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Alfred L. Shoemaker Folk Cultural Documents

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Dieffenbach on Bees, November 10, 1952

Victor C. Dieffenbach

A handwritten manuscript entitled, "Bees", compiled by Victor C. Dieffenbach, dated November 3 and November 10, 1952. Within, Dieffenbach details the various methods he knows for constructing bee hives and collecting honey.
Series of Adam and Eve in Paradise Engravings

Henry B. Sage, H. W. Villee, Samuel Bauman (1788-1820), and M. Dahlem

This series of five photographs of woodcut engravings depicts Adam and Eve in Paradise along with the serpent and Tree of Knowledge. The engravings originally accompanied ballad broadsides printed by various firms including Schneider and Meyers, Heinrich B. Sage, Samuel Bauman, M. Dahlem and H. W. Villee. These photograph reproductions were used by Alfred Shoemaker in the production of an article for The Pennsylvania Dutchman and contain his notations on the reverse of the photos.
Dieffenbach on Swine, September 1, 1952

Victor C. Dieffenbach

A handwritten manuscript entitled, "Swine", compiled by Victor C. Dieffenbach, dated September 1, 1952. Within, Dieffenbach details various anecdotes concerning breeding practices, pig-chases, hog raffles, butchering and more.
Letter From Helen J. Moser to Alfred L. Shoemaker, August 14, 1952

Helen Moser

A handwritten letter from Helen J. Moser addressed to Alfred L. Shoemaker, dated August 14, 1952. Within, Moser provides four riddles and answers in Pennsylvania German.
Dieffenbach on Sheep, August 11, 1952

Victor C. Dieffenbach

A handwritten manuscript entitled, "Sheep", compiled by Victor C. Dieffenbach, dated August 11, 1952. Within, Dieffenbach details a number of stories and practices involving the care of sheep, including the process of cleaning and dying wool.
Dieffenbach on Horses: Diseases and Remedies

Victor C. Dieffenbach

A handwritten manuscript entitled, "The Stallion - "Der heugscht"- Diseases and Remedies", compiled by Victor C. Dieffenbach, dated July 1, 1952. Within, Dieffenbach details a number of ailments that plague horses and describes the various folk cures and remedies needed to alleviate them.
Dieffenbach on Horses: Equipment, July 1, 1952

Victor C. Dieffenbach

A handwritten manuscript entitled, "Horses", compiled by Victor C. Dieffenbach, dated July 1, 1952. Within, Dieffenbach details traditional ways of maintaining and crafting various horse equipment, ranging from harnesses to stirrups and saddles.
Dieffenbach: Butchering-Time on the Farm, June 20, 1952

Victor C. Dieffenbach

A handwritten manuscript entitled, "Butchering-Time on the Farm", compiled by Victor C. Dieffenbach, dated June 20, 1952. Within, Dieffenbach provides a detailed account of traditional ways of butchering pigs, ranging from the killing process to the cleaning of entrails for sausage casings.
Dieffenbach on Cows, April 26, 1952

Victor C. Dieffenbach

Handwritten material on cows, compiled by Victor C. Dieffenbach, dated April 26, 1952. Within, Dieffenbach details anecdotes from Lebanon County, Pennsylvania on a number of topics including foods harmful to cows, home remedies, cats in relation to cows, stable lore and other subjects.
Dieffenbach on Steers: Anecdotes, April 12, 1952

Victor C. Dieffenbach

A handwritten manuscript entitled, "Steers: Anecdotes", compiled by Victor C. Dieffenbach, dated April 12, 1952. Within, Dieffenbach details a number of anecdotal stories revolving around steers, including a practical joke played on a cattle dealer and an encounter with the devil.
Dieffenbach on Steers: Superstitions, April 12, 1952

Victor C. Dieffenbach

A handwritten manuscript entitled, "Steers: Superstitions Relating to", compiled by Victor C. Dieffenbach, dated April 12, 1952. Within, Dieffenbach details various superstitions surrounding the practice of gelding, including ways to induce proper healing and warnings of death post-surgery.
Dieffenbach on Cows, April 11, 1952

Victor C. Dieffenbach

Handwritten material on cows written by Victor C. Dieffenbach, dated April 11, 1952. Within, Dieffenbach details a number of personal anecdotes about cows, including eating habits, selection, birthing complications, and other lore associated with cows.
Dieffenbach on Cows, April 1, 1952

Victor C. Dieffenbach

Handwritten manuscript entitled, "Cows", compiled by Victor C. Dieffenbach, dated April 1, 1952. Within, Dieffenbach details anecdotes from Berks County, Pennsylvania farmers concerning all aspects of cows and raising calves including needed equipment, milking, de-horning, and breeding. It also contains related folklore surrounding the products of cows (veal, beef, butter, cheese, dung) and cures for disease and bewitchment.
Dieffenbach on Cows: Addenda, March 24, 1952

Victor C. Dieffenbach

Handwritten manuscript entitled, "Cows: Addenda", compiled by Victor C. Dieffenbach, dated March 24, 1952. Within Dieffenbach lists a series of anecdotes involving butter churning, farm irrigation, planting seeds and producing and selling hay and dairy products. It also includes a section about the many uses of cow parts after butchering and a list of superstitious beliefs surrounding cows.
Dieffenbach on Cabbage, March 21, 1952

Victor C. Dieffenbach

Handwritten manuscript on cabbage, by Victor C. Dieffenbach, dated March 21, 1952. Within, Dieffenbach compiles anecdotes and humorous stories from Berks County and Lebanon County, Pennsylvania on a range of topics related to cabbage including its use as livestock feed, parts of the cabbage, uses for cabbage leaves, uses in cooking, and cabbage seeds.
Composition: A Review, February 1952

H. Wayne Gruber and Michael Alvin Gruber

A typed composition entitled, "A Review", by Michael A. Gruber with notations by H. Wayne Gruber, dated February 1952. Within, a compilation of memories of the Gruber family farm, especially of birds and other animals, is composed in the form of a poem, including remarks and additions provided by H. Wayne Gruber.
Dieffenbach on Horses: Peculiar Habits and Tastes

Victor C. Dieffenbach

Handwritten manuscript entitled, "Horses: Peculiar Habits and Tastes", by Victor C. Dieffenbach, dating from circa 1952. Within, Dieffenbach details some of the eating habits he's seen horses possess, describing stories of horses who eat eggs, cheese, bread and other items.
Dieffenbach on Meat: Addenda, Part I

Victor C. Dieffenbach

A handwritten manuscript entitled, "Meat: Addenda", compiled by Victor C. Dieffenbach, dating from circa 1952. Within, Dieffenbach covers a variety of topics involving meat, including butchering, family recipes, and various humorous anecdotes from his youth.
Dieffenbach on the Bull

Victor C. Dieffenbach

A handwritten manuscript entitled, "The Bull", compiled by Victor C. Dieffenbach, dating from circa 1952. Within, Dieffenbach provides two humorous tales involving preachers and cow breeding.
History of the Farm of My Parents, January 1952

H. Wayne Gruber

A typed document detailing the history of the family farm, house and surrounding land of H. Wayne Gruber, dating from 1876 to January 1952. Within, Gruber details the history of ownership of the land, the parts and functions of each area of the house (including Pennsylvania Dutch terminology) and the surrounding outbuildings, sheds and barns as well as the fields and orchards. Gruber also describes repair work and expansions to the house and other buildings over the years.
Planting, Seeding, or Sowing and Harvesting on My Parent's Farm, in North Heidelberg Township, Berks County Pennsylvania From 1876 to 1893

H. Wayne Gruber

A typed essay entitled, "Planting, Seeding, or Sowing and Harvesting On My Parent's Farm, In North Heidelberg Township, Berks County Pennsylvania", by H. Wayne Gruber, dating from January 1952. Within, Gruber recalls the agricultural practices his parents practiced in relation to the moon and star signs and details the methods of planting and harvesting corn, potatoes and grain.
Letter From Arta M. Bortner to the Pennsylvania Dutch Folklore Center, March 30, 1951

Arta M. Bortner

A handwritten letter from Arta M. Bortner addressed to the Pennsylvania Dutch Folklore Center, dated March 30, 1951. Within, Bortner provides details on a childhood school game and rhyme that young children used to play involving a bear and stolen sheep.
Letter From Russell S. Baver to Alfred L. Shoemaker, January 15, 1951

Russell S. Baver

A handwritten letter from Russell S. Baver addressed to Alfred L. Shoemaker, dated January 15, 1951. Within, Baver details his feelings on barn decorations and describes superstitions surrounding horseshoes and cattle castration.
Folklore Term Paper: Aspects of Amish Folklore

William J. Pietchke

A typed term paper completed at Franklin and Marshall College by William J. Pietchke, dating from circa 1951. Entitled "Aspects of Amish Folklore", Pietchke details various beliefs amongst the Amish ranging from pregnancy lore to marriage, divorce and horse trading practices.
Letter From Bertha Brophy to Alfred L. Shoemaker, December 10, 1950

Bertha Brophy

A handwritten letter from Bertha Brophy addressed to Alfred L. Shoemaker, dated December 10, 1950. Within, Brophy provides Belsnickel lore from her childhood while living in the Oley Valley in Pennsylvania.