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Folklife Center News American Folklife Center

It’s all in the cards: Laborlore: Wisdom From the Elders: BOARD OF TRUSTEES Librarian Appointees: Tom Rankin, Chair, North Carolina Jane Beck, Vice-chair, Vermont Donald Scott, Nevada Kojo Nnamdi, District of Columbia Congressional Appointees: Daniel Botkin, California C. Kurt Dewhurst, Michigan Mickey Hart, California Dennis Holub, South Dakota William L. Kinney Jr., South Carolina Marlene Meyerson, New Mexico Charlie Seemann, Nevada The National Visionary 3 AFC’s historic card catalog 8 A recap of the symposium, 11 Kay Kaufman Shelemay, Massachusetts has long been an essential “Laborlore Conversations Leadership Project (NVLP), Presidential Appointees: research tool for visitors to the IV: Documenting Occupational a private, non-profit organization, Carl Artman, Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs, Department of the Interior Library. Now you can access it Folklore Then and Now,” held at has donated more than two hun- Mary Bomar, Director, National Park Service online! AFC on August 15 and 16, 2007. dred videotaped interviews with Lisette M. Mondello, Assistant Secretary for Public and Governmental Affairs, prominent African American elders Department of Veterans Affairs to the American Folklife Center. Ex Officio Members James H. Billington, Librarian of Congress Cristián Samper, Acting Secretary of the American Folklife Center Dana Gioia, Chairman, National Endowment The American Folklife Center was created in 1976 by the U.S. Congress to “preserve and present for the Arts American folklife” through programs of research, documentation, archival preservation, reference Bruce Cole, Chairman, National Endowment for the Humanities service, live performance, exhibition, publication, and training. The Center incorporates the Archive Bill Ivey, President, American Folklore Society of Folk Culture, which was established in the Music Division of the in 1928 and Philip V. Bohlman, President, Society for is now one of the largest collections of ethnographic material from the and around the Ethnomusicology world. Peggy A. Bulger, Director, American Folklife Center Folklife Center News publishes articles on the programs and activities of the American Folklife Judith McCulloh (Emerita), Illinois Center, as well as other articles on traditional expressive culture. It is available free of charge from the Library of Congress, American Folklife Center, 101 Independence Avenue, S.E., Washington, D.C. 20540–4610. Folklife Center News does not publish announcements from other institutions or reviews of books Folklife Center News from publishers other than the Library of Congress . Readers who would like to comment on Center Vo l u m e 29, No. 3 Su m m e r 2007 activities or newsletter articles may address their remarks to the editor. Stephen D. Winick, Editor ONLINE INFORMATION RESOURCES: The American Folklife Center’s Website provides David A. Taylor, Editorial Advisor full texts of many AFC publications, information about AFC projects, multimedia presentations Michaela McNichol, Art Director of selected collections, links to Web resources on ethnography, and announcements of upcoming events. The address for the home page ishttp://www.loc.gov/folklife/ . An index of the site’s Cover: U.S. Representative Stephanie Herseth contents is available at http://www.loc.gov/folklife/az-index.html. Sandlin, of South Dakota, stands between the The Website for The Veterans History Project provides an overview of the project, an online “kit” for Lakota hoop dancers Jasmine Pickner (left) and participants recording oral histories of veterans, and a brief presentation of some examples of video- Dallas Chief Eagle (right), on the stage of the and audio-recordings of veterans’ stories. The address is http://www.loc.gov/vets. Coolidge Auditorium. Pickner and Chief Eagle performed on November The Folkline Information Service is a cooperative announcement program of the American Folklore 15, 2007 as part of AFC’s Homegrown Concert Society and the American Folklife Center. It is available only on the American Folklore Society’s Series. Herseth Sandlin, along with other server: www.afsnet.org. The service provides timely information on the field of folklore and folklife, members of the audience, danced with them on including training and professional opportunities, and news items of national interest. the stage.

American Folklife Center Staff Administration: Guha Shankar, Folklife Specialist Stephanie A. Hall, Automation Rachel Mears, Archivist Peggy A. Bulger, Director Stephen D. Winick, Writer-Editor Specialist Monica Mohindra, Program Officer Mary Bucknum, Acting Assistant Todd Harvey, Folklife Specialist Sarah Rouse, Senior Program Officer to the Director Processing and Cataloging: Ann Hoog, Folklife Specialist Timothy Schurtter, Program Officer Catherine Hiebert Kerst, Archivist Doris Craig, Administrative Assistant Tom Wiener, Historian Maggie Kruesi, Cataloger Michael Taft, Head, Archive Audio Engineering: Valda Morris, Processing Technician Jonathan Gold, Audio Technician David A. Taylor, Head, Research and Marcia Segal, Processing Archivist American Folklife Center: Programs Digital Conversion: Tel: 202 707–5510 Nora Yeh, Archivist, Coordinator John Barton, Specialist Research and Programs: Fax: 202 707–2076 Theadocia Austen, Public Events Reference: Veterans History Project: E-mail: [email protected] Coordinator Jennifer A. Cutting, Folklife Specialist Bob Patrick, Director www.loc.gov/folklife Nancy Groce, Folklife Specialist Judith A. Gray, Folklife Peter T. Bartis, Senior Program Officer Debra Murphy, Special Assistant Specialist,Coordinator Jeffrey Lofton, Public Affairs Specialist It’s All in the Cards: AFC’s Historic Card Catalog Is Now Online

STEPHEN WINICK

By John Barton, Jennifer Cutting, and Stephen Winick FC is proud to introduce the online version of its historic Acard catalog. This impor- tant resource allows users to search for information on the most frequently used recordings in the Center’s archive, Left: This photo of Stavin’ Chain and without traveling to the Library. This an unidentified fiddler is rare, in that represents a significant enhancement the photographer, , noted of AFC’s service to the public. The new which song was being performed resource, entitled Traditional Music and ly tape recordings. The best-known re- when it was taken. The catalog card Spoken Word Catalog from the American cordings listed in the catalog include the for that song, “Batson,” is above. Folklife Center, has been under develop- seminal fieldwork conducted by John A. ment for over two years. It was released Lomax and his son Alan, during the time on November 1, 2007, and is accessible they worked for the Library of Congress; at http://memory.loc.gov/diglib/ihas/html/ they recorded such legendary American of well known and lesser-known trea- afccards/afccards-home.html. musicians as , Woody Guthrie sures by other notable collectors includ- The majority of the audio recordings and Jelly Roll Morton. Also listed are ing Herbert Halpert, , listed in the catalog were recorded in the Alan Lomax’s less well-known field Henrietta Yurchenco, Vance Randolph, 1930s and 1940s. Most are instanta- collections in Haiti in 1936 and 1937, and Helen Creighton, among many oth- neous disc recordings, made on acetate and in the upper midwest of the United ers. In addition, the catalog reflects ex- and aluminum discs, while a few are ear- States in 1938. There are also hundreds change projects with institutions outside

AMERIC A N F O L K L I F E C ENTER N EWS 3 Left: Gabriel Brown and Rochelle French. Eatonville, , 1935. Below: The catalog card for one of their performances identifies the date, and shows that Alan Lomax, Zora Neale Hurston, and Mary Elizabeth Barnicle were present. Typing in the upper left identifies the original disc on which the song is to be found, annotations in the upper right identify the reel-to-reel tape numbers for the reference copy in AFC’s stacks, and a stamp in the lower right identifies the card as part of a Works Progress Administration (WPA) project. LOMAX N ALA the United States, notably the Discoteca A search for Publica Municipal de São Paulo Col- “Galveston,” lection (1938-1943) of field recordings for example, would from Brazil, and many field recordings turn up any card that mentions Galves- collected in Oceania. Users should keep ton, as the place of recording, within room: both the information originally in mind that this catalog represents only a title, refrain or first line, or indeed typed on the cards, and the penciled-in a portion of AFC’s recordings; in fact, the anywhere it appeared on the original corrections and additions made by refer- majority of the Archive’s recordings were card. Since the physical card catalog in ence staff over the years. This provides acquired later, and thus are not repre- the Folklife Reading Room is searchable researchers with the best of both worlds: sented here. But the catalog represents only by the five criteria of title, performer the information they need in a digital the rich collections of the golden age of name, state, shelflist number (AFS num- format, along with the nuances conveyed disc recording, including many of the ber), and foreign country or language, by a card catalog emended over seventy- treasures that make AFC’s archive one of this represents a significant improve- five years of use. the most valuable and well known folklife ment in researchers’ ability to search the resources in the world. catalog. For the first time, it is possible, History Of The Card Catalog The new online resource includes im- for example, to easily find all recordings AFC’s physical card catalog, located ages of the approximately 34,000 cards of the dulcimer, all recording sessions at- in the AFC reading room, was begun in in the master catalog, as well as a fully tended by Duncan Emrich while he was 1933. At that time, the Lomaxes were searchable database. The database working at the Archive of Folk Song, or eager to start publishing the material they allows researchers to conduct searches all recordings in the catalog associated had collected, and needed a way of orga- using multiple criteria, including song with any member of the Seeger family. nizing the information for easier retrieval. or tune title, first line, refrain, performer A search, executed through the simple The vast chore of typing the thousands name, place, date, musical instrument, user interface, immediately returns im- of cards was done by Works Progress language, and recordist’s name. In ad- ages of all the relevant cards, allowing Administration (WPA) workers in the late dition, it allows researchers to search for the offsite researcher to see the same 1930s and early 1940s, and continued a string of text in all these fields at once. information as someone in the reading by Archive of Folk Song staff through

4 AMERIC A N F O L K L I F E C ENTER N EWS Some of the many singers and collectors who made recordings documented in the card catalog. Clockwise from top left: Charles Todd recording the of Mrs. Myra Pipnick with a Presto recorder, Arvin, California, 1941. John A. Lomax (left) recorded Uncle Rich Brown (right)

OMAX near Sumterville, Alabama, L

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the late 1960s. Its purpose was to provide the public with access to the thousands of individual songs, tunes, folk tales, sermons, monologues, and life stories in the Archive’s collections. Encased in antique golden oak, the catalog is endowed with the patina that comes of almost seventy-five years of researchers open- after a long international flight. He had OMAX ing the drawers, and thumbing through N L

come straight from the airport, without LA A the thousands of cards, to unravel its checking in at his hotel, just to search mysteries. From the early 1930s to the card catalog for traditional music the present time, it provided the only collected by the Lomaxes. Delighted item-level access to AFC’s treasure trove to have arrived at AFC, he exclaimed, years, during which time the archive was of field recordings. In order to find a “I’ve been dreaming of this moment ever moved to AFC. version of “Barbara Allen,” a guitar since I was a wee bairn!” Retired AFC Before now, there was only one way to performance from Mobile, Alabama, or a archivist Joseph Hickerson has his own see even a fraction of the card catalog’s recording of the singing and banjo play- story: “My own initial pilgrimage to the riches at a distance: the Check-List of ing of Theophilus G. Hoskins, research- Archive was in August 1958,” he said. Recorded Songs in the English Language ers had to look it up in the card catalog. “I was blown over by the ‘LC/Folk Item in the Library of Congress Archive of Until now, those researchers had to Card Index,’ which was our name at the American Folk Song to July, 1940. This travel to Washington to use the catalog, time for the item-level card catalog. This three-volume tome was originally pub- and they certainly did; folks from all was, in part, my inspiration in creating lished by the U.S. government in 1942, over the world have made pilgrimages a comprehensive folksong index for the and re-published in a single volume in to the Library of Congress to see this Indiana University Folklore Archive when 1971, by a commercial press. “Copies fabled resource. Each AFC reference I was its director from 1960 to 1963.” of the three-volume Check-List were still staff member has a favorite story about a Later, Hickerson brought his inspiration being mailed out in the 1990s,” recalled passionate visitor; one of these involves to what was then the Music Division’s AFC’s coordinator of reference, Judith a luggage-laden Scotsman who fell over Archive of Folk Song; he served there, Gray. “It was the only way people could the reading room threshold, exhausted as archivist and head, for over thirty-five get any kind of handle on what we have

AMERIC A N F O L K L I F E C ENTER N EWS 5 here, from a distance.” Still, it was not scan the 34,000 cards. By conducting a ensure conformity with Library stan- perfect, as Hickerson remembered. “I series of test scans, digitization specifica- dards. The team decided to place the noticed early on that a number of items tions were developed to best capture the site on LC Presents Music, Theatre & in the card catalog had not been includ- information on the somewhat brittle and Dance, a platform developed by the Mu- ed in the Check-List, including protest, significantly yellowed cards, which often sic Division. This provides the flexibility topical and bawdy titles,” he said. contained handwritten notes and broken to search and display data in a clear and With the new online version of the type. Because of the large number of user-friendly fashion. catalog, all that has definitively changed cards, the team needed to consider the for the better, according to Hickerson. size of the image files generated by the The Future of the Catalog “The Archive has played a leading part scans, as well as the image quality, when AFC already has plans to improve in the Library of Congress’s pioneering determining the specifications. Finally, the Traditional Music and Spoken Word activities in documentation, preservation, preservation of the cards, and preserva- Catalog, by adding audio links, lyrics, cataloging, and electronic technologies,” tion of their original shelflist order, was and additional information. Currently, he said. “The present project continues also crucial. A scanner was selected the catalog can only give researchers in- that tradition by making available a vast that could not only produce the required formation about the recordings in AFC’s card catalog of its seminal collections specifications, but could also scan the collections; to listen to the recordings, from the 1930s and 1940s to anyone cards quickly, safely and efficiently. A researchers still have to visit the reading and everyone throughout the world. special “card catcher” was designed room, or locate the recordings they wish Also, personally, it is an extreme plea- and built by Library of Congress staff, to to hear in AFC’s online collections. For sure to see our dreams of forty or more catch the cards as they emerged from example, a researcher looking into the years ago become a reality.” the scanner, maintaining their original collections of John Wesley Work might order. With the proper scanner and search the card catalog and discover The Development of the Project the card catcher, the team was able to that Allison Mathis recorded a version The card catalog digitization project achieve a scan rate of approximately of “Bottle up and Go” for Work in 1941. was conceived one afternoon in Octo- 1,000 cards per hour. In order to hear the performance itself, ber, 2004, when a frequent visitor to The next component of the project was however, the researcher would need to the archive asked a pointed question: to convert the information on the cards visit AFC’s online collections page, notice “Why isn’t this information online?” The into full-text, searchable data. This that “Now What a Time”: Blues, Gospel, researcher, who wishes to remain anony- phase took about one year to accom- and the Fort Valley Music Festivals, mous, quickly put his money where plish. After experimenting with several 1938-1943 would be likely to contain his mouth is, and offered a donation of optical character recognition (OCR) this item, and then search the collection significant seed money for AFC to begin engines, the team leaders decided that for it. In the near future, however, AFC digitizing the catalog. With the support it would not be possible to adequately intends to add links from the catalog of AFC director Peggy Bulger, and under capture text through OCR. Consequently, to those recordings that are available the leadership of reference librarian Jen- the team designed a database entry sys- online; thus, a link will lead directly nifer Cutting and digitization specialist tem that allowed staff to input informa- from the card catalog record of Mathis’s John Barton, AFC staff members formed tion to the database while looking at the performance to the recording, making a project team to meet this important card images (rather than by accessing access considerably easier. In addition, goal. During all phases of the project, the physical cards). Significant effort AFC has digitized its collection of approx- the team consulted with colleagues in was devoted to defining the fields to imately 1,500 transcribed song lyrics, other divisions of the Library, only to find be included in the database, as well as and the images of these transcriptions that they were wrestling with many of the developing data-entry procedures. Two will be linked to their corresponding card same problems of how to digitize, and part-time contractors with experience catalog records. By adding links each make machine-searchable, the informa- working at AFC were hired to perform the time new material becomes available tion in their old but priceless card cata- data entry. online, AFC staff can continue to expand logs. Thus, this was a cross-divisional, The final phase of the project was to the usefulness of the catalog. Making the highly collaborative project. develop a website to display the cards. field recordings and their texts available, Since this was the first of the Library’s After the team finalized requirements, and linking them to the catalog, will be of card catalogs to be digitized for public Library Service’s Network Development inestimable value to folksong scholarship access, the team needed to develop a and Marc Standards Office created and to the field of folklife at large. process and workflow to support the the website and the Library’s Office of AFC staff will also continue to improve project. First came the problem of how to Strategic Initiatives reviewed the site to the catalog by correcting various errors

6 American Folklife Center News and omissions. Because the database Center’s historic card catalog will help But, in order to even begin his research reflects the information exactly as it researchers all over the world in learn- on these field recordings, Nevins had to was typed on the catalog cards from ing about our unparalleled collections,” come all the way to Washington from his the 1930s to the 1960s, there is some said Archive head Michael Taft. “At the company’s headquarters in Newton, New information that is incorrect or incom- same time, here at home, it may serve as Jersey, or send a deputy to do the re- plete. Also, for some of the non-English a template for other Library of Congress search for him. Now that has changed, recordings, the researcher may encoun- divisions who are trying to accomplish and Nevins can do the work from his ter duplicate or multiple cards, or no the same thing with their own historic home or his office in New Jersey. “Resid- cards at all; for a few of the non-English card catalogs. The project can serve ing in the American Folklife Center at the recordings from this period, no cards as a model, not only for inter-division Library Of Congress is the largest and were ever made. cooperation at the Library, but for coop- finest archive of early American tradition- The AFC reference staff is continu- eration between the Library and outside al music in existence,” Nevins comment- ally working to make corrections in all of donors.” ed. “Now, at last, anyone in the world these areas, and hopes to expand the Richard Nevins, president of can instantly access all the [card cata- catalog in the future, adding bibliograph- Shanachie Entertainment, agrees. On log] data covering 34,000 performances ic data for the sound recordings that his Shanachie and Yazoo labels, Nevins simply by turning on their computer and are now represented only as “Spanish” has made a career of issuing obscure going to the Folklife Center’s website. or “foreign.” Users who see an error recordings organized around a particular With this grand accomplishment, the should feel free to notify the reference theme. Occasionally, as on the 2003 Ya- Folklife Center takes a giant step forward staff at [email protected]. zoo box set, Kentucky Mountain Music, in fulfilling its mission as the nation’s first “We hope that the digitization and his releases contain field recordings from and foremost preserver and disseminator databasing of the American Folklife the American Folklife Center’s archive. of American music and culture.” m

The Ethnographic Thesaurus is Now Available ver the past four years, the AFC and a sustaining grant from the Andrew board, and publicizing the project at has been working with the Ameri- W. Mellon Foundation, the Ethnographic academic conferences. AFC staff Cathy Ocan Folklore Society and a team Thesaurus has grown to a list of over Kerst and Michael Taft are the co-chairs of experts to produce the Ethnographic 9,000 terms related in a hierarchical of the advisory board, and Maggie Kruesi Thesaurus. This resource is a controlled structure under 25 categories, including is a member of the board. The Ethno- vocabulary of terms used in folklore, Belief, Health, Art, Music, Performance, graphic Thesaurus is now available on ethnomusicology, cultural anthropology and Transmission. the American Folklore society website and related fields, and will help in the The AFC has been centrally involved at http://et.afsnet.org/. Users are able coordinated indexing and description of in this project from the beginning by to suggest additional terms or changes archival materials, publications, and oth- coordinating the work of subject special- to existing terms through a comments er sources of traditional culture. With the ists, a lexicographer, and a database box on the site; through this means, the help of a developmental grant from the manager, organizing regular meetings of Ethnographic Thesaurus will continue to National Endowment for the Humanities the team, chairing the project’s advisory grow and evolve. m

Library of Congress Seeks Workers In preparation for the 75th anniversary of the New Deal in March 2008, the American Folklife Center at the Library of Con- gress seeks to establish contact with Works Progress Administration (WPA) researchers, writers, and photographers who worked on documenting American culture during the Roosevelt Administration. We are especially interested in alumni of the arts and culture projects collectively known as “Federal One.” In some cases, the Library would like to interview documentation workers about circumstances surrounding the production of the New Deal’s now-iconic recordings, images, and historic interviews. Alumni will be formally acknowledged at the Art, Culture & Government: The New Deal at 75 symposium at the Library in Wash- ington on March 13 & 14, 2008. (For more information on the symposium go to www.loc.gov/folklife.) New Deal alumni are asked to contact folklorist Dr. Nancy Groce at the American Folklife Center. (Phone 202-707-1744; email: [email protected].) m

American Folklife Center News 7 laborlore SYMPOSIUM

Laborlore: an Interdisciplinary Symposium at AFC By Guha Shankar

n August 15 and 16, 2007, the Library of Congress was the site Oof a remarkable interdisciplinary gathering of scholars, musicians, artists, and community representatives, who came together for a public symposium titled Laborlore Conversations IV: Docu- menting Occupational Folklore Then and Now. The American Folklife Center’s extensive research collections pertaining to occupational folklife and work culture provided a focus for the symposium. Sponsored by the AFC, in collaboration with the -based Fund for Labor History and Culture, the sympo- sium was the fourth in an ongoing series of such gatherings that have been held over the last several years. The sympo- Stephen Winick, AF C Stephen Winick, sium’s goals were to: provide a forum in Deanna Marcum, Associate Librarian for Library Services, presents the Living Legend which to examine the ethnographic work Award to Derek Green. Green accepted the award for his father Archie Green, who was of several generations of documentary unable to attend the event. fieldworkers; explore the use of archival collections for contemporary research on her experiences in producing the film, which all Americans should assist. work and community life; and analyze and her commitment to chronicling the Other panels were equally timely. the challenges confronting labor schol- perspectives of workers on both sides of Robert McCarl, a folklorist and professor ars, advocates, and community mem- the U.S.-Mexico border. of anthropology at Boise State University, bers in today’s global economy. A related Nick Spitzer’s keynote speech, on convened the panel “Social Justice, the aim of the gathering was to honor the August 16, addressed the historical and Environment, and the Ethics of Collabora- career and accomplishments of folklorist contemporary relationship of workers in tion.” He provided a particularly somber and professor emeritus, Archie Green, the skilled building trades to the music reminder of the dangers that confront the “dean of laborlore,” who was given and culture of New Orleans. Spitzer, workers in some industries. At the start the Library’s prestigious Living Legend who is a folklorist, a university professor, of the session, he asked the audience to Award. and the host of the nationally syndicated stand in remembrance of workers who The symposium began on the evening radio show American Routes, played had become trapped in a mine in Salt of August 15, with the Library’s premiere samples of music from various traditions, Lake City the previous week. The panel, of documentary filmmaker Anne Lewis’s along with excerpts of interviews with comprising scholars and members of 2007 film, Morristown. The documentary longtime residents and veteran workers mining communities in the southern and provides an in-depth, multi-faceted view in New Orleans. Spitzer highlighted the western U.S., discussed issues facing of the impact on one Tennessee town of resilience and creative spirit of New Or- mining communities and researchers globalization, immigration, and the re- leans communities, and their continuing who work in those communities. location of various industries to Mexico. struggle to rebuild after the devastation McCarl provided a retrospective During a question-and-answer session caused by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. analysis of pioneering scholar George after the screening, Lewis discussed Their struggle, in Spitzer’s view, is one in Korson (1900-1967), one of the most

8 American Folklife Center News Stephen Winick, AFC A panel at the symposium focused on folklorist George Korson and the folklore of coal mining. The panel featured (l-r) community activist Barbara Miller, filmmaker Anne Lewis, cultural anthropologist Brian McNeill, community organizer Freda Williams, and singer- Elaine Purkey. prolific collectors and publishers of the Center’s archive. Carl Fleischhauer, of the comments of community members folksongs, folklore and cultural history the Library’s Office of Strategic Initia- Janice Marshall of Smith Island, Mary- of American miners. Dating from the tives, focused on the self-documenta- land, and James Lane, of the waterman’s 1940s, Korson’s rich collections of field tion methods employed by Les Stewart, community of Crisfield, on Maryland’s recordings, manuscripts, and other ma- rancher and owner of the Ninety-Six Eastern Shore. The pair reflected on the terials are housed in the AFC’s archive. Ranch in Paradise Valley, Nevada. ways in which their work with profession- The panel linked Korson’s focus on local Stewart’s home movies, which capture al folklorists, such as co-panelists Elaine economic and political concerns to larger an insider’s perspective on ranching Eff and Paula Johnson, had helped them global, environmental, and human rights life in the West, are part of the collec- articulate and represent their intimate issues, particularly in contemporary tion materials gathered by the AFC-led knowledge of community history and mining sites in West Virgina and Idaho. team of researchers that conducted the work traditions to a broader public. The panelists, who included community Paradise Valley Folklife Project from The final panel of the day, “Expres- representatives Barbara Miller, from 1978 to 1982. Selected documenta- sive Culture, Work Culture and the Art of Idaho, and Elaine Purkey and Freda tion from that collection is available on Representation,” considered the ways Williams, from West Virginia, opened up the Library’s American Memory website in which work is portrayed in art and the several broad avenues for discussion. in a presentation titled Buckaroos in media. For example, Maribel Alvarez, These concerned the responsibility of Paradise: Ranching Culture in Northern professor of folklore at the University of scholars and documentary fieldwork- Nevada, 1945-1982. (http://memory.loc. Arizona, provided a thought-provoking ers to engage in thorough fieldwork and gov/ammen/ncrhtml/crhome.html). case study of Mexican craftsmen who alliance-building in the communities Fleischhauer, who was a fieldworker make figurines for the tourist market in which they work, to focus on both on the Paradise Valley project, presented along the U.S-Mexico border. The tradition and change in these communi- his case study as part of the panel titled panelists debated issues of self-repre- ties as technology shifts from handwork “Collecting and Contextualizing Labor- sentation, the aesthetics and politics to mechanization, to analyze and more lore.” The panelists, who focused on of portraying work culture for various thoroughly represent the political and maritime traditions as well as ranching audiences, and the ways in which work- public contexts in which work cultures culture, addressed strategies with which ers incorporate traditional and emerging are situated, and to consider how best to folklorists and others might present labor technologies into their creative expres- represent community perspectives in the culture and traditions to a broad public sions of place and community history. course of those collaborative projects. audience through museum displays, on The evening concluded with a musical Other presentations also drew on the Internet, and at live gatherings such tribute to Archie Green, and the presen- materials in the American Folklife as festivals. Especially interesting were tation of the Living Legend Award, which

American Folklife Center News 9 Stephen Winick, AF C Stephen Winick,

Community scholar James Lane is a AF C Stephen Winick, resident of the maritime community of Musicians Mike Seeger and Hazel Dickens performed traditional songs about labor. Crisfield, MD. He spoke at the sympo- sium about documenting the traditions old-time music. All three individuals would only say that it sounded as though of watermen and other aspects of local reminisced and shared stories about his high expectations had been met. culture in his hometown. their various projects undertaken with Asked about his Living Legend award, Green over the last forty years. he expressed quiet satisfaction at the The conference was a great success, honor. In his typical, self-deprecating bringing together participants from aca- manner, he alluded to another prominent demia and the world of organized labor winner of the Living Legend Award: “If in unusual ways. Audience member it’s good enough for Dolly Parton, it’s Robert Cantwell, a folklorist and profes- good enough for me!” sor at the University of North Carolina, For more information about the highlighted this aspect of the symposium symposium, and to access webcasts of in his comments. “I was impressed the welcoming remarks by AFC Director by the various meetings and greetings Peggy Bulger, the keynote address by among people whose worlds have been Nick Spitzer, and the panel discussions, mostly separate over the last thirty years please visit the symposium website, at or so,” Cantwell said. “It left me with a http://www.loc.gov/folklife/laborlore/ m sense that important fences were being mended, and in a sense a legacy being transmitted.” Mike Munoz, a sympo-

Stephen Winick, AF C Stephen Winick, sium participant, journeyman pile driver, Folklorist and radio host Nick Spitzer gave and thirty-three year member of Pile the keynote address Drivers Local 34 in Oakland, California, agreed. “I have been a union organizer was accepted by his son Derek on his since 1981 and I am currently Director behalf. AFC screened a video presenta- of Organizing for the Northern California tion that reviewed Green’s life through Carpenters Regional Council,” he said. photographs, manuscripts, publica- “It was a great honor for me to be on the tions, and sound recordings. Several of panel, especially because the event was Green’s colleagues, including emeritus held at the Library of Congress.” Kerry professors Roger Abrahams and Daniel Taylor, an organizer and graduate stu- Patterson, and American Folklife Center dent, attended all four of the Laborlore Board member Judy McCulloh, shared Conversations, and reported, “this was

their reminiscences of Green. Folklorist really the strongest.” AF C Stephen Winick, Joe Wilson mediated a performance/dis- Archie Green was not able to attend Materials from AFC collections relat- cussion session with Hazel Dickens and the events because of recent eye sur- ing to work were on display during the Mike Seeger, celebrated performers of gery. Asked about the symposium, he symposium.

10 American Folklife Center News Wisdom From the Elders: NVLP’s African American Oral Histories By Debra Murphy

he National Visionary Leadership Project (NVLP), a pri- vate, non-profit organization, has donated more than two T hundred original videotaped interviews with prominent African American elders to the American Folklife Center (AFC). NVLP recognizes these leaders as “Visionaries,” whose extraor- dinary lives have shaped much of American history. Many of the interviews were conducted by NVLP’s co-founders, educa- tor and producer Camille O. Cosby and award-winning journal- ist Renee Poussaint, over the five years since the establishment of the organization. The collection also includes interviews with less well-known elders, from local communities across the country, who were selected and interviewed by college students participating in the NVLP Visionary Heritage Fellows Program (VHFP). The first increment of the donation comprises fifty interviews with elders from all walks of life, such as: U.S. Representa- y N VL P te s y

tive Charles Rangel of New York; former U.S. Senator Edward Co u r Brooke of Massachusetts; former U.S. Representative Shirley Associate Librarian for Library Services Deanna Marcum speaks Chisholm of New York; civil rights leaders Dorothy Height and at the NVLP reception. Myrlie Evers-Williams; former mayor David Din- kins; poet Maya Angelou; musicians Ray Charles and Quincy Peggy Bulger, the director of AFC. “It will join and complement Jones; former Virginia governor, and current Richmond mayor, other collections of great historical and cultural significance, Douglas Wilder; basketball great Bill Russell; actors Ossie Davis including interviews by and with Zora Neale Hurston, as well as and Ruby Dee; dancer and choreographer Katherine Dunham; the Library of Congress/Fisk University Mississippi Delta Collec- historian John Hope Franklin; and photographer, writer, artist, tion, and the Alan Lomax Collection, among many others.” and film director Gordon Parks. Transcripts of the interviews, along with photographs of the interviewees, are also included in The Intergenerational Summit the donation. To coincide with this donation, AFC and NVLP co-hosted James H. Billington, Librarian of Congress, commended the fourth annual NVLP Intergenerational Summit on the State Cosby and Poussaint “for their work in collecting oral histories of Black America, which was held at the Library on October of African American elders, and for bringing together young 16, 2007. As is the case each year, the Summit honored six people and their elders in celebration of that remarkable his- individual Visionaries for excellence in their respective fields. tory. I am glad that the officers of the NVLP chose the Library Each honoree received the NVLP Wisdom Award. The Summit of Congress as the repository for this collection of memorable provided a forum for an intergenerational dialogue on contem- and powerful stories.” JoAnn Jenkins, Chief Operating Officer porary issues between these Visionaries and an audience of of the Library of Congress, agreed. “Thanks to the work of the several hundred students, from all levels between elementary NVLP and its partnering with the AFC,” she said, “students school and college. The students included a contingent from and scholars will have ready access to the wisdom and experi- New York City, representing the Schomburg Library’s Junior ences of many of today’s black leaders. These videotaped oral Scholars Program. The events also honored winners of NVLP’s histories complement our other African American collections, Capitol-area high school essay contest, each of whom wrote a and will offer historians new and valuable perspectives on the biographical essay about one of the Visionaries. The events be- African American experience.” “I am delighted that the NVLP gan with a reception for honorees in the Librarian’s ceremonial collection is coming to the American Folklife Center,” added office in the Library’s Thomas Jefferson building. Deanna Mar-

American Folklife Center News 11 y N VL P te s y Co u r Renee Poussaint (left) and Camille O. Cosby (far right), with the winners and finalists in the NVLP student essay competition. cum, Associate Librarian for Library Services, joined Cosby and our country,” Marcum said. Poussaint in greeting current Visionaries and NVLP supporters. Shortly thereafter, the ceremony to honor the 2007 Wisdom Several past Wisdom Award Honorees, including Height and Award recipients began. The six honorees were: Lucy Allen, Franklin, also attended. Last year, Franklin was also the 2006 plaintiff in the landmark case Allen v. Ummerteskee, which winner of the Library’s John W. Kluge Prize. established the descendants of black slaves once owned by An awards luncheon followed the reception. At the lun- Cherokees as members of the Cherokee Nation; Derrick A. Bell, cheon, Cosby and Poussaint recognized the essay contest Jr., the first tenured African American professor at Harvard Law winners, who received monetary awards for their first-prize School; Rep. John Conyers of Michigan, chairman of the House essays, and dined with the Visionaries who were the subjects of Judiciary Committee and founding member of the Congressio- their essays. Also during the luncheon, the NVLP co-founders nal Black Caucus; Norman C. Francis, the president of Xavier presented each current Visionary with a copy of their video- University in New Orleans; Rt. Rev. Barbara C. Harris, the first taped interview, and a commemorative plaque. The luncheon woman elected bishop in the Episcopal Church; and Faith audience was presented with copper medallions bearing the Ringgold, story-quilt artist and author of award-winning chil- inscription “National Visionary Leadership Project, Library of dren’s books. The first-place student winners introduced the Congress, in perpetuity.” In explaining the meaning of this elders by reading their prize-winning essays. Upon completion inscription, Poussaint quoted Debra Murphy, a special assistant of the awards ceremony, a seventy-minute dialogue ensued, at AFC. “As long as there is a United States of America, there in which scores of high school and college students discussed will be a Library of Congress,” she said, “and, as long as there current events with their elders; the discussions,moderated by is a Library of Congress, these precious stories will be preserved Poussaint, were lively, touching on the war in Iraq, crime, and and made available to the public.” higher education opportunities. Following the luncheon, the NVLP Intergenerational Summit Murphy worked closely with Poussaint on the programming began. It opened with a ceremony in which the NVLP publicly and logistics of the summit. They enlisted the aid of the Old donated the first installment of its collection to the American Dominion Chapter, The Links, Incorporated, an organization of Folklife Center’s archive. Children from the J. C. Nalle Elemen- African American professional women, to evaluate and select tary School of Washington, D.C., brought out a carved, wooden winners from the hundreds of high school essays that were “treasure chest” of videotaped interviews, and presented it submitted for the contest. In addition, the Eastern Area of The to Deanna Marcum, who accepted on behalf of the Library of Links, Incorporated funded the food and transportation costs Congress. “I salute the National Visionary Leadership Project, for most of the high school students who attended the summit. and commend its co-founders for collecting these inspiring oral For many of these young people, the exposure to our nation’s histories of African American elders who have made extraordi- capitol, the Library of Congress, and the honorees was, in their nary contributions to the African American community and to teacher’s words, “a truly life-changing experience.” m

12 American Folklife Center News t H e mm in g t R o be r Charles Todd at the Presto recording machine, surrounded by a group of A New Old Recording Mexican boys and men, at the El Rio by Huddie Ledbetter F.S.A. Camp in California, 1941 by Michael Taft he AFC is always acquiring new collections. Some other fieldworkers, continued recording Lead Belly’s massive collections are made up of thousands of items and repertoire. As well, beginning in 1935, Lead Belly recorded for require months of negotiation with the donor or seller; commercial record companies and radio stations. someT are no more than a single recording or a few sheets of I was therefore expecting that Mr. Johnson had a copy of a re- paper, casually dropped off at the AFC’s reading room desk. cording already held by the Center, or one of Lead Belly’s many Others are surprise discoveries, entirely unexpected, and com- commercial discs. But when I asked him what was printed on pletely delightful in the way that they fill in a void in the history the label of the recording, Mr. Johnson said, “Presto.” Presto of American folklife. was not a record company label, but a brand of recording blank Such was the case when David Johnson of Falmouth, Maine, that the Library of Congress used for its Presto disc recording telephoned me, wanting to know if the Center was interested machines in the1930s and 1940s. Mr. Johnson also con- in a Lead Belly disc that he had in his possession. The Center firmed that the disk had three holes in its center, rather than holds hundreds of field recordings of Huddie Ledbetter (“Lead the single hole found on commercial recordings. The extra two Belly”), the legendary Texas/Louisiana singer of blues, ballads, holes helped to anchor the blank disc while the grooves were children’s songs, religious songs, and other African American inscribed onto its surface during field recording. Now I was in- traditions. He was first recorded by John A. Lomax in 1933, trigued, and readily accepted Mr. Johnson’s kind offer to donate and over the next sixteen years, John and Alan Lomax, among the disc to the Center.

American Folklife Center News 13 This undated, four-frame print of Lead Belly, by an unknown photographer, was included in the Todd-Sonkin collection. It testifies to Lead Belly’s friendship with the two collectors.

14 American Folklife Center News As I later learned from the Dust Bowl: The from Mr. Johnson, Charles L. Todd and Robert he received the disc Sonkin Migrant Worker Col- from his twin broth- lection, American Memory er, Donald Johnson. Online Presentation, http:// As a college student memory.loc.gov/ammen/af- in the early 1960s, ctshtml/tshome.html). Donald Johnson had But there was another been interested in piece of information on the folksong, and had disc sleeve that presented received the disc a problem: the date, Janu- from a friend. Donald ary 20, 1941, was written no longer recalled the above the list of songs. Yet name of this friend both Todd and Sonkin had or where he had returned from California in obtained the disc, the summer of 1940, and

but although neither only returned, together, to G

brother was ever able IN that state in the summer

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to play the old 78 rpm R of 1941. In addition, it

BE O recording, they kept it R is known that Todd and out of harm’s way for Will Neal plays the fiddle; Charles Todd is second from right, and his recording Sonkin recorded Lead the next forty-five years. partner Robert Sonkin is second from left. Arvin, California, 1940. Belly in New York City When I received the on January 20, 1942, disc from Mr. Johnson, I immediately recognized it as a twelve- for an Office of Emergency Management radio program entitled inch, glass-based lacquer field recording of the type that Li- “Dear Mr. President”–a series of recorded messages to Presi- brary of Congress fieldworkers used. There was no information dent Roosevelt expressing the views of Americans on the Pearl on the disc itself, but the accompanying disc sleeve gave the Harbor attack (see After the Day of Infamy: “Man-on-the-Street” titles of four songs: “Irene,” “Pretty Flower in Your Backyard,” Interviews Following the Attack on Pearl Harbor, American “Careless Love,” and “Todd Blues.” The first three are well Memory Online Presentation, http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/af- known from Lead Belly’s repertoire, with “Irene Goodnight” cphhtml/afcphhome.html). being his most successful and much-recorded hit. The fourth We also know that Todd returned to California, without Sonkin, song, however, was a mystery, not previously known from his in early 1942 to work as associate manager of the Tulare Migrant recordings. Camp, in Visalia. In a March 27, 1942, letter to Alan Lomax, When I listened to the disc, I found that “Todd Blues” was Robert Sonkin writes from New York City: “I could paint you indeed a song not previously recorded from Lead Belly’s rep- a picture of the [City] College which from sheer foolishness ertoire, and was in fact the key to the history of this particular wd. be not believed. And, with poor old Todd gone, there’s not recording. Lead Belly prefaces this song with the following even anybody around to grouse with.” It seems likely that Mr. statement: “Now this is to our friend. Mr. Sonkin’s friend and Johnson’s disc was part of the January 20, 1942, recording my friend, and my wife’s friend–which is Martha. He’s going session held by Todd and Sonkin with Lead Belly, mistakenly away. We’re dedicating this blues that brings sad news...” In documented as happening a year earlier. the impromptu blues lyrics that follow, Lead Belly sings: How the disc became separated from those Todd and Sonkin ...Mr. Todd went away, Lord, just after Christmas Day handed in to the Library remains a mystery. Perhaps because it He’s going to California... was not on the theme of “Dear Mr. President,” the two fieldwork- ...Mr. Sonkin sitting here with his head hung down... ers decided to keep the recording, and the disc changed hands In his recording of “Careless Love,” Lead Belly includes the over the next eighteen-plus years until it arrived in the safekeep- following lyrics: ing of the Johnson brothers. It is unlikely that the complete ...I may be right, Mr. Todd, and I may be wrong history of this recording will ever be known, but thanks to the But you know we’re going to miss you for the time while care and interest of David and Donald Johnson, this hitherto un- you’re gone... known disc now joins the Center’s other recordings of the great It’s clear that Lead Belly’s “Todd Blues” is dedicated to Rob- Huddie Ledbetter. ❍ ert Sonkin’s friend, Charles L. Todd. Todd and Sonkin, together Author’s Note: The recording is available in the AFC reading and separately, conducted a number of folksong recording room as Donald and David Johnson Collection of Huddie Led- trips for the Library of Congress in the late 1930s and early better Recordings. Thanks to Library staff members Ann Hoog, 1940s. Their most ambitious recording project occurred in Todd Harvey, Brad McCoy, and Mike Turpin, for their help with the migrant camps of California in 1940 and 1941 (see Voices this article.

AMERIC A N F O L K L I F E C ENTER N EWS 15 Members of the card catalog project team pose in the Folklife Center Reading Room, holding a facsimile of the card for Lead Belly’s classic song “Irene.” L-r: Nathan Trail (Network Development and MARC Standards Office), Andrew Cook (Office of Strategic Initiatives), Jennifer Cutting (AFC), Betsy Miller (Network Development and MARC Standards Office), Michael Taft (AFC), Mike Fitzella (Office of Strategic Initiatives), Judy Ng (AFC), John Barton (AFC). Other members of the team, not pictured here, included Jeremy Foutz, Ann Hoog, Catherine Kerst, Maggie Kruesi, and Carol Moran of AFC; Morgan Cundiff and Julie Mangin of the Network Development and MARC Standards Office; Timberly Wuester of the Of- fice of Strategic Initiatives; and Maureen Harrington of the Office of the General Counsel.

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