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Community Activities and Food Preservation

Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage

Object Details

sova.cfch.sff.1980_ref31
GUID
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/bk542b5451f-2cf4-4646-b431-6463486474ff
Introduction
This program, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, focused on food preservation as an essential component of community activities. Throughout rural America, community events such as Homecomings were seen to act as centripetal forces pulling members back into the center of values, of behaviors, of world view all tied together in activities that reinforced the past and tailored the future - and food was often a major focus of such events. Community events in America were seen by the Festival as reinforcing and restating the expected style of behavior in attempting to reintegrate distant members to the community's values. No event, no matter how tedious, was all work - nor was any festivity all frolic. The community and its institutions were tied to the common needs of its members for food, shelter, solace, and fellowship. Whether cooking for Homecoming or feeding the firemen, public participation in community events validated membership in a cultural system and provided a common sense of purpose, of contribution, of what needs to be done and how to do it. Peering into the basement or root cellar of many rural homes, one would find summer's bounty stored for the winter. Potatoes covered with lime might fill a bin in one corner of the room. Colorful jars filled with fruit, vegetables, and meat might line the walls, while crocks full of fermenting pickle beans sat in another corner. Dried apples, beans, peaches, and corn would be stored in brown paper bags, with home-cured hams hanging from beams overhead. While food preservation techniques may have adapted to changing times, home canning, pickling, curing, and drying remained vital traditions in many communities nearing the end of the 20th century. They were economical in many ways, and the final product was easily adjusted to community preferences. Homemade biscuits, cookies, and pies, home-processed hams, dilly beans, sauerkraut, and leather britches simply tasted better to people who were accustomed to them. 1980 Festival presentations included wine making, meat smoking, butter churning, canning, cane syrup making, and "found food" preparation, as well as a daily candy pull and workshops discussing the knowledge and lore of community-based food preservation activities.
Participants
Maria Agner, 1910-2002, wine making, Fitzgerald, Georgia Etta Mae Anderson, 1907-2005, found foods, Ocilla, Georgia Martha Barrs, 1924-, canning, Ocilla, Georgia Mr. & Mrs. Fred Lee Bentley (1923-1997), meat smoking, Pelham, Georgia Minnie Pearl Brown, 1914-1991, canning, Tifton, Georgia W. Guy Bruce, musician, Trion, Georgia Mr. & Mrs. Grady T. Bryan (1920-), cane syrup making, Lenox, Georgia Annie Mae Calloway, 1903-1991, canning, Tifton, Georgia Minnie Davis, 1907-1987, dairy products, Ocilla, Georgia Forrest B. Joiner, 1908-2000, canning, Meigs, Georgia Joe Miller, 1918-, musician, Campton, Georgia Peggy Miller, 1920-2000, canning, Sylvester, Georgia Neal Pattman, musician, Winterville, Georgia Ivery Sneed, 1924-, canning, Ocilla, Georgia Gordon Tanner, 1916-, musician, Dacula, Georgia Phil Tanner, 1942-, musician, Dacula, Georgia
Collection Creator
Smithsonian Institution. Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage
See more items in
Smithsonian Folklife Festival records: 1980 Festival of American Folklife
Archival Repository
Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections
Identifier
CFCH.SFF.1980, Series 4
Type
Archival materials
Collection Citation
Smithsonian Folklife Festival records: 1980 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.
CFCH.SFF.1980_ref31
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/bk542b5451f-2cf4-4646-b431-6463486474ff
CFCH.SFF.1980
CFCHFOLKLIFE
Record ID
ebl-1503510198656-1503510198696-8

  • Smithsonian Folklife Festival records: 1980 Festival of American Folklife


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