Folklorists
1935 - 1942: Federal Writers' Project
Stetson Kennedy
· Florida WPA Writers’ Project 1937---1942
· Palmetto Country
· subject of Peggy Bulger's dissertation
· South Florida Folklife (with Bulger and Bucuvalas)
· lifetime work for social justice and exposing the Klu Klux Klan
Zora Neale Hurston
· Novelist and anthropologist figure in Harlem Renaissance
· “Junior Interviewer” with Folklife Division of Florida FWP under Kennedy 1938
· Mules and Men; Their Eyes Were Watching God
Alton Moris
· Florida WPA field worker 1935-1942
· dissertation on Florida folk songs at University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill: Folksongs of Florida
· University of Florida English professor
· editor of Southern Folklore Quarterly
· 1950s convinced Florida Women’s Music Club to hold Florida Folk Festival ( early influence)
· Places in the Sun: The History and Romance of Florida Place Names
1950s - 1970s: Florida Folk Festivals and Beginnings
Thelma Ann Boltin
· helped found FFF 1952 “Cousin Thelma” voice and face 30+ years “Queen of Florida Folklore” though never formally trained; 1954-80s co-founder, performer, promoter, director (begin 1955-1965), emcee; "Cousin Thlema"
· chairman of folk music for Florida and National Federation of Music Clubs
Sarah Gertrude Knott
· helped org FFF in 1952 and directed 1953-4; founder of National Folk Festival
1976 - present: Florida Folklife Program and Contemporary Public Folklore
Peggy A. Bulger
· State Folklorist and administrator of FFP 1976-1989
· laid foundation and bulk of fieldwork in Florida Folklife Collection’s early years
· established FFP (apprenticeship programs, educational videos and publications, workshops, exhibits
· South Florida Folklife (with Bucuvalas and Kennedy)
· edited Musical Roots of the South (1992)
· recorded Musical Roots of the South (1992)
· recorded Drop on Down in Florida (1981)
· Stetson Kennedy biography for dissertation
· Folk Arts Director and Senior Program Officer Southern Arts Federation in Atlanta (1989-99)
· Library of Congress American Folklife Center director (1999)
· American Folklore Society President 2003
Brenda McCallum
· archived field collections, images, recordings and established informant contacts
· helped established. FFP Archives (later to become Florida Folklore Collection)
· North Florida Folklife Project 1978
David A. Taylor
· FFP 1980s
· Duval County Folk Arts in Education program (early 80s)
· Maritime Heritage Survey
· joint project between LOC and FFP Documenting Maritime Folklife (1992)
Merri Belland
· Stephen Foster Memorial artist in residence early 1970s
· 1976-9 trained public in traditional arts
· 1979 staff position with FFP
· educator in Suwannee County School system (programs in food management and other)
· project: Minorcan Folklife Area
· project: Seminole Slide Tape project
· Maritime Heritage Survey Project
· Library Folklife Program
· West Florida Folklife Survey
· Folk Arts in the School Libraries
Tina Bucuvalas
· FFP State Folklorist 1996-2009
· currently Curator of Arts and Historical Resources for the City of Tarpon Springs
· Miami-Dade Folklife Survey
· first folklorist with Historical Museum of Southern Florida
· 1996 return to FFP
· Florida Heritage Magazine
· South Florida Folklife (1994 with Bulger and Kennedy)
· Just Above the Water: Florida Folk Arts (2005) with Kristin Congdon
Rachelle Salzman
· worked for FFP late 1980s and early 1990s
· Folk Arts Apprenticeship Program
· Rural Folklife Days
· Forest industries Project (with Jan Rosenberg)
· field research for Florida Folk Festival Field Areas
Doris J. Dyen
· Folklife Library Project
· Lucreaty Clark Video Project
· Ida Goodson Recording Project
· Seminole Slide Tape Project
· West Florida Survey
Ormond Loomis
· Bureau Chief of FFP in early years
· West Florida Folklife Survey
· Big Bend Folklife Survey
· Library Folklife Program
· professor Florida State University
Robert L. Stone
· early 1990s FFP
· Florida Folk Arts Apprenticeship program
· 1992 steel guitars albums, documentaries, articles Sing Out! New York Folklore, pending book
· 1997 Outreach Coordinator FFP
Gregory Hansen
· late 1980s – early 90s Duval County Folk Arts in the Schools program for FFP (after David Taylor)
· 2000-2002 FFP Education Coordinator (research, teacher and public workshops, cultural interpretation at folklife events)
· A Florida Fiddler: The Life and Times of Richard Seaman
Jan Rosenberg
· founder and director of the Tallahassee-based Heritage Education Resources, a not-for-profit organization that develops educational materials related to culture and folklife
· Forest Industries Project
· Palm Beach County Folk Arts in Education Project
· fieldworker for the Florida Folk Festival
Debbie Fant
· FFP late 1980s
· Southwest Florida Folk Arts Survey
· Lakefront Legacy Festival Folklife project
Blanton Owen
· FFP 1980s
· St. Johns River Survey
· Suwannee River Jamboree
· Folk Arts Apprenticeship Program
Andrea Graham
· mid 1980s FFF and Folk Arts Apprenticeship Program
Laurie K. Sommers
· 1985 Miami-Dade Folklife Survey with Bucuvalas
· The Florida Music Train (2003)
Dwight DeVane
· early years FFP with Bulger and McCallum; resource consultant for North Florida Folklife Project
· returned to Florida in 1980 to work with Bulger and Dyen on field recordings
· Drop on Down in Florida (1981) co-director and co-producer with McCallum
· 1981 folklorist/project director Folk Arts in the Schools
· DeVane’s archived photographs and recordings were included in the 2005 FFP exhibit, Florida’s Got the Blues.
· consultant for Florida Folk Festival
David Reddy
· FFP late 80s-early 90s
· State Folklorist
· current Resource Center Director for the Florida Humanities Council
· Dudley Farm Project
· Florida Folk Arts Survey
· Sponge Industry Folk Arts Festival
· Rural Folklife Days
· Folk Arts Apprenticeship Program
Teresa Hollingsworth
· FFP early 1990s
· Rural Folklife Days
· Central Florida Folklife Survey
· Duval County Folk Arts in Education program
Jon Kay
· 1997-2004 Florida Park Service folklorist, based at the Stephen Foster Center in White Springs
· 2002-2004 director of the Florida Folk Festival; research and educational folklife programs in the White Springs area
· Historical Museum of Southern Florida
· wrote for the Florida Humanities Council
· participated in numerous exhibits and public programs
Further informatio on these and other folklorists is available on the Florida Folklife Program Website:
http://www.flheritage.com/preservation/folklife/index.cfm
1935 - 1942: Federal Writers' Project
Stetson Kennedy
· Florida WPA Writers’ Project 1937---1942
· Palmetto Country
· subject of Peggy Bulger's dissertation
· South Florida Folklife (with Bulger and Bucuvalas)
· lifetime work for social justice and exposing the Klu Klux Klan
Zora Neale Hurston
· Novelist and anthropologist figure in Harlem Renaissance
· “Junior Interviewer” with Folklife Division of Florida FWP under Kennedy 1938
· Mules and Men; Their Eyes Were Watching God
Alton Moris
· Florida WPA field worker 1935-1942
· dissertation on Florida folk songs at University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill: Folksongs of Florida
· University of Florida English professor
· editor of Southern Folklore Quarterly
· 1950s convinced Florida Women’s Music Club to hold Florida Folk Festival ( early influence)
· Places in the Sun: The History and Romance of Florida Place Names
1950s - 1970s: Florida Folk Festivals and Beginnings
Thelma Ann Boltin
· helped found FFF 1952 “Cousin Thelma” voice and face 30+ years “Queen of Florida Folklore” though never formally trained; 1954-80s co-founder, performer, promoter, director (begin 1955-1965), emcee; "Cousin Thlema"
· chairman of folk music for Florida and National Federation of Music Clubs
Sarah Gertrude Knott
· helped org FFF in 1952 and directed 1953-4; founder of National Folk Festival
1976 - present: Florida Folklife Program and Contemporary Public Folklore
Peggy A. Bulger
· State Folklorist and administrator of FFP 1976-1989
· laid foundation and bulk of fieldwork in Florida Folklife Collection’s early years
· established FFP (apprenticeship programs, educational videos and publications, workshops, exhibits
· South Florida Folklife (with Bucuvalas and Kennedy)
· edited Musical Roots of the South (1992)
· recorded Musical Roots of the South (1992)
· recorded Drop on Down in Florida (1981)
· Stetson Kennedy biography for dissertation
· Folk Arts Director and Senior Program Officer Southern Arts Federation in Atlanta (1989-99)
· Library of Congress American Folklife Center director (1999)
· American Folklore Society President 2003
Brenda McCallum
· archived field collections, images, recordings and established informant contacts
· helped established. FFP Archives (later to become Florida Folklore Collection)
· North Florida Folklife Project 1978
David A. Taylor
· FFP 1980s
· Duval County Folk Arts in Education program (early 80s)
· Maritime Heritage Survey
· joint project between LOC and FFP Documenting Maritime Folklife (1992)
Merri Belland
· Stephen Foster Memorial artist in residence early 1970s
· 1976-9 trained public in traditional arts
· 1979 staff position with FFP
· educator in Suwannee County School system (programs in food management and other)
· project: Minorcan Folklife Area
· project: Seminole Slide Tape project
· Maritime Heritage Survey Project
· Library Folklife Program
· West Florida Folklife Survey
· Folk Arts in the School Libraries
Tina Bucuvalas
· FFP State Folklorist 1996-2009
· currently Curator of Arts and Historical Resources for the City of Tarpon Springs
· Miami-Dade Folklife Survey
· first folklorist with Historical Museum of Southern Florida
· 1996 return to FFP
· Florida Heritage Magazine
· South Florida Folklife (1994 with Bulger and Kennedy)
· Just Above the Water: Florida Folk Arts (2005) with Kristin Congdon
Rachelle Salzman
· worked for FFP late 1980s and early 1990s
· Folk Arts Apprenticeship Program
· Rural Folklife Days
· Forest industries Project (with Jan Rosenberg)
· field research for Florida Folk Festival Field Areas
Doris J. Dyen
· Folklife Library Project
· Lucreaty Clark Video Project
· Ida Goodson Recording Project
· Seminole Slide Tape Project
· West Florida Survey
Ormond Loomis
· Bureau Chief of FFP in early years
· West Florida Folklife Survey
· Big Bend Folklife Survey
· Library Folklife Program
· professor Florida State University
Robert L. Stone
· early 1990s FFP
· Florida Folk Arts Apprenticeship program
· 1992 steel guitars albums, documentaries, articles Sing Out! New York Folklore, pending book
· 1997 Outreach Coordinator FFP
Gregory Hansen
· late 1980s – early 90s Duval County Folk Arts in the Schools program for FFP (after David Taylor)
· 2000-2002 FFP Education Coordinator (research, teacher and public workshops, cultural interpretation at folklife events)
· A Florida Fiddler: The Life and Times of Richard Seaman
Jan Rosenberg
· founder and director of the Tallahassee-based Heritage Education Resources, a not-for-profit organization that develops educational materials related to culture and folklife
· Forest Industries Project
· Palm Beach County Folk Arts in Education Project
· fieldworker for the Florida Folk Festival
Debbie Fant
· FFP late 1980s
· Southwest Florida Folk Arts Survey
· Lakefront Legacy Festival Folklife project
Blanton Owen
· FFP 1980s
· St. Johns River Survey
· Suwannee River Jamboree
· Folk Arts Apprenticeship Program
Andrea Graham
· mid 1980s FFF and Folk Arts Apprenticeship Program
Laurie K. Sommers
· 1985 Miami-Dade Folklife Survey with Bucuvalas
· The Florida Music Train (2003)
Dwight DeVane
· early years FFP with Bulger and McCallum; resource consultant for North Florida Folklife Project
· returned to Florida in 1980 to work with Bulger and Dyen on field recordings
· Drop on Down in Florida (1981) co-director and co-producer with McCallum
· 1981 folklorist/project director Folk Arts in the Schools
· DeVane’s archived photographs and recordings were included in the 2005 FFP exhibit, Florida’s Got the Blues.
· consultant for Florida Folk Festival
David Reddy
· FFP late 80s-early 90s
· State Folklorist
· current Resource Center Director for the Florida Humanities Council
· Dudley Farm Project
· Florida Folk Arts Survey
· Sponge Industry Folk Arts Festival
· Rural Folklife Days
· Folk Arts Apprenticeship Program
Teresa Hollingsworth
· FFP early 1990s
· Rural Folklife Days
· Central Florida Folklife Survey
· Duval County Folk Arts in Education program
Jon Kay
· 1997-2004 Florida Park Service folklorist, based at the Stephen Foster Center in White Springs
· 2002-2004 director of the Florida Folk Festival; research and educational folklife programs in the White Springs area
· Historical Museum of Southern Florida
· wrote for the Florida Humanities Council
· participated in numerous exhibits and public programs
Further informatio on these and other folklorists is available on the Florida Folklife Program Website:
http://www.flheritage.com/preservation/folklife/index.cfm