Polly Stewart Oral History Project: AFS Meeting, 2004 (Part 1)

The first part of video recording American Folklore Society (AFS) meeting. This meeting is a part of Polly Stewart's strategic grand launch of her oral history project, Utah Urban Pioneers Folk Music Revival, seizing the oportunity provided by the fact that AFS meeting was held in Salt Lake City for the first time in 26 years. In this meeting, some of the principals, who participated the revival during the 1950s and 1960s, were assembled for he first time to reminisce their experience in that historically meaningful time. It is also the first time that Polly Stewart introduced the definition of the movement as "Utah Urban Pioneers Folk Music Revival," and the musicians as "Utah Urban Pioneers"1. Polly Stewart introduces session, makes acknowledgements, gives project background; 2. Polly Stewart talks about her experience growing up in Salt Lake City and her involvement with the folk music scene there/learning to play folk music/mentorship from Rosalie Sorrels/participation in the Intermountain Folk Music Society/playing in the band, Polly and the Valley Boys; 3. Barre Toelken talks about his family's folk music heritage in Massachusetts/picking up on ‘commercial' folk music/coming to Utah and returning to his traditional musical roots/meeting the Sorrels and other local folkies and impact on understanding of folk music process/enjoyment of Utah folk music scene; 4. Hal Cannon talks about the roots of his interest in folk music/learning to play, involvement in East High School Folk Music Club, playing music with friends, attending sessions at Cummings Men's Wear shop in Salt Lake, hanging out at the Sorrels' house, openness of the folk music scene to young people/participation in Stormy Mountain Boys Band and Deseret String Band/continued involvement in folk music; 5. Rosalie Sorrels talks about her family's history and their musical and literary heritage in the West/influences that led to her becoming a folk singer and storyteller- tutelage of Dean Harold Bentley at the University of Utah, which bolstered her career as a folk musician/founding of the Intermountain Folk Music Society/Smithsonian Folkways album, The Unfortunate Rake, first album on which she ever appeared/involvement as folklore and folk music student and teacher, and impresario in the Utah folk music scene/time at Wayland Hand folklore seminar at UCLA/hosting folk music and poetry gatherings in her Salt Lake City home/Salt Lake City as a conjunction of music, poetry, theater and politics/ties to the larger national movement/place in the continuum as a storyteller who uses music; 6. Polly Stewart reminisces about Rosalie's role as a connector and mentor/opens the floor for reflections from the audience; 7. Peggy Bulger remembers the Saratoga, New York folk music scene and seeing Rosalie perform there for the first time/Rosalie shares her memories of Saratoga as a cultural center, thanks to Caffe Lena; 8. Alleen Dotson speaks about her musical experiences growing up in Kentucky (and work assistant to D.K. Wilgus)/continuity of folk music in her life-being interviewed by Rosalie, teaching folk music to her children; 9. Dave Stanley talks about his college days in the early 1960s, when he would take the train to New York City, hang out in Washington Square in Greenwich Village/talks about the inclusiveness in the folk music scene there towards young people/arrival of folk music scene in Washington D.C.; 10. Lani talks about her exposure to folk music at the University of Chicago-U of C Folk Music Festival, "wing ding" gatherings, hootenannies, and the formation of the Folk Music Club at the universityFolk musician Rosalie Sorrels, Hal Cannon, folklore scholar Polly Stewart, Barre Toelken forms a panel discussion to reconstruct the history of folk music revival in Salk Lake City, 1950-1970. They share their personal experiences of getting interested in folk music, finding teachers and learning to play instruments and sing. The discussion gradually expends to include the national folk scene and its relationship with the Utah Folk Scen