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Audio Recording Conversation with Lester and Ruth Johnson at Johnson's Cafe, St. Mary, Montana, part 2

Lester Johnson, conversation

About this Item

Title

  • Conversation with Lester and Ruth Johnson at Johnson's Cafe, St. Mary, Montana, part 2

Names

  • Johnson, Paula J., 1954- (Collector)
  • Toelken, Barre, 1935- (Collector)
  • Johnson, Lester (Interviewee)

Created / Published

  • Saint Mary, Montana, September 3, 1979

Headings

  • -  Marriage customs and rites
  • -  Wit and humor
  • -  Food habits
  • -  Rodeos
  • -  Copper mines and mining
  • -  Frontier and pioneer life
  • -  Folklore
  • -  Restaurants
  • -  Bears
  • -  Ethnography
  • -  Field recordings
  • -  Interviews
  • -  Sound recordings
  • -  United States -- Montana -- St. Mary

Genre

  • Ethnography
  • Field recordings
  • Interviews
  • Sound recordings

Notes

  • -  Index data: Part 2 of a 4-part interview with Lester Johnson at Johnson's Cafe (with motel and campground), St. Mary, MT; the fieldworkers' notes state that the recording started with two channels but that ambient sounds were a problem and one of the channels was soon turned off to reduce the unwanted noise: Johnson discusses objects around cafe on walls and shelves (photographs included under call number: AFC 1981/005: 3_23160); about being a Justice of the Peace; about the quality of life in Montana; about problems with working with horses; wedding customs and question about chivarees (shivarees), about National Park employees who married being put in bear cages or traps; about parties and dances in vicinity, Johnson's father was a fiddler; Johnson's recollection of payday night in Butte: 15-cent movie, 15-cent coney island, 5-cent candy bar; about his dislike for liquor and tobacco; about relations with Indians; tourist preconceptions about Indians; Johnson's view that the only problems are caused by Congress; story of Blackfeet Indian enrollments in England, children of an agent's adopted Indian daughter; some jokes or humorous stories, about wind, another one, not a joke, it really happened; about Hy Woodward's Model A that got off the track and straddled a log, got snowed in, left it there all winter, "the wind had turned the wheels all winter and wore that motor plumb out" and "If you hadn't seen the wind come over the hills, you wouldn't believe that"; hats, plywood, sheets, blankets are to be found in trees locally after windstorms; about the wind; quaking aspens as firebreak; fires can be a blessing to business; about floods and other disasters, also good for business, mention of Hugh Black, a competitor, runs another restaurant-lodge; his son dreamed of an earthquake, the lodge slid into the road, and he found his father frying flapjacks and praising the disaster; the National Guard sent troops in once because of a disaster, an officer promised a dozen oranges.

Medium

  • 7-inch reel

Call Number/Physical Location

  • Call number: AFC 1981/005: AFS 20468
  • MBRS shelflist: RXA 0954
  • Field project identifier: MT9-BT/PJ-R11

Source Collection

  • Montana Folklife Survey collection (AFC 1981/005)

Repository

  • American Folklife Center

Digital Id

Online Format

  • audio

Rights & Access

The Library of Congress believes that some of the materials in this collection are in the public domain or have no known copyright restrictions, and are therefore free to use or reuse. For example, the fieldwork in this collection is in the public domain in the United States.

However, the Library has obtained permission for the use of other materials, and presents additional materials for educational and research purposes in accordance with fair use under United States copyright law. For example, some of the recordings contain copyrighted music, and not all of the performers and other individuals who were recorded signed releases for public use of their work.

In addition, the American Folklife Center and the professional fieldworkers who carry out these projects feel a strong ethical responsibility to the people they have visited and who have consented to have their lives documented for the historical record. The Center asks that researchers approach the materials in this collection with respect for the culture and sensibilities of the people whose lives, ideas, and creativity are documented here. Researchers are also reminded that privacy and publicity rights may pertain to certain uses of this material.

Researchers or others who would like to make further use of these collection materials should contact the Folklife Reading Room for assistance. Rights assessment is your responsibility. The written permission of the copyright owners in materials not in the public domain is required for distribution, reproduction, or other use of protected items beyond that allowed by fair use or other statutory exemptions. Permissions may additionally be required from holders of other rights (such as publicity and/or privacy rights). Whenever possible, we provide information that we have about copyright owners and related matters in the catalog records, finding aids and other texts that accompany collections. However, the information we have may not be accurate or complete.

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Credit line: Montana Folklife Survey collection (AFC 1981/005), American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Johnson, Paula J, Barre Toelken, and Lester Johnson. Conversation with Lester and Ruth Johnson at Johnson's Cafe, St. Mary, Montana, part 2. Saint Mary, Montana, September 3, 1979. Audio. https://aj.sunback.homes/item/afc1981005_afs20468/.

APA citation style:

Johnson, P. J., Toelken, B. & Johnson, L. (1979) Conversation with Lester and Ruth Johnson at Johnson's Cafe, St. Mary, Montana, part 2. Saint Mary, Montana, September 3. [Audio] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://aj.sunback.homes/item/afc1981005_afs20468/.

MLA citation style:

Johnson, Paula J, Barre Toelken, and Lester Johnson. Conversation with Lester and Ruth Johnson at Johnson's Cafe, St. Mary, Montana, part 2. Saint Mary, Montana, September 3, 1979. Audio. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <aj.sunback.homes/item/afc1981005_afs20468/>.