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.
Size | .5 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 50 items) |
Abstract | The collection of folk revival musician and Appalachian dulcimer maker Howie Mitchell is comprised chiefly of letters he received in the early 1960s from traditional singer and banjo player Frank Proffitt. In his letters to Mitchell, Proffitt mentions family and friends, reading, playing music, musical instruments, folk music, folk songs, folk festivals, copyright, recording for Folkways, his tobacco crop, building a new house, and squirrel hunting. Also included in the collection are newspaper clippings, song lyrics, a letter to Mitchell from instrument maker Dennis Dorogi, guitar strings, and a 2002 note from Mitchell to folklorist and musician Mike Seeger about Proffitt's letters. |
Creator | Mitchell, Howie, 1932- |
Curatorial Unit | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Folklife Collection. |
Language | English |
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Born in 1932 Howie (Howard W.) Mitchell was a folk revival musician, teacher, Appalachian dulcimer player, and instrument maker from Lexington, Va. He was the author of The Mountain Dulcimer - How To Make It And Play It (After A Fashion), Folk Legacy Records BK-29, 1966.
Traditional singer and banjo player Frank Proffitt (1913-1965) was born in Laurel Bloomery, Tenn. His family moved to the Beaver Dam area of Watauga County, N.C. when he was still a child, and he worked on the family farm, leaving school after the sixth grade. He is known as the source of the song "Tom Dooley," which he shared with Frank Warner and Anne Warner in 1938 during the Warners' song collecting trip in Appalachia. "Tom Dooley" was included in Alan Lomax's 1947 book Folksong U.S.A. and recorded by the Kingston Trio in 1958. Per an out of court settlement, Warner, Lomax, and Proffitt eventually split the royalties for the song. Proffitt recorded three albums of traditional songs, and his son Frank Proffitt, Jr. performed his father's repertoire until his death in 2007.
Adapted from "Frank Proffitt, Sr." (2017) in Encyclopedia of Appalachia. (Site accessed 24 January 2017 http://www.encyclopediaofappalachia.com/entry.php?rec=176).
Back to TopThe collection of folk revival musician and Appalachian dulcimer maker Howie Mitchell is comprised chiefly of letters he received in the early 1960s from traditional singer and banjo player Frank Proffitt. In his letters to Mitchell, Proffitt mentions family and friends, reading, playing music, musical instruments, folk music, folk songs, folk festivals, copyright, recording for Folkways, his tobacco crop, building a new house, and squirrel hunting. Also included in the collection are newspaper clippings, song lyrics, a letter to Mitchell from instrument maker Dennis Dorogi, guitar strings, and a 2002 note from Mitchell to folklorist and musician Mike Seeger about Proffitt's letters.
Back to TopProcessing Note: Materials have been placed in folders for use, but they have not been analyzed, arranged, or fully described.
Folder 1-6
Folder 1Folder 2Folder 3Folder 4Folder 5Folder 6 |
Letters, circa 1962-1965 and undatedChiefly letters received by Mitchell from Frank Proffitt. Also included are newspaper clippings and a letter from a New York artist and instrument maker Dennis "D" Dorogi. |
Folder 7 |
La Bella Classical Guitar Strings |
Folder 8 |
Note from Howie Mitchell to Mike Seeger, 2002Mitchell sent a note with the Proffitt letters to Mike Seeger, who noted on the envelope that the letters should be donated to the Southern Folklife Collection. |