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T. W. Wells Lecture - April 13, 1961
Thornton Walton Wells
An recording of a lecture given by Thornton Walton Wells, former school superintendent of Russell County Schools, to Samuel Sackett's folklore class at Fort Hays Kansas State College on April 13, 1961.
00:00:00 - Cheyenne Bottoms: Hunting, Laying the Railroad and Dog Racing.
00:18:00 - Folklore discussion: Cocklebur story
00:22:08 - Osage Orange wood
00:25:33 - Fish skin purse
00:29:42 - Hunting
00:30:29 - Hydrophobia (rabies), mad stones, other fears
00:42:32 - Mother Bickerdyke and buffalo hunts
00:45:18 - Poem "How do I know my youth is all spent?" -
T.W. Wells Lecture - July 21 and 24, 1961
Thornton Walton Wells
An recording of a lecture given by Thornton Walton Wells, former school superintendent of Russell County Schools, to Samuel Sackett's folklore class at Fort Hays Kansas State College on July 21 and 24, 1961.
00:00:00 - Poor quality recording.
00:00:32 - Background and introduction
00:02:14 - Pilot Rock and wagon trains
00:04:18 - Folklore and swearing
00:07:30 - How he quit swearing
00:08:37 - Monosyllabic language as folklore
00:10:56 - Chinch bugs in 1893
00:14:21 - Prairie fires and their victims
00:18:36 - "Old" in language
00:19:51 - More on chintz bugs
00:21:04 - Witching for water
00:28:20 - The library nobody could use
00:34:08 - Bedbugs
00:36:40 - Communal aid in times of distress
00:39:50 - Mad dog threat
00:44:05 - Mad hog
00:46:30 - Head lice
00:50:45 - Indigenous American graves near Pilot Rock
00:53:04 - Rattlesnakes
00:56:46 - How a slave won his freedom
00:59:24 - July 24, 1961 lecture. This part of the recording is of a lower quality
01:00:00 - Blizzard of 1886
01:02:38 - Language of folklore
01:06:37 - Thrashing machine and wheat cutting
01:14:12 - Chinch bugs, bedbugs, flies, lice, and other pests
01:20:08 - How a slave won his freedom with an ear of corn
01:25:53 - Chinch bugs of 1893
01:29:53 - Introduction of Russian Thistles to the area
Audio cuts off. The remainder of the tape is missing. -
T. W. Wells - Lectures to Folklore of the Middle West class
Thornton Walton Wells
T. W. Wells - Lectures to Folklore of the Middle West class at Fort Hays Kansas State College in 1962.
The lecture begins in progress.
00:00:03 - Rural schools
00:01:38 - Pilot rock
00:02:59 - Rural school experience
00:15:12 - Indigenous American grave on Goose Creek
00:17:08 - The house on Goose Creek
00:19:51 - Planting trees on the homestead
00:21:32 - Description of the family homestead
00:22:24 - Trees on the homestead
00:26:31 - Encounters with snakes
00:30:27 - Chiggers and their treatment
00:33:44 - Headlice and their treatment
00:36:55 - Auditing an art class and art at Pilot Rock school
00:40:02 - Old thrashing machine
00:43:23 - Geese at Cheyenne Bottoms
00:45:34 - Language of folklore
00:46:08 - Games played as a child: Hide and go seek, pull away, dare base, Pennsylvania Dutch, base ball, Annie-over, wrestling, one-hole catch
01:05:26 - First day of school and school experiences
01:26:48 - Chinch bugs and the language of folklore
01:31:45 - Geese at Cheyenne Bottoms -
Utah Folklore Institute, John Greenway Concert
Utah Folklore Institute, John Greenway concert. This recording is unavailable.
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Utah Folklore Institute, John Greenway Concert
Utah Folklore Institute, John Greenway concert. This recording is unavailable.
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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