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Alfred L. Shoemaker Folk Cultural Documents

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William H. Newell Notes at Pottsville

Alfred L. Shoemaker

Shoemaker's handwritten entry documents his notes copied from William H. Newell, detailing superstitions and folktales including the removal of rats and mice, making deals with the devil, bird omens and weather predictions.
Witchcraft Story: Notes From the York Daily, March 5, 1898

Alfred L. Shoemaker

Handwritten notes from the York Daily newspaper of a story reprinted from the New York Sun compiled by Alfred L. Shoemaker, originally dated March 5, 1898. Within, a tale about witchcraft is recounted, dealing with an old witch hexing a baby and the subsequent cure provided by a witch doctor.
Undated Letter From Elsie M. Smith to Alfred L. Shoemaker

Elsie M. Smith

A handwritten letter from Elsie M. Smith addressed to Alfred L. Shoemaker, dating from circa 1950. Within, Smith provides Shoemaker with a list of weather prediction beliefs and other superstitions involving animals and luck.
Folklore Term Paper: Pow-wow

John D. Trout III

A typed term paper entitled, "Pow-Wow", completed at Franklin and Marshall College by John D. Trout III, dating from circa 1950. Within, Trout details a variety of pow-wow cures he learned during his fieldwork in Lancaster, Berks and Chester County, Pennsylvania, ranging from cures for toothache to a method to relieve bloated cows.
Letter From George Yeagley to Alfred L. Shoemaker

George Yeagley

A handwritten letter from George Yeagley addressed to Alfred L. Shoemaker, dating from circa 1950. Within, Yeagley provides old weather superstitions and predictions that were uncovered within an 1842 diary belonging to Peter Derr.
Old Home Remedies and Beliefs of Southeastern Pennsylvania

Alice Ziemer

A handwritten set of old folk remedies and cures of the 19th century South Eastern Pennsylvania Dutch community compiled by Alice Ziemer, dating from circa 1950. Within, Ziemer provides remedies for ailments such as pneumonia, whooping cough, epilepsy, warts and the common cold. The notes also contain folklore surrounding infants and rhymes in Pennsylvania Dutch dialect.
Program for the Sixty-First Annual Meeting of the American Folklore Society, December 28 and 29, 1949

American Folklore Society

A typed program for the sixty-first Annual Meeting of the American Folklore Society, dated December 28, 1949. The pamphlet details the schedule for the upcoming conference, including a talk by Alfred L. Shoemaker on Franklin and Marshall College's Pennsylvania Dutch folklore program.
Letter to Alfred L. Shoemaker, December 15, 1949

Unknown

A handwritten letter from a descendent of Peter Derr addressed to Alfred L. Shoemaker, dated December 15, 1949. Within, the author provides information about folk cures, Harvest Home services and the tradition of "serenading" newlyweds with loud music.
Letter From Ira D. Landis to Alfred L. Shoemaker, October 29, 1949

Ira D. Landis

A handwritten letter from Ira D. Landis addressed to Alfred L. Shoemaker, dated October 29, 1949. Within, Landis encloses his paper entitled, "The Dutch-Calcium Carbonate Compound", with hopes of it finding a home within Shoemaker's Dutchman newspaper.
Letter From Irwin J. Landis to J. William Frey, October 10, 1949

Irwin J. Landis

A typed letter from Irwin J. Landis addressed to J. William Frey, dated October 10, 1949. Within, Landis writes to remark on his own Pennsylvanian-Dutch background and provides a contribution for an "all" story. Landis details an encounter at a Hollywood restaurant with a waitress from Pennsylvania.
Letter From G. C. Kershner to Alfred L. Shoemaker, September 15, 1949

George C. Kershner

A hand-written letter from G. C. Kershner addressed to Alfred L. Shoemaker, dated September 15, 1949. Within, Kershner writes to provide a humorous story surrounding a husband and wife during the night of falling stars in 1833. He also includes some Pennsylvania Dutch riddles.
Letter From Helen Moser to Alfred L. Shoemaker, July 1, 1949

Helen Moser

A handwritten letter from Helen Moser addressed to Alfred L. Shoemaker, dated July 1, 1949. Within, Moser provides a list of rhymes and riddles she remembers from her childhood, translated from Pennsylvania Dutch into English.
Notes to Wishbone

Rudolf Hommel

A typed document entitled, "Notes To Wishbone", by Rudolf Hommel, dating from circa June 1949. Within, Hommel writes of the various wishbone traditions he remembers and the practice of arm hooking in relation to eating almonds and filberts or drinking wine or beer.
Letter From Luella Kern Engelhart to Alfred L. Shoemaker, May 27, 1949

Luella Kern Engelhart

A handwritten letter from Luella Kern Engelhart addressed to Alfred L. Shoemaker, dated May 27, 1949. Within, Engelhart provides Pennsylvania Dutch dialect rhymes told to her by her father along with a recipe.
Second Letter From Luella Kern Engelhart to Alfred L. Shoemaker, May 27, 1949

Luella Kern Engelhart

A handwritten letter from Luella K. Engelhart addressed to Alfred L. Shoemaker, dated May 27, 1949. Within, Engelhart praises Shoemaker's work with the Pennsylvania Dutchman periodical and recounts her experiences with pow-wowing and superstitions.
Letter From Rose Labrasca to Alfred L. Shoemaker, May 23, 1949

Rose Labrasca

A handwritten letter from Rose Labrasca addressed to Alfred L. Shoemaker, dated May 23, 1949. Within, Labrasca inquires if Shoemaker knows anyone who is well-versed in lifting spells or jinxes.
Letter From Viola Kohl Mohn to Alfred L. Shoemaker, May 23, 1949

Viola K. Mohn

A typed letter from Viola K. Mohn addressed to Alfred L Shoemaker, dated May 23, 1949. Within, Mohn details a few superstitions surrounding cows and whooping cough, explaining variations on the theme of buttered bread as a folk remedy.
Letter From Arthur K. Klingaman to Alfred L. Shoemaker, May 19, 1949

Arthur K. Klingaman

A handwritten letter from Arthur K. Klingaman addressed to Alfred L. Shoemaker, dated May 19, 1949. Within, Klingaman details some information he obtained from his father surrounding the placement of bedrooms and the practice of "bundling" within the Pennsylvania Dutch community.
Letter From Daisie Wagner to Alfred L. Shoemaker, March 11, 1949

Daisie Wagner

A handwritten letter from Daisie Wagner addressed to Alfred L. Shoemaker, dated March 11, 1949. Within, Wagner discusses her family's almanac and the figure of a man surrounded by the Zodiac signs that perplexed her as a child, along with providing an almanac rhyme in Pennsylvania-Dutch.
Letter From Elsie M. Smith to Alfred L. Shoemaker, February 24, 1949

Elsie M. Smith

A handwritten letter from Elsie M. Smith addressed to Alfred L. Shoemaker, dated February 24, 1949. Within, Smith provides a list of beliefs, superstitions and old sayings that her grandmother used to talk about, including many related to weather, luck, animals, sewing and witchcraft.
Letter From H. Wayne Gruber to Alfred L. Shoemaker, February 4, 1949

H. Wayne Gruber

In a typed letter to Alfred L. Shoemaker, H. Wayne Gruber lists two humorous stories: one about a preacher's best sermon and the other about a lying farm boy. Following Gruber lists four pieces of advice, which he titles: "Alte Weiver Clawwe."
Letter From H. Wayne Gruber to Alfred L. Shoemaker, February 4, 1949

H. Wayne Gruber

A typed letter from H. Wayne Gruber addressed to Alfred L. Shoemaker, dated February 4, 1949. Within, Gruber inquires about a potential interest in some Pennsylvania Dutch verses he composed regarding his childhood.
Letter from Colsin R. Shelly to Alfred L. Shoemaker, February 3, 1949

Colsin R. Shelly

A handwritten letter from Colsin R. Shelly, Principal of Lafayette School, to Alfred L. Shoemaker, dated February 3, 1949. In the letter Shelly details stories of barring out the schoolmaster on Shrove Tuesday and traditions associated with Ash Wednesday.
Letter From Mr. and Mrs. Harvey Rothenberger to Alfred L. Shoemaker, February 1, 1949

Harvey Rothenberger

A handwritten letter from Mr. and Mrs. Harvey Rothenberger addressed to Alfred L. Shoemaker, dated February 1, 1949. Within, the Rothenbergers detail a number of old sayings and rhymes associated with different herbs and teas, along with some of their uses in folk remedies.
Letter From H. Wayne Gruber to Alfred L. Shoemaker, January 11, 1949

H. Wayne Gruber

A typed letter from H. Wayne Gruber addressed to Alfred L. Shoemaker, dated January 11, 1949. Within, Gruber provides information on the variety of garden vegetables he remembers being grown in his mother's garden.