Collection Summary
Don Yoder collection of wire
recordings 1950-1960
1950-1960
AFC
1970/004
Yoder, Don
2 slips of paper + 26 sound wire reel
containers.
sound recordings: 33 sound wire reels : analog ; 3
in.
Sound recordings predominantly in Pennsylvania German; some are in
English.
Sound recordings predominantly in Pennsylvania German; some are in
English.
Archive of Folk Culture, American Folklife Center, Library of
Congress,
Washington, D.C.
Collection of field recordings of hymns
and spirituals of Pennsylvania Dutch Evangelical United Brethren, United Christian, and
Mennonite singers; humorous songs, secular folk songs, jokes, religious beliefs, tales,
and conversations in Pennsylvania German; hymns, ballads, folk songs, tales, and ghost
stories in English. Several interviews are about holidays, camp meetings, and
traditional healing, including Sophia Bailer's discussion of Pennsylvania Dutch
blessings for healing -- "brauche" -- also known as powwowing. Musical accompaniment
includes guitar and fiddle for some recordings. One wire spool includes a radio
broadcast from station WEEU of a program on "Pennsylvania Dutch folklore" presented by
John B. Brendel.
Arrangement
Organized by format into the following series: 1. Manuscripts; 2. Sound
Recordings.
Indexes
Recording logs prepared by Keith Reigart.
Acquisition
Don Yoder; loan for duplication, tape exchange; 1977.
William Woys Weaver; donation (12 wire reels); 2015.
Accruals
An accrual of 12 wires was received in 2015.
Processing History
Rachel I. Howard performed preliminary processing work in 2000-2001. Keith Reigart
prepared the recording logs for the first accrual, circa 2000-2001. Marcia K. Segal
completed the processing work for the first accrual in 2006, and processed the second
accrual in 2018.
Additional Formats
Preservation tape reels: Washington, D.C. : Library of Congress Recording
Laboratory, circa 1970. 4 sound tape reels : analog, 7 1/2 ips, mono. ; 10 in. The
sound recordings have been digitized from the preservation masters. Researchers can
listen to the digital recordings in the Folklife Reading Room.
Related Material
Don Yoder collection of tape recordings (AFC 2003/051).
Copyright Status
Duplication of sound recordings may be governed by copyright and other
restrictions.
Access and Restrictions
Collection is open for research. To request materials, please contact the Folklife
Reading Room at http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.afc/folklife.contact
Additional Formats
Library of Congress duplication project, circa 1970. During duplication, some of the
32 wire reels originally acquired were found to be blank; the blank reels were
deaccessioned. The remaining original wire recordings were retained by the American
Folklife Center, Archive of Folk Culture.
Preferred Citation
Don Yoder collection of wire recordings (AFC 1970/004), Archive of Folk Culture,
American Folklife Center, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
Publications
Boyer, Walter E., Albert F. Buffington, and Don Yoder.
Songs along the Mahantongo.
Lancaster: Pennsylvania Dutch Folklore
Center, 1951.
Yoder, Don.
Pennsylvania Spirituals.
Lancaster,
Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania Folklife Society, 1961.
Biographical Notes
Born in 1921, in Altoona, Pennsylvania, Don Yoder grew up immersed in the traditions of
Pennsylvania German culture. Educated at Franklin and Marshall College (A.B., 1942 and
B.D., 1945), and at the University of Chicago (Ph.D., 1947). Yoder was chair of the
Department of Folklore and Folklife at the University of Pennsylvania from 1966-1969,
and retired from teaching after 40 years. He authored and co-authored hundreds of
publications, traveled and lectured widely, and held varied posts, including director of
the Pennsylvania Folklife Society (which he co-founded), editor of
Pennsylvania
Folklife
, president of the American Folklore Society, and Professor Emeritus
of Folklife Studies, University of Pennsylvania. He is a member of Phi Beta Kappa, and
has been elected fellow to the American Antiquarian Society and the American
Genealogical Society, among others. He introduced the European concept and practice of
folklife studies in the United States. He died in 2015.
Selected Search Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the LC Catalog. They are grouped by name of person or organization, by subject or location, and by occupation and listed alphabetically.
People
Bailer, Sophia
Brendel, John B., 1911-1971
Yoder, Don
Organizations
Evangelical United Brethren Church.
Mennonite Brethren in Christ.
United Christian Church.
United Zion Church.
WEEU (Radio station : Reading, Pa.)
Subjects
Ballads, English--Pennsylvania.
Camp meetings--Pennsylvania.
Field recordings--Pennsylvania.
Folk songs, English--Pennsylvania.
Folk songs, Pennsylvania German--Pennsylvania.
Ghost stories--Pennsylvania.
Healing--Pennsylvania--Religious aspects.
Humorous songs--Pennsylvania.
Hymns, English--Pennsylvania.
Hymns, German--Pennsylvania.
Hymns, Pennsylvania German--Pennsylvania.
Mennonites--Pennsylvania--Hymns.
Pennsylvania Dutch--Pennsylvania--Folklore.
Pennsylvania Dutch--Pennsylvania--Music.
Pennsylvania Dutch--Pennsylvania--Religion.
Pennsylvania Dutch--Pennsylvania--Social life and customs.
Powwows (healers)
Revival hymns--Pennsylvania.
Tales--Pennsylvania.
Form/Genre
Field recordings.
Interviews.
Jokes.
Prayers.
Radio programs.
Scope and Content
Collection of field recordings of hymns and spirituals of Pennsylvania Dutch Evangelical
United Brethren, United Christian, and Mennonite singers; humorous songs, secular folk
songs, jokes, hymns, religious beliefs, tales, and conversations in Pennsylvania German;
hymns, ballads, folk songs, tales, and ghost stories in English. Several interviews are
about holidays, camp meetings, and traditional healing, including Sophia Bailer's
discussion of Pennsylvania Dutch blessings for healing -- "brauche" -- also known as
powwowing. Musical accompaniment includes guitar and fiddle for some recordings. One
wire spool includes a radio broadcast from station WEEU of a program on "Pennsylvania
Dutch folklore" presented by John B. Brendel.
Recorded by Don Yoder and others at various locations in the Pennsylvania Dutch area of
eastern Pennsylvania in 1950-1951, 1960, and possibly on other dates. Locations include
Lancaster County, Lebanon County, Schuylkill County, Lehigh County, and Berks County,
Pennsylvania.
Various performers and interviewees including Emma L. Yoder, Harry Lewis, Beulah Mae
Lewis, Oliver Franklin Follweiler, Harvey Brunner Musselman, Miriam Hollenbach, Aggie
Osman, Valeria Gable, Florence Gable, Florence Deibler, Martin Sweigert, Sophia Bailer,
William (Willie) Brown, Christian R. Longenecker, Charles Fassnacht, Ella Fassnacht,
Wesley Pfautz Martin, Mrs. Wesley P. Martin, and others.
Container List
Series 1: Manuscripts
1
Documentation for sound recordings
(original)
28 items: 26 containers and two slips of
paper.
26 original containers for wire reels and two pieces of paper. One paper
accompanied AFC 1970/004: SR041 and one paper indicates the wires belong to
Yoder. Further textual information on the containers and reels remains to be
transcribed.
Series 2: Sound Recordings
AFC 1970/004: SR11
1 sound wire reel (30 min., 44 sec.) :
analog
Recorded circa 1951-1960. 17
selections: folk songs and spoken word segments in Pennsylvania German and in
English. The songs are sometimes sung a cappela, and sometimes accompanied by
instruments. Several of the songs were published in the book
Songs Along
The Mahantongo.
Recorded at the Pennsylvania Dutch Folklore Center
(later the Pennsylvania Folklife Society).
AFC 1970/004: SR12
1 sound wire reel (15 min., 45 sec.) :
analog
Recorded July 13, 1960. 16
selections: spirituals in Pennsylvania German and in English. The songs are
sung a cappela. Sporadic, brief talk can be heard between songs. Many of the
songs are included with text and notation in
Pennsylvania
Spirituals.
AFC 1970/004: SR13
1 sound wire reel (part 1: 17 min., 11 sec.;
part 2: 13 min., 47 sec.) : analog
Recorded circa 1951-1960. 43 selections: hymns and songs
in Pennsylvania German.
AFC 1970/004: SR14
1 sound wire reel (31 min., 16 sec.) :
analog
Recorded circa 1951-1960. 36 selections: songs in
Pennsylvania German and in English. Nine hymns in Pennsylvania German are
repeated from SR12.
AFC 1970/004: SR15
1 sound wire reel (19 min., 55 sec.) :
analog
Recorded circa 1951-1960. 24 selections: religious songs
in Pennsylvania German, as well as spirituals in Pennsylvania German and in
English. The first thirteen songs are repeated from SR14. The latter group of
songs appear, with text and musical notation, in
Pennsylvania
Spirituals.
AFC 1970/004: SR16
1 sound wire reel (11 min., 20 sec.) :
analog
Recorded circa 1951-1960. 28 selections: fragments of
spirituals sung in English by the same unidentified male singer, with no
instrumental accompaniment.
AFC 1970/004: SR17
1 sound wire reel (22 min., 2 sec.) :
analog
Recorded July 13, 1960. 29
selections: spirituals in Pennsylvania German and in English. Only one
selection is in English.
AFC 1970/004: SR18
1 sound wire reel (30 min., 56 sec.) :
analog
Recorded July 13, 1960. 28
selections: folks songs, spirituals, a counting rhyme, and a lullabye in
Pennsylvania German. A prayer, possibly in Pennsylvania German, is sung. Also
included are songs and ballads in English, and Pennsylvania German stories told
in English.
AFC 1970/004: SR19
1 sound wire reel (12 min., 45 sec.) :
analog
Recorded July 13, 1960. 11
selections: folk songs and spoken word passages in English.
AFC 1970/004: SR20
1 sound wire reel (31 min., 24 sec.) :
analog
Recorded July 13, 1960. 12
selections: ballads and songs in English, and spoken word passages with some
Pennsylvania German dialect mixed in. Sophia Bailer talks about powwowing.
AFC 1970/004: SR21
1 sound wire reel (17 min., 48 sec.) :
analog
Recorded July 13, 1960. 23
selections: spirituals in Pennsylvania German and a brief statement in
English.
AFC 1970/004: SR22
1 sound wire reel (14 min., 32 sec.) :
analog
Recorded January 20, 1951. 20
selections: spirituals in Pennsylvania German and in English.
AFC 1970/004: SR23
1 sound wire reel (15 min., 59 sec.) :
analog
Recorded July 13, 1960. 27
selections: spirituals in Pennsylvania German.
AFC 1970/004: SR24
1 sound wire reel (14 min., 57 sec.) :
analog
Recorded July 13, 1960. 8
selections: includes spirituals in Pennsylvania German.
AFC 1970/004: SR25
1 sound wire reel (19 min.) : analog
Recorded July 13, 1960. 61
selections: includes folk songs in German and Pennsylvania German, songs in
Pennsylvania German, a story in Pennsylvania German and English, songs in
English, and jokes in Pennsylvania German (with some English).
AFC 1970/004: SR26
1 sound wire reel (21 min., 5 sec.) :
analog
Recorded circa 1950. 37 selections: includes spirituals in
Pennsylvania German and in English.
AFC 1970/004: SR27
1 sound wire reel (26 min., 13 sec.) :
analog
Recorded July 13, 1960. 32 selections: includes spirituals
in Pennsylvania German and in English, and a Pennsylvania German-style German
hymn.
AFC 1970/004: SR28
1 sound wire reel (15 min., 14 sec.) :
analog
Recorded July 13, 1960. 25 selections: includes folk
songs, a lullabye, a joke, and a parody of a spiritual in Pennsylvania German;
a humorous Pennsylvania German song in English; and a humorous song, folk
songs, and a local prison ballad in English.
AFC 1970/004: SR29
1 sound wire reel (4 min., 9 sec.) :
analog
Recorded circa 1951-1960. 3 selections: includes two
Pennsylvania German folk songs, and a conversation in English and Pennsylvania
German between a male interviewer and a young girl.
AFC 1970/004: SR30
1 sound wire reel (23 min., 59 sec.) :
analog
Recorded circa 1951-1960. 28 selections: includes stories
and folk songs in Pennsylvania German and other spoke-word segments, also in
Pennsylvania German; also stories and an evangelical song (with a bawdy parody
of the same song), and spoken-word segments in English.
AFC 1970/004: SR32
1 sound wire reel (14 min., 45 sec.) :
analog
Recorded circa 1952. 4 selections: includes three
recordings of radio broadcasts, and a spoken word segment, all in Pennsylvania
German. John Brendel was the host for at least two of the broadcasts.
AFC 1970/004: SR33
1 sound wire reel : analog
Transcribed from reel container: New Years wish – Jerome Fenstermaker
AFC 1970/004: SR34
1 sound wire reel : analog
Mr. MacG...le .
AFC 1970/004: SR35
1 sound wire reel : analog
Transcribed from reel container: Reinholds / Sup. with roanler [?] / Happy Hen
.
AFC 1970/004: SR36
1 sound wire reel : analog
Recorded June 27, 1955. Transcribed from reel container: Miss
Susan Balsbaugh.
AFC 1970/004: SR37
1 sound wire reel : analog
Transcribed from reel container: Peter Kershner / Transcribed by BBill Frey /
DY [Don Yoder]: type words!!! .
AFC 1970/004: SR38
1 sound wire reel : analog
Recorded May 23, 1951. Transcribed from reel container and spool:
Pete Kershner II / May 23, 1951 (Wednesday) / Transcribed July 25, 1955 / Nos.
10-30 / Orig.
AFC 1970/004: SR39
1 sound wire reel : analog
Recorded 1951. Transcribed from reel container and spool: Mrs.
Jacob Sherk / [1951] [sic] / Bellgrove [sic] / Transcribed July 25, 1955 / Nos.
1-9 / Orig.
AFC 1970/004: SR40
1 sound wire reel : analog
Transcribed from reel container and spool: Geschimats [?] / Shoemakersville
PA.
AFC 1970/004: SR41
1 sound wire reel : analog
Transcribed from reel container and spool: Rev. Mentzer / In the New Jerusalem
/ [other words, in Pennsylvania German].
AFC 1970/004: SR42
1 sound wire reel : analog
Transcribed from reel container and spool: Copy / 1) Emma Sherk 2) Pete
Kershner / I.
AFC 1970/004: SR43
1 sound wire reel : analog
Transcribed from reel container and spool: Copy: 1) Pete Kershner 2) Susan
Balsbaugh 3) Geo [George] Shaveley [?] / II.
AFC 1970/004: SR44
1 sound wire reel : analog
No available information.
Appendix A: [Logs and Notes for Sound Recordings]