In this Book
- Features and Fillers: Texas Journalists on Texas Folklore
- 1999
- Book
- Published by: University of North Texas Press
- Series: Publications of the Texas Folklore Society
summary
Without the footnote and bibliography baggage of academic writings, these newspaper articles and stories detail the traditions, customs and practices of Texans from El Paso to Longview, from Amarillo to Houston. This is a book about the folk as journalists write about them. Folklorist Jim Harris discovered through writing his own column that newspaper readers were hungry for articles about their past, but they did not want dry historical facts. They wanted lively and personal stories about such topics as the Native Americans who once roamed the plains, settlers who came from the east, the formation of early twentieth-century communities, abandoned school houses, ghost towns, old-fashioned ranch dances, or life in the oil camps. Any observant reader of newspapers will find examples of traditional life being reported and analyzed in the papers, be they large circulation dailies in metropolitan areas or small papers in rural and isolated regions. Journalists use folklore subjects in a variety of ways: reporting on an upcoming traditional festival; on the creation of a traditional artifact, an individual’s rug or a communal quilt; or profiling a local folk artist or musician.
Table of Contents
- Title Page
- pp. iii-v
- Copyright Page
- p. vi
- Dedication
- pp. x-xi
- Texas Journalists on Texas Folklore
- pp. xii-16
- A Legend Runs through It
- pp. 17-29
- The Weeping Woman
- pp. 30-36
- Bois D'Arc Recollections
- pp. 37-43
- Unknowingly, Security Guard Takes on KKK
- pp. 55-57
- Four Musings on Bad Roosters
- pp. 58-65
- The Ol’ Red Rooster Learns a Hard Lesson
- pp. 66-69
- Tales of a Rural School Teacher
- pp. 80-84
- Texas’ Oddest Animal
- pp. 93-95
- What Mrs. Rives Found in Gilmer
- pp. 96-101
- He ‘Woodn't’ Trade Hobby for Anything
- pp. 102-105
- Weather Lore isn't all Wet
- pp. 113-114
- Animals Dominate our Language
- pp. 115-117
- Brilliant Brickmanship
- pp. 118-123
- History as Close as a Turntable
- pp. 124-136
- Working Hard, Joking Hard on the Frontier
- pp. 137-141
- Cow Chip Tea
- pp. 142-152
- Orient Hotel Saw Good Times and Bad
- pp. 153-157
- El Ojo and other Folk Beliefs
- pp. 158-163
- The Cleo Face
- pp. 164-167
- Dr. J. Mason Brewer
- pp. 168-171
- Dusting Out
- pp. 172-177
- Alfonso's Yearly Routine
- pp. 178-180
- Making the Rattlesnake Roundup Circuit
- pp. 181-183
- Rayon Dresses and FDR
- pp. 184-186
- A Collection of Poems
- pp. 187-194
- Gold Diggers
- pp. 195-205
- Chicken-Fried Steak Tour through Texas
- pp. 206-212
- Cowboy Poet Honored by Peers
- pp. 213-215
- Telling “Tales” Keeps Patterson Busy and Happy
- pp. 216-221
- Contributors
- pp. 222-228
Additional Information
ISBN
9781574410747
Related ISBN
9781574410747
MARC Record
OCLC
1142318008
Launched on MUSE
2019-12-20
Language
English
Open Access
Yes