Finding Aids to Collections in the Archive of Folk Culture

IOWA COLLECTIONS
IN THE ARCHIVE OF FOLK CULTURE

Compiled by: Heather L. Eastman
Series Editor: Ann Hoog
Revised: December 2012

AFC 1939/016: Resettlement Administration Recordings Collection
One hundred sixty-five 12-inch discs of instrumentals and songs recorded in Arkansas, Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Washington, D.C. by Sidney Robertson Cowell, Charles Seeger, Margaret Valiant, and others for the Special Skills Division, Resettlement Administration, 1936-37. The collection includes 3 1/2 inches of transcripts, correspondence, graphic images, and a program book from the 1937 National Folk Festival. [catalog record]

AFS 3276-3277: Two discs containing 17 tunes played on hammered dulcimer by Thomas Mann, recorded in Ortonville, Iowa, July 1937. (24 minutes; tape copy on LWO 4872 reel 216B). Seven of the tunes have been published by the Library of Congress on recording number AFS L9, Play and Dance Songs and Tunes. [note: Portions of seven of the tunes, plus three repetitions, are also contained on AFS 3820] (11 minutes; tape copy on LWO 4872 reel 248B)

AFC 1943/013: Marcus Bach "Preserving Iowa's Religious Heritage" Collection, part 1
Twenty discs of of Amish, Mennonite, Dutch Reformed, Welsh Prebyterian, and Morman hymns and congregational singing, plus interviews with clergy and church members, including Mrs. Leonora Scholte, a direct descendent of the founder of the Dutch Christian Reformed Church community at Pella, Iowa. Recorded by Marcus Bach and Addison Alspach, February-May, 1943. The collection includes one box of correspondence, logs, photos, and articles. [catalog record]

AFC 1944/011: Marcus Bach "Preserving Iowa's Religious Heritage" Collection, part 2
Thirteen 12-inch and 2 16-inch discs of hymns sung by Danish Lutheran, Welsh Presbyterian, Czech Presbyterian, and German Lutheran congregations at various locations in Iowa; plus hymns, a litany, and parts of the office sung by Trappist monks at New Melleray, Iowa. Includes several interviews with pastors and ministers of the congregations. The collection includes 6 pages of recording logs and notes. Recorded by Marcus Bach and Addison Alspach in Iowa, September, October, and November, 1943. [catalog record]

AFC 1945/013: Marcus Bach "Preserving Iowa's Religious Heritage" Collection, part 3
Sixteen 12-inch discs of recordings from Iowa, including Presbyterians, African Americans, Norwegian Lutherans, Danish Lutherans, Bohemian Czech clergy; Swedish Lutherans; and a U.S. Navy Pre-Flight School choral group. Interviews were conducted with Miss Dawson and John Masson of the Associate Presbyterian Church; Brother Cauldis of the A.M.E. Church; President Preus and Pastor Huff of the Norwegian Lutheran congregation, First Lutheran Church; Ottar Jorgensen of the Bethlehem Lutheran Church; Dr. Filipi and Dr. Pokoney of the Hus Memorial Church. The United States Navy Pre-Flight Choir performed the Navy Hymn and a Sanctus and Gloria Patri. Recorded by Marcus Bach, 1943.-1944. (AFS 7738-7753) [catalog record]

AFC 1948/061: Truman Michelson Collection of Fox (Mesquakie) Cylinder Recordings
Fifty-eight six-inch dictaphone cylinders and five four-inch cylinders recorded by Truman Michelson in July 1912 and perhaps on other Bureau of American Ethnology-sponsored field trips to the Fox (Mesquakie) community at Tama, Iowa. Approximately two-thirds of the cylinders contain songs of the Religion Dance (the Central Algonquian rite known elsewhere as the Drum or Dream Dance). Most of the cylinders were transferred from the National Archives in 1948; one additional cylinder was located and transferred from the Smithsonian Institution in 1981. (AFS 20,508-20,513; 20,520)

AFC 1955/001: Duncan Emrich Autograph Album Collection
The collection consists of twenty autograph albums and ephemera dating from 1843 through 1973, compiled by Duncan Emrich, head of the Archive of Folk Song, 1945-1956. The autograph albums were sent to the Archive in response to Emrich's appearance on the "NBC Weekend" radio program. Apparently Emrich asked interested listeners to send albums to the Library. No transcript or recording of the broadcast has been located. Emrich's collection is comprised of eight albums from the Habel, Steinmetz, Hale, and Wehls families, donated by Mrs. Orville B. Craig of Independence, Iowa, in 1955; three albums apparently donated by Neva Ruth Dye of Independence, Iowa, in 1956; plus seven albums, one set of loose pages from an album, and one greeting card, donated by various individuals. [catalog record] [finding aid]

AFC 1966/003: Robert Beach Fiddle Tunes
Three 7-inch tapes of 87 tunes played on fiddle by Robert P. Beach, originally of Lenox, Iowa, accompanied by Iolene Beach, Joseph Winn, and others. Recorded in Springfield, Virginia, by Joseph C. Hickerson, March 26, 1966. The collection includes a 3-page list of Mr. Beach's repertoire and a text of "The Irish Jubilee." (AFS 12,359-12,361) (3 hours; LWO 4820)

AFC 1967/003: Harry Oster Collection of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Iowa recordings
Twenty-two 7-inch tapes of dances, festivals, instrumentals, religious services, songs, and stories recorded in Iowa, Louisiana, and Mississippi by Harry Oster, March 11, 1957-November 12, 1966. The collection includes 12 pages of lists. Includes Negro and Negro-French folksongs from Louisiana, African American folksongs and religious services from Mississippi, African American folk tales told by Son House, and hammered dulcimer tunes, folksongs, and German festival music from Iowa. [catalog record]

AFS 12,587-12,588: Two tapes containing 7 rhymes, 49 songs, and 2 stories recited and sung by Laura Browne originally from southern Iowa. Recorded in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, May 28, 1965. (1 hour; LWO 5059 reels 13-14)

AFS 12,590-12,591: Two tapes containing German-language dances, instrumentals, songs, and stories recorded at the Amana Oktoberfest, Homestead, Iowa, November 12, 1966. (45 minutes; LWO 5059 reels 16-17)

AFS 12,596: One tape containing 9 tunes played on hammered dulcimer by Truman Fass, 2 glockenspiel tunes, and an interview. Recorded in North English, Iowa, June 24, 1966. (30 minutes; LWO 5059 reel 22)

AFC 1971/001: Eleanor Jean Bonar Collection of Songs from Iowa and Kentucky
Manuscript collection comprising texts of ballads, folksongs, popular songs, and poetry collected from family members (especially the Bonar-Batchelder family), friends, high school students, and published sources. Many are from the Appalachian Region, some songs were collected by Lona Counts at Berea College, Berea, Kentucky, recorded from oral tradition. Contributors from Iowa are the focus for the collection, as is shown on Bonar's hand drawn map. Bonar appears to have continued the work she began for her master's thesis (1930). Most song texts date from 1930-1939, a scrapbook has clippings dated 1894-1954 with articles from the popular press by or about other folksong collectors, including John Jacob Niles, Jean Thomas, Helen Hartness Flanders, and George Korson, plus articles on temperance songs. A few items are song texts in family papers dated 1853-1874, and there are musical transcriptions for tunes for some of the songs. [catalog record]

AFC 1971/035: A Syllabus of the Ballad Collection of Edwin Ford Piper / by Harold Daniel Peterson
M. A. thesis in English, State University of Iowa, Iowa City, 1934. 170 pages. An alphabetical listing of broadsides and song manuscripts included in Piper's private manuscript collection, primarily from Iowa and Nebraska. Entries include plot summaries. [catalog record]

AFC 1972/025: Peter R. Hoover Collection
Twenty-two 10-inch tapes of primarily instrumental music recorded in Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia by Peter R. Hoover, 1959-67. Mostly instrumental folk music, including also music derived from Ireland, Scotland (from Howard Glasser Collection), Iowa, and Washington, D.C. [catalog record]

AFS 15,056A-B10, 15-21: One tape containing 48 tunes played on fiddle by Robert P. Beach, originally of Lenox, Iowa, accompanied by Iolene Beach, Carolyn Hester, Howard Mitchell, Joseph Winn, and others. Recorded at a square dance in Chevy Chase, Maryland, and in Springfield, Virginia, May 14, 1960. (1 hour and 45 minutes; LWO 6880 reel 4)

AFC 1973/026: Chris Delaney / Fiddle Music
Eleven 10-inch tapes of Cajun music, fiddle tunes, and copies of hillbilly 78s recorded in Arkansas, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and West Virginia by Chris Delaney, September-October, 1973. [catalog record]

AFS 16,988A19-22: One tape containing 4 tunes played on fiddle by Frosty Lamb of Bloomfield, Iowa, recorded in Ludlow, Missouri, 1973. (9 minutes; LWO 7632 reel 5A)

AFC 1975/022: National Folk Festival, 1954
Two 10-inch tapes of the 20th National Folk Festival, including dances, instrumentals, and songs from Anglo-, Cuban-, German-, Hungarian-, Jewish-, Mexican-, Native, and Philippine-American traditions. Recorded by the Voice of America in St. Louis, Missouri, April 8, 1954. The National Folk Festival sponsored by St. Louis Globe-Democrat. The collection includes notes about performers and songs. [catalog record]

AFS 17,508A1-2: One tape containing 2 dances by the Mesquite Indians from Waterloo, Iowa. (7 minutes; LWO 7411 reel 18A)

AFS 17,508A3: One tape containing a discussion of 3 English dances by students from Central High School, Fort Madison, Iowa. (2 minutes; LWO 7411 reel 18A)

AFS 17,508B19: One tape containing a square dance by the Western Dancers from Fort Madison, Iowa. (4 minutes; LWO 7411 reel 18B)

AFC 1975/026: Art Rosenbaum Duplication Project
Twenty-seven 10-inch tapes of blues, country, fiddle, gospel, and other music recorded in Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New York, and Scotland primarily by Art Rosenbaum, 1958-71. [catalog record]

AFS 17,541B1-7, 10-12: One tape containing 10 tunes played on fiddle by Dwight Lamb of Onawa, Iowa, accompanied on guitar by Elvin Campbell. Recorded in Iowa City, Iowa, by Art Rosenbaum, 1971. (29 minutes; LWO 8487 reel 1B)

AFS 17,541B8-9: One tape containing 2 Danish tunes played on accordion by Dwight Lamb of Onawa, Iowa. Recorded in Iowa City, Iowa, by Art Rosenbaum, 1971. (3 minutes; LWO 8487 reel 1B)

AFS 17,542: One tape containing 16 tunes, with interview, played on fiddle by H. E. "Pappy" Wells. Recorded in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, by Art Rosenbaum, September 19, 1971. (1 hour; LWO 8487 reel 2)

AFS 17,543A: One tape containing 14 songs sung by the Silver Light Gospel Singers from Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Recorded in Iowa City, Iowa, by Art Rosenbaum, May 6, 1971. (1 hour; LWO 8487 reel 3A)

AFS 17,549A: One tape containing 4 fife and drum tunes with an interview, medicine show singers, steam calliope tunes, and steam engine sounds. Recorded at the Old Thresher's Reunion, Mount Pleasant, Iowa, by Art Rosenbaum, 1971. (30 minutes; LWO 8487 reel 9A)

AFC 1977/011: Art Rosenbaum / Fiddle Music from Iowa
Three 10-inch tapes of fiddle and string band music recorded at the Old Settler's fiddle contest at the Old Thresher's Reunion, and at a blues music workshop. Recorded primarily in Mount Pleasant, Iowa, by Art Rosenbaum, 1970-72. Includes the playing of Lyman Enloe, Smokey McGuiness, and Bob Black. Blues music workshop (1972) features Yank Rachell, Shirley Griffith, and J. T. Adams. [catalog record]

AFS 18,940: One tape containing 3 tunes by Bill Hamilton of Winfield, Iowa; 3 tunes by Joe Johnson of Des Moines, Iowa; 3 tunes by John Kasper of Iowa City, Iowa; 3 fiddle tunes by Clarence Perdue of Iowa; 3 tunes by Ila Walker of Donnelson, Iowa; and 14 tunes by various artist from outside of Iowa. Recorded at the Old Thresher's Reunion, Mount Pleasant, Iowa, September 14, 1971. (1 hour and 30 minutes; LWO 9384 reel 1)

AFS 18,941: One tape containing 11 tunes by various fiddlers from Iowa and 24 tunes by fiddlers from outside Iowa. Recorded at the Old Thresher's Reunion, Mount Pleasant, Iowa, August 5, 1970. (2 hours; LWO 9384 reel 2)

AFC 1977/017: Miriam M. Maxwell Family Oral History Collection
Six 10-inch tapes in the personal collection of Miriam Maxwell, compiled during the 1960s, mostly in California. Includes young people singing and talking about Civil Rights, War in Vietnam, Peace Corps experience in Ghana, an interview with Prince Modupe and Maxwell's collection of family folklore and oral history, especially: reminiscences of domestic service in Edwardian England, homesteading in British Columbia, living on a farm in Iowa, and a repertory of sentimental and humorous songs and stories from Iowa and South Dakota. (includes AFS 18,964-18,969) (LWO 9379) [catalog record]

AFS 19,341: Howard W. Marshall / Old-Time Fiddle Recordings
One 10-inch tape of fiddle tunes recorded in Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma by Jake Hughes, in or before 1965. (LWO 12,302)

AFS 19,341A8-10: One tape containing 3 tunes played on fiddle by Frosty Lamb of Bloomfield, Iowa. (7 minutes)

AFS 19,341A14-17: One tape containing 4 tunes played on fiddle by Casey Jones of Ottumwa, Iowa. (8 minutes)

AFS 19,341A25-28: One tape containing 4 tunes played on fiddle by Dwight Lamb of Onawa, Iowa. (5 minutes)

AFS 19,341B1-4: One tape containing 4 tunes played on fiddle by Kirk Brandenberger of Keokuk, Iowa. (7 minutes)

AFS 19,341B5-9: One tape containing 5 tunes played on fiddle by Ernest Brandenberger of Keokuk, Iowa. (8 minutes)

AFC 1980/023: Iowa Folk Festival, 1976
Fourteen 10-inch tapes of primarily accordion, banjo, fiddle, gospel, guitar, and vocal music, as well as interviews and storytelling. Recorded in various locations in Iowa by Art Rosenbaum, at and prior to the Iowa Folk Festival, July 3-5, 1976. Includes vocal and instrumental music (fiddle, banjo, organ, guitar), storytelling, and interviews, including Danish-American and black folk traditions. (AFS 19,961-19,974) (28 hours; LWO 15,795 reels 1-14)

AFS 22,604: John Taylor / Tom Carns Duck Calling Collection
One cassette of duck calls and an interview with Tom Carns. Recorded in Burlington, Iowa, by John Taylor, November 7, 1983. (11 minutes; RYA 2765)

AFS 23,185-23,203: Ernest C. Oberholtzer / Ojibwa Collection
Five 5-inch tapes and 14 7-inch tapes of Ojibwa legends and songs, with interviews, recorded in Mine Center, Ontario, and oral history interviews recorded in Davenport, Iowa, by Ernest C. Oberholtzer, 1948-51.

AFS 23,197-23,201: Five 5-inch tapes containing interviews about Davenport, Iowa, with Grace and Lily Parkhurst. Recorded in Davenport, Iowa, April-May 6, 1951. (4 hours and 45 minutes; RXA 4495-99; tape copy on RWA 8529B-8531A)

AFS 24,091-24,110: KUNI Radio / 1981 Westfair Old-Time Country Music Contest Collection
Twenty 10-inch tapes of primarily banjo, dobro, fiddle, guitar, harmonica, and vocal music recorded at the Sixth Annual Westfair Old-Time Country Music Contest and Pioneer Exposition, Council Bluffs, Iowa, by Philip Nusbaum and others, September 4-6, 1981. Recorded for public radio station KUNI-FM, University of Northern Iowa. (28 hours; RWB 1751-1770)

AFC 1986/022: Center for Applied Linguistics Collection
Fifty-nine 10-inch tapes of speech samples, linguistic interviews, oral histories, conversations, and excerpts from public speeches recorded at various locations in North America by various collectors, and compiled by the Center for Applied Linguistics for a project entitled "A Survey and Collection of American English Dialect Recordings." The collection includes fourteen linear inches of documentation, including an introduction and preface, a list of contents, content summaries, and transcripts. Collectors and interviewees vary, representing approximately 43 states, as well as Washington, D.C., Canada, and Puerto Rico. [catalog record] [online presentation]

AFS 24,331A4: One tape containing speech samples of John L. Lewis, originally from Iowa. Recorded in West Virginia at a National Mine Worker's Union address. Submitted by Maurice Crane of the Vincent Voice Library at Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan. [audio]

AFC 1993/001: Ethnic Heritage and Language Schools in America Project Collection
Twenty-four 5-inch tapes, 60 7-inch tapes, and 288 cassettes from the Ethnic Heritage and Language Schools in America Project, a survey of 23 ethnic schools from 22 ethnic groups. Recorded at various locations throughout the United States by Elena Bradunas and 23 fieldworkers, April-July 1982, sponsored by the American Folklife Center. The collection includes 14 linear feet of slides, photographs, and reports. [catalog record] [finding aid]

AFC 1993/001: Box 5: Five linear inches of manuscripts containing curriculum materials, final reports, and slide and photo logs from the Czechoslovakian School fieldwork. Collected by Jana Fast in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, April-July 1982. The Czech School is one of fourteen schools profiled in the American Folklife Center's book, Ethnic Heritage and Language Schools in America, Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1988, pages 316-36 (LC3802.E74 1987).

AFC 1993/001: Box 6: Five linear inches of manuscripts containing curriculum materials, enlargements, final reports, news clippings, publications, and slide and photo logs from the Dutch School fieldwork. Collected by Phil Webber in Pella, Iowa, April-July 1982.

AFC 1997/011: Lands' End All-American Quilt Collection
Lands' End in cooperation with Good Housekeeping magazine sponsored quilt contests in 1992, 1994, and 1996. The collection,housed in 154 boxes, consists of visual images, entry blanks, and essays written by entrants, as well as Lands End administrative files and correspondence pertinent to the promotion of the contest. Approximately 13,100 entries for the three contests came from all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Numerous types and styles of needlework, quilting, patchwork, applique and embroidery are represented among the visual images. [catalog record] [finding aid] [online presentation]

AFC 2000/001: Local Legacies Collection
Four hundred and five linear feet (approximately 90,000 manuscript pages, 475 sound recordings, 13,270 graphic materials, 335 electronic media, and 75 artifacts) of documentation of local festivals, fairs, parades, and other community-based events from each U.S. state, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories and trusts. The Local Legacies Collection was donated through the efforts of individuals, organizations, and institutions asked to participate by members of Congress. This project was part of the Library of Congress Bicentennial celebration in the year 2000. [catalog record] [online presentation] [Iowa's Local Legacies]

AFC 2001/015: September 11, 2001, Documentary Project Collection
The collection documents reactions of ordinary citizens in the immediate aftermath of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States through sound and video recordings of interviews and personal narratives; as well as photographs, children's drawings, two scrapbooks, letters and e-mail, poems, ephemera, and a few artifacts. Some items were submitted as group projects of schools, libraries, and museums from 30 states in the U.S., and from American military service personnel and their families in Naples, Italy. [catalog record] [finding aid] [online presentation]

AFC 2001/015: SR109-110: Two tape containing personal narratives by Dick Stahl and Helen Stahl about their reactions to the events of September 11, 2001. Recorded at the Davenport Public Library, Davenport, Iowa, October 21, 2001.

AFC 2001/015: SR111-117: Seven tapes containing 7 personal narratives about their reactions to the events of September 11, 2001. Recorded at the Fort Dodge Public Library, Fort Dodge, Iowa, October 1-6, 2001.

AFC 2001/015: SR118-119: Two tapes containing reactions from 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students about the events of September, 11, 2001. Recorded at Harmony Middle School, Farmington, Iowa, November 20, 2001.

AFC 2001/015: SR120-136: Seventeen tapes containing reactions from students ages 12-14, about the events of September, 11, 2001. Recorded at Heritage Christian School, Iowa, November 8, 2001.

AFC 2001/015: SR137-138: Two tapes of personal narratives by Waunita Johnson and Zula Oujiri about the events of September, 11, 2001. Recorded at the Hiawatha Library, Hiawatha, Iowa, October-December 2001.

AFC 2001/015: SR139-142: Four tapes containing 4 personal narratives about their reactions to the events of September 11, 2001. Recorded at the Iowa City Public Library, Iowa City, Iowa, October-November 2001.

AFC 2001/015: SR143-145: Three tapes containing 3 personal narratives about their reactions to the events of September 11, 2001. Recorded at the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs, Des Moines, Iowa, October 10-12, 2001.

AFC 2001/015: SR146-154: Nine tapes containing 9 personal narratives about their reactions to the events of September 11, 2001. Recorded at the National Czech and Slovack Museum and Library, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, October 8-30, 2001.

AFC 2001/015: SR155-157: Three tapes containing 3 personal narratives about their reactions to the events of September 11, 2001. Recorded at the State Historical Society of Iowa, October 16-23, 2001.

AFC 2001/015: SR158-162: Five tapes containing 5 personal narratives about their reactions to the events of September 11, 2001. Recorded at the State Library of Iowa, Des Moines, Iowa, October 1-November 13, 2001.

AFC 2001/015: SR163-187: Twenty-five tapes containing reactions from high school students about the events of September, 11, 2001. Recorded at Valley High School, West Des Moines, Iowa, October 17-November 12, 2001.

AFC 2011/052: National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library Oral History Collection
One hundred edited video oral history interviews from the project "Recording Voices and Documenting Memories of Czech- and Slovak-Americans" conducted by the National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library, Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Interviews were conducted between November 2009 and August 2011 with Czechs and Slovaks who immigrated to the United States during the Cold War era.

Microfilm Collection

Swan, Clara Le Grande. "A Collection of Ballads and Folk Songs from Morning Sun, Iowa." Iowa City: State University of Iowa, 1929. M. A. thesis in English. 180 pages. Contains texts of 98 songs with introduction and annotations. [catalog record]