Dr. James T. Callow publications
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The James T. Callow Folklore Archive
Your search for Ear returned 226 results.
BELIEF
A MOTHER LOSES A TOOTH FOR EVERY CHILD THAT SHE BEARS.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; DETROIT
Keyword(s): CHILDBEARING ; PREGNANCY
| Subject headings: | BELIEF -- Body part Senses Mouth, teeth, lips, tongue BELIEF -- Birth BELIEF -- Means of Causing or Avoiding Illness |
Date learned: 02-04-1970
LITTLE TEDDY BEAR SONG
MY LITTLE TEDDY BEAR
SITTING IN HIS ROCKING CHAIR,
HE FELL DOWN AND HE BUMPED HIS HEAD.
WOOF WOOF WOOF MY TEDDY SAID.
Where learned: CAMP DEARBORN
Keyword(s): ANIMAL SOUND ; TOY TEDDY BEAR
| Subject headings: | Ballad Song Dance Game Music Verse -- Children |
Date learned: DATE NOT RECORDED BY COLLECTOR.
HICCUPS
HOLD YOUR BREATH AND SAY YOUR BOYFRIEND'S NAME 10 TIMES.
DRINK A GLASS OF WATER UPSIDE DOWN.
IF SOMEONE HAS THE HICCUPS SCARE THEM AND THE HICCUPS WILL GO AWAY.
Submitter comment: I LEARNED THESE THINGS WHEN I WAS VERY YOUNG ABOUT 1950.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; SOUTHFIELD
Keyword(s): FEAR
| Subject headings: | Person / Nickname 686 First / Once / One / Newness BELIEF -- Method of Curing |
Date learned: 00-00-1950
KENTUCKY BEAR
THERE WAS A MOTHER AND FATHER IN KENTUCKY WHOSE THREE-YEAR-OLD
DAUGHTER CAME UP MISSING ONE DAY. SHE WAS SEARCHED FOR FOR FOUR DAYS
AND NOT FOUND. ON THE FOURTH DAY A MAN CAME TO HER HOUSE AND TOLD HER
PARENTS THAT HE WOULD SHOW THEM WHERE THEIR DAUGHTER WAS IF THEY
WOULD GIVE HIM A MEAL. THEY FED HIM AND AFTERWARD HE LED THEM INTO
THE WOODS. THE GIRL WAS FOUND NEAR A LOG WHERE A BEAR WAS BRINGING
HER FOOD. THE GIRL SAID THAT THE BEAR HAD BEEN TAKING CARE OF HER AND
FEEDING HER. NOT KNOWING ANY BETTER THE GIRL THOUGHT THE BEAR WAS A
DOG.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; UNIVERSITY OF DETROIT ; DETROIT ;
Keyword(s): DAUGHTER ; MISTAKEN IDENITY (BEAR THOUGHT TO BE A DOG) ; TO GIVE IS TO RECEIVE--STRANGER GIVEN MEAL FOR SHOWING PLACE OF LOST
| Subject headings: | Favorites PROSE NARRATIVE -- Human Being |
Date learned: 11-20-1968
LEGEND OF BEAR ISLAND
THERE IS AN INDIAN LEGEND THAT TELLS HOW THE FAMOUS MICHIGAN BEAR
ISLAND WAS MADE. IT WAS SAID THAT A MOTHER BEAR AND HER TWO CUBS
WERE ATTEMPTING TO SWIM ACROSS LAKE MICHIGAN, BUT THEY EACH WERE
OVERCOME BY EXHAUSTION BEFORE THEY COULD EVEN SWIM 5 TO 6 MILES.
THEIR BODIES NOW FORM THE BIG BEAR ISLAND AND THE TWO SMALL BEAR
ISLANDS.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; BATTLE CREEK
Keyword(s): AMERICAN INDIAN ; SLEEPING BEAR SAND DUNE
| Subject headings: | PROSE NARRATIVE -- Mammal PROSE NARRATIVE -- Explanation of a name |
Date learned: 00-00-1954
MULTIPLYING TECHNIQUE
THERE IS A WAY OF MULTIPLYING BY NINES ON YOUR HANDS.
ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS HOLD UP YOUR TEN FINGERS AND PICK THE NUMBER
THAT YOU WANT TO MULTIPLY NINE BY AND THEN YOU PUSH DOWN THAT FINGER.
FOR EXAMPLE, IF YOU WANT TO MULTIPLY NINE BY THREE YOU WOULD PUT
DOWN YOUR THIRD FINGER.
ON ONE SIDE OF THIS THIRD FINGER YOU WOULD HAVE TWO FINGERS HELD
UP, ON THE OTHER SIDE YOU WOULD HAVE SEVEN FINGERS HELD UP,
THEREFORE YOUR ANSWER WOULD BE TWENTY-SEVEN.
Data entry tech comment:
Uodated by TRD on 10.11.13
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; HUNTINGTON WOODS
Keyword(s): Arithmetic, Mathematics, Multiplication, Trick, Memory, Aid, Learning, Tool, Fingers,
James Callow Keyword(s): MULTIPLICATION ON FINGERS
| Subject headings: | 686 686.1.9 Favorites BELIEF -- Body part Senses BELIEF -- Number P686.3.9 SPEECH -- Gesture |
Date learned: 02-22-1979
WHEN A GIRL'S SLIP IS SHOWING THERE IS THE SAYING THAT THE GIRL IS
ADVERTISING FOR A MAN.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; DETROIT
James Callow Keyword(s): SYMBOL ; UNDERWEAR
| Subject headings: | ART CRAFT ARCHITECTURE -- Dress SPEECH -- To Be Seen |
Date learned: DATE NOT RECORDED BY COLLECTOR.
WHIRLPOOL
A NUMBER OF YEARS AGO A MAN WAS SHOOTING RAPIDS BELOW NIAGARA
FALLS WHEN HE GOT HUNG UP IN THE WHIRLPOOL IN DEVIL'S GORGE. HE
WAS IN A MOTOR BOAT BUT STILL WAS OVERCOME BY THE CURRENT AND WAS
CARRIED FREE FROM THE WHIRLPOOL.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; DETROIT
Keyword(s): NEAR DROWNING.
| Subject headings: | PROSE NARRATIVE -- Running water Large current. River, stream.... |
Date learned: 11-12-1968
HAUNTED HOUSE
THERE IS A HAUNTED HOUSE ON JEFFERSON AND CADIEUX.
MANY OF HIS FRIENDS HAVE GONE INSIDE AND SEEN STRANGE SIGHTS,
BUT HE HAS NEVER BEEN ABLE TO GET UP ENOUGH
NERVE TO GO IN.
Submitter comment:
THE INFORMANT HAS SEEN THE OUTSIDE OF THE HOUSE
AND HIS FRIENDS HAVE TOLD HIM ABOUT IT.
THIS HOUSE IS STILL THERE.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; DETROIT
James Callow Keyword(s): FEAR TEST
| Subject headings: | PROSE NARRATIVE -- Product or activity of man or animal |
Date learned: 05-12-1965
OUR FAMILY DOCTOR HAS A LARGE BIRTH MARK ON THE SIDE OF HIS FACE.
IT WAS SAID THAT WHILE HIS MOTHER WAS PREGNANT WITH HIM THERE
WAS A FIRE AND HIS MOTHER RAISED HER HAND TO HER FACE. THIS
CAUSED THE BIRTH MARK ON HIS FACE IN THE SAME PLACE WHERE THE
MOTHER HAD TOUCHED HER FACE.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; WARREN
Keyword(s): MARKS BROUGHT ABOUT BY FEAR.
James Callow Keyword(s): CONTAGIOUS MAGIC ; HOMEOPATHIC MAGIC
| Subject headings: | PROSE NARRATIVE -- Physically handicapped Deformed BELIEF -- Birth |
Date learned: 01-00-1968
PAJAMA PARTY STORY
ONCE THERE WERE TWO GIRLS WHO DECIDED TO SPEND A WEEKEND AT A
COTTAGE WHICH BELONGED TO THE PARENTS OF ONE OF THE GIRLS. THIS
COTTAGE WAS NEAR AN INSANE ASYLUM. THE FIRST NIGHT THEY WERE
THERE, ONE OF THE GIRLS WENT TO BED EARLY, BUT THE OTHER DECIDED
TO STAY UP AND SIT IN THE ROCKING CHAIR.
IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT, THE FIRST GIRL WOKE UP AND THOUGHT SHE
HEARD COUNTING: FOUR HUNDRED FIFTY-TWO, FOUR HUNDRED FIFTY-THREE.
SHE WAS TOO SLEEPY TO THINK MUCH OF IT, SO SHE FELL BACK TO SLEEP
AGAIN SHE WOKE TO HEAR: EIGHT HUNDRED NINETY-SIX, EIGHT HUNDRED
NINETY-SEVEN. BUT AGAIN SHE FELL ASLEEP.
IN THE MORNING SHE WOKE UP AND THE COUNTING WAS STILL GOING ON.
SHE GOT OUT OF BED AND WENT IN THE OTHER ROOM TO FIND A MAN SITTING
IN THE ROCKING CHAIR, WITH THE OTHER GIRL'S HEAD IN HIS LAP. HE WAS
PULLING OUT HER HAIR AND COUNTING EACH STRAND. WHEN HE SAW THE FIRS
GIRL HE STARTED CHASING HER, CALLING HOW MANY HAIRS DO YOU HAVE ON
YOUR HEAD?
HOW MANY HAIRS DO YOU HAVE ON YOUR HEAD?
Where learned: LOCATION NOT RECORDED BY COLLECTOR
Keyword(s): MURDER, FEAR
James Callow Keyword(s): DECAPITATION ASSUMED
| Subject headings: | Favorites PROSE NARRATIVE -- Physically handicapped Deformed PROSE NARRATIVE -- Formula tale |
Date learned: DATE NOT RECORDED BY COLLECTOR
A MAN ACCEPTED A BET OF $200 TO GO INTO A CEMETERY AT NIGHT AND
POUND A STAKE INTO THE GROUND. AS HE WAS POUNDING THE STAKE,
SOMETHING KEPT ON PULLING ON HIS COAT. HE SCREAMED AND DIED. THE
POLICE CAME INTO THE CEMETERY AND FOUND HIS COAT WAS CAUGHT UNDER
THE STAKE.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; WARREN
Keyword(s): FEAR TEST
| Subject headings: | Favorites PROSE NARRATIVE -- Physically handicapped Deformed |
Date learned: 01-00-1968
LEGEND
IN ST. THOMAS, ONTARIO, CANADA MANY YEARS AGO A FAMILY OF BOYS LIVED
ON A FARM. THESE BRADEY BOYS, AS THEY WERE CALLED, TERRORIZED THE
COUNTRY SIDE. WHEN THEY SEEMINGLY ALL DIED, THE TOWNSPEOPLE BURNT
DOWN THEIR HOMESTEAD IN REVENGE FOR ALL THE HARDSHIPS THE BRADEY BOY
CAUSED. TO THIS DAY THE BRADEY FARM LIES IN WASTE AS IN MEMORY OF TH
BRADEY'S DESTRUCTION AND ALSO IN FEAR THAT SOME OF THE BRADEY BOYS
MIGHT STILL BE ALIVE AND EVENTUALLY SEEK REVENGE IF ANYONE WOULD TAK
OVER THEIR LAND.
Where learned: DETROIT, ASSUMED ; MICHIGAN, ASSUMED
Keyword(s): FEAR ; PLACE NAMES
| Subject headings: | PROSE NARRATIVE -- Outlaw Criminal Bandit Pirate |
Date learned: 02-15-1970
ON NEW YEAR'S EVE AT THE STROKE OF MIDNIGHT, WE THROW WATER OUT THE
WINDOWS BY THE BUCKETS TO SEND AWAY ALL BAD THINGS THAT CAME DURING
THE YEAR
Submitter comment: THEY DO THIS IN SAN JUAN.
Where learned: PUERTO RICO ; SAN JUAN
James Callow Keyword(s): HOMEOPATHIC MAGIC ; PURIFICATION OF THE YEAR.
| Subject headings: | CUSTOM FESTIVAL -- January 1 New Year's CUSTOM FESTIVAL -- F123 BELIEF -- Measure of time Year |
Date learned: CA00001950
I LOOK LIKE "THE WRECK OF THE HESPERS."
Submitter comment:
MY MOTHER USES THIS PHRASE TO DESCRIBE HERSELF OR ANY OTHER WOMAN
WHO IS REALLY A MESS, OFTEN, SHE SAYS THIS ON SATURDAY MORNINGS
BEFORE GETTING HER HAIR DONE.
Data entry tech comment: SPELLING ERROR*** HESPERUS***
Where learned: NOT RECORDED ; SAID AT MY HOME
Keyword(s): APPEARANCE
James Callow Keyword(s): LONGFELLOW
| Subject headings: | PROVERB -- Proverbial Comparison |
Date learned: 03-31-1971
A SWARM OF BEES IN MAY
IS WORTH A LOAD OF HAY;
A SWARM OF BEES IN JUNE,
IS WORTH A SILVER SPOON.
A SWARM OF BEES IN JULY,
ISN'T WORTH A FLY.
Submitter comment:
ANOTHER OLD SAYING OF HIS FATHER, CLOSELY LINKED TO THE
TIME WHEN BEES PRODUCE THE MOST HONEY.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; DETROIT
Keyword(s): COUPLET ; HONEY ; INCOME ; MONTHS OF YEAR ; OBSERVATION ; PREDICTION
| Subject headings: | Ballad Song Dance Game Music Verse -- Belief Belief |
Date learned: 03-10-1968
THE MAN UNDER THE TROLLEYCAR
THERE IS A LITTLE MAN WITH A LONG STICK WITH A BIG SHARP BLADE, LIKE
A SYCTHE ON THE END OF IT. HE USED TO CUT OFF PEOPLE'S HEADS
WHEN THEY STUCK THEIR HEADS OUT OF THE WINDOW.
Submitter comment:
THE INFORMANT'S MOTHER USED TO TELL HIM THIS STORY EVERY TIME HE
TRIED TO STICK HIS HEAD OUT OF THE MOVING TROLLEY CAR WINDOW. THE
INFORMANT SAYS HE USED TO TRY TO LOOK FOR THE LITTLE MAN WHEN THEY
GOT OFF THE TROLLEY CAR BUT HIS MOTHER SAID HE'D (THE LITTLE MAN)
TRY TO PULL ANYONE WHO BENT OVER TO LOOK AT HIM INTO THE WHEEL WITH
HIM.
THE INFORMANT THINKS HE WAS FIRST TOLD THE STORY AT AGE 2 OR 3 AND
BELIEVED IT FOR 6 OR 7 YEARS.
TOLD SEVERAL TIMES, THE LAST TIME BEING JAN. 25, 1967
AT THE WOJACK HOUSE IN DETROIT
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; DETROIT
Keyword(s): FEAR
James Callow Keyword(s): DECAPITATION
| Subject headings: | Favorites PROSE NARRATIVE -- Physically handicapped Deformed |
Date learned: 01-25-1967
THE RUBBERBAND AND THE HAND
THERE WAS A LITTLE GIRL WHO GOT INTO THE HABIT OF WRAPPING RUBBER
BANDS AROUND HER WRIST BECAUSE SHE LIKED TO LOOK AT THE IMPRESSIONS
THEY LEFT ON HER SKIN WHEN SHE TOOK THEM OFF. ONE DAY SHE FORGOT SHE
HAD THE RUBBER BANDS ON AND KEPT WEARING THEM.
YEARS LATER THE GIRL'S
HAND TURNED BLACK SO THEY TOOK HER TO THE HOSPITAL WHERE THEY
OPERATED ON HER HAND. THE DOCTOR CUT OPEN HER WRIST TO SEE WHY THE
BLOOD STOPPED FLOWING INTO HER HAND AND HE FOUND THE RUBBER BAND. IT
SEEMS THE RUBBER BAND HAD BECOME IMPRESSED IN HER SKIN AND EVENTUALLY
THE SKIN GREW OVER IT. THE GIRL PROMISED NEVER TO WEAR A RUBBER BAND
ON HER WRIST AGAIN.
Submitter comment:
TOLD TO THE INFORMANT BY HIS MOTHER WHEN HE WAS A CHILD TO BREAK
HIM OF WEARING RUBBER BANDS. HE SAYS IT WORKED.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; DETROIT
Keyword(s): FEAR ; FUNCTIONAL SCARE STORY
James Callow Keyword(s): FUNCTION
| Subject headings: | PROSE NARRATIVE -- Body part Senses |
Date learned: 03-03-1967
THE DISAPPEARING ACT
IN ENGLAND, MANY YEARS AGO, A CHURCH SOCIAL WAS TAKING PLACE
AND EVERYONE WAS INVOLVED IN PLAYING GAMES. MOST OF THE MEN WERE
PLAYING RUGBY ON A HUGE FIELD. ONE MAN KICKED THE BALL INTO
A FAR CORNER OF THE FIELD AND WENT AFTER IT. HE STARTED TO RUN
AFTER THE BALL AND THAT IS THE LAST ANYONE SAW OF HIM. PEOPLE
THOUGHT THAT HE MIGHT HAVE FALLEN INTO A DITCH OR A HOLE BUT THEY
WENT TO LOOK FOR HIM AND COULD FIND NOTHING AND TO THIS DAY THEY
STILL COULD NEVER FIGURE OUT WHAT HAPPENED TO HIM.
Submitter comment:
MRS. BACON SAID THAT HER MOTHER AND SISTER TOLD HER THIS
STORY IN ENGLAND ABOUT THIRTY YEARS AGO.
Where learned: CANADA ; ONTARIO ; WINDSOR
James Callow Keyword(s): MYSTERIOUS DISAPPEARANCE
| Subject headings: | Favorites PROSE NARRATIVE -- Human Being PROSE NARRATIVE -- Product or activity of man or animal |
Date learned: 12-00-1963
SIGNATURE
YOURS TILL SMITH BROTHERS SHAVE.
Submitter comment: SMITH BROTHERS COUGH DROPS PICTURED TWO BEARDED MEN ON THE BOX.
James Callow comment: BEARDS WERE NOT IN FASHION AT THE TIME.
James Callow Keyword(s): BEARD ; COUGH DROP ADVERTISING
| Subject headings: | Ballad Song Dance Game Music Verse -- Autograph Verse |