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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.
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Collection Overview
| Size | 4.0 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 2000 items) |
| Abstract | Lew Stern, a white author, writes on banjo history, 18th century British banjo makers, and other banjo-focused topics. The collection consists chiefly of Stern's research materials on traditional musicians Dwight Diller and Tommy Thompson, founding member of the Red Clay Ramblers. Materials consist of research files, audiocassette recordings of interviews and workshops, and born-digital materials compiled and created by Lew Stern. The addition includes a flyer promoting the 2019 Vandalia Gathering; correspondence with John Cohen, a white musician and musicologist, and Malcolm Owen, a white fiddler in the Fuzzy Mountain String Band; and contextual information about these items provided by Stern. |
| Creator | Stern, Lewis M. |
| Curatorial Unit | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Folklife Collection. |
| Language | English |
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Information For Users
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Processing Information
Processed by: Nancy Kaiser, Anne Wells, and Andrew Crook, September 2019
Encoded by: Nancy Kaiser, September 2019
Revisions by: Nancy Kaiser, February 2020; Anne Wells, Clare Carlson, and Jessica Venlet, February 2020.
Since August 2017, we have added ethnic and racial identities for individuals and families represented in collections. To determine identity, we rely on self-identification; other information supplied to the repository by collection creators or sources; public records, press accounts, and secondary sources; and contextual information in the collection materials. Omissions of ethnic and racial identities in finding aids created or updated after August 2017 are an indication of insufficient information to make an educated guess or an individual's preference for identity information to be excluded from description. When we have misidentified, please let us know at wilsonlibrary@unc.edu.
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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
Lewis M. Stern writes on banjo history, 18th-century British banjo makers, and other banjo-focused topics. He is the author of Dwight Diller: West Virginia Mountain Musician (Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland and Company, Inc., 2016) and Tommy Thompson: New-Timey String Band Musician (McFarland, 2019). He co-authored with David Brooks He Could Surely Make a Banjo Talk: 109 Clawhammer Banjo Tabs of Old Time and New Time Tunes Played by Tommy Thompson.
Stern earned a Masters of Arts and a Ph.D in political science at the University of Pittsburgh (1975-1980). He speaks Chinese, Vietnamese and Thai, and has written four books on contemporary Vietnam, including Defense Relations Between The United States And Vietnam: The Process Of Normalization, 1977-2003 (2005). He has worked for the Central Intelligence Agency; the Office of the Secretary of Defense; as an adjunct professor at Mary Baldwin College; as an adjunct senior research fellow at the Center for Strategic Research, Institute for National Strategic Studies, National Defense University; as a senior advisor on Southeast Asian Affairs for Avascent International, a global advisory and consulting firm; and as senior advisor on Southeast Asia for the Center for Naval Analysis.
From 1990 to 2010, Stern's shop, Little Bear Banjo Hospital, provided "health care services" for vintage banjos in northern Virginia. From 2009 to 2015, Little Bear Banjo Hospital operated in Staunton, Va.
This is an edited version of a biographical note submitted by Lewis M. Stern.
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Scope and Content
The Lewis M. Stern Collection on Dwight Diller and Tommy Thompson consists chiefly of research materials relating to traditional musicians Dwight Diller and Tommy Thompson, founding member of the Red Clay Ramblers. Materials consist of research files, audiocassette recordings of interviews and workshops, and born-digital materials compiled and created by Lew Stern. These born-digital materials include audio and video recordings of Tommy Thompson, Red Clay Ramblers, Dwight Diller, and others; files related to a paper Stern gave at the 2019 Banjo Gathering in Norfolk, Va.; as well Stern's pre-publication tribute to musician, musicologist, and documentary filmmaker, John Cohen (1932-2019).
The Addition of February 2020 consists of a flyer and correspondence. The flyer promotes the 2019 Vandalia Gathering. Correspondence consists of a letter from John Cohen, and a letter from Malcolm Owen, a fiddler in the Fuzzy Mountain String Band. Also included is a letter written to Steve Weiss, the curator Southern Folklife Collection, that provides context for these items.
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Series Quick Links
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Series 1. Papers, 1950s-2010s.
Arrangement: As received from donor.
Box 1-8
Box 1Box 2Box 3Box 4Box 5Box 6Box 7Box 8 |
Research materials on Dwight Diller and Tommy Thompson |
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Series 1A. Papers, 2016-2019 (Addition of February 2020).
Acquisitions Information: Accession 20200214.3
The addition consists of a flyer and correspondence. The flyer promotes the 2019 Vandalia Gathering. Correspondence consists of a letter from John Cohen, a folklorist, and a letter from Malcolm Owen, a fiddler in the Fuzzy Mountain String Band. Also included is a letter written to Steve Weiss, the curator Southern Folklife Collection, that provides context for these items.
| Box 8 |
Vandalia Gathering flyer, 2019 |
Correspondence, 2016-2019 |
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Series 2. Audiocassettes, 1973-2018.
Arrangement: By book project.
Processing information: Titles and descriptions from audio recordings compiled from original containers. The recordings related to Dwight Diller (FS-20572/54-96) were returned to the donor after digitization.
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Series 3. Born-Digital Materials, 1972-2019.
Arrangement: Alphabetical by file name.
Processing information: Titles and descriptions compiled from original containers.
This series contains digital materials that are accessible only on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Access to born-digital materials (DF-20572/1-24) found in series 3 is provided in the Special Collections Research Room at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. For further information about access to these materials, contact Research and Instructional Services staff at Wilsonlibrary@unc.edu
Born-digital materials consist of audio and video recordings of Tommy Thompson, Red Clay Ramblers, Dwight Diller, and others (DF-20572/1-22); files related to a paper Stern gave at the 2019 Banjo Gathering in Norfolk, Va. (DF-20572/23); as well Stern's pre-publication tribute to musician, musicologist, and documentary filmmaker, John Cohen (DF-20572/24). Please note that supporting documentation, including notes, tape logs, and research papers, found with born-digital materials reside in Box 8.
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Items Separated