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This collection has access restrictions. For details, please see the restrictions.
This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held in the Wilson Library at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in our reading room, and not digitally available through the World Wide Web. See the Duplication Policy section for more information.
Archival processing of the Robert D. Bethke Collection was made possible through a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
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Collection Overview
| Size | 1 foot of linear shelf space (approximately 700 items) |
| Abstract | The Robert D. Bethke Collection consists of audiovisual materials and subject files related to folk music and traditional life of the Middle Atlantic and Southern regions of the United States, including Delaware, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, Virginia, and West Virginia. Folklorist and University of Delaware Associate Professor, Robert D. Bethke, compiled the materials, along with undergraduate students enrolled in his folklore courses at the University of Delaware in Newark, Del. Audiovisual materials in the collection consist mostly of interviews and live performances by folk, bluegrass, and blues performers, including folk singer, songwriter, and banjo player, Ola Belle Reed, of Ashe County, N.C.; traditional bluegrass guitarist and banjo player, Ted Lundy, of Galax, Va.; artist and blues musician, James "Son Ford" Thomas, of Washington County, Miss.; blues guitarist and banjo player, Franklin "Frank" Hovington, of Frederica, Del.; and folk singer, Mary Jane "Janie" Miller, of Cecil County, Md., among others. The collection also contains audiovisual materials documenting traditional life, as well as subject files that include clippings, student papers, song sheets and lyrics, transcripts of interviews, and photographic materials documenting folk performers chiefly from Delaware, but also from Maryland, Virginia, Kentucky, and Mississippi. |
| Creator | Bethke, Robert D., 1945- |
| Language | English |
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Information For Users
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Subject Headings
The following terms from Library of Congress Subject Headings suggest topics, persons, geography, etc. interspersed through the entire collection; the terms do not usually represent discrete and easily identifiable portions of the collection--such as folders or items.
Clicking on a subject heading below will take you into the University Library's online catalog.
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Biographical Information
Folklorist, Robert D. Bethke, was an Associate Professor of English at the University of Delaware from 1977 to 2000. He received a Ph.D. in Folklore and Folklife from the University of Pennsylvania in 1973. While at the University of Delaware he taught courses in folklore and founded the University of Delaware Folklore Archive at the Folklore and Ethnic Art Center, where he was also the director. After the archive and center closed, the materials housed at the archive defaulted to Bethke who then donated the materials elsewhere, including the Delaware Agriculture Museum and Village in Dover, Del.; Delaware Folklife Program, Division of Parks and Recreation, State of Delaware Department of National Resources and Environmental Control in Dover, Del; University of Delaware Media Services; Salisbury State University in Salisbury, Md.; and the Southern Folklife Collection, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, N.C.
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Scope and Content
Audiovisual materials and subject files related to folk music and traditional life of the Middle Atlantic and Southern regions of the United States, including Delaware, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, Virginia, and West Virginia. Folklorist and University of Delaware Associate Professor, Robert D. Bethke, compiled the materials, along with undergraduate students enrolled in his folklore courses at the University of Delaware in Newark, Del.
Audiovisual materials in the collection consist mostly of interviews and live performances recorded by Bethke and his undergraduate students out in the field and at the University of Delaware. The majority of the audio and video recordings feature folk, bluegrass, and blues performers, including folk singer, songwriter, and banjo player, Ola Belle Reed, of Ashe County, N.C.; traditional bluegrass guitarist and banjo player, Ted Lundy, of Galax, Va.; artist and blues musician, James "Son Ford" Thomas, of Washington County, Miss.; blues guitarist and banjo player, Franklin "Frank" Hovington, of Frederica, Del.; and folk singer, Mary Jane "Janie" Miller, of Cecil County, Md., among others. The collection also contains audiovisual materials documenting traditional life, including an interview with Eastern Shore oysterman, Captain Clifton Webster, and materials related to the student documentary project, "Gonna Have a Hog Killing," about traditional hog processing at the rural farm of Jim Kelly, an African American farmer of Sussex County, Del. Audio recordings are on 1/4" Open Reel Audio and audiocassette, while video recordings are on 1/2" open reel video, U-Matic, and VHS.
The collection also contains subject files that include clippings, student papers, song sheets and lyrics, transcripts of interviews, and photographic materials documenting folk performers chiefly from Delaware, but also from Maryland, Virginia, Kentucky, and Mississippi.
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Series Quick Links
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Series 1. Audiovisual Materials, 1972-1983 and undated.
Arrangement: by format.
Processing information: titles and formats compiled from SFC database and notes found in the control file.
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Subseries 1.1. Audio Recordings, 1972-1983 and undated.
Arrangement: chronological.
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Subseries 1.2. Video Recordings, 1972-1979.
Arrangement: chronological.
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Series 2. Subject files, 1971-2000.
Arrangement: alphabetical.
Clippings, student papers, song sheets and lyrics, transcripts of interviews, and photographic materials documenting folk performers chiefly from Delaware, but also from Maryland, Virginia, Kentucky, and Mississippi.
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Items Separated
Processed by: Nancy Kaiser and Anne Wells, May 2017
Encoded by: Nancy Kaiser and Anne Wells, May 2017
Archival processing of the Robert D. Bethke Collection was made possible through a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
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