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Catalog Data

Collection Creator:
Smithsonian Institution. Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage  Search this
Type:
Archival materials
Introduction:
The Working Americans program explored and celebrated work-related traditions, looking at Americans not as people from a certain area of the country or from a particular culture, but in terms of how they made their living and what they needed to know to do their jobs. Each occupation has its own traditions and its own body of skills. In the Working Americans section, Festival-goers could meet and talk with members of many unions and organizations while they demonstrated the particular know-how essential to their varied tasks and while they shared, in the workshop areas, the particular tales and jokes that grow out of the nature of the work they do. The Folklife of Transportation Workers Project celebrated the lore, lifestyles, and occupational skills of the American workers who operate, maintain, and regulate the nation's transport system. The airline pilot's complex take-off procedure, the flight attendant's responsibility for safety in the cabin, the railroader's ability to calculate and make complicated box-car switches could be found here; as well as bus and taxi drivers' tales of ways to handle over-demanding passengers, truck driving songs, and seafarers' yarns. Transportation workers keep the nation's economic lifeblood moving. They also harbor a rich lore, replete with heroes, tall tales, and songs, that was demonstrated within this program. June 16-27, Workers Who Extract and Shape. Presentations included glass bottle blowing, glass engraving and horseshoe making. July 1-11, Workers Who Build. This program celebrated the skills and folklore of the building and construction trades. Participants demonstrated building crafts such as carpentry, tile and terrazzo skills, and even the casting of plaster masks of visitors' faces. July 14-25, Workers Who Clothe Us. Participants celebrated the skills and folklore of workers in the garment trades, with demonstrations of clothes design, bonnaz (machine embroidery), leather work, and industrial loom work. July 28-August 8, Workers in Communications, Arts & Recreation. This theme celebrated the skills and folklore of the print and broadcast media, telephone communications, and performing arts. Members of the Graphic Arts International Union demonstrated newspaper printing, four-color printing, and book binding. Members of the United Paperworkers International Union demonstrated papermaking, and members of various performing arts groups gave workshops. August 11-22, Workers in Professional & Technical Skills, Transportation. Presentations celebrated the skills and folklore of professionals who work in health and medical fields, the tobacco industry, and the print and copying industry. Demonstrations included hospital workers demonstrating operating room techniques, cigar rolling, pharmacists making compounds, and body repairmen working on cars. The Transportation area presented the occupational culture of the men and women who work in the various modes of transportation, including the railroads, metropolitan and long-distance buses, taxicabs, trucks, ships, and stations of the Coast Guard. In the Transportation area, the skills of railroad men, airline pilots, truck drivers and seamen were featured. August 25-September 6, Workers Who Feed Us, Transportation. Participants celebrates the skills and folklore of people involved with various aspects of production, preparation, and distribution of food. Hotel and restaurant workers demonstrated decorative ice carving, specialty table settings, wine stewarding, and cold food decoration. The Transportation area presented the occupational culture of those who work in the various modes of transportation, including skills demonstrations by airline, railroad and metropolitan transit workers, as well as by Coast Guardsmen who showed ornamental rope work and knot tying. Shirley Askew served as Program Coordinator, with Robert McCarl as Folklorist, Robert Porter as Field Research & Presentation Specialist, and Susan Donahue as Assistant Program Coordinator. Peter Seitel was Project Coordinator for the Transportation program, assisted by Jack Santino. Sponsors included the AFL-CIO and its Affiliates, U.S. Department of Labor, and U.S. Department of Transportation.
Transportation fieldworkers:
John Drake, Elaine Eff, Jan Faul, Archie Green, Alice Lacy, Worth Long, Luis Kemnitzer
Presenters:
Benny Ambush, Karen Byrne, Debbie Dixon, Steve Hagberg, Marta Schley, Barbara Schwartz
Participants:
Workers Who Extract and Shape Products Members of the following unions: United Cement, Lime & Gypsum Workers International Union Thomas F. Miechur, President Glass Bottle Blowers Association of the United States and Canada Harry A. Tulley, President American Flint Glass Workers Union George M. Parker, President International Union of Journeymen Horseshoers of the United States and Canada Duke Bonde, Jr., President International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers Floyd E. Smith, President Molders and Allied Workers Union Anton J. Trizna, President American Federation of Musicians Hal C. Davis, President The Music Performance Trust Funds Kenneth E. Raine, Trustee Saul Broudy Andy Cohen Larry Hanks Fred Holstein John Kolstad Lew London Faith Petrick Utah Phillips Mark Ross Jane Voss Bodie Wagner Pop Wagner Workers Who Build Members of the following unions: International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftsmen Thomas F. Murphy, President United Brick and Clay Workers of America Roy L. Brown, President United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America William Sidell, President International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Charles H. Pillard, President International Union of Operating Engineers J.C. Turner, President International Association of Bridge and Structural Iron Workers John H. Lyons, President Laborers' International Union of North America Angelo Fosco, President International Union of Wood, Wire and Metal Lathers Kenneth M. Edwards, President Operative Plasterers and Cement Masons International Association of the United States and Canada Joseph T. Power, President United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipe Fitting Industry of the United States and Canada Martin J. Ward, President Sheet Metal Workers International Union Edward J. Carlough, President Workers Who Clothe Us Members of the following unions: Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers Union Murray H. Finley, President International Ladies' Garment Workers Union Sol C. Chaikin, President International Leather Goods, Plastics and Novelty Workers Union Ben Feldman, President Amalgamated Meat Cutters and Butcher Workmen of North America, Furriers Division Joseph Belsky, President Workers in Communications, Arts and Recreation Members of the following unions: Actors' Equity Association Theodore Bikel, President Communications Workers of America Glenn E. Watts, President Graphic Arts International Union Kenneth J. Brown, President American Federation of Television and Radio Artists Kenneth Harvey, President National Association of Broadcast Employees and Technicians Edward M. Lynch, President International Association of Fire Fighters William H. McClennan, President American Guild of Musical Artists Cornell MacNeil, President American Guild of Variety Artists Penny Singleton, Executive-President Hebrew Actors' Union Herman Yablokoff, President Workers in Professional and Technical Skills and Services Members of the following unions and organizations: Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers Union Murray H. Finley, President The American Occupational Therapy Association, Inc. Jerry A. Johnson, Ph.D., President James J. Garibaldi, Executive Director Ronald Stone, OTR; President Virginia Occupational Therapy Association Silbyl Levine, OTR; President District of Columbia Occupational Therapy Association Panelpha Kyler, OTR; President Maryland Occupational Therapy Association Retail Clerks International Association James T. Housewright, President Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union Alvin E. Heaps, President Service Employees International Union, AFL-CIO George Hardy, President Amalgamated Transit Union, AFL-CIO, Locals 689, 1551, 1138, 1098 William Deal Robert Fearington Ken Grow William Downey John Geib John Palardy Ron Reier John Adams Robert Adams James Gibson L. Ray Gossard Lee Ice Monte W. Monteith Bernard O'Mahoney New York Taxi Drivers Union, AFL-CIO, Local 3036 Mike Rosenthal Hy Hershkowitz Tom Caulfield Ethel Peoples Air Traffic Control Association Arthur Pittius Stewart A. Dawson John Goon Donald E. Jicka L.I. Pearce Paul Moore Capt. Peter W. O'Neil Thelma K. Swofford Edward J. Gillet James F. Arthur Steward A. Dawson Robert D. Rudich Joe B. Shirley Clarence T. Tolpo, Beaumont, Texas Lt. Charlotte Wood Flight Engineers International Association John Minor I. (Hauk) Turner Abe Sewalson J.P. Trottier International Association of Machinists, AFL-CIO, Local 1650 Bill Hampton Kenneth Green Lloyd Mann Lloyd Crindlebaugh F.E. Wood Bill Hoppe H.L. Norton G.F. Roady M.R. McCutchen L.C. Leeds Eddie Glaszczak, Platte City, Missouri Bill Hoffman, Liberty, Missouri B.J. Wilson J.J. Kunrod John McKim Harry Powell B.L. Yardley N.C. Mosley Gary Mason S.M. Ballew Tracy Bales Wally Hayward Dick Lincoln Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers B.B. Thomas B.M. Byrd O.L. Williams E.B. Dollar G.L. Bridgeman Charles McHuges Ed Irby Transport Workers Union, Maintenance, Local 514 R.N. Smythe P.O. Young H.V. Highberger C.R. Burke J.S. Lowe B.L. Lamb S.W. Hathcock P.E. Corn A.B. Williams J. Shade R.H. Stanley W.D. Myers A.D. Sorenson J.L. Locut W.C. Popejoy R.J. Barker B.M. Maris S.H. Walden Workers Who Feed Us Members of the following unions and organizations: Amalgamated Meat Cutters and Butcher Workmen of North America Joseph Belsky, President Bakery and Confectionery Workers International Union of America Daniel E. Conway, President Hotel and Restaurant Employees' and Bartenders' International Union Edward T. Hanley, General President Maryland and Virginia Milk Producers Association Walter A. Martz, President James E. Click, General Manager The Omaha Livestock Exchange Amalgamated Transit Union, AFL-CIO, Locals 689, 1551, 1138, 1098 William Deal Robert Fearington Ken Grow William Downey John Geib John Palardy Ron Reier John Adams Robert Adams James Gibson L. Ray Gossard Lee Ice Monte W. Monteith Bernard O'Mahoney Vince Hobday Henry Hawkins Air Traffic Control Association Arthur Pittius Stewart A. Dawson John Goon Donald E. Jicka L.I. Pearce Paul Moore Capt. Peter W. O'Neil Thelma K. Swofford Edward J. Gillet James F. Arthur Steward A. Dawson Robert D. Rudich Joe B. Shirley Clarence T. Tolpo, Beaumont, Texas Lt. Charlotte Wood Flight Engineers International Association John Minor I. (Hauk) Turner Abe Sewalson J.P. Trottier International Association of Machinists, AFL-CIO, Local 1650 Bill Hampton Kenneth Green Lloyd Mann Lloyd Crindlebaugh F.E. Wood Bill Hoppe H.L. Norton G.F. Roady M.R. McCutchen L.C. Leeds Eddie Glaszczak, Platte City, Missouri Bill Hoffman, Liberty, Missouri B.J. Wilson J.J. Kunrod John McKim Harry Powell B.L. Yardley N.C. Mosley Gary Mason S.M. Ballew Tracy Bales Wally Hayward Dick Lincoln Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers B.B. Thomas B.M. Byrd O.L. Williams E.B. Dollar G.L. Bridgeman Charles Hughes Ed Irby Transport Workers Union, Maintenance, Local 514 R.N. Smythe P.O. Young H.V. Highberger C.R. Burke J.S. Lowe B.L. Lamb S.W. Hathcock P.E. Corn A.B. Williams J. Shade R.H. Stanley W.D. Myers A.D. Sorenson J.L. Locut W.C. Popejoy R.J. Barker B.M. Maris S.H. Walden R.C. Sagar M.D. Harrell B.L. Ewing J.L. Guynn T.R. Hopper C.E. Quinn K.L. Anderson Truckers Jim Ringer Ray Bieri Jack Hamilton George Gordon Edgar Graves James Marshall Artie Marshall William Peoples, III Margaret Brooks Bernice McDonald Doris Miller Ed Miller Lee Voorhies Richard Voorhies Timmy Voorhies Dale Setzer Harry Bavdakian Sea Chanteys Louis Killen Gerret Warner Jeff Warner John Benson Jeff Davis John Roberts Maintenance of Way Simon Shaw Al Marshall Bob Dudley Roy Johnson Clifton Anderson Robert Dudley Henry Hawkins Brotherhood of Railway Carmen, Locals 1395, 43, 468, 364, 175 C. Lightfoot G. Butcher S. Miedzienowski W. Palmer J. Palumbo M. Walston P. Lawson W. Hardin C. Green S. Siadys F. Burke H. Lewin Coast Guard BMC C.D. Haywood QM1 G.H. Hornbeck BMC D.B. McMichael ASM T.A. Hallmark BM1 L.L. Proud QM2 J.W. White MK2 B.G. Borato MK1 S.J. Halloran Allied Pilots Association Capt. Jenks Jim Foringer Capt. N. Schweitzer W.J. Rogers Capt. (Hap) Hazard Al Voras Transportation Workers Union Flight Attendants, Local 552 Karen Hill Marti O'Rourke Dee Dee Dougherty Tootie Higgs Judy Marek Ed Gold Ed Pagan Linda Welker Gussie Utting Roy Brayton Carol Peisinger Fran Bollero Carolyn Green Mary Jo Kerr Janet Piersan United Transportation Union
Collection Restrictions:
Access to the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections is by appointment only. Visit our website for more information on scheduling a visit or making a digitization request. Researchers interested in accessing born-digital records or audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies.
Collection Rights:
Permission to publish materials from the collection must be requested from the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections. Please visit our website to learn more about submitting a request. The Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections make no guarantees concerning copyright or other intellectual property restrictions. Other usage conditions may apply; please see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for more information.
Collection Citation:
Smithsonian Folklife Festival records: 1976 Festival of American Folklife, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
CFCH.SFF.1976, Series 9
See more items in:
Smithsonian Folklife Festival records: 1976 Festival of American Folklife
Archival Repository:
Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/bk52663f664-bc5e-41d3-a9c1-468ea6f06e1b
EDAN-URL:
ead_component:sova-cfch-sff-1976-ref64