Dr. James T. Callow publications
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The James T. Callow Folklore Archive
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IT IS THE AMISH CUSTOM FOR ONLY THE MEN AND THE
ELDERS TO ATTEND SUNDAY SERVICES, WHICH ARE HELD IN THE
DEACONS' HOMES.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; DETROIT ; BOOK BUILDING
| Subject headings: | CUSTOM FESTIVAL -- Church |
Date learned: 03-00-1971
POLISH SAYING
AS JACOB TO GOD, SO GOD TO JACOB.
(AN EYE FOR AN EYE, A TOOTH FOR A TOOTH.)
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; Farmington Hills
James Callow Keyword(s): CHIASMUS
| Subject headings: | PROVERB -- Proverbial Metaphor |
Date learned: 12-00-1983
POLISH SAYING
A COTTAGE POOR BUT CLEAN.
Submitter comment: THE POLISH ALWAYS HAVE A CLEAN, WELL KEPT HOUSE.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; Farmington Hills
| Subject headings: | PROVERB -- Proverbial Apothegm Maxim |
Date learned: 12-00-1983
"THE M & M GAME"
THERE WAS A GAME THAT WE USED TO PLAY AT PARTIES WHILE IN
JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL. WE CALLED IT THE M & M GAME. YOU STARTED
WITH A BAG OF PEANUT M & M'S. EVERYONE SAT IN A CIRCLE AND
THE BAG WAS PASSED AROUND TO EACH PERSON, THAT PERSON SELECTED
ONE PIECE OF CANDY AND SHOWED IT TO THE OTHERS. IF THE CANDY
WAS BROWN THE PERSON HAD TO TELL A SECRET ABOUT THEMSELVES.
IF THE CANDY WAS YELLOW THE PERSON HAD TO TELL A SECRET ABOUT
SOMEBODY ELSE. IF THE CANDY WAS ORANGE OR GREEN THE PERSON
HAD TO KISS A GIRL/BOY WHO WAS ALSO PLAYING. IF IT WAS ORANGE
THE OTHER PLAYERS VOTED ON WHO THE PLAYER WAS TO KISS, IF IT
WAS GREEN THEN THAT PERSON GOT TO CHOOSE THEMSELVES.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; SAGINAW
| Subject headings: | Favorites Ballad Song Dance Game Music Verse -- Special Object or Implement |
POLISH SAYING
MOTHER'S VOICE IS GOD'S VOICE.
(MOTHER KNOWS BEST.)
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; Farmington Hills
| Subject headings: | PROVERB -- Proverbial Metaphor |
Date learned: 12-00-1983
Song
They were three ravens sat on a tree
Down a down, hey, down a down
They were black as they might be
With a down a derry, derry down
The first of them said to his mate
What shall we for our breakfast take
Down in yonder green field
Lies a knight slain under his shield
Down, down, down...
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; UNIVERSITY OF DETROIT ; DETROIT
| Subject headings: | Ballad Song Dance Game Music Verse -- Ballad Epic |
RELIGIOUS BELIEF
BEFORE YOUR WEDDING HAVE A STATUE OF MARY, THE BLESSED MOTHER,
LOOKING OUT YOUR WINDOW AND PRAY TO HER FOR GOOD WEATHER ON YOUR
WEDDIND DAY.
Submitter comment: THIS ITEM CAME FROM A RELATIVE IN PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; EAST DETROIT
| Subject headings: | Favorites CUSTOM FESTIVAL -- Marriage F545.083 BELIEF -- Religious hero BELIEF -- Weather sign or control BELIEF -- Prayer |
Date learned: 00-00-1976
My sister kept complaining that she was afraid to sleep in her
room at night because she was seeing a ghost in it if she was to
wake up during the middle of the night. My mother went and found a
horseshoe and nailed it up above my sister's door frame with the
intention that if the ghost would try and come into her room again
it would hit its head on the horseshoe and go away.
Where learned: MISSISSIPPI ; Aberdeen
| Subject headings: | Favorites PROSE NARRATIVE -- Ghost Spirit Phantom Specter BELIEF -- Ghost Spirit Phantom Specter |
APPLES, PEACHES, PUMPKIN PIE,
WHO'S NOT READY HOLLER "AYE."
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; ALPENA
| Subject headings: | Ballad Song Dance Game Music Verse -- Game Verse |
"OUTHOUSE SONG"
I'M A JUVENILE DELINQUENT,
I CAN'T GO HOME ANYMORE.
I BEAT UP SINNERS AND I DRINK WITH BUMS,
AND I WAIT ON THE CORNER FOR MY PICK-UP TO COME.
OH I'M A JUVENILE DELINQUENT,
I CAN'T GO HOME ANYMORE.
MY MOTHER HATES ME AND MY FATHER BEATS ME,
AND I BET ON THE RACES CAUSE MY HORSES CAN RUN.
AND THEN THERE'S GRANNY,
SWINGIN' ON THE OUTHOUSE DOOR,
WITHOUT HER NIGHTY ON.
AND THEN THERE'S GRANDPA SCREAMIN' GRANNY GET YOUR NIGHTY BACK,
GRANNY GET YOUR NIGHTY BACK,
GRANNY GET YOUR NIGHTY BACK ON!
I REALLY MEAN IT!
GRANNY GET YOUR NIGHTY BACK ON.
Submitter comment:
THE FIRST EIGHT LINES OF THIS STRANGE TUNE WERE SUNG TO
THE WELL-KNOWN MELODY WHICH WE RECOGNIZE AS "YANKEE DOODLE."
James Callow comment: TUNE OF "I'M A YANKEE DOODLE DANDY" MIGHT BE MEANT.
Where learned: HOME ; MICHIGAN ; FRASER ; COUSINS
| Subject headings: | Ballad Song Dance Game Music Verse -- Good humor Jest |
Date learned: 00001970S
A VARIATION OF THE GARTER DANCE
IN A TYPICAL WEDDING RECEPTION THERE IS A GARTER DANCE WHERE
THE GROOM TAKES THE GARTER OFF THE BRIDE AND THROWS IT OVER
HIS SHOULDER TO ALL THE SINGLE MEN. THE BRIDE THEN TAKES
HER BOUQUET OF FLOWERS AND THROWS IT OVER HER SHOULDER TO
ALL THE SINGLE WOMEN. IT THEN FOLLOWS THAT THE MAN WHO CAUGHT
THE GARTER PUTS IT ON THE LEG OF THE WOMAN WHO CAUGHT THE
BOUQUET. THE VARIATION ON THIS IS THAT WHICHEVER LEG
THE MAN PUTS THE GARTER ON, MIKE TELLS THEM IT'S THE WRONG LEG
AND THAT THEY ARE GOING TO HAVE TO DO IT ALL OVER AGAIN ON THE
RIGHT LEG.
MIKE NIXON IS THE MEMBER OF A WEDDING BAND AND THIS IDEA
CAME TO HIM WHEN SOMEONE ASKED HIM AT ANOTHER WEDDING
WHICH LEG IS THE GARTER SUPPOSED TO GO ON? MIKE TOOK
ADVANTAGE OF THIS OPPORTUNITY FOR A LITTLE LIGHT-HEARTED
FUN AND NOW USES THIS VARIATION AT EVERY WEDDING HE PERFORMS AT.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; WARREN ; WEDDING
| Subject headings: | CUSTOM FESTIVAL -- Marriage Reception |
(PROSE NARRATIVE: REPETITIOUS HOAX)
TALE THAT IS BEGUN EVERY OTHER SATURDAY NIGHT AT THE
CAMPFIRE. IT USUALLY STARTS OUT WITH THE CAMP
DIRECTOR LEAVING HIS CABIN AT ABOUT 1:00 A.M. TO
INVESTIGATE A STRANGE NOISE, FROM THERE IT GOES ON
TO ANYONE WHO FEELS LIKE ADDING TO IT.
EVENTUALLY ALL THE COUNSELORS GET INTO IT. IT
HELPS TIRE THE BOYS OUT SO THAT THEY WILL BE
EASIER TO GET TO SLEEP.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; MEMPHIS ; SAINT MARYS CAMP
| Subject headings: | PROSE NARRATIVE -- Formula tale |
Date learned: NOT GIVEN
PROVERB: NEVER A QUARREL
WHERE SISTERS DWELL AND BROTHERS MEET, QUARREL SHOULD NEVER COME.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; BERKELEY
| Subject headings: | Ballad Song Dance Game Music Verse -- Proverb Proverb |
Date learned: 03-24-1970
HOLY COMMUNION
YOU SHOULD NEVER GO TO HOLY COMMUNION IF YOU FEEL SICK OR IF
YOU THINK YOU WILL BE. SHE REMEMBERS ONE OF HER STUDENTS RECEIVING
COMMUNION AT MASS, THEN LEAVING CHURCH BECAUSE HE WAS GOING TO VOMIT
SHE FOLLOWED HIM OUT, AND FOUND HIM BEING SICK. INSTANTLY
APPEARED THOUSANDS OF MAGGOTS, WHO ATE UP ALL THE VOMIT
AND THEN DISAPPEARED.
SHE BELIEVES THAT THIS WAS A MIRACLE TO KEEP THE HOST FROM BEING
DEFILED
Submitter comment:
THE SHE, REFERS TO THE INFORMANTS 5TH GRADE TEACHER.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; GRAND RAPIDS
James Callow Keyword(s): ANIMAL INSECT LARVA
| Subject headings: | Favorites PROSE NARRATIVE -- Religious hero PROSE NARRATIVE -- Insect BELIEF -- Church |
Entry filtered.
SUPERSTITION (FIXED DATE)
A PERSON MUST BE HOME BY MIDNIGHT OF NOVEMBER 1ST, BECAUSE ON
NOVEMBER 2ND ALL THE SOULS ARE ALLOWED TO RETURN TO EARTH.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; GROSSE POINTE WOODS
| Subject headings: | CUSTOM FESTIVAL -- November 1 All Saints BELIEF -- Ghost Spirit Phantom Specter |
Date learned: 10-25-1969
FIXED DATE
APRIL 20 IS CELEBRATED AS FOUNDER'S DAY BY THE NATIONAL SOCIAL
SORORITY OF SIGMA SIGMA SIGMA. ON THIS DAY EACH CHAPTER HAS A
DINNER AND CONDUCTS SOME TYPE OF A PROGRAM IN MEMORY OF THE
FOUNDERS.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; GROSSE POINTE WOODS
| Subject headings: | CUSTOM FESTIVAL -- April 20 |
Date learned: NO DATE INDICATED.
THE WHIFFENPOOF
THE 800-POUND WHIFFENPOOF WAS CAPABLE OF RUNNING BACKWARD. IT WAS
CHARACTERIZED BY THE FACE OF AN ELK, ANTLERS, SHARP HOOVES AND
HIND QUARTERS THAT SLOPED ABRUPTLY LIKE THOSE OF A GIRAFFE. THE
BULL WHIFFENPOOFS WERE EQUIPPED WITH TWO ADAM'S APPLES WHICH
CLICKED TOGETHER LIKE A PAIR OF DICE, AND PROVIDED A MEANS OF
CONVERSATION. THE COWS SCREAMED LIKE A SOPRANO SINGING WITH A
SORE THROAT.
THE WHIFFENPOOF UNDERWENT PHYSICAL IMPROVEMENTS WITH MODERNITY,
AND IN ITS MOST RECENT FORM, BORE RED AND GREEN LIGHTS AT THE
STERN. WHEN THE WHIFFENPOOF RAN FORWARD, IT SWITCHED ON ITS GREEN
LIGHT; AND WHEN IT RAN BACKWARD IT FLASHED THE RED LIGHT.
THEIR ENEMY WAS THE TIMBER WOLF.
THE WHIFFS AND THE TIMBER WOLVES WERE IN A CONTINUAL STATE OF WAR-
FARE. THE WHIFFS USUALLY OUTSMARTED THE WOLVES. THEY GOT THE
WOLVES TO CHASE THEM, AND THEN SUDDENLY RAN BACKWARD, TRAMPLING
THEIR ENEMIES INTO THE EARTH.
THE WARFARE BECAME VERY BITTER. WOLVES MOVED DOWN FROM MICHIGAN TO
EXTERMINATE THE WHIFFENPOOF AND THE BATTLE WAS TERRIFIC. THE
EARTH SHOOK FROM THE THUNDER OF THE WHIFFENPOOF HOOVES, AND
KNOCKED PICTURES FROM THE WALLS OF THE PIONEERS' HOMES. THE
WHIFFS HAD THEIR GREEN LIGHTS ON, AND THE NIGHT BECAME SO BRIGHT
THAT SCHOOL CHILDREN COULD READ THEIR PRIMERS WITHOUT THE AID
OF TALLOW DIP CANDLES.
THEY CHASED THE MICHIGAN WOLVES INTO LAKE ERIE; BUT A BIG DISPLAY
OF NORTHERN LIGHTS, OR AURORA BOREALIS, WAS ON, AND THE WHIFFS
BECAME CONFUSED. THEY THOUGHT THEIR COMRADES WERE FLASHING ON THE
GREEN LIGHTS FOR GUIDANCE, AND SWAM AROUND IN CIRCLES UNTIL THEY
WERE SO EXHAUSTED THAT THEY DROWNED. ONE WHIFFENPOOF SURVIVED.
HE SWAN TO A LAKE ERIE ISLAND OFF THE OHIO COAST AND LIVED THERE
FOR YEARS. HE WAS KNOWN AS "OLD OTTO."
BUT ONE DAY "OLD OTTO" ATE A PAIR OF OVERALLS FROM A FARMER'S
CLOTHESLINE, AND THE OVERALLS CLOGGED HIS THROAT. HIS TWO
ADAM'S APPLES WOULDN'T CLICK TOGETHER, AND HE WAS UNABLE TO TALK
TO HIMSELF. SO HE DIED OF LONELINESS.
Submitter comment:
THE WHIFFENPOOF WAS CREATED BY THE HESSIAN MERCENARIES WHO FOUGHT
FOR ENGLAND DURING THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. AFTER THE WAR MANY
OF THEM SETTLED IN PENNSYLVANIA AND CONTRIBUTED TO THE PEOPLE
KNOWN AS THE PENNSYLVANIA DUTCH.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; LIBRARY ; DETROIT ; DETROIT PUBLIC LIBRARY
| Subject headings: | PROSE NARRATIVE -- Animal PROSE NARRATIVE -- Lie Tall tale |
Date learned: NOT GIVEN
BIRTH PREDICTION
THIS ENTRY WAS MADE JAN. 17, 1967 FROM MRS. SWEROCK WHO,
UPON VISITING HER EXPECTANT NIECE, PREDICTED THE SEX
OF THE UNBORN CHILD. SHE LEARNED THIS METHOD OF
DETERMINING THE SEX FROM HER MOTHER, A NATIVE
OF CZECHOSLOVAKIA.
IF THE WOMAN IS POINTED IN THE FRONT, SHE WILL HAVE
A BOY; IF SHE IS BROAD AND WIDE FROM BEHIND, THEN
SHE'LL HAVE A GIRL.
Where learned: MICHIGAN, ASSUMED ; WYANDOTTE
| Subject headings: | Observation CUSTOM FESTIVAL -- Birth |
THE SISTER-IN-LAW, IN HER SLEEP, IMAGINED THAT HER
MOTHER WAS CALLING TO HER. SHE AWAKENED FRIGHTENED
BUT SHRUGGED IT OFF AS A BAD DREAM. THE NEXT MORNING
WHEN SHE WENT TO SEE HER MOTHER, WHO LIVED TWO
HOUSES AWAY, SHE WAS DEAD. THE DOCTOR SAID SHE DIED
ABOUT 4:30 THAT MORNING, THE SAME TIME THAT THE
SISTER-IN-LAW AWAKENED FROM HER DREAM.
Submitter comment:
THIS WAS COLLECTED ON JAN. 31, 1967; MRS. SWEROCK
RELATED THIS INCIDENT AS HEARD FROM HER SISTER-IN-LAW.
Where learned: MICHIGAN, ASSUMED ; WYANDOTTE
| Subject headings: | Observation BELIEF -- Death Funeral Burial BELIEF -- Dreams Foretelling a death |
Date learned: 01-31-1967