Pennsylvania Folklife Vol. 10, No. 1 Frances Lichten
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Ursinus College Digital Commons @ Ursinus College Pennsylvania Folklife Magazine Pennsylvania Folklife Society Collection Spring 1959 Pennsylvania Folklife Vol. 10, No. 1 Frances Lichten Victor C. Dieffenbach Walter E. Boyer Earl F. Robacker Edna Eby Heller See next page for additional authors Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/pafolklifemag Part of the American Art and Architecture Commons, American Material Culture Commons, Christian Denominations and Sects Commons, Cultural History Commons, Ethnic Studies Commons, Fiber, Textile, and Weaving Arts Commons, Folklore Commons, Genealogy Commons, German Language and Literature Commons, Historic Preservation and Conservation Commons, History of Religion Commons, Linguistics Commons, and the Social and Cultural Anthropology Commons Click here to let us know how access to this document benefits oy u. Recommended Citation Lichten, Frances; Dieffenbach, Victor C.; Boyer, Walter E.; Robacker, Earl F.; Heller, Edna Eby; Hostetler, John A.; Shoemaker, Alfred L.; Andreas, Jeremiah W.; Shively, Jacob G.; Bowman, John Butz; Smith, Elsie; and Baver, Florence, "Pennsylvania Folklife Vol. 10, No. 1" (1959). Pennsylvania Folklife Magazine. 5. https://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/pafolklifemag/5 This Book is brought to you for free and open access by the Pennsylvania Folklife Society Collection at Digital Commons @ Ursinus College. It has been accepted for inclusion in Pennsylvania Folklife Magazine by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ Ursinus College. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Authors Frances Lichten, Victor C. Dieffenbach, Walter E. Boyer, Earl F. Robacker, Edna Eby Heller, John A. Hostetler, Alfred L. Shoemaker, Jeremiah W. Andreas, Jacob G. Shively, John Butz Bowman, Elsie Smith, and Florence Baver This book is available at Digital Commons @ Ursinus College: https://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/pafolklifemag/5 EDITORS : Dr. Alfred L. Shoemaker, M anaging SPRING 1959, VOL. 10, NO. I D r. D on Y ocl er, A ssociate DEPARTMENT E DITOR : Contents D r. E a rl F . R obacker, A ntiques Frances Lich ten, Art Craf ts : 2 "Tramp Work" : Penknife Plus Cigar Boxes Henry .J . K auff man, X V III Century FR.\ XCES Ll HTEN Olive G . Zehner, Contempora1'Y LeR oy Gensler , D esign 8 Tramps of My Youth Rev. Thomas R. Brend le, Folklore V I CTOR C. DI EFFENBAC H Edna Eby H ell er, Food Frederick \V eiser, Genealogy 14 The German Broadside Songs of Dr. Arthur D. Graeff, H istory Pennsylvania \\. a l tel' E. Boyer, L iterature II' ALTE R E. B OYE R Dr . .T. William Frey, M u. ic 20 The Ri se of Interest 111 Folk Art S BSCRIP TION R ATES : E ARL F . R OBA CKER 5.00 a year in the nited tates ancl Canacla. E lse\\'here fi fty cent a ddi t i o n al fo r postage. ingle 30 Dutch Treats for Breakfast cople TOO. EDXA E BY H E LLE R 1\1 A D PHOTOG RAPH : 33 The Am.ish, Citizens of Heaven and America The Editor will be glad to consider J H N A. Ho. TETLER M and photographs ent with a vi ew to publication. When un ui t able, and if accompanied by return 38 Collectanea po tage, every care will be exer ALF RE D L .• H OE;.rAK E R ci ed toward t heir return, a lthough no responsibility fo r their afety 42 My Great-Grandmother i a sumed. .JI;:rm ;'IJ .\ H \\'. A~\, DR EAS PE~X S YLVAXI A F OLKLIFE, Spring ] 9.59 , Yo\. ]0, N o. ] , pub 43 Old Sweitzel"'s Ghost li shed . emi-a nnuall y by the P enn sylvania Folkli fe Roc i ty, Inc., Ire. t King. 't., Lancaster, P a. 8x ec utivc ancl editoria l office 21 \\'. 44 Pastimes of My Youth :\ Iain . 't., K utztoll'n, P a. Content, Copyril-!h ted .J Oll'" B UTZ B O W~1A N 4 6 Battalion Day ELS II~ ,':'TI T TT 4 7 Seven Day Make One Wept F LO RlcXCE B AVER 1. Comb and Brush holde r: ill7 ple but characteristic piece of edge carving. 2. Hanging Dressing Cabinet, three feet in height, is delightful ex am pIe of edge carving a/ its best. 2 "TRAMP WORI("": Penknife Plus Cigar Boxes By FRANCES LICHTEN "Tramp ll"Ork," a blunt and unflattering term for a broad category of old-time craft, has been passed over by antique co llector- in their pre ent-day co mpetition for article of fo rmer days. Yet these articles, locally dubbed "tramp Ilork," were whim ical and often most attractive exampl es of handwork quite worthy of a collector's con ideration. They II·ere contrived fr0111 wa te materi al-di carded cigar boxes-and the only tools requisite we re patience and a harp pcnknife. :\ly mo t important piece of tramp work lI'a acquired in an amu ing fashion. I was spending a weekend in a J enn ylvani a Dutch farmhou e, and my ho tess had sent me out to her summer kitchen to~look at a nonde cript aggregation of old golden oak pi eces of furniture which he had collected and pile 1 up for her hu band to re tore and rcfi ni h. He is an amiable man who spends t he weekends 3. Match Holder, whose contour sugge ts the work oj primitive peoples. 3 Courtesy: Notional Callery 0/ Art. Index 0/ American Design. 4. Wooden casket. c. 7860--1890. Carved all four ide with traditional lIlolif froll1 cigar box. and then mounted on a ba e. 4, working in hi barn with tho e engro 'si ng ma ~c ulin e play in antiqur s h op~, things-modern power tools, Ou r chief ~ollrce of materi al, hOII'C' I'c r, fo r ou r const ru c In the midst of thi heterogeneous collect ion I had spied tion pro.iect~ II'a~ a pi lc of ciga r box scraps, whi ch was an object \I'hich was to send me back to the fa rmhouse intended for kindling, :\1,1' fat her, JI1 hi s ro le of customer kitchen bubbling oyer with enthu s i a~m , Even in the dim of the facto ry \I'hi ch turned out ciga r I oXt's, 11'C1~ el'idently greeni h light which filtered in thro\lgh the litile yine gi \'cn a IOi1d of thi s sc rap from time to time, From t h e~r covered Irindow of the old tone building I could ~ee that bit s of cedar, we cont ri \'rd e ndl C'~f' ]liece~ of doll flll'niture, on this object mirror gli ttered, and that it ~ entire surfacc JT nd t, as a child, e\,er see n piC'ces of the craftsma n ~ hi p I was worked Irith fin e carving, In tha t lOll' ligh t I did not noll' fi nd so appea ling a cx,1J1lples of peasa nt handi craft, I cxamine it carefully enough to decide on i t~ purpose, buL might have tried to orn ament the edge~ of my piece" in like my hoste recogni zed it, neyerthele", from m~ ' meage r fas hi on, Perhaps at that time I did seC' them but b~ ' pa s~e d de cription and grabbed her ister by the arm. ~ uch objects then a "countrificd," or, more lik e l ~', was dis "Emil y," ehe ea id , " burr~ ' out to the summer ki tc hen and co uraged from attemptin g surh carving b~' the invari abl e get that old tbing and give it to her before ~ b e changes her dulln ess of such pcnknivc ~ as little girl s possesscd. mind! " In a few minu te Emily returned with " tha told While edge ca rving wa s the fina l simplificat ion of the thing"-a bulky yet not too h avy object. In the brighter age-old craft of wood-ca n 'ing, it fa ll ~ Il'ithin its most primi light, I sa w that it I\"a a hanging dre, ~ in g cabin et, deco rated ti l'e dil'ision-that of chip ca1'ving, Chip ca n 'ing was a Il'ith II'hat-for Irant of a better name-I hall ca ll "edge tec hni que prac ti sed throughout the ce nturie by peasants ra rying," In a tastefu l fa hi on, it co ml)i ned small mirror ~, pf many coun tri es and, eve n today, b)' S<1 I'<1ge t ri bes. As a special ection to hold brush and co mb, toO'et hcr with four soon a man del'ised a cutting tool nnd Il'as movee! to little dra IVers for t rinkets, deco rate the objects he mad C', chip can'ing el'olvee!, :\Iy ho te, looked at the cabinet, and then at me, q\liz (" hi p ca rving ca n be defi ned as ornament Il'hi ch is produced zica ll~ ', saying, "Do you really Ira nt it~ IVe were going to r ntirely wit h knife or c hi ~e J. All its ba~ i c cuts nre tria ngular burn it wh en we get round to cleaning out the summer in "hnpe, and the I\' hole ~c b e m e of de:,ig n is made up of kitchen." combin ations of thesr ~m;l ll e l e men t~, Three in cision s of "Indeed I do," I repli ed, "I think it is beautiful and I the knife producC' n t ri ,tn gul ,lI' pocke,t, fou r, a ~ qu a r e one, knoll' just Il'here I am going to pl ace it." I n edge carving , two di agona l cut:; faci ng rach oth C' r at a In my mind's eye, I already all' it h\lng in a tiny hall in .J.5 ° angle m,ld e on the edge of a piece of Il'ood producr a my city apartment, it wa rm cedar brow ns harmoni zing diamond shapr, In edge ca n 'i ng , this met hod of chi pping delightfully with the co ral color of the wa ll.