Between the Cracks of History: Essays on Teaching and Illustrating Folklore
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DOCUMENT RESUME ED 428 986 SO 029 AUTHOR Abernethy, Francis Edward, Ed.; Satterwhite, Caroly" Fiedler, Ed. TITLE Between the Cracks of History: Essays on Teaching and Illustrating Folklore. Publications of the Texas Folklo- Society: 55. INSTITUTION Texas Folklore Society, Nacogdoches. ISBN ISBN-1-57441-036-9 PUB DATE 1997-00-00 NOTE 290p.; "Illustrations by Cynthia Fisher." AVAILABLE FROM University of North Texas Press, P.O. Box 311336, Denton, TX 76203-1336; Tel: 940-565-2142 ($27). PUB TYPE Collected Works General (020)-- Guides Classroom Teacher (052) EDRS PRICE MF01/PC12 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS Cultural Education; *Definitions; *Folk Culture; Heritage Education; Higher Education; Internet; Local History; Oral History; Oral Tradition; State History IDENTIFIERS Folklorists; *Folktales; *Texas ABSTRACT This book is composed of 21 essays that define and illustrate the folklore of Texas. Following the introduction, the six essays concerned with defining are: "Classroom Definitions of Folklore"(F. E. Abernethy); "Defining Folklol'e for My Etudents" (Joyce Roach); "Folklore and Cinema" (Jim Harris); "Toward a Definition of Folk Culture" (Joe S. Graham); "Folklore Fieldwork on the Internet: Some Ethical and Practical Considerations" (Jan Roush); and "Beginning Within: Teaching Folklore the Easy Way" (Rhett Rushing) .The 15 essays ccncerned with illustrating the definitions are: "The Honored Dead: The Ritual of Police Burial" (Phyllis Bridges); "Meaner than Hell!" (Kenneth W. Davis); "Gang Graffiti" (Ken Untiedt); "Gideon Lincecum, 'Killie Krankie,' and Fiddling in Early Texas" (Chris Goertzen); "The Bluebird Mare from Sterling City" (Patrick Dearen); "The Night the Stars Fell" (Robert J. Duncan); "Rail Tales: Some Are True" (Charlie Oden); "Dance Halls of East Texas: From Oral History" (Dennis Read, Bobby Nieman); "The Oil Field Camp" (James Winfrey); "Noises in the Attic: Adventures of Some Texas Ghosts" (Allan Turner, Richard Stewart); "Repo Man" (John Lightfoot); "Tex-Mex Dialect or Gidget Goes to Acuna" (Rebecca Cornell); "Punching Sticks, Flannel Wrapped Bricks, and Pink Powder Purgatives: Spring Rituals" (Ernestine Sewell Linck); "When Harley Sadler's Tent Show Came to Town" (J.G. Pinkerton); and "Eating over the Sink andOthe- Marital Strategies" (James Ward Lee). (13T) ********************************************************************* Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be from the original document. ***************************************************************4 Between the LRACKS OF HISTORY Essayson Teachingand Illustrating Folklore Publications of the TexasFolklore Society LV U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Office of Educational Research and Improvement PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE AND EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION DISSEMINATE THIS MATERIAL HAS CENTER (ERIC) BEEN GRANTED BY EV This document has been reproduced as received from the person or organization originating it. F. E. Abernetk." 0 Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction quality. Points of view or opinions stated in this TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES document do not necessarily represent INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) official OERI position or policy. EST CiPY AVM LE Between the CRACKSOFHISTORY Essayson Teachingand Illustrating Folklore Publications of theTexas Folklore SocietyLV Francis EdwardAbernethy, Editor Carolyn FiedlerSatterwhite, AssistantEditor Illustrations by CynthiaFisher University of North TexasPress Denton, Texas 3 © 1997 Texas Folklore.Society All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America First Edition 1997 5 4 3 2 1 Requests for permission to reproduce materials from this book should be directed to Permissions University of North Texas Press PO Box 311336 Denton, TX 76203-1336 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 Between the cracks of history : essays on teaching and illustrating folklore / edited by Francis Edward Abernethy. p.cm. (Publications of the Texas Folklore Society ; 55) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 1-57441-036-9 (alk. paper) 1. FolkloreTexas. 2. Folklore. 3. FolkloreStudy and teaching. I. Abernethy, Francis Edward. II. Series. GR110.T5B47 1997 398'.09764dc21 97-17598 CIP Cover and interior design by Accent Design and Communications Contents Between the Cracks ofHistory vii Essays on TeachingFolklore Classroom Definitions ofFolklore F. E. Abernethy 3 Defining Folklore forMy Students Joyce Roach 10 Folklore and Cinema Jim Harris 16 Toward a Definition ofFolk Culture Joe S. Graham 27 Folklore Fieldworkon the Internet: Some Ethical and PracticalConsiderations Jan Roush 42 Beginning Within: TeachingFolklore the Easy Way Rhett Rushing 54 Essays IllustratingFolklore The Honored Dead:The Ritual of PoliceBurial Phyllis Bridges 79 Meaner Than Hell! Kenneth W. Davis 94 Gang Graffiti Ken Untiedt 102 Gideon Lincecum, "Killie Krankie," and Fiddling in EarlyTexas Chris Goertzen 111 The Bluebird Mare from Sterling City Patrick Dearen 134 The Night the Stars Fell Robert J. Duncan 149 Rail Tales: Some are True Charlie Oden 164 Dance Halls of East Texas: From Oral History Dennis Read and Bobby Nieman 182 The Oil Field Camp James Winfrey 193 Noises in the Attic: Adventures of Some Texas Ghosts Allan Turner and Richard Stewart 205 Repo Man John Lightfoot 215 Tex-Mex Dialect or Gidget Goes to Acuna Rebecca Cornell 226 Punching Sticks, Flannel Wrapped Bricks, and Pink Powder Purgatives: Spring Rituals Ernestine Sewell Linck 235 When Harley Sadler's Tent Show Came to Town J. G. Pinkerton 246 Eating Over the Sink and Other Marital Strategies James Ward Lee 261 Contributors 271 Index 279 Between the Cracks ofHistory I wonder if folklorists followhistorians like gleanersorcot- ton strippers in west Texasandcollect the leavings fromaca- demic historians, all the talesand songs and traditions that the historians allow to fall betweenthe cracks? Or that historians sweep under the rug? Or drop? Or chooseto ignore? Historians research, document,and file the facts ofa hap- pening. They are supposed toget the details right, butsome- times in following the letter ofthe investigation, they lose the spiritwhich falls between thecracks of history where itis pounced on by the ever-lurkingfolklorist, who scarfs itup like a hog on a mushmelon. Maybe its not just historianswho let pouncable things fall between the cracks. Maybe folkloristsfollow doctors around for their droppin's and leavin's,and find out that urine relievesbull nettle burn and that tobaccoeases the pain of a yellow-jacket sting and that chickensoup is as good for the flu as anything doctors prescribe. And maybefolklorists follow wildlife biologists and conclude that if they hearan owl hoot in the daytime, that owl is watchinga buck walking. I hold firmly to that latterbelief, by the way, and when theowl hoots I can see vividlyin my mind's eye a big, old mossy-horned buck easing hisway through a pine thicket. On the other hand On the other hand, maybehistorians followed folklorists at some dimly remembered past time tosee what fell between the 7 Preface cracks as the folk passed along myths, legends, and folktales. Tell me, what history did not begin with the leavin's of folklore, the oral traditions that went back to the myths of the creation of the world and Eden, the legends of the great kings and warriors of Camelot, and the folktales that grew out of all these hand-me- downs and became the Iliad? What science did not begin as folklore? Modern scientific me- teorology was preceded by Zeuses and Thors and Jehovahs who rumbled their presence with bolts of lightning and volcanic erup- tions and with floods that drowned the world. The folk were us- ing levers, screws, and inclined planes as part of their inherited artifacts before physics became an acknowledged science. A stu- dent could easily learn his valence tables when chemistry was in one of its folkloric stages, when all matter was made of various combinations of earth, air, fire, and water. In geology, that sci- ence and the whole universe was simpler when folks thought that the earth was flat and was twice as long as it was wide and that it was surrounded by the great river Ocean and that it was created in 4004 B.C. and that it was created for man who was unique and it sole inheritor. And the manipulation of holy num- bers by the Mayans and Aztecs to understand the peregrina- tions of the sun and the moon and the seasons made mathematics a religious exercise long before it was an academic discipline. Singing and dancing, making music on drums and with flutes, painting on walls and sculpting gods and gargoyles: all these things began with the folk before the academic fine arts were ever envisioned. So, folklore might be that which falls between the cracks of history (or biology or sociology, ad infinitum) but students and teachers must not forget that long before these leavin's fell through the cracks from the anointed hands of academia, folk- lore was the beginning, the Alpha, and most probably will be the Omega. viii Between the Cracks of History All of which is a garrulous prelude toan introduction for this volume's contents. Between the Cracks of Historyis partially peda- gogical. The introductory essays, whichwere spawned at the Fort Worth meeting in 1995,are concerned with defining, ex- plaining, and teaching folklore. Some ofus have been immersed in folklore