The James T. Callow Folklore Archive

MY GREAT GREAT GRANDFATHER, SHAHEEN, WAS A GIANT OF A
MAN. HE WAS THE WONDER OF THE AREA. HE WORKED AT A
MILL, WHICH USED GREAT MILL STONES WHICH WERE CARRIED
BY CAMELS BECAUSE MULES WEREN'T STRONG ENOUGH. AT
CHURCH, THE PRIEST ASKED VILLAGERS TO HELP SHAHEEN MOVE
HIS MILLSTONES INTO PLACE ON THE WALL. WHEN THEY GOT
TO THE MILL, THEY FOUND SHAHEEN HAD ALREADY PUT THE
GREAT STONES IN PLACE AND WAS ALREADY WORKING.
ONCE SHAHEEN FELL INTO THE STREAM BY THE MILL.
NORMALLY, HE COULD SWIM OUT, BUT THE STREAM WAS SWOLLEN
BY THE SPRING THAW. ALSO, HIS LARGE PANTS AND SHOES
DRAGGED HIM TO THE BOTTOM. THE WATER CARRIED HIM 4 MILES
DOWNSTREAM WHERE HE CAUGHT HOLD OF A ROCK IN THE MIDDLE
OF THE STREAM. HE CALLED SO LOUD THAT THE MEN AT THE MILL
FOUR MILES AWAY HEARD HIM AND GOT HELP. HE WAS SO BIG
ONLY HIS STRONG SON COULD CARRY HIM BACK TO THE MILL.
ONCE SHAHEEN WOKE UP AND STARTED TO PUT HIS SHOES ON
WHEN SOMETHING STARTED WIGGLING INSIDE. HE TURNED HIS
SHOES UPSIDE DOWN AND THREE CATS CAME OUT. HIE SHOES
WERE SO BIG THAT HIS GRANDAUGHTER USED TO PLAY "HOUSE"
IN THEM.
SHAHEEN FINALLY DIED AT THE AGE OF 105, A VERY OLD AGE
IN LEBANON IN THOSE DAYS. HE WAS SOUND OF MIND, BUT
FAILED BY HIS GREAT BODY.
HE ASKED TO BE BURIED WITH HIS FATHER, WHO HAD DIED A
LONG TIME BEFORE. YEARS LATER THEY UNEARTHED HIS
BONES TO BE PUT IN HIS OWN GRAVE. HIS BONES PROVED TO
BE 7-1/2 FEET TALL AS MANY PEOPLE WHO SAW THEM ATTESTED.
FROM HIS HIP BONE TO HIS FEET, HE WAS ALMOST AS TALL AS
A NORMAL MAN.

Data entry tech comment:

Updated by TRD

Where learned: MICHIGAN ; DETROIT ; LEBANON

Keyword(s): FAMILY ; Giant ; Legend

Date learned: 00-00-1967

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MY GREAT GREAT GRANDFATHER, SHAHEEN, WAS A GIANT OF A
MAN. HE WAS THE WONDER OF THE AREA. HE WORKED AT A
MILL, WHICH USED GREAT MILL STONES WHICH WERE CARRIED
BY CAMELS BECAUSE MULES WEREN'T STRONG ENOUGH. AT
CHURCH, THE PRIEST ASKED VILLAGERS TO HELP SHAHEEN MOVE
HIS MILLSTONES INTO PLACE ON THE WALL. WHEN THEY GOT
TO THE MILL, THEY FOUND SHAHEEN HAD ALREADY PUT THE
GREAT STONES IN PLACE AND WAS ALREADY WORKING.
ONCE SHAHEEN FELL INTO THE STREAM BY THE MILL.
NORMALLY, HE COULD SWIM OUT, BUT THE STREAM WAS SWOLLEN
BY THE SPRING THAW. ALSO, HIS LARGE PANTS AND SHOES
DRAGGED HIM TO THE BOTTOM. THE WATER CARRIED HIM 4 MILES
DOWNSTREAM WHERE HE CAUGHT HOLD OF A ROCK IN THE MIDDLE
OF THE STREAM. HE CALLED SO LOUD THAT THE MEN AT THE MILL
FOUR MILES AWAY HEARD HIM AND GOT HELP. HE WAS SO BIG
ONLY HIS STRONG SON COULD CARRY HIM BACK TO THE MILL.
ONCE SHAHEEN WOKE UP AND STARTED TO PUT HIS SHOES ON
WHEN SOMETHING STARTED WIGGLING INSIDE. HE TURNED HIS
SHOES UPSIDE DOWN AND THREE CATS CAME OUT. HIE SHOES
WERE SO BIG THAT HIS GRANDAUGHTER USED TO PLAY "HOUSE"
IN THEM.
SHAHEEN FINALLY DIED AT THE AGE OF 105, A VERY OLD AGE
IN LEBANON IN THOSE DAYS. HE WAS SOUND OF MIND, BUT
FAILED BY HIS GREAT BODY.
HE ASKED TO BE BURIED WITH HIS FATHER, WHO HAD DIED A
LONG TIME BEFORE. YEARS LATER THEY UNEARTHED HIS
BONES TO BE PUT IN HIS OWN GRAVE. HIS BONES PROVED TO
BE 7-1/2 FEET TALL AS MANY PEOPLE WHO SAW THEM ATTESTED.
FROM HIS HIP BONE TO HIS FEET, HE WAS ALMOST AS TALL AS
A NORMAL MAN.

Data entry tech comment:

Updated by TRD

Where learned: MICHIGAN ; DETROIT ; LEBANON

Keyword(s): FAMILY ; Giant ; Legend ; Lore

Date learned: 00-00-1967

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NUMBER OF FOGS IN AUGUST (EQUALS) THE NUMBER OF SNOWS IN
WINTER.

Submitter comment: TOLD TO ME BY DR. MORREL, BIOLOGY TEACHER AT PEABODY

Where learned: BUFFALO ; TENNESSEE ; LEBANON ; NEW YORK

Date learned: NOT GIVEN

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WEATHER PREDICTION--THICKNESS OF OUTSIDE SKIN OF ONION.

Submitter comment: THIS BELIEF IS STILL HELD. PEOPLE WILL SEND IN THEIR

Where learned: BUFFALO ; TENNESSEE ; LEBANON ; NEW YORK

Date learned: NOT GIVEN

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PROVERBIAL MAXIM

IF YOU CAN'T SAY SOMETHING NICE, DON'T SAY ANYTHING AT ALL.

Submitter comment: A SAYING THAT THE INFORMANT WOULD REPEAT WHEN ADMONISHING
HER CHILDREN ABOUT BEING POLITE AND KIND TO OTHER PEOPLE.
THE INFORMANT LEARNED IT FROM HER MOTHER, WHEN GROWING UP
IN NELSON COUNTY, NEAR BARDSTOWN, KENTUCKY ABOUT 1920.

Where learned: TENNESSEE ; LEBANON

Date learned: NOT GIVEN

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COMPARISON

(IT'LL) TWILL NEVER BE NOTICED ON A GALLOPING HORSE.

Submitter comment: THIS WAS SAID TO SOMEONE WHO IS WORRYING ABOUT A MINOR
DETAIL OF HIS (OR HER) DRESS, TO ENCOURAGE THEM NOT TO
WORRY ABOUT SOMETHING THAT DOESN'T MATTER. IT IS ALSO
SAID TO ENCOURAGE THEM TO HURRY UP AND GET READY TO GO,
THAT THE SMALL DETAIL SHOULDN'T MAKE HIM OR HER SO
ANXIOUS. THIS WAS SAID MANY TIMES BY THE MOTHER AND
AUNTS OF THE INFORMANT WHEN GROWING UP IN LOUISVILLE,
KENTUCKY 1930-1950, AND THEY STILL SAY IT.

Where learned: KENTUCKY ; TENNESSEE ; LEBANON ; LOUISVILLE

Date learned: NOT GIVEN

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PROVERBIAL COMPARISON

TIGHTER THAN DICK'S HATBAND.

Submitter comment: SAID BY MR. FRED MAGGART OF LEBANON, TENNESSEE IN FALL 1970
TO DESCRIBE THE TIGHT MONEY SITUATION. MR. MAGGART WAS
PRESIDENT OF THE LEBANON BANK, LEBANON, TENNESSEE. HE DID
NOT KNOW ANYMORE ABOUT THE EXPRESSION EXCEPT HE HAD HEARD
AND USED IT ALL HIS LIFE.

Where learned: TENNESSEE ; LEBANON

Date learned: 09-00-1970

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PROVERBIAL PHRASE

WASTE NOT, WANT NOT.

Submitter comment: THIS EXPRESSION WAS USED WHEN THE FAMILY WAS CLEANING UP
DEBRIS FROM A LARGE CEDAR TREE THAT FELL DURING A STORM.
THE FATHER WAS CUTTING OFF THE BRANCHES WITH A POWER SAW,
AND THEN CUTTING UP THE BRANCH FOR FIREWOOD. THE CHILDREN
WERE TAKING THE SMALL BRANCHES TO THE FIRE TO BURN THEM.
A QUESTION AROSE AS TO WHAT SIZE WAS BIG ENOUGH TO SAVE;
THE MOTHER ADMONISHED THE DAUGHTER NOT TO BURN THE BRANCH,
THAT IT WAS TOO BIG AND COULD BE USED. THE DAUGHTER LOOKED
AROUND AT ALL THE BRANCHES AND LIMBS THAT FILLED THE SIDE
YARD AND SAID, "WE'VE GOT PLENTY," AND THE MOTHER REPLIED,
"WASTE NOT, WANT NOT." APRIL 1972--MY FAMILY.

Where learned: TENNESSEE ; LEBANON

Keyword(s): ELLIPSIS

Date learned: 04-00-1972

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PROVERBIAL METAPHOR: DON'T DAWDLE

SHIT OR GET OFF THE POT.

Submitter comment: THIS WAS SAID BY A MAN WHO WAS TRYING TO GET SOMEONE ELSE TO MAKE
UP HIS MIND ABOUT WHETHER OR NOT TO GO DOWNTOWN. OVERHEARD IN
LEBANON, TENNESSEE, SAID BY TWO MEN STANDING ON SIDEWALK IN FRONT
OF A GROCERY STORE. WHEN THEY REALIZED THEY HAD BEEN HEARD BY
ME, THEY LOOKED VERY EMBARRASSED AND LAUGHED SHEEPISHLY. THEY
LOOKED 45-50 AGE GROUP.

Where learned: TENNESSEE ; LEBANON

Date learned: 04-00-1972

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PROVERBIAL METAPHOR

IF YOU DON'T DO IT RIGHT, YOU'LL HAVE TO LICK YOUR CALF OVER.

Submitter comment: THE INFORMANT SAID THAT HE HAS HEARD HIS MOTHER SAY THIS TO HIM
MANY TIMES WHEN HE WAS DOING SOME SMALL JOB. SHE MEANT THAT IF
HE DIDN'T DO IT RIGHT THE FIRST TIME, HE WOULD HAVE TO DO IT
OVER AGAIN. HIS MOTHER, VELMA HENLEY, WAS RAISED IN DEKALB
COUNTY, TENNESSEE. SHE USED THIS EXPRESSION 1930 UP TO THE
PRESENT TIME 1972.

Where learned: TENNESSEE ; LEBANON ; DEKALB COUNTY

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PROVERBIAL METAPHOR: LIMITED COMMITMENT

THE LORD WILLING AND THE CREEK DON'T RISE.

Submitter comment: THIS EXPRESSION IS SAID WHEN SOMEONE ASKS YOU IF YOU WILL BE AT A
CERTAIN PLACE IN THE IMMEDIATE FUTURE. YOU REPLY WITH THIS
EXPRESSION TO SHOW THAT YOU WILL BE THERE IF IT IS IN YOUR POWER
TO ACCOMPLISH THIS, BUT THAT YOU SHOULD REMEMBER THAT EVERYTHING
IS NOT IN YOUR HANDS TO DO. THE INFORMANT HAS HEARD THIS ALL OF
HIS LIFE, WHILE GROWING UP IN PRESTONSBURG, KENTUCKY 1928-1952,
AND IN LEBANON, TENNESSEE DURING THE PAST FOUR YEARS (1972).

Where learned: KENTUCKY ; TENNESSEE ; LEBANON ; PRESTONSBURG

Keyword(s): LIMITS

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PROVERBIAL METAPHOR: SPEED

FASTER THAN YOU CAN SAY "JACK ROBINSON."

Submitter comment: EXPRESSION I HAVE HEARD ALL MY LIFE, BUT NOT SO MUCH NOW FROM
YOUNGER PEOPLE. IT MEANT SOMETHING THAT HAPPENED VERY QUICKLY,
OR LASTED ONLY A VERY SHORT TIME.

Where learned: TENNESSEE ; LEBANON

Keyword(s): SPEED

Date learned: 00-00-1972

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