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Audio Recording Interview with John D. Farr, recorded while driving to Wise Mountain, Summit County, Colorado, part 2

Interview with John D. Farr about his background, High Mountain Museum, High Mountain ecology, mining, Summit County, Colorado, part 2

About this Item

Title

  • Interview with John D. Farr, recorded while driving to Wise Mountain, Summit County, Colorado, part 2

Names

  • Natanson, Barbara Orbach (Research team member)
  • Farr, John D. (Interviewee)

Created / Published

  • Summit County, Colorado, August 28, 1980

Headings

  • -  Folklore--Colorado
  • -  Field recordings
  • -  Interviews
  • -  Sound recording
  • -  United States -- Colorado -- Summit County

Genre

  • Field recordings
  • Interviews
  • Sound recording

Notes

  • -  Index data: Part 2 of a 2-part interview and conversation with John D. Farr, recorded in his jeep as Farr drove fieldworkers Barbara Orbach, Rusty Marshall, and Elke Dettmer from Breckenridge, CO, to the upper reaches of Wise Mountain and the site of the Rexford Mining Company, Summit County, CO, Farr lived in Breckenridge,CO, and was the host for this folklife project as he planned a possible future museum to interpret the high Rocky Mountain region: about historical societies; about I-70 as a magnet [for visitors]; comments on museum interpretation, few offer insights into a whole, not just people, but explain the whole environment, Farr's goal is to create appreciation; Farr's ideas for buildings, attract skiers in winter, indoor exhibits and interpretive center, about water as crucial issue in high mountains, interpreting seasons, seasonal activities, bird migrations, technological changes in mining as compared to changes in agriculture; Farr feels that there is no portrayal anywhere in the U.S. of life above 8,000 feet altitude; ought to present activities like mining, curing meats, etc.; about museum staffing, description of a museum in Logan UT, manual/guide for museum personnel, audio-visual aids in museum displays; comments joined by Rusty Marshall, on brochures, for contemporary immigrants to Colorado, there is little understanding of land and community ditch for placer operations as example of possible exhibit; about educating the young, using site as lab, "once you understand where you've been, you know better where you're going," said Farr; about sheep herding in the valley; about dredge piles, making this understandable to those who pass through; people took high mountains for granted but when they come in the winter time, they begin to have some appreciation for it, comments, "everything is how people perceive it, if they don't perceive beauty, it doesn't exist, this valley is beautiful to me, if they can come away with some appreciation for the high country, I'd feel we'd accomplished something"; comments, "abuse of the wilderness arises out of lack of understanding and appreciation"; about lack of demand for food preservation in the early years, fresh meat was readily available; about Native Americans; discussion of ditches, a series of mines, houses with little stone fireplaces, could have been a Chinese camp?; about narrow gauge flatcars; comment, "understanding where we came from to where we are, it's important [to provide] a perspective that gives [visitors] an appreciation of what's happening"; about a seven-mile-long ditch for water.

Medium

  • audiocassette, 90 min.

Call Number/Physical Location

  • Call number: AFC 1991/031: AFS 22455
  • MBRS Shelflist: RYA 2611
  • Field project identifier: CO-80-BO-C2

Source Collection

  • Colorado Folklife Project collection (AFC 1991/031)

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 and 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.

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Credit line: Colorado Folklife Project collection (AFC 1991/031), 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:

Natanson, Barbara Orbach, and John D Farr. Interview with John D. Farr, recorded while driving to Wise Mountain, Summit County, Colorado, part 2. Summit County, Colorado, 1980. Audio. https://aj.sunback.homes/item/afc1991031_afs22455/.

APA citation style:

Natanson, B. O. & Farr, J. D. (1980) Interview with John D. Farr, recorded while driving to Wise Mountain, Summit County, Colorado, part 2. Summit County, Colorado. [Audio] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://aj.sunback.homes/item/afc1991031_afs22455/.

MLA citation style:

Natanson, Barbara Orbach, and John D Farr. Interview with John D. Farr, recorded while driving to Wise Mountain, Summit County, Colorado, part 2. Summit County, Colorado, 1980. Audio. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <aj.sunback.homes/item/afc1991031_afs22455/>.