Fife American Collection, 1940-1976 Overview of the Collection Creator Fife, Austin E. and Alta S. Title Fife American Collection Dates 1940-1976 (inclusive) 19401976 Quantity 48 bound items Collection Number ULA_USU_FOLK COLL 4 no.2 Summary Tapes, transcriptions of interviews, and musical notations of western songs, ballads, and poetry. Also includes bound typescripts of extracts concerning western folksongs from other collections: John Lomax papers (originals housed at the Texas Historical Society); Gordon Oregon collection (originals housed at the Library of Congress and Univ. of Oregon); Stella M. Hendren collection of western folksongs clipped from periodicals; Edwin Ford Piper collection (originals housed at University Archives, State University of Iowa); collection of folksongs from the Old Songs column of the Idaho Farmer, published by Pacific Northwest Farm Quad; and a typescript of three published works: Songs of the cowboys by N. Howard Thorp; The Song Companion of a Lone Star cowboy by Chas. A. Siringo; and Songs of the hills and mesas by Laurence White. Repository Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library, Special Collections and Archives Division Special Collections and Archives Merrill-Cazier Library Utah State University Logan, UT 84322-3000 Telephone: 435-797-2663 Fax: 435-797-2880 [email protected] Access Restrictions Restrictions Open to public research. To access the collection a patron must have the following information: collection number, box number, folder number and item number. The materials do not circulate and are available in USU's Special Collections and Archives. Languages English Sponsor Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) grant, 2007-2008 Historical Note The Austin and Alta Fife Fieldwork Collection is comprised of the original fieldwork (acetate discs, reel- to-reel field recordings and field notes) and slides gathered/taken by the Fife's between the 1940s and late 1970s. Using summer vacations and weekends, the Fifes traveled all over the west–most intensively in their native Utah–with a camping trailer, recording equipment, camera and stenographic Fife American Collection, 1940-1976 1 http://archiveswest.orbiscascade.org/ark:/80444/xv14770 materials to collect the folklife of the American West, including cowboy songs, Mormon folklore and slides of vernacular architecture. On their fieldtrips, typically, one of them would interview someone while the other took notes or operated a recording device. They also visited libraries throughout the west, taking notes and making copies of songs and stories housed in regional and archival collections. Austin Fife took the slide images. Content Description Transcriptions of oral sources (vols. 1-10) -- Transcriptions of manuscript sources (vols. 11-16) -- Transcriptions of printed sources (vols. 17-28)-- Songs of the cowboys by N. Howard Thorp (vol. 29) -- Song Companion of a Lone Star cowboy by Chas. A. Siringo (vol. 29) -- Songs of the hills and mesas by Laurence White (vol. 29) -- Extracts from the Pacific Northwest Farm Quad collection (vols. 30-32) Extracts from the Edwin Ford Piper Collection (vols. 33) -- Extracts from Stella M. Hendren Collection (vols. 34-40) -- Extracts from Gordon Oregon Collection (vols. 41-43) -- Extracts from John Lomax Papers (vols. 44-46). Publication: Walker, Barbara. Index to the Austin and Alta Fife fieldwork recordings of cowboy and western songs. (M.A. thesis, Utah State University, 1986). [Logan, Utah: Utah State University Fife Folklore Center, 1993] (FOLK COLL 3 no. 363). Forms part of the Austin and Alta Fife fieldwork collection. Use of the Collection Restrictions on Use Copyright It is the responsibility of the user to obtain permission to publish from the owner of the copyright (the institution, the creator of the record, the author or his/her transferees, heirs, legates, or literary executors). The user agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Utah State University Libraries, its officers, employees, and agents from and against all claims made by any person asserting that he or she is an owner of copyright. Permission to publish material from the Fife American collection must be obtained from the Curator of the Fife Folklore Archives and/or the Special Collections Department Head. Preferred Citation Fife American collection, 1940-1976. (FOLK COLL 4, no. 2, series, vol., no.). Utah State University. Special Collections and Archives Department. Administrative Information Arrangement I. Transcriptions of oral sources; II. Transcriptions of manuscript sources; III. Transcriptions of printed sources; Fife American Collection, 1940-1976 2 http://archiveswest.orbiscascade.org/ark:/80444/xv14770 IV. Extracts from other collections. Processing Note Originally processed by Alta Fife and Barbara [Garrett] [Walker] Lloyd and updated by Randy Williams. Finding aid created by Randy Williams and Susan Gross, April 2004; updated by Randy Williams, March 2012. Acquisition Information In 1966, the Fife's deposited their extensive fieldwork collections at Utah State University Library. In 1972, the Library established the Fife Library of Western Folklore (later renamed the Fife Folklore Archives) under the administration of the Special Collections Department. Related Materials Fife Mormon collection FOLK COLL 4 no.1 Fife Slide Collection of Western U.S. Vernacular Architecture FOLK COLL 4 no.3 Austin and Alta Fife photograph collection P0141 Austin E. and Alta S. Fife papers COLL MSS 281 Detailed Description of the Collection Series I: Oral Sources (Vols. 1-10) Description Dates Folk Coll 4, FAC Ser. I, Vol. 1, no. 1: Rope Skipping Rhymes (Fife) Informant: Susan McMurry Folk Coll 4, FAC Ser. I, Vol. 1, no. 2: To Shock the Old Folks (Fife) Informant: 1949 Graham Bickley Folk Coll 4, FAC Ser. I, Vol. 1, no. 3: It's Raining, It's Pouring (Fife) Informant: 1949 Carolyn Fife Folk Coll 4, FAC Ser. I, Vol. 1, no. 4: Rope Skipping Rhymes (Fife) Informant: 1949 Carolyn Fife Folk Coll 4, FAC Ser. I, Vol. 1, no. 5: Bush, Daddy, Bush! (Fife) Informant: Dr. 1954 J.G. Bickley Folk Coll 4, FAC Ser. I, Vol. 1, no. 6: Rope Skipping Rhymes (Fife) Informant: 1955 Marian Fife Fife American Collection, 1940-1976 3 http://archiveswest.orbiscascade.org/ark:/80444/xv14770 Description Dates Folk Coll 4, FAC Ser. I, Vol. 1, no. 7: Hobo Song (Fife) Informant: Dr. Wallace 1958 Vickers Folk Coll 4, FAC Ser. I, Vol. 1, no. 8: Palomita (Fife) Informant: Marlin Bingham 1958 Patron Listening Cassette: Folk Coll 4, no. 4, Box 5, R-Tape 4: B Original Reel- to-Reel: Folk Coll 4, no. 6, Box 1, X-2, side B, Footage: 298-328 Archival Reel- to-Reel: Folk Coll 4, no. 7, Box 12, R-Tape 4 Folk Coll 4, FAC Ser. I, Vol. 1, no. 9: Shuckin' O' the Corn (Grant Thompson & 1958 Don Dunn) Informant: Jenny Holt Patron Listening Cassette: Folk Coll 4, no. 4, Box 5, R-Tape 4: B Original Reel- to-Reel: Folk Coll 4, no. 6, Box 1, X-2, side B, Footage: 266-298 Archival Reel- to-Reel: Folk Coll 4, no. 7, Box 12, R-Tape 4 Folk Coll 4, FAC Ser. I, Vol. 1, no. 10: Our Home (Grant Thompson & Don 1958 Dunn) Informant: Jenny Holt Folk Coll 4, FAC Ser. I, Vol. 1, no. 11: Idaho (Grant Thompson & Don Dunn) 1958 Informant: Jenny Holt Folk Coll 4, FAC Ser. I, Vol. 1, no. 12: Shuckin' o' the Corn (Grant Thompson & 1958 Don Dunn) Informant: Gilbert Weaver Children Patron Listening Cassette: Folk Coll 4, no. 4, Box 5, R-Tape 4: A Original Reel- to-Reel: Folk Coll 4, no. 6, Box 1, X-2, side B, Footage: 234-257 Archival Reel- to-Reel: Folk Coll 4, no. 7, Box 12, R-Tape 4 Folk Coll 4, FAC Ser. I, Vol. 1, no. 13: Cowboy Jack (Fife) Informant: Marlin 1958 Bingham Patron Listening Cassette: Folk Coll 4, no. 4, Box 5, R-Tape 3 Original Reel- to-Reel: Folk Coll 4, no. 6, Box 1, X-2, side A, Footage: 1-57 Archival Reel-to- Reel: Folk Coll 4, no. 7, Box 12, R-Tape 3 Folk Coll 4, FAC Ser. I, Vol. 1, no. 14: Little Mohee (Rosalie Sorrels) Informant: 1958 Clorinda Ball Patron Listening Cassette: Folk Coll 4, no. 4, Box 5, R-Tape 1 Original Reel-to- Reel: Folk Coll 4, no. 6, Box 1, X-1, side A, Footage: 391-469 Archival Reel-to- Reel: Folk Coll 4, no. 7, Box 12, R-Tape 1 Folk Coll 4, FAC Ser. I, Vol. 1, no. 15: Go Tell Aunt Rhodie (Grant Thompson & 1958 Don Dunn) Informant: Group from Deercliff Inn Patron Listening Cassette: Folk Coll 4, no. 4, Box 5, R-Tape 4: A Original Reel- to-Reel: Folk Coll 4, no. 6, Box 1, X-2, side B, Footage: 140-180 Archival Reel- to-Reel: Folk Coll 4, no. 7, Box 12, R-Tape 4 Folk Coll 4, FAC Ser. I, Vol. 1, no. 16: Streets of Laredo, fragment (Ray & Olwin Browne Collection) Informant: Unidentified Singer Fife American Collection, 1940-1976 4 http://archiveswest.orbiscascade.org/ark:/80444/xv14770 Description Dates Patron Listening Cassette: Folk Coll 4, no. 4, Box 5, R-Tape 8: A Original Reel- to-Reel: Folk Coll 4, no. 6, Box 1, X-4, side A, Footage: 676-703 Archival Reel- to-Reel: Folk Coll 4, no. 7, Box 13, R-Tape 8 Folk Coll 4, FAC Ser. I, Vol. 1, no. 17: You Don't Know (Grant Thompson & 1958 Don Dunn) Informant: W.H. Griffiths Patron Listening Cassette: Folk Coll 4, no. 4, Box 5, R-Tape 4: A Original Reel- to-Reel: Folk Coll 4, no. 6, Box 1, X-2, side B, Footage: 102-122 Archival Reel- to-Reel: Folk Coll 4, no. 7, Box 12, R-Tape 4 Folk Coll 4, FAC Ser. I, Vol. 1, no. 18: I Love a Lassie (Grant Thompson & Don 1958 Dunn) Informant: W.H.