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Folklore in Your Community

Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage

Object Details

Introduction
The Folklore in Your Community featured several presentations based in communities of the Washington, D.C. area. Vietnamese Americans For refugees, community is an immediate concern. Vietnamese were the newest wave of refugees to American shores, plucked from their families and communities very suddenly with the end of the Vietnam War in 1975. Cultural change in Vietnamese American communities was rapid; in some families the grandparents spoke little English in 1979 and the grandchildren spoke little Vietnamese. Nonetheless, the traditional pattern persisted of three generations of an extended family living and working together. In Vietnamese terms, a family consists of passing on responsibility and gratitude from generation to generation. Arriving with fragments of their families and communities, the Vietnamese in Washington, D.C., had by 1979 vigorously woven a network of community activities through neighborhood grocery stores, restaurants, Buddhist temples, Catholic organizations, a bistro, Vietnamese language schools, senior citizens' groups, and newspapers. D.C. Fire Fighters Since the first horse-drawn fire engines clanged down a city street, fire fighting has been an urban service occupation that continued to generate a feeling of romance and respect. Yet beyond the excitement and pride felt by those who advance the hose lines, make the rescues or throw the ladders, there are a variety of techniques, customs, gestures, and stories that form the work culture passed from one generation of fire fighters to the next. Fire fighting is dangerous and filled with sharp contrasts. Danger must be anticipated; life or death situations require all the knowledge and skill an individual can muster. A fire fighter prepares for this every day through training, experience, and the collective knowledge of past generations of fire fighters communicated through occupational folklore, represented at the Festival by workshops demonstrating the skills and lore of District of Columbia fire fighters. CB Community Viewed broadly, the CB community included anyone who had and used a CB (Citizen's Band) radio. But for many CBers in the D. C. area, two way radio was more than an occasional convenience to help drivers. It formed the basis of an ongoing and richly-interactive community. CB people met and socialized over the radio and at CB events; they created informal networks and organized special clubs, such as the Legal CB Operators of America who helped prepare this year's CB presentation for the Folklife Festival. CB aficionados invited Festival visitors to learn their special jargon and to eavesdrop on the life of their community. Street Criers and Corner Stores The places where cultures meet to do business with one another produce some of our most vital folk expressions. At markets where Italians sell to Jews, where blacks sell to Chinese; in streets where itinerant peddlers make their neighborhood stops, vendors combine talent, tradition, and business sense to sell their goods. Two programs focused on this domain: one looked at neighborhood and corner stores and the role they played for their proprietors, neighbors, and customers, and the other looked at the verbal arts of vendors and sellers - the cries and pitches of fish vendors, fruit peddlers, and others who used their skills to attract customers and to close a deal.
Participants
Baseball Players Washington Senators Jim Hannan, 1940-, Annandale, Virginia Charles Hinton, 1934-, Washington, D.C. Jackie Jenson, 1927-1982, Scottsville, Virginia Jim Lemon, 1928-2006, Hyattsville, Maryland Walter Masterson, 1920-2008, Woodville, Virginia Mickey Vernon, 1918-2008, Wallingford, Pennsylvania Citizen Band Radio Operators Ryan J. Arata (Maine Yankee), 1930-, Annandale, Virginia Teri Barron (Wacky Witch), 1945-, Arlington, Virginia Nicholas H. Bocher (Two Plus), 1941-, Annandale, Virginia Chick Heerlein (Chick-Mar), 1914-2002, Annandale, Virginia Ralph D. Kuser (Red Pony), 1943-, Arlington, Virginia Jessie E. Spells (Delta Man), 1928-, Arlington, Virginia Fire Fighters District of Columbia Fire Fighters' Association, Local 36, D.C. Fire Department Gospel Singers D.C. Blind Gospel Singers, Washington, D.C. Independent Church of God Choir, Washington, D.C. Rose Bud Singers, Washington, D.C. Sincere Gospel Aires, Washington, D.C. Wilson Harmonizers, Washington, D.C. Market Vendors Chris Calomiris, Silver Spring, Maryland Merhle E. Dutrow, Damascus, Maryland Ella Lovett, 1930-2003, Washington, D.C. Lincoln Rorie, Oxon Hill, Maryland Gregg Taylor, Washington, D.C. John W. Thomas, 1916-1987, Temple Hills, Maryland Neighborhood Store Owners Bianca and Valerio Calcagno, Va-Ce Italian Delicatessen, Washington, D.C. Edward F. Dillon, Washington, D.C. Mollie and Joseph Muchnick (1953-), Silver Spring, Maryland Andrew Wallace, Washington, D.C. Sarah Weisfeld (1910-2001), Alfred Weisfeld (1904-1998) and Marshall Weisfeld (1945-), Washington, D.C. Stone Carvers Carlo Donofrio, stone cutter, Clinton, Maryland Roger Morigi, 1907-1995, Hyattsville, Maryland Vincenzo Palumbo, 1936-2000, Upper Marlboro, Maryland Constantine Seferlis, 1928-2005, Garrett Park, Maryland Frank Zic, 1909-1995, Holliswood, New York Street Hawkers Paul Diggs, Baltimore, Maryland Walter Kelly, Baltimore, Maryland Lincoln Rorie, Oxon Hill, Maryland Jerry Williams, 1954-, Onancock, Virginia Taxi Cab Drivers Nick Aravanis, Washington, D.C. Ruby Burnside, 1914-2000, Washington, D.C. Bob Chapman, Washington, D.C. Arthur Elms, 1928-1994, dispatcher, Washington, D.C. Moe Gershenson, 1905-1984, Mt. Rainier, Maryland Vietnamese Community Le Thi Bai, narrator, costume, Washington, D.C. Nguyen Ngoc Bich, 1937-, games leader, festival organizer, Springfield, Virginia Huynh Kim Chi, musician, Middlesex, New Jersey Tranh Dinh De, Maryland, narrator, acupuncture, Falls Church, Virginia Reverend Thach Giac Due, narrator, Buddhism, Washington, D.C. Vu Thi Dung, games leader, Arlington, Virginia Hien Nguyen Gia, musician, Washington, D.C. Hang Phan Hoang, cook, Bowie, Maryland Dao Thi Hoi, cook, Springfield, Virginia Truong Cam Khai, 1906-, calligrapher, painter, Arlington, Virginia Nguyen Van Minh, lacquerware maker, Springfield, Virginia Le Thanh Nghiem, narrator, costume, Washington, D.C. Phan Bach Ngoc, silk flower maker, Falls Church, Virginia Than Nguyen, narrator, immigrant experience, Springfield, Virginia Nguyen Kim Oanh, musician, Alexandria, Virginia Ho Thien Tam, musician, Falls Church, Virginia Tam Vi Thuy, musician, Fairfax, Virginia Ai Thi Tong, narrator, foodways, Washington, D.C. Minh Nguyet Vu, narrator, immigrant experience, Arlington, Virginia Ngo Vuong Zoai, musician, Alexandria, Virginia
Collection Creator
Smithsonian Institution. Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage
See more items in
Smithsonian Folklife Festival records: 1979 Festival of American Folklife
Archival Repository
Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections
Identifier
CFCH.SFF.1979, Series 5
Type
Archival materials
Collection Citation
Smithsonian Folklife Festival records: 1979 Festival of American Folklife, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections, Smithsonian Institution.
Collection Rights
Permission to publish materials from the collection must be requested from the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections. Please visit our website to learn more about submitting a request. The Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections make no guarantees concerning copyright or other intellectual property restrictions. Other usage conditions may apply; please see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for more information.
Collection Restrictions
Access to the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections is by appointment only. Visit our website for more information on scheduling a visit or making a digitization request. Researchers interested in accessing born-digital records or audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies.
Related link
Record ID
ebl-1503512423841-1503512423871-2
Metadata Usage
CC0
GUID
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/bk580235d55-5933-4084-8425-f69a217dfcd3

Related Content

  • Online Finding AidSmithsonian Folklife Festival records: 1979 Festival of American Folklife

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