Kathleen Warner Idaho Folklore Archive, Special Collections, Albertsons Library, Boise State University

Kathleen Warner Idaho Folklore Archive

MSS 180

Boise State University, Albertsons Library, Special Collections Department

Kathleen Warner taught Folklore at Boise State University for more than thirty years. A student of Richard M. Dorson at Indiana University (where she earned her Ph.D.), she joined the English faculty at Boise State University in 1966. She trained her students in both academic research and in fieldwork. This collection preserves the Idaho-related folklore collected by her students. The earliest project dates from 1968; the latest 1998. There are 136 projects altogether. They reflect the collecting interests of Boise State University students of the 1960s through 90s. Popular culture of the late twentieth century is well represented in the collections; so too are more traditional areas of folklore collecting. Two projects were added in 2001 by Louise Ackley, folklore teacher at Boise State University in the Spring of 2000.

The student projects have been preserved as the students turned them in. They consist chiefly of typewritten reports accompanied by photographs, drawings, and, occasionally, tape recordings. A number of written reports make reference to tape recordings that are not present in the collection. Projects are as short as a few pages; most, however, are longer.

Each student project has been assigned a project number and they are filed in seven boxes in numerical order. The projects are listed below first in broad topical categories, and then in numerical order. A locality index and name (informant) index follow.

Topical categories

Agriculture and ranching
Arts, crafts, and industries
Automobiles: License plates and bumper stickers
Boise State University
Children
Drugs and alcohol
Ethnic, religious, and social groups
Food
Graffiti
Historic sites and architecture
Legends and superstitions
Marriage
Medical
Music
Names (Personal)
Personal expression
Quilting and crocheting
Sexuality
Sports and outdoor recreation
Tattoos
Teens
Tombstones, cemeteries, and funeral customs

Agriculture and ranching

  17.    Early farming implements (Ivan Phillips; Meridian, Idaho)
  38.    Sheep raising (Fairview, Utah)
  54.    Cowboy and ranch life (Bryce Morgan; Oregon)
  59.    Brace Ranch architecture (willow and mud) (Owyhee County)
  94.    Potato lore
103.   Blacksmithing (Robert Romig; Boise)
109.   Saddlery (Don L. Brown; Garden Valley)
114.   Cattle ranching (Chuck Steiner; Owyhee County)

Arts, crafts, and industries

  13.    Wood carving (Elmer Haag; Filer, Idaho)
  49.    Placer mining
  66.    Mining (Wood River Valley)
  78.    Mexican American artwork (Sergio Garcia; Boise)
  80.    Neon signs (Ogden, Utah, and Boise)
  84.    Fiddle making (Johnny Craft; Nampa)
  89.    Notefolding and origami (Boise and Twin Falls)
103.    Blacksmithing (Robert Romig; Boise)
109.    Saddlery (Don L. Brown; Garden Valley)
120.    Blacksmithing (Robert L. Romig; Boise)
122.    Idaho City mining (Red Howes; Idaho City)
134.    Dowsing in the Treasure Valley (Southwest Idaho) (Videotape only)

Automobiles: License plates and bumper stickers

  25.    Bumper stickers (Boise State College and Twin Falls, Idaho)
  57.    Personalized license plates
  58.    Bumper stickers (Boise)
  77.    Personalized license plates (Boise)
105.    Bumper stickers (Boise)

Boise State University

  16.    Students' nicknames
  25.    Bumper stickers
  33.    Bathroom graffiti
  40.    Boise State lore
  47.    Boise State University Library lore
  71.    Tattoos
110.    Library lore
130.    College folklore

Children

See also Teens

    4.    Children’s jokes, riddles, and rhymes (Boise)
    6.    Summer camp activities and customs (Cascade)
  20.    Children’s games (Mountain Home)
  24.    Children’s games and pastimes (Boise)
  26.    Jump rope rhymes (Boise)
  42.    Children’s games (Boise)
  44.    Games
  48.    Jump rope rhymes (Boise and Meridian)
  60.    Children’s rhymes and riddles (Boise)
  62.    Girl Scout skits (Boise)
  70.    Children’s games
  91.    Children’s counting-out rhymes and other rhymes (Middleton)
118.    Autograph book and yearbook inscriptions (Boise)

Drugs and alcohol

  50.    Hangover remedies
112.    Home remedies (Caldwell and Middleton)
121.    Moonshine (L.N. Gwartney; Lemhi County)
125.    Marijuana and cocaine use (Boise)
129.    Hangover cures (Boise State University)

Ethnic, religious, and social groups

    8.    (Amish)  Amish Mennonites (Hammett, Idaho)
  14.    (Basque)  Basque architecture (Boise)
  15.    (Basque)  Basque dancing (Boise)
  30.    (Basque)  Basque customs and traditions
  76.    (Basque)  Jacobs-Uberuaga house (Boise)
117.    (Basque)  Proverbs
131.    (Basque)  Basque cooking (Mountain Home)
136.    (Firefighters) Wildland Fire Fighting
  93.    (Gay)  Homosexual dialect and gesture (Boise)
  35.    (Mexican)  Tortilla making (Nampa)
  78.    (Mexican) Mexican American artwork (Sergio Garcia; Boise)
  99.    (Mexican)  Mexican American food traditions (Boise and Nampa)
101.    (Mexican)  Mexican wedding customs
104.    (Mexican) Tortilla making (Caldwell)
128.    (Mexican)  Mexican recipes
  43.    (Mormon)  Mormon legend of the Three Nephites
135.    (Mormon) LDS Missionary Protection Stories
119.    (Nez Perce)  Meadowlark Woman and the Nez Perce
    2.    (Norwegian)  Norwegian American cooking (Latah County)
  28.    (Silver City)  Silver City contemporary social life (Silver City, Idaho)
  19.    (Theater audience)  “Rocky Horror Picture Show” audience participation (Boise)
  95.    (Transient)  Boise River transients (Boise)
  21.    (Women)  Women’s supportive relationships within a club setting (Boise)

Food

    2.    Norwegian-American cooking (Latah County)
    5.    Food preparation, 1920s and 30s (Princeton, Idaho)
  23.    Butter churning (Gladys Cothern; Buhl)
  35.    Tortilla making (Nampa)
  86.    Butter making (Lulu Belle Tschirgi; Fruitland)
  99.    Mexican American food traditions (Boise and Nampa)
104.    Tortilla making (Caldwell)
128.    Mexican American recipes
131.    Basque cooking (Mountain Home)

Graffiti

  11.    Junior high graffiti and doodling (Boise)
  33.    Bathroom graffiti (Boise State University)
  41.    Bathroom graffiti (Boise)
  52.    Bathroom graffiti (Boise)

Historic sites and architecture

    9.    Hot Lake Resort (LaGrande, Oregon)
  14.    Basque architecture (Boise)
  22.    Doorway design (Boise)
  59.    Brace Ranch architecture (willow and mud) (Owyhee County)
  64.    Dyer House (Warren)
  67.    Atlanta, Idaho
  72.    Bush mansion (Boise)
  76.    Jacobs-Uberuaga house (Boise)
  79.    Mellen Hotel (Mountain Home)
  90.    Outhouses

Legends and superstitions

  36.    Sharlie, the monster of Payette Lake (McCall)
  37.    Werewolves and monsters (Gooding and Idaho Falls)
  43.    Mormon legend of the Three Nephites
  74.    Tarot card reading (Parma and Boise)
  87.    Superstitions
  96.    Baseball superstitions (Boise)
119.    Meadowlark Woman and the Nez Perce
126.    Superstitious items (Boise)
133.    Local legends of Buhl, Idaho (Buhl)

Marriage

68. Wedding customs
101. Mexican wedding customs

Medical

  50.    Hangover remedies
  73.    Home remedies
  82.    Midwifery (McCall and Boise)
112.    Home remedies (Caldwell and Middleton)
116.    Folk medicine (Hammett)
129.    Hangover cures (Boise State University)

Music

  84.    Fiddle making (Johnny Craft; Nampa)
  85.    Fiddle music (Mike Parsons; Idaho Falls)
123.    Fiddling (George Kenaston; Shoshone)

Names (Personal)

16. Personal nicknames (Boise State University)
55. CB radio handles (New Plymouth and Payette)

Personal expression

See also Automobile license plates and bumper stickers; Graffiti; Names (Personal); Tattoos

  65.    Clothing styles at a nightclub (Boise)
  83.    Refrigerator decorating (Boise)
  98.    Aphorisms on reader boards (Nampa)
118.    Autograph book and yearbook inscriptions (Boise)

Quilting and crocheting

  21.    Women’s supportive relationships within a club setting (Boise)
  31.    Quilting (Boise area)
  39.    Crocheting (Boise)
  75.    Quilting (Emmett)
  88.    Quilting (Utah and Idaho)
115.    Quilting (Boise area)
132.    Riverbend Quilters (Reedsport, Oregon)

Sexuality

See alsoGraffiti; Marriage

  65.    Clothing styles at a nightclub (Boise)
  93.    Homosexual dialect and gesture (Boise)
113.    Pick up lines (Boise)

Sports and outdoor recreation

  10.    Trapping (Owyhee County)
  27.    Telemark skiing
  34.    Bowlers (Boise)
  44.    Games
  56.    Hunting spots
  69.    Football players’ trash talk (Boise)
  81.    Trappers (Eastern Idaho)
  92.    River guiding (Middle Fork, Salmon River)
  96.    Baseball superstitions (Boise)
  97.    Recreational activities in a cemetery (Caldwell)
107.    Fly tying (Boise)
108.    High school football superstitions (North Idaho and Boise)
124.    River running (Sam Slavin; Salmon River)
126.    Superstitious items (Boise)

Tattoos

  18.    Tattoos (Boise)
  32.    Tattoos (Boise)
  71.    Tattoos (Boise State University)
127.    Tattoo artist (Virgil Allbery; Boise)

Teens

    6.    Summer camp activities and customs (Cascade)
    7.    Teenagers' jokes and riddle (Boise)
  11.    Junior high graffiti and doodling (Boise)
  12.    Teenage subculture (Mountain Home)
  44.    Games
  45.    Junior high students' personal notes (Boise)
108.    High school football superstitions (North Idaho and Boise)

Tombstones, cemeteries, and funeral customs

    1.    Gravestones
    3.    Old tombstones (Western Idaho)
  29.    Tombstones (Eastern Idaho)
  46.    Tombstones, 1860-1910 (Southwest Idaho)
  53.    Tombstones (Southwest Idaho)
  63.    Funeral customs
  97.    Recreational activities in a cemetery (Caldwell)
111.    Symbolism in funerary art (Boise)

Numerical list

Listed below are the names of the student collectors, the year the project was completed, a descriptive title supplied by the archivists at Boise State University (in bold), and, if a localized study, the locality. If the project focused on the work of one individual, that person's name is included after the title, in parentheses.

Alder, Larry. 1983. Gravestones (Boise)
Anderson, Karen. 1982. Norwegian-American cooking (Latah County)
Barratt, Mary. 1980. Old Tombstones (Western Idaho)
Barton, Patty. 1972. Children's jokes, riddles, and rhymes (Boise)
Bauman, Diane. 1978. Food preparation, 1920s and 30s (Princeton, Idaho)
Beck, Terri. 1996. Summer camp activities and customs (Cascade) (with one audiotape)
Bentley, Terri L. 1979. Teenagers' jokes and riddles (Boise)
Bernt, Rik. 1981. Amish-Mennonites (Hammett)
Blackaller, Dwayne. 1997. Hot Lake Resort (LaGrande, Oregon)
Blood, Al. 1992. Trapping (Owyhee County)
Blount, Ralph. 1989. Junior high graffiti and doodling (Boise)
Boneck, Kendra. 1996. Teenage subculture (Mountain Home)
Boyer, Dana. 1975. Wood carving (Elmer Haag; Filer)
Broich, Jim. 1974. Basque architecture (Boise)
Brown, Frances. 1978. Basque dancing (Boise)
Brutke, Karen. 1992. Students' nicknames (Boise State University)
Bullock, Dan. 1975. Early farming implements (Ivan Phillips; Meridian)
Campbell, Nancy. 1980. Tattoos (Boise)
Cary, Christine. 1990. Rocky Horror Picture Show audience participation (Boise)
Clark, Kristy. 1975. Children's games (Mountain Home)
Cole, Maggie. 1992. Women's supportive relationships within a club setting (Boise)
Costello, Eve. 1993. Doorway design (Boise)
Cothern, Leah. 1978. Butter churning (Gladys Cothern; Buhl)
Cox, Robin. 1991. Children's games and pastimes (Boise)
Cogliandro, Pat. 1972. Bumper stickers (Boise State College and Twin Falls)
Crane, MaryLou. 1990. Jump rope rhymes (Boise)
Daley, Kristin. 1997. Telemark skiing
Danner, Debbie. 1996. Silver City contemporary social life (Silver City)
Dean, Melanie. 1992. Tombstones (Eastern Idaho)
DeJournett, Lynn. 1985. Basque customs and traditions (Uberuaga family)
Drake, Fern. 1997. Quilting (Boise area)
Driever, Jason. 1997. Tattoos (Boise)
Edmiston, Mike. 1991. Bathroom graffiti (Boise State University)
Eisele, Sherrie. 1985. Bowlers (Boise)
Fuhriman, Xochitl. 1993. Tortilla making (Nampa)
Gabbert, Elflriede. 1987. Sharlie, the Payette Lake monster (McCall)
Gamblin, Randall. 1983. Werewolves and monsters (Gooding and Idaho Falls)
Gillespie, Julie. 1982. Sheep raising (Fairview, Utah)
Giltner, Linda. 1985. Crocheting (Boise)
Goodwin, Stomry. 1991. Boise State lore (Boise State University)
Graham, Karen. 1990. Bathroom graffiti (Boise)
Gumlia, Mary. 1980. Children's games (Boise)
Haight, Lisa. 1997. Mormon legend of the Three Nephites
Hall, John. 1980. Games
Hallgreen, Connie. 1996. Junior high students' personal notes (Boise)
Henley, Arlene. 1980. Tombstones, 1860-1910 (Southwest Idaho)
Hillard, Tom. 1997. Boise State University Library lore
Hillman, Susie. 1994. Jump rope rhymes (Boise and Meridian)
Horton, Sherry. 1995. Placer mining
Huizinga, Kayce Ann. 1997. Hangover remedies
Hulme, Margaret. 1988. Claude Dallas
Johnson, Polly. 1996. Bathroom graffiti (Boise)
Knight, Dick. 1975. Tombstones (Southwest Idaho)
Krakau, Herb. 1974. Cowboy and ranch life (Bryce Morgan; Oregon)
Laws, Julia. 1980. CB radio handles (New Plymouth and Payette)
Leavitt, David. Hunting spots
Lostra, Jeanne. 1980. Personalized license plates
Lucas, Mark. 1972. Bumper stickers (Boise)
Manser, Carolyn. 1985. Brace Ranch architecture (willow and mud) (Owyhee County)
Martini, Connie. 1972. Children's rhymes and riddles (Boise)
Matthews, DeAnne. 1974. Children's games (Boise)
McCombs, Britt. 1994. Girl Scout skits (Boise) (with one videotape)
McCue, Bob. 1981. Funeral customs
McDowell, Wallace. 1979. Dyer house (Warren)
McNary, Ann Marie. 1990? Clothing styles at a nightclub (Boise)
McPheters, W.E. 1976. Mining (Wood River Valley)
Mensching, Cherie. 1980. Atlanta, Idaho
Monasterio, Alison. 1978. Wedding customs
Moreno, David. 1996. Football players' trash talk (Boise)
Murphy, Linda. 1978. Children's games
Nelson, David. 1996. Tattoos (Boise State University)
Newby, Linda. 1978. Bush mansion (Boise)
Newman, Sharon. 1978. Home remedies (Boise)
Nixon, Sue. 1993. Tarot card reading (Parma and Boise)
Noble, Pam. 1990. Quilting (Emmett)
O'Brien, Kathy. 1979. Jacobs-Uberuaga house (Boise)
Ortega, Tracy. 1996. Personalized license plates (Boise)
Ortiz, Sonia. 1998. Mexican artwork (Sergio Garcia; Boise)
Osgood, Phil. 1981. Mellen Hotel (Mountain Home) (with 2 audiotapes)
Parsley, Kelly. 1986. Neon signs (Ogden, Utah, and Boise)
Perron, Kevin. 1986. Trappers (Eastern Idaho)
Pettinger, Brenda. 1994. Midwifery (McCall and Boise)
Pritchard, Quinn. 1991. Refrigerator decorating (Boise)
Redman, Randy. 1978. Fiddle making (Johnny Craft; Nampa)
Richardson, Tim. 1983. Fiddle music (Mike Parsons, Idaho Falls)
Sasaki, Cathy. 1974. Butter making (Lulu Belle Tschirgi; Fruitland)
Savage, Sandra. 1972. Superstitions
Schiess, Carol. 1983. Quilting (Utah and Idaho)
Schnitker, Carleen. 1995. Note folding and origami (Boise and Twin Falls)
Simler, Barbara. 1986. Outhouses
Smart, Debbie. 1986. Children's counting-out rhymes and other rhymes (Middleton)
Snell, Whitney. 1993. River guiding (Middle Fork, Salmon River)
Stewart, Danny. 1990. Homosexual dialect and gesture (Boise) (with 3 audiotapes)
Stockton, Jim. 1986. Potato lore
Stoddard, Susan. 1985. Boise River transients (Boise)
Straker, Gail. 1994. Baseball superstitions (Boise)
Stuart, Sharon. 1995. Recreational activities in a cemetery (Caldwell)
Swayne, Tiffany. 1997. Aphorisms on reader boards (Nampa)
Swayze, Rosie. 1991. Mexican American food traditions (Boise and Nampa) (with 2 audiotapes)
Tanner, Rhett. 1993. Helen Palmer Moore lore (Eastern Idaho)
Taylor, Wendy. 1978. Mexican wedding customs
Thomas, Kristin. 1990. Galena, Idaho
Thompson, Terry. 1975. Blacksmithing (Robert Romig; Boise)
Thurston, Nancy. 1981. Tortilla making (Caldwell)
Tolliver, Janet. 1978. Bumper stickers (Boise)
Upshaw, Theresa. 1998. Powder horns (Boise)
Weidenbach, Lisa. 1990. Fly tying (Boise) (with one audiotape)
Wheeler, Mark. 1986. High school football superstitions (North Idaho and Boise)
Whitworth, Carmen. 1994. Saddlery (Don L. Brown; Garden Valley)
Williams, Audrey. 1994. Library lore
Williams, Joel. 1983. Symbolism in funerary art (Boise)
Woodland, Cheryl. 1994. Home remedies (Caldwell and Middleton)
Wren, Tiffany. 1996. Pick-up lines (Boise)
Young, Kathleen. 1981. Cattle ranching (Chuck Steiner, Owhyee County)
Zimmer, Marge. 1992. Quilting (Boise area)
Allen, Cathy. 1974. Folk medicine (Hammett)
Argyle, Jacqulyn Ann and Anne Boyd. 1968. Proverbs (many Basque)
Bruna, Karen. 1981. Autograph book and yearbook inscriptions (Boise)
Caswell, Kurt. 1991. Meadowlark Woman and the Nez Perce
Dennis, Stephen. 1974. Blacksmithing (Robert Romig; Boise)
Gwartney, Larry. 1974. Moonshine (L.N. Gwartney; Lemhi County)
Hansen, Nick. 1974. Idaho City mining (Red Howes; Idaho City)
Harrington, Donna. 1974. Fiddling (George Kenaston; Shoshone)
Hewitt, Ardis. 1980. River running (Sam Slavin; Salmon River)
Keeth, Gary L. 1978. Marijuana and cocaine use (Boise)
Moreno, David. 1996. Superstitious items (Boise)
Nelson, David. 1996. Tattoo artist (Virgil Allbery; Boise)
Ortega, Tracy. 1996. Mexican recipes
Otterness, Liz. 1990. Hangover cures (Boise State University)
Oxley, Jim. 1989. College folklore (Boise State University and University of Idaho)
Reynolds, Anne. 1986. Basque cooking (Mountain Home)
Sterndahl, Kathy. 1993. Riverbend Quilters (Reedsport, Oregon)
Wagner, Kathleen. 1989. Local legends of Buhl, Idaho
Hicks, Kristin. 1993. Dowsing in the Treasure Valley (Southwest Idaho) (Videotape only)
DeWeese, Sally. 2000. LDS Missionary Protection Stories
Raddatz, Ray. 2000. Wildland Fire Fighting (Salmon National Forest)

Locality index

Atlanta. 67
Boise.1,4,7,11,14,15,18,19,21,22,24,26,31,32,34,39,41,42,45,48,52,53,58,60,61,62,
65,69,72,73,74,76,77,78,80,82,83,89,93,95,96,99,103,105,106,107,108,111,113,115,
118,120,125,126,127
Boise State University. 16, 25,33,40,47,71,110,130
Buhl. 23,133
Caldwell. 46,97,104,112
Cascade. 3,6
Eastern Idaho. 29,81,100
Emmett. 75
Fairview, Utah. 38
Filer. 13
Fruitland. 86
Galena. 102
Garden Valley. 109
Gooding. 37
Hammett. 8,116
Idaho City. 3,53,122
Idaho Falls. 37,85
LaGrande, Oregon. 9
Latah County. 2
Lemhi County. 121
McCall. 36,82
Meridian. 17, 48
Middleton. 91,112
Montpelier. 81
Mountain Home. 12,20,79,131
Nampa. 3,35,53,84,98,99,134
New Plymouth. 55
North Idaho. 108
Oakley. 29
Ogden, Utah. 80
Ontario, Oregon. 81
Oregon. 9,54,81,132
Owyhee County. 10,59,114
Paris. 81
Parma. 3,46,74
Payette. 55
Payette Lake. 36
Princeton. 5
Reedsport, Oregon. 132
Salmon National Forest. 136
Salmon River. 92, 124
Shoshone. 123
Silver City. 28
Southwest Idaho. 46,53,134
Twin Falls. 24,89
University of Idaho. 130
Utah. 38,80,88
Warren. 64
Western Idaho. 3
Wood River Valley. 66

Name Index

Hundreds of individuals contributed to the student folklore projects. Most projects relied on numerous informants. The list that follows is an index of projects that were based primarily around the work, art, craft, or life of one individual or family.

Allbery, Virgil.   127 (Tattoo artist, Boise)
Brown, Don L.   109 (Saddlery, Garden Valley)
Cothern, Gladys.   23 (Butter churning, Buhl)
Craft, Johnny.   84 (Fiddle making, Nampa)
Dallas, Claude (subject)   51
Garcia, Sergio.   78 (Mexican American artwork)
Gwartney, L.N.   121 (Moonshine, Lemhi County)
Howes, Red.   122 (Idaho City mining)
Kenaston, George.   123 (Fiddling, Shoshone)
Moore, Helen Palmer (subject).   100
Morgan, Bryce.   54 (Cowboy and ranch life, Oregon)
Parsons, Mike. 85 (Fiddle music, Idaho Falls)
Phillips, Ivan.     17 (Early Farming Implements, Meridian)
Romig, Robert. 103, 120 (Blacksmithing, Boise)
Slavin, Sam. 124 (River running, Salmon River)
Steiner, Chuck. 114 (Cattle ranching, Owhyee County)
Tschirgi, Lulu Belle. 86 (Butter making, Fruitland)
Uberuaga family. 30 (Basque customs and traditions)