Spring–Summer 2006 Volume 32: 1–2 The Journal of New York Folklore A Community’s Quilt Monastery on the Hudson Looking for Legends Family Folklore E-Resources Immigrant Arts Contents Spring–Summer 2006 Features 3 Piecing Together a Community: A Late Nineteenth-Century Friendship Quilt from Peterboro, New York by Shirley Morgan 12 Folklore E-Resources for All? Why Public Access Matters by Kathleen Condon 3 19 In the Midst of a Monastery: Filming the Making of a Buddhist Sand Mandala by Puja Sahney 18 24 A Grandmother’s Legacy by Virginia M. Scida 28 Immigrant Arts in Collaboration: Current Community Cultural Initiatives by Emily Socolov and Gabrielle M. Hamilton Introduction by Tom van Buren 34 Legend Quests by Libby Tucker 39 The Family Pond by John G. Hait Departments and Columns 2 Announcements 10 Upstate by Varick A. Chittenden 11 Downstate by Steve Zeitlin 17 Foodways by Lynn Case Ekfelt 28 18 Bookshelf Essentials by Tom van Buren 27 Good Spirits by Libby Tucker 33 Obituary 39 38 New York Folklore Society News 42 Play by John Thorn 43 Eye of the Camera by Martha Cooper Cover: Lama Chopal finishing 45 Book Reviews the outer ring of a Buddhist sand mandala. Photo: Puja 47 Creative Nonfiction Sahney Spring–Summer 2006, Volume 32: 1–2 1 Exploring Beauty Meet Your Neighbors The Schweinfurth Memorial Art Center in The Children’s Museum in Utica, New Auburn, New York, is hosting a summer York, presents “Meet Your Neighbors: Fam- folk arts program, “Exploring Beauty: Folk ily Folk Arts Festival.” Arts in Central New York.” Friday, July 14 (noon–3:30 p.m.), and Saturday, May 20: Chinese, Latino, and Saturday, July 15 (10:30 a.m.–3:30 p.m.): Na- Liberian dance and folk arts demonstrations, tive American arts will be demonstrated by 2:00–4:00 p.m. Oneida Nation members, and traditional Sunday, August 20: African and Native dance with zither music will be performed American dance and folk arts demonstra- by the German American community, Uti- tions, 2:00–4:00 p.m. ca’s oldest immigrant group. New immigrant Programs are funded by the New York artists from Burma and Bosnia will also par- State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) and are ticipate. free to the public. For information call (315) For information about this NYSCA- 255-1553 or visit www.schweinfurth- funded program, call (315) 724-6129. artcenter.org/events/folk.html. La Fiesta Spring–Summer 2006 · Volume 32: 1–2 Fair Fotos Tuesday, August 22: The National Mu- Acquisitions Editor Felicia Faye McMahon ANNOUNCEMENTS Managing Editor Sheryl A. Englund The Folklife Center at Crandall Public Li- seum of Racing and Hall of Fame in Sarato- Photography Editor Martha Cooper brary in Glens Falls, New York, presents “Fair ga Springs will host La Fiesta, a festival cele- Design Mary Beth Malmsheimer Printer Eastwood Litho Fotos: Agricultural Portraits by Clifford Oliv- brating the cultural traditions of the Sarato- er,” a new exhibition in the Folklife Gallery. ga racetrack. Admission is free. The event is Editorial Board Varick Chittenden, Lydia Fish, Nancy Groce, Lee Haring, Libby Tucker, The exhibit will be on display from June 5 supported by the New York State Council Kay Turner, Dan Ward, Steve Zeitlin to September 6. Gallery hours are Monday on the Arts folk arts program. For informa- Voices: The Journal of New York Folklore through Thursday, 9:00 a.m.–9:00 p.m.; Fri- tion call (518) 584-0400. is published twice a year by the day, 9:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m.; and Saturday, 9:00 New York Folklore Society, Inc. 133 Jay Street a.m.–5:00 p.m. Summer Internships at Mind- P.O. Box 764 For information and a schedule of pro- Builders Schenectady, NY 12301 grams visit www.crandalllibrary.org. The Dr. Beverly Robinson Community New York Folklore Society, Inc. Folk Culture Program educates youth by ex- Executive Director Ellen McHale Web Administrator Patti Mason Fandango de Tortugas ploring cultural traditions in the Bronx com- Voice (518) 346-7008 Join Mano a Mano as we celebrate the na- munity. As paid interns at Mind-Builders Fax (518) 346-6617 Web Site www.nyfolklore.org ture and culture of Veracruz State with son Creative Arts Center, young people ages 12– jarocho music, the danced rhythms of the za- 18 discover and interview Bronx communi- Board of Directors President Mary Zwolinski pateado, and the tasty foods of the region. ty folk artists, musicians, storytellers, danc- Vice President Hanna Griff The sweet water turtles of Mexico and their ers, storeowners, and craftspeople from Af- Secretary-Treasurer Ladan Alomar Karen Canning, Susan Chodorow, Pamela Cooley, James U.S. cousins will be our mascots as we learn rica and the Caribbean; research cultural tra- Corsaro, Eniko Farkas, Nancy Johnson, Elena Martínez, more about conservation and wildlife. ditions in their families; create multimedia Marline Martin, Stan Ransom, Bart Roselli, Greer Smith, When: Afternoon of Sunday, June 25 projects to document folklife; and participate Kevin White, Lynne Williamson Where: Belvedere Castle and Turtle Pond, in community folk culture presentations. Advertisers: to inquire, please call the NYFS Central Park, New York July through August 2006; hours to be (518) 346-7008 or fax (518) 346-6617. For information or to volunteer at the announced. Please inquire for information. event, call (212) 571-1555 ext. 35, Call Deirdre Hollman, Folk Culture Program Voices is available in Braille and recorded e-mail [email protected], or visit Director, (718) 652-6256 ext. 15; or e-mail versions. Call the NYFS at (518) 346-7008. www.manoamano.us. [email protected]. The New York Folklore Society is committed to providing services with integrity, in a manner that conveys respect for the dignity of the individuals and communities the NYFS serves, as well as for their cultures, including ethnic, religious, occupational, and regional traditions. The programs and activities of the New York Folklore Society, and the publication of Voices: The Journal of New York Folklore, are made possible in part by funds from the New York State Council on the Arts. Voices: The Journal of New York Folklore is indexed in Arts & Humanities Citation Index and Music Index and abstracted in Historical Abstracts and America: History and Life. Reprints of articles and items from Voices: The Journal of New York Folklore are available from the NYFS. Call (518) 346-7008 or fax (518) 346-6617. ISSN 0361-204X © 2006 by The New York Folklore Society, Inc. All rights reserved. 2 VOICES: The Journal of New York Folklore Piecing Together a Community: A Late Nineteenth-Century Friendship Quilt from Peterboro, New York BY SHIRLEY MORGAN Women’s history is often sparsely documented, but investigation of specific udy Kratts, an accomplished quilter, examples of material culture produced by women—such as quilts—can con- Jpurchased an old signature quilt top— tribute significantly to local history and provide compelling stories about ordi- not a finished quilt—in 1995 at an antique nary women. I researched an undocumented signature (or friendship) quilt show in her hometown of Saranac Lake, New top. Through genealogical research on the names inscribed on the quilt top, I York. Like other signature quilts, this one was able to trace its origins to the rural community of Peterboro, New York, bears forty handwritten names. After Kratts in the late nineteenth century. Further research into local history, combined showed me the quilt, I was able to deduce with an examination of the quilt’s design, construction, and materials, led me that it was made in Peterboro in Madison to a theory about the identities of the quilter and the intended recipient. Both County, New York, between August 11, individuals were members of the Martindale family who resided in Peterboro. 1890, and October 20, 1891. In researching Using this friendship quilt as a focus revealed details about community life the names on the quilt, many stories have that typify the period, as well as numerous stories of both success and suf- unfolded. fering experienced by women and their families. The quilt serves as an endur- Antique quilts are women’s folk art. They ing record of women who might otherwise have remained invisible. are wonderful records of the creativity of The antique quilt (left) beside Kratt’s reproduction (right) at a 2004 quilt show in Saranac Lake. Photo: Scott Morgan Spring–Summer 2006, Volume 32: 1–2 3 Peterboro was also notable in religious re- form and women’s rights. As it turns out, the Martindales—the family most promi- nent among the names on the quilt top— had ties to Gerrit Smith and his abolitionist activities. William Martindale was among a group of neighbors who worked closely with Gerrit Smith earlier in the nineteenth century (Friedman 1982, 97). Smith was a member of the Secret Six, a group that funded John Brown’s raid on Harper’s Ferry (Oates 1970, 238). According to Donna Burdick, after John Brown’s arrest, members of the Martindale family hid weapons in the Martindale black- smith shop in Peterboro, in case they needed to defend Gerrit Smith against arrest for his role in the raid. Gerrit Smith had been dead for about fifteen years by the time the quilt was made, but his imprint on the commu- nity of Peterboro has been enduring. The quilt top provides a record of associ- Quilt block signed Aunt Libbie Taylor, the quilt’s possible maker. Photo: Shirley Morgan ations that documents Peterboro’s cultural history. The primary association appears to women who, in many cases, worked with a a collage of fabric that represents, with its be family, spanning three generations.