History Burgoo

On the Road (... Again?)

  

It’s a beautiful Friday morning as Mark and I drive a white, motorpool cargo van down the Bluegrass Parkway. (Bob is driving and talking, Mark is typing.) We are heading to Munfordville to pick up dozens of white oak baskets made by members of the Mammoth Cave Basket Makers Guild, and deliver them to the Living Arts & Science Center in Lexington for an upcoming exhibition.

This is one of our many travel dates of late. Within the last month or so, we have

• moved the Made to be Played exhibit from the Center for Traditional Music at Morehead, to Hyden Citizen Bank (where visitors of the Osborne Brothers Bluegrass Festival viewed it, and where Bob got to stay in the Mary Breckinridge House), to Greenbo Lake State Resort Park (the first state park to host the exhibit)
• taken a trip to Horse Cave to meet with Community Scholar Mary Margaret Villines of the Kentucky Repertory Theatre to prepare for the aforementioned basket exhibit
• traveled to the Kentucky Horse Park to scope out the construction of the Kentucky Experience Pavilion, where the lots of great artists will perform during the World Equestrian Games.

Traveling frequently across the state, we meet people in their communities, and experience their culture. Often, we hear music along the way, whether it’s played at a local festival, or on local radio (such as WRFL’s Friday morning surf music show). Why so much travel? This work supports an aspect of the Folklife Program’s mission – conservation of folk culture.

Conservation (not to be confused with preservation) is about encouraging traditional art forms to grow, by educating the public, building pride in local heritage, and promoting traditions within a community and beyond. With so many Kentucky traditions to help conserve, this mission is ongoing. At the state level, we support such efforts through grants, archives, and public programs.

While KFP's work supports conservation, the real driving force is usually someone in the community who takes initiative and coordinates efforts over time. Luckily, there are allies all over who work toward the same goal. Here are a couple of examples that come to mind while sitting in this noisy van:

• Dr. Lee Harris of First Baptist Church in Frankfort, who organized a group to take some interview training and, with help from a KSU intern, document stories of senior church members, archive recordings, and present these stories at a church anniversary celebration
• Dr. Loyal Jones, Bob’s mentor who started the Appalachian Center at Berea College, and who we just learned is this year’s Governor’s Arts Award winner in Folk Heritage
• Dr. James Middleton, who has done much to conserve the Mammoth Cave basket tradition by sponsoring the Hart County Fair Basket Competition, and generated interest in the tradition and inspired new creativity among basket makers. The walls of his Family Medical Center showcase a vast collection of locally made baskets and quilts (the Center welcomes visitors, even when you are feeling well.)

These three individuals are cultural conservation leaders. (It is a coincidence that all three are doctors.) We have almost reached our destination so, in closing, readers, do you know any cultural conservationists? If so, pay tribute and describe them in a comment below!

Kentucky Folk Arts Master Profile - Roger Cooper, Lewis County Fiddler

All traditions have two characteristics in common:  continuity and change.  Kentucky fiddle traditions are a great example.  Listen to a fiddler from northeastern Kentucky, and you’ll quickly notice differences in technique, style, and even names of the tunes than you encounter in other parts of Appalachia or western Kentucky.  The Ohio River has played a major part in shaping the cultural landscape, which includes the fiddling, of Lewis County.  Generations of travelers and settlers have contributed to what we know as a distinct tradition, which will continue changing in the future.  One distinguished artist who embodies the unique fiddle traditions of the area is Roger Cooper.   

Early in life, Roger made it his mission to learn from all the traditional fiddlers in Lewis County.  At age twelve he played guitar behind fiddler Joe Stamper on Vanceburg radio WKKS.  Roger spent years mastering the tunes as he heard them and playing them at contests, dances, and concerts.  He has released albums such as Essence of Old Kentucky on Rounder Records.  (Read a review of Essence of Old Kentucky.)

Roger is committed to sharing his knowledge with other players.  He teaches advanced fiddle at the Cowan Creek Mountain Music School, and has completed Kentucky Arts Council Folk and Traditional Arts Apprenticeships with three excellent Kentucky fiddlers.  Each of these apprentices has taken strides toward mastering the style that Roger represents, while contributing his own individual talents to the tradition-  

- Gary Cornett is a respected luthier who is featured in the Made to be Played: Traditional Art of Kentucky Luthiers traveling exhibition.  

- Michael Garvin is an active, young musician who maintains the Website Kentucky Memories.   

- Scott Miller is an experienced performer who is working with the Jesse Stuart Foundation to archive and share these fiddle tunes online. 

The future of northeastern Kentucky fiddling is in capable hands, and it is exciting to see how new technologies affect the tradition.  Hear some of Roger’s recorded tunes on the Digital Library of Appalachia (click the title, then “Access this item”).

Better yet, catch Roger Cooper live, accompanied by apprentices Michael Garvin and Scott Miller, at the World Equestrian Games Kentucky Experience Pavilion on September 30, 2010.

- Mark Brown, Kentucky Folklife Program

Lutherie -- it isn't just for lutes!

As my Folklife Program colleagues are out of the office moving our exhibit Made to Be Played: The Traditional Art of Kentucky Luthiers to Hyden, KY, I thought I’d take the opportunity to talk about lutherie and our exhibit. 

 

Lutherie, as I discovered shortly after working here, is the craft of making or repairing stringed instruments.  And for all you intrigued by etymology, luthier comes from the French luth, meaning lute.  (Yes, I’m a word nerd and proud of it!)

 

 

As I said earlier, I was a total newbie when it came to stringed instruments; I may have sung in my high school choir, but I can’t read music and got as far as playing half of Jingle Bells on the acoustic guitar my parents bought me, much to their chagrin.  So, I was able to claim ignorance for a little while, but not for very long.

 

Of course, when I don’t know something my first instinct is to hit the books…okay, I’ll be honest, the internet.  First thing to pop up was a Wikipedia article (no surprises there) and the Guild of American Luthiers.  Now I was really embarrassed when I found out they had a convention in my old neck of the woods, Tacoma, WA in 2008.  Professional embarrassment not withstanding, I quickly learned a lot about lutherie in general and was surprised by the amount of luthiers Kentucky has to offer. 

 

Our Made to be Played Exhibit obviously highlights the fine craftsmanship and ingenuity that Kentucky lutheirs have brought to their trade, and through the exhibit and the research conducted for it, I’ve had the change to see some instruments that are works of art and makers who are artists.  The traveling exhibit is now making its way to Hyden as I type, and features such artists as the late, great Homer Ledford, Warren May, Donna Lamb and several others.  Last summer, the Kentucky Historical Society and Kentucky Arts Council hosted a larger version of the exhibit that even included performances.  Check out the video below for a taste.

 

 

So, if you’re going to be in Hyden this month, think about stopping by the Citizens Bank to enjoy the traditional art of Kentucky’s fine luthiers until August 20th.

-Alisha Martin

Synchronicity in Hart County

KHS Collection. 1987PH26.34 . "Bridal Altar" wedding in cave, at Mammoth Cave.1908 wedding ceremony. Cave guide Matt Bransford is on the far right of the photograph.

Since I learned how to use a new word recently, during one of my favorite past times – reading fiction – I have been thinking about it in the context of my day to day interactions here at KHS. In Michael Gruber’s Tropic of Night (yes, I like murder mysteries with some flare) the main character learns the meaning of synchronicity: the coincidental occurrence of events that seem related but are not explained by conventional mechanisms of causality. So, when Horse Cave, in Hart County, KY popped up on my radar or calendar more than once in the last few months I took notice.

What is going on in Horse Cave that is so interesting? First thing, and forefront to me, the Kentucky Oral History Commission (KOHC) here at KHS just received an oral history project about African American heritage in southern Hart county – mainly Horse Cave. In this collection are individuals discussing the black history of this part of the state, topics like segregation, historic property, family lineage and even moonshining. This is a neat collection – one I am currently transferring from DAT (digital audio tape) to our servers here at KHS. You can access these in the next few weeks if you are interested, hint, hint.

Also in Horse Cave recently have been programs at the Kentucky Repertory Theatre, participation in state Historic Preservation workshops and conferences. One of the cool events that is taking place in Horse Cave this September is the Kentucky Commission on Deaf and Hard of Hearing’s annual festival, Deafestival. An agency and festival I was introduced to when I worked for the Kentucky Folklife Program.

Speaking of the KFP, they recently completed a Community Scholar training session in Horse Cave on July 10, where they graduated 6 from the course….for more on this, check back to the History Burgoo blog on Friday.

It is like that saying, when stars align, well, there isn’t anything spooky about all of this convergence on Horse Cave (so maybe synchronicity isn’t exactly right), BUT there are some cool things coming out of and heading into it. Maybe you should check it out for yourself.

- Sarah Milligan

Read Any New Cookery Books Lately?

KHS Collection: 1987ph5.29083.1 Jane Josephine Breent Cusick at iron cook stove, cooking. 1950

At long last, the Library of Congress has finally decided to take a giant leap of faith and change the subject heading Cookery to Cooking. Catalogers throughout the world have been celebrating and partying for the past 2 months following this bold decision by the Library of Congress. After all, we’ve only been waiting over one hundred years for this change to take place.  Since cookbooks are one of the top 5 requested books (which also curiously include diet books), it has been a particular thorn in our side. No wonder the public thinks libraries (and librarians) are strange, when we use such arcane terms.  At the Ky. Historical Society, even though we don’t generally have the latest hot cookbooks, we nonetheless have a diverse collection of regional and historical cookbooks.  Among them are:

The American Frugal Housewife: dedicated to those who are not ashamed of economy, by Lydia Child ( Reprint of 1832 ed.)
The Blue Ribbon Cook Book, by Jennie Benedict (1904)
Cissy Gregg’s Cookbook (1959)
Civil War Recipes: receipts from the pages of Godey’s Lady’s book (1999)
Common Sense in the Household: a manual of practical housewifery (1899)
Cooking and Sewing Competition for Woodford County Girls, by the woman’s Home Welfare Association of Woodford County, Kentucky (1917)
The Epicure’s Companion, by Edward and Lorna Bunyard (1937)
Holly Hill Inn Cookbook, by Rex Lyons (1988)

Come to our library and search our collections. You just might find a favorite new recipe in some of our classic cookbooks.

- Shirley Ackerman

Community Scholars: Out and About

One of the programs here with the Folklife Program has been that of our Community Scholars.  Our Scholars tend to do some very interesting projects and report back to us on what they’ve found.  Recently Carol Shutt, one of our Scholars, did research on the funerary traditions of Harlan County.  Take a look at what her project entailed: 

Death and the dying process are tough subjects for many people to deal with.  As a nurse, later as a social worker and finally as the instructor of a university class on  Death, Dying and Bereavement, I’ve had a lot of experience with death.  The classes and students I taught educated me even more than my medical professional careers.

I learned from my students that many different funeral traditions exist in Appalachia.  I also learned that people continue to believe “everybody does it the same way.”  The students shared stories of a wide variety of customs practiced in their families and communities.  What was fascinating to me was that they all thought everyone had the same traditions.  Even people in the same county had vastly different customs and didn’t realize it.

The end result of my education from my students was a Community Scholar/Oral History Commission project researching the funerary traditions of Harlan County.  I chose to do my research in Harlan County because I believed that some of the long-standing traditions were still carried out there.  At one time, the county also had people from more than 30 different countries among its residents, recruited to work in the coal mines.  I hoped that some of the international traditions would still be carried on by the descendants of these earlier immigrants.

Wakes, digging graves, funerals themselves, burial rituals, music, food, art, flowers, memorials, superstitions and many other traditions were discussed with people from the area.  Everyone today says the customs are done out of respect but occasionally I would find someone who would share with me the reason the traditions began in the first place.

It became obvious that geography had a great deal to do with how our customs developed.  Indeed, Harlan County is divided by mountain ranges, water sheds and rivers that all influence customs.  As you move outward from the city, the older customs are more likely to be found. The economic situation and the season of the year also play a part in how things are handled.

Funeral and burial traditions in other parts of the South — New Orleans, LA; Winston-Salem and Cherokee, NC; Savannah, GA; and Cades Cove, TN; to name a few — show that every one has their own traditions.  Some are similar, others are not.  Cookbooks exist with area funeral information and recipes for funeral food.  Religious beliefs lead to different types of funerals.  Ethnicity brings special customs for members of those ethnic groups.  Membership in the military or in fraternal orders brings traditions related to those memberships.  Technology has made a great difference in our customs.  Even terrorism has brought changes to old ways of doing things.

Funerals and cemeteries are fascinating collections of history and give vast amounts of insight into human nature.  Some people believe that exploring a cemetery is disrespectful to the dead.  My feeling is that monuments are placed on graves so that others will know about your special loved one.  An understanding of death and dying traditions helps us to appreciate and respect the people whose graves we visit and helps us to understand why others do what they do, so that we may remain respectful of everyone’s traditions.

Shut has created an exhibit to accompany her project, and it is available for touring at your facility.  Please contact her at cashutt@earthlink.net to learn more.  We should have several more Community Scholars with stories to tell about their projects, so check back from time to time to see what they’ve been up to!

-Alisha Martin

Image 1: Flowers made a crepe paper and wax when fresh flowers were not available, courtesy of Chris Jones.
Image 2: "Someone still remembers," courtesy of Carol Shutt.
Image 3: Courtesy of Northcutt and Son Home for Funerals.

Row, row, rowing, down the Kentucky River...sort of.

There are many ideas of what makes a community, right?  Some people will say it’s your neighborhood, others what occupation you’re in.  Some will tell you a community is those who share the same government or it doesn’t even have revolve around being within physical contact (hey, just look at Facebook).  I like to think that everyone is right.

Why this exposition on communities? The other day, as part of my mission to process the Kentucky Folklife Program’s archival holdings, I started working on processing a project known as the “Kentucky River Project.”  

At its base, it’s a survey of the people who are bound by the influence of the Kentucky River…that’s their community.  And they’re proud of the connection.  Running 259 miles across the state, this tributary of the Ohio River touches many lives.  I definitely consider myself part of the community now that I’ve experienced the Kentucky River flood!

It’s thought that over 700,000 people rely on the river for a water source, so it can be said it’s a big influence*.  According to the interviews that were conducted for this project in 1989, people remembered all sorts of activities associated with the river, from logging to the oil business, from farming to quilting. 

Now, the Kentucky River isn’t navigable past Lock #4, but it still binds everyone together. 

Commercial fisherman call the river home, but so do their wives and the others who live along side it.  Oral histories are such a great way to learn about a community—there is something in the recorded voices that tell you more about the people than mere text could. 

So, as I’m planning a few weekend excursions, I’m making it a point to listen to some interviews.  I can’t wait to see what I might find with their help.    

 

*Don't blame me for using Wikipedia...it's convenient!

--Alisha Martin

All Your Burgoo are Belong to Us*

 
Above: 2005 Kentucky Folklife Festival visitors gaze upon a hot kettle of bubbling burgoo.

Hello, I'm Mark Brown with the Kentucky Folklife Program, and this is my first History Burgoo blog post.  My friend and colleague Sarah Milligan suggested that someone write something about burgoo, the traditional stew for which this blog is named.  I accepted the opportunity to share some experiences, encounters, and thoughts related to burgoo.

Lest this post become a large block of uninterrupted text, here is a list of some facts about burgoo that I have learned while working as a folklorist in Kentucky: 

• No one is certain about the origins of the word burgoo.
• When saying the word, some people place emphasis on the first syllable, “bur-goo,” while others say “bur-goo.”
• Burgoo is almost exclusively a Kentucky food. It is similar in some ways to Brunswick Stew found elsewhere in the southern U.S.
• Early burgoo recipes called for whatever ingredients were available. Meats included beef, pork, and chicken as well as wild game like deer, possum, and squirrel. Vegetables like corn, beans, and potatoes were added, along with various seasonings and thickening agents.
• Today, many burgoo-makers keep their recipes secret, but most burgoos made for the public do not include wild game anymore.
• Burgoo is cooked for long periods of time, often overnight, and it is considered ready to eat only after the stirring stick can be released to stand on its own in the pot.
• Historically, burgoo was linked to celebrations like abundant harvest and successful hunt. Still a celebratory food, today burgoo is sold at many social, political, charitable, and religious gatherings.

State folklorist Bob Gates asserts that Everyone Likes Food, especially folklorists.  Foodways is a major topic of study by folklorists and anthropologists because it is something every group of people, or folk group, has.  Almost every human consumes some type of food.  Foodways includes not only ingredients and recipes, but the context surrounding foods, which includes when, where, why, how, for whom, and by whom food is prepared and eaten. 

One way to learn about someone’s cultural background, aesthetics, and identity is to ask about food.  Sometimes food questions trigger fervent responses that reflect deep-seated beliefs.  Here is an example:  sweet cornbread – manna from heaven, or impious abomination? 

When engaged in such lively conversations, most folklorists try to adhere to an ethic of cultural relativism, meaning no culture is superior or inferior to another.  We are trained to recognize our own beliefs and practices, and be aware of how they affect our work. 

Now is a good time to disclose that I’ve been a vegetarian since 1996.  Before that time, though, I ate burgoo on at least two occasions at the famous Moonlite Bar-B-Q Inn in Owensboro, and I remember it clearly.  Its unique aroma, color, texture, and flavor made a lasting impression.  Moonlite’s website includes their version of the Burgoo Soup Story and a Burgoo Recipe.

Besides Moonlite, burgoo is available in many other Kentucky locations.  Downtown Lawrenceburg, Kentucky is home to the Anderson County Burgoo Festival.  Every year in late September, this festival is a popular pilgrimage to what some recognize as “the burgoo capital of the world.”  I attended one evening in 2004 when vendors, shocked to have underestimated the demand, were entirely sold out of burgoo. 

The Kentucky Folklife Program has documented several burgoo specialists, and presented some of them at the Kentucky Folklife Festival.  These include Russ Kennedy of Frankfort, David New of Owenton, and the green-and-yellow-clad burgoo team from St. Mary Magdalene Catholic Church in Owensboro. 

In 2005, filmmaker Stan Woodward received a Kentucky Arts Council Folk Arts Project grant to support research on his film Burgoo! which aired on KET.  Woodward teamed up with folklorist Saddler Taylor to present an exciting exploration of burgoo and the culture surrounding it, including ingredients, implements, techniques, differences in burgoos made in western and central Kentucky, and enlightening interviews with burgoo masters. 

Whether you love burgoo or can’t stand being near it, I hope you have enjoyed reading about this quintessential Kentucky food phenomenon.  These days, I don’t miss eating burgoo or any other carnivore delights, but I love vegetarian foods that are supposed to taste like meat (not-dogs, tofurkey, facon, etc.).  What to you think, readers?  Is there a market for vegetarian burgoo?  If so, by what clever name would it be known?

* The post title is not a typo, but a reference to the classic Internet meme “All your base are belong to us.”

Everyone likes food--especially Folklorists.

Sometimes folklife research can make big demands on your body. I am not talking about the injuries incurred while toting recording device (in the old days when small digital recorders were only a dream) or moving sound systems for narrative stages. I am talking about the subtle but long-term havoc foodways research can have on one’s body.

I was relatively thin before I became a folklorist back in 1983, but thanks to years of barbeque, burgoo and most recently Latino food sampling, I can’t remember how I fit into a size 34 jeans. I really can’t blame it all on foodways research. I just love food. When I found out you can be paid to study it I was amazed. Food is a very important part of a community’s culture. The trouble with studying food traditions is that not only do you talk about the food, but you often get to observe it being cooked and served. And if you are asked, you are required by folklore research law to taste it. I just made up the law part, but I have to admit tasting is my favorite.

I remember much of my early folklore days by the food. In Upstate New York, I sampled Buffalo chicken wings in the bar where they were invented. In Louisiana, I ate more crawfish than I thought humanly possible and in a little house by a lake in Mississippi I was served canned carp. Though the meat looked kind of funny floating around in a jar with some small bones, it really tasted good, sort of like canned salmon. Over the years we have used the foodways stage as a fun way to explore a group’s culture. The Foodways Stage at the Kentucky Folklife Festival has presented a wide range of folk groups and an even wider range of food stuff.

From fried squirrels to goetta, barbeque to the styles of regional chicken and dumplings you can find in Kentucky. We have even shared “Dad’s meals” -- the food your dad would do to show he was helping out in the kitchen. We enjoy the foodways stage so much that we have been taking it on the road. We lend out our portable foodways stage, complete with an overhead mirror and sound system, to festivals like the Mushroom Festival in Estill County where mushroom hunters explain how to find and cook up their favorite morels.

Next week we will take the stage to the first annual “Celebrando Comida Latina,” the Latin American Food Festival in Shelbyville, Kentucky. The festival will take place Sunday, June 13 from 2-6 pm on the green grass in front of Marimba’s restaurant. The address is 2059 Midland but you can’t miss it if you travel on route 60 west of downtown Shelbyville. The festival is the brainchild of the Sara Fouts of the Cultural Diversity Committee of Shelby Prevention and we look forward to a great day of food, craft and music. For the last three weeks we I have been visiting most of the many small Latino grocery/restaurant establishments in Shelbyville.

Sara was more disciplined when it came to sampling the research but I felt the sense of duty that comes with this job and I have begun running and playing Wii Fit to make up for it.

I hope you will join us next Sunday and sample some the more unique food traditions reflecting a diversity of Latino cultures that have found a recent home in Shelbyville. Many of the foods are not the sort that you will find in the restaurants because the owners are uncertain that the everyday foods that they eat at home or serve to the Latino workers who come in at lunch time would be of interest to those gringos who are used to the traditional Tex-Mex. This festival would be a good place to try it out and see what we have been missing.

 -Bob Gates

Share the Wealth: Documenting Communities

 
A Community Scholar conducts an interview in the field. 

 

If there is one interesting thing about being a folklorist, it’s that I get to meet a whole heck of a lot of people.  Take, for example, my most recent outreach event: the Community Scholars Program. 

 

The program has been designed to encourage people who are interested in cultural documentation to get out there and start surveying their community.  The funny thing is that most of them are already doing what they signed up to learn!  I’ve found that I may be teaching them, but they’re also teaching me about their culture—something that I only had a vague idea about as an outsider. 

 

What’s great about the people who have chosen to participate in this program is that they come from all walks of life; we’ve had bakers, artists, administrators, teachers, you name it.  And all of them are interested in promoting and sharing their community’s culture!  The current group I’m working with is in Horse Cave, Kentucky, and they are chomping at the bit to promote the gems they’ve found in their area.  And like their sign says, they're very friendly people. 

 

What’s also great about these people is they know that what they have is special and should be preserved.  In our collections here at KHS we have oral histories, manuscripts, objects and folklife surveys documenting what exactly it is that makes a community thrive, and our Community Scholars are certainly part of that.   
  

If it seems like I’m proud of the Community Scholars, it’s because I am!  I’m in the lucky position that I get to see their projects from start to finish, and how cool the finished products have been!  Scholars up in Covington created Experience Covingtonand one scholar recently gave a talk on funerary traditions of the south.  This current group in Horse Cave is looking to create a tour of their town as well as focusing on a local artist who made it big. 

 

So, if you’re interested in showing off your community, know there are many resources and avenues to take advantage of!  One such is our Community Scholars program(yes, a shameless plug).  And there are many more ways to get involved!

 

--Alisha Martin