Wisconsin Folklore

by Leary, James P.

• ISBN13: 9780299160340
• ISBN10: 0299160343
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1999-02-11
• Publisher: Univ of Wisconsin Pr

Summary

Highly entertaining and richly informative,Wisconsin Folkloreoffers the first comprehensive collection of writings about the surprisingly varied folklore of Wisconsin. Beginning with a historical introduction to Wisconsin's folklore and concluding with an up-to-date bibliography, this anthology offers more than fifty annotated and illustrated entries in five sections: "Terms and Talk," "Storytelling," "Music, Song, and Dance," "Beliefs and Customs," and "Material Traditions and Folklife." The various contributors, from 1884 to 1997, are anthropologists, ethnomusicologists, historians, journalists, museologists, ordinary citizens reminiscing, sociologists, students, writers of fiction, practitioners of folklore, and folklorists. Their interests cover an enormous range of topics: from Woodland Indian place names and German dialect expressions to Welsh nicknames and the jargon of apple-pickers, brewers, and farmers; from Ho-Chunk and Ojibwa mythological tricksters and Paul Bunyan legends to stories of Polish strongmen and Ole and Lena jokes; from Menominee dances and Norwegian fiddling and polka music to African-American gospel groups and Hmong musicians; from faith healers and wedding and funeral customs to seasonal ethnic festivities and tavern amusements; and from spearing decoys and needlework to church dinners, sacred shrines, and the traditional work practices of commercial fishers, tobacco growers, and pickle packers. For general readers, teachers, librarians, and scholars alike, Wisconsin Folklore exemplifies and illuminates Wisconsin's cultural traditions, and establishes the state's significant but long neglected contributions to American folklore.

Author Biography

James P. Leary, faculty associate in the Folklore Program at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, is an award-winning Wisconsin folklorist and author of Midwestern Folk Humor; Down Home Dairyland; Minnesota Polka; and Yodeling in Dairyland: A History of Swiss Music in Wisconsin.

Table of Contents

Illustrations	p. xi
Preface	p. xv
Introduction: On Wisconsin Folklore	p. 3
Terms and Talk
The Significance of Manitowoc	p. 33
Names in the Welsh Settlement	p. 36
German Nicknames of Places in Early Dodge County	p. 40
Deutsche Sprichworter: German Sayings in Milwaukee	p. 42
Milwaukee Talk	p. 49
Ten Thousand Swedes: Reflections on a Folklore Motif	p. 62
Characters on the Chippewa Waters	p. 72
The Brewing Industry	p. 80
Apple-Picking Terms from Wisconsin	p. 85
Farm Talk from Marathon County	p. 89
Application to Live in Northern Wisconsin (North of Highway 29)	p. 106
Storytelling
Turtle Getting Credit (A Tale)	p. 113
Ojibwe Stories from Northern Wisconsin
Dee Bainbridge, Ojibwe Storyteller	p. 122
The Stories of Keith Wilmer	p. 134
Legends of Paul Bunyan, Lumberjack	p. 139
Ghost Stories (As Told by Old Settlers)	p. 149
Gamroth the Strong	p. 159
George Russell: The Repertoire and Personality of a North Country Storyteller	p. 163
Finnish Folktales	p. 176
Woods and Waters
Hunting and Fishing	p. 183
The Deer and Elk Hunt	p. 187
Music, Song, and Dance
Menomini Indian Dance Songs in a Changing Culture	p. 191
The Wanigan Song Book	p. 200
Kentucky Folksong in Northern Wisconsin	p. 219
"The Light Fantastic" in the Central West: Country Dances of Many Nationalities in Wisconsin	p. 251
Hoppwaltzes and Homebrew: Traditional Norwegian American Music from Wisconsin	p. 259
Polka Music in a Polka State	p. 268
Black Gospel Music in Milwaukee	p. 284
Joua Bee Xiong, Hmong Musician	p. 292
Beliefs and Customs
John Mink, Ojibwe Informant	p. 307
Faith and Magic	p. 323
Hexing	p. 324
Sorcery	p. 327
Faith Healing Can and Does Work	p. 328
The "Plaster Doctor" of Somerset	p. 331
"Jecz Cha Nacha!": You Are Invited to a Polish Wedding in Wisconsin	p. 339
The Wisconsin Oneida Wake	p. 343
Julebukk	p. 346
Christmas at Grandmother's	p. 347
Yule Buk	p. 349
Christmas Customs in and around Oregon, Wisconsin	p. 350
The Yuba, Wisconsin, Masopust Festival	p. 352
Dyngus	p. 356
Belgians Bring Along Their Customs	p. 362
The Swiss Colony at New Glarus	p. 367
Woods Customs	p. 371
Lumberjack Games	p. 372
Lumberjack Games	p. 373
Wisconsin Pastimes	p. 375
Wisconsin Tavern Amusements	p. 377
Material Traditions and Folklife
Wisconsin Indian Drums and Their Uses	p. 389
Alex Maulson, Winter Spearer	p. 396
Work at Rest	p. 407
Meet a Wooden Shoe Hewer	p. 432
Feast of Folklore: The St. James Church Pork Hocks and Sauerkraut Supper	p. 435
Shrines and Crosses in Rural Central Wisconsin	p. 445
"We Made 'Em to Fit Our Purpose": The Northern Lake Michigan Fishing Skiff Tradition	p. 457
Tobacco Growing in Southwestern Wisconsin: Ethnicity in a Traditional Labor Practice	p. 476
The Pickle Factory	p. 486
Further Reading: A Selected List	p. 497
Further Listening and Viewing: A Selected List	p. 522
Index	p. 526
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