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Interviews with Hilda Galster, Bertha Fetsch, Alvin Kreutzer, Father Leo F. Kelty, Joe Misry, Rudolph Oborny, L.W. Roberts, and Ida Walker.
Marquita Fetsch, Loudella Welks, and Gloria Havens
Interviews with Hilda Galster, Bertha Fetsch, Alvin Kreutzer, Father Leo F. Kelty, Joe Misry, Rudolph Oborny, L.W. Roberts, and Ida Walker. 00:00:01 - Introduction, Hilda Galster of Marienthal, KS (Interview is muffled)
00:00:10 - Personal history
00:00:56 - Bank Robbery and Fleagle gang living at their ranch
00:08:31 - Austrian folk verse
00:08:52 - Introduction, Bertha Fetsch of Marienthal, KS on June 16, 1962.
00:09:08 - "Indigestible Goat" a reading
00:12:15 - Introduction, Alvin Kreutzer of Marienthal, KS on June 16, 1962.
00:12:40 - Song, "You Are My Sunshine" on violin
00:14:00 - Unnamed Russian song on violin
00:15:08 - Song, "Marienthal is a Nice Little Town" vocal, in German
00:15:32 - Unidentified wedding polka from 1900 played on accordion.
00:16:22 - German wedding dance song, accordion
00:17:45 - Song, "Red Wing Polka," accordion
00:18:54 - Introduction, Father Leo F. Kelty of Marienthal, KS on June 16, 1962.
00:19:10 - Battle between the United States Army and local indigenous peoples
00:23:28 - Introduction, recording of Rudolph Oborny interviewing Joe Misry of Rogers, NE on December 4, 1952. Recording is of poor quality.
00:24:10 - Account of a skirmish between homesteaders and Indigenous Americans in 1876.
00:28:56 - Bohemian song, "When We Were Eating Crabs" played on accordion by Rudolph Oborny 00:30:50 - Untitled song, played on accordion.
00:32:24 - Introduction, L.W. Roberts of Quintin, KS interviewed by Gloria Havens
00:32:35 - A nest of snakes
00:36:17 - How to make a sod house
00:38:15 - Harvesting wheat
00:43:55 - Coming to Kansas by train
00:44:44 - Blizzard of 1886
00:45:55 - Gold mine in Kansas
00:48:36 - Breaking a leg
00:57:46 - Treatment for a snakebite
00:58:23 - Christmas customs
01:01:40 - Story about Mexican homesteaders (Recording quality degrades)
01:11:51 - Jack rabbits
01:13:25 - How to file a claim and rabbit hunting
The remainder of the tape is missing. -
Interviews with Jessie Mae Decker, Mary Burgtorf McKinney, and Ralph McKinney
Mildred Dunavan
Interviews with Jessie Mae Decker, Mary Burgtorf McKinney, and Ralph McKinney.
00:00:11 - Winter storm of February 13, 1919 told by Jessie Mae Decker of Great Bend, KS
00:03:30 - Flood of Walnut Creek in the 1870's told by Mary McKinney
00:08:30 - Life on the family farm told by Ralph McKinney
00:16:23 - Pranks played on fellow students
00:19:15 - Mary McKinney reads from the diary of her in-laws, Andrew and Mariah McKinney who homesteaded east of Great Bend in 1870. The diary spans the years 1875-1876. Mentions Mrs. Bickerdyke.
00:32:26 - Recording cuts off -
Interviews with Jess Strain, Ed Monroe, and Lucille Wanker
Donald Naiman
Interviews with Jess Strain, Ed Monroe, and Lucille Wanker.
Jess F. Strain, the introduction is missing. Recording is difficult to understand.
00:00:16 - Journey from South Dakota to Cripple Creek, CO in 1894
00:04:54 - Reason for the journey to Cripple Creek
00:07:14 - Cattle drives
00:08:19 - Rattlesnakes
00:10:11 - Arriving in Kansas in 1897
00:11:02 - Feeding cattle
00:12:36 - Bad winters
00:16:58 - Indigenous Americans in the area
00:18:43 - Stalled train in 1911
00:21:38 - Farm equipment
00:31:54 - Difference in wheat, then and now
00:34:58 - Literaries
00:36:30 - Wild rabbit hunts
00:43:03 - Catching frogs
00:47:20 - Catching fish with pitchforks
00:53:13 - Music by Jess F. Strain and Ed Monroe. Recording begins in progress and is of poor quality.
00:53:22 - Song, Vacation in Heaven, piano and fiddle
00:55:47 - Song, Sweet Evalina, piano and fiddle
00:56:56 - Song, Lost Mule, piano and fiddle
00:57:57 - Song, Deavi's Dream, piano and fiddle
00:58:26 - Song, Natchez by the Hill, piano and fiddle
00:59:16 - Song, Comin' down from Denver, piano and fiddle
01:00:11 - Song, Dean's Favorite, piano and fiddle
01:01:01 - Song, Down in the Jailhouse, piano and fiddle
01:02:55 - Song, Cottage Hornpipe, piano and fiddle
01:03:45 - Song, Little Brown Jug, piano and fiddle
01:04:35 - Song, Midnight Waltz, piano and fiddle
01:06:50 - Music by Jess F. Strain and Lucille Wanker.
01:06:54 - Song, Liverpool Hornpipe, piano and fiddle
01:07:35 - Song, Here She Goes, piano and fiddle
01:08:33 - Song, Lost Boy, piano and fiddle
01:09:13 - Song, Come Sunday Mornin', piano and fiddle
01:10:33 - Song, unidentified folk tune, piano and fiddle
01:11:38 - Song, Fox and Hounds, piano and fiddle
01:12:25 - Song, Old Timer, piano and fiddle
01:13:45 - Song, Narragansett Bay, piano and fiddle
01:14:35 - Song, Mollie Shove the Grog Around, piano and fiddle
01:15:37 - Song, unidentified waltz, piano and fiddle
01:16:50 - Song, Lost Horn, piano and fiddle
01:17:58 - Song, unidentified folk tune, piano and fiddle
01:18:44 - Song, unidentified folk tune, piano and fiddle
01:19:36 - Song, Put your Little Foot In, piano and fiddle
01:20:44 - Song, unidentified folk tune, piano and fiddle -
Interviews with Jim White, Clarence W. Beamgard, Artaxa Patten, Harvey H. and Martha C. Benjamin, Aloys, Schneider, and Mary Jane Hamill
Velma Mayfield
Interviews with Jim White, Clarence W. Beamgard, Artaxa Patten, Harvey H. and Martha C. Benjamin, Aloys, Schneider, and Mary Jane Hamill.
Recording is muffled and can be difficult to understand at times
00:00:19 - Jim White describing the homes of early settlers and antiques in his collection.
00:28:14 - Song, "Home on the Range" played on guitar
00:30:40 - Song, "Poor Folks" played on guitar
00:33:58 - Introduction, Clarence W. Beamgard of Atwood, KS.
00:34:37 - Ethnic makeup of settlers in Kansas
00:37:27 - Personal history
00:38:27 - Entertainment and good times
00:40:10 - Tall tales about Kansas wind
00:41:00 - Song, "That Silver haired Daddy of Mine"
00:44:03 - Song, "The Great American Bum"
00:46:56 - Introduction, Artaxa Patten of Atwood, KS on June 16, 1962
00:47:29 - Song, "The Housekeeper's Lament"
00:50:10 - Introduction, Harvey H. and Martha C. Benjamin on May 17, 1962
00:50:33 - Song, "Nobody Knows but Mother" played on harmonica
00:52:05 - Song, "Sweet Hour of Prayer" played on harmonica
00:53:54 - Introduction, Aloys Schneider
00:54:21 - Song, "The Streets of Laredo"
00:53:27 - Song, "When The Work's All Done This Fall"
00:59:45 - Introduction, Mary Jane Hamill
01:00:16 - Song, "They'll All Be Sorry That They Picked on Me" -
Interviews with Joe and Thelma Novak, and Edith Peck
Mary Burgett
Interviews with Joe and Thelma Novak, and Edith Peck.
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:00:46 - Song, "The Merry Polka", accordion
00:02:16 - Song, "The Vaudville Polka", accordion
00:03:42 - Biographical information
00:10:40 - Grandmother's experience as an indentured servant
00:11:32 - The evil eye
00:12:28 - Predicting weather and other superstitions
00:14:33 - Games
00:17:41 - Schooling opportunities
00:18:37 - Grandmother's recipes
00:20:41 - Civil War
00:24:43 - Learning to make Czech food
00:25:54 - Rosemary
00:29:40 - Fox Lake
00:31:04 - Rhymes, superstitions, and astrology
00:37:42 - Comparison of experiences to modern day
00:41:03 - Novak family
00:45:06 - Introduction, Edith Peck, April 18, 1975
00:46:56 - Discussion about what sorts of things they're looking for in the interview.
00:48:18 - Sayings, expressions, and weather predictions
00:51:18 - Games
00:54:19 - Superstitions
00:55:30 - Recipes
01:01:24 - Sewing and quilting
01:03:42 - Tape becomes difficult to understand
01:06:37 - Quilt patterns
01:08:06 - Rosette, KS
01:10:10 - Towns in Lincoln County, KS, available entertainment and comparison to modern day
01:16:02 - Current issues with teaching in Wilson, KS.
01:18:31 - Difficulties getting around
01:19:44 - Childhood memories
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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