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OMEN
IF YOU SEE A BULL FROG, IT'S A WITCH BRINGING A CURSE. YOU SHOULD
PUT THE FROG ON A BOARD (FULCRUM) AND HIT IT INTO THE AIR, SENDING
THE CURSE AWAY.
Submitter comment:
THE INFORMANT GOT THIS FROM HER MOTHER WHEN INFORMANT WAS A CHILD.
SHE SAID SHE NEVERR DID THE ACTION DESCRIBED BECAUSE SHE WAS TOO
AFRAID OF THE FROG TO PICK IT UP. SHE JUST RAN AWAY.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; WARREN ; 7632 WESTMINSTER
| Subject headings: | PROSE NARRATIVE -- Witch Shaman PROSE NARRATIVE -- Animal BELIEF -- Curse |
Date learned: 02-22-1970
FARM HOUSE LEGEND
ONE NIGHT WHEN WE WERE UP NORTH WE DECIDED TO GO DRINKING, SO WE
STOPPED AT THIS OPEN CLEARING IN THE WOODS. THERE WAS A FARM
HOUSE ACROSS THE FIELD; WE COULD SEE THE LIGHT. IT WAS A LARGE
FLOOD LIGHT. WELL, AFTER A WHILE WE LOOKED AND THAT LIGHT HAD
MOVED. AT LEAST, WE THOUGHT IT DID. BUT IT COULDN'T HAVE, SO
WE DIDN'T MAKE ANYTHING OF IT. BUT LATER ON, THAT LIGHT HAD
MOVED AGAIN. WE SAT THERE AND WATCHED IT CIRCLE US UNTIL IT
WENT BACK TO WHERE IT STARTED FROM AND STOPPED. WE FIGURED WE'D
HAD ENOUGH TO DRINK AND GOT THE HELL OUT OF THERE.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; WARREN ; 7632 WESTMINSTER
| Subject headings: | PROSE NARRATIVE -- Product or activity of man or animal Food Drink -- Alcoholic beverage Fermented |
Date learned: 02-22-1970
CAR KNOCKING LEGEND
IF YOU DRIVE DOWN HOOVER ROAD ON HALLOWEEN NIGHT, SOMEWHERE
NEAR STATE FAIR, YOU WILL HEAR TWO KNOCKS ON YOUR CAR. A GIRL
WAS KILLED BY A CAR THERE, AND SHE HAUNTS THE INTERSECTION.
Submitter comment: INFORMANT LAUGHED AND DIDN'T APPEAR TO BELIEVE IT.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; WARREN ; 7632 WESTMINSTER
| Subject headings: | PROSE NARRATIVE -- Ghost Spirit Phantom Specter ART CRAFT ARCHITECTURE -- Means of transportation Vehicle propelled by mechanical or other force on land BELIEF -- Death Funeral Burial |
Date learned: 02-22-1970
"THE JAM ON GERRIES ROCK" MM
1. MM
COME ALL YOU YOUNG BOLD SHANTY BOYS, AND LIST WHILE I RELATE
THIS CONCERNING A YOUNG SHANTY BOY, AND HIS UNTIMELY FATE
CONCERNING A YOUNG SHANTY BOY SO MANLY, TRUE AND BRAVE
'TWAS ON THE JAM AT GERRIES ROCK, HE MET HIS WATERY GRAVE MM
2. MM
'TWAS ON ONE SUNDAY MORNING, AS YOU WILL QUICKLY HEAR
THE LOGS WERE PILED UP MOUNTAIN HIGH, WE COULD NOT KEEP THEM
CLEAR
OUR FOREMAN SAYS, "TURN OUT BRAVE BOYS, WITH HEARTS DEVOID OF
FEAR
WE'LL BREAK THE JAM AT GERRIES ROCK, AND FOR EDMORE TOWN WE'LL
STEER MM
3. MM
NOW SOME OF THEM WERE WILLING, WHILE OTHERS THEY WERE NOT
TO WORK ON JAMS ON SUNDAYS, THEY DID NOT THINK WE OUGHT
BUT FIVE OF OUR BRAVE CANADIAN BOYS, DID VOLUNTEER TO GO
TO BREAK THE JAM ON GERRIES ROCK, WITH THEIR FOREMAN JACK
MONROE MM
4. MM
THEY HAD NOT ROLLED OFF MANY LOGS, 'TILL THEY HEARD A CLEAR
VOICE SAY
"I'D HAVE YOU BOYS BE ON YOUR WATCH, FOR THIS JAM WILL SOON
GIVE WAY"
THESE WORDS WERE SCARCELY SPOKEN TILL THE MASS DID BREAK AND GO
IT CARRIED OFF THOSE FIVE BRAVE BOYS, AND THEIR FOREMAN YOUNG
MONROE MM
5. MM
WHEN THE REST OF OUR BRAVE SHANTY BOYS, THE SAD NEWS CAME TO
HEAR
IN SEARCH OF THEIR DEAD COMRADES, TO THE RIVER THEY DREW NEAR
WHILE SEARCHING FOR THE BODIES, WHICH FLOATING DOWN DID GO
ALL CRUSHED AND BLEEDING BY THE BANK, WAS THAT OF YOUNG MONROE MM
6. MM
THEY DRAGGED HIM FROM HIS WATERY GRAVE, BRUSHED BACK HIS RAVEN
HAIR
THERE WAS ONE FAIR FORM AMONG THEM, WHOSE SAD CRIES RENT THE
AIR
THERE WAS ONE FAIR FORM AMONG THEM, A GIRL FROM SAGINAW TOWN
WHOSE MOANS AND CRIES AROSE TO THE SKIES FOR HER TRUE LOVE
WHO'D GONE DOWN MM
7. MM
FAIR CLARA WAS A NOBLE GIRL, THE RIVERMAN'S TRUE FRIEND
WHO WITH HER WIDOWED MOTHER, LIVED AT THE RIVER'S BEND
THE WAGES OF HER OWN TRUE LOVE, THE BOSS TO HER DID PAY
THE SHANTY BOYS MADE UP FOR HER, A GENEROUS PURSE NEXT DAY MM
8. MM
THEY BURIED HIM MID SORROWS DEEP, 'TWAS ON THE FIRST OF MAY
COME ALL YOU YOUNG SHANTY BOYS, AND FOR YOUR COMRADE PRAY
ENGRAVED UPON A HEMLOCK TREE WHICH, BY THE GRAVE DID GROW
WAS THE NAME AND DATE OF THIS SAD FATE, OF OUR SHANTY BOY
MONROE MM
9. MM
FAIR CLARA DID NOT LONG SURVIVE, HER HEART WAS FILLED WITH
GRIEF
AND SCARCELY SIX MONTHS AFTER, DEATH CAME TO HER RELIEF
AND WHEN THE TIME HAD PASSED AWAY AND SHE WAS CALLED TO GO
HER LAST REQUEST WAS GRANTED TO BE LAID BY YOUNG MONROE MM
10. MM
COME ALL YOU YOUNG BOLD SHANTY BOYS, I'D HAVE YOU CALL AND SEE
TWO GREEN MOUNDS BY THE RIVER SIDE, WHERE GROWS THE HEMLOCK
TREE
THE SHANTY BOYS CLEARED FOR THE SPOT, BUT THE LOVERS THEY LAY
LOW
THERE'S HANDSOME CLARA VERNON, AND HER TRUE LOVE JACK MONROE MM MM
THIS WAS A TRUE HAPPENING. MY GRANDFATHER KNEW OF IT AT THE
TIME IT HAPPENED. YEARS AGO, IN THE LUMBERING DAYS, WHEN A
TRAGEDY WOUULD HIT, SOME ONE USUALLY MADE UP A SONG ABOUT IT. MM
THE JAM, WHICH IS SANG OF IN THE SONG THE JAM ON GERRIES ROCK,
WAS WHEN THE LOGS WHICH WERE BEING FLOATED DOWN THE RIVER,
WOUULD JAM UP. THE CAUSE OF THIS WOULD BE THAT ONE OR TWO
LOGS WOULD TURN SIDEWAYS, INSTEAD OF FLOATING END FIRST DOWN
THE RIVER. YOU SEE THE MEN WOULD CUT THESE LOGS IN THE WIN-
TER TIME, AND THEY WERE HAULED BY SLEIGH TO A RIVER AND PILED
ON THE BANK, AND THEN IN THE SPRING, WHEN THE ICE MELTED IN
THE RIVERS, AND THE WATER WAS HIGH, THE LOGS WERE DUMPED INTO
THE RIVER AND FLOATED DOWN STREAM TO A LUMBER MILL, WHERE THEY
WERE SAWED INTO LUMBER. I SAW THIS ALL HAPPEN WHEN I WAS A
CHILD AT MICHELSON, HERE IN ROSCOMMON COUNTY.
Submitter comment:
IT IS INTERESTING THAT THIS INFORMANT BELIEVES THAT THIS
INCIDENT HAPPENED IN MICHIGAN AND THAT HER GRANDFATHER KNEW
IT. MANY OTHER ACCOUNTS OF THIS SAME INCIDENT IN VERY SIMILAR
SONGS HAVE BEEN REPORTED IN OTHER LUMBERING AREAS.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; HOUGHTON LAKE
James Callow Keyword(s): LUMBERJACK ; SYMPATHETIC DEATH
| Subject headings: | Favorites Ballad Song Dance Game Music Verse -- Ballad, Song, Verse CUSTOM FESTIVAL -- FO50 BELIEF -- Measure of time WeekDayHour |
Date learned: 00001930S
DON'T STEP ON THE CRACKS IN THE SIDEWALK.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; MOUNT MORRIS
| Subject headings: | BELIEF -- Street Trip Relations between relatives, friends, host and guest Social class Rank |
Date learned: 10-16-1977
Twelve Angels (English Title)
This song was sung in Polish, called Twelve Angels (Anoiw). As
the Mother of the Bride is taking off the veil to give to the Maid
of Honor, it is sung. The Twelve Angels are going with the Bride
for protection because she is leaving her mother and father's house
to go live with her husband.
Where learned: MICHIGAN
| Subject headings: | 686 Seconds / Twice / Two Ballad Song Dance Game Music Verse -- Marriage CUSTOM FESTIVAL -- Marriage BELIEF -- Angel |
Date learned: 00001920S
Poplawenis (Poplaveenaz)
This is the day after a Polish wedding. The day of the Polish
wedding, festivities last from morning until night, with breakfast
in the morning, a break, photos, the actual wedding at the church,
and then the reception. The newlyweds do not leave on their
honeymoon immediately. The next day, Poplawenis, the festivities
continue.
Submitter comment:
It was wonderful to listen to my grandmother and grandfather
talk about this. They spoke of their own wedding in 1943, and were
disagreeing whether or not they left right away or waited awhile.
They came to the conclusion that they left about a week after the
wedding because my grandfather was able to get an extension before
he went into the army, having been drafted for World War II.
Where learned: MICHIGAN
| Subject headings: | Favorites CUSTOM FESTIVAL -- Marriage Day after wedding |
Date learned: 00001920S
When a baby is born to a Polish mother, you are supposed to put
a red ribbon on a safety pin so the child is always protected by
their guardian angel; a medal of a saint, angel, or the Mother of
God may be added also-- but the red ribbon is essential. This
will protect the child from ladies with evil eyes who will look at
your child, and the child may get sick, get a rash all over its
body, or could even die; this also protects the child from evil-
eyed women who may abduct the child, also.
Submitter comment:
This is yet another custom that my mother has passed on to her
children. It has worked with all my grandmother's children and
grandchildren so far.
Where learned: MICHIGAN
| Subject headings: | Favorites BELIEF -- Fairy Elf Goblin Gnome BELIEF -- Birth BELIEF -- Curse BELIEF -- Color BELIEF -- Means of Causing or Avoiding Illness |
Date learned: 00001920S
Blessing Stick
It is Polish custom for the father of the bride to bless the
marriage on the day of the wedding. Before going to the church,
the bride and groom kneel before the father and mother of the
bride. The father of the bride has a stick made of straw and/or
twigs or small branches which he dips in holy water, and then
blesses the couple; a prayer may accompany the ceremony.
Submitter comment:
While my grandmother was telling me the story behind the
blessing stick, my mother asked if she still had the stick (since
all my grandmother's children are married). It was in a drawer.
My Great-grandfather Witkowski (my grandmother's father) had passed
down this blessing stick to my grandfather so that he could bless
the marriages of his children.
Where learned: MICHIGAN
| Subject headings: | CUSTOM FESTIVAL -- Marriage |
Date learned: 00001920S
DON'T SEAT THIRTEEN PEOPLE AT THE TABLE.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; MOUNT MORRIS
| Subject headings: | 686 Specific number by specific number being described BELIEF -- Measure of time Eating For menu, see N222. |
Date learned: 10-16-1977
BETTER LATE THAN NEVER, BUT BETTER NEVER LATE.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; MOUNT MORRIS
James Callow Keyword(s): CHIASMUS
| Subject headings: | BELIEF -- Measure of quality PROVERB -- Proverbial Apothegm Maxim |
When you want to sell your house, you should bury a statue (or
small figure) of Saint Francis in the backyard so you can sell your
house.
Where learned: MICHIGAN
| Subject headings: | BELIEF -- Religious hero BELIEF -- Product or activity of man or animal |
Date learned: 00001950S
ITALIAN JOKE
AN ITALIAN PUT AN ADVERTISEMENT IN THE PAPERS THAT HE HAD DISCOVERED
A METHOD OF WRITING WITHOUT PEN AND INK, AND THAT HE WOULD GIVE THE
SECRET FOR A SMALL FEE. IN A FEW DAYS HE WAS FLOODED WITH REQUESTS
FROM ALL OVER THE COUNTRY, TO WHICH HE REPLIED: "WRITE WITH PENCIL."
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; WARREN
James Callow Keyword(s): TRICKSTER, ITALIAN
| Subject headings: | Favorites PROSE NARRATIVE -- Jest Anecdote ITAL |
Date learned: 02-25-1982
ITALIAN JOKE
AN ITALIAN FRIEND OF MINE SAW A SIGN ON A GROCER'S WINDOW WHICH READ,
"FAMILIES SUPPLIED," SO HE WENT IN AND ASKED FOR A WIFE AND TWO KIDS.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; WARREN
| Subject headings: | PROSE NARRATIVE -- Jest Anecdote ITAL |
Date learned: 02-25-1982
ITALIAN JOKE
AN ITALIAN WAS ARRESTED FOR STEALING FIFTY POUNDS OF BEEF, AND
EXCUSED HIMSELF ON THE GROUNDS THAT HE WOULDN'T HAVE TAKEN SO MUCH
IF HE HAD A KNIFE TO CUT IT WITH.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; WARREN
| Subject headings: | PROSE NARRATIVE -- Jest Anecdote ITAL |
Date learned: 02-25-1982
ITALIAN JOKE
TWO ITALIANS WERE GOING TO ATLANTIC CITY TO TAKE A BATH FOR THE FIRST
TIME. ONE SAID TO THE OTHER: "SYLVIO, I BET I AM DIRTIER THAN YOU."
SYLVIO REPLIED: "YOU SHOULD BE. AREN'T YOU THREE YEARS OLDER?"
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; WARREN
| Subject headings: | PROSE NARRATIVE -- Jest Anecdote ITAL |
CUSTOM
THE NEW YEAR IS CELEBRATED FOR 7 DAYS IN JAPAN. DURING THIS TIME,
GREETING CALLS ARE MADE ON FAMILY FRIENDS, AND EACH ENTERTAINS THE
OTHER WITH ELABORATE AND TRADITIONAL NEW YEAR DISHES WHICH ARE ALL
PREPARED BY THE NEW YEAR AND CONTAINED IN TRADITIONAL LACQUERED
BOXES. LITTLE BOYS FLY PAINTED KITES; GIRLS PLAY BATTLEDORE AND
SHUTTLECOCK, WHILE AT SOCIAL GATHERINGS (WHERE BOYS AND GIRLS,
UNTIL THE AMERICAN OCCUPATION, PLAYED TOGETHER IN AN OTHERWISE
SEGREGATED SOCIETY) POEM CARD GAMES ARE PLAYED.
Submitter comment:
INFORMANT GREW UP IN JAPAN BEFORE THE END OF WORLD WAR II.
Data entry tech comment:
Informant and collector share the same surname.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; WARREN
Keyword(s): VISITING
Date learned: 08-01-1964
BRASS BUTTON BLUE COAT CAN'T CATCH A
NANNY GOAT.
Submitter comment:
THIS TERM WAS USED BY CHILDREN AT PLAY
IN PITTSBURG, PA. IN THE YEAR 1925.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; WARREN
Keyword(s): TAUNT
| Subject headings: | Ballad Song Dance Game Music Verse -- Good humor Jest Ballad Song Dance Game Music Verse -- Ill humor Ridicule Mockery |
WEDDING BELIEF
THE BRIDE MUST NOT SEE THE GROOM BEFORE THE WEDDING ON THE
WEDDING DAY OR SHE WILL HAVE BAD LUCK IN HER MARRIAGE.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; WARREN
| Subject headings: | CUSTOM FESTIVAL -- Marriage Bride and groom must not see each other |
Date learned: 10-00-1967
POLISH-AMERICAN WEDDING CUSTOM
WHEN TWO POLISH-AMERICAN PEOPLE GET MARRIED, AN ORCHESTRA
ARRIVES AT THE HOME OF THE BRIDE. THESE MUSICIANS, USUALLY AN
ACCORDIONIST, DRUMMER, AND SAXOPHONE PLAYER, STAND ON THE FRONT
PORCH OF THE BRIDE'S HOME, AND THEY BEGIN TO PLAY AS SOON AS THE
BRIDE IS DRIVEN AWAY TO THE NUPTIAL CEREMONY.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; WARREN
| Subject headings: | CUSTOM FESTIVAL -- Marriage Band, orchestra play at bride's house |
Date learned: 09-16-1969