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Interview with Mela Meisner Lindsay
Samuel John Sackett 1928-2018
An interview with Mela Meisner Lindsay of Hays, KS regarding her experiences as a Volga-German immigrant in Kansas. The first half of the recording is missing.
00:00:57 - Early recipes and food
00:01:30 - Bierock recipe and origin of the food
00:07:36 - Watermelon Syrup
00:09:44 - Black berries
00:10:35 - Butterballs
00:14:00 - Folk cures
00:26:49 - Belief in magic and witches
00:28:38 - Fuel for stoves
00:38:09 - Washing clothes
00:43:05 - Collecting feathers and wool for beds
00:46:08 - Games
00:52:55 - Songs
00:56:49 - Minnow soup
01:01:40 - Repairing an axle
01:03:44 - Storing food -
Interview with Melvin Simmons
Alice Kiper
Interview with Melvin Simmons of Almena, KS on March 29, 1975.
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:00:21 - Biographical information
00:01:38 - Schooldays
00:03:52 - Homesteading
00:06:58 - Sod houses
00:10:26 - His family
00:12:29 - Almena, KS
00:15:39 - Buffalo
00:16:15 - Amos Cole
00:23:45 - Buffalo
00:24:18 - Digging wells
00:27:00 - Dog chasing an antelope
00:29:25 - Farmers
00:30:08 - Entertainment
00:33:49 - Horses
00:38:09 - Alice Kiper's family
00:39:23 - Water pump and fires
00:45:35 - Raising watermelons and onions
00:48:17 - Making butter
00:50:20 - Keeping bees
00:54:39 - Working during childhood
00:58:32 - Farming
01:01:45 - His wife and marriage
01:11:25 - Move to Coffey County, KS and then to Guymon, OK, and on to Almena, KS
01:23:38 - Running the rest home in Almena -
Interview with Michael and Elizabeth Wendelin
Judith Blankenburg
An interview with Michael and Elizabeth Wendelin regarding their experiences as immigrants on the western plains. Recording is occasionally difficult to understand.
00:00:08 - Michael Wendelin on immigrating to the United States from Austria in 1881
00:02:20 - Near drowning of a female cousin
00:02:55 - Experience with Indigenous Americans in Nebraska
00:04:05 - Engelberg's butcher shop
00:05:27 - Wagon accident
00:06:49 - Move to Kansas
00:07:46 - Fourth of July celebration
00:08:26 - Life in a sod house in Herndon, KS
00:09:44 - The Chicken Hawk's nest
00:10:54 - Family size and memories of life on the homestead
00:16:23 - Memories of Buffalo Bill
00:17:12 - More memories of Indigenous Americans
00:18:40 - Travels
00:24:35 - Getting married
00:27:02 - More travels around the country
00:30:02 - Introduction to Elizabeth Wendelin interview
00:30:30 - Coming to the United States
00:31:24 - Travels
00:33:28 - Experiences with Indigenous Americans in Kansas
00:34:38 - Homelife
00:36:58 - Life in a sod house
00:38:14 - School experiences
00:39:45 - "Iron George"
00:40:40 - Available entertainment
00:41:30 - Fashion
00:43:30 - Early settlers of Herndon
00:44:30 - Churches
00:46:05 - Men's fashion
00:46:30 - More experiences with Indigenous Americans
00:47:30 - Weddings
00:49:28 - Births
00:50:07 - Deaths
00:52:09 - Christmas
00:52:39 - Other holidays
00:54:25 - Herndon Ox Roast
00:55:30 - Stores in Herndon
00:56:12 - Railroad coming to Herndon
00:58:58 - Music
00:59:30 - Floods -
Interview with Mr. & Mrs. W.C. Alcorn of Ionia, Kansas
Gary Long
An interview with William Cicero Alcorn and his wife Eva Paxton Moyer Alcorn from Ionia, KS regarding their various life experiences in the early 20th century. Jess Alcorn Long of Ellis, KS is also included in the interview.
00:00:30 - Biographical information
00:01:37 - A strange marriage arrangement and a fight in Ionia
00:03:41 - Moyer and Paxton family history
00:05:57 - Eva Alcorn's arrival in Kansas
00:07:23 - School experiences
00:09:43 - William Alcorn's arrival in Kansas and first jobs
00:13:45 - Early Ionia
00:19:01 - William Alcorn's first marriage
00:21:05 - Buying the family home
00:23:16 - Traveling to Kentucky
00:31:48 - Coyote Hunting
00:38:10 - Badger story
00:41:39 - Taking kids to school
00:43:51 - Courting
00:44:43 - More on coyote hunting
00:49:17 - Blizzards and hard winters
00:52:40 - Saw accident
00:54:24 - Doctor Poffin
00:56:21 - The Alcorn Farm
01:00:18 - Making soap
01:02:43 - Making hominy
01:04:46 - Dust storms
01:10:45 - Lean years
01:13:25 - Hailstorm
01:16:07 - Bear story
01:20:08 - Hunting in Kentucky
01:21:48 - Working in a mill
01:25:25 - Swimming in the Cumberland River
01:27:35 - Rattlesnakes in Kansas and haymaking
The Samuel J. Sackett Folklore Collection consists of recordings created by Dr. Sackett and his graduate assistants between the years of 1954 and 1977. Dr. Sackett and his assistants interviewed immigrants, homesteaders, and other community figures in Kansas and beyond, with a specific focus on folk music and folk lore. Subjects covered include folk music, folk stories, immigration and homesteading in the late 1800s through early 1900s, relations with Indigenous Americans and other minorities, Volga-German music, language, and customs, along with a wealth of genealogical information. Some of the recordings include racially sensitive language and as well as accounts of hate crimes. Originally recorded on reel-to-reel media, the collection was migrated to cassette tape in the 1990s and then transferred to digital beginning in 2020. Many of the recordings were in poor condition. The access recordings presented here have undergone audio enhancement in order to improve the user experience where possible, though some recordings remain difficult to understand. Unaltered audio transfers are available for researchers on request. Dr. Sackett served in the Department of English at FHSU for 23 years and founded the Kansas Folklore Society. His research materials were transferred to the University Archives in 1992.
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