Materials in this collection include interview media (sound), transcript and associated materials, such as photographs and curriculum vitae, etc.
Processed August 2011 by Randy Williams. Finding aid created by Randy Williams, August 2011 and updated April 2012 and May 2019.
The items in this collection were donated by the collector (interviewer) and/or interviewee. Each interview is accompanied by a release form.
No restrictions on use, except: not available through interlibrary loan.
It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain any necessary copyright clearances.
Permission to publish material from the
Collecting Memories: Oral Histories of American Folklorists must be
obtained from the
Collecting Memories: Oral Histories of American Folklorists. (FOLK COLL 46). Utah State University. Special Collections and Archives Department.
Collecting Memories: Oral Histories of American Folklorists is a joint effort by the
The project helps document the development and change of the field since the mid-twentieth century in order to more fully tell the story of folklore scholarship and to make accessible the institutional memory
of the American Folklore Society, the premier folklore society in the United States. Project products (media, transcripts/logs, images and affiliated materials) are housed at Utah State University,
the official repository of the
In October 2009, Randy Williams (Utah State University) proposed the project to Tim Lloyd (Executive Director American Folklore Society) and Michael Taft (Head of the Archive of Folk Culture, American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress). All parties agreed to participate. Simon Bronner and Jill Terry Rudy (members of the American Folklore Society History Section) and Guha Shankar (Folklife Specialist, Research and Programs, American Folklife Center, LOC) were invited to help Lloyd, Taft, and Williams draft the project forms. Williams applied to USU's Institutional Review Board for IRB approval, which was awarded: USU IRB protocol number 2761. The project was introduced at the 2010 American Folklore Society Meeting in Nashville, TN, by Bronner, Lloyd, Rudy, Taft and Williams.
Members of the American Folklore Society (and their students) are invited to participate in the project by being interviewed or by interviewing a member of the society.
The collection contains original sound, interview transcript/log, photographs, and associated materials. Release forms housed in a collection file.
Collection arranged by interview chronologically by date and year.
Folk Collection 20: The Barre Toelken Native American Collection
Folk Collection 35: The Barre Toelken Book Collection (American, German, and Native American folklore)
After the deposit of interview materials by the collector (interviewer) and/or interviewee, Utah State University Special Collections becomes the custodian of the material.
Interview contains information on J. Barre Toelken's youth in Quabin Valley, Massachusetts, including song tradition of Daman family; college life at Utah State University and University of Washington; work in uranium mining in early 1950s and introduction to the Navajo community in Monument Valley, Utah; professional life as professor at University of Oregon and Utah State University: folklore studies, Middle English language and literature; fieldwork: Navajo legends collected from Hugh Yellowman (1960-70s); folksongs and ballads collecting in Oregon and Washington; family life: Miiko Toelken (wife); involvement in American Folklore Society, Societe Internationale d`Ethnologie et de Folklore (SIEF), National Storytelling Association; attitudes about ethics in folklore fieldwork.
Release form housed in collection file.
This box contains approximately 500 of the 1000 Senbazuru (One Thousand Origami Cranes) created by Toelken's family and friends. The Senbazuru were hung in Barre Toelken’s room the last weeks of his life; and displayed at his Life Celebration, 15 December 2018. One thousand origami paper cranes held together by strings. An ancient Japanese legend promises that anyone who folds a thousand origami cranes will be granted a wish by the gods. Some stories believe you are granted happiness and eternal good luck, instead of just one wish, such as long life or recovery from illness or injury. Creators include Miiko Toelken (wife), Kazuko Toelken (daughter); Taizo Toelken (son) and his family; Sachi Lubahn granddaughter—Kaz daughter); Kayden and Keiko(great-grandchildren, Sachi’s children); Kenji Bearchum Toelken (grandson-Kaz son); Alan and Kory Shino and family (family—Mimiko’s family); Dawn Yoshinaga (family); Kathleen Olsen (friends) Heather and Mark Tucker (friends); Ashly Coats (friend).
This box contains approximately 500 of the 1000 Senbazuru (One Thousand Origami Cranes) created by Toelken's family and friends. The Senbazuru were hung in Barre Toelken’s room the last weeks of his life; and displayed at his Life Celebration, 15 December 2018. One thousand origami paper cranes held together by strings. An ancient Japanese legend promises that anyone who folds a thousand origami cranes will be granted a wish by the gods. Some stories believe you are granted happiness and eternal good luck, instead of just one wish, such as long life or recovery from illness or injury. Creators include Miiko Toelken (wife), Kazuko Toelken (daughter); Taizo Toelken (son) and his family; Sachi Lubahn granddaughter—Kaz daughter); Kayden and Keiko(great-grandchildren, Sachi’s children); Kenji Bearchum Toelken (grandson-Kaz son); Alan and Kory Shino and family (family—Mimiko’s family); Dawn Yoshinaga (family); Kathleen Olsen (friends) Heather and Mark Tucker (friends); Ashly Coats (friend).
Interview contains information about Carol Edison and how she accidentally became a public sector folklorist, after earning BA and MA degrees in English from the University of Utah. She talks about the early days of public folklore programs in Utah, and how she eventually became the Utah Folk Arts Program Coordinator. She discusses the Utah State Collection of Folk Arts, and how it came to be. She also talks about her many experiences being a public sector folklorist over the years in Utah. Her interests include grave markers, Native American art (especially basket weaving), cowboy poetry, Mormon folk art, as well as others.
Release form housed in collection file.
In this interview Steve Siporin talks about how he was introduced to the field of folklore, his schooling experiences while earning his Master's Degree (at University of Oregon), and his PhD (at the University of Indiana), and positions he has held as a public folklorist over the years. He talks a little about his fieldwork experiences in the US West, as well as in Italy and Israel. He discusses his perspective on public folklore, and how the field has changed over time, and his views on the relevance of public folklore (and folklore) to the human experience.
Release form housed in collection file.
William A. Wilson talks about his growing up years primarily in Downey, Idaho, his LDS mission to Finland, his interest in the Kalevala, his education at Brigham Young University (BA, MA) and Indiana University (PhD). He talks about the “democratic” leanings of folklore. He talks about his association with legendary folklorist Richard Dorson, his interest in both Finnish and Mormon folklore, trying to get folklore courses at BYU, coming to USU to head the Folklore Program, starting the Fife Folklore Conference, before returning to BYU.
Wayland D. Hand interview by folklorist Michael Owen Jones, 28 February 1984, 20 and 28 March 1984, and 17 May 1984, at UCLA.