Archives West Finding Aid
Table of Contents
Hector Lee fieldwork recordings, 1945-1947
Overview of the Collection
- Creator
- Lee, Hector, 1908-1992
- Title
- Hector Lee fieldwork recordings
- Dates
- 1945-1947 (inclusive)19451947
- Quantity
- 2 boxes, (20 acetate sound discs)
- Collection Number
- UUS_FOLK COLL 6
- Summary
- Field recordings of Hector Lee.
- Repository
-
Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library, Special Collections and Archives Division
Special Collections & Archives
Merrill-Cazier Library
Utah State University
Logan, UT
84322-3000
Telephone: 4357978248
Fax: 4357972880
scweb@usu.edu - Access Restrictions
-
Restrictions
Open to public research. To access the collection a patron must have the following information: collection number, series number, sub-series number, if applicable, box number and folder number (or image number).
- Languages
- English
- Sponsor
- Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) grant, 2007-2008
Biographical NoteReturn to Top
Hector Lee completed his MA from Berkeley in the 1930s and became an instructor at the University of Utah. In the early 1940s, Lee, along with Austin Fife and Wayland Hand, conducted extensive fieldwork on the Mormon legend of the Three Nephites, which is why Lee, Fife, and Hand were jokingly called "The Three Nephites" by their friends. In a 1985 Newsletter of the Folklore Society of Utah article, Dave Stanley wrote: " In 1942, Lee published an article: "The Three Nephites: A Disappearing Legend." Lee, continued his interest in the Three Nephite legends when he enrolled in the doctoral program in American Civilization at the University of New Mexico. His dissertation, published by the University of New Mexico Press in 1949, was entitled The Three Nephites: The Substance and Significance of the Legend in Folklore, was the first large-scale scholarly treatment of Mormon folklore. Perhaps as important as his scholarship was Lee's organizational ability. In 1944, he landed a grant for the University of Utah from the Rockefeller Foundation. With this grant, Lee established the Utah Humanities Research Foundation and sponsored research projects by such well-known Utah scholars as Juanita Brooks, Helen Papanikolas, Lester Hubbard, Don D. Walker, and William Mulder. Lee also established the Utah Humanities Review, a quarterly journal that devoted much space and attention to Western folklore in its first few years. Lee's enthusiasm for Western folkways must have been contagious, for a number of writers and scholars throughout the state turned to folklore as an important and vital part of their pursuits. Hector Lee, then, was central as a collector and analyst of Mormon folklore, but he was also an early influence on many other writers who helped establish folklore as a subject worthy of public attention and of professional scholarship. Dr. Lee left Utah in 1947 to accept a position as Dean of Instruction at Chico State College in California; later, he moved to a similar position at Sonoma State College north of San Francisco."
Hector Lee's major publications include The Three Nephites: The Substance and Significance of the Legend in Folklore (University of New Mexico Press, 1949; republished by Arno Press, 1977); Tales of California (Utah State University Press, 1974); and Heroes, Villains and Ghosts: Folklore of Old California (Capra Press, 1984). A well known storyteller, Lee recorded hundreds of folktales and legends for radio broadcasts and other purposes. His storytelling abilities are recorded on Folklore of the Mormon Country (Folk Legacy Records, 1964), which contains stories about J. Golden Kimball and Brother Petersen yarns.
Content DescriptionReturn to Top
Includes 20 fieldwork recodings collected by Hector Lee.
Use of the CollectionReturn to Top
Restrictions on Use
CopyrightIt is the responsibility of the user to obtain permission to publish from the owner of the copyright (the institution, the creator of the record, the author or his/her transferees, heirs, legates, or literary executors). The user agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Utah State University Libraries, its officers, employees, and agents from and against all claims made by any person asserting that he or she is an owner of copyright.
Permission to publish material from the Hector Lee fieldwork recordings must be obtained from the Curator of the Fife Folklore Archives and/or the Special Collections Department Head.
Preferred Citation
Hector Lee fieldwork recordings, 1945-1947. (FOLK COLL 6, box, no.). Utah State University. Special Collections and Archives Department.
Administrative InformationReturn to Top
Arrangement
Sound recordings are organized in chronological order.
Acquisition Information
Hector Lee fieldwork recordings (acetate disc recordings), which he donated to Utah State University. The collection is closed.
Processing Note
Originally processed by Randy Williams. Finding aid created by Susan Gross and Randy Williams, April 2004; updated by Randy Williams, March 2012.
Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top
Field Recordings, 1945-1947Return to Top
Container(s): Box 1
Container(s) | Description | Dates |
---|---|---|
Box | ||
1 | Number 1, Side A: Danish Folk Song (Story of Old Man Courting), sung
by Erastus Petersen |
1945 December 6 |
1 | Number 1, Side B: Game Songs in Danish, sung by Erastus Petersen |
1945 December 6 |
1 | Number 2, Side A: 1: "Sioux Indians," sung by William H.
Staples |
Undated |
1 | Number 2, Side A: 2: "Sioux Indians" |
Undated |
1 | Number 2, Side A: 3: "The Lonesome Roving Wolves," sung by Noah
Steve, Fillmore, Utah |
1945 |
1 | Number 2, Side B: 1: "The Sheriff's Sale," performed by Zeke
Johnson |
Undated |
1 | Number 2, Side B: 2: "I'll Remember You, Love, in My Prayers," sung
Mrs. Ernest Theobald, Fillmore, Utah |
1945 |
1 | Number 3, Side A: "The Sheriff's Sale," performed by Zeke Johnson |
1946 July 10 |
1 | Number 3, Side B: "I'll Remember You, Love, in My Prayers," performed
by Mrs. Ernest Theobald, Fillmore, Utah |
1945 December 6 |
1 | Number 4, Sides A & B: Nephite Stories told by Mrs. Irwin (Lydia) Fisher,
Bountiful, Utah
(CD transfer of record available for listening)
|
1946 February 10 |
1 | Number 5, Side A & B: Nephite Stories told by Mrs. Irwin (Lydia) Fisher,
Bountiful, Utah
(CD transfer of record available for listening)
|
1946 February 10 |
1 | Number 6, Side A: 1: "The Jealous Lover," sung by Will H. Staples,
Kanosh, Utah |
1946 |
1 | Number 6, Side A: 2: "Sweet Betsy from Pike," sung by Will H.
Staples, Kanosh, Utah |
1946 |
1 | Number 6, Side B: 1: "Poker Bill," sung by Will H. Staples, Kanosh,
Utah |
1946 |
1 | Number 6, Side B: 2: "Delicious," sung by Will H. Staples, Kanosh,
Utah |
1946 |
1 | Number 7, Side A: 1: "Sioux Indians," sung by Will H. Staples,
Kanosh, Utah |
Undated |
1 | Number 7, Side A: 2: "Sweet Betsy from Pike," sung by Will H.
Staples, Kanosh, Utah |
Undated |
1 | Number 7, Side B: 1: "Yavapai Pete," sung by Joe Baker, Green River,
Utah |
Undated |
1 | Number 8, Side A: 1: "The Farmer's Cursed Wife," sung by Joe Baker,
Green River, Utah |
Undated |
1 | Number 8, Side A: 2: "When the Work's All Done This Fall," performed
by Joe Baker, Green River, Utah |
Undated |
1 | Number 8, Side B: 1: "Barbara Allen," sung by Joy Mays |
Undated |
1 | Number 9, Side A: 1: Danish Courting Song, sung by Erastus Petersen |
1945 December 6 |
1 | Number 9, Side B: 1: Continuation of Danish Courting Song, sung by
Erastus Petersen |
1945 December 6 |
1 | Number 9, Side B: 2: Game Song: "Tievan, Tievan..." performed by
Erastus Petersen |
1945 December 6 |
1 | Number 10, Side A: Nephite Story, told by Mrs. Jesse L. Barker |
1946 May 12 |
1 | Number 10, Side B: Nephite Story, told by Mrs. Jesse L. Barker: |
1946 May 12 |
Field Recordings, 1945-1947Return to Top
Container(s): Box 2
Container(s) | Description | Dates |
---|---|---|
Box | ||
2 | Number 11, Side A: 1: "The Mistletoe Bough," sung by Mrs. Caroline
Jensen (86), Logan, Utah |
1946 May 15 |
2 | Number 11, Side A: 2: "Brigham is Our Leader," sung by Mrs. Caroline
Jensen, Logan, Utah |
1946 May 15 |
2 | Number 11, Side B: 1: "The Seven Kings' Daughters," sung by Mrs.
Caroline Jensen, Logan, Utah |
1946 May 15 |
2 | Number 12, Side A: "The Little Pleader," sung by Mrs. Caroline Jensen,
Logan, Utah |
1946 May 15 |
2 | Number 12, Side A: "Our Boys Have Served In Their Country's Call,"
written and performed by Erastus Petersen |
1947 |
2 | Number 13, Side A: Nephite Story, told by Mary B. Lowe |
1946 May 18 |
2 | Number 13, Side B: Nephite Story, told by Margaret C. Nielsen, Logan,
Utah |
1946 May 18 |
2 | Number 14, Side A: Scandinavian dialect stories: Ole Olsen story about
a "literal descendant," told by Petie Bishop |
Undated |
2 | Number 14, Side B: Scandinavian dialect stories: "Planning a funeral,"
told by Petie Bishop |
Undated |
2 | Number 15, Side A: Tall Tales from Moab, Utah, told by Joe Tassoni |
1947 April |
2 | Number 15, Side B: "Barbara Allen," sung by Joy S. Mays |
1947 April |
2 | Number 16, Side A: "Danish Courting Song," sung by Erastus H.
Petersen
(Also duplicated on CD)
|
1947 May 2 |
2 | Number 16, Side B: 1: Danish Lullaby, sung by Erastus H. Petersen
(Also duplicated on CD)
|
1947 May 2 |
2 | Number 16, Side B: 2: Chimney Sweep Song, sung by Erastus H. Peterson
(Also duplicated on CD)
|
1947 May 2 |
2 | Number 17, Side A: Introduction to "Blue Mountain" song, by Judge F.W.
Keller |
Undated |
2 | Number 17, Side B: "Blue Mountain," sung by Judge F.W.
Keller |
Undated |
2 | Number 18, Side A: "Blue Mountain," sung by Judge F.W.
Keller |
Undated |
2 | Number 18, Side B: "Blue Mountain," sung by Judge F.W.
Keller |
Undated |
2 | Number 19, Side A & B: Juegos de Niños (children's Games), performed by
Elena Torres, recorded by Ned Davison |
Undated |
2 | Number 20, Side A: Canciones de Cuna (lullabies), sung by Elena
Torres, recorded by Ned Davison |
Undated |
2 | Number 20, Side B: Fray Ambrosia (counting out rhymes), performed by
Elena Torres, recorded by Ned Davison |
Undated |
Names and SubjectsReturn to Top
Subject Terms
- Danish Americans--Utah--Folklore
- Folk songs--Utah.
- Folklore--Utah
- Mormons--Folklore
- Nephites
- Scandinavian Americans--Utah--Folklore
- Storytelling--Utah
- Tall tales--Utah--Moab
Personal Names
- Baker, Jesse L., Mrs. (contributor)
- Baker, Joe (contributor)
- Bishop, Petie (contributor)
- Fisher, Lydia (contributor)
- Jensen, Caroline (contributor)
- Johnson, Zeke (contributor)
- Keller, F. W., Judge (contributor)
- Lowe, Mary B. (contributor)
- Mays, Joy (contributor)
- Nielsen, Margaret C. (contributor)
- Peterson, Erastus (contributor)
- Staples, William H. (contributor)
- Steve, Noah (contributor)
- Tassoni, Joe (contributor)
- Theobald, Ernest, Mrs. (contributor)
- Torres, Elena (contributor)
Form or Genre Terms
- Ballads
- Field recordings
- Folk songs