The John Burrison Georgia Folklore Archive recordings contains unedited versions of all interviews. Some material may contain descriptions of violence, offensive language, or negative stereotypes reflecting the culture or language of a particular period or place. There are instances of racist language and description, particularly in regards to African Americans. These items are presented as part of the historical record. This project is a repository for the stories, accounts, and memories of those who chose to share their experiences for educational purposes. The viewpoints expressed in this project do not necessarily represent the viewpoints of the Atlanta History Center or any of its officers, agents, employees, or volunteers. The Atlanta History Center makes no warranty as to the accuracy or completeness of any information contained in the interviews and expressly disclaims any liability therefore. If you believe you are the copyright holder of any of the content published in this collection and do not want it publicly available, please contact the Kenan Research Center at the Atlanta History Center at 404-814-4040 or reference@atlantahistorycenter.com.
In this recording, Charles Walker Jr. interviews Betty Lou Miller, his friends mother. Miller recounts a story she heard from an African-American woman about the birth of her grandmother. Her great-grandmother, an enslaved woman, went into labor during an attack by United States soldiers during the Civil War, which halted General Sherman from burning down the plantation where she lived. Miller then tells a story about a priest who died to prevent General Sherman from burning down the Immaculate Conception Church in Atlanta, Georgia. (At minute 3:15, there is loud distorted audio of a church service recorded over Miller.) At minute 4:12 Miller tells stories about Daniel Boones sons who were killed by Native Americans; one son has a monument on his grave and the other died fighting at a fort. After several minutes of silence, at minute 8:52 Ben Miller, Walkers friend, tells a racist joke about African Americans. At minute 9:29, Betty Lou Miller tells stories about sightings of Eatonton, Georgias, Snooty Ghost named Sylvia. She then, at minute 12:54, recounts how Dr. Alexander Means invented electricity before Thomas Edison and the origin story of Means grandson haunting a house. She ends at minute 15:50 with a story about the ghost of a woman killed in a car crash. (The interview cuts off and repeats in the middle of Vicki Nepotes interview). At 37:28 Nepotes, a Georgia State College student, uninterrupted interview begins. She describes the Crenshaw House, which is known as The Old Slave House,located in Gallatin County, Illinois. Enslaved people escaping on the Underground Railroad were captured at the house and forced to work in the salt mines. After their death, they haunted the property. She tells stories about people trying to spend the night in the haunted house. At minute 40:31, she lists traditional remedies she learned from her grandmother to remove warts and freckles and to increase breast size.
Betty Lou Jenkins (1928-2020) was born in Parkersburg, West Virginia; when she was 13, her family moved to Oklahoma. She married Ralph C. Miller (1926-2009), and their children include Ben, Barry L., Judy Dressner, and Bob. Ben Miller (approximately 1948- ) is the son of Betty Lou and Ralph C. Miller. No additional biographical information has been determined. Vicki Nepote Bolton (1950-2021) was born in Atlanta. She attended Georgia State University and Georgia College, and worked for the Georgia Southern Railway Company and Central State Hospital in Milledgeville, Georgia. In 1978, she married Philip Bolton and moved to Avondale Estates, Georgia. They had two children, Kenyon Castle Bolton IV and Mary Caterina Bolton. She later worked with her husband at his company, Global Atlanta.
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(\.{,~~ noise, echo, static, etc.) b' Subject Information Enter'Informati.on about the content of the 0 )Iect here: Subject Date Exact Date (yyyy-mm-dd) (use only one) Year (if only the year is known) Circa (4 digit year) Year Span From To Subject Who Last Name First Name MI ""';II.. , P>d'l ~ .,,,1 \\:\\.{ '1'"", No<' ~.,\,. v\ (I, ,- Subject Country State County Town Local Name Location' Subject What AHC Cataloger will complete this for you. (LOC subject headinas onlY) Keywords Burrison, John Personal names See subject who for additional names , 3 ,, Corporate , names Geographic locations III, I'\.L} \ ":;, Topics 'j" "..,), "y\')N {" '\ ;;,\"" I, c;. ~.h~) S~'''f}1'f :;A.:I\.;tly '\ ft/~A f ()"t(r.. ~l--";\ "'f~,_~' IS\"'" HI' f" " " ' Georgia state College FOLJiLOfl.E Cm,LE:C1'ING PROJECT by Charles fl.. Walker, Jr, for Hr, 8m'rison Folk ]01 Spring Quarter May 26, 1969 When I first began to look for folklore, it seemed logical to ask people I kne'" if they happened to knml anyone 'lho "told a lot of stories". I quickly discovered that not many people kne" any "folktales", but almost everyone kne11 "true stories". I finally caught on. Then, one night as I ",as talking to a friend on the telephone, he mentioned that his mother told everyone "little stories". "But you can't use them," he said, "They're true stories she read." I took a chance, anyway, and asked her to tell me a story over the telephone. She told me a story I had heard all of my life, in a slightly different version, that I had considered unquestionable historic fact. It ,laS the story I later record about Sherman sparing the churches. I have attended Central Presbyterian Church since my birth, and I had heard the story there "'hen I ",as very young. In the version of the story I had heard, Sherman was supposed to have kept his horses in "our church". I even remember being sho,m by one of the elderly Southern Belles of the church, who ",as concerned ",ith instilling the proper respec t for "our proud heritage" in the young, a rug, supposedly "stained" by Shermants );lorses. It was difficult at first to arrange a convenient time for Mrs . Hiller, nw friend's mother, to record. Finally, hO'lever, W'l were able to find a time convenient for everyone. After recording the first stoD" ",e played it back. Y~s. Miller seemed to enjoy it, and we began recording again. She told five stories and couldn't remember any more, 'lhich ,laS fine with me because I had another appointment that Sunday afternoon. After the fraternity softball 2 game (the other appointment) I began listening to the tape and discovered that only two of the stories had been recorded. A radio s"tation' s country church service had been recorded on the tape after the first two stories and had completely drowned Nrs. Miller's voice. The second time vie tried recording, the same thing happened. vie moved to another room and the interference only appeared one other time for only a feu seconds. J1rs. Betty" Lou 11111er was born in 1928 in Parkersburg, I'Jest Virginia. When she was thirteen years old, her family moved to Oklahoma. She apparently reads more than the average hOus81-1ife, especially about Georgia and unusual happenings. Her family sometimes jokes about her story-telling. They accuse her of telling stories to anyone rIT10 will listen, especially to her daughter's boyfriends. HOrlOver, I am doubtful about the complete oral origin of some of her stories. She seems to be unable to distinquish between stories she has heard and stories she has read, sometimes. V~s. Miller was very cooperative and even told her son how much she liked having someone record her. He told me that she told her friends about being "interviel-Jed". HO'18ver, 11cs. Niller would not let her picture be taken, and I decided that it would not be a good idea to try forcing her to let me take her picture. Ben Hiller, her 21 year old son"only contributed one joke, but he is the person rlho helped most in arnanging the first meeting. 11rs. Miller's schedule conflicted HHh mine at first, but Ben was the person rlho found the fel' free hours of that rleek in lilhich l-H'J could meet. 3 That first meeting took place on May 4. It had to come between Sunday dinner and a fraternity softball game. By a minor engineering feat, Ben provided us \'lith about two hours of talking. Vicki Nepote is an 18 year old freshman at Georgia State College. She ,laS born in Atlanta, but she has spent sevoral summers in Eldorado, Illinoi". She heard "The Old Slave House" and her old >Iives I tales from her grandmother. The first two stories on this tape \'Iere recorded on May 4 betvJeen t\'lO and four o'clock in the afternoon. The rest of the stories ,Jere recorded on Fri.day, May 16, betlfeen three and six o'clock in the afternoon. v~s. Miller's stories and Ben Miller's story uel'e recorded at their home. Vicli:i Nepoue t s story and old lfives I tales lfere recorded ather house. Tld.s first story is not really much of a "tale". However, I have heard several stories concerning Sherman's march through Georgia, especially with the motif of Sherman sparing a house, etc. I have recordad hlo such stories here. They are both :(rom the same informant, though. 5 vlell uh first I'11 tel1 you (pause) first I'll tell you about the one this colored lady told me 'Iho' s on the board of the P. T. A. at Fulton High School. And, uh, I was talking to her one night an' she told me a 10tta stories, but this one stood out in nw mind. And, uh, this colored lady ha.d hID daughters, and the master was gonna sell 'em all, and she begged 'im to keep 'em all together, and he told 'er he couldn't do that, so she begged 'inl to keep the h,o daughters together, and he said he ,muld do that. So he sold the two daUghllel1ll, and together. And the man that bought 'em put one in the field and one in the kitchen. And during the Civili'lar, ~" "hen Serman came through, he put, uh, the one of the daughters " ,Jas having a baby, and, uh, when the soldiers come, they had her upstairs having (pause) the baby in in one of the bedrooms upstairs. And they begged 'em not to burn the house because of this and, uh, so they said, well, let us see. And they went upstairs to see, and and they did see the colored woman, in the, uh, bed and having her baby, and so they saved the house; they 'lent on and didn't burn the house. And afterwards, then, they put the colored woman back on her pallet in the kitchen. And this baby that was borned vras the grandn~ ther of the woman that I was talkin' to. This is t,he st,ory t,hat, I ment,ioned previously. I have heard it, in a slightly different, version in 'Thich Sherman spared t,he Presbyt,erian and Cat,holic churches when t,he priest, and past,or asked him not, t,o burn t,hem, because Sherman was a Cat,holic. Stith-Thompson list,s t,hree motifs l,hich seem t,o almost, fit, this story, but, not, quite. W28 "Self-sacrifice" seems to be generally t,he mot,if, but, P316 "Friend sacrifices self for ot,her" seems t,o come closer. 8236.4 and S236.4.1 are about, Irish monks and priest,s Vlho sacrifice t,hemselves t,o avert, a plague, et,c. And, even t,hough s261 "Foundat,ion sacrLfice" is found lvorld-lvide, it, only seems vaguely relat,ed to t,he burial of t,he priest under t,he alt,ar. And, let,s see, t,he ot,her st,ory was, uh, t,he oh! t,he Iwnaculat,e Concept,ion Ch,lrch dOlfllt,OlVll. During t,he Civil War Vlhen Sherman came through, uh, t,he fa'lWr, uh, priest of the Immaculate Conception, and, uh, uh, one story said that, the t\Vo other churches that are right beside it: the big Baptist, Church and the Presbyterian Church, but the Baptist Church has already been taken dovrn. But anyvTay, they Vlent to see Sherman and begged him not to burn the churches d01lffi. And he told them that, uh, he, he lwuld save the churches, but he'd have to take tlleir life. And the priest that \Vent Vlith them from this I}~~CU1ATE CONCF:PTION, when he died they buried him under the altar, and he I S still buried under the altar of the nIj]lIACULATJ~ CONCEP'rION Church (TJ01'18r voice, almost as an afterthought) do,mtovlll. 6 'rhe first part of this story vIas ruined by "technical difficulties". I don't know what caused it, but it was impossible to re-tape the story. Mrs. Miller told these tvlO stories as if she sometimes told them as separate stories. The stories are about Daniel Boone's sons And then they were returning back to, uh, the first wagon train, uh, Hhen they -- they foolGd around too long and got caught in the dark, and so they had to camp for the night and thGY camped next to the river, and during the night, uhm, the Indians came upon 'em and killed 'em. And thGY found their bodies the next day, and they were Hrapped in sheets and blankets and buried under this tree next to the creek so that they would Icnow where their bodies were, but where nobody else could. And, uh, a fGW years back when they built a big highuay through there, they came upon these tuo bodies -- and .,rapped in sheets, and they believe these to bG the bodies of Daniel Boone's son and the officer's son. And they've l'eburied 'em on the side of the highway, and tllGre' s 'sposed to be a monument there to them. And then the next oldest son --- they vlere at a fort, and, uh, the fort was being overrun by the Indians, and the only way to save the vlOmen and children and the majority in the fort was to send them out a back Hay, and get them out, but in order to do that, they had to leave some fighting men, den, to hold 'em off Hhile the others got mvay. And Daniel Boone's second son volunteered to stay and Has one of those massakered by the Indians uhen they took over the fort. 7 This joke is told by Ben Miller, Mrs, lfiller's son, He is 21 years old and attends Georgia state College. He heard the story from his little brother, Vlho is in elementary school. stith-Thompson lists this as X691.5.1. The version listed is about an Englishman and men of two other nationalities Vlho go into a "skunk hole". ,,)hen the Englishman enters, the skunks leave. There's this joke about this, uh, this, this experiment that had a Germffil, JeVl, and a, a Negro, uh, to live in a pig-pen , (phone rings) and so they stuck 'em all in a pig pen, and, uh, after a Vleek the German came out and he said, "I can't take it no more," And after -Gl1O ,,'eeks the JeH came out and said, "I can't take it no more," Then after the third Heek, Hell, the pigs came out. , , , Yeah (in an~ler to a question from across the room). 8 This story is one of the one s I am suspicions of being from !1:rs. !1iller I s reading. Ji'or one thing, it seems to be too detailed to be completely from oral tradition. Thompson lists E338(b) "l'emale ghost seen in house" as being recorded in England, Maine, Pennsylvania, and Illinois. A less likely motif for this story, because the ghost only descends the stairs, is r';338(e) "Female ghost ascends, descends stairs" from Nevi York and West Virginia. Another motif which may apply is E723. 7.1 "\3raith speaks". I'm going to tell you the story about Eatonton I s Snooty Get (mistake) Ghost. Her name is Sylvia and she lives in Panola Hall in Eatonton, Georgiao !1rs. Hardwell, who I s the librarian there, \fas, uh, about to close up the library, because there via' nt anybody in it, but it ,"IS I nt quite time for closing, so she \fent out front and set on the steps, uh, till closing time ., and she -- she could see _ uh - see over j nto the front's home, which is across the street and sits down lower, and they have a big "Iindol'l and she aould see Mr. Hunt sittin I in his chair readin' the paper and Mrs. Hunt sittin' in her chair sewin I. And behind 11:r. Hunt's chair, leanin' over, lookin' at his paper ,'las a young girl in the old colonial dross, ya know, and, and everything, with a rose in her hair. And she didn't knm~ the Hunt's had company as a group of children came by, and she asked them to look across the street and look in the lVindm~ and see ;Ihat they saw. And they described tbe same thing that she saVl, with the girl and all, and so she knew she Vla'n seein' things. And the next day \oIhen she ran int8o, uh, Mr. Hunt, 9 she told him that she didn't know he had company. And he said, "I.e11, I don't." So she described to him ",hat she sml the night before, and he said, "\'1el1, you must have seen Sylvia," And he told her the story, then, about Sylvia, the ghost that lives there, that when they bought the house, she "ms there, And. ,she "m'nt the only one that sa\'J, uhm, Sylvia, Several people sml 'er, but they \'Iere all people that were highly educated, ~le wouldn't show herself to anybody that \'Iasn't educated, and that's \-Ihy they called -- she got the name of the Snooty Ghost. And somebody else that saVl 'er "ms a young man that came, uh, for a "Ieekend "lith the, and he Has going up the Vlinding staircase, and as he "ms going up, this young girl was coming dovll1, and, uh, he says that he could smell the rose in her hair, and all, and he, uh, bowed to 'er and spoke, and she nodded and went on down the stairs. So Vlhen he came later to eat supper, he noticed that there Hasn't places set but for three people, and so he asked the, vh, if the girl wa'nt gonna join 'em, and so then they told him that he must ran into Sylvia, And then, later, after Mrs. Hunt died and Mr. Hunt Has ill, and all the relatives and all \'Jere coming and they Nere gettin' the house ready, the rooms ready, for the company to come in, uh, one of the nieces Vlent into one of the bedrooms and --- to look out the Hindo\'l to see '-Ih 0 had arrived --- and she heard somebody behind her speaking in a soft voi 0 " voice, and, uh, it said, 1Il1iss Bessie, l\1iss Bessie 0 tt And she turned and she saVl a cloud of smoke that VIas beginning to take form, and, 'Course she kmm the story of Sylvia and she ran out of the room, she didn't wait to see, 10 This story seems to be rather detHiled at first, especially the statement that Thomas Edison \Vas ten years old when Dr. }leans invented the electric light. But Thompson's E402.1.2 "Footsteps of invisible ghost heard" definitely applies. And, then, uh, ya kno"l I told you the story about Doctor Means, that they say \Vas the first man to , uh have the electric light. And, uh, that i'1aS in 1857, it vTaS before, uh, vlell, let's see did Alexan , ? ---- Thomas J~dison was about ten years old at the time. But, uh, Dr, Means had, uhm, invented this machine. that they said was electric light, and he even invited, um, some professors, and all, from Emory University that came up to his house, and he took 'em upstairs, into the bedroom, and, uh, Sh01'1ed 'em, er in his labatory upstairs, and showed 'em, uh, the electric light, And, hOH come it didn't go any further that that I don't, I don't knovl, But, it Has said that he did and, and this machine is in E:mory right now. It's supposed to be on display in Emory, And he also, uh, his children, his grandchildren, he insisted on all of his grandchildren have a college education. And they, uh, a one of 'em one of his grandsons, Toby, and he argued about it quite a bit. And \Vhenever they would have an argument about it, because 'roby didn't v/anta go on to the University, he !'1onld go out on the back porch and i'1alk up and daim. And, to think. And, so, one day Tob;y, uh, they had a fnss about it and Toby, uh, ran mJay from home durin I the night. And so they said from then on, uh, at different times, they could 11 hear Toby Halkin' up and dOlm on the back porch, but 11hen they'd go to the back door, there Houldn't be anybody there. And the man that lives in the house nOH, and he Has, he's a construction, uh, man, and he said that he heard, uh, early one morning, he 1101m up early and he heard somebody ualkin' back and forth on the back porch. And it ,las real cold out, so he got up and I,rent do,m stairs. He thought, figured it ,ras one of his workers that come early, and he Ims gonna let him into the kitchen to stay ,rarm, and uh, but when he put his hand on the back porch, the bacle door, and opened the back door, the noiee \'las gone and there ,ra I nt anybody there. 12 I Has really excited Clhen I recorded this story! It is a perfect example of e332.3.3.1 "Vanishing hitchhiker". This is a ,1Orld,lide story, recorded from Korea to South Carolina. Nrs. Hiller seems to tr,V to give the story more validity by saying, "I read ." Of course, she may have read the story. The variation in this story is that the girl becomes sick in the car and passes out. There Has a sUght difficulty in the recording of this stor,V. 1'he places marked by B-z-z-z are 'lhere something l'lent "rong either ldth the recorder or ,Ii th Hhatever caused the earlier interference, and obliterated a feH phrases. I read a story B-z-z-z and her father c - B-z-z-z-z-z-z and they alHays argued so she ran alVay from home, and, uh, severa.l years later, uhm, she called, and she "as desperate, an' "anted to knoH if she could come home. And on her "ay home she Has killed in a car accident, it l'laS a bad storm. An' she was killed in a car accident. An I from then on people say ~Jhen they go on that highl'1ay, several people have stopped to pick up a girl, that, that wanted a ride, and she "ould get sick in the car and pass out, but she Hould tell 'em Hhere she lived and "hen they arrived at her home and go to the door to tcll 'em that they had, uh, that she Has in the car, uh, she 110Uld disappear. 13 This story l'1aS told by Vicki Nepote. She heard it from her grandmother, and has seen The Old Slave House herself. It contains E402.1.1.2 "Ghost moans", F;402.1.8 "Miscellaneous sounds made by ghost of human being", E281.3 "Ghost haunts particular room in house", and E402.1.4 "Ghost rattles chains". These motifs are found in the United States, )~ngland, Scotland, and Ireland. H 1411 "Fear test: staying in haunted house" is also present. It is found almost lmrld\' lide, being recorded in Ireland, England, the United States, India, Japan, and among the Greenland Eskimoes. 'Ehere I s this old house near vlhere IllY grandmother lives in Illinois, it 's, uhm, Southern Illinois right across from Kentucky, across the Ohio River, and it I S called the Old Slave House. And there I s a story that goes \'lith this old slave house, that when, uh, in southern Illinois they have the Saline rivers and they're salty, and they have salt liJines around there. And so they, uh, during the Civil War, beZore the Civil War they had the Underground Railroad to get the slaves outta the South, and everything, and Illinois vms a free state, and Kenuk-.-, Kentucky "ms a slave state and, uh, or border state, anyhow, huh (laugh), it was, uh, these people \'lould promise these slave" ya knml, "He're gonna getcha outta here, and, on the Underground Railroad, and save ya, and make ya a free man", and all that. But vlhat they vlere really doin' was trickin' 'em an' takin' I em to this old slave house, and keep 'em there to work in the a, s, salt mines at night \'lhen nobody could see. And they worked 'em real, real hard, and everythin, an', uh, so, you can go visit this old Slave House. It 1 S real ereepy. You go down this old road, and it all 14 dark (movement of hands in circular, clmllike motion to shml spookiness) and it's not paved or anything, an', uh, all the trees hang over it, and you get up to the old house, and its on this hill, and it haB three floors. And people live on the first t1'l0 floors, but on the third floor you can see the 1-lindm-" it's, 1'Iha', the slave quarters 11here they had 'em hidden. And it's reported that Abraham Lincoln spent the night there and didn't even knoVl the slaves ,Iere kept there, but anyway, uh, they hadda sleep in four-foot long beds, an' you can go visit the Slave House an' you can see the blood-stains still on the floor Vlhere they vlhipped 'em, an' their 11hippin' posts, and the, the little crummy beds they had, an', uh, that one uindm1 in the attic, an', uh, vlhat else? Hhat else about it? Oh yeah! And so the, the people live there, but they never sleep on the third floor, only go up there in the daytime. And college students have tried to sleep on the third floor overnight, but nobody's been ever able to sleep on the third floor overnight, because they keep hearin 1 the moans and the groans of the old slaves, and hear chains draggin aroun' and everything, so, uhm, they let peoplo come visit, and they let people spend the night, but nobody can ever stay all night in the attic of the Old Slave House. 15 'rhese old '-lives' tales, told by Vicki Ne)'lote, Here learned from her grandmother. Warts! Aha, ha, I knOH a good I'lay to get rid of I-Iarts I 'rhere:'s,first of all, if you have a \'Iart, there's 'bout three \'lays that you could get rid of it, there's, first of all, you have to tie a string around it real, real tight and go to a place \'Ihere you'll never come back again in your ,-Ihole life, and, and pull the string so tight that your 1'Iart comes off, and throH the Nart B.I'lay at this place you're never comin' back to. And then, if After aVlhile '-Ihen the sore heals up, Vlbere you pulled it off, it shouldn't come back, if you never go bacle to that place \'Ihere you \'lere. And then, them's another one I-Ihere, if you have a I'lart an' you pull it off and leeep it taped up and bandaged up an', the 0 0' Nhen you do this go to the door facing or wha', sill or something and marie how tall you are. It I/Orks mostly for children, 'cause most people don't graN, huh, huh, an' uh, ,'/hen ha, ha, 'Ihen you've grmm taller than that marie on the \'Iall, your I'l8.rt should be gone and never come bacle again. And, then another good Nay to get rid of Hartsl First of all, you steaT somebody's dirty dish rag, and they don't lenoN that you staId it, and you take it and throl-I it B.I'/ay, an' "Ihenever the dirty dish rag hasrotted an' gone into dust, your Hart's 'sposed to go B.I'/ay. If you have freckles like me, heh ha 1, you can get rid of your freckles if you go out in the morning, very early in the mornin " and rub your face an' nose in the dm-I of the grass 0 16 An' if you're a girl an' you wanna. .'!!t. big bust., you have to go t.o t.he chicken yard an' rllb chicken manure on it (st.arts laughing). It. makes you groH very big (ha, ha, ha. L) I've never t.ried it t.hough, I guess you've not.iced L (laughing.). 17 " ' ~ I' I 11 RELEASE ,~ By letting us collect your traditions--stories, songs, music, sayings, riddles, or beliefs of earlier days--you have made a valuable contribution to preserving and understanding Southern history, and especially the history and way of life of your conununity. Because you have given unselfishly of your time to do this, the Georgia Folklore Archives, whose representatives are dedicated to preserving these t~oditions, wants to protect your rights to this material by guaranteeing that ~~ will not be used for unscrupulous commercial profits. By signing this sheet, you are giving us permission to use this material for educational purposes so that people who are interested can understand how life was in the old-tireey days. Your material will probably not be printed or issued on a record, but ~f it is, and you don't want your name to be used, say so--we respect your right to privacy. I Thank you for the tim: itnimportant part of Ameri' that you ",ant to send a lon.!, ;'ou have a life. to us so given to help us record a heritage that w If you remember any more old-timey things I that it will always be preserved, write to: Signed GI;,Jrgia Folldore Archives c/o ~rof. John Burrison Department of English 33 Gilmer st., S.E. Atlanta, Georgia 30303 Address J'1(:'tit;i/u For Ga. Fl. Archives: _ By letting us coll"l t :,">r traditions--stories, songs, music, sayings, riddles, or beliefs of e~rlicr days--you have made a valuable contribution to preserving and understanding Southern history, and especially the history and way of life of your cOlmnunity. Because you have given unselfishly of your time to do this, the Georgia Folklore Archives, whose representatives are dedicated to preserving these traditions, wants to protect your rights to this material by guaranteeing that it will not be used for unscrupulous commercial profits. By signing this sheet, you are giving us permission to use this material for educational purposes so that people who are interested can understand how life was in the old-timey days. Your material will probably not be printed or issued on a record, but if it is, and you don't want your name to be used, say so--we respect your right to privacy. Thank you for the time you have an important part of American life. that you want to send along to us so given to help us record a heritage that w If you remember any more old-timey things that it will always be preserved, write to: Georgia Folklore Archives c/o Prof. John Burrison Department of English 33 Gilmer St., S.E. Atlanta, Georgia 30303 Signed ----------_.- .._------------------- For Ga. Fl, Archives: _
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Professor John Burrison founded the Atlanta Folklore Archive Project in 1967 at Georgia State University. He trained undergraduates and graduate students enrolled in his folklore curriculum to conduct oral history interviews. Students interviewed men, women, and children of various demographics in Georgia and across the southeast on crafts, storytelling, music, religion, rural life, and traditions.
As archivists, we acknowledge our role as stewards of information, which places us inaposition to choose how individuals and organizations are represented and described in our archives. We are not neutral, andbias isreflected in our descriptions, whichmay not convey the racist or offensive aspects of collection materialsaccurately.Archivists make mistakes and might use poor judgment.We often re-use language used by the former owners and creators, which provides context but also includes bias and prejudices of the time it was created.Additionally,our work to use reparative languagewhereLibrary of Congress subject termsareinaccurate and obsolete isongoing. Kenan Research Center welcomes feedback and questions regarding our archival descriptions. If you encounter harmful, offensive, or insensitive terminology or description please let us know by emailingreference@atlantahistorycenter.com. Your comments are essential to our work to create inclusive and thoughtful description.