Guide to the 1999 Smithsonian Folkways Festival Collection, 1997-2001

Collection number: MC 307
Size: (25 Boxes) (8.5 cu.ft.)

About the 1999 Smithsonian Folkways Festival Collection

From June 23-June 27, 1999 and June 30-July 4, 1999 the State of New Hampshire was featured at the 1999 Smithsonian Folklife Festival on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. A partnership, which included the New Hampshire State Council on the Arts, the New Hampshire Department of Cultural Resources, the New Hampshire Commission on the Smithsonian Folklife Festival with its non-profit affiliate Celebrate New Hampshire Culture and the Smithsonian Institution made the event possible. New Hampshire mounted the largest presentation (to date, 1999) any state had ever presented at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival. More than 1.5 million people sampled New Hampshire history and culture during the Festival.

Commencing in February 1998, a team of 21 researchers interviewed over 450 individuals throughout New Hampshire. In the process they compiled and documented information, took photos, and conducted audio and visual interviews. Based on the guidelines set by the Smithsonian Institution, over 160 participants and presenters were selected from among the 450 interviewees to represent New Hampshire at the Folklife Festival.

The fieldworkers were: Andrew Stewart (AS), Debra Cottrell (DC), Eleanor Wachs (EW), Fran Kessler-Richardson (FR), Gary Samson (GS), Jack Beard (JB), Jessica Payne (JP), Jill Linzee (JL), Julien Oliver (JO), Kate Dodge (KD), Kathy Neusdadt (KN), Linda Bornstein (LB), Louis Mazzari (LM), Josee Vachon (JV), Marjorie Goodson (MG), Martin Delgadillo (MD), Rachel Mears (RM), Simon Phillips (labeled MP), Mathew Pouliott (MP), Susan Hawkins (SH), Tom Carroll (TC).

Five broad themes were chosen to represent the state’s rich living and diverse cultural, social, political, and economic traditions:

Cultural Diversity in Music: Explored the rich musical heritage that centers around music for the home and community,
Home, Town, and Community: Focused on the cultural traditions, crafts, and ceremonies that support a sense of place for families and communities,
Ingenuity and Enterprise: Examined the heritage of family-owned and community based businesses,
Seasonal Work and Recreation: Highlighted howt he beauty and diversity fo the state’s natural resources gave rise to traditional activities and a work culture that supports recreation, and
Farm, Forest, Mountain, and Sea: Looked at family-run farms, forestry, quarrying, maritime traditions, and more.

One year after New Hampshire participated in the annual Smithsonian Folklife Festival, the event was re-staged for five days at the state fairgrounds in Hopkinton as the “Celebrate New Hampshire Festival”. This event occurred from June 7-11, 2000. Over 150 craftspeople, artists, performers, and traditional artisans participated in the festival. In addition to the five themes above, two new themes were added:

Celebrate Our History: Focused on organizations which were presenting and promoting New Hampshire history, and
Partnerships for Community Service: Featured organizations whose mission is to improve community services and enhance the quality of life in New Hampshire.

Collection Contents

This collection consists of 8.5 cubic feet of folklore interviews, photographs, video material, supporting material, and documentary material related to New Hampshire’s participation in the 1999 Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington, D.C. and the 2000 Celebrate New Hampshire Festival in Hopkinton, NH.

Topics: 4-H, Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC), Archery, Architectural Restoration, Basket Making, Beekeeping, Blacksmithing, Boat Building, Box making, Canoe Building, Chinese New Year, Columbian woodcarving, Computers, Contra dance, Cooperage (Barrel Making), Copper Smithing, Dairy Farming, Decorative Painting, Decoy carving, Dixville Notch, Dog sled making, Doll Making, Draft Horses, Farm Crafts, Farm Stands, Farm Toys, Fiber Artistry, Finnish dance music, Firefighter Suits, Fireman’s Muster, Fireworks, Fishing Guide, Fly Rod Makers, Fly tying, Foodways, Forestry, Franco-American Dance, Franco-American Music, Franco-American Singing, Furniture Masters, Genealogy, Gill Net Making, Gill netting, Gospel Music, Granite quarrying, Greek Dance, Gun Smithing, Haitian music, Hand Spoon maker, Hand Weaving, Harness Making, Hispanic foodways, Hispanic Music, Historic Building Renovation, Hunting Guide, Ice Fishing, Irish dance, Irish Step Dance, Jewish Music (Klezmer), Knitting, Latvian weaving, Lebanese Music, Lobster Fishing, Logging Games, Lumber industry, Manchester NH Franco-American Culture, Maple Sugaring, Mask making, Metal craft, Metal Smith, Mexican folklore music, Model Boat Building, Motorcycle Culture, Musical Instruments, New England music, Norwegian foodways, Norwegian Knitting, Old Man of the Mountain, Orchards, Oxen, Painting, Pewter Smith, Polish Music, Poplarware (Shaker), Pottery, Prayer Shawls, Quilting Rock and Ice Climbing, Rug Braiding, Rug Hooking, Scenic New Hampshire, Scottish Fiddling, Scottish music, Scottish Piping Sewing, Shaker Music, Sheep Herding, Sign Artistry, Ski industry, Skiing, Snow Mobiling, Snowshoe Making, Snowshoeing, Spinning, Square dance, Stone Carving, Storytelling, Summer Camps, Textile Traditions, Textiles, Theater, Timber Frame Construction, Tin Smith, Tool Making, Town Bands, Town Meetings, Tractors, Uruguayan folk dance, Weather, Weaving, Wood Carving, Wood Turning, Woodcraft, Woodsman Competitions, Woodsmen, Wreath Making, Yankee foodways.

Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

This collection is open.

Copyright Notice

Contents of this collection are governed by U.S. copyright law. For questions about publication or reproduction rights, contact Special Collections staff.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], [Folder Number], [Box Number], 1999 Smithsonian Folkways Festival Collection, 1997-2001, MC 307, Milne Special Collections and Archives, University of New Hampshire Library, Durham, NH, USA.

Acquisitions Information

Gift of the New Hampshire State Council on the Arts and Celebrate New Hampshire, 2011.

Separated Material

Town Reports are housed with the Repository's Town Reports Collection

A small number of commercial audio recordings are housed with the main audio/visual collection

Collection Arrangement

The materials are mostly organized by initials of the fieldworker, followed with a period and the type of material forming a two letter abbreviation. Example: JB.AT = Jack Beard Audio Tapes. Any exceptions are noted within each series and box.

Collection Contents

Series 1: Preliminary Folklore Interview Materials, 1998
Series 2: Photos, Contact Sheets, Slides, 1998
Series 3: Supplementary Printed Materials, 1997-1998
Series 4: New Hampshire Summer Camps, 1997-1998
Series 5: Town Meetings in New Hampshire, 1998
Series 6: Celebrate New Hampshire and Smithsonian Folklife Festivals, 1999-2001
Series 7: Raw Interview Materials (Audio/Visual), 1998

Series 1: Preliminary Folklore Interview Materials, 1998

(1.33 cu. ft.)

This series contains materials related to the interviews conducted by about a dozen fieldworkers during the year 1998. The purpose of the interviews was to survey folk traditions in New Hampshire and determine who would be a likely candidate for participating in the 1999 festival in Washington D.C. Materials include interview reports, consent forms, and partial transcripts/summaries of each interview.

Box 1
		Interview Reports and Consent forms Interview reports organized alphabetically by surname of interviewee (or first interviewee listed). Fieldworker travel and report logs. Consent forms for interviewees with surnames A-N.
Box 2
		Interview Summaries, Interview Topics A-B Consent forms for interviewee surnames O-Z. Interview summaries for all interviews, alphabetical within each fieldworker’s files. Interview topics A-B: Agriculture, Animal Husbandry, 4-H; Boatbuilding (including canoes), Dogsled building; Building (including Historic Renovation, Timber framing, Sign painting).
Box 3
		Interview Topics F-R Farm Crafts; Fiber Arts (knitting, weaving, etc.); Foodways (including maple sugaring); Genealogy; Geography/Meteorology; New Hampshire Industry (including Forestry, Granite Quarrying, Naval Shipyard, Skiing, Firefighting Gear); Metal Smithing (Copper, Tin, Pewter, etc.); Music and Dance: Armenian, Franco-New Hampshire, Greek, Hispanic, Irish, Klezmer, Lebanese, Polish, Scottish/Cape Breton, Shaker, Square Dance/Contra dance, town bands; Painting; Pottery; and Recreation Surnames A-K (including fishing, snowmobiling, and hiking).
Box 4
		Interview Topics R-W Recreation Surnames L-Z (including Gunsmithing, Skiing, Archery); Storytelling (both Anglo and Franco); Summer camps; Theater; Toys; Town Meeting; Woodcraft: Basket making, Box Making, Cooperage, Decoy Carving, Furniture Making, Shaker Poplarware, Spoon Making, Wood Carving, Turning.

Series 2: Photos, Contact Sheets, Slides, 1998

(1 cu. ft.)

Photos and slides of interviewees taken by the fieldworkers during their interviews. Alphabetical by first name of fieldworker, then roughly alphabetical by topic within that. A topic may appear both with a fieldworker’s photos and with his or her slides. See negatives in Series 7, Boxes 14-16.

Box 4
		Photos by Fieldworker Andy Stewart Topics: Archery, Contra Dance, Decoy Carving, Fly Reel Making, Fly Tying, Franco-American Music, Gun Smithing, Hispanic Music, Scottish Fiddling, Shaker Music, Theater.
Box 5
		Photos by Fieldworkers Debra Cottrell, Eleanor Wachs, and Fran Kessler-Richardson Topics: Blacksmithing, Farm Crafts/Toys, 4-H, Historic Restoration, Oxen, Summer Camps, Woodsman Competitions, Computers, Basket Making, Doll Making, Fiber Artistry, Metal Smith, Pewter Smith, Tin Smith, Pottery.
Box 6
		Photos by Fieldworkers Gary Samson, Jack Beard, Julien Oliver, and Jessica Payne Topics: Ice Fishing, Chinese New Year, Contra Dance, Greek Dance, Irish Music and Step Dance, Polish Music, Scottish Fiddling, Scottish Piping and Music and Fiddling, Town Meetings, Shaker Poplarware, Foodways, Franco-American Singing and Music, Snow Shoeing, Genealogy, Storytelling, Textiles, Woodcarving, Foodways, Manchester NH Franco-American Culture, and Skiing.
Box 7
		Photos by Fieldworkers Kate Dodge, and Kathy Neusdadt Topics: Canoe Making, Boat Building, Dogsled Making, Model Boat Building, Sheep Herding, Spinning, Basket Making, Decorative Painting, Gill Net Making, Hand Weaving, Lobster Fishing, Quilting, Rug Hooking, Rug Braiding, Snow Mobiling, Snowshoe Making, Spinning, Textile Traditions, Beekeeping, Maple Sugaring, Dairy Farming, Orchards, and Yankee Foodways.
Box 8
		Photos by Fieldworkers Linda Bornstein, Louis Mazzari, Martin Delgadillo, Marjorie Goodson, and Simon Philips. Topics: Lumber Industry, Norwegian Knitting, Sign Artistry, Wood Carving, Architectural Restoration, Firefighter Suits, Fireworks, Old Man on the Mountain, Stone Carving, Draft Horses, Harness Making, Furniture Masters, Ice Fishing, Timber Frame Construction, Wood Turning, Copper Smithing, and Forestry.
Box 9
		Photos by Fieldworkers Rachel Mears and Susan Hawkins Topics: Canoe Building, Cooperage (Barrel Making); Dixville Notch, Fireman’s Muster, Logging Games, Musical Instruments, Motorcycle Culture, Knitting, Quilting, Scenic New Hampshire, Tractors, Spinning, Weaving, Appalachian Mountain Club, Doll Making, Fishing Guides, Maple Sugaring, Prayer Shawls, Quilting, Rock and Ice Climbing, Rug Hooking, and Yankee Foodways.

Series 3: Supplementary Printed Materials, 1997-1998

(1 cu. ft.)

This series contains supplementary printed materials given to the fieldworkers by their interviewees. These include pamphlets, business cards, some photographs, correspondence, booklets, articles, etc. Materials are organized by fieldworker.

Box 9
		Supplementary Materials No. 1 From fieldworkers Andrew Stewart and Debra Cottrell. Topics include Fishing, Music, Historical Preservation, and others.
Box 10
		Supplementary Materials No. 2 From fieldworkers Eleanor Wachs, Fran Kessler-Richardson, Jack Beard, Jill Linzee, Julien Oliver, Kate Dodge, Louis Mazzari, and Simon Philips. Topics include: skiing, basket making, music and dance, snow shoe making, rug hooking, and many others.
Box 11
		Supplementary Materials No. 3 From fieldworkers Simon Philips and Susan Hawkins. Materials include the Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC), moose hunting permit lotteries, ice fishing, town meetings, and others.

Series 4: New Hampshire Summer Camps, 1997-1998

(0.3 cu. ft.)

This series consists of observational and promotional material from various summer camps for children and adults across the state. Organization is roughly alphabetical by name of camp.

Box 11
		Summer Camps Camps: Bear Hill Pond 4-H Camp, Camp Belknap, Camp Allen, Inc., Calumet Lutheran Camp, Camp Young Judaea, Kabeyun Boy’s Camp, Merrowvista Youth Camp, Camp Pasquaney, Camp Pemigewassett, and Camp Tecumseh.

Series 5: Town Meetings in New Hampshire, 1998

(0.33 cu. ft.)

Political processes, culture, and traditions of New Hampshire town meetings during the year of 1998, documented through photographs and some printed material. Town reports have been removed and filed with the archive’s main collection of Town Reports.

Box 12
		Town Meetings Towns represented are: Hancock, Meredith, Bedford, Warner, Chichester, Washington, Antrim, Center Sandwich, Temple, Bradford, and Northwood. Some towns appear in more than one folder.

Series 6: Celebrate New Hampshire and Smithsonian Folklife Festivals, 1999-2001

(0.66 cu. ft.)

The Smithsonian Folklife Festival took place in Washington D.C. in 1999. The Celebrate New Hampshire Festival was held at the Hopkinton Fairgrounds, June 7-11 2000. Both festivals celebrated the culture and traditional skills of New Hampshire residents. Included are consent forms for the Celebrate NH festival, copies of educational signs, publicity materials, and schedules.

Box 12
		Consent forms, Educational Signs, Publicity, Etc. This box contains consent forms for all hired participants at the Celebrate NH festival, alphabetical by surname. Designs and text for educational signs are organized by topic, including the rejects not chosen for display. There are also schedules, promo materials, publicity, and participant biographies for both festivals.
Box 13
		1999 Smithsonian Folklife Festival Promotional booklet, music CD, and photos/slides of the actual festival in Washington D.C. Topics are not limited to New Hampshire, and also include the Romanian and South African delegations to that year’s festival.

Series 7: Raw Interview Materials (Audio/Visual), 1998

(4.33 cu. ft.)

This series includes negatives, digital photographs, full cassette tapes of most of the interviews, and a variety of other digital and magnetic media documenting the rest of the interviews.

Box 14
		Film Negatives: AS, DC, and EW Negatives for photographs from Andrew Stewart, Debra Cottrell, and Eleanor Wachs. Topics: Contra dance, Fly Reel Makers, Fly Rod Makers, Hispanic Music, Theater, Blacksmiths, Farm Crafts, 4-H, Historic Renovation, Oxen, Summer Camps, Woodsmen, and Computers.
Box 15
		Film Negatives: JB, JO, JP, and KD Negatives for photographs from Jack Beard, Julien Oliver, Jessica Payne, and Kate Dodge. Topics: Contra dance, Greek dance, Irish dance, Town Meetings, Wood Carving, Skiing, Boat building, Sheep herding, and Snowmobiling.
Box 16
		Film Negatives: KN, LB, LM, SP, and RM Negatives for photographs from Kathy Neusdadt, Linda Bornstein, Louis Mazzari, Simon Phillips, and Rachel Mears. Topics: Beekeeping, Dairy Farming, Maple Sugaring, Yankee foodways, Sign artistry, Lumber industry, Architectural Restoration, Firefighting suits, Granite quarrying, Stone Carving, Furniture masters, Ice Fishing, Timber Framing, Cooperage, Fireman’s muster, Logging games, Quilting, and Scenic NH.
Box 17
		Digital Materials Signs, Maps, Photographs from the 1999 Smithsonian and 2000 Celebrate NH festivals. These files are stored on CD-ROM and Zip discs and are in .TIFF image format.
Box 18
		VHS Interview Materials: AS, FR, JB, LM, and MD Filmed interviews from fieldworkers Andrew Stewart, Fran Kessler-Richardson, Jack Beard, Louis Mazzari, and Martin Delgadillo. Topics include fly fishing, gun smithing, Franco-American music, spoon carving, town meetings, Irish music, and Uruguayan folk dance, among others.
Box 19
		VHS Interview Materials: JL, KD, LB, and LM Filmed interviews from fieldworkers Jill Linzee, Kate Dodge, Linda Bornstein, and Louis Mazzari. Also two copies of producer Chip Neal’s documentary “Hello New Hampshire” (1999, NH Public Television, 27 min.).
Oversize Box 1
		Raw Interview Tapes: AS, DC, EW, and FR This box contains raw interview tapes from fieldworkers Andrew Stewart (33 tapes), Debra Cottrell (29 tapes), Eleanor Wachs (2 tapes), and Fran Kessler-Richardson (18 tapes). Topics: Archery, Contra dance, Decoy carving, Fly rod makers, Fly tying, Franco-American Music, Gun smithing, Hispanic music, Irish step dance, New England music, Scottish fiddling, Shaker music, Theater, 4-H, Black smiths, Farm Crafts, Farm Toys, Historic Renovation, Oxen, Summer Camps, Woodsmen competition, Computers, Ski industry, Basket making, Box making/Poplarware, Doll making, Fiber Artistry, Furniture Master, Hand Spoon maker, Metal smithing, Pewter smithing, Pottery, Tin Smith, and Wood carving.
Oversize Box 2
		Raw Interview Tapes: JB This box contains raw interview tapes from fieldworker Jack Beard (64 tapes). Topics: Contra / New England dance, Franco-American Music, Gospel Music, Greek Dance, Irish music, Irish Traditional Music, Jewish Music (Klezmer), Lebanese Music, Polish Music, Scottish music, Shaker Poplarware, Square dance, Town Bands, and Town Meetings.
Oversize Box 3
		Raw Interview Tapes: JL, JO, and JP Raw interview tapes from fieldworkers Jill Linzee (43), Julien Oliver (23), and Jessica Payne (20). Topics: Basket making, Boat building, Contra dance, Decoy carving, Finnish dance music, Fly tying, Franco-American dance/music, Gun smithing, Irish Music, Latvian weaving, Scottish piping, Snowshoe making, Storytelling, Foodways, Genealogy, Snowshoeing, Storytelling, Textiles, Wood carving, and Skiing.
Oversize Box 4
		Raw Interview Tapes: JP, JV, KD, and KN Raw interview tapes from fieldworkers Jessica Payne (26), JV (4), Kate Dodge (40), and Kathy Neusdadt (17). Topics: Skiing, Storytelling, Franco-American Music, Boat building, Decorative Painting, Dog sled making, Gill netting, Lobster fishing, Quilting, Rug Braiding, Rug hooking, Sheep herding, Snowmobiling, Snowshoe making, Spinning, Textile traditions, Weaving, Beekeeping, Dairy farming, Maple sugaring.
Oversize Box 5
		Raw Interview Tapes: KN, LB, LM, MD, MG, MP, RM, and SH Raw interview tapes from fieldworkers Kathy Neusdadt (11), Linda Bornstein (4), Louis Mazzari (10), Martin Delgadillo (9), Marjorie Goodson (6), Simon Philips (25), Rachel Mears (2), Susan Hawkins (15), TC (5). Topics: Maple sugaring, Orchards, Beekeeping, Yankee foodways, Lumber industry, Norwegian foodways, Norwegian knitting, Sign Artistry, Architectural restoration, Firefighter suits, Fireworks, Granite quarrying, Old Man of the Mountain, Stone carving, Columbian woodcarving, Haitian music, Hispanic foodways, Mask making, Mexican folklore music, Uruguayan folk dance, Woodcarving, Draft horses, Harness making, Oxen, Coppersmithing, Forestry, Furniture Masters, Ice fishing, Timber frame construction, Weather, Wood turning, Cooperage, Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC), Canoe building, Doll Making, Fishing Guide, Hunting Guide, Prayer Shawls, Quilting, Rock and Ice Climbing, Spinning, Weaving, Tool Making, Wreath Making, Yankee foodways, Farm stand, Knitting, Sewing, Metal craft, Painting, and Woodcraft.
Oversize Box 6
		NH Public Television Materials 1 cubic foot of raw video footage from episodes of New Hampshire Crossroads and the New Hampshire Chronicle which covered both festivals and their participants.