Dr. James T. Callow publications
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The James T. Callow Folklore Archive
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Custom/Belief
Irregular Festival:
It is a custom in my family to have a big family gathering, celebration, reunion, and party whenever someone in the fammily has made the Sacrament of Confirmation or 1st Communion. The recipient recieves gifts and/or money from every other member of the fmaily. It roughlyparallels the Bar Matzvah of the Jewish Religion.
Data entry tech comment:
motifs added by TRD
Where learned: NEW YORK ; Myself ; LeRoy
Keyword(s): Celebration ; CUSTOM ; Maturity ; PARTY ; RELIGION ; RELIGIOUS ; Rite-of-Passage
| Subject headings: | CUSTOM FESTIVAL -- Maturity |
Custom
Lenten Customs:
About two weeks before the Lenten fasting begins, the people of New Orleans celebrate the festival of "Mardi Gras."
Actually, "Mardi Gras" means "Fat Tuesday," and this is the day before Ash Wednesday. But the people celebrate for a couple weeks beforehand, much the same way as most people celebrate Christmas.
Mardi Gras is characterized by its magnificaent parades. Various groups spend enormous amounts of time, effort and money to make their floats as beautiful as possible. throughout the parade, people sit on the floats and throw trinkets, beads and other cheap toys to the crowds who clamor to see who can catch the most. Many of these articles are virtually worthless, but I have seen expensive beads, gold pieces and even $20.00 bills being thrown too.
Besides this, each parade has its own particular name (eg- the Rex Parade) and throws off "dubloons" with the name of the parade and that year stamped on it. A "dubloon" is a silver-dollar sized plastic coin, always in purple, gold or green. Long after Mardi Gras is over, people continue to trade dubloons-to try to get a dubloon of each color from each parade. This collection of worthless plastic coins can be quite valuable.
So the parades, dubloons, balls and parties make Mardi Gras the most festive time of the whole year in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Data entry tech comment:
Motifs added by TRD
Where learned: LOUISIANA ; New Orleans
Keyword(s): Beads ; Celebration ; CUSTOM ; Float ; Mardi Gras ; New Orleans ; Parade ; PARTY ; Trinkets
| Subject headings: | CUSTOM FESTIVAL -- Spring Planting |
Belief: Animal
Miners Belief:
Coal miners never kill a rat in the mines because they can save a miners' life. Rats can sense if a mine is in danger of caving in. If there is any danger, the rats squeal and run in circles and the miners try to get out in time. If the cave in comes in an hour, or if tit takes three days, the rats will still give a warning, so the miners say.
Data entry tech comment:
Motifs added by TRD
James Callow comment:
Original BN [P800] crossed out. Replaced with current classification.
Where learned: HOME ; MICHIGAN ; DETROIT
Keyword(s): ; ANIMAL ; Cave ; Miners ; OMEN ; Rats ; RODENT ; Signal ; WARNING
| Subject headings: | BELIEF -- Mammal |
Language
Tongue Twister:
Betty Botter bought some butter. But, she said, the butters bitter: If I put it in my batter, it will make my batter bitter. But a bit of better butter will make my batter better. So she bought a bit of butter and put it in her batter and it made her batter worse.
Data entry tech comment:
Motifs added by TRD
Keyword(s): ALLITERATION ; Baking ; Batter ; Butter ; Language ; RHYME ; TONGUE TWISTER
| Subject headings: | Ballad Song Dance Game Music Verse -- Speech Speech |
Language
Tongue Twister:
Of all the saw I ever saw saw, I never saw a saw saw like that saw saws.
Data entry tech comment:
Motifs added by TRD
James Callow comment:
Original BN [C700] crossed out. Replaced with current classification.
Something similar in Prose already typed.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; DETROIT ;
Keyword(s): ALLITERATION ; GAME ; Language ; RHYME ; TONGUE TWISTER
| Subject headings: | Ballad Song Dance Game Music Verse -- Speech Speech |
Language
Tongue Twister:
Rush the washing Russell,
Rush the washing Russell.
Data entry tech comment:
Motifs added by TRD
James Callow comment:
A question mark is written on the card.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; DETROIT ;
Keyword(s): ALLITERATION ; GAME ; Language ; RHYME ; TONGUE TWISTER
| Subject headings: | -- .C700, S570 |
Language
Tongue Twister:
A canner can can all the things that he can, but a canner can't can a can can he?
Data entry tech comment:
Motifs added by TRD
James Callow comment:
Sense??
Keyword(s): ALLITERATION ; GAMES ; Language ; RHYME ; TONGUE TWISTER
| Subject headings: | SPEECH -- Formula |
Language
Tongue Twister:
Betty Botta bought some butter. "But," she said, "this butter's bitter. If I put it in my batter, it will make my batter bitter. But a bit o' better butter will but make my batter better." So she bought a bit o' butter, better than the bitter butter, made her bitter batter better. So 'twas better Betty Botta bought a bit o' better butter.
Data entry tech comment:
Motifs added by TRD
James Callow comment:
Something similar (but shorter) already typed as prose.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; REDFORD
Keyword(s): ALLITERATION ; Baking ; Batter ; Butter ; COOKING ; Dearborn Heights ; GAME ; Language ; MICHIGAN ; Prose ; PUZZLE ; Redford ; TONGUE TWISTER ; VERSE
James Callow Keyword(s): Prose ; TONGUE TWISTER ; VERSE
| Subject headings: | Ballad Song Dance Game Music Verse -- Speech Speech |
Maxim
All that Glitters is not gold.
Data entry tech comment:
Motifs added by TRD
James Callow comment:
Original BN [O700, V3] crossed out. Replaced with current classification.
Dup. of WPP
Keyword(s): ALLITERATION ; COLOR ; Gold ; Language ; Maxim ; METAPHOR ; PROVERB
| Subject headings: | PROVERB -- Proverbial Metaphor |
Belief: Weather
April showers bring May flowers.
Submitter comment:
Weather Belief (proverb)
From her mother as child
Data entry tech comment:
Motifs added by TRD
James Callow comment:
The word APRIL is underlined.
Dup. of WPP
Keyword(s): ALLITERATION ; April ; FLOWERS ; May ; Month ; NATURE ; PREDICTING WEATHER ; PREDICTION ; Rain ; RHYME ; Sky ; TIME ; WEATHER
James Callow Keyword(s): ALLITERATION ; May ; RHYME
| Subject headings: | Ballad Song Dance Game Music Verse -- Proverb Proverb |
Proverb
As dead as a doornail.
Submitter comment:
The number 335 is typed in the upper right hand corner.
Data entry tech comment:
Motifs added by TRD
James Callow comment:
Original BN [V600] crossed out and replaced with current classifications.
The word As is underlined in red the first time it appears.
Dup of WPP.
The word (informant) has been written in red next to the name of Sophie Drouillard.
Keyword(s): ALLITERATION ; Dead ; Doornail ; SIMILE
| Subject headings: | PROVERB -- Proverbial Phrase PROVERB -- Proverbial Comparison |
Proverb
Dead as a doornail
Data entry tech comment:
Motifs added by TRD
James Callow comment:
Located in pile marked Duplicates and Other Rejects.
Keyword(s): ALLITERATION ; Dead ; Doornail ; SIMILE
| Subject headings: | PROVERB -- Proverbial Phrase |
Retort
That'll be a cold day in hell.
Data entry tech comment:
Motifs added by TRD
James Callow comment:
The word retort is circled, and the question [To What?] is written next to it.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; DETROIT
Keyword(s): Cold ; COMEBACK ; HELL ; INSULT ; RETORT ; SARCASM ; TEMPERATURE ; Wisecrack
| Subject headings: | SPEECH -- Formula |
Proverb
Don't look a gift horse in the mouth.
Submitter comment:
Informant heard this in Detroit, MI
Data entry tech comment:
Motifs added by TRD
James Callow comment:
The question [Proves what?] is written next to the collector comment.
Original BN [S570] crossed out. Replaced with current classifications.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; FERNDALE
Keyword(s): Appreciation ; COMEBACK ; Generous ; GIFT ; Grateful ; Greedy ; HORSE ; Mouth ; PROVERB ; RETORT ; SARCASM ; TEETH ; Wisecrack
| Subject headings: | SPEECH -- Formula PROVERB -- Proverbial Metaphor |
Proverb
Lepszy wrobel w garsci, niz go tab na dachu.
Better to have a sparrow in the hand than a pigeon on the roof.
Data entry tech comment:
Motifs added by TRD
Where learned: HOME ;
James Callow Keyword(s): Aphorism ; Apothegm ; BIRD ; ETHNIC ; Grateful ; Hand ; Maxim ; Pigeon ; POLISH ; PROVERB ; Roof ; Sparrow ; VERSE
| Subject headings: | PROVERB -- Proverbial Apothegm Maxim |
Proverb
Beggars can't be choosers.
Submitter comment:
Heard it at home.
Data entry tech comment:
Motifs added by TRD
James Callow comment:
Original BN [V600] crossed out. Replaced wtih current classification.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; UNIVERSITY OF DETROIT ; DETROIT ;
Keyword(s): Aphorism ; Apothegm ; Beg ; Beggar ; Choose ; Chooser ; Grateful ; Maxim ; Picky ; PROVERB ; Spoiled ; VERSE
| Subject headings: | PROVERB -- Proverbial Apothegm Maxim |
Proverb
Beggars can't be choosy.
Submitter comment:
From - Uncertain
Data entry tech comment:
Motifs added by TRD
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; GROSSE POINTE
Keyword(s): Aphorism ; Apothegm ; Beg ; Beggar ; CHARITY ; Choose ; Grateful ; Humble ; Maxim ; PROVERB ; VERSE
| Subject headings: | PROVERB -- Proverbial Metaphor |
Language: Tongue Twister
Sally Sawl, sitting on her slippery sled, saw a seesaw in some scratchy sand Saturday standing by a stop sign.
Data entry tech comment:
Motifs added by TRD
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; DETROIT
Keyword(s): ALLITERATION ; GAME ; Language ; RHYME ; tongue-twister ; VERSE
| Subject headings: | SPEECH -- Formula |
Language: Tongue Twister
Wij willen Willem weg wouw Willem Wijzer worden wij willen Willem weer.
Submitter comment:
English translation: We want to do away with William, but if William wises up, we want William back again.
My father learned it when he was young and living in Belgium.
Data entry tech comment:
Motifs added by TRD
James Callow comment:
Not a good tongue-twister after being translated into English.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; DETROIT
Keyword(s): ALLITERATION ; Belgium ; ETHNIC ; Language ; tongue-twister
| Subject headings: | SPEECH -- Formula |