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Archive: June 2017 (10 Posts)

A man playing a guitar and singing to a close crowd of a dozen or so men and women

Over There

Posted by: Lisa Taylor

The following is a guest post by Rachel Telford, archivist for the Veterans History Project. Today, the Veterans History Project launches “Over There,” part two of our companion site to the Library of Congress exhibit, “Echoes of the Great War.” While part one explores the United States’ entry into World War I, part two delves …

Two men seated, one playing guitar, the other playing fiddle.

“No One Can Ever Forget It”: Stavin’ Chain’s Performance of “Batson”

Posted by: Stephen Winick

Note: This is the second in a series of posts about the murder ballad “Batson.” This one discusses the performance recorded by John A. and Alan Lomax from a trio of musicians including Wilson Jones, a.k.a. Stavin’ Chain, in 1934. A little while back, I presented for the first time anywhere a version of the …

A man playing a guitar and singing to a close crowd of a dozen or so men and women

Riddles of Life

Posted by: Lisa Taylor

The following is a guest blog post co-authored by Rachel Nave McCubbin and her sisters, Lynne Cosby and Patience Fort, who recently traveled from Kentucky and Pennsylvania to the Library of Congress Veterans History Project (VHP) to ceremoniously donate their father’s World War II collection. The veteran’s online record will be made accessible on VHP’s …

A man playing a guitar and singing to a close crowd of a dozen or so men and women

A Few Examples of Dads’ Traditions

Posted by: Stephanie Hall

A celebration of fathers and fatherhood took a long time to be established as a nation-wide observance.  Mother’s Day was being locally observed as it was being promoted in the 19th and early 20th century, and became a regular holiday in May in 1914 by presidential proclamation. Father’s Day was locally celebrated around the country …

A man on a horse, accompanied by the caption "'General' Harrison at the Grand Canyon."

“Oh, Mama”: A Mother’s Love and the Murder Ballad “Batson”

Posted by: Stephen Winick

Note: This is the first in a series of posts about the murder ballad “Batson.” This one discusses previously unpublished versions of the song from manuscript collections at AFC. The ballad “Batson,” collected by John and Alan Lomax from Wilson Jones (whose nickname was “Stavin’ Chain”) and two accompanists, has long been a well-known and …

A man playing a guitar and singing to a close crowd of a dozen or so men and women

Gallery Talk: Immigrant Voices of the Veterans History Project

Posted by: Lisa Taylor

The following is a guest post by Owen Rogers, liaison specialist for the Veterans History Project (VHP). Library of Congress specialists often give presentations about ongoing Library exhibitions. This post, a version of which also appears on the Library of Congress Blog, relates to the exhibition, “Echoes of the Great War: American Experiences of World War …

A man playing a guitar and singing to a close crowd of a dozen or so men and women

“People Who Stood Up”: Mississippi Women in the Civil Rights Movement

Posted by: Guha Shankar

This guest blog post comes to us courtesy of Catherine Turner, a high school senior working at the American Folklife Center this Spring on her service project for Park School in Baltimore, MD. Catherine is entering Brown University in Fall 2017, and has spent the last six weeks diving into the collections at the Library …