Dr. James T. Callow publications
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The James T. Callow Folklore Archive
Your search for Sparta returned 7 results.
LOST RIVER
THIS RIVER IS SO NAMED BECAUSE IT FLOWS FOR APPROX-
IMATELY TWO MILES UNDERGROUND WHEN IT THEN FLOWS
INTO CANEY FORK RIVER. LOST RIVER BEGINS IN
HICKERY (HICKORY?) VALLEY IN SOUTH SPARTA,
TENNESSEE.
Where learned: TENNESSEE ; Sparta
| Subject headings: | PROSE NARRATIVE -- Explanation of a name |
Date learned: 07-27-1968
IF YOU PLANT CORN WHEN THERE IS A NEW MOON, THE CORN WILL
MATURE GOOD. THE EARS WILL BE GOOD AND THE CORN ITSELF
WILL NOT BE TALL.
Where learned: TENNESSEE ; Sparta
| Subject headings: | BELIEF -- Moon BELIEF -- Plant husbandry Farming |
Date learned: 07-27-1968
IF YU PLANT CORN IN FULL MOON, IT WILL GROW TALL, BUT THE EARS
WON'T BE AS GOOD.
Where learned: TENNESSEE ; Sparta
| Subject headings: | BELIEF -- Moon BELIEF -- Plant husbandry Farming |
Date learned: 07-27-1968
My aunt, who lived in the hills of Tennessee in a small shack,
was what might be called a typical hillbilly. It was a very
cold winter and they only had a small stove to warm the cabin.
Every night, while sleeping on her back, she would feel a very
warm heavy sensation on her chest. One day after a week or so
of this same feeling every night she was stripping the bed to
wash her sheets. When she took off the bottom sheet she found
there was snakes living there. They would huddle to her chest
at night for warmth.
Where learned: TENNESSEE ; Sparta
| Subject headings: | Favorites PROSE NARRATIVE -- Animal |
Date learned: 00-00-1950
Love
There was a little girl who lived all alone, her parents were
dead. All she had was a dog named Love. One day a murderer
broke into her house and said the only way he would let her
live is if she can think of a riddle that he could not guess.
She had three days to come up with the riddle. The man then
left. The girl thought and thought and thought. She stroked
her dog and rocked in her chair. On the third day the man
returned. The little girl had on a pair of gloves, a pair of
boots and a thick pair of pants. This was her riddle.
Love I sit
Love I stand
Love I hold, in my right hand.
I can see Love,
But Love can't see me.
If you can unriddle this,
You can hang me.
The man thought and thought and thought. The girl rocked and
rocked and rocked. Finally the man left, he could not figure
out the riddle. He never returned again and the girl spared
her life. The answer to the riddle was she had cut up her
dog. She placed a piece of the dog named Love under her
bottom as she sat in the chair. She placed another piece of
the dog in her boot and still another in her glove of her
right hand. She could still see the dog, but it, being dead,
could not see her.
Where learned: TENNESSEE ; Sparta
James Callow Keyword(s): neck riddle
| Subject headings: | Favorites PROSE NARRATIVE -- Ordinary Tale |
Date learned: 00-00-1950
Sparta, Wisconsin has a large population
of Amish people. It is really harmful to the
Amish if someone takes their picture. They believe
their soul is being stolen.
Where learned: WISCONSIN ; Sparta
James Callow Keyword(s): Photography
| Subject headings: | BELIEF -- Product or activity of man or animal |
Date learned: 10-29-1990
Small Town Funeral Customs
The small towns in the western part of
Wisconsin have furniture stores next to
the funeral homes. They serve as parlors
for the funeral. The funeral home is really
the casket builder's.
Where learned: WISCONSIN ; Sparta
| Subject headings: | Favorites CUSTOM FESTIVAL -- Death Funeral Burial |