Dr. James T. Callow publications
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The James T. Callow Folklore Archive
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The first snowfall at the University of Notre Dame, calls
for the annual snowball fight between the North Quad dorms
and the South Quad dorms.
Where learned: INDIANA ; University of Notre Dame ; South Bend
| Subject headings: | CUSTOM FESTIVAL -- School |
Date learned: 08-00-1986
At the University of Notre Dame, the Wednesday before the
first home football game, there is a panty raid at the all
girl college, St. Mary's, which is across from Notre Dame's
campus.
Where learned: INDIANA ; University of Notre Dame ; South Bend
| Subject headings: | CUSTOM FESTIVAL -- School |
Date learned: 08-00-1986
Each year it is a known tradition that all freshmen must
be "laked" on their birthday. Laking includes a group of
around twenty guys that first smear shaving cream on the
birthday boy. He is then led down to St. Mary's Lake
where he receives his birthday swim. The tradition ends
with a goodnight song to the girls in Lewis Hall, and a
mass mooning from all the guys involved in the laking
event.
Where learned: INDIANA ; University of Notre Dame ; South Bend
| Subject headings: | CUSTOM FESTIVAL -- School CUSTOM FESTIVAL -- Private birthday or anniversary |
MATRIMONY (CLASSIFIER'S TITLE)
WHEN FAR AWAY BY LOVE YOU ARE CARRIED,/ AND TO SOME LITTLE FELLER
MARRIED,/ REMEMBER ME FOR FRIENDSHIP SAKE,/ AND SEND ME A SLICE OF
WEDDING CAKE. LORRETTA MOSTER
Submitter comment:
RECOPIED FROM AN OLDER AUTOGRAPH BOOK DATING AROUND 1850.
THE SELECTIONS FROM THE OLDER BOOK WERE ALSO COLLECTED IN INDIANA.
Where learned: AUTOGRAPH BOOK ; INDIANA ; BROOKVILLE
Keyword(s): FEMININE RHYME ; QUATRAIN LOVE RHYME ; RHYME: AABB
| Subject headings: | Ballad Song Dance Game Music Verse -- Autograph Verse Matrimony |
Date learned: 08-09-1960
MATRIMONY (CLASSIFIER'S TITLE)
WHEN FAR AWAY BY LOVE YOU ARE CARRIED,/ AND TO SOME LITTLE FELLER
MARRIED,/ REMEMBER ME FOR FRIENDSHIP SAKE,/ AND SEND ME A SLICE OF
WEDDING CAKE. LORRETTA MOSTER
Submitter comment:
RECOPIED FROM AN OLDER AUTOGRAPH BOOK DATING AROUND 1850.
THE SELECTIONS FROM THE OLDER BOOK WERE ALSO COLLECTED IN INDIANA.
Where learned: AUTOGRAPH BOOK ; INDIANA ; BROOKVILLE
Keyword(s): FEMININE RHYME ; QUATRAIN LOVE RHYME ; RHYME: AABB
| Subject headings: | Ballad Song Dance Game Music Verse -- Autograph Verse Matrimony |
Date learned: 08-09-1960
CHARIVARI
IN UPPER MICHIGAN IT WAS CUSTOMARY FOR BOYS UNDER
SIXTEEN TO FOLLOW A WEDDING PARTY HOME AND THERE
MAKE NOISE WITH THEIR VOICES, BELLS OR IRON
BANDS. THE BOYS CONTINUED THEIR NOISEMAKING
TIL THEY WERE PAID BY THE NEWLYWEDS.
Submitter comment:
THIS CUSTOM WAS LIKEWISE CUSTOMARY IN INDIANA.
GROWN MEN, HOWEVER, WERE THE NOISEMAKERS.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; DETROIT ; INDIANA ; UPPER MICHIGAN
Keyword(s): SHIVAREE CHIVAREE
| Subject headings: | CUSTOM FESTIVAL -- Marriage F545.1341 |
Date learned: NOT GIVEN
ANDYOVER
A POPULAR GAME IN INDIANA, TWENTY YEARS AGO, WAS ANDYOVER.
TWO PEOPLE WOULD STAND ON OPPOSITE SIDES OF A GARAGE
OR BARN AND THROW A BALL OVER THE TOP OF A BUILDING
TO THE PERSON ON THE OTHER SIDE, LETTING HIM KNOW
THE BALL WAS ON ITS WAY BY YELLING "ANDYOVER."
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; DETROIT ; INDIANA
| Subject headings: | Ballad Song Dance Game Music Verse -- Special Object or Implement |
Date learned: 10-10-1971 ; 00-00-1951
REMEDY- PLANT
TO HEAL BURNS, YOU POUND OR PRESS THE JUICE OF A MALE FERN
AND SPREAD THIS ON A BURN.
Submitter comment: LEARNED THIS FROM YOUTH.
Where learned: INDIANA ; GREENFIELD
Keyword(s): FERN, HEALING PROPERTIES
| Subject headings: | BELIEF -- Plant |
Date learned: 11-23-1967
Proverb
A watched pot never boils.
Submitter comment:
Learned from her mother
Data entry tech comment:
Motifs added by TRD
James Callow comment:
Located in pile marked Duplicates and Other Rejects
Where learned: INDIANA ; South Bend
Keyword(s): Boil ; PATIENCE ; Pot ; Watch ; WATER
| Subject headings: | PROVERB -- Proverbial Metaphor |
Proverb
Too many cooks spoil the stew (or broth)
Submitter comment:
Learned from her mother
Data entry tech comment:
Motifs added by TRD
James Callow comment:
Located in pile marked Duplicates and Other Rejects.
Where learned: INDIANA ; South Bend
Keyword(s): Broth ; Chef ; Cooks ; Spoil ; Stew
| Subject headings: | PROVERB -- Proverbial Metaphor |
PROVERBIAL METAPHOR
AN HONEST HAND GOES A LONG WAY.
Submitter comment: (LEARNED FROM HER MOTHER).
Where learned: INDIANA ; VEEDERSBURG
Keyword(s): INTERNAL RHYME
| Subject headings: | PROVERB -- Proverbial Metaphor |
Date learned: 11-23-1967
Proverb
A whistling wife and a crowing hen never come to a good end.
Submitter comment:
Learned from youth.
Data entry tech comment:
Motifs added by TRD
Where learned: INDIANA ; Hudson Lake
Keyword(s): Aphorism ; Apothegm ; Crowing ; FATE ; Hen ; Maxim ; PROVERB ; VERSE ; Whistle ; Wife
| Subject headings: | Ballad Song Dance Game Music Verse -- Proverb PROVERB -- Blason Populaire |
STEP ON A CRACK AND BREAK YOUR MOTHER'S BACK
Submitter comment: I LEARNED THIS CURSE AS A SMALL CHILD IN INDIANA
Where learned: INDIANA
| Subject headings: | BELIEF -- Curse BELIEF -- Means of Causing or Avoiding Illness |
WHITE IS TRADITIONALLY THE COLOR OF A WEDDING GOWN SINCE THIS
COLOR SYMBOLIZES VIRGINITY.
MY MOTHER EXPLAINED THIS TRADITIONAL BELIEF TO ME WHEN, AS
A CHILD, I PROPOSED THE IDEA OF COLORED DECORATIONS TO
ENHANCE THE BEAUTY OF DRESSES THAT TO ME SEEMED BLAND.
I WAS LIVING IN INDIANA AT THE TIME.
Where learned: INDIANA
| Subject headings: | BELIEF -- Marriage BELIEF -- Color |
Date learned: 06-07-1972
CUSTOM FOR CHOOSING TEAMS
IN ELECTING SOMEONE FOR SOMETHING, OR FOR CHOOSING UP TEAMS, WE
USED TO EMPLOY A BASEBALL BAT. THE TWO CAPTAINS WOULD STAND
FACING EACH OTHER AND A THIRD PARTY WOULD TOSS THE BAT STRAIGHT
UP INTO THE AIR. ONE OF THE TWO CAPTAINS WOULD TRY TO CATCH IT
NEAR THE BOTTOM BY GRABBING IT WITH HIS HAND. THE OTHER PERSON
WOULD THEN WRAP HIS HAND AROUND THE BAT DIRECTLY ABOVE THE FIRST
PERSON'S. THIS WOULD CONTINUE UNTIL THERE WAS NO MORE ROOM AT THE
TOP OF THE BAT. WHEN THIS STAGE WAS REACHED THEN THE PERSON WHOSE
HAND WAS NEAREST TO THE TOP WAS THE WINNER. SEVERAL VARIATIONS
WERE ALLOWED. ONE WAS TO REST YOUR ELBOW ON THE FIRST PERSON'S
HAND AND THEN WRAP YOUR HAND AROUND THE BAT. ANOTHER WAS TO PLACE
ONLY TWO FINGERS AROUND THE BAT (BUT THE FINGERS MUST BE ABLE TO
TOUCH THE THUMB IN THIS CASE). FINALLY YOU COULD DO "EAGLE'S
CLAWS," THAT IS, WRAP YOUR FINGERS OVER THE KNOB OF THE BAT IN
THE MANNER OF A BIRD'S CLAWS. BUT IT YOU DID THIS YOU HAD TO
SUBSEQUENTLY THROW THE BAT FARTHER THAN TEN FEET BEHIND YOURSELF
OR YOU LOST. THESE MANEUVERS WERE USED TO SKILLFULLY TRY TO
SHORTEN OR LENGTHEN DISTANCES ON THE BAT SO YOU WOULD WIN.
Submitter comment:
I LEARNED THIS FROM PLAYMATES IN FORT WAYNE, INDIANA, BUT ALSO
USED IT HERE IN DETROIT, ESPECIALLY WHEN CHOOSING TEAMS FOR
SOME GAME THAT REQUIRED A BAT.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; DETROIT ; INDIANA ; FORT WAYNE
| Subject headings: | 686 First / Once / One / Newness Ballad Song Dance Game Music Verse -- Game Pastime BELIEF -- Entertainment Diversion |
Date learned: 12-00-1963
IT IS BAD LUCK TO WEAR AN OPAL IN JEWELRY IF IT IS NOT YOUR
BIRTHSTONE.
Submitter comment: I HAVE AN OPAL RING AND IT IS NOT MY BIRTHSTONE. I HAVE BEEN
Where learned: ALABAMA ; INDIANA ; TENNESSEE ; FLORIDA ; NASHVILLE
| Subject headings: | BELIEF -- Bad luck Jewelry (gems, rings, etc.) |
Date learned: 06-30-1970
RETORT
WHAT DO YOU THINK I AM - A YO-YO?
Submitter comment: (SAID) WHEN HE'S BEING TAKEN ADVANTAGE OF, SAYS COLLECTOR.
Where learned: INDIANA ; FORT WAYNE
| Subject headings: | SPEECH -- Formula |
Date learned: 04-16-1971
KICK THE CAN
THIS GAME WAS PLAYED BY BOTH BOYS AND GIRLS AND
USUALLY AT NIGHT. A LARGE TIN CAN WAS PLACED ON THE
GROUND NEAR SOME LIGHTED AREA, SUCH AS A PORCH. ONE
PERSON WAS CHOSEN TO BE "IT." HE HAD TO CLOSE HIS
EYES AND COUNT TO A HUNDRED WHILE EVERYONE ELSE
RAN TO SEEK A HIDING PLACE. HIS COUNTING FINISHED,
THE "IT" PERSON WOULD TRY TO FIND EVERYBODY'S HIDING
PLACE. IF HE DISCOVERED YOU HE WOULD HAVE TO RUN TO
THE CAN AND WITH HIS FOOT ON IT, CALL OUT YOUR NAME
AND WHERE YOU WERE HIDING. THUS CAUGHT, THE PERSON
WOULD HAVE TO COME AND STAND IN AN AREA NEAR THE CAN
AND WAS A CAPTIVE. AT ANY TIME, A PERSON COULD RELEASE
ALL THE CAPTIVES BY RUNNING TO THE CAN, GIVING IT A
SWIFT KICK, AND YELLING "ALLE, ALLE, OXINFREE." OF
COURSE, IF THE "IT" PERSON SAW YOU AND BEAT YOU TO THE
CAN AND SAID YOUR NAME, THEN YOU TOO BECAME A CAPTIVE.
SHOULD EVERYONE BE RELEASED, THEN THE "IT" PERSON
WOULD HAVE TO RETRIEVE THE CAN, REPLACE IT, COUNT TO
TEN, AND THEN BEGIN RESEARCHING. THE GAME ENDED
WHEN EVERYONE WAS CAUGHT. THEN A NEW "IT" WOULD BE
CHOSEN. DUE TO THE DIFFICULTY, SOMETIMES TWO "ITS"
WERE CHOSEN.
Submitter comment:
WE PLAYED THIS GAME FREQUENTLY AND EVEN THE OLDER
TEENAGERS ENJOYED IT.
Where learned: INDIANA ; FORT WAYNE
| Subject headings: | Ballad Song Dance Game Music Verse -- Special Object or Implement Special Object or Implement |
Date learned: 00001949 CA.
FUDGE
THIS GAME WAS PLAYED WITH ANY TYPE OF BALL AND SOME
TYPE OF ROOF. A LINE WOULD BE DRAWN ON THE GROUND
PERHAPS FIFTEEN (FEET?) FROM THE ROOF. EVERYBODY
HAD TO STAND BEHIND THIS LINE. THEN ONE PERSON WOULD
START THE GAME BY TOSSING THE BALL ON THE ROOF AND
CALLING OUT A NUMBER. EACH PLAYER WAS DESIGNATED
A NUMBER INSTEAD OF HIS NAME TO CONFUSE HIM. WHEN
SOMEONE ELSE CALLED YOUR NUMBER, YOU HAD TO RUN UP
AND CATCH THE BALL ROLLING OFF OR BOUNCING OFF THE
ROOF BEFORE IT STRUCK THE GROUND. AS SOON AS YOU
DID, THEN YOU THREW IT UP ONTO THE ROOF AND CALLED
SOMEONE'S NUMBER. IF YOUR NUMBER WAS CALLED AND
YOU MISSED THE BALL, THEN YOU RECEIVED A LETTER,
STARTING WITH F. WHEN YOU HAD MISSED FIVE TIMES,
OR HAD SPELLED OUT THE WORD FUDGE, THEN YOU WERE
OUT OF THE GAME. THE LAST ONE LEFT WAS THE WINNER.
EXACTLY THE SAME GAME WAS SOMETIMES CALLED RAIN ON
THE ROOF, IN WHICH YOU WERE ALLOWED A CERTAIN NUMBER
OF MISSES, SUCH AS THREE.
Submitter comment:
I LEARNED TO PLAY THIS FROM THE OLDER NEIGHBORHOOD
CHILDREN IN FORT WAYNE.
Where learned: INDIANA ; FORT WAYNE
| Subject headings: | Ballad Song Dance Game Music Verse -- Special Object or Implement Special Object or Implement |
Date learned: 00-00-1949
MUMBLETY-PEG
THIS GAME REQUIRES TWO OR MORE PEOPLE AND A JACKKNIFE. A SMALL TWIG IS CUT FROM A TREE AND WHITTLED INTO A PEG ABOUT THREE INCHES LONG. IT IS THEN INSERTED A SHORT WAYS INTO THE GROUND. THE PLAYERS KNEEL IN A CIRCLE AROUND THE PEG. ONE PLAYER THROWS THE JACKKNIFE IN ANY MANNER HE WISHES (MAKING IT FLIP TWICE, FLIPPING IT FROM HIS ELBOW, NOSE, OR FROM EACH OF HIS FINGERS SUCCESSIVELY). IF THE KNIFE STICKS SO THAT TWO FINGERS CAN BE INSERTED BETWEEN THE GROUND AND THE HANDLE, IT IS CONSIDERED A LEGAL THROW. THEN EACH OF THE OTHER PLAYERS HAS TO EXACTLY DUPLICATE THE MANNER IN WHICH THE ORIGINAL PLAYER FLIPPED THE KNIFE. AS SOON AS YOU DUPLICATE THE STUNT WITH A LEGAL THROW, YOU ARE CONSIDERED EXEMPT FROM THE PENALTY THAT WILL FOLLOW. YOU KEEP TOSSING UNTIL THERE IS ONLY ONE PERSON LEFT. HE THEN GETS A "FIREMAN'S CHANCE" OR LAST ATTEMPT. IF HE SUCCEEDS THEN THE KNIFE CONTINUES AROUND UNTIL ONE PERSON AGAIN SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETES A STUNT WHICH EVERYONE HAS TO MATCH. SHOULD THE PERSON FAIL ON HIS "FIREMAN'S CHANCE" HE MUST PAY THE PENALTY. THE KNIFE IS PASSED AROUND THE RING OF PARTICIPANTS WITH THE BLADE OPEN. EACH PERSON HOLDS THE KNIFE BY THE FLAT OF THE BLADE AND STRIKES THE PEG ONCE, DRIVING IT INTO THE GROUND. THEN THE KNIFE IS PASSED AROUND AGAIN. THIS TIME WITH THE BLADE CLOSED. EACH PERSON GRIPS THE KNIFE IN HIS FIST AND BRINGS THE BU; OF IT DOWN ON THE PEG, DRIVING IT FURTHER
INTO THE GROUND. EACH PERSON ONLY GETS ONE TRY
THOUGH. IF YOU MISS THE NARROW PEG, YOU DON'T GET TO
TRY AGAIN. THIS IS CALLED "SPIKING." NOW THE PEG
IS EITHER VERY CLOSE TO THE GROUND OR EVEN BURIED IN
IT. THE PERSON WHO LOST MUST GET DOWN ON HIS HANDS
AND KNEES AND EXTRACT THE PEG FROM THE GROUND WITH
HIS TEETH, OFTEN A VERY MESSY PROCESS.
Submitter comment:
I LEARNED THIS FROM THE NEIGHBORING CHILDREN IN
FORT WAYNE.
Where learned: INDIANA ; FORT WAYNE
| Subject headings: | Ballad Song Dance Game Music Verse -- Special Object or Implement |
Date learned: 00001949 CA.