation, 8. 11 Martha Sims and Martine Stephens, Living Folklore: An Introduction to the Study of People and Their Traditions (Logan: Utah State University Press, 2005), 22.

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Starting in Germany then, the search "to find the essence of the stories, beliefs,

customs and dying traditions that connected all the people of a given country to a

common cultural past" seemed to be the best route to inspire commonality, patriotism,

and consensus within the emerging nations of Europe.12 By mid-century British

antiquarians had adapted this idea of 'survivals' for themselves, and in 1847 William

John Thorns coined the more nationally applicable term 'folk-lore' to succeed the more

detached expression 'popular antiquities' (meaning the lore of the the folk). The new term

prevailed and began to appear regularly in such historically-minded mid-century journals

as The Gentlemen s Magazine, The Athenaeum, and Thorns' own weekly, Notes and

Queries, which featured various amateur folklore contributions from its readers. Thorns'

"good Saxon compound" was an alternative to that of the Grimms' Germanic narratives

and consequently gained popularity in Britain, as it referred to both the idyllic common

origins of English society, as well as providing a romantic escape from the gloom of

industrialization.13

Although this preoccupation with the so-called primordial and original 'Ur'-type

de-coupled custom from culture, it nevertheless provided modern citizens with a window

in which to peer into a "pure and spiritual past".14 Indeed by the final quarter of the

nineteenth century, references to folklore (typically referred to as vanishing material that

must be preserved for the sake of the Nation) permeated the English-language periodicals

of the day. By the time the Folklore Society was formed in London in 1878, the study of

12 Sims, Living Folklore, 23. 13 Bronner, Folk Nation, 9. 14 Sims, Living Folklore, 22.

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folklore in Europe had become clearly nationalistic in purpose, romantic in tone, and

literary in method.15

Old World Folklore - New World Application

If Scottish folk collector Andrew Lang believed that "the student of folklore is

thus led to examine the usages, myths, and ideas of savages, which are still retained, in

rude enough shape, by the European peasantry," then romantic European notions of

folklore would have been challenged by the situation in the New World. It became

problematic to apply European-style folkloristics (simply put; the study of folklore) to a

young United States, which had no peasant class - or what Bronner calls, a "medieval

mythopoeic age" - from which to derive any cultural commonalities, and a history of

white settlement stretching back barely three centuries.16 The migratory nature of

Americans seemed to defy "the European image of rooted communities bounded in

space".17

Although he was born and trained in the United States, Alexander Haggerty

Krappe persistently denied the existence of an indigenous American folklore. As a

translator of the Grimm's work into English, Krappe remained sympathetic to the

'survivals' approach that had originated in the land of his German father's birth. Krappe

doubted the claims of the emerging American folk collectors, and argued that any

semblance of distinctive culture had been merely imported from the Old World. As late as

15 Bronner, Folk Nation, 11,9. 16 Ibid, 11. 17 Ibid, 11.

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1930 Krappe maintained this view, writing in his essay "American Folklore" that "the

sum of stories, songs, beliefs, and practices belong to a bygone age and ceased to have

any direct and organic connection with actual life".18 Consequently, America could

possess no folklore of its own because it enjoyed neither an ancient peasant stock nor a

'surviving' use for its folklore.19 "There is no such thing as American folklore, but only

European folklore on the American continent, for the excellent reason that there is no

American 'folk'," Krappe declared.20 Also, due in large part to language barriers, even

Native-American custom eluded his criteria since Krappe considered it to be a way of life

no longer being practised, and not surviving in any usefully nationalist way.21

Despite Krappe's position, the foremost debate among American folklorists

involved not the existence of folklore, but the proper methodology for collecting and

studying it. On the one hand, rooted in literary tradition, was Harvard professor Francis

James Child, who was probably the first to collect and categorize the Anglo- or English

ballad tradition in the United States with his celebrated and often-cited collection, The

English and Scottish Popular Ballads (1882). His successor at Harvard, George Lyman

Kittredge, would continue Child's work and expand the range of folklore into the realm

of proverbs, beliefs, tales, as well as songs, in monographs such as Witchcraft in Old and

New England (1929) and The Advertisements of the Spectator (1909). Under the guidance

of Kittredge, Harvard promptly became the centre of literary folklore in the United

18 Alexander Haggerty Krappe, "American Folklore," from Folk-Say: A Regional Miscellany, 1930, ed. B.A. Botkin (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1930) in Folk Nation: Folklore in the Creation of American Tradition, ed. Simon J. Bronner (Wilmington: SR Books, 2002), 127. 19 Bronner, Folk Nation, 127. 20 Krappe, "American Folklore", 128. 21 Bronner, Folk Nation, 127.

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States, as well as the launching pad for some of the twentieth century's foremost

professionals of that school.22

On the other side of the folklore debate existed the more empirically-minded

anthropological scientists, who had also been struggling to assert their worth within

academia. Famed folklorist Richard Dorson later pointed out that in America, as in

Britain, Darwin's evolutionary theories inspired this community of social scientists to

"reconstruct the prehistory of mankind from the traditions of savages and the ancient

practices surviving among peasants".23 As mentioned above, however, such a venerable

lineage did not exist among the colonial cultural milieu of the United States, so the

scientific exploration of American folklore evolved as differently as did the folklore

itself. By the turn of the century then, anthropological researchers were more interested in

how people created, used, and learned folklore, rather than merely with its extracted

textual expression within the literature.

In an 1891 essay entitled "Dissemination of tales among the natives of North

America", Franz Boas, the father of American anthropology, described his

'diffusionism' concept, which explained how texts and customs change as they move

from cultural centres to the hinterland periphery.24 The persistence of this idea was

demonstrated when regional folklorist MacEdward Leach much later echoed Boas,

suggesting in Folklore and American Regionalism (1966) that America's original port

cities served as unique cultural hubs within diverse and unfamiliar environments. The

22 Ronald L. Baker, "The Folklorist in the Academy," in 100 Years of American Folklore Study: A Conceptual History, ed. William M. Clements (Washington: American Folklore Society, 1988), 65. 23 Richard M. Dorson, American Folklore (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1959), 1. 24 Franz Boas, "Dissemination of Tales Among the Natives of North America," in Race, Language, and Culture, ed. Franz Boas (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1940), 437.

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United States had always been a distinctive culture (or compilation of cultures) and "no

longer did the individual find his carrier of culture primarily in the printed pages, in the

records of the past and distant places".25 The anthropological treatment of tradition was a

powerful tool in America's search for cultural autonomy during the early twentieth

century.

Boas and his loyal squad of anthropology students set up shop at Columbia

University in New York City. As with the literary scholars, however, there were no stand­

alone folklore courses in the early twentieth century. Harvard began to offer American

literature classes only in 1933. Anthropologists continued to consider folklore as merely a

subset of their field, and Boas taught it as a supplement to other instruction.26 However,

because of the growing universal aspiration among Americans for international

acknowledgement, especially after the Great War, the ethnographic/material folklorists

gradually acquired the upper hand over their literary counterparts by offering their

countrymen acceptable rationalizations for American exceptionalism.

Methodological Discord in the Early Twentieth Century

In what historian Rosemary Levy Zumwalt describes as "the schism in folklore

studies between the literary and the anthropological," literary scholars such as Kittredge,

and his student Stith Thompson, worked to uncover the Ur-form and its location, while

25 MacEdward Leach, "Folklore in American Regional Literature," in Folk Nation: Folklore in the Creation of American Tradition, ed. Simon J. Bronner (Wilmington: SR Books, 2002), 189, 192. 26 Rosemary Levy Zumwalt, American Folklore Scholarship: A Dialogue of Dissent (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1988), 97.

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the anthropologists considered the 'text' as merely one of many "conduits" employed in

order to become more familiar with the culture as a whole.27 Moreover, the American

Folklore Society (AFS) had been under the sway of the social scientists from the

beginning, at which time its first president, William Wells Newel, modelled the new

organization on its British equivalent, in 1888. But Newell went further by employing the

methods of the nascent American anthropology discipline to adapt to the pluralistic

culture that had come to define the socio-cultural milieu of North America. Zumwalt

claims that the dispute over how folklore should have been practised revolved around

claims of professionalism; and the anthropologists seemed to have had the advantage;

adopting a more "scientific approach".28 After 1920, when social scientist Alfred

Radcliffe-Brown had begun applying his theory of Structural Functionalism to primitive

cultures (thereby emphasizing social and kinship structures rather than just the textual) in

The Andaman Islanders (1922) and The Social Organization of Australian Tribes (1931),

anthropologists maintained strong editorial representation within the AFS and within the

pages of its flagship periodical, the JAF.29 Consequently, literary historians and

associated folklorists would not be adequately represented in that journal until the 1940s..

Although this academic debate was both pronounced and sharply delineated,

popular interest in folklore studies actually languished after its initial stimulus from

England and the founding of the AFS. The bulk of publications around the turn of the

century, such as Daniel Garrison Brinton's Religions of Primitive People (1897) and

Boas' own Handbook of American Indian Languages (1911), were little more than

27 Ibid, xiii; 122. 28 Bronner, Folk Nation, 15; Zumwalt, American Folklore Scholarship, 98, xii. 29 Ibid, xi.

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ethnographic treatments of the Native-American experience. However, in 1910 John

Lomax produced his anthology Cowboy Songs and Other Frontier Ballads (with an

introduction by Theodore Roosevelt). This was characterized by what Bronner describes

as the "progressive" era of folklore in North America, and was defined by both the

professionalization of method, and a message that America was both an exceptional

nation and culture.30

Exceptionalism in the American Tradition

The senior Lomax had always insisted upon an American distinctiveness, and that

notion attracted the enthusiastic support of a United States president who had himself

always fumed over his countrymen's fixation upon European art and culture. Theodore

Roosevelt claimed that "the greatest work must bear the stamp of nationalism," and was

consequently enamoured with the significance of Lomax's cowboys for American

culture.31 The president, himself a professional historian, had been searching for a

mythology that could be embraced by Americans, but which was "different from all the

peoples of Europe, but akin to them all".32 He found it in Lomax's western expansion

motif, and in the imposing landscapes sung about by his subjects. In response to the

Euro-elite's repulsion at the cowboy's vulgarity, Bronner points out that "Lomax claimed

30 Dorson, American Folklore, 2; Bronner, Folk Nation, xiii. 31 Ibid, 3; Roosevelt as quoted in Bronner, Folk Nation, 3. 32 Roosevelt as quoted in Bronner, Folk Nation, 4. In 1889 Roosevelt published a significant 4-volume account entitled, The Winning of the West.

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a Homeric quality to the frontiersman's profanity and vulgarity" and indeed admired the

cowboy's "freedom of expression, his earthy artistry, his unabashed outspokenness".33

But the theory of a unique American identity arising from the western pioneer

experience was nothing new. In his 1835 Democracy in America, Alexis de Toqueville

described a uniquely American disposition owing to the colonial experience and search of

religious freedom. By 1893 Frederick Jackson Turner correlated western expansion with

independence of character, in his 'Frontier Thesis' of 1893. Likewise, in 1903

industrialization commentator Charles Skinner spoke in American Myths and Legends of

a new national identity as stemming from pioneer migration, as well as from the natural

environment itself, and suggested that the Hudson River was as beautiful as the Rhine,

but in a different, less refined way. Leach reiterated later that from the beginning,

Americans had to adapt to survive the unique challenges of the North American

environment. In any case, Bronner states that "Roosevelt from his bully pulpit and

Lomax from his lectern preached of an American soul arising from a nation's earthy

experience".34 It was the beginning of the new era of United States nationalism, and as

with the European nations several decades before, the careful application of folklore

would be the stimulus.

33 Ibid, 4. 34 Ibid, 21; Leach, "Folklore in American Regional Literature", 191; Bronner, Folk Nation, 8.

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Barbeau and the Origins of Folklore Study in Canada

In Canada pre-1914 the rhetoric of nationalism was not nearly as pronounced as it

was south of the border. Before the Great War, English-Canadians identified largely with

British imperial culture, while French-Canadians were still resisting the assimilative

effects of colonialization. Unlike in the United States, there was still no exceptional,

consensual 'Canadian' character of which to speak. Furthermore, with no association or

journal to call their own, the few Canadian folklorists and anthropologists could only

contribute their analyses and findings to the JAF.35 Ironically, one of the first of these

scholarly publications concerning Canada, based on sound recordings, was by a German

psychologist, Carl Stumpf, who had travelled to the coast of British Columbia to study

Bella Coola First Nations music.36 However, it would not be until after the Great War that

Canadian folklorists gained a scholarly forum of their own.

John Murray Gibbon (1875-1952) was an early promoter of Canadian culture and

folk music. During most of his career he wrote under the commission of the Canadian

Pacific Railway as a European publicity agent. Although he was known to inaccurately

set his own interpretations of oral tradition to classical music, he was a prolific writer-

penning titles such as Melody and Lyric (1930), New World Ballads (1939), and articles

35 The Canadian Historical Review was established in 1920. Its predecessor, Review of Historical Publications Relating to to Canada was more of a bibliographic book-review work. Also during this time, many 'gentlemen-scholars' associated with the Royal Society of Canada, whose extensive Transactions published many papers on various subjects, including natural history. 36 Edith Fowke, Canadian Folklore (Oxford University Press, 1989), 6; Neil V. Rosenberg, "Folklore in Atlantic Canada: The Enigmatic Symbol," in The Marco Polo Papers 1, Atlantic Provinces Literature Colloquium (Saint John: Atlantic Canada Institute, 1977), xii.

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such as "Folksongs of the French Canadians" (1941). Gibbon was also a prolific

translator of French-Canadian folk songs.37

One collector in particular contributed greatly to the field. Educated at Laval,

Oxford, and the Sorbonne, Marius Barbeau was to establish a legitimate foundation for

folklore study in Canada. Barbeau joined the National Museum in 1911, and it promptly

became the centre of Canadian folklore scholarship, wherein contributors could have

their papers stored and copied for public use. As in the United States at the time, the

scholarly trend still tended toward the First Nations experience, and Barbeau himself

collected much of the Indian folklore material for the Museum during this time; including

a compilation of Huron songs in 1911, as well as Huron and Wyandot Mythology (1915).

However, around 1914 when the American anthropologist Boas became aware of

Barbeau's determination and expertise, the former suggested that the French-Canadian

redirect some of his efforts toward the cultural treatment of his native province. The

result was a prolific career lasting another fifty years and which helped expand the

Canadian profession into the realms of the regional and the national with titles like

Folksongs of French Canada (1925), Quebec, ou survit I'ancienne France (1936), J'ai vu

Quebec (1957), and Jongleur Songs of Old Quebec (1962).

Moreover, Barbeau continued his work on First Nations lore and was especially

interested in western Canadian tribes as well as with the theory of Asiatic migration via

Alaska. By studying myth, song, and art, as well as literature, Barbeau made use of the

seemingly dichotomous techniques that were defining the methodological folklore schism

37 Composers, Authors and Publishers Association of Canada, A Tribute to a Nation Builder. An Appreciation of Dr. John Murray Gibbon (Toronto, 1946).

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in the United States and he avoided the acrimonious specialization going on there.

Barbeau eventually produced fifty books and 700 articles, recorded more than 10,000

songs, and served as editor of the JAF - where he generated eight special Canadian

editions of the prestigious journal before his death in 1969.38

Nostalgia Post-WWI

Discounting the occasional exception then, the early folklorists of North America

can be defined as attempting to preserve the 'survivals' in the form of either oral

traditions (anthropology) or the texts (literary) doomed to extinction in a rapidly

modernizing society. Folklore historian Jane Becker suggests that the first of the

scholarly collectors "thus assumed for themselves the right to define America's 'others',

or folk".39 However, by the end of the Great War many middle-class amateurs used their

country's neglected folkways to provide a nostalgic respite from the dehumanizing effects

of total war, rapid modernization, and jarring urbanization.

The emphasis was on the recapturing of a supposedly idyllic past; which was

indeed reflected at both the launch and popularity of Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia

(1926) - which was purposefully devoid of the unpleasant realty of slavery; and

Greenfield Village (1929) - produced by the amateur historian of nostalgia, and modern

industrial mogul Henry Ford - who also supported and promoted 'old-time' fiddling and

38 Fowke, Canadian Folklore, 6, 14; Rosenberg, "Folklore in Atlantic Canada", xii; Fowke, Canadian Folklore, 15. A 1995 bibliography on Barbeau is Marius Barbeau, Man of Mana: A Biography. (Toronto: NC Press). Another pioneer in First Nations folklore was Diamond Jenness (1886-1969) who published important early works such as Life of the Copper Eskimos (1922) and The People of Twilight (1928). 39 Jane S. Becker, Selling Tradition: Appalachia and the Construction of an American Folk, 1930-1940 (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1998), 4.

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dance music. Family and church folklorist Ruth Suckow acknowledged the popular

conflict over the old and the new in the 1920s when she claimed in "The Folk Idea in

American Life" that, "Those who have been hottest on the scent of a 'folk arts,' a

foundation, a tradition, a beginning, are the same rebellious children who have totally,

explicitly revolted from the 'folks' practices of their own communities."40 Although

Suckow, as a Quaker, was searching for a nostalgic alternative to the "dulling

standardization in modern life," she did much to wrest the exotically foreign rendering of

the folk concept from the hands of haughty academics.41 Bronner suggests that Suckow

believed in an active "folk spirit" which embodied ancient communal values, and actually

served to strengthen the American identity as it became more culturally inclusive.42

Suckow's widely-read Country People (1924) introduced her "folk principle," which

described the bourgeois rejection of modernist custom in favour of "the authenticity of a

hard life" among the folk.43 This idea certainly foreshadowed the manner of the approach

to folklore collection after the 1920s, and signalled the legitimization of a more

grassroots folkloristics.

40 Ibid, 4; Ruth Suckow, "The Folk Idea in American Life," from Scribner's Magazine 88 (September 1930): 245-255, in Folk Nation: Folklore in the Creation of American Tradition, ed. Simon J. Bronner (Wilmington: SR Books, 2002), 154. 41 Bronner, Folk Nation, 146. 42 Ibid, 146. 43 Ibid, 145.

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Renewed Nationalism in the 1930s

By the 1930s the academic presumption that the lore of the folk was a dying

tradition, was out of vogue. The rest of the Western world had moved on as well, and

European folklorists such as the Finnish Antti Aarne and the Irish linguist Douglas Hyde

(who actually taught as an interim professor of modern languages at the University of

New Brunswick in Fredericton) were making strong claims for common and recognizable

and distinct folk cultures within their respective countries. More ominously, Dorson's

"evil colossi," such as Nazi Germany, were putting too much emphasis on their familiar

folk of old, and using their lore to ignite propaganda and assert racial superiority.44

The United States was not far behind in its pragmatic use of folklore, however,

and after Harvard established the first courses in American Civilization in 1937,

American cultural historians had a legitimate forum for their work. Moreover, perhaps as

a cultural parallel to Roosevelt's New Deal, collaborations such as between Alan Lomax,

poet Carl Sandburg, and other balladists produced such patriotic compilations as I Hear

America Singing: An Anthology of Folk Poetry (1937) as a nod to the Walt Whitman's

poem about the various craft occupations that allowed early America to thrive.45

The pursuit of folklore in North America during this time entailed, among other

things, the veneration of the "common man" and had much to do with the spare living

conditions exacted by the Great Depression.46 Folklore historian Jane Becker suggests

44 Dorson, American Folklore, 3. 45 Bronner, Folk Nation, 22. 46 Bronner, Folk Nation, xiii.

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that "the folk and their traditions seemed to offer North Americans the foundation for a

way of life that did not rely on material wealth" by encouraging the "nourishing of the

soul" and by becoming more self-reliant.47 More importantly, the source of these

rediscovered virtues was indelibly sequestered within the conventions of the folk, and

much of our present-day estimation about these supposedly resourceful and persevering

people originate from the 1930s and 1940s, when Louise Manny and Helen Creighton

began their own quests in search of the Maritime folk. Indeed, Harvard English professor

Howard Mumford Jones declared at this time that "in a period of intense economic strain,

the country needs its traditions; it needs, in VanWyck Brook's phrase, 'a usable past'" 48

Looking back at the period, folklore professor Simon Bronner points out that such

Americanists "suggested the possibilities of cultural as well as political democracy - built

on the consensus model of pluralism among common people - in a new troubled age

corrupted by the abuses of capitalism, racism, and technology".49 For those who cared to

search, the folk could now be made to fit ideals of purity, perseverance, wisdom, and

consequently; romanticism and anti-modernism. Consequently, the surviving folk of the

eastern Atlantic would themselves come to be cherished, and their symbols of thrift and

continuity with the past were promptly and selectively extracted from their ancient

enclaves.

As folklorists in Depression-era America were becoming more interested in the

trials and triumphs of the common person, they began to receive support from federal

government agencies. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt had himself been a patron of

47 Becker, Selling Tradition, 5. 48 Howard Mumford Jones as quoted in Bronner, Folk Nation, 23. 49 Ibid, 23.

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the idea of the 'everyman', and had even organized a concert of Alabama-based hillbilly

music at the White House in 1938.50 Moreover, as part of his administration's New Deal,

FDR ensured the formation of the Federal Writer's Project (FWP), which supported many

unemployed authors to set about collecting the lore and life experiences of ordinary

Americans.

Columbia anthropology student Herbert Halpert was one of those collectors.

Working in the folksong division of the FWP, Halpert remembered how his "was the only

paper to deal with any aspect of American-English folklore" during a particular 1937

AFS meeting.51 Halpert claimed he was "not bound by the Child ballad canon, or by the

need to record only 'accepted' folksongs" and was indeed more influenced by the work of

Lomax, especially the famed collector's recently published American Ballads and Folk

Songs (1934). By 1939 Halpert was collecting extensively throughout the mid-eastern

and southern states, recording "locally composed songs, Black work songs, field calls and

hollers of many kinds, groups of both white and black religious singers, play-party songs,

a very large and varied number of children's singing games, as well as other kinds of

rhymes and games, auctioneer chants, Black jail songs."52 Apparently there was a rich

repository of distinctive indigenous lore within the American heartland, just waiting to be

uncovered by a new breed of Americanist researchers purposefully working outside the

Anglo-European folklore catalogue.

50 Ibid, 22. 51 Herbert Halpert, "Coming into Folklore More than Fifty Years Ago," The Journal of American Folklore 105, no. 418 (1992): 446. 52 Ibid, 449.

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The Methodological Debate Persists

Despite the continued advancement of the folkore profession, American scholars

continued to disagree as to methodology. As president of the AFS during 1932-33,

Boasian student and Pacific and Caribbean anthropologist Martha Warren Beckwith

acknowledged the ongoing academic schism pointing out that folklore, "On the one hand

it is allied with literature" while "as a phase of the expression of the development of

human culture, folklore is closely linked with cultural anthropology."53 In her 1931

Folklore in America: Its Scope and Method Beckwith also aptly described the historical

trend of the field, claiming that on the one hand, "literary scholarship has interested itself

mainly in the folklore of the American whites and the negroes," while on the other, "the

anthropological has centred upon the primitive Indian".54

Beckwith was unapologetic about her own anthropological leanings, however, and

like her mentor Boas, adopted the position,

...hoping to have justified the pursuit of folklore as a scientific discipline. I have tried to show that its data are verifiable, and that a critical method is developing by which these data may be ordered and explained according to a recognized view of things [general laws].55

Beckwith's position is a strong indicator of how any consensual approach to folklore

methodology was still not achieved in the 1930s.

53 Katharine Luomala, "Martha Warren Beckwith. A Commemorative Essay," The Journal of American Folklore 75, no. 298 (1962): 341; Martha Warren Beckwith, Folklore in America: Its Scope and Method (Poughkeepsie: Vassar College Folklore Foundation, 1931), 9. 54 Ibid, 53. 55 Ibid, 65.

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Perhaps as a conciliatory statement anticipating her presidency at the AFS,

however, Beckwith declared in Folklore that "instead of limiting the field of folklore,

therefore, the object must be to work out a means of bringing the findings of folklorists

and anthropologists within ready access for comparison and check".56 In any case

Beckwith recognized the scholarly debate that had thereto prevented the flowering of

folklore studies into a legitimate and autonomous discipline.

By 1940 and AFS committee on policy addressed these divisive issues and the

damaging effects of the ongoing conflict within the fledgling folkloristic field. In an

attempt to attract literary-minded contributors, the committee recommended that the

society's presidency alternate between the two methodological camps. This was a

reversal of the venerable policy initiated by Boas and Newell, who had coveted

anthropological jurisdiction from the very beginning. Perhaps even more disagreeable to

Boas and Newell would have been the fact that the AFS committee was now actively

seeking amateur participation, even suggesting that the cover of the JAF "be made

livelier and more appealing to draw amateur folklorists into the society".57 To some, the

move would have seemed like a step away from professionalism, while to others it meant

a democratic reorganization and a movement toward public relevance.

56 Ibid, 10. 57 Zumwalt, American Folklore Scholarship, 43, 44.

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Academia and Folklore Legitimization

Judging by its institutional structures, folklore had indeed become relevant.

Boswell pointed out that during the 1940s, university courses in American folklore

increased from 100 to 165 within the decade, and that all major American universities

offered some class concerning the topic. Dorson himself was the first to earn a PhD in

Harvard's 'History of American Civilization' program in 1943 and would soon be

producing literary folk classics such as Jonathan Draws the Longbow (1946) and

Bloodstoppers and Bearwalkers (1952) - a painstaking examination of the diverse and

exotic cultures of Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Folklore material had also begun to be

used by other scholars of the humanities as well. Professional historians were employing

it as source material both to fill in the gaps left by traditional accounts, and provide a

ground-level perspective of historical happenings. Renowned historian of American

civilization Allan Nevins wrote in his revised The Gateway to History (1947) that the

prose and ballads of "pioneer settlements, mining camps, lumbermen, and the cowboys of

the western range" often speak to their cultural histories.58 Folkloristics had established a

foothold in American universities, and the venerable methodological schism began to

abate in the 1940s, especially after folklore's more literary proponents such as Dorson

and Leach were applying a compelling stylistic prose to culturally-comprehensive and

58 Boswell, Fundamentals of Folk Literature, 5; Ronald L. Baker, "The Folklorist in the Academy," in 100 Years of American Folklore Study: A Conceptual History, ed. William M. Clements (Washington: American Folklore Society, 1988), 69; Bronner, Folk Nation, 21; Allan Nevins as quoted in Lynwood Montell and Barbara Allen, "The Folklorist and History: Three Approaches," in 100 Years of American Folklore Study: A Conceptual History, ed. William M. Clements (Washington: American Folklore Society, 1988), 62.

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rigourous fieldwork.

Patriotism and Exaggeration Post-1940

Because of its increasingly descriptive style and orientation toward the public,

American folklore became increasingly popular among the general readership of the

1940s. Patriotic American folklorist B.A. Botkin's A Treasury of American Folklore, for

example, was wildly popular, selling 500,000 volumes within a year of its release in

1944. Moreover, because of the jingoism surrounding WWII, reinvigorated consumerism,

memories of Depression, and the new threat of Communism, such folklore was applied in

order to bolster nationalistic sentiment. Bronner describes Botkin's unearthed Paul

Bunyan as "the great folk hero of ascendant America," praised for his American

character, being "kindly, down-to-earth, remarkably strong, fantastically large, and

fiercely independent".59 Botkin's Treasury became so popular that he took to writing and

editing full-time the volume's future editions. Contrary to the Anglo-centric perceptions

of Krappe, Botkin described an ail-American tradition as springing from native soil and

from the experiences of the common people for use in a common national purpose.

Botkin was careful, however, not to stray too far down the path of cultural hegemony - as

the Nazis had done - and so did not presume that certain traditions were purer than others.

Botkin echoed the premise of Turner, Roosevelt, and Lomax of "the frontier ideal of a

free, resourceful, outdoor, migratory life, self sufficient and individualistic," and claimed

59 Bronner, Folk Nation, 25.

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this ideal had been perpetuated by the American hero and craftsman.60 Botkin described

the "demigod" character of heroes such as Paul Bunyan, Johnny Appleseed, and the

modern soldier, recounting a progression from colonial independence to the "heightened

sense of social responsibility and mission" cherished during and immediately following

WWII.61 With his Treasury Botkin had successfully tapped into the craving among

Americans to consume their own images of greatness.

Dorson did not disagree with Botkin's application of nationalistic folklore or with

the popular transmission of it. However, the former complained in the late 1940s that this

version of national identity had neglected Natives, women, and immigrants; all of which

were wholly omitted in the Treasury. While Botkin "poetically sounded the humanist

call" for the creative use of American traditions, Dorson insisted that folklore be treated

as a "precious historical artefact whose form needed to be kept intact to maintain its

cultural integrity and scientific value," especially if it were to prevail against the

stupefying effects of mass culture and apathetic homogeneity.62 Consequently, Dorson

admonished much of Botkin's work as being little more than 'fakelore' - described by

Dorson as "the presentation of spurious and synthetic writings under the claim that they

are genuine folklore".63 Dorson agreed wholeheartedly with the need for acquiring

indigenous heroes rather than borrowing such archetypes from Europe, but was opposed

to the inaccurate fabrication of "quaint, cute, whimsical, syrupy, and childlike" characters

60 B.A. Botkin, "American Folklore," from Funk and Wagnalls Standard Dictionary of Folklore, Mythology, and Legend, ed. Maria Leach (New York: Funk and Wagnalls, 1949) in Folk Nation: Folklore in the Creation of American Tradition, ed. Simon J. Bronner (Wilmington: SR Books, 2002), 131, 142. 61 Ibid, 142. 62 Bronner, Folk Nation, 27. 63 Richard M. Dorson, American Folklore & The Historian (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1971), 9.

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such as the loveable Annie Christmas - who was originally portrayed as a whore, but who

in fact never actually existed at all.64 Despite its historical inaccuracy and "scrapbook"

organization, however, Botkin's Treasury became the standard American folklore

compendium within millions of households starting in the 1940s, serving its intended

purpose of providing Americans with their own champions, stereotypical as they may

be.65

Perhaps because of its bicultural composition, Canadian folklore failed to produce

such broadly nationalistic heroes as Paul Bunyan or Davy Crockett. French Canada in

particular was acutely interested in its cultural heritage, and in 1944 Quebec was the first

province to establish a university chair in folklore studies. At the Universite Laval,

Barbeau's disciple Luc Lacourciere founded the Archives de Folklore and the

accompanying Archives de Folklore journal as an outlet for Quebec and Acadian

collectors; and of which he himself contributed important critical pieces treating

children's rhymes (vol.3, 1948), burlesque songs (vol.4, 1949), and the popular local

song, 'Les Ecoliers de Pontoise' (vol.1, 1946). Over the next forty years Lacourciere

would go on to compile the largest French language collection of folk material in North

America, as well as the mammoth catalogue, Bibliographie raisonnee des traditions

populaires frangaises d'Amerique (1956). Even Dorson reserved high praise for the

Canadian, claiming him to be at once a collector, scholar, teacher, archivist, and an

64 Ibid, 9. 65 Ibid, 5.

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indexer.66 More importantly, prominent American folklorists commended Lacourciere for

his rigour and sober interpretation, thereby doing justice to the very culture he was

treating.

Folklore Institutionalized

Within the universities during the 1950s folklore had achieved the

acknowledgement that finally came from professional maturity. Stith Thompson, student

of Kittredge, had at the University of Indiana established the first folklore doctoral

program in 1949, and had himself worked meticulously to produce his Motif-Index

(1955), a system for cataloguing songs "based on their narrative elements or thematic

features".67 The Indiana program's first folklorist was Warren E. Roberts in 1953, who

had come to embrace the materialist side of folklore studies after spending a year in

Norway with a Guggenheim anthropological scholarship. Although Roberts was a

contemporary of Dorson, he held similar opinions of which actually preceded the latter

scholar slightly, and which contributed to the academic shift from what mass media

66 Michael Cass-Beggs, "Hommage a Luc Lacourciere," The Canadian Music Bulletin 9 (1974); Fowke, Canadian Folklore, 6, 16. Edith Fowke and Carole H. Carpenter, Explorations in Canadian Folklore (Toronto; McClelland & Stewart, 1985), 105. McKay describes that in the Atlantic Provinces, Helen Creighton had already been actively securing the descriptions of her Nova Scotia lore. Born in Dartmouth in 1899, Creighton graduated from the Halifax Ladies' College in 1916, after which she taught part-time while narrating children's stories on local radio. In 1929 she became aware of the multitude of pirate and seafaring songs on the southern coast of her home province and set out to tiny Devil's Island with a bulky melodeon to collect the tunes for publication in the local newspapers. Over the next sixty years, Creighton collected over 4,000 songs of French, Gaelic, and English origin, became a member of the Order of Canada, and was awarded six honorary degrees. Moreover, considering the AFS's above-mentioned novel policy to extend an invitation to untrained collectors, it is little wonder that Creighton was later awarded membership as a Fellow of the Society. Famed Canadian musical folklorist Edith Fowke later described in Canadian Folklore that Creighton's work as combining the sentimental; either "maudlin or mocking" approach with that of the "academic, clinical". Creighton, like Botkin in the United States, unearthed powerful symbols that were applied nostalgically, and of which still permeate her native region today. 67 Sims, Living Folklore, 24.

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folklorist Ronald Baker describes in his anthology Viewpoints on Folklife (1988) as the

"exclusive consideration" of folktales, to a "broad program embracing all aspects of

traditional culture".68

By the 1960s, the University off Pennsylvania established a doctoral program in

folklore to rival that of Indiana. Originally focused on ballad and literary forms, in 1966

folklife (considering the entirety of folk culture) proponent Don Yoder assumed the chair,

and the program expanded its scope to include "the entire range of folk studies".69

However, urban/contemporary folklorist and University of Utah professor Jan Harold

Brunvand pointed out in The Study of American Folklore (1968) that "there are damaging

gaps in understanding between academically trained folklore specialists at one end of the

scale, devoted but self-taught amateurs in the middle, and the general public at the other

end".70 Indeed, Brunvand attempted to rewrite the archetypal introductory folklore text

and claimed that "modern folklorists have long since abandoned the peasant connotations

of the term 'folklore', and divided the field into verbal folklore (tales, myths), partly-

verbal folklore (song, dance), and the necessarily anthropological 'non-verbal' folklore

(ritual, textiles).71 The civil rights environment of the 1960s had brought with it the

stimulus to apply a more holistic framework to the study of folklore in North America.

68 Joanne Raetz Stuttgen, "Warren E. Roberts Graduate Student Paper Competition," H-Net Online; Baker, "The Folklorist in the Academy", 67. 69 Ibid, 67. 70 Jan Harold Brunvand, The Study of American Folklore: An Introduction (New York: Norton, 1968), vii. 71 Ibid, 2.

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The Relevance of Folklore in the 1960s

Brunvand, like Dorson, was concerned about the ever-increasing general interest

in folklore at the expense of the virtue of solid research. At the height of the 'fakelore'

debate in the late 1960s Dorson suggested that the epitome of this concern lie with

publications such as the New York Folklore Quarterly, which was maintained on a

"lightweight basis", featuring articles that were "brief, chatty, and unburdened with

documentation".72 Not surprisingly, its contributors were resentful of Dorson's

insinuation and so claimed that the renowned folklorist was merely resentful of their high

book sales. Although this debate had been playing out for the last 20 years, unlike Botkin,

the new popular writers of the 1960s made the claim that they themselves resembled the

folk in that they could change the stories as they saw fit. Dorson's uncompromising

separation of fakelore and the authentic came into question "since both could be reviewed

as strategic uses of tradition in cultural production".73 However, Dorson continued to

disparage such "prettying and sentimentalizing", especially for the sake of monetary

gain.74

In addition to rejecting the naive consensus views, the socially and politically

charged climate of the 1960s also brought with it a rhetoric of progress, and in the field of

history and folklore especially, a shift toward the study of the underprivileged and the

underrepresented. Many socially-conscious musicians used the folk category to inspire

72 Dorson, American Folklore and the Historian, 12. 73 Ibid, 12; Bronner, Folk Nation, 30. 74 Dorson, American Folklore and the Historian, 14.

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change, pursue social justice, while demonstrating "social conflict and inequality".75 As

early as 1953 labour folklorist John Greenway's look at protest songs demonstrated this

medium was in fact a contemporary response to contemporary problems - usually class

conflict. Formerly, such folk expression had been overlooked in the academic race to

preserve the vanishing 'survivals' of ancient and oral tradition. Those forms that

threatened to endanger the status quo or diminish the claims of nationalism, such as

Greenway's protest songs, were at particular risk. Unlike Brunvand, Greenway decided

that the lore of the folk need not be traditional or persistent, but that "its cultural

significance is that it arises out of social processes and is used purposefully".76 Such

folklorists implied that any group - traditional or progressive - could create folklore in

any cultural context.77

The dilemma for many folklorists in the 1960s, then, was how to acknowledge the

neglected folk while "renewing" their often conservative traditions in order to meet the

liberal trends of the present. Both Lomax Jr. and black experience folklorist Willis James

had met with many activists during this decade and insisted upon "the value of older

cultural traditions to contemporary struggles".78 Indeed, song had become a powerful tool

towards challenging the entrenched prejudices of the majority, and the applied folklore of

Lomax and James pointed out that many of the old "spirituals" could be just as powerful

and relevant in this new era.79

75 Bronner, Folk Nation, 35. 76 Ibid, 177. 77 John Greenway, American Folksongs of Protest (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1953) in ibid, 178. 78 Bronner, Folk Nation, 35. 79 Ibid, 35.

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The social context of the 1960s lead to new models of folklore study, namely that

of performance. Art folklorist Martha Sims described this novel approach as considering

not just the words themselves, locked up in texts, but the very situations wherein those

words take place. For these folklorists "the performance of texts in context" became an

artistic act, one defined by communication among individuals within a culture, and not

one carefully prepared and represented by outsiders.80 This more anthropologically-

minded method would be increasingly dismissed by the 1980s, however, for neglecting

folk literature as well as material culture What is more, performance folklorists needed to

be intimately connected with their groups under consideration in order to observe a

genuine discourse - a feat requiring sometimes years of communal integration.81 During

the 1960s, however, this emphasis on symbolic interactionism would inform much of the

folklore idiom and was supported by titles such as How to Do Things with Words (1962),

The Forest of Symbols: Aspects ofNdembu Ritual (1967), and anthropological folklorist

Dell Hymes' The Contribution of Folklore to Sociolinguistic Research (1971).

In 1962, Boswell, a scholar encouraged by the social potential of folklore study,

published Fundamentals of Folk Literature - the first edition of a reader devoted to the

literary forms of epics, ballads, myths, riddles, and legends. Boswell declared that the

book was intended to introduce the field of folklore into high schools and colleges as a

supplement to social studies and history. Within Fundamentals Boswell outlined the four

types of folklore that had evolved since the turn of the century: The legends, epics, and

ballads (literary) of the "aristocrats of folklore"; charms, spells, and jokes (linguistics);

80 Sims, Living Folklore, 26. 81 Ibid, 28.

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myth, medicine, and prophecy (scientific); as well as the recent concentration on the

"artistic application of bodily movement" (action).82 For Boswell, folklore was not

something to be preserved under hermetically-sealed glass (as was the case with Newell),

and nor was it to be always applied for the sake of the nation-state (as with Dorson). "The

ultimate purpose of a student of folklore," he claimed, "should be an understanding of the

tragicomic heart of humanity," and whether the results were uncomfortable or

threatening; "By studying folklore, we are studying ourselves."83 Apparently, folklore had

finally come of age and had taken its place among the humanities.

Folklore Professionalization in Canada and the Atlantic Provinces

Canadian folklorists were no less active than their American counterparts. Carole

Henderson Carpenter, associate of Fowke, pointed out later in Many Voices (1979) that

the 1967 Confederation Centennial "had done a great deal to stimulate interest in and

concern for things Canadian as well as to evoke latent Canadian nationalism".84 During

the same period Indiana graduate and Canadian folk music specialist Neil Rosenberg

pointed out that the easy access to portable tape recorders encouraged folklore fieldwork,

prompting the founding of the Canadian Oral History Association by 1974. Barbeau

himself helped found the Canadian Folk Music Society in 1960 which led soon after to

82 Boswell, Fundamentals of Folk Literature, 12. 83 Ibid, 208, 204. 84 Carole Henderson Carpenter, Many Voices: A Study of Folklore Activities in Canada and their Role in Canadian Culture (National Museums of Canada, 1979), vi.

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the creation of persisting journals such as Canadian Folk Music Journal, Culture and

Tradition, and Canadian Folklore.85

Other than Laval and Memorial Universities, several institutions established

folklore programs during this time. Father Germain Lemieux pioneered an effort at

University of Sudbury while Anselme Chiasson worked at University of Moncton. Within

two years of arriving in Newfoundland, Halpert, recent president of the AFS, established

both the Memorial University of Newfoundland Folklore and Language Archive, as well

founding the first Anglophone folk department in the country, which remained for more

than twenty years the only program in Canada to offer undergraduate and graduate

courses on folklore leading to a doctoral degree.86 Moreover, in 1969, Halpert and

professor G.M. Story produced Christmas Mumming in Newfoundland which the JAF

described as "probably the most successful collaborative effort at book writing since the

original publication of the King James' Bible in 1611". 87 Today Memorial University

features one of the premiere academic folklore programs on the continent and is the only

Canadian institution to offer such courses at all levels.88 Consequently, Canada, like the

United States, had enjoyed ample time to develop several distinctive folk cultures, and

now had the both the interest and the benefit of decades of professional development to

take it seriously.

85 Neil V. Rosenberg, "Folklore in Atlantic Canada: The Enigmatic Symbol," in The Marco Polo Papers 1 (Atlantic Provinces Literature Colloquium. Saint John: Atlantic Canada Institute, 1977), xiii; Fowke, Canadian Folklore, 7. 86 Ibid, 7; Richard Tallman, "Folklore Research in Atlantic Canada: An Overview," Acadiensis 8 (Spring, 1979), 124. 87 Ibid, 125. 88 Memorial University Website - Department of Folklore.

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Outside of Newfoundland, the study of folklore by academics based in Atlantic

Canada (as opposed to researchers from Quebec and elsewhere who studied the region)

lagged. Commenting on Canada's Maritime provinces, Memorial University folklorist

Richard Tallman pointed out as late as 1979 that it was "ironic" that none of the three

provinces in this region had a trained folklorist on faculty, considering that the area is

recognized as the the centre of English-language folklore study in North America.89

Tallman praises the careers of local collectors Helen Creighton and Louise Manny,

admitting that they were untrained, "distinguished amateur folklorists".90 Folklore

interest within the Maritimes had been substantial and significantly productive for over a

century, but mainly at the local and amateur level - such as those amateur Victorian

collectors of 'Indian Legends'.

The first folklorist operating in the Maritimes to make serious headway in that

field was William Roy Mackenzie, a student of Kittredge's at Harvard and native of

Pictou County, Nova Scotia. Edith Fowke suggests that Mackenzie, the "first important

collector of English-Canadian songs," began his local research in 1908.91 By 1909

Mackenzie was publishing a few Nova Scotia songs in the JAF and in 1919 had described

his adventures in the still-cited The Quest of the Ballad. In 1928 an even more significant

work, entitled Ballads and Sea Songs from Nova Scotia documented 162 texts and 42

songs. Mackenzie's relationship with Kittredge - and consequently the work of Child -

89 Tallman, "Folklore Research", 123. 90 Ibid, 123. 91 Edith Fowke, "Anglo-Canadian Folksong: A Survey," Ethnomusicology 16, no. 3 (1972), 335.

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prepared the author to recognize a total of sixteen Child ballads from the half of the 305

claimed to still be in circulation at the time.92

After Mackenzie returned to Harvard to teach English full-time, academic

treatment of Maritime folklore stagnated for several decades, although local and outside

collectors continued to ply their trade. New England folklorist Phillips Barry included 39

New Brunswick songs (ten of which were Child variants) in his British Ballads from

Maine (1929), while Sister Mary L. Fraser, gathering material for her MA, published

Folklore of Nova Scotia (1931) - an accumulation of oral tradition though lacking in

comparative analysis.93 Around the same time, ethnologist Arthur Huff Fauset had done

fieldwork in the American south but had come to Nova Scotia to continue his work with

the black communities around Halifax. By 1931 he had garnered enough local tradition to

complete his Folklore from Nova Scotia?4 By this time too Helen Creighton had begun

her folklore pursuit in earnest and over her career would uncover more than 4,000 songs

(at least 49 of which were previously unknown Child variants) in a province that

Mackenzie believed was "sung out".95 Over the next 50 years Creighton would record

much of her catalogue, as well as pen popular classics such as Songs and Ballads from

Nova Scotia (1932), Folklore of Lunenburg County (1950), Gaelic Songs in Nova Scotia

(1964), and A Life in Folklore (1975)96 And later, University of Maine folklorist Edward

Ives, founder of the Northeast Folklore Society, would publish his own academic works

such as Twenty-One Folksongs from Prince Edward Island (1963), Larry Gorman: The

92 Ibid, 335, 337. 93 Ibid, 336-337; Tallman, "Folklore Research", 119. 94 Ibid, 335. 95 Fowke, "Anglo-Canadian Folksong", 335. 96 Tallman, "Folklore Research", 121.

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Man Who Made the Songs (1964), and the highly-praised Joe Scott, The Woodsman-

Songmaker (1978).97

As will be discussed in detail in chapter III, Louise Manny would begin her own

quest for the folk and their music in the Miramichi region of New Brunswick after 1947.

Before her death in 1970 Manny recorded and transcribed more than one hundred songs;

many of which were Child variants, and fifty of which were selected for her canonized

Songs of Miramichi (1968).98 Her methods and ideals were not unlike that of her

contemporary, and close friend Creighton; although the former was motivated more by

community solidarity than by renown, financial independence, or academic recognition.

One more historiographical issue of significance centres around the debate over

folklore professionalism alluded to already. With the exception of Ives and Mackenzie

among those cited above, collectors in the Maritimes during this period were untrained in

either the methods of scientific anthropology or literary history that, as we have seen, had

come to epitomize professional folklore study (and debates) in the twentieth century.

Even Creighton visited the University of Indiana only briefly in the summer of 1942 and

garnered little experience from the trip. On the one hand, Tallman argued that the work of

Creighton, for example, was "quantitative rather than qualitative" and that such ventures

demonstrated "limited comparative annotation and practically no analytical

commentary".99

Tallman declared, however, that other than outside sojourners, academic

folklorists had been virtually non-existent in the Maritime region. Consequently, while

97 Tallman, "Folklore Research", 129. 98 Fowke, "Anglo-Canadian Folksong", 337. 99 Tallman, "Folklore Research", 120.

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the work of Manny, Creighton, Fraser, Fauset, Barry, and others was unscientific and

perhaps even biased, these collectors employed enough foresight and enthusiasm to at

least preserve a fading oral tradition in the Maritime hotbed for future folklorists to treat

more systematically. Although the professional folklorists lament the skewed folklore

record which has so far neglected coal miners, factory workers, and First Nations; the

fishing, lumber, and historical music recorded by Manny, Creighton, and others would

have died with the last of the Maritime folk who carried them.

Conclusion

Once the domain of hobbyists and enthusiasts, the practice of folklore passed

from an antiquarian interest in local customs and traditions, to the purely anthropological

concerns in the 1920s, to the pressing need for continuity in the 1930s, to renewed pride

and imagery of the 1940s, to academic maturation in the 1950s, to the consideration of

the underrepresented in the 1960s and 1970s, folklore has unequivocally established itself

as an obligatory cultural studies instrument. Like other academic disciplines and amateur

pursuits, folklore has been tied inexorably to the myriad of ideological contexts which

have defined the twentieth century - including that of Louise Manny in the Miramichi.

Moreover, by looking back at the historiography, it becomes possible to envisage a

picture of a future for the folklore discipline that was at once more democratic,

specialized, empathetic, and useful.

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Chapter II: The Complementary Multiplicity of the Folk Revival, 1958-1968

The resurgence in academic and popular interest with folklore in the 1940s and

early 1950s described in chapter I inevitably resulted in the folk music 'boom' of the late

1950s. Folklorists had amassed enough material to form a foundation for ambitious

musicians to interpret and perform, to an audience of urban, middle-class youth who were

in search of a new medium of self-expression through more roots-influenced music. This

chapter will examine the most popular manifestation of folklore in North America - the

folk song revival. Although Louise Manny's directorship of the MFF coincided with the

peak years of the folk revival, the festival remained seemingly immune from the social

protest and commercial aspects of the wider phenomenon.

'Revival' is an elusive term. Considering its original use as a label for spiritual

awakening, the word can still evoke impressions of euphoria and optimism. The

mainstream popular folk 'boom' that lasted briefly until about 1966 - when the apolitical,

psychedelic 'hippie' began to largely replace the activist and optimistic 'folkie' as the

sub-culture of choice for American youth - was unprecedented in both its magnitude and

diversity. Of course, many observers argue that the revival never really ended, as the folk

music medium continues to expand and diversify, and as traditional music continues to be

presented to intrigued urban audiences, and "performed generally by non-traditional

folksong interpreters".100 During the period under review in this chapter - the 1950s and

100 Norm Cohen, "The Folk Revival Revisited, Revived, and Revised," Journal of American Folklore 103, no. 410(1990): 514.

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1960s 'second wave' - the commercial, purist, and social protest aspects of the revival

reached their zenith.

Folk Revival Literature

In her analysis of the North American folk music revival, Gillian Mitchell points

out that music critics and historians have failed to arrive at a consensus or "unified

understanding" of the what the revival actually was.101 After the original flurry of writing

immediately following the boom period of the 1960s, such as R. Serge Denisoff's Great

Day Coming: Folk Music and the American Left (1971), David Rosen's Protest Songs in

America (1972), or Ellen Stekert's essay "Cents and Nonsense in the Urban Folksong

Movement: 1930-66" (1966), little followed. Mitchell points out that by the 1990s many

of the authors who had actually participated in the revival were reaching middle age,

"and were now able to view it with hindsight and with the benefit of their scholarly

expertise in the fields of folklore and musicology".102

The result has been assessments which are more passionate and precise than the

"overview approach" employed by the boom period's first observers.103 Robert

Cantwell's When We Were Good: The Folk Revival (1997) is a personal and thorough

exploration into the movement. Although the book tends to glorify the optimistic boom

period of 1958-1964 while dismissing the later period as ideologically lacking, it is a

101 Gillian Mitchell, The North American Folk Music Revival: Nation and Identity in the United States ad Canada, 1945-1980 (Ashgate Publishing, 2007), 2. 102 Ibid, 19. 103 Ibid, 19.

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valuable descriptive treatment nonetheless. Ronald Cohen's Rainbow Quest: The Folk

Music Revival and American Society, 1940-1970 (2002) is less likely to take sides within

the controversies of protest/purism, but always manages to praise Pete Seeger, to whom

the book is dedicated. Benjamin Filene's Romancing the Folk: Public Memory and

American Roots Music (2000) is another useful overview. Instead of simply debating the

authentic or inauthentic, and by using the term "vernacular music" in lieu of 'folk

music,' Filene claims to "explore how these dichotomies have been constructed and how

they have shaped the way American music has been understood".104 Yet another insider's

perspective comes from Dick Weismann's Which Side Are You On? An Inside History of

the Folk Music Revival in America (2005) which tends to venerate those who did not

compromise their integrity during times of trouble, while condemning those folklorists

and interpreters, such as John Lomax, who profited financially and socially from the

songs that they extracted from the folk. From this unusual perspective, Woody Guthrie

becomes little more than a "womanizer" and a "musical pirate" while Joan Baez and her

contemporaries are portrayed as "overestimated superstars".105

Socio-Political Origins of the Folk Boom

The North American folk music revival of the late 1950s and early 1960s was in

fact the "second wave" of a larger resurgence of interest in the traditional and unique

104 Benjamin Filene, Romancing the Folk: Public Memory and American Roots Music (Cultural Studies of the United States) (The University of North Carolina Press, 2000), 3. 105 Dick Weissman, Which Side Are You On? An Inside History of the Folk Music Revival in America (New York: Continuum, 2005), 50. Other useful recent works are Rosenberg's comprehensive anthology Transforming Tradition: Folk Music Revivals Examined (1993); Cohen's inclusive Folk Song America: A 20th Century Revival (1991); and Bruce Jackson's essay "The Folksong Revival" (1991).

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European experience on that continent.106 Sociologist Ron Eyerman suggests that the

concept of a prequel period before the boom of the 1960s was "invented by an urban

intellectual elite" with the purpose of dealing with the disappointments of modernization,

and exacerbated by the Great Depression.107 Mitchell points out that "the trauma of

economic crisis caused Americans to search for spiritual nourishment and antidotes to the

overblown commercialism which had brought so much catastrophe" and "giving

particular credence to the various cultures and customs of the 'ordinary people'".108 As

mentioned in the previous chapter; in 1935 the Federal Writer's Project commissioned

many writers to enter the countryside in order to chronicle the devastating socio­

economic climate therein. The intention was to not only make work for these unemployed

authors, but also describe a widespread situation that was hoped to be only temporary,

while at the same time demonstrating and applying images of the perseverance,

exclusivity, and maturity of the United States. A latent consequence, however, was that

such collectors as folklorist Zora Neale Hurston and Alan Lomax helped to compile a

vast collection of local songs that would later be mined by opportunists and purists alike

during the popular folk revival of the 1960s.

After WWII musical groups such as the Almanac Singer had socialized the music

collected from the Depression-era folk enough to render it distinct from the more

politically-benign Country music of the 1940s. In 1948, members of the group, including

Lee Hays and Pete Seeger, reformed into the Weavers after FBI pressure and the anti-

106 Ron Eyerman and Scott Barretta, "From the 30's to the 60's: The Folk Music Revival in the United States," Theory & Society 25, no. 4 (Aug 1996): 503. 107 Ibid, 503. 108 Gillian Mitchell, "Visions of Diversity: Cultural Pluralism and the Nation in the Folk Music Revival Movement of the United States and Canada, 1958-65 "Journal of American Studies 40, no. 3 (2006): 597.

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radical entertainment blacklist had rendered the ensemble too much of a high risk for

promoters. Although their anti-draft and other left-wing messages were even more subtle

than they had been with the Almanac Singers, the Weavers were inevitably chastised and

blacklisted due to the political paranoia permeating the McCarthy era and the Cold War.

Consequently, the group lost its Decca recording contract. Although the Red Scare had

coerced Leftist musicians such as Burl Ives to abandon their outward ideologies, Pete

Seeger persisted and in fact surfaced as the premier political musical agitator of the

1950s. Not surprisingly, Seeger was blacklisted by the House Committee on Un-

American Activities in 1955 and was consequently only allowed to perform for children.

Ironically, the FBI had thereby ensured that the appeal of activist folk music would be

passed onto the generation that would later wield it with even greater force in the early

1960s. Speaking of the political prosecution, Seeger claimed that the controversy simply

"sold more tickets to my concerts" and consequently stimulated others to follow his

lead.109

The immediate social causes of the folk music boom were as significant as the

political sources. Within the context of relative post-war plenty and an unprecedented

upsurge in birth-rates across North America, the folk revival provided a remedy for the

baby-boom generation as it matured amid not only security, but what Mitchell describes

as the "disorientation and barrenness" of mass consumer society, as suburban housing,

materialism, and socio-political conformity standardized values and "downplayed any

109 Weismann, Which Side, 11; Mary Wood Littleton, "The Resurgence of Folk Music in Popular Culture," National Forum 74, no. 4 (Fall 1994): 38; Pete Seeger: The Power of Song, DVD, directed by Jim Brown, 2007.

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sense of diversity".110 The youth of the early 1960s were at the forefront of a movement

which protested this "cultural sterility" and so claimed folk music as their own as one

means of doing just that.111 The explosion in university attendance paralleled not only a

rise in social activism, but also its expression through the folk music medium, and

Mitchell in fact suggests that those who loved the music also tended to support the Civil

Rights movement. The children who had been exposed to the socialist (or at least the

leftist) message of Pete Seeger were now newly educated and had finally rebelled

"against the ways of their parents in the new affluence of post-war America".112

Youth Culture and Music Pre-1965

The advent of a youth counter-culture was obviously a much larger movement

than the folk revival itself, although the former made use of the latter. Outdoor festivals

and the gathering of the committed were symptomatic of a larger trend informed by youth

culture and more progressive attitudes. Jens Lund has pointed out that "the notion of an

alternative culture is a far cry from just popularizing a musical genre in an existing

culture" and indeed, interest in folk music by itself did not change a generation.113 So-

called 'folkies' would eventually become absorbed into the counter-culture, however, and

even Sing Out! magazine (a publication devoted to both social justice and folk music

110 Mitchell, The North American, 68. 111 Mitchell, "Visions", 607. 112 Ibid, 609; Eyerman, "From the 30's", 522. 113 Jens Lund and R. Serge DenisofF, "The Folk Music Revival and the Counter Culture: Contributions and Contradictions," Journal of American Folklore 84, no. 334 (1971): 405.

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aesthetics) was known to publish illustrations of the cannabis plant on its cover during the

later 1960s.114

The destiny of the folk music revival was necessarily tied to the generation that

fuelled it. Students of the period were enraptured with the prowess and sincerity of

traditional musicians such as Earl Scruggs and father of bluegrass Bill Monroe, and so

like their idols, rejected the stereotypical cowboy image and electrification so endemic to

popular country music at the time. Less than a decade after the fact, in 1971, Serge

Denisoff stated that guitars and banjoes had become "the standard equipment for the

average college student" and the collections of Cecil Sharp, Francis Child, and the

Lomaxes were in high demand at libraries.115 The revival of the early 1960s would come

to be centred on the universities, and was generally a north-eastern phenomenon, to be

found in enclaves like Greenwich Village, Cambridge, or Yorkville in Toronto. The

working-class pubs or Communist Party functions of the 'first wave' had been replaced in

the early 1960s by coffee shops and small clubs on or near college campuses. Also known

as 'baskethouses,' venues such as Cafe Wha?, Village Vanguard, and the Gaslight were

hot spots where unknown musicians plied their trade, often for little more than a pass of

the hat.116 The time was right for students to champion this new musical form as a

medium for generational- and self-expression.

114 Ibid, 399. 115 Ibid, 400; R. Serge Denisoff, Great Day Coming: Folk Music and the American Left (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1971), 167. 116 Mitchell, The North American, 11; Eyerman, "From the 30's", 534; Mitchell, "Visions", 598.

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Disregard in Academia

Ironically, the explosion in student interest in folk music translated poorly to the

professoriate. At the beginning of the 1960s famed folklorist Richard Dorson still offered

the only PhD program in folklore on the continent, and folkies inevitably flocked to

Indiana University to learn from the best. However, as we have seen, Dorson had long

condemned the popularization (and the inevitable commercialization) of folklore (what

he referred to condescendingly as 'fakelore') and refused to recognize the mounting

influence of the folk revival. The picture was relatively the same throughout academia,

and those teachers who did pursue the popular trends in either musical purism or protest

were often deemed by their peers as participating in a "mildly embarrassing hobby one

tolerates in a friend who is otherwise virtuous".117 Consequently, the boom period after

1958 received virtually no scholarly attention compared with the institutional fascination

behind the collection and publication of the folksongs of the 1930s. Folksong collector

Bruce Jackson suggests that the Old Left academics of the time were often offended by

the various pop-culture trends such as the folk revival. However, by ignoring the social

messages inherent in the culture at large, Jackson points out that "one can read every

issue of the Journal of American Folklore published between 1963 and 1983 and get no

idea from them that the United States had for ten years been engaged in a massive land

and air war in Asia, so it's hardly surprising that what seemed transient and popular

phenomenon escaped scholarly notice".118 Although the songs of Bob Dylan and Joan

117 Bruce Jackson, "The Folksong Revival," in Transforming Tradition: Folk Music Revivals Examined, ed. Neil V. Rosenberg (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1993), 74. 118 Ibid, 80.

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Baez would not make it into the Library of Congress folk collection any time soon, they

found an even more public archive within the pages of Broadside and Billboard

magazines in addition to their records and songbooks.

Imitation and Exploitation

Jackson claims that all revivals "appeal primarily to individuals who celebrated

traditions not their own".119 Indeed, the privileged baby-boomers attending North

American universities were far removed from the experiences of the burdened folk whom

they celebrated. The Blues had made a comeback by 1960 but audiences were largely

white; labour songs were fashionable but their performers were often students; and folk

songs were popular although their audiences were urban. Even the progenitors of the

rural music were themselves often brought to the urban stage and expected to reproduce

the aesthetics of their rural experience. As early as 1966 folklorist and performer Ellen

Stekert declared: "It was monstrous for urbanites to confuse poverty with art."120 Indeed,

by 1962, with her unadorned image, Baez had been featured on the cover of a November

issue of Time magazine as a "suitable stereotype" for the urban interpretation of folk

music happening at the time.121 Although the popularity of the boom (lauding the merits

of the Appalachian folk, for example) was obvious in most households across North

119 Ibid, 73. ,2n Ibid, 73; Ellen J. Stekert, "Cents and Nonsense in the Urban Folksong Movement: 1930-66," from Folklore and Society: Essays in Honor of Benjamin A. Botkin, ed. Bruce Jackson (Hatboro, PA: Folklore Associates, 1966) in Transforming Tradition, 94. 121 Norm Cohen, Folk Song America: A 20th Century Revival (Smithsonian Institution Press, 1991), 53.

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America, ironically it was being fostered and publicized by the young cosmopolitans and

students of New York City.

Not surprisingly, questions of authenticity and artistic exploitation arose and

helped to polarize the purists and the progressives of the folk boom. The Beat generation

had served to separate the academic/preservationist and youth/politicizing natures of the

first and second waves of the folk revival. Many young persons of the late 1950s and

early 1960s wished to take part in the intellectual and rebellious experience of their

uncles and aunts, and were particularly infatuated with jazz music and the non-conformist

writings of Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg. However, first wave musicians such as

Guthrie and Seeger complained that the newcomers were "too far removed from folk

roots and that the art form was doomed", and so older musicians exhibited little interest

in the pragmatic tenets of the New Left, which included what Mitchell describes as an

"optimistic participatory democracy encouraged by President John F. Kennedy and

Martin Luther King".122 A competition of sorts to be 'folkier than thou' ensued, in order

to demonstrate the younger players' devotion to the purest forms of venerable folk

music.123

The 'Old Timey' music of the New Lost City Ramblers was such an attempt.

Formed in 1958 in New York City, the group was the first on the urban folk scene to

reproduce sincerely the Southern music of the 1920s and 1930s, which they had heard on

old 78-rpm's. The Ramblers not only played the traditional instruments of the music they

were imitating, but also presented themselves in the old fashion, delivering a complete

122 Littleton, "The Resurgence", 38; Mitchell, "Visions", 598. 123 Ibid, 612.

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picture of Depression experience through the hillbilly style. Although they were largely

apolitical in tone, they appealed nonetheless to their revival contemporaries by

identifying with the struggles associated with the economic hardships of the Great

Depression. Benjamin Filene points out that, "Just as isolated cultures become harder to

define and locate in industrialized America, the notions of musical purity and primitivism

took on enhanced value, even in avowedly commercial music."124 Although the socio­

economic conditions eulogized by the New Lost City Ramblers and others did not reflect

their own experiences, the imagery of their music evoked a powerful sense of continuity

with tradition, as well as a certain applicability for the present.

In Rainbow Quest Ronald Cohen states, "The folk revival drew upon myriad

musical styles, both topical and traditional, using acoustic instruments to capture a sound

and message, but it was never simply a clash between musical purity and adulteration."125

Indeed, the revival could be both political and purist. However, the tension between the

old and new styles was also marked by whether 'white boys' could or should sing the

Blues, or if popular singers should profit from authentic songs created within a milieu of

poverty. Dick Weismann had enjoyed an insider's perspective as both a musician and a

producer for pop and folk acts, the Journeyman, the Brothers Four, and Peter, Paul and

Mary. In Which Side Are You On? Weissman often portrays the 'heroes' of the revival

such as Alan Lomax, who was known to copyright the songs he had discovered among

the folk in order to profit from the royalties as self-interested opportunists. Furthermore,

Weismann describes Woody Guthrie as being one of the revival's protagonists, and whose

124 Lund, "The Folk Music Revival", 399; Filene, Romancing the Folk, 3. 125 R.D. Cohen, Rainbow Quest: The Folk Music Revival and American Society, 1940-1970 (University of Massachusetts Press, 2002), x.

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songs in fact had been forgotten by the 1960s, as their Depression-era grievances were

even outdated when he 'borrowed' them in the first place.126 The Old Left often

complained that the younger singers had no right to either profit from the songs of the

poor or maginalized of which they admired.

The New Left and the uses of Folk Music

Musicologist and past editor of the Journal of American Folklore Norm Cohen

points out that early definitions required that folksong be extinct (or at least enough to

salvaged). Folklorists in the first part of the twentieth century had little motive other than

for preserving this dying oral tradition from oblivion. By preserving a dynamic oral

medium on text, on disk, or in the archives, its meaning had ceased to evolve, and had

even become static and representative of merely a single time and place. By the 1940s

there developed what Filene calls "a cult of authenticity" or a "web of criteria" outlining

assumptions and criteria for being a folk singer.127 The politicizers of the New Left,

however, in writing their own protest material to the tunes of traditional songs "certainly

did not fit textbook descriptions of folk music, folksinger, or folk society" and disagreed

with Alan Lomax's claiming that "to be folk, you live folk".128 Bob Dylan arrived in

Greenwich Village in 1961 celebrating the songs of Guthrie, but by 1963 he was writing

his own contemporary topical civil rights material, such as "Blowin' in the Wind" and

"Only a Pawn in Their Game" - a song about the assassination of civil rights leader

126 Weismann, Which Side, 50. 127 Norm Cohen, "The Folk Revival", 514; Filene, Romancing the Folk, 49. 128 Norm Cohen, "The Folk Revival", 514; Alan Lomax as quoted in Denisoff, Great Day Coming, 170.

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Medgar Evers. Inevitably, however, artists like Dylan, Baez, Odetta, and Judy Collins

"were regarded, if a bit grudgingly, a relatively authentic folksingers".129 Even the New

Lost City Ramblers, who had been criticized for imitating a tradition they could not truly

be intimate with, were considered among the most authentic of the new folk groups,

performing as closely as possible as they did to that original bluegrass string style. Only

the most ardent of the old guard continued to refuse the idea that the early 1960s was

indeed the golden age of the folk music - both ideologically, and commercially.130

The Popularization of Folk Music After 1950

The debates surrounding authenticity and exploitation were only a part of the

driving force behind a revival that would become fixated at the forefront of popular

culture by the early 1960s. In fact, Ronald Cohen suggests that mass culture society, the

new-found liberties of the Boomers, and the sanitized lyrics of the popular musical

groups did more to accelerate the revival than did the painstaking devotion to authentic

musical forms. Whereas the interest in folk music in the 1930s and 1940s garnered

mostly institutional-based collecting, the second wave was sponsored by the eagerly

consuming public of the post-war. The Calypso craze of the mid-1950s had exposed

North Americans to ethnic-inspired music originating other than in Tin Pan Alley,

Nashville, or Hollywood, and that that this music could be viable and even great. Harry

Belafonte, a Jamaican-American performer scored major hits with songs such as the

"Banana Boat Song" in 1956, and included many American folk songs in his repertoire.

129 Eyerman, "From the 30's", 528; Weismann, Which Side, 13. 130 R.D. Cohen, Rainbow Quest, 92.

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One year earlier Bill Haley had heralded the beginning of the end of the tradition of

institutional song-making with his own rock and roll hits. Suddenly, the three categories

of popular music consisting of country-western, mainstream, and rhythm & blues were

not so strictly separated, and the industry became less song-based, and began promoting

the image of the individual artist. Even earlier, folk singer Burl Ives had disassociated

himself with political songs and found success as "a pop-tenor who charmed middle-class

hearts" in the 1940s.131 This decade-long process marked the beginning of the

commercial viability of folk music.

In the early 1950s Pete Seeger and the Weavers enjoyed relative success with re­

interpreted songs such as Leadbelly's "Goodnight Irene," and "On Top of Old Smoky".

The Weavers featured a more commercially-minded sound than that of their Almanac

predecessors, and even their more political of numbers were rather innocuous, aimed at

those simply "seeking entertainment".132 Denisoff points out that, performing in their

"evening attire" the group sold 4 million records for their Decca label, and demonstrated

that with adequate "orchestral polishing"; folk music could be rendered saleable.133 Ron

Eyerman likewise agrees that the second wave of the folk revival was marked by

commerciality, and like most other historians of the period, he attributes the spark of its

ubiquitous cultural permeation to the Kingston Trio and their momentous hit "Tom

Dooley".134

131 Ibid, 173; Filene, Romancing the Folk, 236; Weismann, Which Side, 11; Norm Cohen, Folk Song America, 3; Stekert, "Cents", 95. 132 Jackson, "The Folksong Revival", 74; Denisoff, Great Day Coming, 165. 133 Ibid, 165. 134 Eyerman, "From the 30's", 520.

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In an endless wave of candy-coated singers imitating Elvis, "the magic of the

early Presley years was soon dissipated" by the late 1950s, and the resulting musical

malaise provided an opportunity for a fresh and universally-appealing popular musical

form.135 The Kingston Trio were typical American kids, dressed in candy-stripe shirts and

enraptured by the Calypso sounds emanating from the Caribbean. Naming their group in

honour of the Jamaican capital, the three revived in tropical style an obscure Appalachian

'mountain' ballad entitled "Tom Dooley", composed by Frank Profitt, an authentic North

Carolina folk singer. The record went on to sell over 3 million copies, but Profitt received

none of the proceeds. Although Sing Out! magazine was decrying such blatant

exploitation, its readership was doubling and the publication was enjoying skyrocketing

ad revenue, owing much to the continuing controversy. In any case, by the time of "Tom

Dooley" folk music had adhered itself to the cultural consciousness, and the process of

folksong commodification helped "to transform the esoteric 'folknik' culture into part of

the popular culture".136

Norm Cohen suggests that it was another group, a couple of years later, which

was the most responsible for bringing folk music to the masses and for paving the way

for both popular and political acts. Peter, Paul, and Mary's first album re-interpreted in

calculated pop style such folk classics as "If I Had a Hammer" and "Where Have All the

Flowers Gone" and remained in the Billboard Top Ten for ten months. Moreover, two

singles from their third album sold in excess of 300,000 copies in just a few short weeks.

Contextually, all of this occurred a full year before Dylan's own breakthrough in 1963.

135 Lund, "The Folk Music Revival", 396. 136 Denisoff, Great Day Coming, 170; Lund, "The Folk Music Revival", 397.

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Denisoff complained in 1971 that this blatant commercialism of the folk medium had

resulted in a short life-span for such pop songs, which could not hope to last when

compared to the more timeless classics originating in the Depression era.137 Although an

oversight, perhaps, the commodification of authentic music was seen as both a catalyst

for the magnitude of the revival as well as the reason for its short duration.

The Rise of the Folk Festival

In the early 1960s, the folk boom was at full throttle, as measured by the success

of folk festivals, for example. One event stood out above all others as the barometer of

folk popularity (authentic and commercial) in the 1960s. Originally a venue for jazz

musicians, the festival near Newport, Rhode Island began catering to fans of folk music

after its renewal in 1959. Although organizers arranged the event around the most well-

known of stars, such as Harry Belafonte, the Weavers, and the Kingston Trio, the

experience attracted inadequate numbers during that first year. It had not yet occurred to

the planners that the young people they wished to attract "were beginning to demand

significant participation by traditional performers".138 The festival was actually cancelled

after a second disappointing year, until Pete Seeger recommended that it be operated on a

non-profit basis, and allowing a minimum payment to all performers, rather than just the

headliners, in order to attract, and finance the trip for some of the most authentic of folk

singers. It was Seeger's aspiration that the event be as educational as much as it was

137 Norm Cohen, Folk Song America, 55; Weismann, Which Side, 11; Norm Cohen, Folk Song America, 55; Denisoff, Great Day Coming, 188. 138 Eyerman, "From the 30's", 531.

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entertaining and that crowds coming to see their idols would also get a taste of the more

grassroots of folk musicians. Within two years "all of the social trends of 1963 merged"

as the revived Newport Folksong Festival featured freedom singers, civil rights activists,

topical writers, the stars of the industry, as well as various song-writing and protest song

'workshops'. Eyerman suggests that the festival scene occurred at just the right time,

since the growing authority of the civil rights movement, the Bay of Pigs, the Cuban

Missile Crisis, the Berlin Wall, the Kennedy assassination, coupled with an expanding,

young, and educated generation in search of their own identity, gave Newport a

significance unforeseeable during its first years.139

Denisoff predicted eight years later that "when the complete history of the folk

music revival is written, 1963 will no doubt be cited as its cultural and political zenith,

with the Newport Folk Festival as its crescendo".140 Through Newport, "the civil rights

movement, in need of white northerners, found some".141 Indeed, that was the year Dylan

made his archetypal appearance with Joan Baez at both the festival as well as the year of

the quarter-million-person march on Washington in August where Martin Luther King

also delivered his iconic speech.

In 1964 Newport attracted and featured a total of 228 singers over three days and

was described as one reviewer as being "an unmanageable circus".142 Its runaway

popularity had resulted in few amateur performers and fewer topical songs, and Denisoff

139 The most authentic of Appalachian festivals to emerge from this time were the Old Time Fiddler's and Bluegrass Festival (est. 1924), the Mountain Dance and Folk Festival (North Carolina), and The American Folk Music Festival (Kentucky). Jackson, "The Folksong Revival", 77; Denisoff, Great Day Coming, 177; Eyerman, "From the 30's", 532. 140 Denisoff, Great Day Coming, 176. 141 Ibid, 178. 142 Ibid, 182.

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points out that the revival's "mentors had lost control" of their idyllic affair.143 Even

Dylan had become a household name and a "public personality" and seemed out of touch

with his audience, insulated as he was by his sycophantic entourage.144 Net profits

exceeding $70,000 and 37,000 spectators ensured that folk was now an official category

of popular music, and therefore "subject to the capricious tides of Billboard charts and

concert ticket sales"145 Newport was particularly essential to the boom, since it allowed

the networking and public exposure of both big name and unknown musicians, as well as

the preservation of some traditional and obscure methods and instrumentation via the

various workshops on site.146

The Folk Revival in Print

Both the diverse commercial and traditional natures of the boom were

documented and debated in the popular periodicals of the period. By far the most widely

read and intimately associated with the folk revival was Sing Out!, an American

quarterly. Originally distributed as a left-wing publication entitled the Peoples 'Song

Bulletin, Sing Out! was retooled and renamed in 1950, although it could still feature

overtly political material, citing songs concerning the Soviet Bloc, Korean War, and the

draft. However, its leftist disposition softened by the end of the decade, and the magazine

began printing more popular and topical songs for an audience more willing to sing about

143 Ibid, 182. 144 Ibid, 182. 145 Ibid, 180. 146 Mitchell, "Visions", 600.

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political issues "than it was to be involved in any of them".147 The publication, which was

also conscious of folk happenings north of the border (usually the Toronto scene), was the

preferred source of folk information for Canadians as well. Even the socially-active Pete

Seeger contributed a regular column wherein he "recounted tales of his musical and

cultural discoveries".148

Although the commercial leanings of Sing Out! may have painted a rather

innocuous picture of the revival, periodicals such as Broadside remained staunchly

committed to the cause of political protest. Operating on a shoestring budget upon its

founding in 1962, Broadside was a mimeographed pamphlet comprising both hand­

written and typed song lyrics and editorials. Founded as a left-wing memorandum by

Agnes 'Sis' Cunningham and featuring the regular contribution of fellow former Almanac

Singer Pete Seeger, Broadside printed new and old topical songs from around the world

with the official charter that folk music should indeed remain a medium of political

activism. In fact, Broadside was the first to print the early protest songs of Phil Ochs and

Bob Dylan in 1963. Cohen describes it as "an outlet for contemporary topical songs,"

allowing special consideration to urban songwriters of the north, and civil rights

contributors in the south.149 Ideologically-speaking, Broadside was a move away from

both the traditionalist intention for folk music as well as the commercial exploitation of

the medium, and has persisted as such into the new millennium.

Other publications circulated at the time in order to cater to the diverse tastes of

audiences interested in folk music and culture. The East Village Other was founded in

147 Ibid, 602; Jackson, "The Folksong Revival", 75. 148 Mitchell, "Visions", 605, 602. 149 Ibid, 603; Norm Cohen, Folk Song America, 63.

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New York City in 1965 and soon became that city's premier counter-cultural bulletin.

Caravan was one of the few rivals of Sing Out!, although it focused more on industry

reviews than on the artists and songs themselves.150 In Canada, by 1965, the Canadian

Society for Traditional Music began producing a bi-annual newsletter which would soon

after become the Canadian Folk Music Journal edited by Edith Fowke. Although Sing

Out! and Broadside catered to the various tastes of style or tradition, respectively, many

smaller publications supplied the niche folk markets of purism and experimentation, the

conventional or the progressive.

Folk Music Radicalization

The commercial and aesthetically-pleasing nature of the folk revival described in

the pages of Sing Out! rivalled and complemented the spirit of protest so well

documented in Broadside. Among the young urbanites of the revival, political protest was

the order of the day. Pete Seeger and Woody Guthrie, champions of the Old Left who

acknowledged "the relationship between music and struggle," took up the flag of the civil

rights movement as they attempted to empower whites and blacks, during their modest

tours around the South.151 Just as the labour movement had informed the activism of

Guthrie and others around mid-century, civil rights, Vietnam War weariness, and

reactions to Cold War paranoia had come to inform the political folk music of the 1960s.

150 Ibid, 45. 151 Pete Seeger as quoted in Pete Seeger: The Power of Song, DVD.

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Lund claims that up to 1964 topical songwriters were "the vanguard of the folk music

revival".152 However, Seeger and Guthrie both believed that folk music could and should

be at once popular as well as political, since it "spoke the truth about everyday events in

plain language".153 Guthrie himself claimed that "the best stuff you can sing about is what

you saw and if you look hard enough you can see plenty to sing about".154 In this way it

was members of the Old Left whom had adapted to the conditions of the new and who

were able to span successfully the gulf between commerciality and protest.

Although Seeger, Peter, Paul and Mary, Phil Ochs, and the Kingston Trio had

recorded satirical or social commentary songs since the beginning of the boom period in

1958, it was not until the poetry of a 21-year-old Bob Dylan appeared in Broadside in

1961 that protest songs "made their way into the mass media".155 Dylan, in troubadour

style, not only penned the most poignant songs of the early period, but composed them

from scratch, albeit borrowing heavily from Guthrie, and providing the new generation of

singers an open door with which to protest the issues, with not only lyrical relevancy, but

with melodic novelty as well. Dylan was described as "the great white hope of the Left,"

and it was no wonder that the folk community reeled when the icon released Another Side

of Bob Dylan in 1964, which had tended to abandon political material in favour of more

introspective themes.156 The public and critics responded predictably, and the album was

Dylan's only, other than his first, to not appear in the Billboard charts.157

152 Eyerman, "From the 30's", 527; Lund, "The Folk Music Revival", 397. 153 Eyerman, "From the 30's", 527. 154 Woody Guthrie as quoted in Eyerman, 501. 155 Denisoff, Great Day Coming, 168. 156 Ibid, 184. 157 Norm Cohen, Folk Song America, 54.

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Moderation and Diversity in Canada

In Canada during the period, musician Ken Whitely claimed that the perspectives

were slightly different among English Canadian youth, since their experience with racism

had been much less pronounced than those in the United States. However, during the

1960s young people in both countries seemed to "long for unity and for understanding

among cultures, and the pluralism of the folk revival mirrored and helped to promote

their optimistic inclusive political outlook".158 Gillian Mitchell argues that the North

American revival went beyond the nationalist tendencies of past movements and engaged

a pluralism that encompassed both nations. She states that the revival celebrated North

American culture "as a place of infinite variety and eclecticism; it revelled in the obscure

and the detailed, and possessed a vision of 'unity in diversity"'.159 Mitchell suggests that

because of the diversity, pluralism, and adaptability of the revival, artists such as Gordon

Lightfoot, Ian and Sylvia, the Travellers, and Oscar Brand were able to make it their own

by taking part in a North American movement with concerns relative to both nations.

Later in the 1960s, as Americans became increasingly dissatisfied with their government,

Canadians were preparing for their own Centennial and English Canadian cultural

nationalism was peaking. Although the forces behind the revival transcended geopolitical

borders, the Canadian experience with the folk boom was one based on a brand of

pluralism unique to the prominent multicultural milieu of that nation.

158 Ken Whitely as quoted in Mitchell, "Visions", 611. 159 Mitchell, The North American Folk Music Revival, 67.

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Mitchell furthers her idea of cross-border orientation of folk music during the

revival by pointing out that Toronto's Mariposa festival was at least as accommodating to

diversity as was Newport. She claims that there was no definitive 'Canadian' sound

discernible at the former event, and that the agenda was simply "to represent as many

styles of folk music as possible".160 Principal Mariposa organizer Estelle Klein was

heavily influenced by the structure and success of Newport and was less concerned with

creating a uniquely Canadian festival than she was with insisting on breadth of

performance. Indeed, Mariposa emerged in 1961 as a viable alternative to Newport, and

artists and fans oscillated freely between the two.161 For a time then, it seemed as though

the revival had the potential for rallying entire nations to the social causes of the day.

Dylan and the Impending Decline

When Dylan confronted the Newport crowd in 1965 with an electric guitar and a

backing rhythm and blues band, however, those riding high on the idealism of pluralism

and activism recoiled. To those folkies, the electric instrumentation of rock music

represented the "popular = urban = crass, dishonest, polluted, [the] contemptible", and

the modern, as opposed to the purity of the rural folk and their music.162 What was worse,

Dylan had abandoned the virtue of protest in favour of more self-reflective themes. Editor

of Sing Out! magazine Irwin Silber initiated an open letter to Dylan, claiming that the star

160 Mitchell, "Visions", 601. 161 Ibid, 600. 162 Norm Cohen, Folk Song America, 54.

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had "somehow lost contact with the people" and reminded Dylan that musical statements

about reality must always contain protest.163 Indeed, the liner notes of Dylan's Another

Side album read: "I know no answers and no truth / for absolutely no soul alive /1 will

listen to no one / who tells me morals / there are no morals / and I dream alot [sic]".164

The "great white hope of folk consciousness had turned his back on it" and had "laughed

in church".165 Writing during the folk boom's fragmentation in the late 1960s, Ellen

Stekert declared Dylan to be "an existentialist who has lost the sense of his own

absurdity," and he "had become 'cool' and had developed the 'mute' sound".166 As Dylan

progressed down his new path, Stekert asserted: "His songs no longer have content, they

simply have style."167 Dylan had become the scapegoat for a stalling movement, and he

endured relentless jeers at his concerts as such after 1965.

Benjamin Filene argues, however, that attempts to describe a pre- and post-Dylan

to chart the demise of the revival are "off the mark".168 Dylan rejected "one manifestation

of the Folk revival, not revivalism as a whole" and just as he was ahead of his time,

benefiting from the rise of the movement, he was again one of the very first to stay ahead

of the curve and take the step into Rock music.169 Indeed, North American society

seemed poised for the next cultural experiment, and Dylan in 1965 seemed to

acknowledge the "naivety and impracticality of [folk's] political movements" of which he

himself had been at the fore.170 In fact, he was known to later claim that protest songs

163 Ibid, 54; Denisoff, Great Day Coming, 190. 164 Dylan as quoted in ibid, 184. 165 Ibid, 184. 166 Stekert, "Cents", 104. 167 Ibid, 103. 168 Filene, Romancing the Folk, 184. 169 Ibid, 215. 170 Mitchell, The North American Folk Revival, 108.

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were for himself from the beginning - merely a means for launching his career. Those

who professed to despise the musician's new direction actually tended to follow him into

the world of folk-rock the very next year, and Dylan enjoyed more success than he ever

had as a folk music troubadour.171

Folk Fragmentation

Like rock and roll before it, the folk boom of the early 1960s had seemed to

devolve into "a form of esoteric communication".172 The development of folk-rock "was

a return to the familiarity theme" which had once made both trends so attractive to the

youth and the college students of the day.173 By 1965 the Beatles had beaten Dylan to the

Rock and Roll punch, giving the music "a badly needed transfusion" by offering a fresh

approach to lyrics and experimental instrumentation.174 It was inevitable when folkies

began composing their own songs that the aesthetic value of this reinvigorated pop

medium would influence them in some capacity. The result was not a novel folk-rock

category that was initiated by Dylan, but a style that had been in the works for years. As

the traditional songs were used up, new ones were manufactured, launching the singer-

songwriter tradition, which itself promptly led to the amplified, electric instrumentation

associated with post-1965 Dylan.175 Many groups such as the Byrds, the Turtles, the

Lovin' Spoonful, the Mamas and the Papas, and Sonny and Cher, although borrowing

171 Denisoff, Great Day Coming, 174, 180. 172 Ibid, 185. 173 Ibid, 185. 174 Norm Cohen, Folk Song America, 65. 175 Weismann, Which Side, 14.

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from the bluegrass/country/roots aesthetics introduced by the folk revival into popular

music, were the logical consequence of youth culture and the relative ineffectual ity of

their political activism.176

In 1967 troop strength in Vietnam had surpassed 500,000 and the draft was in

effect, so many of the original folkies were focused on the futility of the war . Bruce

Jackson suggests that "the romantic idealism so much a part of the folk [movement] was

inappropriate in the climate of continually escalating violence" and "singing about social

and political problems was no longer adequate".177 After "the failures of peace protest

tactics," the "folk bubble had burst" sometime around 1966, and collective ownership had

failed at the hands of the folk-star system.178 Many folkies morphed into 'hippies' -

largely apolitical and concerned more with free love, recreational drugs, and Rock music,

than with protest. Lund points out that hippies "stressed a casual ideology of human love"

which in turn fostered the new Rock as an apolitical "vehicle for personal statement".179

In any case, by 1968 Sing Out!, as versatile as it had been, was $12,000 in debt, and

Newport and other festivals claimed financial disaster in 1969 - the very same year that

Woodstock attracted a quarter of a million spectators. Woodstock also marked the last

time Rock and Folk would be staged together in such a significant way.180

Perhaps the fate of the folk revival was sealed the moment its songs went

commercial. Who other than Pete Seeger (a beneficiary of the sanitization of folk songs)

and a few of his disciples could have resisted the financial opportunity as was being

176 Norm Cohen, Folk Song America, 65. 177 Jackson, "The Folksong Revival", 78. 178 Mitchell, The North American Folk Revival, 19. 179 Denisoff, Great Day Coming, 194; Lund, "The Folk Music Revival", 398. 180 Denisoff, Great Day Coming, 195; Jackson, "The Folksong Revival", 78.

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offered during the boom period? The irony of the situation was this: if an artist truly

wished to endorse the political message of his or her song, then it had to be submitted to

the capitalism mechanism of the music industry in order to reach as many ears as

possible. The ABC television show Hootenanny was such a medium, as the original

definition of the term (denoting a music-based popular uprising) was rendered as little

more than a light-hearted variety show "where nothing controversial would ever be

presented".181 Musician Roger McGuinn also pointed out that the show had whitewashed

the folk revival to the point of "bubblegum," just as American Bandstand had done to any

meaningful early rock and roll.182 Oddly enough, as the decline of the boom became

apparent to all, commentators predicted that eclectic jug bands would be the next big

thing. They were mistaken of course, and folk music ceased as a pop music powerhouse,

although it continues to thrive as an influence and as a niche market in its own rite.

Folk Boom Legacy

In April 2009 CBC Radio One broadcasted a recent concert recorded in Halifax

entitled Tunes for Troubled Times: Songs from the Depression Era. The show featured a

mix of American and Canadian performers interpreting some of the more enduring folk

songs popular during the 1930s. Although the boom period of the twentieth century folk

revival spanned less than a decade, the revival itself has endured to the present, and in

fact asserts itself significantly, particularly during times of political or economic

181 Richie Unterberger, Turn! Turn! Turn!: The 60's Folk-Rock Revolution (Backbeat Books, 2002), 61. 182 Roger McGuinn as quoted in ibid, 61.

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challenge such as during the current so-called recession which inspired the above-

mentioned concert. Furthermore, Ronald Cohen points out the "gestation period of the

folk music revival was long" and "understanding the revival can tell us as much about the

nature of society, culture, politics, and economics during the middle decades of the

twentieth century.183 Indeed, the folk revival has implications for both the historicist for

history's sake and the presentist.

Ron Eyerman reiterates that the short-lived second wave of the larger revival,

however, was "not simply a fad, but was a complex mix of commercialism and political

activism similar to that in the 1930s and 1940s.184 Although the commercial, activist, and

traditional features of the phenomenon could indeed inspire trendy devotion among

students and fans of folk music, the revival was more than an aesthetic musical

experience. It was both an avenue for a young generation to identify itself as unique

while at the same time invoking the political and social dissent of the previous generation

and their own music. Considering the social-economic and political historical context, as

well as the youthful optimism of the period, it was the right time for such a folk revival,

and its diverse yet complementary qualities of purism, protest, and popularity.

The Miramichi Connection

By the time Louise Manny established the Miramichi Folk Festival as New

Brunswick's most traditional musical event after 1958, North America was in the throes

183 R. Cohen, Rainbow Quest, x. 184 Eyerman, "From the 30's", 520.

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of the popular folk music revival. The popularity of the Kingston Trio, the Weavers, and

Bob Dylan, coupled with the political and social dissension of the baby boom/Civil

Rights generation, resulted in both the progressive utilization of folk song forms, parallel

with a conservative impulse to preserve that very music's conventional content and

delivery by groups such as the New Lost City Ramblers. Manny was ideologically

situated within the latter camp. Although established the same year as the soon-to-be

iconic and socio-politically charged Newport Folk Festival in Rhode Island, the

Miramichi event would remain decidedly amateur and non glamourous. In the words of

Steiner, under Manny, the event drew heavily on local culture and heritage - "an

affirmation of lumbermen and their families that gave them an impetus to continue

singing even after the demise of the lumbercamps".185

185 Margaret Steiner, "Regionalism, revival and the reformation of community at the Miramichi Folksong Festival," Lore & Language 12 (1994): 274.

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Chapter III: The Miramichi Context and the Early Folklore Career of Louise

Manny

The history of the Miramichi is often eclipsed by work concerning New

Brunwsick as a whole. In a province where the historiography focuses on frontier

hagiography, Loyalist legacies, Acadian history, and political-economic disenchantment,

comprehensive academic treatments of the Miramichi region are few to non-existent.186

According to local writer Wayne Curtis: "The Miramichier is an exaggerated Canadian;

New Brunswick's New Brunswicker."187 Indeed, the story of European/Canadian

settlement and development of the Miramichi watershed reflects the larger narrative of

rural and industrializing New Brunswick.

What is more, the area continues to be very much romanticized through images

and popular history that stress the primary-resource economy including salmon fishing,

lumbering, and mining. Other factors have contributed to the area's stereotyping during

the last quarter of the twentieth century, such as the resurgence of Irish heritage, the

crimes of Alan Legere, or the sometimes-unflattering depictions in the novels of David

Adams Richards. Although the residents of Miramichi have prospered in the past, the

contemporary reality of lower incomes, higher unemployment, and greater reliance on

government transfer payments have rendered residents more attuned to a bygone history

marked by nostalgia. Louise Manny, local antiquarian and booster, grew up amid

186 Other than the sources cited in this chapter, books such as Sally Armstrong's The Nine Lives of Charlotte Taylor: The First Woman Settler of the Miramichi (Vintage Canada, 2007); Dan Soucoup's Know New Brunswick: The Essential History (Maritime Lines, 2009); William Roberston MacKinnon's Over the Portage: Early History of the Upper Miramichi (New Ireland Press, 1998); and Arnold J. Somers' Memories of a Miramichi Lumberman (1994) are useful for this context. 187 Wayne Curtis, Currents in the Stream: Miramichi People and Places (Fredericton: Gooselane, 1988), xiii.

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privileged surroundings and witnessed first-hand the decline of the traditional lumber

trade that provided that security. During her early career as an amateur folklorist she

discovered the local folk and would go on to promote their symbols for the purposes of

communal solidarity.

The purpose of this chapter is to provide a historical background and context for

the region where Manny's staged her own revival. As one of Europe's oldest outposts in

the New World, which had continually experienced boom and bust cycles influenced by

both the trans-Atlantic and North American economies, the Miramichi by the 1950s was

ready to support a nostalgic revival. Manny, an increasingly respected collector and

project director who had the ear of Lord Beaverbrook, would eventually enjoy enough

cultural authority to shape the contemporary image of Miramichi according to her

nostalgic conscience.

The Lay of the Land

The Miramichi river, which begins far inland at the village of Juniper in Carleton

County, travels more than 250 kilometres through the heart of New Brunswick. At

Boiestown several tributaries converge to yield the Main Southwest Miramichi, which

continues 75 kilometres to Renous where it collects the flow of the substantial Renous

River. At Beaubears Point, opposite both Newcastle and Nelson, the main river joins with

the Little Southwest as well as the Northwest Miramichi branch to form the ocean-

navigable waterway, which continues to widen at and Chatham, then Loggieville, until it

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empties into the expanse of Miramichi Bay and into the Strait of Northumberland. In total

the Miramichi River watershed drains nearly one quarter of New Brunswick territory - an

area approximately 13,000 kilometres square.188

fig. 3.1: The Miramichi River Valleym

TZmm*nar

)8atttur*t

NOTVTHUMBERLAK^ \

COUNTY,

The majority of Miramichi Bay is in fact a flooded delta - at no place more than four

metres deep - with the original river cutting a navigable channel within. The interplay

between tidal forces, significant temperature variation, marine and freshwater mingling,

188 A. Rayburn, "Geographical Names of New Brunswick," Toponymy Study 2, Surveys and Mapping Branch, Energy Mines and Resources Canada, Ottawa, 1975. 189 Steve Heckbert, "The Miramichi," Canadian Geographic 104, no. 2 (1984): 59.

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as well as the protection of the barrier islands means that this vast estuary has become

one of the most fertile inshore fishery zones in North America. These conditions also

allow to thrive the renowned run of Atlantic Salmon, which has at times accounted for

one half of the sport catch of the animal in North America.190

The River in the French Era

Considering its prime location and economic potential then, the story of European

settlement in the Miramichi region is as venerable as any told about the 'New World'.

The place name itself is probably a result of the French/Mi'kmaq slang term

'Megumaagee', used as early as 1546 by missionaries and First Nations to describe the

entire region.191 Although the north-east coast of what is now the province of New

Brunswick had been possibly observed by the Vikings and John Cabot, as well as Henry

Hudson, Jacques Cartier, and Samuel de Champlain; it was not until the mid-seventeenth

century when an attempt at settlement was undertaken seriously by the French.

Comprising most of modern-day New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, the Seigneury

of Gaspesia was granted to Nicholas Denys, Sieur de Frontenac, in 1648. While his

attention was trained elsewhere during the English 'occupation' of Acadia during that

period, Denys did maintain a trading post near the present-day village Nelson on the

south bank lower Miramichi river in order to traffic in the plentiful staple resources that

would come to define the region as well as encourage future interest. In 1671, after the

190 Ibid, 59. 191 Earl English, Nelson and its Neighbours: 300 Years on the Miramichi (Miramichi: Earl English, 2002), 2.

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Treaty of Breda had returned control of the Acadia colony to France, Nicholas' son

Richard established a stone fort on the same site and spent considerably more time in the

area; enough to complain that the great quantity of salmon spawning in the nearby

waterway made sufficient noise to prevent him from sleeping at nights. The younger

Denys finally abandoned the remote settlement in 1691, and infelicitously perished on the

return journey to France. 'Fort Fronsac' was never re-established, and only a few pockets

of bold settlers and transient missionaries visited the watershed over the next 50 years.192

British Hegemony After 1755

The historical record is rather uneventful until 1756 when the tension between the

English and French reached its breaking point in the wake of the War of Austrian

Succession. Although the British failed to gain much territory on the rest of the North

American continent, Lieutentant-Colonel Robert Monckton was able to capture Fort

Beausejour and so secure a measure of British sovereignty within Acadia/Nova Scotia. In

fact, since 1713 Acadian neutrality was in question, and Governor Charles Lawrence

wasted little time initiating a deportation order that would eventually see 11,000 French-

speaking residents displaced from the only home they had known. In an attempt to escape

the British, 3,500 Acadian refugees travelled north, arriving in Miramichi in 1756.

Quebec-born naval officer Charles de Boisehebert would do his best to establish an

asylum on Beaubears Island (a variation of his name), but an English blockade of

192 Curtis, Currents, 126, 128.

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Miramichi Bay prevented supplies from reaching the stranded exiles, and many of the

Acadians either fled the site or else died of scurvy during the following harsh winter. In

1760, following the momentous British victory at Quebec, Commander John Byron razed

the remnants of Boisehebert's settlement, scattering the hapless refugees - albeit some

managed to remain near the Miramichi, and even settled there.193 This was the first of

such events that would eventually lead to the present cultural and demographic

heterogeneity of the area's social milieu. In fact, at least 28.6% of residents of the

'Greater Miramichi Region' today claim French as their mother tongue.194

Permanent Settlement and Early Industry

Five years after the final tragedy at Boisehebert's refuge, two Englishmen were

granted 100,000 acres around the Miramichi on the condition to colonize modestly the

area within twenty years. William Davidson and John Cort established a shipyard on

Beaubears and began constructing ships, such as the Miramichi - a 300-ton vessel

designed to carry virgin timber to foreign ports. The duo's thriving trade was stunted by

American privateers and hostile Natives during the American War of Independence, and

after Cort died of illness, Davidson decided to cut his losses, leaving the settlement to try

his luck in Maugerville, on the Saint John River. Curtis suggests, however, that Davidson

could not be apart from his "beloved wilderness" for long, and so the entrepreneur

193 J. Clarence Webster, An Historical Guide to New Brunswick (New Brunswick Government Bureau of Information and Tourist Travel, 1944), 128. 194 Based on 2001 Census data, reprinted at www.miramichi.org. This percentage refers to the 13,755 (compared to 33,035 English-speakers) out of the 48,100 total population of the 'region'.

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returned to the burned-out settlement, accompanied by his new wife.195 To avoid the

escheat of his grant Davidson also convinced a number of immigrating Loyalists to return

with him to the Miramichi. However, historian W.S. MacNutt noted that: "The settlement

did not acquire more than a transient quality."196 Consequently, New Brunswick achieved

colony status in 1784, in order to make concessions available for loyal immigrants.

Davidson's territorial possessions were reduced and his control of Beaubears Island and

Beaubears Point cancelled. However, Davidson persevered on his reduced endowment

and continued his activities from the nearby site of Newcastle.197

The Miramichi region's transition from trading outpost to an active port region

occurred about that time when Davidson launched his shipbuilding enterprise, which,

fuelled by a British demand and selective timber duties, would promptly trigger "a

century of local craftsmanship and prosperity".198 By securing a contract to export the

white pine to be shaped into masts for the British Royal Navy, the entrepreneur "stamped

the region forever as a lumbering country".199 After Davidson's death Scottish

entrepreneurs James Fraser and James Thom took on most of their predecessors' business

interests on the river - increasing shipbuilding production, establishing the most

successful general store in the province, and exporting the region's first squared timber

by 1792 - launching the great lumber trade that would dominate most of the nineteenth

century economy of the Miramichi.200

195 Curtis, Currents, 129. 196 W.S. MacNutt, New Brunswick, A History: 1784-1867 (Toronto: MacMillan of Canada, 1963), 40. 197 Ibid, 97. 198 Heckbert, "The Miramichi", 57. 199 Ibid, 57. 200 Curtis, Currents, 99. Graeme Wynn, "On the History of Lumbering in Northeastern America 1820-1960," Acadiensis 3, no. 2 (1974) points out the significant role of the timber industry in New Brunswick as well.

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After the turn of the century the British North American colonies received a

mercantilistic boost in the form of a timber tariff. In 1807 Napoleon's blockade of

Britain's access to the Baltic ensured that colonial enterprisers such as Fraser would find

a motivated market for his quality lumber. New Brunswick's thickly-wooded interior was

penetrated by several great rivers, so the British demand brought an unprecedented boom

period, of which provincial historian E.R. Forbes describes as irrevocably "giving its own

peculiar cast to the economy and to politics and society".201

Growth and Calamity

By 1825 the villages of the area had exceeded 1,000 residents, with Newcastle

leading the way. Chatham resident and writer Steve Heckbert points out that by this time

a cyclical budworm epidemic had left the surrounding forest "a tinderbox", and strewn

with deadwood.202 In a mere ten hours the largest forest fire on record destroyed some

15,000 acres of woodland - nearly one quarter of New Brunswick's terrain. On the

Miramichi, Newcastle was hit the hardest, and 100 residents perished, while only six

buildings were left standing among the smouldering ruins. Heckbert points to the

communal implications of this historic disaster, noting that "since that time the

inhabitants of Miramichi have taken adversity in stride".203 As expected, the song 'The

201 Forbes, "New Brunswick". 202 Heckbert, "The Miramichi", 57. 203 Curtis, Currents, 99; Heckbert, "The Miramichi", 57. In New Brunswick, 216 MacNutt suggests that after the fire "the demeanour of the population had become more pacific, so that it was considered safe to remove - at least for the winter season - the troops who had been quartered there for the previous six years". Indeed, the fire had actually encouraged many residents to turn to agriculture, a much more sedentary vocation. In fact, by mid-century, Census data suggest an economy largely based on agriculture.

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Miramichi Fire' remains a staple in the local repertoire and a clarion call for solidarity

within the community.

By the early part of the nineteenth century, Irish and Scottish settlers had arrived

in the Miramichi basin en masse. Fig 3.2 shows the rise in number of those claiming

particular ethnic ancestry, especially after the 1860s ('French' data not available for

1861). What is more, Catholic churches, such St. Patrick's in Nelson, would now dot the

landscape and add to the cultural-religious milieu. Fig 3.3 demonstrates the similarity in

number between those adhering to either the Catholic or Protestant faiths. The slight

predominance of the former church points to both French confidence and the Irish

character of the Miramichi.

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Fig 3.2: Northumberland County Residents Claiming Ethnic Ancestry204

B Irish B Scottish • French 10,000

7,500

5,000

2,500

0 1861 1881 1911 1931

Within a decade after the tragedy, the Great Fire was consigned to memory, the

villages were restored and thriving once again, and the lower river was saturated with

shipyards intended to service the surging timber trade.205 The Miramichi was poised to

enjoy the fruits of the British North American timber boom. But with the boom came a

measure of lawlessness. Moreover as MacNutt wrote, "The Miramichi had always been

voluble and explosive. The addition of a potent Irish ingredient appreciably increased

204 Data compiled from the following volumes: Census of 1686, 20-21; Census of 1767, 72; Census of 1834, 115; Census of 1840, 129; Census of 1851, 224-230; Census of 1861, 332-339; Census of 1881, 222-227; Census of 1911, 179-181; Census of 1921, 22-23, 402-403, 624-625; Census of 1931, 36-37, 96-107, 340-341; Census of 1941, 52-83, 298-299, Department of Government Documents, University of New Brunswick, Fredericton. 205 Curtis, Currents, 129.

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these qualities."206 Although the Irish-borne Hibernian Society had become a benevolent

social force after 1824, several recently-arrived Irish gangs were known to roam the area,

"seizing and destroying property at will".207 The combination of geographical isolation

and economic opportunity ensured that the burgeoning towns earned their reputations

comprising "vexations both of body and spirit".208

The Decline of the Timber Trade

MacNutt pointed out that during the first part of the nineteenth century the

Miramichi region held the best opportunities for those in search of the dwindling pine

timber reserves. By the 1830's the waterfront was littered with shipyards, and the benefits

of the preferential British tariff were replaced by the equally lucrative demands of the

Crimean and American Civil Wars, as well as a reciprocity treaty with the United States,

ensured a ready market for New Brunswick lumber for decades to come. By industry's

peak in 1857 in fact, the Miramichi builders had produced 36 ships within that year

alone, and during the same period forest products accounted for nearly 80% of New

Brunswick's exports 209 Not surprisingly, rivalries emerged on both sides of the

Miramichi river, most notably between industrial magnates Joseph Cunard in Chatham

and Alexander Rankin based in Newcastle. In an effort to gain influence over logging

rights and markets, each man backed a politician agreeable to their position. During these

206 MacNutt, New Brunswick, 180 also mentions that at Confederation the Irish component in Miramichi was proportionately the same as it was in Saint John. 207 Ibid, 180. 208 Ibid, 180. 209 Ibid.

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'fighting elections' of the 1840's one local man was actually killed during a partisan riot,

and troops were dispatched from Fredericton to restore order.210

By the 1860s, however, the Reciprocity Treaty had been cancelled and iron-hulled

ships were beginning to replace those manufactured from wood - especially in Great

Britain, and in the United States for the Civil War happening there. As a result, the

demand for lumber and traditional shipbuilding began to decline, and accordingly the

Miramichi economy was compelled to adapt. Locally-hewn lumber, which had been sold

abroad since the days of Fraser, now struggled as the region's primary export, and so

sawmills became the area's main employers. Catherine A. Johnson points out that the

local economy successfully made the transition to sawmilling and "exploitation of the

rich timber lands of the Miramichi [continued to bring] prosperity to communities like

Newcastle".211 Further accommodating the flourishing trade in milled lumber was the

arrival of the long-promised Intercolonial Railway at Newcastle in 1875. Industrialist J.B.

Snowball arrived in Chatham from Lunenburg during this period and became one of the

most successful business moguls in Miramichi history; employing ninety men at the

height of his activities. Considered both a progressive thinker and a robber baron,

Snowball also installed the first telephone system in the area by 1880.212 However, while

the industrial economy was thriving, and the population growing, this reconfiguration of

the industrial base to that of sawmilling again left the Miramichi dependent on its

surrounding resources.

210 Curtis, Currents, 100. 211 Forbes, "New Brunswick"; Catherine A. Johnson, "The Search for Industry in Newcastle, New Brunswick, 1899-1914," Acadiensis 13, no. 1 (1983): 93. 212 Curtis, Currents, 101, 158.

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The Quest For Diversification After 1875

Johnson reveals that despite the staple resource predominance during the latter

three decades of the nineteenth century, a new "leadership element" was determined to

diversify the economy starting in the 1890s.213 Aware of further declining global markets

for wood products, due to American tariffs, West coast competition, and the aggregation

of precious capital among the single-minded lumber magnates, a determined group of

local merchants, "united in their concern for the economic welfare of their community",

established the Newcastle Board of Trade in 1894.214 Of them, J.D. Creighan had arrived

from Scotland and had opened branches of his dry goods business in Newcastle,

Chatham, and Moncton by 1905. Patrick Hennesy arrived during the Irish famine in 1853

and was a ship carpenter until he established a grocery business in 1875 that would grow

into "a large wholesale and retail trade" by the end of the century.215 Prominent politician

and future provincial Minister of Public Works, John Morissy, had maintained a

successful furniture and farm implements business. Finally, Donald Morrison, "the most

active in the group", was native to the area, a joiner by trade, and a clothing and furniture

retailer.216 Johnson argues that the Miramichi economy was hardly devoid of

entrepreneurial talent, but that the blessings of the National Policy - mixed as they were

for the Maritimes - were minimized in the Miramichi because of a deep-seated and

213 Johnson, "The Search", 96. 214 Ibid, 96; Forbes, "New Brunswick". 215 Johnson, "The Search", 96. 2,6 Ibid, 96.

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uncompromising dependency on the staple trades. The Miramichi merchants pursued and

achieved Newcastle's incorporation in 1899, which dislodged the town from the purview

of the sawmill-minded county. In addition, the move would also facilitate any

improvement of those municipal services amenable to attracting industry, and was what

Johnson claims as "a vital component in the quest for the town's economic

rejuvenation".217

Because of opposition emanating from the "older, established elite, made up

principally of sawmill owners", the Board of Trade was significantly impeded from

attracting modern industry.218 Towns such as Moncton, New Glasgow, Marysville,

Yarmouth, and Amherst were less inhibited by long-standing reliance on their resource

economies and so made the best of the circumstances afforded by confederation and the

National Policy. By the time Newcastle entrepreneurs and politicians began lobbying for

similar manufacturing opportunities, they found themselves up against tough regional

competition as well as "the superior capital infrastructure of central Canadian

industries".219 Consequently, the area's reliance on mills and the resource economy was

far from concluded.

Lumber baron Allan Ritchie of D.J. Ritchie Lumber Company was one of the

most prominent citizens on the river. Aside from employing more than one hundred

hands, Ritchie was well-respected, and was even elected mayor by acclamation upon

Newcastle's incorporation in 1899. Along with fellow sawmill operators Edward Sinclair

and W.A. Hickson, Ritchie was both suspicious of, and justifiably threatened by emerging

217 Ibid, 97. 218 Ibid, 95. 219 Ibid, 111.

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modern industries edging into his monopoly over the town's economy. Although

incorporation offered promise for the diversification of Miramichi's commercial base;

during that same year the lumbering elite still commanded significant influence within

the municipal government - comprising six of the eight town council members.220 The

Miramichi economy was still firmly tied to its staple resource base by the turn of the

twentieth century, and modern industrial opportunities seemed to be overlooking the town

as the new century got underway. Johnson suggests that by 1900 there was "a strong

sense that Newcastle had somehow been by-passed by the wave of progress and

industrialization sweeping across the North American continent".221 Nearby Chatham, on

the south bank of the river, had managed to capitalize its industry at a modest one million

dollars, while Newcastle could boast less than a fifth of that amount.222

The Promise of Pulp and Paper

A new wood product, pulp and paper, would challenge New Brunswick's

"entrenched lumber interests" in the years after World War I.223 The new sector, which

required substantial capital in advance, would reorganize a crumbling Miramichi

economy as part of "a second industrial revolution in the New Brunswick forest

220 Curtis, Currents, 101; Johnson, "The Search", 96. 221 Ibid, 93. 222 Ibid, 109. Johnson also shows that even promising manufacturers like the Anderson Furniture Company were in financial trouble by 1908, and the plant actually burned down in August of the that year. After a controversial court ruling Anderson fully recouped his losses while the town was left with little choice but to repay the $4,000 loan balance. Anderson eventually relocated to Halifax and the entire affair injured the cause of Donald Morrison and his contemporaries on the Newcastle Board of Trade. 223 Bill Parenteau, "The Woods Transformed: The Emergence of the Pulp and Paper Industry in New Brunswick, 1918-193l,"^cac//era7s 22, no. 1 (1992): 6.

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industries".224 In 1913 the United States, hungry for newsprint, had rescinded its tariff on

foreign paper. Exploiting the lucrative opportunity, Canada's gross export of the

commodity reached $100 million by 1920. In fact, most American newsprint in this

period was manufactured in Canada "where abundant pulpwood and water power and

generous provincial industrial policies could not be matched by opportunities" south of

the border.225 The Miramichi lumber barons were on the defensive but secure for the time

being, aware that New Brunswick had yet to establish an adequate hydro-electric system

to power the large manufactories required by the pulp and paper industry. Yet the

provincial government wasted no time conceding to the demands of the promising new

industry by "facilitating the transfer of Crown land" and by providing "generous water

power concessions" by the early 1930s.226

The scale of fixed capital required for pulp and paper mills translated into a

reliance on outside investment. Each pulp and paper enterprise demanded "multi-million

dollar investments in plant and machinery, hundreds of square miles of forest holdings,

and access to large blocks of electrical power".227 Activities on the European front further

stimulated the American demand for newsprint, and central Canadian capital poured into

the New Brunswick in the form of International Paper, which largely bought up plants

and land for speculative purposes, along with the interest of regional players such as the

Fraser and Bathurst Companies. The Miramichi Lumber Company, the leading exporter

of pulpwood from Crown land, became "the primary target of the manufacturing

224 Ibid, 6. 225 Ibid, 7. 226 Ibid, 6. 227 Ibid, 8.

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condition provisions", and was even accused by the Minister of Lands of impeding

progress by "ignoring the manufacturing position" and "robbing the province of labour

that properly belongs to us".228 Parenteau writes of a reactionary "undercurrent of

hostility" aimed at the upstart pulp and paper venture. More importantly, the inconsolable

lumber magnates still maintained control over the valuable Crown acreage. The early

capital investors of the new industry had little recourse but to purchase the land privately

or else re-negotiate the Crown land leases.229 Within the context of post-1918 depression

of which Forbes describes, "the virtual collapse of a manufacturing sector further

undercut by adverse federal policies in tariffs and transportation" reduced New

Brunswick's already minimal commercial opportunities within a nominal national

economy.230 However, the transition to pulp and paper manufacturing in the province was

well underway, and in 1927 the 350 square kilometre Crown lease at Newcastle was

bought up by International Paper (IP). In short order negotiations proceeded to transfer

and sell the leases of "four other established lumbermen on the river" who had indeed

been cutting very little wood since the market crash in 1921.231 Comprising Bathurst

Company, Fraser Company, and IP, Parenteau's "pulp triumvirate", had decisively

"displaced the storied lumber barons, who for generations had been an unrivalled

political and economic force ion the province".232 Two thirds of the province's leased

Crown land were ceded to these three entities by 1929 and the marginalization of the

lumber industry was complete by 1931. Those who did not adapt or get out, suffered

228 Ibid, 15. 229 Ibid, 9. 230 Forbes, "New Brunswick". 231 Parenteau, "The Woods Transformed", 36. 232 Ibid, 7.

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bankruptcy as their reward. And although it would experience "surges of recovery"

during the next two decades, the lumber trade's access to its primary resource would be

severely limited, while the pulp and paper consortium was free to expand its enterprise -

albeit within the reduced economic potential of the Depression.233

Growing Disappointment in the New Industry

Despite the optimism surrounding pulp and paper, the wave of industrial promise

seemed to have bypassed the Miramichi once again during the 1930s. New industrial

zones centred on half a dozen pulp and paper plants in Edmundston, Dalhousie, Bathurst,

Saint John, and elsewhere, emerged literally overnight. The Miramichi area was left

without a plant of its own, few markets for their wood, and most significantly, with no

legal privileges to its local forest resource. In an ironic twist in the demise of the lumber

trade, the available local land had been fully transferred by 1931 to the Miramichi

Lumber Company, now a subsidiary of Fraser Ltd.234

Between 1926 and 1934 total provincial capital investment in New Brunswick

sawmilling fell from 21.7% to 5.7%, respectively. And although pulp and paper

investment had increased from 18% to 33.1% during the same period, the industry would

233 Ibid, 41. 234 Ibid, 43, 37.

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not become be the golden goose it had been lauded as just a few years earlier. In fact, the

optimism surrounding the new industry would not be validated until after WWII. In the

meantime, a number of merchants, shipbuilders, and lumbermen managed to funnel their

available capital into foundries, textile mills, refineries, and mines (such as the copper

and zinc in the Miramichi). However, most of them succumbed to what Forbes describes

as a negative cycle that would play out in Miramichi and elsewhere in the Maritimes. His

"classic pattern" outlines the downward spiral of: local industrial initiative, followed by

an inability to modernize, inevitable failure, and the eventual take-over and exploitation

by distant capitalists.235 Consequently, several decades of economic underdevelopment in

the province had prevented any improvement in the standard of living. To make matters

even worse, federal policies favouring central Canadian capital and manufacturing

ventures left the Maritimes in dire straits when the Great Depression arrived in full force,

and local governments struggled to provide even basic services. By 1940 New

Brunswick's education and health spending were only slightly higher than half the

national average, and illiteracy and infant mortality rates were still the highest in the

country. Furthermore, it would not be until the 1960s when the recommendations of the

Rowell-Sirois Report underlined the need for federal payments to 'have-not' provinces

would be put into effect.236

235 Ibid, 43; Forbes, "New Brunswick". 236 Ibid.

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The Bottom Line

The economic weakness of post World War II New Brunswick was reviewed in

1951 by Saint John's Telegraph Journal, which lamented the preferential treatment to

central Canadian wheat by the proposed St. Lawrence Seaway, superior defence spending

in Nova Scotia, and a $43 million expansion of the ill-fated Dominion Steel and Coal

Corporation in the early 1950s. The piece claimed that New Brunswick's best

entrepreneurs "are beating their way to Montreal and Toronto. Whole families are

migrating."237 Later that week the publication asked: "What is the sense in spending

thirty times as much upon the education of our children as we do upon providing for their

future gainful employment? ... We raise them, teach them, and are lucky to see them on

their summer vacations after they have grown up."238 The buoyancy accompanying the

pulp and paper industry had petered out and New Brunswick, and especially the

Miramichi, had little to show for centuries of pioneering innovation.

Although it seemed like the Miramichi had been bypassed by modern industry yet

again, the residents had in fact come to terms with centuries of boom and bust, and the

river-side towns were getting by despite the ramifications of federal neglect, Depression,

and world war. In 1948 the CBC Board of Governors, assessing the merits of establishing

a station station in Newcastle, discovered a bustling community, complete with 6

wholesale establishments, 113 retail outlets, six bakeries, nine hotels, and twenty garages,

with the town edging out Chatham slightly in each category. "Newcastle and Chatham

237 The Telegraph Journal, August 22, 1951,4. 238 The Telegraph Journal, August 25, 1951,4

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combined", they claimed, "are the third largest shipping port in the Maritime provinces"

and concluded their survey, confident to sell over $40,000 worth of air time here on the

new station.239

Hope in Mining

In keeping with the established and cyclical trend of resource exploitation/

dependence in Miramichi, a new primary industry was inspiring optimism by the 1950s.

Concluding an undated sketch entitled "Miramichi's Historic Background" Louise

Manny claimed that "the new Miramichi industry is mining".240 "It has always been

known that this country was rich in minerals," she writes, "but for various reasons there

was little prospecting. The nearby mine at Little River promises a new era for

Miramichi."241 Heath Steele Mine began operations in the north-west Miramichi valley in

1956 and the zinc and copper it produced ensured economic windfalls for the area for

several decades. But although the modern facility added to the Miramichi's solid

reputation as a diverse and modernized town; mining, like pulp and paper - and

sawmilling before that - proved to suffer from its own stints of boom and bust, and in fact

would present its own set of social, economic, and environmental problems.242

239 CBC Board of Governors to Newcastle Board of Trade, 1948 (PANB MC1307 MS3C2b). 240 Louise Manny, "Miramichi's Historic Background" (PANB MC1307 MS1A3) 241 Ibid. 242 William M. Luff, "A History of Mining in the Bathurst Area, norther New Brunswick, Canada," C1M Bulletin 88, no. 994 (October 1995), 63.

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The Negative Cycle of Resource Dependence

As late as 1984 when he penned his article for Canadian Geographic, Heckbert

romanticized about a Miramichi watershed where in a few communities "the sound of the

sawmill whistle still dominates everyday life, and Russell & Swim of Doaktown still uses

horses to haul logs to the roadside".243 The columnist wrote of New Brunswick's largest

inshore fishing fleet based at Escuminac, as well as 5,000 private wood lots which

provide significant income to as many families. "Most riverfolk earn a living by

exploiting natural resources," Heckbert posited, "primarily wood and fish. The best

efforts to promote secondary manufacturing have failed to alter this fundamental

reliance."244 The story of economic misfortune is certainly not unique to Miramichi, nor

is it a story told only about the Maritimes. This situation, however, allowed an influential

community historian and activist to both shape and reinforce a particular version of

Miramichi culture - thereby turning economic disadvantage into advantageous

community solidarity.

A Preamble to Louise Manny

Louise Elizabeth Manny grew up, worked, and collected within this particular

Miramichi context. Born on February 21, 1890 in Gilead, Maine into the comfortable but

waning circumstances surrounding the lumber trade; by the time of her death in August

243 Heckbert, "The Miramichi", 58. Russell & Swim continues to provide millwork for approximately 130 employees. 244 Ibid, 56.

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1970 at the age of eighty she had been bestowed with such honours as honorary Doctor of

Law degrees from both the University of New Brunswick and St. Thomas University,

momentous honorary mentions from both the Association for State and Local History and

the Town of Newcastle, and the National Council of Jewish Women's Centennial award

for "outstanding service to Canadian cultural life". A monument at Newcastle Square, and

a mountain in New Brunswick's Historians Range was given her name.245 She had

authored countless regular newspaper columns as well as four books related to the history

of the Miramichi and New Brunswick. Manny also maintained her own locally popular

radio program, and oversaw or was consulted about significant local cultural campaigns.

She also founded the Newcastle Historical Society and nearly single-handedly initiated

and managed the town's first public library. What is more, she volunteered her precious

spare time with the Miramichi Hospital Board, the Children's Aid Society, and the Red

Cross during both World Wars. She welcomed anyone seeking advice for their own

undertakings, and was one of only eight lifetime corresponding members of the New

Brunswick Museum. Most significantly for this thesis, Manny collected and preserved

hundreds of disappearing folk songs in the Miramichi area and established, and managed

Canada's longest-running folk festival, almost until her death.

Describing only a handful of Heroes of New Brunswick, Arthur T. Doyle

discussed her role as "Miramichi's most outstanding citizen".246 She also excelled in

tennis and badminton, earning provincial titles for the former during the 1930s and for

245 W.D. Hamilton, Dictionary of Miramichi Biography (Saint John: Hamilton, 1997): 222; Curtis, Currents, 121; Hamilton, Dictionary, 223; Donna I larriman, Louise Manny (Chatham: Miramichi Literary Council, 1985): 14. 246 The Telegraph Journal, August 21, 1970; The Telegraph Journal, August 20, 1970, 2; Arthur T. Doyle, Heroes of New Brunswick (Fredericton: Brunswick Press): 99.

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the latter into the 1950s. Manny has been described affectionately and reverently as a

"cultural innovator", exhibiting a "very happy disposition" and being "most considerate

and kind in her remarks about others".247 Finally, her faith was widely known to have

been "deeply personal rather than formal in church affiliation and outward expression".248

The Early Years

Manny's father Charles was of Dutch ancestry via New York and hailed from

Winchester, Massachusetts, while her mother, Minette, had lived in nearby Bethel. Louise

would be the couple's only child. Charles had been in charge of the American Bobbin

Spool and Shuttle Works in Gilead before being offered a managerial position at the R.

Corry Clark plant in Newcastle in 1893.249 The business of exporting spool-wood - a type

of white birch used for making thread spools - was still lucrative enough that the Manny's

family was able to establish a comfortable life in their new home in New Brunswick.

A local author describes the young Manny as precocious, learning to read before

the age of four. Later, she attended St. Mary's Academy, and then Harkin's Academy, in

Newcastle. Although only a handful of women in Canada began attending colleges after

the 1870s, in 1913 Manny enjoyed the means to complete her secondary education at

Halifax Ladies' College, learn French at an Ursuline Convent in Quebec, and earned a

B.A. Honours degree in both English and French at McGill.250 Although before 1917,

247 The North Shore Leader, August 20, 1970, 2; Curtis, Currents, 120; The Telegraph Journal, August 21, 1970, 2; Hamilton, Dictionary, 222. 248 The Telegraph Journal, August 23, 1970, 2. 249 Hamilton, Dictionary, 222; The North Shore Leader, August 23, 1970, 1; Curtis, Currents, 118. 250 Harriman, Louise Manny, 5-6; University of Maine Online - Folklife Center, "Louise Manny".

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women in Canada had yet to enjoy the right to vote and were a minority in academic

circles; Manny seemed to make no qualms about her decision to remain unmarried or to

pursue a life of higher learning. Moreover, her advanced education and privileged status

contributed to the sense of independence which commanded so much acquiescence

during her later career and pursuits.

Manny Returns to the Miramichi

During World War I, Manny returned to Halifax, this time as an instructor of arts

at the Halifax Ladies' College of which she was a recent graduate. Within a year,

however, Manny decided against pursuing a career in teaching. Considering her later

calling as a prolific local historian and mentor to so many, it is unclear why she left the

vocation in her mid-twenties, although much of the impetus must have been due to her

father being rendered disabled from a severe illness that eventually resulted in fourteen

years of hospitalization. In any case, Manny gave up the cosmopolitan lifestyle to which

she had become accustomed, and returned to Newcastle to assist the family by filling in

for her father at the plant.251

Although she was educated and talented enough to pursue a professional career in

the big city, Manny "chose to make her life amid the quiet beauty of New Brunswick",

and what was supposed to be a temporary placement turned into a thirty-year tenure at

the Clark plant.252 She gradually assumed the responsibilities of her father and later

251 Harriman, Louise Manny, 6; Curtis, Currents, 120. 252 Vera L. Daye, "Songs for Beaverbrook," Saturday Night, October 18, 1949, 32.

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became the secretary of his partner there. In fact, Manny became a prized employee;

lauded as performing the duties of three people, in addition to brokering insurance and

dealing in antiques in her spare time. Even as late as 1949 Manny was still managing

company paperwork, from her home, and claiming to be "still in the spool-wood

business".253 The managerial and administrative skills she learned during this period

would prove invaluable for her later ventures.

The Lure of Local History

The educated and highly self-dependent Manny was one of those more ambitious

of the above-mentioned group, and as early as 1935 the budding historian was jotting

down popular lore and superstitions such as ascending a staircase beginning with the

right foot, or making certain to step on cracks in a sidewalk. No doubt aware of the social

consequences of remaining unmarried in rural Canada during the Depression Manny

recorded much lore about marriage and children. In her notebook she writes: "In peeling

an apple, keep the peel in one piece, swing it around your head 3 times, contrary to the

direction of the sun and drop it behind you. The letter it forms is the initial of the man

you will marry."254 This source also reveals that Manny was a voracious reader, and that

she informally reviewed many of the books that she read on a daily basis. Classics by

Emily Dickinson, H.G. Wells, and William Blake were all subject to her commentary. In

addition, Manny made note of a myriad of topics; from "Chinese Art" to

253 Hamilton, Dictionary, 222; Daye, "Songs", 32. 254 Louise Manny, "Notebook" (MCI307 MS3).

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"Czechoslovakia!! Architecture", revealing in a curiosity that spanned the Arts and

Humanities.255

By the 1940s Manny was easing into semi-retirement and enjoyed the means to

travel the region collecting antiques, such as furniture, "some of it brought by the first

settlers".256 Saturday Night columnist Vera L. Daye also learned that this Miramichi

personality collected vintage glass and books and was a fixture at many antique auctions.

Wayne Curtis notes that long before her commission by Lord Beaverbrook, Manny had

become "a valuable source of information on antiques, folklore, old books, glassware and

art".257 Indeed, Indiana-based folklore historian Margaret Steiner argues that "her

antiquarian interests soon established her as the historian of the Miramichi" and her zeal

for all things local was unique in the region, long before the later allure of the concept of

'heritage'.258

255 Ibid. 256 Daye, "Songs", 32. 257 Ibid, 32; Curtis, Currents, 120. 258 Margaret Steiner, "The Life and Legacy of a New Brunswick Folksong Collector" (presented at Centenary Conference of the Folk Song Society in Great Britain, 1999).

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Fig. 3.4: A Mi'Kmaq Moose Call Horn from Manny's Collection259

A Passion for Collecting

From 1930, and for at least twenty years, Manny contributed historical sketches

on a weekly basis to The Union Advocate as well as other local newspapers in a column

aptly entitled "Scenes From Another Day". Moreover, Louise frequently composed

"narrative verses" herself, such as the popular ongoing serial recounting the

misadventures of the "rascal Joe Cunard", brother of the famous Chatham lumber

baron.260 By this time her amateur historical pursuits were exhibiting signs of

professional methods, and it was reported that when she asked for assistance, Manny

259 New Brunswick Museum, Saint John, NB, 1958.100. In addition to the music and lore of the Miramichi Folk Manny had amassed a wealth of local antiques and material culture. Much of it, like this moose-call, was gradually donated to the New Brunswick Museum in Saint John; University of New Brunswick Online, "Progress and Permanence: Women and the New Brunswick Museum: 1880-1980". 260 Hamilton, Biography, 222; Daye, "Songs", 32.

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would reply: "Do your own research, which makes a much more interesting study than a

rehash of someone else's findings."261 Delivering her eulogy in 1970 Reverend Elton C.

Smith spoke with sincerity of Manny and of the cultural awareness she kindled,

declaring:

In this day when men are so inclined to despise the past and live for the immediate moment, Dr. Manny has been a force in our midst to underline the importance of our past and the necessity of learning its great lessons. Not only that but she has helped to rejoice in our heritage to discover in it things that enrich and fulfill our lives today.262

Manny wished to formalize her commitment to local history and in 1959 founded the

Miramichi Historical Society, which she directed for most of the rest of her life. The

society was incorporated in 1970 and maintains a museum in Newcastle to this day.

Manny's reputation as an expert on all things Miramichi could not be restrained within

local boundaries and in 1953 she was recommended to write a piece on Northumberland

County for The Canadian Encyclopedia. Carefully crafting a series of drafts in short

order, Manny was elated and immersed herself in the local contribution to a national

undertaking.263

Perhaps it was the whispers of local history, recounting the evocative sagas of the

great river, itself the seat of the colonial timber trade and shipbuilding industry, and home

to colourful and international personalities that had captured the imagination of Louise

Manny from a young age. In any case, Manny was enamoured with history; and although

she was meticulous and attentive with her subjects, her lack of professional training

261 University of New Brunswick Online - Progress and Permanence, "Louise Manny". 262 The Telegraph Journal, August 22, 1970, 2. 263 Hamilton, Biography, 222; The North Shore Leader, August 22, 1970, 1; John E. Robbins to Louise Manny, October 14, 1953 (PANB MC1307).

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allowed for a measure of nostalgia to penetrate her writing. For example, pondering the

supernatural tales of the area during the late 1950s, Manny writes:

I don't know why ghosts are so fond of bridges, but they are. At Morrison Cove a lady bars your way - at least she used to, on the old wooden bridge. 1 don't know if she moved over to the new cement one or not. Maybe she disdains the march of progress, and haunts in solitary grandeur on the old wooden bridge.264

While that progressive, modernizing march had by this time arrived in Miramichi - albeit

cautiously in the forms of pulp and paper and an air force base - Manny, who had grown

up and worked within the traditional lumber trade, found her natural calling as a

historical folklorist, claiming, "Sometimes I think that the folk tales of the past even more

interesting than the facts."265

Lord Beaverbrook as Catalyst

Before the folklore career of Manny can be surveyed, the patronage and impetus

provided by Lord Beaverbrook must be taken into consideration. Current director Susan

Butler, who has experienced first-hand the impact of Manny's legacy, points out:

We talk a lot about Louise Manny, but whenever I do a presentation I always make sure I have Beaverbrook in it because he's the mainstay. If he hadn't requested her to go out and collect the folk songs - well we wouldn't have had one - we wouldn't have had a folksong festival.266

As a philanthropist, Beaverbrook helped the University of New Brunswick grow

into a significant entity after the 1950s and his scholarships have assisted hundreds of the

264 Manny, 'Miramichi Tales' Interview. 265 Ibid. 266 Susan Butler, telephone interview, February 16, 2010.

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province's top students. He also funded an art gallery in Fredericton as well as local

hockey arenas. Butler agrees that, "When Beaverbrook gave anything, it was nothing but

the best."267 Indeed, he professed love for his Miramichi homeland, and made it a point to

return every year. Hamilton further claimed: "All residents of the Miramichi over the past

50 or more years have benefited directly or indirectly from his largess," or as some have

claimed - his paternalism.268 Like American industrial mogul Henry Ford, whose

affection for the apparently exceptional American pioneer spirit inspired millions of

dollars in 'heritage' project funding, Beaverbrook donated substantial moneys toward

cultural improvements in the town of his youth. Born of nostalgia, it was indeed the

insistence of Beaverbrook that Manny track down the venerable folk music of his youth.

When Lord Beaverbrook decided in 1946 to finance the sorely-needed restoration

of Wilson's Point, the eighteenth century Acadian cemetery along the Miramichi River

where he explored as a boy, there were few more qualified than Manny to serve as project

director. She was well-acquainted with the rich history as well as the physical geography

of that outcropping of land opposite Beaubears Island. In August 1948 The Union

Advocate described the progress of the clean-up "under the direction of a famous New

Brunswick historian". Manny's housekeeper, Mrs. Jared McLean, recounted how, at the

site, "not a tree was to be cut or a wild flower uprooted without her say so".269 As with all

of her endeavours, Manny engaged in the project with an almost urgent sense of

267 Butler, telephone interview. 268 Curtis, Currents, 116; Hamilton, Biography, 11. Among the most comprehensive biographies about Beaverbrook include: Alan Wood, True History of Lord Beaverbrook (Heinemann, 1965); David Adams Richards, Extraordinary Canadians: Lord Beaverbrook (Penguin Canada, 2008); and Jacques Poitras, Beaverbrook: A Shattered Legacy (Goose Lane Editions, 2007). 269 The Union Advocate, August 28, 1948, 2; Harriman, Louise Manny, 12.

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commitment, and visited the site almost every day until the historic park and cemetery,

later called the 'Enclosure', met her exacting standards. It was finally completed three

years later and Beaverbrook was so impressed by her diligence and devotion during the

undertaking that he again called on Manny's services to head up his next municipal

benefaction. After 1951 'the Square', a floral park, meeting place, and concert venue,

would become the centre of Newcastle's downtown for many decades hence.270 As a

result of these projects, Manny's reputation as an irrepressible force promoting local

history, community awareness, and improvement in the Miramichi region had been

cemented.

Manny's next venture, under the patronage of Beaverbrook, would be the closest

to her heart. Since 1930 Manny had filled an advisory position on the council for the New

Brunswick Library Commission, and had since championed the benefits of a library

service available to everyone in the province. By now Manny had some sway with the

British peer and so Beaverbrook agreed to her proposal of a full-service public library in

Miramichi. He purchased the Manse in Newcastle where he and his family had once

lived, and assigned Louise the task of converting it into public space. With a generous

endowment of books and records from his office in London, the Old Manse Library was

complete, and Manny assumed the position of head librarian. She worked diligently to

make the public facility a success, and wrote often to Beaverbrook about the popularity

of his donations, especially the audio collection, noting that "one devotee comes in very

270 Harriman, "Louise Manny", 12; Ibid, 12.

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often and has heard the "Moonlight Sonata 28 times".271 Manny happily remained as

head librarian - a post that she would retain in addition to her many other demanding

pursuits during the 1950s and 1960s, and well into her 70's.272

In addition to involving herself in many aspects of Miramichi culture, and having

read and reviewed thousands of books (no doubt made easier as library director) Manny

managed to author several books of her own. In 1946 she edited Miramichi Poet: Six

Poems by Hedley Parker and during the same year published her own Ships of Kent

County, the first of a trilogy concerning the history of shipbuilding in New Brunswick. A

household name in the Miramichi and beyond a decade later, Manny finished Ships of

Miramichi (1960) and then Shipbuilding in Bathurst{ 1965) - two rigourous treatments

that have been cited heavily to this day.273 It was 1968's Songs of Miramichi (reviewed

herein during chapter 4), co-authored with friend and professional musician James

Reginald Wilson, however, which would become Manny's popular masterpiece, esuring

her stature among Canadian folklorists.

The Quest Begins

In 1946 when Beaverbrook again asked for Manny's help after the promising

commencement of the 'Enclosure' project, the amateur historian was rather disinclined

with the idea of a local folk tradition and had believed that even if such a tradition did

271 E.H. Morton to Louise Manny, Oct 17, 1930 (PANB MC1307 MS3); University of New Brunswick Online - Progress and Permanence, "Louise Manny"; Louise Manny to Lord Beaverbrook, August 2, 1954 (Beaverbrook Collection case 22a, file 1). 272 Harriman, Louise Manny, 12. 273 Hamilton, Biography, 222.

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exist, that it was inexorably vanishing and would utterly disappear within a decade. The

prosperity and technological progress of the post-war period in North America had

replaced the ethos of thrift and moderation with one of consumption. By the early 1950s

the homogenizing forces of consumer culture were becoming ubiquitous via the mass

media. Moreover, until the folk revival beginning late in the decade, the lore and music of

the folk throughout the continent were being left behind in favour of pop music crooners

and exuberant rock and rollers catering to the rising suburban middle class.

It was during this transitional decade that Manny began pursuing the fading lore

of the Miramichi folk, as well as ironically promoting it on local medium of radio.

Nevertheless, Beaverbrook peer had been so enraptured with fragments of "The Jones

Boys" lyrics - a satirical song about a prominent nineteenth century sawmilling family -

that he had supposedly employed it to diffuse heated international situations featuring

characters such as Stalin, Molotov, and Churchill. Reluctant as Manny may have been,

Beaverbrook had made a career out of persuading others to his causes, and so she could

not refuse his request. The first matter resolved, logistics were the next hurdle. Butler

points out that "she didn't have a musical bone in her body" or even an automobile.274

Manny reminisced on the issue a few years later

"Are you musical at all?" Lord Beaverbrook had asked me. "Well no," I admitted. "Then get someone who is, to go with you. How about Bessie Crocker?" A day later I was phoning Bessie Crocker: "We're going to collect folksongs for Lord Beaverbrook, here in the Miramichi!" "That's interesting. Well we'd better begin to make inquiries."

274 Louise Manny, Songs of the Miramichi, 124; Steiner, "The Life"; University of New Brunswick Online - Progress and Permanence, "Louise Manny".; Edward D. Ives, "Oral and Written Tradition: A Micro-View of the Miramichi," Acadiensis 18, no. 1 (1988), 160; Butler, telephone interview.

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It was as simple as that. For days we said to everyone we met: "Do you know any old songs? Do you know anybody who does?"275

No one involved could have imagined the cultural significance of this casual

acquiescence in 1946 as the untrained folklorist and her local organist friend (who also

had her own car) ventured into the countryside. A few months later Manny wrote to

Beaverbrook claiming:

I have located a good many people who can sing - they live in rather out-of-the- way places, are shy and need persuasion, will I think, need to be paid for their time, in addition to expenses to Fredericton. I think we will have to get some man to handle the matter, as there will certainly have to be drinks circulating, and someone will have to see that they don't get too inebriated, and all that.276

Satisfied with the prospects, Beaverbrook shipped a "portable" "700-pound disk

recording machine" from England.277 Manny took out an advertisement in the local

newspaper, at the local movie theatre, as well as over the newly established CMKR radio

station airwaves. The recording machine was set up at the Newcastle Legion Hall under

the technical know-how of Stan Cassidy of Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, and the

first sessions took place over three days in November of 1947. Commenting on Manny's

early process of the handling of the musical collection, Steiner points out that: "In-depth

life histories or the sort of contextual interviews carried out by modern-day folklorists

were not done."278 What was unique about Manny's collecting style, in contrast to

Creighton and other field collectors, was that "few, if any, recordings were made in

people's homes".279 Although Manny could be criticized for taking the singers out of the

275 Louise Manny, "The Old Songs" (PANB MC1307 MS1A3). 276 Louise Manny to Lord Beaverbrook, October 6, 1947. 277 Daye, "Songs", 32; Louise Manny, "Wilmot MacDonald," February 16, 1963 (PANB MC1307). 278 University of Maine Online - Folklife Center, "Louise Manny"; Steiner, "The Life". 279 Ibid.

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comfortable setting of their homesteads and into the imposing 'performance' venue of the

Canadian Legion Hall, she later maintained that this single venue in town actually

encouraged much more participation, away from the residences where curious neighbours

might be "lurking around the windows".280

Susan Butler recounts the well-known story of those first few hours at the Hall,

recapping how the first singers were nervous enough to put the whole project in jeopardy

- but who were soothed upon their 'symbolic' payment:

Then someone told [Manny]: "I think they need something to lubricate their vocal cords." "Why didn't you tell me that in the first place?", replied Manny, and she took some money from her purse and sent someone down to the Government Store to get some liquor. After that they were practically fighting over the mic!281

Manny encountered other problems associated with recording multiple performers

in a predetermined venue. For instance, some the hallowed songs could exceed ten

minutes in length. And although Manny would take down the lyrics in shorthand; while

the recording disk was being changed, often the singers would forget their place and

"have to begin again from the beginning".282 What is more, by this time performers had

become sufficiently emboldened and Steiner recounts how one local, Hemlock Stewart,

rushed to the piano to accompany George Campbell's performance of "The Eight Pound

Bass". "Manny deemed this contribution most unwelcome" and seemed to have decided

from this early stage exactly what she expected of her singers. The decision would prove

significant for her future festival:283 She claimed:

280 Ibid. 281 Butler, telephone interview. 282 Manny as quoted in Steiner, "The Life". 283 Ibid.

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The old songs we have in Miramichi are sung entirely without accompaniment, by one singer alone. To the listener whose ear is trained to hear the eight-tone scale and modern harmony, they sound monotonous, but when one learns to understand them, one is struck by their sincerity and charm.284

Despite the challenges, the amateur historian was captivated with this apparently

ancient and rich oral tradition thriving in her own backyard, and reminisced sixteen years

later about the significance of those early sessions:

After watching Wilmot MacDonald perform "Peter Emberley" for the recording machine and the crowd at the Legion Hall, it was a most moving experience to listen to an art form I had not known existed. I could see it had its own conventions and techniques. The artistic flexibility of the unaccompanied singing was a revelation.285

She was soon seeking the counsel of legendary folklorists Helen Creighton, Edith

Fowke, and the father-and-son team of John and Alan Lomax. Manny was optimistic that

"we should be able to get at least 100 songs which originated in New Brunswick, mainly

from the around [the Miramichi]", although it soon became apparent that Beaverbrook's

commission would not be sufficient to encompass what Manny had in mind.286

The Benefits of Gender and Class

Manny's gender and upper class status may have both indeed facilitated her own

quest for the folk. Because of the relative privilege enjoyed because of the inherited

284 Manny, "The Old Songs". 285 Manny, "Wilmot", 3. The song, "Peter Emberley", was less than a century old at this time - hardly ancient - although Manny was captivated by its much older singing style and the promise of a fundamental local oral tradition. 286 University of Maine Online - Folklife Center, "Louise Manny". These one hundred songs would eventually constitute 'The Beaverbrook Collection', currently housed at the Harriet Irving Library at the University of New Brunswick; University of New Brunswick Online - Progress and Permanence, "Louise Manny",

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managerial position at the Clark plant, Manny has been described as a member of the

local "elite", albeit one that was diminishing as outside capital was eliminating the

antiquated local resource monopolies.287 Manny's close friend and renowned folklorist

Edward Ives observed that along with her infectious enthusiasm for the songs, she

possessed something of "a low-key imperiousness" - metaphorically speaking; a

"benevolent bulldozer" - which permitted a good measure of tolerated wilfulness on her

part. Steiner notes that if Manny wanted Nick Underhill to perform at a teacher's

convention in Sackville, New Brunswick (which in fact occurred) all she would have to

do was telephone the mill owner and get him the day off.288 The cultural authority,

legitimized by her association with Beaverbrook as well as her profound historical

knowledge, was therefore further endowed with a good measure of upper-class prestige.

Within the supposedly conservative social context of the Miramichi in the 1950s

and 1960s, Manny's role as a community leader and cultural authority raises the issue of

gender roles. Manny was indeed an unmarried, independent woman often alone in the

midst of a very masculine situation featuring rowdy men singing baudy songs. Not once,

however, did Manny admit being uncomfortable. What is more, no one ever confessed

that the fact that she was a woman intruding upon a masculinized culture was off-putting

in any way. Indeed, in small-town New Brunswick during the 1940s it may still have

been quite appropriate for a woman to occupy her time this way - preserving and

maintaining the history and conventions of family and community. Indeed, as we will see,

Manny's gender, managerial expertise, upper-class bearing, historical prowess, public

287 Steiner, "Regionalism", 245. 288 Steiner, "The Life".

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work with Beaverbrook, and sheer determination had soon earned her enough authority

and respect within the community that she was able to reign in any drinking and

horseplay among the men during both the MFF and her recording sessions.

Going Solo into the Field

The Lomaxes, who had done so much work in the United States for the Library of

Congress, had suggested to Manny that she collect as many variants of songs as possible,

as well as songs sung in New Brunswick rather than just the few composed about the

province. However, Beaverbrook, wishing to preserve the beloved local songs of his

youth fancied those tunes "which originated in New Brunswick".289 Writing to a friend in

1949 Manny had gained enough experience in the field to understand that -

This was impossible, as any folksong collector would know. At the moment, [Beaverbrook] does not seem to wish to include songs from the Old Country (I think he feels that there are good recordings elsewhere). Of course, this is quite wrong, since we have much that should be recorded, and may find some interesting variants, and I hope 1 shall be able to make his Lordship see this.290

However, as Steiner puts it, "Beaverbrook never seems to have gotten the point, and cut

off Manny's funding in 1950".291 The patron was not much interested in the variations of

Childs' ballads, or in the other British songs that had already so well-documented by the

Harvard collectors.

289 Louise Manny to Dr. R.C. Archibald of Brown University (PANB MCI 307 MS3A3a). 290 Ibid. Although the 'Irish' element of Miramichi, and especially Chatham, would be much celebrated after its own resurgence in the 1980s with the Miramichi Irish Festival, Beaverbrook and Manny made little reference to that aspect of Miramichi ethnicity. As with her French, Mi'kmaq, and Scottish collections, Manny likewise allowed songs of Irish origin at both the MFF and in her Songs of Miramichi. 291 Steiner, "The Life".

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Predictably, the determined Manny would not be deterred by a mere lack of

financial backing, and so launched her own campaign, renewing the local advertisements

requesting the contributions of the local singers. In October of 1949 Manny had secured a

bi-weekly fifteen-minute spot on CKMR in which she played excerpts from her new

'Beaverbrook Collection', and featured live performances from the radio station's studio.

Within a matter of months the program became "mandatory fare" for the residents of

Miramichi, with requests rolling in for particular songs to be played for special occasions.

In fact, the modest show became such a hit that Manny was compelled to change the time

slot to that of Sunday afternoon after dozens of forestry workers got themselves into

trouble after sneaking off en masse to listen to the program on Wednesday afternoons.292

Susan Butler remembers being introduced to folk music through "Dr. Louise

Manny's radio program" in the early 1950s, around the age of eight. She reflects that

because she was being trained in traditional music forms, she deemed the local music

simplistic and unappealing and even as a session of "sheer torture" every week.293 Her

father would admonish her haughtiness, however, declaring, "'Don't be a snob. Listen to

the songs. It's history, it's got a story to tell.' And by God he was right!"294 Ultimately the

event became a local "family ritual" in Butler's and many others' homes as residents

returned from Sunday Service, had lunch, took a nap, and got up in time to tune in to

Manny's program at 3:00pm.295

292 Ibid; Harriman, Louise Manny, 10. To be fair, at this time the Miramichi was also abounding with non- traditional musical fare such as fiddle and country music. 293 Butler, telephone interview. 294 Ibid. 295 Butler, telephone interview.

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With the passage of time Manny become protective of the oral tradition she had

most certainly rescued from oblivion. She escalated her recording and transcribing

activities - expedited by the popular support fostered by her radio show - and had begun

to take the Lomaxes' advice and record every variant that she could find. In fact, Steiner

points out that by 1953 Manny, with the help of her folklore compatriot Helen Creighton,

had expanded her scope to include both Acadian songs as well as Mi'kmaq music

originating on the reserve at Eel Ground.296

Looking Forward from Behind

By the mid-1950s Louise Manny had enjoyed thirty years of experience as a

corporate administrator, garnered a reputation abroad as a encyclopaedic authority on the

culture and history of her community, earned the respect of one of Canada's most

successful magnates, managed some of Newcastle's most enduring civic projects of the

period, took part in every volunteer committee and advisory board she could manage,

provided an invaluable service to residents as the area's first public library director, and

marshalled a declining and fragmented oral tradition into a popular local phenomenon.

And into her 60's Manny showed no sign of relenting as she embarked on the most

consequential leg of her life journey - the Miramichi Folksong Festival.

' Steiner, "The Life".

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Chapter IV: Tradition, Solidarity, and the Miramichi Folksong Festival

As noted in previous chapters, the term revival has been applied loosely by pop

culture historians, especially in regard to the North American folk boom occurring in

roughly the decade after 1958. In New Brunswick's Miramichi region, the broader North

American revival's commercialism and political messages, and overall popularity, had a

limited impact. Yet it did experience a folk revival of a different type. In 1996 Edward

Ives, founder of the Northeast Folklore Society and part-time Miramichi resident,

described the optimism surrounding the Miramichi Folksong Festival of the 1960s as "a

brief folksong renaissance in Miramichi".297 The University of New Brunswick's

"Progress and Permanence" web portal suggests that such activities "spawned a cultural

revival with the unique annual event. . . and Louise Manny must be regarded as a

pioneering force behind the mid-twentieth-century revival of local heritage in New

Brunswick".298 Even Margaret Steiner, a New Brunswick folklorist, although more

ambivalent on the degree of Manny's legacy, recognizes the movement's implications for

community: "[Manny] single-handedly galvanized the locality around a folksong

renaissance whose most tangible ongoing legacy is the Miramichi Folksong Festival."299

Manny herself declared: "This revival in the 'old songs' culminated in 1958 in our first

Annual Miramichi Folksong Festival."300 The song "Peter Emberly", a little-known local

297 Edward Ives, "Oral and Written Tradition: A Micro-View of the Miramichi," in The World Observed: Reflections on the Fieldwork Process, ed. Brice Jackson and Edward Ives (University of Illinois, 1996), 160. 298 University of New Brunswick, "Progress and Permanence: Women and the New Brunswick Museum: 1880-1980", http://www.unbf.ca/womenandmuseum/bmanny.htm. 299 Margaret Steiner, "The Life and Legacy of a New Brunswick Folksong Collector" (presented at the Centenary Conference of the Folk Song Society of Great Britain, 1999). 300 Louise Manny, "The Miramichi Folksong Festival," PANB, MC1307-MS3C6m, 2.

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composition and which had become a Miramichi emblem upon the establishment MFF,

inspired a well-attended memorial service in 1963 at the restored grave site of the

unlucky young nineteenth-century labourer from Prince Edward Island. The protagonist,

once the tragic figure of the cautionary tale, had now become a celebrated local hero and

paragon of the canonized composition.301 According to these sources, the early festival

was significant, if not transformative, for the Miramichi community - if not the entire

province.

This final chapter will examine both the inner workings of the Miramichi

Folksong Festival as well as Louise Manny's intentions for the event, from 1958 to 1968

when she, having become an acknowledged "authority on the Miramichi", was at the

helm.302 Every local newspaper has been combed for relevant data regarding the annual

event, held typically for three to four days in August. The following also relies on

Manny's own papers, which include a plethora of festival-related correspondence, journal

entries, financial records, essays, and clippings. The chapter also considers the festival's

origins, its performers and their performance styles, instrumentation, finances, tension

emanating from the larger folk revival, and Manny's objective of solidarity via historical

tradition. This section argues that Manny's strict governance of the event was intended to

ensure not only the preservation of the local oral tradition, but also the festival's

perpetuation as a viable nucleus of community solidarity for the Miramichi region.

301 The late Miramichi songwriter, John Calhoun, wrote of the young man from PEI who was fatally injured "loading two sleds from a yard". The Daily Gleaner, August 8, 1964, 3. 302 The North Shore Leader, July 7, 1967, 1.

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Preserving the Lumbercamp Tradition

Before the MFF became the last bastion for local folk songs, the Miramichi area

lumbercamps of the preceding century had served as the forge as well as the marketplace

for that medium. As Steiner puts it: "The lumberwoods was integral to the Miramichi

identity, and singing was integral to the lumberwoods."303 Speaking of the topic, Edward

Ives points out that it was not uncommon for the men and even boys to be in the woods

from October to March. Unlike farming or slave tunes, however, these were not work-

songs, and singing remained strictly "an off-hours leisure activity for woodsmen".304

While the Child Ballads reflected primarily the private sphere of the homestead, and were

sung by women "looking after children or other such frivolous pursuits"; in the remote

lumbercamps the singers and spectators engaged in the very masculine and "serious

business of entertainment".305 And while week-night repose entailed little more than

"looking to the next day's work, and to getting a little rest", Saturday night was the

occasion to relax and socialize. Consequently, story-telling through song was the main

event.306 And although there could often be several performances, including fiddling,

occurring at a given time, singing in this context was always a solo tradition, and

onlookers did not join in, even during popular refrains.307

303 Margaret Steiner, "Regionalism, revival and the reformation of community at the Miramichi Folksong Festival," Lore & Language, 12 (1994): 244. 304 Edward Ives, "Lumbercamp Singing and the Two Traditions," Canadian Folk Music Journal, 5 (1977): 18. 305 Ibid, 22, 20. 306 Ibid, 19. Ives stresses that that solo singing in the lumbercamps was purely an off-hours pursuit and was merely one form of musical entertainment. In addition to singing, step-dancing, whittling, reading, and story-telling were commonplace. 307 Ibid, 20.

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The songs themselves dealt with murder, gossip, ghost stories, and vocational

hazards, and in addition to the entertainment factor, the theme of caution was prevalent

throughout the selection. Therefore the references to historical people and places were

less than reliable. Furthermore, some of the most popular singers were in fact paid in cash

by camp bosses in order to maintain the morale of the isolated workers, and so truth was

not a priority.308 Travelling entertainers-for-hire, such as Larry Gorman, were known to

adapt older songs to suit their contemporary needs as they managed a living by writing

and performing hyperbole, compelling vignettes, or biting satires.

Not long after Manny commenced her folklore pursuits in the late 1940s, one

local singer, Jared MacLean, spoke to the collector of a folk song bee, held regularly, and

years earlier in the Miramichi. According to MacLean, singers would gather together and

sing their songs in turn until they had exhausted their repertoire. Finally the man who

demonstrated the largest knowledge of songs was declared the winner of the bee.

Although MacLean could not offer Manny any specific information pertaining to prizes

or personalities, Manny later reflected, "It seemed beyond my powers to organize a

bee .. . but why not a 'get-together' for the singers and their friends?"309 From the outset

then, the MFF would be modelled on that intimate gathering of close-knit woodsmen,

singing in the traditional way, and competing for prizes and acknowledgment. Manny's

future event would, in fact, exceed the scope of this very bee which had stimulated her

imagination. By the onset of the 1950s Manny's recordings for Beaverbrook were "soon

supplemented with recordings made by the local radio station CKMR, sponsored by the

308 Louise Manny, "Larry Gorman. Miramichi Balladist," Maritime Advocate and Busy East, 40 (1949): 8. 309 Manny, "The Miramichi Folksong Festival", 3.

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North Shore Construction Company".310 By this decade lumbercamp culture had given

way to seasonal and part-time wood-cutting on private or corporate lots, and the last of

the lumbermen-turned-mill-workers were known to sneak away from work to hear

themselves on Manny's program each week. Before the decade was out, however, the

singers would indeed enjoy a legitimized physical forum for those songs that had amused

their fathers in those romanticized lumbercamps.

Manny's Performers

So who exactly who were the performers, approved by Manny, who appeared on

the stage at Newcastle's Beaverbrook Theatre beginning in 1958? When it came to

ethnicity Steiner points out that Manny was relatively indiscriminate. Although the

Miramichi's Irish element endured a romanticized reputation for having an illustrious and

uproarious past, neither Manny nor Beaverbrook displayed any measure of prejudice or

preference toward that cultural tradition. In fact, many songs of Irish flavour were

included in Manny's compilation; and Alan Kelly - one of Manny favourites - was of

French/Irish descent, and was encouraged to sing songs of that persuasion.

Even Francophones, prevalent along the coast of Northumberland County - but

less common within the two larger centres - often "made up half the participants" during

those early years.311 If traces of ethnic discrimination permeated the MFF, Helen

Creighton, commenting on the MFF's diversity, agreed that,

3,0 Ibid, 2. Manny credits John Mitchell of Newcastle with recording many of the performances at CKMR. 311 Steiner, "Regionalism", 246. An article in I'Acadie Nouvelle, May 7, 1986, 5 cites a recent study claiming that 34% of the residents within fifty kilometres of Newcastle and Chatham were Francophone.

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There are Acadians along this coast, so it was a rare festival that did not have one or two songs in French. One of the most prolific singers is Alan Kelly who is fluently bilingual I am told by Ronald LaBelle [future folklore professor at the University of Moncton] (who has written notes for this publication) that he still sings there. He is a happy person and many of his songs are humorous: others can be tragic. His contributions were full of surprises, and just as he followed a sad song with one that had the audience laughing, he would change from French to English.312

The Chatham-based Commercial World predicted in 1959 that such French compositions

as Mrs. W. Buckley's own "Une Capitaine", would become central to the program during

Manny's tenure.313 In addition to Acadian singers, Mi'kmaq performers such as Sarah

Ginnish were encouraged to sing in their native language, while many other women, such

as Marie Hare and Kate Buckley, had the opportunity to perform their own favourites.

Many of their songs were clearly distinct from the more public-sphere lumbercamp tunes

of the men of the old camps.

Age did not seem to be a hurdle for eager applicants either. Although the festival

most definitely featured middle-aged mill and woods workers who had learned the

venerated songs first- or second-hand, all age groups were represented to some extent on

the MFF stage. For example, local performer John Holland had reached his 90's by the

event's fifth showing, while seven-year-old Odile Duthie made his own debut in 1959.314

Current director Susan Butler remembers at the age of sixteen, proposing to Manny a

family friend's song "Junebee", and being permitted to perform regularly at the festival,

beginning in the early 1960s.315

312 Helen Creighton, "Music to the Ear," Province of New Brunswick - Heritage Branch Website. 313 The Commercial World, August 20, 1959, 1. 314 The Commercial World, August 13, 1959, 7. 315 Susan Butler, Telephone Interview, February 16, 2010.

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In fact, children's performances soon became a staple and a popular component of

the MFF's local amateur tradition. Beginning in 1960 the charismatic Canadian folk

singer Alan Mills directed a children's concert during an afternoon session, whereupon a

light lunch was also usually served.316 In 1963 the Daily Gleaner described a "novel

twist" to the typical proceedings, as fifteen young children sang versions of favourites

such as "A-Hunting-We-Will-Go", and reported that this delightful contrast to the more

serious folk deliveries "may become a part of the annual event".317 And so it did - during

one afternoon each year - for young people sixteen years and under, and hosted by local

Alex Milson after 1967.318

Performer Selection Criteria

Although the event was fairly representative of the local community cross-section,

period stereotypes were evident. One concerned personal decorum for women. In an

undated memo from an early festival, stage manager Bob McNutt sternly advised dress-

wearers: "Ladies, if you use a stool PLEASE watch where you point your knees!"319

Relatively speaking, however, the festival's ambience was fairly progressive, at least in

terms of gender, age, and ethnicity.

One festival aspect where Manny refused to compromise, however, was the 'non­

professional' status of her authentic singers. In her short essay, dated 1963 (the same year

316 The North Shore Leader, August 12, 1960, 1. 3,7 The Daily Gleaner, August 15, 1963, 3. 318 The Daily Gleaner, August 7, 1967, 3. 319 MFF stage manager Bob McNutt "to performers", PANB, MC1307.

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when the Newport festival attracted in excess of 30,000 spectators with the likes of Joan

Baez and Bob Dylan), Manny stood her ground:

Other folk festivals strive for popularity. They are money-making affairs with imported professional singers. Such festivals are by no means to be condemned, but the Miramichi Festival is something else - an effort to preserve the songs as they are sung by the folk themselves, authentic, unaltered, undoctored.320

As late as 1988, fellow Canadian folklorist Edith Fowke was still describing Manny's

festival as an anomaly. To her it was:

...the only festival in Canada that can truly be called folk, for Manny insisted that only traditional singers should perform, while other festivals feature mainly professional or semi-professional singers, most of whom sing contemporary compositions rather than traditional songs.321

This issue would become one of the most frustrating for the most 'progressive' of the

'folkies' as the 1960s - and its folk revival boom - progressed. Indeed, for Manny her

local singers were amateurs, and vice-versa. The MFF was intended for this local

audience, and only like-minded outsiders were welcome.

The one major exception to Manny's exclusion of non-professionals was Alan

Mills. Mills, described as "the foremost interpreter of traditional Canadian songs",

enjoyed "famous balladeer" status as the personality behind CBC Trans-Canada's "Folk

Songs for Young Folk" program.322 At the MFF Mills became a ubiquitous presence

starting in 1958. Manny respected the performer's opinion like no other and would often

rely on his professional judgement - especially when it came to songs proposed by

hopeful applicants.323 Although Mills himself never competed for prizes or garnered any

320 Manny, "The Miramichi Folksong Festival", 1. 321 Edith Fowke, Canadian Folklore (Oxford University Press, 1989), 20. 322 The Commercial World, August 8, 1959, 5. 323 Manny actually consulted with Mills when Susan Butler telephoned her about her song "Junebee". Mills was the one who seemed to have approved the song.

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awards at the MFF, he did offer his talents as a performer, judge, and master of

ceremonies during Manny's entire term as director. The Montreal native - by this time a

distinguished and "leading popularizer of Canadian Folklore" - managed to impress

Manny considerably, while at the same time satisfying her expectations for the featuring

of the untrained performances of the local folk.324 Although Mills brought a level of

professionalism to the event which no doubt contributed to its popular success, it was

nevertheless ironic that such a star of the Canadian folk scene was so integral to Manny's

strictly grassroots Festival.325

An Alternative Measure of Success

By its third incarnation in 1960, the MFF was increasingly popular among locals

as well as with international aficionados of a traditional folk medium. However, it was

still small enough that The North Shore Leader reported that it had become:

...the only event of its kind in which songs of an older era are sung by regional untrained singers, including woods workers and fishermen...the songs of the countryside, most of which have never been set down to paper but handed down from generation to generation, sung in the ancient mode.326

By 1963, during the climax of the North American folk revival, and against the backdrop

of the volatile civil rights movement reverberating across the continent, Manny's festival

remained decidedly apolitical, and "strictly for the non-professional".327 Although the

324 Charlotte Cadoret, "In Memoriam," Canadian Folk Music Society Newsletter 12(1977). 325 Although Mills was a bone fide star with legitimate cultural credentials, other performers, such as the Travellers embodied the nopularistic aspect of the Revival - but were nevertheless very much a part Canada's Centennial celebrations at New Brunswick festivals 326 The North Shore Leader, August 19, 1960, 1. 327 The Telegraph Journal, February 9, 1963, 3.

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early budget was precarious, Manny was apparently also not unaware of the larger

cultural trends, and admitted to the Telegraph Journal. "We are the only people who dare

put on this type of festival without professional singers."328 As mentioned in chapter II

both amateur and professional folk singers were in large measure associated with the

political or popular aspects of the folk boom. The third folk revival facet described -

purity - was what Manny wished to achieve for her festival. Unlike the New Lost City

Ramblers, however, the Miramichi singers were not trained musicians, nor were they

cosmopolitan students in search of recognition and financial success. The supposed 'risk'

then, of holding such an specialized and atypical event did not seem to faze Manny or her

performers, and the festival continued unabated - and contrary to the popular folk trends

sweeping the nation at this time.

All the popular trappings of the larger folk revival had indeed reached New

Brunswick in earnest by the early 1960s and the province was enamoured by 'folk' as

much as any other. In contrast to the intended purity attempted by Manny at the MFF,

several New Brunswick high schools and colleges hosted 'hootenanny' variety shows

wherein various acts showcased their folk talents. In fact, a young Edith Butler began her

folk music career at such venues in Moncton. Even such best-known artists of the

Canadian folk scene as the Travellers appeared at some of the many small festivals and

winter carnivals. Additionally; just down river from the MFF site, folk stars the

Journeymen performed at St. Thomas University, before the institution's relocation. Ian

and Sylvia visited the new Fredericton campus in the same decade, and Simon and

328 Don Hoyt, "Her Work," The Telegraph Journal, February 9, 1963, 3.

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Garfunkel put on their own concert in Saint John in 1967.329 But even by this same year -

the last year of Manny's direction - amid ads exaggerating mini-skirts and sideburns

unheard of a decade before - the North Shore Leader still described the MFF as "unique

in North America, being the only one in which the singers are all amateurs who sing in

the same style and manner as their forefathers".330 Although urban 'folkies' had been

making pilgrimage to the event since the early 1960s, the newspaper pointed out that

"this isn't a folk-rock session of long haircuts and twanging guitars but rather a program

of authentic regional folksinging".331 The orthodoxy permeating the MFF performances

inevitably drew the notice of folklore professor Edward Ives, and his University of

Maine's Northeast Folklore Society, which noted the almost-anachronistic nature of the

MFF by this time, claiming, "There's nothing fancy about this festival - no name

performers or groups, and guitars and banjoes are conspicuous by their absence."332

Although modern, young folk singers from both within and outside of Canada - most

likely because of the event's atypically authentic appeal - were present, they were

prevented from contributing their versions of the political, personal, or commercial folk

media. Although in folk revival terms 'amateur' rarely implied 'conservative', during

Manny's tenure as director - ironically mirroring the peak years of the larger folk revival -

the MFF would remain both 'traditional' in focus, and non-professional in delivery.

329 The Moncton Daily Times, January 31, 1963, 3. The Telegraph Journal, Jan 28, 1967, 13. 330 The North Shore Leader, August 3, 1967, 7. 331 The North Shore Leader, July 27, 1967, 1. 332 Ibid.

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Judging the Performers

What made the MFF unique within the context of revival was not simply its

ample reservoir of non-professional folk singers, but also that, in addition to Manny's

own assessments, that local performers were observed and appraised by a distinguished

panel of judges who doled out commentary and awards. Internationally-respected folk

experts and interpreters like Edward Ives, Alan Mills, Reginald Wilson, and Helen

Creighton had offered their professional services and opinions from the outset, and must

also have meant golden opportunities for these folklorists to study a venerable oral

tradition in action through participant-observation. So eager were the distinguished guests

that this line-up remained remarkably consistent, with only Creighton having two

absences, in both 1963 and 1964.333 During those instances, Dr. Norman Cazden, folklore

professor at the University of Massachusetts, filled the gap, and remained in that capacity

for several more years.334 By 1965 the small but 'authentic' Miramichi festival attracted

some big name guest-judges such as New York University professor John Anthony Scott,

University of Indiana folklorist Chester Williams, and Sing Out! magazine's outspoken

editor Irvin Sibler.335 In 1966 Lin Rowe, secretary of the Canadian Folk Music Society,

and Maurice DeCelles, a director of the Canadian Folks Arts Council, were among the

guest arbiters.336 As for masters of ceremonies, Ken Homer, a well-known radio and

television personality based in Woodstock, New Brunswick, also served as judge, missing

333 The Commercial World, August 15, 1963, 5. The North Shore Leader, August 29, 1964, 1. Creighton nevertheless telegrammed her well-wishes which were read aloud to the audience in her absence. 334 The Commercial World, August 15, 1963, 5. 335 The Daily Gleaner, August 10, 1965, 16. 336 The North Shore Leader, August 4, 1966, 1.

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the event only in 1964 and 1966.337 Homer also managed to record much of the MFF's

proceedings during the early years, and later broadcast selections on the Woodstock radio

station.338 These academic, and largely outsider personalities presided over performances

by the local folk, praising them for both their apparent authenticity, and for continuing a

tradition that had been a disappearing rarity only a decade before.

Prizes and Awards

MFF participants were rewarded with modest accolades beginning with the

event's inception in 1958. Like the bee recalled by MacLean and later, Steiner, the entire

affair was "promoted as a contest" so as to "ensure participation" during its first uncertain

incarnation.339 In the beginning, similar to country fairs and fiddling contests, prizes were

awarded in standard measure, such as for best overall male/female singers, best singer

under twenty-five, best French singer, or best 'Indian' singer. Among the recipients were

those who would come to define (and be defined by) the festival, including Wilmot

MacDonald, John Holland, Mrs. Perley Hare, Nick Underhill, and Alan Kelly. And unlike

New Brunswick fiddling contests which attracted players from far and wide; at the MFF

there was only a single special prize awarded to "Best Guest Singer outside

Northumberland County" [emphasis added].340

337 The Daily Gleaner, August 11,1965, 15. The North Shore Leader, July 27, 1967, 1. 338 The Commercial World, July 20, 1961, 1. The North Shore Leader, September 12,1958, 6. 339 Steiner, "The Life". 340 The Daily Gleaner, August 20, 1958, 11.

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During the first five years prize amounts were modest, ranging from $5 to $10.341

What is more, Manny established and modified at will the myriad of categories in such a

way that nearly every amateur singer who performed would inevitably win something.

She claimed that this method could be the only sure way to encourage participation

among those singers either preoccupied with work, or else too insecure to make a public

appearance. By the second year, however, it was clear that a lack of participation would

not be a problem, since entries and requests began pouring in to Manny's home office.

Consequently, in 1963 Manny's close friend and music professor at Rutgers University,

James Reginald Wilson, advised that "only awards would be given, not prizes".342 The

following year twenty winners garnered such awards, and Manny's administrative team

could more easily fine-tune the categories to the point where the pre-submitted songs

could be made to fit custom honours - such as "The Highly Effective Singing of a

Sentimental Ballad by Joe Scott".343 By 1965 twenty-three awards were conferred, such

as the standard "Oldest Singer" along with the "Sincere Appreciation for Support of the

Festival".344 Not surprisingly, the festival's honours were devoid of the political, the

contemporary, the exotic, or the original; and the awards, like the songs permitted, were

tailored to exhibit a romanticized version of a Miramichi past.

341 Ibid. 342 The Commercial World, August 15, 1963, 5. 343 The Daily Gleaner, August 20, 1964, 3. 344 The North Shore Leader, August 19, 1965, 3.

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The Venue

It is tempting to consider Manny's goals as purely musical, but her intentions for

the festival were also manifested through the event's staging and visual aspects. The stage

scenery of the MFF was usually thoroughly described in the local newspapers each

season. Perhaps as a symptom of its traditional leanings, the MFF was an atypically

indoor event. Moreover, the rededicated Beaverbrook Theatre, completed only a few

years earlier, contributed to both the traditional tone and to the success of the festival held

there every year. The imposing hall features two-storey ceilings, hardwood floors, a full

size theatrical stage, towering windows, and seating for 400 spectators. The scenic

Miramichi River is also visible through the imposing terrace doors to the south.

In 1961 organizers began to feature performers amid a "lumbercamp stage scene"

consisting of real evergreen trees and hand-hewn logs for sitting.345This kind of visual

aesthetic was common at variety shows and on television sets at the time, the next year

further embellishments were added, such as fishing nets draped over the vertical front of

the high stage.346 By 1963 lobster traps and driftwood had been introduced as well, and

the North Shore Leader offered that the scene reflected "the authentic atmosphere of

lumbering and fishing".347 For the Canadian Centennial celebrations in 1967, large

Canadian and New Brunswick flags flanked a stage decorated in the same manner, albeit

by this time, painted scenery had replaced the real thing.348

345 The Daily Gleaner, August 15, 1961, 2. 346 The North Shore Leader, August 18, 1962, 2. 347 The North Shore Leader, August 16, 1963, 1. 348 The North Shore Leader, August 10, 1967, 4.

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Although commercial fishing did continue to thrive during the 1960s - mainly

beyond the barrier islands of Miramichi Bay - it was no longer the staple of the local

economy and culture that it had once been. What is more, most of the middle-aged

singers were performing against a lumbercamp backdrop that had peaked and indeed

begun to decline a full century earlier. To the audience, however, the spectacle must have

been thoroughly nostalgic and entertaining. The performers, on the other hand, had

effectively become actors in Manny's theatre, and would even begin to associate

themselves with only a handful of defining songs from their otherwise diverse

repertoires. Their surroundings, like the old songs they had claimed, must have been only

tenuously familiar to them - as the legends of their forefathers.

'Authentic' Folk Singers

Ives, an accalimed folklorist, describes the singers of the early festival years as

the last of a fading tradition of "elderly woodsmen, river-drivers, stevedores", who

performed for an audience made up primarily of family and neighbours.349 For both

performer and audience, the event was both exotic and familiar. Although she encouraged

the performer to "insert his or her own personal feelings and interpretation" into their

performances, Manny insisted that the folk singer was not to project their own

personality. The goal, rather, was to exude emotion and feeling for the sake of the song's

symbols.350 Manny told a reporter in 1963 that, "You have to feel what you are singing.

349 Edward Ives, "Louise Manny 1890 - 1970," Maine Folklife Centre Online - Women Folklorists. 350 The Daily Gleaner, August 7, 1964, 3.

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You have to create a mood. On the other hand, you mustn't show off. A folk singer does

not project his own personality."351 Through both visuals and sound, Manny wished to

spotlight the centrepiece of the her nostalgic folk ideal; one not overshadowed by

egocentric showmanship.

One performer who both embodied Manny's designs for the MFF, while

occasionally provoking her ire, was Wilmot MacDonald. MacDonald, a native of

Glenwood (located five kilometres south of Chatham), was described by Manny as her

"woods singer par excellence", and was the subject of her only known biographical

sketch of a local folk singer. Ives points out that: "Wilmot was the acknowledged star of

the Miramichi Folk Song Festival, and Louise Manny depended on him as she depended

on no other singer."352 But as we have seen, 'stars' were strictly forbidden at Manny's

event, and MacDonald's tendency to "show off' or titillate the audience with his musical

embellishments would vex Manny to no end. Indeed, the singer boycotted the entire

event in both 1962 and 1963, after Manny "tried to rein in his drinking" and rollicking

performances.353 However, Manny always sought amends with her favoured performer,

who had so well-mastered both the five-tone scale and the delivery of the ancient French

masters.

351 Manny as quoted in The Telegraph Journal, February 9, 1963, 3. 352 Edward Ives, "The Miramichi Folksong Festival," Northeast Folklore, 36 (2002): 20. 353 Steiner, "The Life".

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Modernity Permeates the Event

Although she did her best to maintain "the purely regional and traditional tone of

our Festival", the event's tone was far from static.354 At the behest of the local

participants, new songs and features were added each year. As early as the 1959 event, for

example, "a new one" written and performed by Mrs. William Buckley departed from the

romanticized reserve of old songs, and recounted the recent boom in 'pit props' - rough

hewn timbers originally intended to shore up coal mine tunnels, but which typically

ended up in British sawmills after skirting the domestic tariffs as a 'finished product'.355

The first festival in 1958 had been such a local phenomenon that John Gilks started a

novel tradition by composing a new song describing the highlights of the previous

year.356 Apparently, Manny welcomed these self-references, even mentioning it in her

"Miramichi Folksong" essay: "Almost every year" she wrote, "someone produces a

ballad celebrating the Folksong Festival of the previous year".357

Although popular folk music festivals (most notably Mariposa and Newport) had

appeared in response to the folk demand sweeping the continent by the early 1960s, the

MFF emerged from the imagination of one collector and remained strictly historical-

traditional in tone. By 1964 the MFF had become a diverse, three-day celebration of

354 Manny, "The Miramichi Folksong Festival", 3. 355 The Daily Gleaner, August 18, 1959, 3. 356 The Daily Gleaner, August 20, 1959, 3. 357 Manny, "The Miramichi Folksong Festival", 2.

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local-historical solidarity. The children's program had become a major attraction, and a

Big Cove Mi'kmaq handicraft demonstration had made its debut.358 Just prior to the

seventh annual event, Manny told the Daily Gleaner that "surprises are in store for the

audience this year because of a number of talented new entrants", such as singers John

Driscoll of Douglastown and Fred Campbell of Arthurette.359 Although many of the new

singers were of the middle-class - even more removed from the lumbercamp tradition

than MacDonald and the original performers - Manny seemed prepared to bend her own

rules in order to incorporate the new performers into the festival community.

By 1967 - her final session as director - Manny was compromising her own

original guidelines. Now, "informal afternoon sessions will be held on Monday and

Tuesday afternoons when anyone who wishes may sing".360 And immediately after she

retired as director, contemporary socio-political songs promptly appeared at the 1968

event. Songs such as local Alex Nelson's own "The Canadian Postal Strike" as well as the

civil rights anthem "We Shall Overcome" - performed by the St. Mary's Junior Choir -

meant a redefinition of MFF priorities after Manny's departure.361 Although Manny had

envisioned - and for a while achieved - a wistful celebration of Miramichi's bygone

golden age, the community itself seemed ready to begin moving on.

358 The Daily Gleaner, August 7, 1964, 3. 359 Manny quoted in ibid; The Daily Gleaner, August 19, 1964, 24. 360 The North Shore Leader, August 3, 1967, 7. 361 The Daily Gleaner, August 28, 1968, 3.

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Performance Aesthetics

The conventions of the MFF were perhaps most evident in the instrumentation (or

lack of it) during the performances. Upon his assessment of thousands of American folk

songs, Alan Lomax developed a paradigm which he termed cantometrics. By cross-

referencing categories, such as 'song genre' and 'delivery' with social structure, and

across cultures, Lomax constructed theories suggesting that a performer with a narrow,

nasal voice singing love themes "indicates restrictions in the sexual lives of the

people".362 More to the point of this project, Lomax decided that the preference for solo

singing denoted a tendency for independence or "self assertion".363 The hypothesis may

well stand up when applied to the Miramichi where many solitary freelance loggers

moved from camp to camp, community to community, perfroming work that was

inherently remote and often solitary.

Current Festival director Susan Butler remembers that during the early years of

the MFF: "There were no music instruments and the last line of the song was spoken.

That's how you knew it was over."364 As we have seen, ever since her first days of on-site

recording, Manny had insisted that the tunes remain unaccompanied; in the same fashion

they had been collected. In 1957 - less than a year before the first annual event - Manny

wrote to a friend: "[the songs] are absolutely authentic, having been sung by the people

who sing them, the way they do sing them. I have never wished to have them dressed up

362 Agner Fog, Cultural Selection (Dordrecht: Kluwer, 1999), 202. 363 Ibid, 202. 364 Susan Butler, as quoted in The Times & Transcript, August 4, 2007, El.

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with accompaniments, harmonized, etc."365 However, Manny's personal preferences

when it came to instrumentation ebbed somewhat as the 1960s dawned.

An increasingly popular music festival featuring unaccompanied solo singers

could not hope to stave off the local instrumentalists for long. As early as 1960 the North

Shore Leader announced "the addition" of fiddlers who did their part during several reels

and step-dancing numbers, while local George Duplessis garnered the very first prize for

"Old-Time Fiddling".366 The following year, instrumentation was legitimized at the

festival when the Commercial World declared that "music for dancing will be supplied by

Johnny Irving's old-time orchestra" - which turned out to be a regular custom for the

most of the rest of the decade.367 In fact, the same newspaper pointed out that "many of

these songs will be sung with accompaniment at next week's event".368 Although many

sources have claimed that the 'subversive' guitar was forbidden under Manny's watch,

"radio and television personality" Clare Wall of Moncton, performed a number,

accompanied by her "guitarist", in 1961.369 Manny most likely bit her tongue as the

trendy outsider introduced a taste of the folk revival to the Miramichi audience. The

following year another guitar turned up, this time played by one of Manny's favourite

stand-by's, the versatile Alan Kelly, who was joined by Bill Brideau playing the mouth

365 Louise Manny to Mr. Tweedie of Montreal, September 16, 1957, PANB, MC1307-3c2b2. 366 The North Shore Leader, August 12, 1960, 1. There had already been established a tradition of competitive fiddling in the region, as nearby as the Chatham Music Festival 367 The Commercial World, July 20, 1961, 1. 368 The Commercial World, August 10, 1961, 1. 369 The Commercial World, August 17, 1961, 1.

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organ. Although it was a far cry from Bob Dylan's rebellious "The Times They Are A-

Changin'", tradition had met adaptation at the MFF.370

Immediately after Manny's retirement, the 1968 Festival seemed to have become

fair game for the popularizers. For the first time, a very non-traditional "electric organ"

was described, as played by John Aubrey during intermissions, while Francis Murdoch

offered "violin" (not 'fiddle') selections.371 Although the popularity of the larger folk

revival boom was waning by this time, it had nevertheless finally arrived in Miramichi -

as folklorist Steve Berger brought his family from New York to perform. Their "various

folk instruments" of which had been disdained in the local newspapers only three years

before - as the standard equipment of the young folkies and hillbilly musicians - had

made their debut as the Berger family brandished banjos, guitars, dulcimers, and

timberjack flutes.372 Manny's own designs for a purist local folk revival had finally come

to end on the stage of the Beaverbrook Theatre to the tune of an autoharp.

Provincial Support

Before further discussing the tension between the MFF and the larger folk revival,

it is useful to examine the events financial aspects, specifically how Manny maintained

such an internationally-recognized affair on a shoestring budget. As we have seen, only a

token amount of money was distributed as prizes, and much of the administrative

370 Popular and international folk music had definitely arrived in the Maritimes by the early 1960s. "Sing Along Jubilee" was a hit on CBC Halifax and Don Messer was likewise promoting a diverse array of pop and folk styles on his national television program. 371 The Daily Gleaner, August 29, 1968,3. 372 The Daily Gleaner, August 28, 1968, 3.

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legwork was (and still is) voluntary. In one of her essays, Manny noted that, "Even those

skeptics who saw no use in singing those come-all-ye's were impressed" by the support

which the event garnered from local spectators, the mayor, and lieutenant-governor J.

Leonard O'Brien.373 Furthermore, as it was doing with many similar cultural events

happening in the province, the New Brunswick Tourist Bureau (later a provincial

agency), which became a regular and crucial sponsor, "assisted our annual festivals with

press releases" in addition to the crucial annual grant.374 In fact, the MFF held so much

promise for tourism after its first year that the Bureau distributed inscribed cigarette

lighters to "everybody who entered in the first" occasion.375 Apparently, the department

foresaw enough potential in the event that it felt compelled to motivate future

participation.

373 Manny, "The Miramichi Folksong Festival", 3. 374 Manny and Wilson, Songs of the Miramichi, 12. 375 The North Shore Leader, July 7, 1959, 1.

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fig.5.1: MFSF Revenue $1,500

$1,125

$750

$375

$0 1959 1963 1964 1966 1967 • ticket sales B NB grants • external donations

Early Viability

Manny's exacting financial records show that as early as 1959 the MFF had

turned enough profit with its $1 tickets to pay the outstanding professional fees owed to

both Alan Mills and Ken Homer from the previous year. As fig. 5.1 illustrates, by 1963

ticket sales had declined slightly but climbed to reach their peak a couple of years later.

Provincial grants helped to sustain the festival after 1960, and without them the event

would have not been viable, since public donations were paltry to say the least. It would

seem that although the MFF was intended for the benefit of the Miramichi, it was far

from a locally-supported event. Moreover by committing herself to the community,

Manny also ensured that everyone who wished to do so could afford to attend, and by

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1961 one dollar still earned admission to all three nights.376 Moreover, as Fig.5.2 shows,

Manny's considerable personal 'donations'377 to keep the budget afloat during most of the

1960s underscored her claims to full creative control.

fig.5.2: Manny's Compensatory Donations

300

225

150

75

0 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967

Cashflow in the Red

A compiled listing of MFF expenditures during the years the data are available

shows that the $10 prize/award was given to a steadily increasing number of participants

since the event's inception. Fig.5.3 offers four aggregated categories, with 'other'

comprising such incidentals as stationary, janitorial services, advertising, clerical help,

loan interest, taxis, event supervision, and entertainment for American visitors.378 A

376 The Commercial World, August 11, 1961, 2. 377 The source for these figures is contained in Manny's consistent "financial statements" housed at the PANB, MCI307. 378 Louise Manny, "Report of Receipts and Expenditures", 1966, PANB, MCI 307.

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strong pattern can be discerned as 'food and decor' spending increased until around 1965,

after which snacks ceased to be served to the audience, and the stage became undecorated

once more. This chart reveals that while revenue was dropping, expenses had increased

enough by 1967 that Manny was required to bestow over $250 to balance the budget.

Moreover, while ticket sales bottomed out in 1967, the number of amateur performers -

as well as the number of paid professional musicians - surged by more than one third

from the previous year. Although it is not quite clear exactly why Manny retired as

manager in 1968 (although she was 77 years old by this time), it must have been owing to

both the increasingly prohibitive cost, as well as the contemporary folk idioms

permeating the event's traditional spirit. In any case, upon Manny's departure, the MFF

promptly garnered the sponsorship of the CKMR radio station, and with it, for the first

time, garnered regular financial support from the private sector.

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fig.5.3: MFSF Expenditures $1,500

$1,125

$750

$375

$0 1959 1963 1964 1966 1967 • awards musician & MC fees food & decor other

Manny Resists the Folk Revival

While the early MFF was struggling financially, its growing popularity and

tourism potential for the province led to tension between its uncompromising Miramichi

focus, and the increasingly politicized folk revival. The most direct example of this took

place in late 1963, at a time when folkie optimism was still undaunted. Columnist Dick

MacDonald, author of 'The Why's and Ways of Folk Music' in the Moncton Daily Times,

wrote to Manny in 1963 with a proposal for "an Atlantic Folk Festival". MacDonald

suggested Newcastle as the site of the amalgamated event; "for there you have already

taken a step in the movement".379 A preliminary proposal to be sure, MacDonald was

1 Dick MacDonald to Louise Manny, September 22, 1963, PANB, MCI307.

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nevertheless convinced about the benefits of a consolidated Maritime event. Such a

festival could "encompass both the down-to-earth 'authentic' singers in the Atlantic area

as well as some of the more well-known Canadian singers ... and probably a few imports

from south of the border . .. combining the ideas behind the Newport, R.I. festival and

your Miramichi affair".380 And while he claimed, "as a student of 'folkology'", to prefer

"the unabridged, untarnished approach to folk music".381 He suggested to Manny:

I have come to the conclusion that in order to reach the majority of the people, one must inject a dab of showmanship in songs ... and allow some margin for that extra feature - still omitting exploitation, of course. I feel the Maritimes are ready for a stepped-up look at folk music - and a big festival, with workshops and discussions, is the answer...at least the partial answer.382

Although his intentions were sincere, his proposition reasonable, and MacDonald would

soon become aware of Manny's uncompromising commitment to her local folk ideal.

Within two days Manny had replied to the columnist, and her response was

unwavering, pulling no punches:

Why should we cater to "the hoodlums who go to Mariposa? Your plan would not make 'folk music known to more people', but it would destroy our genuine regional singing ... I fear you have totally misunderstood our purpose and our achievement. The folksingers you appear to admire are not folksingers at all, but professional singers singing folksongs.383

Apparently, Manny had been yearning to expound upon her position relative to the larger

folk revival, and had found a good opportunity to do so with MacDonald. She wished to

380 Ibid. 381 Ibid. 382 Ibid. 383 Louise Manny to Dick MacDonald, September 24, 1963, PANB, MCI307. The popular Mariposa Folk Festival, established in 1961, was more comparable to Newport in the United States, complete with workshops, eclectic styles, and the 'stars' of the international folk scene. Despite its popular success, however, the mobile festival garnered a reputation for ideological schisms among organizers and musicians and unfettered rowdiness - to which Manny was probably referring.

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make clear that her festival had originated outside the bounds of the homogenizing larger

revival - under very different circumstances - and that it would indeed remain that way as

long as she was in charge:

Have your festival wherever you like. We are doing something unique and charming - and we certainly do not wish to emulate Mariposa or Newport. I think the great trouble with our people is that we want to imitate something others do (and do better than we could) and not preserve what we really have that is of value . . . Our festival is a get-together for local singers and their families. The hall is packed all 3 nights with line-ups. What more do we want? What happens to our local people when professionals move in? If the proposed festival were anything like the hideous programs I see on TV, mouthing, mowing and gesturing, and accompanied by banging guitars, I certainly want none of it.384

Manny had comprehensively laid out her intentions and expectations for the MFF - one

that featured a local amateur musicianship as well as a purely authentic aesthetic based on

regional history. Manny assumed the case was closed, but MacDonald was undaunted,

and his counter-reply arrived within a week. He rejoined: "I realize fully the work you

have put into the field, and admire you for it. In fact, I envy you. However, I am still of

the opinion that a little bit of something for many, is better than quite a bit for only a

handful of people."385 Predictably, Manny became even more resolute, and responded to

MacDonald two days later declaring:

I really haven't time to engage in long arguments with you. My position is that the MIRAMICHI FOLKSONG FESTIVAL will not be altered. After all, I don't believe you have been up here to see and hear us, have you? What is worse, you frame you remarks in the column so that many people think there is going to be a change in our Festival, which there will not be. Why not start a Festival of your own, and have it the way you like it?386

384 Ibid. 385 Dick MacDonald to Louise Manny, October 1, 1963, PANB, MCI307. 386 Louise Manny to Dick MacDonald, October 3, 1963, PANB, MCI307.

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While her plain-spoken steadfastness could be interpreted as stubbornness, the

evidence in her writing, and financial records suggests that Manny was not motivated by

profit, fame, or a desire to effect any social change. Her intentions were firmly

entrenched in the ideals of amateurism, localized historical preservation, and community

solidarity. Consequently, her unwavering commitment precipitated a backlash from

MacDonald who made plain his dissatisfaction with Manny's uncooperative posture in

the next instalment of 'The Why's and Ways'.

The 'Folkies' Appeal

MacDonald proceeded to quote the correspondence between himself and Manny

while protesting her claim that the MFF really did reach the majority of the public.

MacDonald complained that it is, in fact, merely "reaching the area people with mainly

regional New Brunswick songs".387 The columnist then reiterated his plan for an "eastern

Canada event" in which such staples as Helen Creighton, Alan Mills, and others, would

take part - although "the down-to-earth resident singers would hold the spotlight".388

Apparently some of those persons actively engaged in the Miramichi gathering were disturbed over the statement that an Atlantic festival could develop a few 'names' in the folk music field. This idea - merely a personal proposal - was not intended to offend or disturb anyone.389

MacDonald went on to describe his point of view - as a folk enthusiast within the throes

of the folk boom - and quite contrary to Manny's localized vision:

387 Dick MacDonald, "The Story of Whys & Ways of Folk Music," The Moncton Daily Times, October 5, 1963. 388 Ibid. 389 Ibid.

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What we personally think is that folksongs should not be preserved merely for posterity, or for a few academic folklorists of today. The heritage which belongs to every man and woman who walks should be made known to the school teacher, office worker, ditch digger, and executive. Folk music is not something that is reserved for a minority. It is everyone's, and should be regarded in that light.390

Like many others, MacDonald saw the potential in Manny's festival and suggested that

many people who had begun by listening to the Kingston Trio naturally moved to the

more authentic folk music forms as they became intrigued with the genre. Moreover,

MacDonald claimed, many of the professional folk singers whom Manny dismissed as

insincere could actually convey the original meaning of the music "without destroying

any aspects with musical ability".391 He closed his article with one last indirect appeal to

Manny: "Manny has just cause to fear that an influx of so-called professionals might

detract from the original meaning...but it need not happen . . . [the professional singers]

manage to command a sense of entertainment with their meaningful work."392

This ideological and artistic clash could not have been the only manifestation of

tension between Manny and the mainstream folk revivalists. Steiner points out that

Manny was well aware of the demand for her collection of songs and recordings and that

both she and Creighton often fretted about how much money to charge for the inevitable

use of 'their' songs. Manny was nevertheless proud when her "records given to

Doerflinger to copy attracted an audience in New York City".393 But by 1963 the Daily

Gleaner was observing "folksingers from all points in Canada and the United States

390 Ibid. 391 Ibid. 392 Ibid. 393 Steiner, "The Life". William Main Doerflinger (b. 1909 d. 2000) was a prolific American collector of sea shanties and visited the Maritimes frequently.

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invading the Miramichi community" and that "it's not strange to see people strolling

down main street clad in vivid sports shirts and sporting sunglasses and beards and

clutching a guitar".394 Although the newspapers speak of no impromptu pop-folk event

occurring in the town, once can imagine the young folkies, performing for one another

around the Newcastle Square. Whether Manny was prepared for it or not, the folk revival

had arrived in Miramichi and it would only be a matter of time until her familiar

stronghold was breached.

Song Selectivity

Until she retired in the late 1960s, Manny "sought to orchestrate the event",

according to Steiner, who also concludes that "in her quest to 'stabilize the folksong

idea', she exerted a kind of censorship".395 Manny's close friend Ives indicated in a 2002

essay: "It can't be overemphasized that this was (in a phrase I heard from many singers)

Miss Manny's Festival. She established the rules", and was convinced that singers would

only perform for prizes, and what songs could or could not be sung.396 Mac Stothart of

Newcastle told the Daily Gleaner in 1964 that the event had always been Manny's "brain

child". So focused was Manny during festival week that Susan Butler reminisces:

"Actually she used to scare me. She never smiled very much."397 Even the audience was

subject to her will when in 1960 Manny gave "instructions to the committee" that,

394 The Daily Gleaner, August 12, 1963, 3. 395 Steiner, "Regionalism", 247. 396 Ives, The Miramichi Folksong Festival", 15. 397 The Daily Gleaner, August 20, 1964, 3; Butler, telephone interview.

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No person is to enter or leave the Auditorium while a song is in progress ... The Committee should not allow any person to disturb the singers or the audience by talk, whispering or laughter ... People who have paid their way in may be asked to leave and get their money back, if they create a disturbance.398

Her regulations also extended to the MFF repertoire itself, and from day one

Manny had required potential singers to formally apply by filling out forms (see Fig. 5.4)

- which could be found in the local newspapers. The process required that applicants

register the two songs "I propose to sing", to be reviewed by Manny and her judges (if

available) for approval.399 Helen Creighton witnessed the process of selective screening

first-hand, noting that many of the applicants "were from the adjacent lumbering and

fishing communities on New Brunswick's north-eastern shore" and so did not have easy

access to the application forms.400 Creighton recalls:

Competitors would telephone and ask if they could sing such and such a song. If it was not familiar to Dr. Manny she would ask our opinion and we often heard her say, 'No, you can't sing that one; the judges say it is not a folk song.' In this way we established the stipulation that songs must be in the traditional style.401

398 Louise Manny, "Instructions to the Committee", 1960, PANB, MCI307. 399 The Daily Gleaner, August 23, 1958, 2. 400 Creighton, "Music to the Ear". 401 Ibid.

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MIRAMICHI FOLKSONG FESTIVAL BEAVERBROOK THEATRE AND TOWN HALL, NEWCASTLE SEPTEMBER 3, 4 AND 5 SPONSORS. Newcastle, Mary Chk. flxirolTi BUm I—tin Maav. MASTER OF CEREMONIES, Ken Homer, of CBC Radio Caravan. Mm hr Mmw «D *• to NwtkuriMftoB* Caatr Mum, a lollawai | 1. Oldest Sincer. 1' Bat Mm Slnfar 1 M Wmu Sun. 4. Best lulu Slatar (aan'ti) 5. Beat Bluer W > Felkseeg l» (Mh. «. B«st Mm Singer d i mi la Mkmu. ALSO: A Mn tar Ow bat GmI Mm (trwtm MtsMe. Nirtkmberiud Oat;) •BASON TICKETS, (M b> ID ar all tai UM. BmK Eatrutf wffl b< (hrca tlx CuavttnenUrr TMwto. ftr KbUMim ul FimuJi. Dm Ik* tnfc Batrr Farm, wr wrtU Was U«1m ! NmrauO*. MIRAMICHI FOLKSONG FESTIVAL ENTRY FORM (S«a* to vtu iMtae Mnwr. Hmmla) Nan W latraat tat OBh AMrea iwpNVf n*>Mm ..... SONGS I noposs TO smo:

fig. 5.4: MFF Song Application Form402

It can be surmised that through this mechanism of cultural selection that many

songs - very much a part of the local oral tradition - were left out for not being

'traditional' enough. Indeed, Greg Marquis points out that most of the songs of Charlie

Chamberlain, the 'singing lumberjack' from Bathurst, who began to perform with Don

Messer in Saint John in the 1930s, were the more recent compositions of Jimmie

Rodgers.403 Steiner explains that after "a particular notion of folksong ... became

institutionalized at the festival, some of the singers began to sing the same songs year

402 The Daily Gleaner, August 23, 1958, 2. 403 Greg Marquis, "Singing Cowboys, Jamborees and Bam Dances: The Popular Music Culture of the Northeastern Borderlands" (Presented at the Atlantic Canada Studies Conference, University of PEI, May 2009), 24.

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after year, even if they had large repertoires".404 Old favourites such as "The Alimony

Song" - describing the tale of an acrimonious divorce - or "If You'll Only Let Liquor

Alone" (collected by Ives) were apparently too unsavoury for Manny's particular taste.

Butler recalls the instance when she and her sister as children convinced one singer to

change his song selection at the last minute to perform that very tune instead - of which

"Louise hated with a passion".405 Although Manny was visibly angered by this prank, she

was apparently not known for holding grudges, and so the youths were not reprimanded

for the incident. Ives himself had seen her sometimes "quirky" behaviour first-hand, but

pointed out that Manny nevertheless "managed to keep the Festival focused on the old

local tradition".406

Perhaps the most well-known examples of Manny's tendency for censorship was

regarding Pete Seeger. At some point during the early 1960s the legendary folk

troubadour had expressed interest in the sincerity and authenticity of the MFF.

Apparently, the ambience of the event was a little too authentic, however, and Manny

later revealed that Seeger would have been welcome to play at her event if he would

refrain from playing his guitar.407 "Of course he could come," Manny said, "but he

couldn't sing."408 Ives claims that her decision was not political, but based on her concern

that Seeger's appearance would have, in all likelihood, detracted attention from the local

singers' performances 409 As we have seen, 'star' performers were exactly what Manny

404 Steiner, "Regionalism", 247; Perley Hare became associated with "Guy Reed", Wilmot MacDonald was forever known for the venerable "The Lumberman's Alphabet", and the bilingual and versatile Alan Kelly became attached to "The Steamer Alexander". 405 Butler, telephone interview. 406 Ives, "The Miramichi Folksong Festival", 16. 407 Butler, telephone interview. 408 Manny as quoted in Ives, "The Miramichi Folksong Festival", 15. 409 Ibid.

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did not wish the MFF to stand for. Moreover, Seeger's provocative songs of

empowerment would probably not have made it past Manny's selection process in the

first place.

Prioritizing Preservation

So why did Manny work so diligently to preserve her vision of the past through

folk song? "The songs," she told the Daily Gleaner in 1958, "represent folk culture that

have survived in spite of changing fashions and formal education. The Miramichi

Folksong Festival will do much to perpetuate and preserve a colorful segment of New

Brunswick's past."410 Those colours would alter very little, even in front of the backdrop

of socio-cultural revolution, and this same quotation was repeated verbatim to the

newspapers almost every year thereafter. Indeed another favourite line of the local press

was: "The local festival is unique on the North American continent in that it is the only

event of its kind to preserve the representative songs of an older era, and to perpetuate

them by having them sung yearly at the festival by untrained singers."411 Elvis Presley,

Bob Dylan, Peter, Paul and Mary, and the British Invasion had transformed popular- and

folk-music in the late 1950s and early 1960s. The MFF in 1964 supposedly remained "the

only one in [English] Canada in which the songs are presented just as they were

originally sung".412 And during the so-called Summer of Love in 1967, Canadian

410 Manny as quoted in The Daily Gleaner, August 20, 1958, 11. 411 The Daily Gleaner, August 18, 1959,3; The North Shore Leader, August 12, 1960, 1; The Commercial World, August 11, 1961, 2. 412 The North Shore Leader, August 20, 1964, 1.

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Centennial celebrations prompted an even more traditional program from the event,

which for its August 8th crescendo, featured "no songs less than 100 years old and many

much older".413 Steiner suggests that, "Manny galvanized an entire region around a

tradition that was beginning to become part of memory culture, and created contexts in

which that tradition could continue and be revitalized."414 By preserving those fading

memories within the insulated forum of the MFF, Manny began to inspire the

economically-beleaguered community to settle on more secure traditional-historical

foundations.

Before anything else, Manny emphasized the value of community - an organic

solidarity. Unlike her folklorist counterparts - both preceding and subsequent - who were

defined by their voyages into the exotic hinterland in search of the folk, Manny lived and

collected within her research locale, either encouraging the folk to come to her, or else

travelling within an, "eight-to-ten-mile radius of Newcastle".415 Steiner suggested in 2002

that the festival remained "unique among folk festivals in its emphasis on local

culture".416 Unlike Creighton, for example, who braved Nova Scotia's long, rocky coast

and rural roads and who then later built a composite image of the various folk she had

discovered, Manny provided a centralized safe haven for the Miramichi singers - who

still possessed enough oral tradition to be helpful to her cause. But unlike the amateur

nineteenth-century collectors surveyed in chapter I, Manny was interested in the local

community more than with nationalist principles.

4.3 The North Shore Leader, July 27, 1967, 1. 4.4 Steiner, "The Life". 415 Steiner, "Regionalism", 242. 416 Steiner, "The Festival in Recent Times," Northeast Folklore, 36 (2002): 25.

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Romanticization and the Community

Steiner also suggests that Manny "envisioned a gathering for traditional singers

and their friends" - a living museum - which consequently functioned as "an affirmation

of lumbermen and their families that gave them an impetus to keep singing even after the

demise of the lumbercamps".417 Such a authoritative endorsement of the past not only

brought singers together, but also reinforced a cohesive bond among hundreds of

Miramichiers inspired by Manny's local folk 'renaissance' and its subsequent MFF.

Manny claimed in 1963 that the event encouraged community solidarity as,

an opportunity for the singers in our area to get together, exchange songs, and sing for each other. There are no professionals at the Festival, except our esteemed guest, Alan Mills of Montreal, QC, CBC folksinger, whose efforts to promote regional and traditional songs and singing are well-known.418

What is more, Manny orchestrated the various performances throughout the multi-day

event in such a manner so that "all performers would get to hear one another".419 It was

"the happiest festival ever", remarked Creighton in 1960; and master of ceremonies Ken

Homer told the Commercial World that he had never enjoyed such an event so much 420

So localized was the MFF in this period, that Susan Butler remembers that as late

as 1983, just prior to her becoming the festival's director, the event had been plagued

with an injurious level of competition, with groups behaving "clannishly" when it came

4,7 Steiner, "Regionalism", 247. 418 Manny, "The Miramichi Folksong Festival", 1. 419 The Daily Gleaner, August 15, 1962, 1. 420 The Commercial World, August 18, 1960, 1; For some reason this article also contains several errata including references to "Dick" Underhill and "The Newcastle Fire".

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to long-acquired "monopolies" of the songs with which they had come to be identified

since the early days.421 Whether Manny had created a demand for the local folk idiom, or

whether it had been bubbling beneath the surface for decades, Ives remembers that the

Beaverbrook Theatre was never "less than two-thirds full" and always with "a stable,

friendly and attentive audience".422 What is more, at least during the first event in 1958,

each entrant was afforded a generous "six complimentary tickets for relatives and

friends" 423 As we have seen of the event's financial records, Manny had alternative

motives to that of profit-making, tourism, or plain revelry.

Small-town Newcastle and Chatham and surrounding communities had always

been close-knit, historically dependent on natural resources, and persevering through

unusually adverse conditions. Steiner claims that one reason for the "rapt attention" of the

community toward the MFF was because such a large proportion of the populace "knew

the tradition intimately" 424 The folklorist literally banked on a strong communal response

and organized the festival "for local singers and a local audience", "to hear each

other".425 And although the occasional night could be "marred by petty jealousies and by

too much alcohol", it nevertheless reinforced the already-strong kinship ties among the

participants and their friends and families.426

A few weeks after the Escuminac Disaster in 1959, in which thirty-five fishermen

drowned, struck the community, the second annual event featured a "benefit night" to

421 Butler, telephone interview. 422 Ives, "The miramichi Folksong Festival", 15. 423 The North Shore Leader, August 29, 1958, 4. 424 Steiner, "The Life". 425 Ives, "The Miramichi Folksong Festivai", 14; The North Shore Leader, September 12, 1960, 6. 426 Steiner, "The Life".

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raise money for the "Fisherman's Disaster Fund" with a collection plate to be

circulated.427 The implications for community solidarity are obvious. The untimely

disaster must have boosted the prestige of the MFF to what Miramichi native and

Canadian senator G. Percy Burchill later described as having "reached the status of

institution", as well as becoming a workshop for a distinctly Miramichi product.428

Moreover, the community bought in to the ideal with relish, as the North Shore Leader

declared in 1958:

These songs show the cultural background of our own country, and in the recording and perpetuating of them in all their simplicity something of the provincial life and culture that has a value and a beauty that is typically New Brunswick is caught ... It is hoped that it will become a permanent spot in the cultural calendar of the province.429

Indeed, one of the most efficient ways of consolidating community is to draw attention to

a common past. The Miramichi, with its 300-year history of disasters, heroes, scoundrels,

and economic boom and bust, was poised for this very traditional folklore revival. Even

today the MFF's website declares nostalgically that: "The Festival is rooted in the

tradition of ballads which told the stories of the times."430 During Manny's tenure, as we

have seen, that claim was much more relevant.

427 The Commercial World, August 13, 1959, 5. 428 Senator Burchill as quoted in The Daily Gleaner, August 12, 1965, 3. 429 The North Shore Leader, September 5, 1958, 2. 430 The Miramichi Folksong Festival Online.

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The Festival's Reputation Spreads

Partly because of the work of outside folklorists, the influence of the MFF spread

beyond the Miramichi and Northumberland County. While the renowned Creighton wrote

often about Manny and the festival, the event's charm and implications for heritage

reached even further than the Maritimes. In addition to the American professors already

mentioned, the North Shore Leader was noting by 1963 that visitors were trekking "from

as far away as Colorado, as well as others from the states of Vermont, Massachusetts,

Maine and New York".431 In addition, noteworthy commentators included Dr. L.S.

Russell, director of the National Museum in Ottawa, who affirmed that the MFF was

indeed "the only one in Canada in which the songs are presented just as they were

originally sung".432 The event was even filmed for a television broadcast by Bill Harper

and Bob Davis of CBC Halifax.433

In 1966 all four Atlantic province directors of the newly founded Canadian Folk

Art Council visited with Manny during festival week in order to plan for Centennial

celebrations the following year. By the end of that session they announced: "The

Maritime Provinces being the richest place in the sphere of folk arts it is imperative that a

good organization be set up to show to the rest of the country the vast cultural aspect of

the east provinces."434 It was no accident that the committee congregated in Newcastle

that summer, and for it that 'richness' must have begun at the MFF. And during the same

431 The North Shore Leader, August 16, 1963, 1. 432 The Commercial World, August 17, 1961, 1. 433 The Commercial World, August 10, 1961, 1. It is unclear where and in what context the program was played. 434 The Daily Gleaner, August 18, 1966, 3.

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year, because of editor Irvin Sibler's visit to the site the year before, the influential

American publication Sing Out! praised Manny and the MFF claiming: "This festival at

Newcastle, New Brunswick, Canada has traditional singers, lumberjacks, farmers,

housewives, local lore and history; one of the best festivals of traditional music on the

North American Continent."435 Although many of the selected songs originated from

outside of the region, and even hundreds of years earlier, Manny's festival was

consciously and utterly rooted in the cultural milieu of nineteenth century Miramichi, and

it was that very characteristic that earned it so much international acclaim in folk circles.

Manny's Retirement and the End of an Era

Manny retired from her position as MFF manager in 1968, whereupon she asked

her long-time assistant and friend, Maisie Mitchell, to assume her responsibilities.436

Perhaps owing to the encroaching influences of country music and folk-pop, the flavour

of the event changed overnight. Steiner noted in 2002 that some complained that the

festival then favoured "anglophone culture", while on the 'Miramichi' nights "there may

or may not be performers of traditional music, and they are even allowed to use electric

instruments"437 Telegraph Journal columnist and folk music aficionado Gerry Taylor

suggests that the modern incarnation "is a far cry from Louise's first festivals" where

professional singers and electric accompaniment were vigourously discouraged.438 Butler

435 Manny as quoted in The North Shore Leader, August 4, 1966, 1. 436 The North Shore Leader, August 22, 1968, 1. 437 Steiner, "Regionalism", 248; Steiner, "The Festival in Recent Times", 25. 438 The Telegraph Journal, August 2, 2007, D3.

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makes the case for aesthetic compromise claiming that the traditional singers are like the

"cake" while the professional imports constitute the "icing", and of course "you can't

have the icing without the cake".439 The Times and Transcript pointed out in 2007 that

although the Beaverbrook Theatre (now named the Beaverbrook Kinsmen Centre)

continued to accommodate only 400 spectators, a record 10,000 spectators had visited the

grounds during the previous year, and that "organizers are committed to showing the

public that folk and tradition are evolving with the times".440 Indeed, although Manny's

original singers have all but passed on, "continuity with the past is maintained at the

Festival" and Manny's original intentions persist via middle-class singers, such as school

principal John Driscoll, who has been known to venture in to the woods around

Miramichi in order to practice authentically his notable imitation of Wilmot MacDonald's

style.441

Local writer Donna Harriman protested in 1985: "The Festival is not the same as

it was at first. It's missing Miss Manny's touch."442 Nevertheless, the event, according to

Steiner several years later, "has remained a local event attended by a local audience" and

where "a romanticized image of the Miramichi identity became increasingly

dominant".443 Ives suggests that even though contemporary singers have replaced the

apparently authentic performers of Manny's time, the MFF has "not forgotten its past"

and has therefore managed to avoid becoming merely another "folkie festival".444 It was

439 Butler as quoted in The Telegraph Journal, August 2, 2007, D3 440 The Times & Transcript, August 4, 2007, El. 441 Steiner, "The Life"; Steiner, "The Festival in Recent Times", 25. 442 Harriman, Louise Manny, 10. 443 Steiner, "Regionalism", 248. 444 Ives, "The Miramichi Folksong Festival", 14.

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"one of her last wishes to keep the festival alive", Butler points out, and so the MFF Inc.,

both despite and because of its origins in regional conservatism, remains "the longest

standing of its kind in Canada and one of the longest in North America".445

Manny's Legacy

Louise Manny's modest intentions for her beloved childhood community were

noticed by authorities who recognized the potential of her efforts. Visiting this part of the

province for the first time, Lieutenant-Governor John B. McNair presented an award

from the American Association for State and Local History, declaring that her

"remarkable" career had precipitated "a great contribution to the history and culture of

New Brunswick"446 Upon Manny's death in 1970, New Brunswick Museum past

president Gerald Keith claimed that Manny "reawakened an interest and activity in the

local societies, as well, as increasing support from government and other sources".447

Manny's legacy in the field of local heritage certainly outpaced her localized intentions.

By investigating the financial record, the response of the press, and her own

expressed intentions for the MFF, this chapter has suggested that Manny maintained

idealistic intentions for the cultural phenomenon right up to her retirement in 1968.

Community solidarity was paramount, and was reinforced through the affirmation of an

already-celebrated local history. "What she singlehandedly did, then," explains Ives, "was

to bring about a folksong renaissance, not for the young urbanites with their guitars and

445 Butler as quoted in The Times & Transcript, August 3, 2007, D7. 446 The Daily Gleaner, August 12, 1966, 3; The Daily Gleaner, August 18, 1966, 5. 447 The Telegraph Journal, August 21, 1970, 18.

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dulcimers but for those local folk who still had the old tradition within them."448 What is

more, Manny cemented her prized sense of community which was based not only on

revival, "but which also mirrors, and even continues older traditions".449 The result was,

as Ives suggested, "a last hurrah" for a disappearing local oral tradition, offering "room to

breathe for yet a while longer" before the modern political, commercial, and stylistic

tenets of more contemporary folk music succeeded the habitual form 450

Two hundred eager spectators crowded the Beaverbrook Theatre on that first

evening in 1958, and heard then-Lieutenant-Governor J. Leonard O'Brien's inaugural

speech, outlining:

We are participating in history as it has much more or real worth than that of just passing entertainment... the holding of the festival tends to keep flourishing the past - which is tradition - and tradition, which often exemplifies itself in singing, moulds itself into the history of the country ... I may say that these simple crude verses have become our tradition.451

During the 1950s and 1960s Manny's Miramichi aligned community and history with the

traditional - even the romanticized or, in Ian McKay's words - the 'antimodern'.

Moreover, she rallied a core community around the Miramichi Folksong Festival - itself a

public forum for the symbols and music of the remaining folk. Through public

acclamations, her authority as a community leader, support from state dignitaries and

academic folklorists, as well as an unwavering commitment to communal ideals, Louise

Manny ensured the long-term survival of the festival by both romanticizing and

distinguishing not only a local tradition, but also the very event which made the original

448 Ives, "Oral and Written Tradition", 149. 449 Steiner, "Regionalism", 251. 450 Ives, "The Miramichi Folksong Festival", 16. 451 The North Shore Leader, September 5, 1958, 1.

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revival possible. The Miramichi Folksong Festival event was truly one "like no other -

anywhere or ever".452

Cultural Selection Canonized

During the same year that Manny relinquished her position as director, both she

and James Reginald Wilson published a book that cemented the legacy of her localized

folklore venture. If, in Nova Scotia the folk music canon remains the Helen Creighton

Collection and her books, in English New Brunswick among the leading candidates is

Songs of Miramichi,453 This extensive collection of scores and lyrics is a reflection of the

authors' predisposition toward communal continuity at the expense of the musical

evolution. Of the fifty "songs indigenous to Miramichi and the [Atlantic] North East"

chosen by Manny and Wilson, the lumber experience takes up by far the largest portion,

with thirteen of the songs, such as "Bruce's Log Camp", describing logging camps, failed

endeavours, and terrible accidents. The second largest category is defined by satirical

songs in the style of Larry Gorman - such as "Charley Bell" - and which are typically

jaunty stabs at people or places. Six more songs deal with the perils of shipping life and

fishing in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Songs such as "The Cedar Grove" describe the harsh

lifestyle and uncertain livelihood of local fishermen. At least four of the songs in this

chapter of Songs deal overtly with the experience of travelling, usually to New England.

Tunes such as "The Good Old State of Maine" hint at another Maritime reality - that of

452 Ives, "The Miramichi Folksong Festival", 16. 453 Creighton also compiled some New Brunswick songs shortly after Manny's death with Folk Songs of Southern New Brunswick (Ottawa: National Museums of Canada, 1971).

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leaving the region, at least temporarily, in search of success abroad. Four more songs tell

of particular gruesome murders, such as that of Mrs. Dutcher in 1896, in "The Moncton

Tragedy".454 Such tales were especially popular for their startling entertainment value 455

Few of the chapter's songs list a named author, other than those credited to the more

common singers Joe Scott or Larry Gorman.

At first glance, the remainder of the songs appear to be a good representation of

the English New Brunswick experience. For example, "The Messenger Song" is an

equestrian adventure, "The Home Brew Song" is a rare satire criticizing the failed project

of Prohibition, "The Wayerton Driver" depicts a love betrayed, and "The Dungarvon

Whooper" is a popular local ghost story. Despite the book's title, Acadian life is woefully

underrepresented, however, while the First Nations experience is all but absent.

Furthermore, any songs suggesting a New Brunswick experiencing modern, industrial

development seems purposefully absent. Moreover, apart from three or four songs

dealing with slightly more contemporary events such as the Great War or the Escuminac

fishing disaster of 1959, Manny's collection is firmly centred on the nineteenth and very

early twentieth centuries.

In the case of Songs of Miramichi the immortalized tunes become fuel for

ideologies long after their creation, and well beyond their originally-intended purpose.

Myths survive, not because they are necessarily valuable intrinsically, but because they

are useful to both those who transmit and receive them. Manny admits to at least some

selectivity, claiming that "so many of our indigenous songs are inextricably associated

454 Manny, Songs of Miramichi, 155. 455 Ibid, 11.

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with the woodsmen".456 As has been discussed previously, the traditional, manual

methods for extracting raw timber in the Miramichi were supplanted by corporate

monopolies in the area by the 1930s. By then, pulp and paper mills had all but replaced

the sawmills of the late nineteenth century; and if they were not lucky enough to garner

work as pulpwood cutters, the last of the lumbermen retired or moved on by the 1950s. In

fact, upon her original commission by Beaverbrook to uncover the folk and their music

Manny was certain that this obscure oral tradition would perish over the next decade -

along with the men who retained it. By the 1960s Manny's work had painted

contemporary Miramichi with traditional-historical colours.

The Application of Folk Tradition

Referring to Richard Dawkins' The Selfish Gene (1976), cultural selection theorist

Agner Fog suggests that genes make use of their host bodies in order to transmit

themselves from one generation to the next. Evolutionary mutations arise occasionally,

and are either rejected or incorporated according to their benefit within a dynamic

environment. Accordingly, the human cultural counterpart to the gene is the meme - a

"culturally transmitted unit of information" - and Fog likens it to religious sects, fashion,

and even music.457 He states:

A culture may evolve because certain cultural elements are more likely to spread and be reproduced than others, analogously to a species evolving because

456 Manny, Songs of Miramichi, 11. 457 Agner Fog, Cultural Selection (Dordrecht: Kluwer, 1999), 41.

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individuals possessing certain traits are more fit than others to reproduce and transmit these traits to their offspring.458

Although Fog himself admits that the paradigm can only result in what is little more than

"soft science", the analogy can be useful when describing the persistence of those

specific folk songs preferred by Louise Manny.

As evident during Manny's time, the medium of song remains one of the most

efficient means in which to relay cultural information among semi-literate peoples. When

songs are uncovered and transcribed by those well-meaning folklorists, those memes not

only become successful adaptations, they can also cease to evolve as pliable elements of

the dynamic oral tradition. Manny herself pointed out at the dawn of her folklore career

that some singers - such as the celebrated travelling satirist Larry Gorman - would freely

adapt older songs in order to suit his need for recounting contemporary stories. Manny

claimed in 1945: "No one would be more amused than Larry Gorman to know that these

crude broadsides are now 'collector's items' of the rarest sort."459 Few of Manny's

singers had ever seen 'their' songs in print, and neither had they ever expected to.460

Weighing in on the matter, Edward Ives claimed in a 1977 article:

We talk about the 'old' songs, and we discuss 'the tradition' as if it were (or had been) something closed, established, final, canonized. Yet in the foregoing pages we have seen men seeking novelty, learning 'new' songs, cornering men coming home from the woods 'to learn some of the new songs'... It is a paradox that in order for there to be continuity, there must be change. A closed tradition is a dead tradition.461

458 Ibid, 9. 459 Louise Manny, "Larry Gorman - Miramichi Balladist," Maritime Advocate and Busy East 40 (October, 1949). 460 Manny, Songs of Miramichi, 15. 461 Edward Ives, "Lumbercamp Singing and the Two Traditions." Canadian Folk Music Journal, 5 (1977), 23.

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Solidarity and the Power of Music

Fog also suggests that "music has a sociobiological function by contributing to the

creation of solidarity and collective identity within a tribe or society ... and also

communicates norms of how the society is structured and how people should relate to one

another".462 It is clear that the selective musical repertoire which Manny promoted in the

Miramichi was intended in large part for this purpose. "Such a festival", she claimed,

"will help keep alive and flourishing the folk songs of the Miramichi which are part and

parcel of our history and culture".463 And although the music scene in Miramichi was as

diverse as in any other region of the Maritimes in the 1960s, by 1964 the local press, at

least, was toting the banner of the regionalized cultural revival, claiming that the MFF

finally allowed "a chance to bring the past up to the present".464

Louise Manny was also well aware of her atypical position in dealing with rowdy

male singers. Although she possessed the wisdom and determination to see the folk

collecting job through to conclusion, her non-traditional aspirations had limits. During

the socially-revolutionary 1960s, more than twenty years after her quest began, Manny,

described a traditional poem in Songs of Miramichi, noting nostalgically that "the Sinclair

firm was a 'paternal' organization, a system which it is now the fashion to disparage, but

at its best it worked so well that it is no wonder that old men refer to the 'good old

462 Fog, Cultural Selection, 200. 463 Manny as quoted in Doyle, Heroes, 100. 464 The Daily Gleaner, August 7, 1964, 3.

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days'".465 Although it is clear that Manny-as-professional-folklorist enjoyed both marital

and vocational independence during her lifetime, her feminine self-concept could hardly

be separated from the tradition of those 'old men', at least in the musical media of which

she studied.

465 Manny, Songs of Miramichi, 58.

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Conclusion

When considering the conservatism of both the folk and folklorists, we must

return McKay's concept of innocence. The term alludes to the alleged regional naivety

and ignorance that are at the heart of many stereotypes. According to McKay, Nova

Scotia's Helen Creighton "constructed the folk of the countryside as the romantic

antithesis to everything they disliked about modern urban and industrial life", while their

songs were portrayed as "the cultural core of a noncomplex society".456 Louise Manny's

first music-finding commission was born out of Beaverbrook's own nostalgic desire to

track down the popular local songs of his youth 467 The folk, recently unearthed and put

on display, were pronounced as remaining 'innocent' of the negative aspects of modern

society. Even the lumbercamp singers and their descendants, with their rollicking tales,

their reputation for drinking and fighting, and who were often at odds with Manny's

middle-class sensitivities, were made to fit the ideals of nostalgia through her process of

cultural selection. The songs approved for the festival and collected in Songs of the

Miramichi, the festival's commitment to amateur solo singing, and its resistance to

modern folk revival forces meant that in 1960s Miramichi at least, there was a

conservative cultural force at odds with a diverse and modernizing economy.

In McKay's analysis of neighbouring Nova Scotia, the idea of the 'folk' in the

early to mid-twentieth century also served as an ideological haven for traditional family

466 Ibid, 4, 17. 467 Edward Ives, "Oral and Written Tradition: A Micro-View from the Miramichi," in The World Observed: Reflections on the Fieldwork Process, ed. Brice Jackson and Edward Ives (Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1996), 160.

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and gender values. The greatest attraction for those middle-class beneficiaries such as

Manny was that although they appeared quaint in custom, the folk did not challenge "the

established order".468 McKay describes the perceived character of these 'others' as

"irrevocably tied to conservative conceptions of class, gender, race, and ethnicity" and

"fiercely superstitious, family-centred and respectful of conventional moralities".469 For

Louise Manny and her female contemporaries, delving into the world of the folk meant

that they could experience the mystery of the unfamiliar and the satisfaction of a

meaningful vocation, without compromising the moralistic familiarity of their own

upbringing.

Terry Brewer suggests that his own book's title indicates "cultural appropriation -

the use of traditional concepts, forms and symbols to create an association with

traditional ideas and values, usually for commercial, political or ideological purposes" 470

Like Creighton in Nova Scotia, Manny selected certain songs of the folk and worked to

make them fit useful traditional conventions. Unlike Creighton, however, Manny's

experiment was intended to benefit a very localized community and its endangered folk.

Indeed, she reiterated to the columnist from Moncton that she was not interested in

spreading her folk gospel to the rest of the province and beyond, choosing rather to

"preserve the songs from a region for the people of that region".471 In 1963 Manny, in an

interview with Don Hoyt of the Telegraph Journal, defined a folk song as an open-ended

"song a person sings from memory for his own pleasure and that of his friends" 472

468 McKay, The Quest of the Folk, 136. 469 Ibid, 135, 137. 470 Brewer, The Marketing of Tradition, 54. 471 Steiner, "The Life". 472 Hoyt, The Telegraph Journal, February 9, 1963, 3.

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According to the Commerical World, in 1961, "In many cases the singers have never seen

the words or music of their songs in print", suggesting that Manny was free to canonize at

will those songs in line with her ideology of communal continuity.473 In addition,

although she was not musically-inclined herself, there was also an artistic aesthetic

present in Manny - the cultivated amateur who preferred local, amateur performers.

It is tempting, as McKay has suggested of Creighton, to label Manny as socially

conservative. Although a single woman with no children or living relatives, the educated

and privileged Manny enjoyed enough resources as a result of her personal connections

and community service to seek out those romanticized symbols of the folk - as the

ultimate service to her beloved Miramichi. However, as we have seen, Manny was ahead

of her time when it came to university training, financial independence, an amateur sports

career, and the freedom to travel. While she extolled a nostalgic and even anti-modern

vision of Miramichi's past, the Victorian virtues of femininity, patriarchy, and the middle-

class family of that period did not translate to Manny's own lifestyle. Songs such as the

revived and revered staple "The Miramichi Fire" recounted the tremendous loss suffered

by residents of Newcastle during the summer of 1825, Steiner argues that it has remained

a powerful symbol that has inspired locals into the twenty-first century with "a sense of

loyalty to the area and to each other".474 In a very personal example of cultural selection,

Manny seemed taken with the persevering and self-sufficient nature of the lumbermen

and the Miramichi, and chose those virtues of the past for herself.

473 The Commercial World, August 10, 1961, 1. 474 Steiner, "Regionalism", 243.

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New Brunswick writer, Arthur Doyle, suggests: "There are few regions in New

Brunswick, or in any part of the country for that matter, that have a strong sense of

identity and more pride in their roots than the Miramichi."475 In that same vein, journalist

Steve Heckbert wrote in 1984 that Miramichiers were "an insular people mindful of their

beginnings, whose joy in living in unsurpassed" 476 However, despite the romanticized

claims of journalists and popular writers, as described throughout this thesis, Miramichi

had become a modern industrial and commercial centre by the 1960s. In fact, it featured a

college, an strategic RCAF air base armed with nuclear weapons and jet interceptors,

several newspapers, a radio station, a world-class mine, pulp and paper plants, movie

theatres, and dozens of small business entrepreneurs. During Manny's tenure the MFF

contributed to a romanticization of the Miramichi within the context of modernity.

By 1977, the North American folk boom had long since waned as the dominant

form of popular music on the continent. However, it had made a lasting impression and

indeed continued to thrive in Atlantic Canada. Groups and artists such as Ryan's Fancy,

Stan Rogers, the Garrison Brothers, Millers Jug, Lenny Gallant, John Allen Cameron, the

Rankin Family, Ron Hynes, the Wonderful Grand Band, 1755, and others took advantage

of a trend that connected music with place. Nevertheless, Manny's friend Helen

Creighton echoed the 'popular antiquities' perspective of those first 'professional'

folklorists, Alexander Krappe and William John Thorns, claiming: "Real folk songs are

those which have survived through generations, not the modern ones which have been

475 Doyle, Heroes, 98. 476 Heckbert, "The Miramichi", 63.

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recently created, in the folk style genre."477 Both Creighton and Manny were convinced

with what a romanticized past could offer the present, and so selected from the available

songs to do just that. Enamoured with the work of the renowned Creighton, journalist

Barry Edwards claimed rather inconsistently: "Far more than mere nostalgia ... the folk

music and Folklore [Creighton] has collected and preserved is part of life itself, albeit a

way of life that is gone."478

This thesis has argued that endowed as a cultural authority in her native

Miramichi, Louise Manny contributed to a localized predisposition toward convention,

nostalgia, and continuity with the past. While her efforts promoted, among other things, a

reinforced sense of community and historical solidarity, the area's river-side towns were

at the same time struggling to modernize and escape the cycle of dependence on a fickle

resource economy. The first and most traditional of Canadian folk festivals was, at least

during the 1950s and 1960s, at odds with a local economy still moving ahead.

Resource and time restraints for this study have left a few good questions

unanswered. Uncovering Manny's own political preferences may have helped to further

understand the motivation behind the collector's insistence on community and nostalgia.

In addition, an assessment of Manny's views on the predominant Irish -Canadian element

in the region may offer more clues to the folklorist's selection process regarding ethnicity.

Finally and most intriguing are the songs that did not make it into Manny book and were

not permitted on the festival stage. As described above, Manny included fifty locally-

derived songs for her book, although the pool of available tunes must have been several

477 Creighton as quoted in Barry Edwards and Nancy McGregor, "Collecting the lore of Maritime folk," Fugue (December 1977), 19. 478 Ibid, 19.

161

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times larger. Through a rigourous screening process, Manny retained authority over what

made it through. However - and perhaps purposefully - very few of the rejected songs are

named in the historical record. Coupled with systematic analysis of the songs' lyrics,

compiling a large, random sample of Miramichi folk songs would both further describe

Manny's mission, as well as suggest what symbols have remained 'useful' for that

community.

While its effect on local culture after Manny's tenure remains to be studied, the

star performers, thousands of annual visitors, and venerable status of the MFF today

speaks of its legacy as a New Brunswick cultural institution. Today the increasingly

inclusive and diverse event would be unrecognizable to Manny. Under the careful

guidance of current director Susan Butler and the labours of countless volunteers, the

MFF remains contemporarily relevant while continuing to recognize the local musical

lore that Manny so cherished. And while Manny did not intend for the early festival to be

a commercial viability, it was inevitably a cultural success - as the performers and

audience continue to attest. At its fiftieth incarnation in 2007 the MFF attracted more than

10,000 visitors over its six-day celebration of eclectic musical genres performed by such

nationally-recognized artists as country singer Carroll Baker and Newfoundland singer

Ron Hynes. And far from being merely a folk music affair, the modern event featured a

Gospel concert, country music by local Darcy Mazerolle, and fiddling performances by

the Miramichi Fiddlers as well as Ivan Hicks. Reflecting on the longevity and continuity

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of the festival was the presence of Alan Kelly, the bilingual and staple singer from

Manny's time - who turned 104 years old that year.479

Under the direction of one influential woman, the MFF developed as an anomaly

within the popular/commercial/protest context of the North American folk revival. Even

as the several area newspapers indicated that fashion, life styles, and editorial opinions

became more liberal and modern, the tone of the festival remained strikingly consistent

for over a decade. Manny had a specific vision for the event, and her absolute authority

over decor, performers, songs, prizes, program, finances, judges, and promotion ensured

that not only her beloved golden age - but also her vision of community solidarity -

would be preserved in the hearts and voices of generations of Miramichiers.

1 Susan Butler, The Times and Transcript. August 3, 2007, D7

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

PRIMARY SOURCES

Archival Sources

The Beaverbrook Collection - Harriet Irving Library:

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Provincial Archives of New Brunswick:

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Newspapers

/ 'Acadie Nouvelle (Dieppe)

The North Shore Leader (Newcastle)

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Census of1686, 20.

Census of 1767, 72.

Census of 1834, 115.

164

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Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. CURRICULUM VITAE

Education:

BA Honours (History, Sociology). 2004-2008. Atlantic Baptist University, Moncton, New Brunswick. Honours Thesis: "Elvis, Massey, and The Canadian Cultural Sovereignty of the Post-War Era."

Funding:

University Research Fund Grant, University of New Brunswick, Canada. "Hearts and Voices: Cultural Selection and Historical Revival in Miramichi, New Brunswick, 1950- 1970." (2009-2010).

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