The James T. Callow Folklore Archive

Mnemonic Device

Musical Mnemonic Device:

To remember the line notes on the Bass Clef Scale (G-B-D-F-A) just remember the phrase "Good Boys Do Fine Always."

Data entry tech comment:

Motifs added by TRD

Where learned: Myself

Keyword(s): MEMORY ; MNEMONIC ; Musical ; Notes ; Scale

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Mnemonic Device

Musical Mnemonic Device:

To remember the space between notes of the Treble Clef Scale (F-A-C-E), just remember the word FACE.

Data entry tech comment:

Motifs added by TRD

Where learned: Myself

Keyword(s): MEMORY ; MNEMONIC ; MUSIC ; Musical ; Notes ; Scale

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Mnemonic Device

Musical Mnemonic Device:

To remember the space the notes [sic] on the Bass Clef Scale (A-C-E-G) just remember the phrase "All Cows Eat Grass," or "All Cars Eat Gas."

Data entry tech comment:

Motifs added by TRD

Where learned: Myself

Keyword(s): MEMORY ; MNEMONIC ; MUSIC ; Musical ; Notes ; Scale

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Ethnic: Moravian

Burial Custom: Moravian:

Every Easter, headstones are brought to uniform whitenes and flowers bedeck virtually every grave of deceased Moravian members at Old Salem, North Carolina. At sunrise, approximately half a dozen bands march into the graveyard to celebrate the risen lord.

Submitter comment:

Read in National Geographic Magazine,  Dec. 1970

Data entry tech comment:

Motifs added by TRD

Where learned: Myself ; Magazine

Keyword(s): BURIAL ; CUSTOM ; Easter ; ETHNIC ; Funeral ; Moravian

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Ethnic: Moravian

Moravian Burial Custom:

Moravian cemetary headstones are kept flat to show humility; their uniform size reflects the democracy of death. Burial is not by families but by choirs - grouping by age, sex, and marital status.

Submitter comment:

Read in National Geographic Magazine, Dec. 1970

Data entry tech comment:

Motifs added by TRD

Where learned: Myself

Keyword(s): BELIEF ; BURIAL ; CUSTOM ; DEATH ; ETHNIC ; Funeral ; Moravian

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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

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Ethnic: Ukraine

Wedding Custom:

Before setting out for the church wedding ceremony, the Ukranian couple approach the two sets of parents and ask them for the parent's blessing. They then kneel before the parents, on a specially embroidered cloth "rushyk." The parents make the sign of the cross over them with a holyicon, then with a loaf of bread- touch each on the forehead. They wish them luck, health and many happy and prosperous years.

Data entry tech comment:

Motifs added by TRD

Where learned: MICHIGAN ; WARREN ; Myself

Keyword(s): BLESSING ; Cloth ; CUSTOMS ; ETHNIC ; FAMILY ; MARRIAGE ; Ukraine ; WEDDING

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Ethnic: Polish

Wedding Custom:

Offering bread and wine to newlyweds just before they leave the reception is a traditional way of wishing good luck for them. [sic]

Submitter comment:

This little ceremony was observed at several Polish weddings that I attended.

Data entry tech comment:

Motifs added by TRD

Where learned: Myself

Keyword(s): BLESSING ; CEREMONY ; CUSTOM ; ETHNIC ; FOOD ; LUCK ; MARRIAGE ; POLAND ; POLISH ; WEDDING ; Wine

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Ethnic: Ukraine

Ukrainian Wedding:

Toward the start of the wedding recpetion the mother of the bride removes the veil from the bride and places on her head a "wife's hat."

Today, the "wife's hat" is an ordinary woman's hat but formerly it was supposed to be a hat similar to the hat worn by frontier women. The hat is very plain and relatively ugly when compared to a veil. It is supposed to signify the hard work the wife must go through to satisfy her husband.

Data entry tech comment:

Motifs added by TRD

Where learned: Myself

Keyword(s): CUSTOM ; Fashion ; Hat ; HUSBAND ; MARRIAGE ; WEDDING ; Wife

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Entertainment: Game

London Bridge:

London Bridges falling down, falling down. London Bridges falling down, my fair lady. Take the key and lock her up, lock her up. Take the key and lock her up, my fair lady. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday.

Everyone says the verse, two people hold each other's hands and walk around at Monday and when Sunday comes they put someone between them, swinging their arms back and forth and throwing the person away.

Data entry tech comment:

Entered by TRD

James Callow comment:

Original BN [C730.360, C523] crossed out. Replaced with current classification

Submission card located in a pile marked C750 Jump Rope Rhyme

Where learned: MICHIGAN ; DETROIT ; Myself

Keyword(s): Bridges ; CHILDREN ; GAMES ; Jump Rope ; London ; Playground ; Rhymes

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Entertainment: Game

Method of Choosing "it" for Games:

(Rhyme is chanted by one person who, at the same time, points to the children one by one. I will indicate when the person points by partially unerlining the corresponding words.)

Ee nie meenie minie moe

Catch a rabbit by the toe

If he hollers, let him go

My mother told me to choose the very best one

O U T spells out goes you.

Submitter comment:

I learned this in my grade school days in Detroit.

Data entry tech comment:

Motifs added by TRD

James Callow comment:

Original BN [C570.560, C300.03] crossed out. Replaced with current classifications.

Where learned: Myself

Keyword(s): CHILDREN ; Entertainment ; GAME ; RHYME

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Entertainment: Games

"It":

One of several methods of determining who would be "it" in games like tag and hide and seek was found in the following rhyme:

Lincoln, Lincoln, I been thinking,

What the world have you been drinking?

It ain't bourbon, it ain't wine,

Oh My God, it's turpentine!

All the participants put one foot into a circle. One goes through this rhyme and eliminates the participants one at a time. The one who is left is it.

Submitter comment:

I often used this methid to determine who would be it in the games in Washington DC (1950's)

Data entry tech comment:

motifs added by TRD

James Callow comment:

Original BN [C500, C750, C500.1; S555] crossed out. Replaced with current classification

Where learned: Myself

Keyword(s): CHILD ; CHILDREN ; Choice ; Diversion ; Entertainment ; GAME ; Play ; RHYME

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Custom/Belief

School Belief:

In the middle of the "diag," the diagonal sidewalk bisecting the campus at the University of Michigan, there is embedded in the walk a large brass 'M.' If a freshman walks on this 'M,' it is assured that he will fail his next test.

Data entry tech comment:

Motifs added by TRD

James Callow comment:

Reference

Where learned: MICHIGAN ; Myself ; ANN ARBOR

Keyword(s): BELIEF ; COLLEGE ; CUSTOM ; MICHIGAN ; Student ; SUPERSTITION ; TEST ; University ; University of Michigan

James Callow Keyword(s): Reference

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Superstition

Italian Superstition:

Our family doesn't believe this, but my grandmother and some relatives do: when a pregnant woman craves for some specific food, and doesn't satisfy this crave, she will get a beauty mark in the shape of that food somewhere on her body. My cousin has a beauty mark similar to a pork chop and her mother claims to have craved for pork.

Data entry tech comment:

motifs added by TRD

James Callow comment:

Reference

Original Bn [P680] crossed out and replaced with current classification

Where learned: MICHIGAN ; GROSSE POINTE WOODS ; Myself

Keyword(s): BABY ; BELIEF ; CHILD ; Craving ; ETHNIC ; FOOD ; Italian ; Old Wives Tale ; SUPERSTITION

James Callow Keyword(s): Reference

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Superstition

My grandmother has a mark, which she calls a "fire mark" on her upper arm. It is oddly similar ro a birthmark, bu this is the story of its origin according to my grandmother:

When her mother was pregnant with her, there was a fire in the Russion town where they lived. Her mother went out to look at it, and the night was quite cold. She grasped her upper arm because of this cold, and so my grandmother was born with a mark in the same place her mother had held her arm.

Data entry tech comment:

Motifs added by TRD

James Callow comment:

Reference

Original BN [P840] crossed out. Replaced with current classification.

Where learned: Myself

Keyword(s): BABY ; BIRTH ; Birthmark ; Cold ; CURSE ; FEAR ; FIRE ; jinx ; Offspring ; Russia ; Scare ; SUPERSTITION

James Callow Keyword(s): Reference

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Superstition: Sports

In order to keep a winning streak going for a team, the team members must not change their socks from game to game.

Submitter comment:

Belief, Predicition, Divination P880

Data entry tech comment:

Motifs added by TRD

James Callow comment:

Reference

Where learned: Myself

Keyword(s): BELIEF ; CLOTHING ; jinx ; LUCK ; SOCKS ; SPORTS ; SUPERSTITION

James Callow Keyword(s): Reference

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Superstition

"Mouse"

My brother has a birthmark on his thigh. But my grandmother refuses to believe that it did not come about inthis way: She says that when my mother was pregnant a mouse must have frightened her and she must have grabbed her leg at the thigh, in the place where my brother has the "mouse." Her proof is that my uncle has the same kind of mark in the same place on his leg, and she is sure that she was scared by a mouse when pregnant with him.

Data entry tech comment:

motifs added by TRD

James Callow comment:

Reference

Original BN [P840] crossed out and replaced with current classification.

Where learned: Myself

Keyword(s): BIRTH ; Birthmark ; CHILD ; CURSE ; FEAR ; Mouse ; Offspring ; Scare ; SUPERSTITION

James Callow Keyword(s): Reference

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Superstition

Never cross the path of a black cat becasue bad luck will follow.

Data entry tech comment:

motifs added by TRD

James Callow comment:

Original BN [P752] crossed out. Replaced with current classification

Where learned: MICHIGAN ; DETROIT ; Myself

Keyword(s): Black ; CAT ; jinx ; LUCK ; OMEN ; SUPERSTITION

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Ethnic: Polish

House Initiation / Polish Custom:

Put  a cat in a house before you move into it and there will always be good luck.

Submitter comment:

A neighbor came over to borrow our cat for one of their relatives who had just bought a new house. These relatives of ournaighbors had just recently come over from Poland. I don't know the people's names and the neighbor doesn't live around here any more.

Data entry tech comment:

Motifs added by TRD

James Callow comment:

Original BN [F532] crossed out. Replaced with current classifications.

Message on the bottom of card:

[Please copy this item on the yellow card below so it will ALSO be filed under F686]

Where learned: MICHIGAN ; DETROIT ; Myself

Keyword(s): CAT ; ETHNIC ; fortune ; Good ; House ; Housewarming ; LUCK ; OMEN ; POLAND ; POLISH ; SUPERSTITION

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