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Posted by: Stephen Winick
The American Folklife Center is very sad to report the death of our longtime staff member, Peter Bartis. Peter died on December 25, 2017, from cancer. He had been in hospice for several days, with his spouse Ben, his brother Jim, and several AFC staff members visiting him daily. At the time of his retirement …
Posted in: AFC History
Posted by: Stephanie Hall
At this time of year the reference staff of the American Folklife Center staff are often asked about the origins of Christmas carols. Here are a few examples of songs with interesting histories. Some of the oldest Christmas songs came from folk plays that were popular in the Middle Ages. The Juan B. Rael Collection …
Posted by: Megan Harris
I often speak about how Veterans History Project (VHP) collections “bring the past to life,” but this phrase took on new meaning during an event that happened here at the Library a few weeks ago, a performance based on the Irving Greenwald collection, donated to VHP in December 2015. Greenwald, who served with the 308th …
Posted in: Veterans History Project, World War I
Posted by: Stephen Winick
Every year, in the week of the Library’s holiday party, staff members of the American Folklife Center put on a play based on ancient traditions, dressed up with a modern twist. Dressed in costumes that range from striking to silly, we sing, act, rhyme, and dance for other Library staff members and for members of the …
Posted in: christmas, Folk Drama, Holidays, Mumming, Uncategorized
Posted by: Kerry Ward
The following is a blog post about the nation’s first snow of the season and themes of snow throughout Veterans History Project (VHP). There is just something magical about the first snow of the year. Locations throughout the country saw the first snowfall of the season this past weekend. As I sipped my hot cocoa …
Posted in: Holidays, Oral History, Photographs, Snow, Veterans History Project, Vietnam War, World War II
Posted by: Stephanie Hall
Between 1976 and 1978 Karen S. Ellis recorded the playground songs of elementary school students on St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. She was teaching at the Ricardo Richards School and many of the children she recorded were her students. This work culminated in a book and recording, Domino, a resource for children and teachers, published …
Posted in: Caribbean Americans, christmas, Folksong, Hispanic American History
Posted by: Megan Harris
Darling, can a person live with tears, and longing and frustrating for years and not be changed by it? Do you know the quotation that says, ‘Tho a man be dead, yet shall he live”—I think I’ve come to know what that means these two years, as I watched my “20s” slip away, and realized …
Posted in: Veterans History Project, World War II
Posted by: Nicole Saylor
This is a guest blog post by Kaitlin Dotson, who did an internship at the American Folklife Center this summer. She was recently hired as a processing assistant at the Hargrett Rare Book & Manuscript Library at the University of Georgia’s Special Collections Libraries. As an intern at the American Folklife Center (AFC), I spent …
Posted in: Archival Practice
Posted by: Megan Harris
The following is the fifth and last post in a series relating to the Medal of Honor. At the age of seven, Alfred V. Rascon was so enthralled by the idea of becoming a paratrooper that he made his own parachute, jumped off the roof of his house, landed on his head, and broke his …
Posted in: Hispanic American History, Oral History, Veterans History Project, Vietnam War