First Timers and Old Timers: the Texas Folklore Society Fire Burns On

First Timers and Old Timers: The Texas Folklore Society Fire Burns On First Timers and Old Timers: The Texas Folklore Society Fire Burns On Edited by Kenneth L. Untiedt Publications of the Texas Folklore Society LXVIII University of North Texas Press Denton, Texas © 2012 Texas Folklore Society All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Permissions: University of North Texas Press 1155 Union Circle #311336 Denton, TX 76203-5017 The paper used in this book meets the minimum requirements of the American National Standard for Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, z39.48.1984. Binding materials have been chosen for durability. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data First timers and old timers: the Texas Folklore Society fire burns on/edited by Kenneth L. Untiedt. –– 1st ed.p. cm. –– (Publications of the Texas Folklore Society; 68) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-57441-471-4 (cloth : alk. paper) –– ISBN 978-1-57441-483-7 (ebook) 1. Folklore––Texas. 2. Texas––Social life and customs––20th century. 3. Texas––Social life and customs––21st century. 4. Texas––Biography. 5. Texas Folklore Society. I. Untiedt, Kenneth L., 1966– II. Series: Publications of the Texas Folklore Society; no. 68. GR110.T5F5 2012 398.209764––dc23 2012032712 First Timers and Old Timers: The Texas Folklore Society Fire Burns On is Number LXVIII in the Publications of the Texas Folklore Society CONTENTS Preface by Kenneth L. Untiedt ix I. “Back in the Day”: Reflections on Times Passed Linda Wolff “Use It Up. Wear It Out. Make It Do. Do Without.” 3 Lora B. Davis Garrison “Growing Up in the Goat Pen” 15 Scott Hill Bumgardner “The Wheels of Our Lives” 23 Archie P. McDonald “Back Then” 29 Robert J. (Jack) Duncan “I’m Here to Tell You!: Family Vignettes from the Depression Era” 39 Lori Najvar “A Czech Way of Business” 51 Al Lowman “Some Recollections of Defining Events” 59 II. Texas Music Ken Baake “‘Hell in Texas’: Crossing Between Sin and Salvation in Texas Folk Songs” 75 Paul H. Carlson “Buddy Holly, Beethoven, and Lubbock in the 1950s” 85 Carol Bolland “Waltz Across Texas: An Exploration of the Music in the German and Czech Dance Halls of South Central Texas and the Bands that Played the Music” 95 Jerry B. Lincecum “The Music of Ruby Allmond” 107 Francis Edward Abernethy “Songs of the Depression” 117 John Igo “‘July 4, 1976’: A Folktale from the Helotes Settlement” 135 v vi Contents III. Legends in Their Time—and Ours Still Mike Felker and Liz Brandt “Frances Lane and Mattie Felker: Two Legendary Ladies of Texas” 141 Donna Ingham “The Evolution of a Family Epic” 155 Kit Chase “Lon Goldstein and the Gainesville Owls” 163 Carla Ellard “Russell Lee’s Texas Photographs” 173 Manuel F. Medrano “Américo Paredes, Border Anthropologist” 183 James Ward Lee “Sages, Pundits, and Spinners” 193 Jim Harris “James and John: Wild and Crazy Apostles of the TFS West” 203 IV. Everything But the Kitchen Sink: Ghosts, Legends, Language, and Other Lore J. Michael Sullivan “Ghost Stories and Legends of Old San Patricio” 223 Kenneth W. Davis “The Widow’s Revenge: The Genesis and Development of a Tale in Bell County” 233 Henry Wolff, Jr. “Tip to Tip—Legendary Texas Longhorns” 243 Jo Virgil “The Aurora Airship Crash of 1897” 255 Claire Campbell “The Hidfolk of Texas” 265 Jean Granberry Schnitz “CURSES! (“!?*#ZX?@”)” 273 J. Rhett Rushing “Monsters in Texas” 285 Acayla Haile “The Folklore of Plants: Growing Up in the Hill Country” 293 Contents vii Gene Young “High Art versus the Oral Tradition” 305 Charles B. Martin “The Hispanic Shaman” 317 Contributors’ Vitas 325 Index 337 PREFACE The Texas Folklore Society has been around for over a hundred years now, and in terms of printed scholarship pertaining to the lore of Texas and the Southwest, we’ve produced more than any other organization in the state. In fact, I think it’s safe to say that we’ve contributed more to folklore scholarship in general than any state folklore organization in the country. This is the 68th full- length book in our regular Publications of the Texas Folklore Soci- ety series, and we’ve assisted with the publication of dozens of other books in our Extra Books series and other related works. But what is the future of the Society? In this “information age” of the Internet and social networking sites and trying to keep up with constantly changing technology, what is the future of an organization that focuses on trying to maintain its culture through the oral tradition? It’s right here. This book, as is the case with most of our publications, is composed of papers that have been presented at the organization’s annual meetings. Half of the articles in this volume exemplify what the Society has offered its members consistently throughout its history—namely, folklore research from some of the most respected folklorists in the state, including Lora B. Garrison, James Ward Lee, F. E. Abernethy, and Kenneth W. Davis. The last four decades of the Texas Folklore Society meetings have benefit- ted immeasurably from these prolific members. But we’re not stop- ping there. We’re not even slowing down. With the rest of the articles coming from newcomers such as J. Michael Sullivan, Lori Najvar, Acayla Haile, and Ken Baake, you can be sure that we’ll keep on doing what we’ve done for over a century. These members, some of whom were still teens when they presented a paper at a meeting, provide fresh perspectives on topics, but still examine them for their folkloric elements. Janet Simonds, my office secretary and the Society’s Treasurer, did well to point out to me something from the preface of the very ix x Preface first PTFS, eventually titled Round the Levee. In that initial volume, George Kittredge shared his thoughts on the contributors and ways to collect lore: Everybody can help. A few items, jotted down in a leisure hour, and sent to the secretary, become part of a treasury of manuscript material which may soon grow to surprising proportions. There is not toil involved in such casual collecting. It is pure sport, and serves to while away many a fragment of idle time that otherwise would pass but laggingly. Yet the results will count for much in the aggre- gate. The serious student will bless the amateur who was not too lazy or too indifferent to send his contribution to the common store. (1) That’s what this book is all about—the members, young and old, who’ve taken the time to jot down a few observations and share them with the rest of us. They are preserved here, and presented for the benefit of all. Besides thanking the many contributors featured in this book, I want to acknowledge a few other people who help make these publications possible. As always, I thank Karen DeVinney and all the folks at the UNT Press who help us put these books together each year. I thank the administrators at Stephen F. Austin State Univer- sity who support the TFS; Mark Sanders, the Chair of the English Department, has been especially generous this past year in provid- ing a Graduate Assistant who helped catalog and organize our extensive collection of folklore books and other materials. I also thank Brian Murphy, the Dean of the College of Liberal and Applied Arts, and the many other supportive colleagues who make us glad to call SFA and Nacogdoches home. Finally, I thank Janet Simonds, who does more than I can men- tion to help get from an idea to a finished manuscript; sometimes those ideas start off in pretty rough fashion, but the final product always seems to come together just the way we want it. Janet is Preface xi intimately involved in every phase of the process—from the mechanical things, such as formatting submitted papers and scan- ning photos, to helping make more critical decisions, such as offer- ing analytical suggestions regarding which papers to select and ways to phrase things. I could probably put out a book without her, but I don’t even want to consider that possibility. Janet, it is a pleasure and an honor to work with you. This book is dedicated to those members who are being pub- lished in a PTFS for the first time. We all appreciate your efforts, for you are keeping the fire alive. Kenneth L. Untiedt Stephen F. Austin State University Nacogdoches, Texas May 21, 2012 “BACK IN THE DAY”: REFLECTIONS ON TIME PASSED World War II poster USE IT UP. WEAR IT OUT. MAKE IT DO. DO WITHOUT. by Linda Wolff Use it up. Wear it out. Make it do. Do without. I heard these refrains day in and day out in my youth, primarily from my mother. I’m surprised she didn’t make me and my brother repeat the entire chorus each morning before we left for school. Later, I learned that these phrases were the text from a World War II poster, illustrated by American artist Ben Shahn, who worked at the Office of War Information from 1942 to 1943. I have not, however, been able to determine who wrote the slogan. But I would bet that the writer for that poster had a frugal mother. I certainly did. Now I do want to note here—up front—that my mother was not miserly. Tracey McBride, author of Frugal Luxuries, says it well. Miserliness, she says, is the “absence of generosity.

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