New York Folklore Society Newsletter

Voices: The Journal of New York Folklore:
The membership magazine of the
New York Folklore Society

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New York Folklore Society
P.O. Box 764
Schenectady, NY 12301
518/346-7008
Fax 518/346-6617
nyfs@nyfolklore.org

NOTE: The New York Folklore Society Newsletter and New York Folklore Journal were replaced by Voices: The Journal of New York Folklore which debuted in December, 2000.

Summer 1998

Meet the NYFS BOARD: Elsie Freeman Finch Like David Quinn, whose comments preceded mine, I am neither a folklorist, a museum specialist nor an anthropologist, as are many of my colleagues on the NYFS board. In my last career dispensation, I was an archivist-cum-educator in charge of public education programs at the National Archives. . . .
Ensuring a Future for Our Past For the past 18 months, NYFS director John Suter has served as co-chair of the New York State Historical Records Advisory Board. In June, the board released its ten-year strategic plan, Ensuring a Future for Our Past . . .
Eniko Farkas: Community Scholar Karen Taussig-Lux and Deborah Clover When you walk through the front door of Eniko Farkas’ house and into the living room, your first impression is that you have entered a mini-folk art museum, and it is hard to walk through it without stopping and looking. Displayed in china cabinets, framed and mounted on the walls are exquisite examples of the various types of Hungarian embroideries and laces she has made and collected . . .
Waiting for Go Dot Steve Zeitlin My daughter’s assignment was a simple one. She and two friends had to choose a scene from a play to perform for their language arts class. First they tried a scene from Peter Pan, then the witches scene from Macbeth. But nothing seemed right to this feisty group of 12-year-olds. Without telling me, they set out for the library. When they saw it was closed, they wandered a few blocks away to a used bookstore. Together, they managed to scrounge up a dollar in change. They asked the bookstore owner what plays were available at that price. . . .
Summer 1998

From the Director

Fall Conference 1998

Along the coastlines of Long Island, the ecologies and cultures of land and water meet in dynamic zones of encounter and transition. One result is a rich folk culture of maritime traditions that permeate people’s lives at work, at play, and at home. At the Hallockville Museum Farm and Folklife Center, located near Riverhead on the north fork of eastern Long Island, folklorist John Eilertsen has been documenting and presenting many of these traditions for 18 years. Hallockville is the host for this year’s New York Folklore Society fall conference.

We invite you to explore with us some of the recreational and occupational traditions of the island and learn as well about other maritime cultures along the Eastern Seaboard. Among the presenters at the conference will be David Taylor, a noted scholar on maritime folklore from the American Folklife Center in Washington; Rita Moonsammy, director of the Folk Arts Program at the New Jersey State Arts Council; Nancy Solomon, founder and director of Long Island Traditions; and John Eilertsen. We will hear from baymen, fishermen, and others of the men and women of the Long Island shores, and you can look forward to folklife demonstrations, a riverboat dinner cruise, and delicious food from the sea.
—John Suter