Finding Aids to Collections in the Archive of Folk Culture

NEBRASKA COLLECTIONS
IN THE ARCHIVE OF FOLK CULTURE

Compiled by: Kirsi Haenninen
Series Editor: Ann Hoog
Revised: December 2010

AFC 1939/004: Rae Korson Collection of WPA Folklore Publications
Three copies of Folk Tunes from Mississippi collected by Arthur Palmer Hudson, edited by George Herzog, National Play Bureau of the Federal Theatre Project, publication no. 25, July 1937; 40 copies of Nebraska Folklore, Nebraska Writers' Project, May 1940; one copy of Folk Song of America by Robert Winslow Gordon, publication no. 73-S, December 1938; two copies of Traditional Ballads Mainly from West Virginia by John Harrington Cox, publication no. 75-S, March 1939; one copy of Tennessee Folklore Society, Volume III, No. 2, September 1937; one copy of Publication #81-S from the National Service Bureau, Federal Theatre Project, Works Projects Administration, compiled by John Harrington Cox, introduction by Herbert Halpert.

AFC 1948/072: Paul Radin Collection of Winnebago [Ho-Chunk] Cylinder Recordings
Twenty-six six-inch dictaphone cylinders recorded by Paul Radin among the Nebraska Winnebago people, between 1908-1912. The cylinders, containing songs of various bundle and clan ceremonies as well as peyote religion material, were transferred from the National Archives to the Library of Congress in 1948. [note: Radin's fieldnotes are at the American Philosophical Society Library in Philadelphia. Other recordings by him are in the Archives of Traditional Music, Indiana University.] (includes AFS 21,356-21,360) (RWA 3424-3428)

AFC 1948/074: Alice C. Fletcher Collection of Winnebago [Ho-Chunk] Cylinder Recordings
Six four-inch cylinders, recorded by Alice C. Fletcher and Francis LaFlesche in September 1897 and March 1900, probably on the Winnebago reservation in Nebraska. The cylinders, part of the Bureau of American Ethnology collection, were transferred to the Library from the National Archives in 1948. Genres represented include Medicine Lodge songs, war songs, love songs, lonesome songs, and flute melodies, by Henry Rice Hill, James Free, John Four Cloud, and Robert Lincoln. (includes AFS 20,323-20,325) (RWA 3335-3337)

AFS 11,728: Melvin R. Gilmore Collection of Omaha, Oto, and Pawnee Music
Preservation tape copy of 40 cylinders of Omaha, Oto, and Pawnee music given to the Library of Congress by the Nebraska State Historical Society. Original cylinders recorded by Melvin R. Gilmore, ca. 1905-06.

AFC 1950/017: National Folk Festival, 1938
One 12-inch and 39 16-inch discs of instrumentals, songs, dance music, and folk dancing (Morris dance, sword dance, square dance, and social dances) performed by Scottish, American Indian, Spanish American, Anglo-American, African American, and Pennsylvania Dutch performers. Includes folk songs, ballads, fiddle tunes, coal miner's songs and music from Pennsylvania; cowboy songs; sea songs; Chinese music; Turkish music; Slavonic tamburitza music; Bach chorales; orchestral music; interviews; and lectures performed during the National Folk Festival in Washington, D.C. from May 6-8, 1938. Also includes a radio air check on United States foreign policy and defense; and several other radio programs not recorded at the National Folk Festival, including a WPA-sponsored program featuring the Prince George High School orchestra. The collection includes 3/4 linear inch of song lists, newspaper articles, and programs. Sarah Gertrude Knott makes some introductions. Recorded primarily at the National Folk Festival in Washington, D.C., by the U.S. Recording Company, May 6-8, 1938. [catalog record]

AFS 9858B2-3; 9863A4-5: Two discs containing "Dying Cowboy" played with banjo and autoharp,"Streets of Laredo," a ballad, and the square dance tune "When the Work's All Done This Fall" performed by Will Schroeder and family from Nebraska. Recorded at National Folk Festival, Washington DC, May 1938.
(tape copy on LWO 5111 reel 270A-271A)

AFS 11,728: Melvin R. Gilmore Collection of Omaha, Oto, and Pawnee Music
One 10-inch preservation tape, copied from 40 cylinders, of Omaha, Oto, and Pawnee music. Recorded by Melvin R. Gilmore, ca. 19-5-1906. Donated by the Nebraska State Historical Society. (LWO 2861 reel 1)

AFC 1969/001: Roger Welsch Recordings of an Omaha Handgame
Three 7-inch tapes of an Omaha handgame. Recorded in Lincoln, Nebraska, by Roger L. Welsch, of Nebraska Wesleyan University, April 27, 1969. (LWO 5713) (includes AFS 13,574-13,576)

AFC 1971/004: R.P. Christeson Collection of Fiddle Tunes
One 10-inch tape duplicated from a wire, an acetate disc, and a tape, of fiddle tunes recorded mostly by Robert P. Christeson. Includes three separate recordings: 1) Recorded in Terrell, Terrell Co., Texas, May 11, 1950; 2) Recorded in Grand Island, Nebraska, January 22, 1950; and 3) Recorded at an old fiddlers' picnic, in Lenape, Pennsylvania, 1968. The collection includes a song list. (LWO 6325) [catalog record]

AFS 14,419 (II): One tape (copied from wire) containing 11 fiddle tunes performed by Bob Walters on fiddle and Robert P. Christeson on piano. Recorded in Grand Island, Nebraska, by Christeson, January 22, 1950, and on an unknown date.

AFC 1973/026: Chris Delaney / Fiddle Music
Eleven 10-inch tapes of primarily tunes played on fiddle. Recorded in Arkansas, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and West Virginia by Chris Delaney, 1973. Includes 5 songs performed by Joe Monhart, recorded in Arthur, Nebraska, October 1973; and 23 songs performed by Ben Drake, recorded in Humboldt, Nebraska, October 1973.

AFS 20,330-20,332: Frances Densmore Collection of Omaha Indian Music on Cylinders
Three tapes, copied from 14 wax cylinders, of Omaha music recorded in Nebraska by Frances Densmore, 1941. (RWA 3342-3344)

AFS 21,255: Charles Wakefield Cadman Collection of Omaha and Winnebago Recordings
One 7-inch tape, copied from cylinders, of Omaha and Winnebago songs and flute pieces. Recorded in Thurston County, Nebraska, by Charles Wakefield Cadman, summer 1909. The collection includes a song list. (RXA 3853)

AFS 22,620-22,625: Omaha Indian Interviews Collection, 1983
Six 7-inch tapes of an interview with Charlie Edwards of the Omaha tribe, recorded at his home in Macy, Nebraska; and an interview with John Turner of the Omaha tribe, recorded at the Omaha Tribal Administration Building in Macy, Nebraska, at a ceremony presenting the tribe with recordings from the Federal Cylinder project. Recorded by Alan Jabbour, with Dennis Hastings and others, February 23-24, 1983. (RXA 4156-4161)

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, yodeling 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 at the University of Northern Iowa.

AFS 24,094: One tape containing "Connie Walz," "Redwing," and "Maggie" performed by Laurier Birginal and the Malone Family of Omaha; also includes the Kenniston Family of Nebraska (winners of the Jay L. Simmons Award, performing "Log Cabin in the Woods." (RWB 1754)

AFC 1981/019: Nancy O. Lurie Collection of Winnebago Cylinder Documentation
Audio and written documentation assembled by Nancy O. Lurie in 1980-81 regarding the Frances Densmore and Paul Radin Winnebago cylinder recordings. Wilbur Blackdeer, Benjamin Winneshiek, Emanuel Thundercloud, and others provided comments on recordings Densmore had made in Wisconsin Winnebago communities between 1927 and 1932, and that Radin made in the Nebraska community between 1908 and 1912. These comments were subsequently drawn upon for the Federal Cylinder Project catalog listings of the individual Winnebago recordings. (includes AFS 23,256-23,258) (RXA 4788-4790)

AFC 1983/018: "To Sing for Someone" by the University of Nebraska at Omaha Television Department
One 3/4-inch videocassette of a program about Omaha tribal powwows produced by the University Television Department of the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Copyright 1983.

AFC 1985/015: 1985 Neptune Plaza Concert Series Collection
Collection consists of manuscript materials, sound recordings, and photographs documenting the performance of blues music, Inca music of the Andes, bluegrass music, Scottish folk music, Omaha Indian music and dance, flamenco, and gospel music recorded live outdoors on Neptune Plaza in front of the Library of Congress. [catalog record] [finding aid]

The following includes documentation from the August 15, 1985, concert of the Omaha Indians Hethu'shka Society from Nebraska:

AFC 1985/015: Folder 12: One folder containing concert fliers, press releases and identification of people in photographs.

AFC 1985/015: RWB 1556: One 10-inch tape containing the concert.

AFC 1985/015: Envelope 13: One envelope containing black-and-white negatives of the concert. Photographer unknown. [a contact sheet is located in folder 13].

AFC 1985/015: Envelopes 14-18: Five envelopes containing 69 color slides of the concert. Photographed by John T. Gibbs.

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 24,329A4: One tape containing a conversation with English instructors at the University of Nebraska. Recorded in 1954. Collected by W.J. Kirwin Jr. [audio]

AFS 24,329B5: One tape containing a conversation and reading with students from the University of Nebraska. Recorded in 1954. Collected by W.J. Kirwin Jr. [audio]

AFS 24,329B3: One tape containing a conversation and reading by University of Nebraska students. Recorded in 1953. Collected by W.J. Kirwin Jr. [audio]

AFC 1988/020: Michael A. Gowan Collection of Colorado Dutch Hop Music
Thirty 7-inch tapes and two audiocassettes of Dutch Hop instrumentals and songs performed by nine Volga German bands. Recorded in Colorado by Michael A. Gowan, October 1986 May 1987. The collection includes 50 pages of brochures, correspondence, lists, and summaries. Dutch Hop is music and dance found only in Northeastern Colorado, Western Kansas, and Nebraska, practiced by the Volga Germans, who settled in the area in the 1870s. Funded by the Colorado Council on the Arts & Humanities and the National Endowment for the Arts. Project Director: Michael Gowan. Published cassette and brochure sponsored by the Music Association of Swallow Hill, Denver, Colorado.

AFC 1993/004: Gwen Meister Interview with Rufus and Maxine White
One audiocassette of an interview with Rufus and Maxine White, conducted by Gwen Meister, August 19, 1993. [See AFC 1999/014 for the later interviews.]

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 1999/014: Omaha Indian Interviews Collection, 1999
Manuscript, sound recordings, and graphic materials collected during four visits in 1999 to Macy, Nebraska, in an effort to identify sound recordings and photographic images from the American Folklife Center's Omaha Indian collections. This project was undertaken as part of the National Digital Library Program's effort to obtain information on materials to be used in the Omaha Indian Music American Memory presentation. [catalog record]

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] [Nebraska Local Legacies]

AFC 2006/029: River Boys Polka Band Concert and Interview Collection
Videorecordings of a concert of Dutch Hop polka music performed by the River Boys Polka Band, performed in the Coolidge Auditorium, Library of Congress on June 21, 2006, as part of the Homegrown concert series sponsored by the American Folklife Center. The term "Dutch Hop" is used generically to describe traditional dance music of the Volga Deutsch (Germans from Russia who emigrated to the United States and Canada in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries). This tradition has been carried on in Nebraska, eastern Colorado, and Wyoming, where this group's members live. [catalog record] [event flyer and webcast]