New York Folklore Society's Voices

In Voices we present in words and images the traditions practiced by the people and communities of New York State. We want to hear from you! Send us family stories, interviews, recipes, reminiscences, anecdotes, songs, how-to columns, and more. We are also looking for photographs and sketches of people, places, objects, and community events to publish.

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

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

Summer 1998

Tales of an Island: Fishing and Fishermen on Long Island’s East End John Eilertsen with stories contributed by Stewart Lester and Johnny Collins Suffolk County, New York, is home to almost one and a half million people. The county occupies the eastern two thirds of Long Island and, including several smaller islands off to the east and north coasts, contains approximately 1200 square miles ... All of Suffolk County is an area steeped in maritime traditions. . . .
Crossing the Border: Stories of the 56ers Eniko Farkas In January of 1956, I was unemployed, too young for factory jobs, and had to look for a solution what to do with myself. One day I wrote a poem about hunger, which I felt was looming on the horizon again. I showed the poem to my aunt who had published some of her own writing. She decided to write a letter to Paul Oravecz, a communist adolescent literature writer and sent my poem to her. God bless her, she felt sorry for me and found me a job where I could work underage. The place was a sheltered sewing workshop for people damaged by the war. . .
Mark Hamilton: Old-Time Fiddler, Caller, and Singer Mark Hamilton and Karen Canning Mark Hamilton was born in 1919 in Wolf Run, town of Clarksville (just south of Cuba in Allegany County), and grew up on the family farm there. His musical repertory of songs, fiddle tunes, and dance music stretches back into the mid-nineteenth century . . .
Hungarian Goulash Eniko Farkas The Hungarian word gulyás means cattlemen in English. This delicious, thick, spicy soup was their main food. The cattle herdsmen cooked this soup/stew over an open fire in a kettle while tending to the herd in the Great Lowlands of Hungary. . . .

From Our Readers

An absolutely great issue. Liked it all, especially Frankie Manning & the Lindy Hop in '27.
Keep on,
Pete Seeger

Thank you so much for the wonderful piece [Rolling Syrian Grape Leaves, Winter/Spring 1998 Voices]. It is a memory all of our family will have, thanks to you all.
Sharon Bates

I don’t know whether this is New York folklore or not; I’d like to pass it to somebody who’d be interested.

My great-great-grandfather, Lawson Valentine, bought a farm in Orange County just south of Mountainville and named it Houghton Farm. He was interested in a lot of things that others weren’t yet, including various types of experimental agriculture and the traditions of Native Americans. He made a point of finding out the Native names for things in his area, including Kiawhela, the small mountain across Route 32 from Schunnemunk, and the Awessima, the stream flowing down that valley, known on maps as Woodbury Creek.

Does anybody else know these names? Is my bit of unreliable family oral history any use to anybody? I hope this is of some interest to somebody you can pass it on to.
Yours truly,
Valentine Doyle