COLLECTION NAME:
Oral Histories - KOHC 1974-1979
Record
Filename:
1976OH79.1a - Mary Wheeler.mp3
Identifier:
1976OH79.1a
Title:
Mary Wheeler (Side A)
Biographical Sketch:
American musicologist, Mary Guthrie Wheeler was born to Charles K. Wheeler and Mary Kirkpatrick Guthrie Wheeler, in Paducah, KY, on April 1, 1892. She spent her childhood in Paducah, but spent time away from home studying at private schools, before receiving her Bachelors and Masters in Music from the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music. In the midst of her studies, she also spent time working for the Women�s Overseas League in Toul, France during WWI, and teaching at the Hindman Settlement School in Knott County, KY, an experience which inspired her later published book, Kentucky Mountain Folk Songs. During the 1930s while teaching at Paducah Junior College, she began to document and study the songs of the former Roustabouts who worked upon the Cumberland, Mississippi, Ohio and Tennessee Rivers during the 19th and early 20th centuries. After submitting her dissertation, Ohio River Folk Songs of the Packet-Boat Era, she went on to publish two books: Roustabout Songs: A Collection Of Ohio River Valley Songs, written and arranged by Mary Wheeler and William Reddick and published by Remick Music Corporation, NY in 1939; and Steamboatin� Days: Folk Songs of the River Packet Era, Louisiana State University Press, December of 1944. She became acquaintances with Fredrick Way Jr., Sarah Gertrude Knott, Alan Lomax, Conrad Talbout and many other notable Americans. Mary Wheeler passed away on July 26, 1979 and was buried in the family plot in Oak Grove Cemetery in Paducah, KY.
Description:
Mary Wheeler recalls stories about James Wheeler Jr.'s service in the Confederate Army during the United States Civil War, comments on the law practice of Charles Kennedy Wheeler: Miss Wheeler also discusses where she lived in Paducah, schools she attended, entertainment, location of stores, and the Guthrie (gravel) Pit. She speaks of research on folk music of Packet Boat Era, interviewed individuals, musical notation of songs. She also discusses teaching music at the Hindeman Settlement School, principal's attitude toward students singing local folk music, music that was sung in their homes and compares the differences in the two types of folk music.
Date:
8/1/1978
Creator:
Mary Wheeler
Subject:
Wheeler, Mary (1892-1979)
Subject:
Genealogy
Subject:
Music
Subject:
History -- Paducah (KY)
Subject:
Education
Publisher:
Kentucky Oral History Commission
Contributor:
John Marshall
Type:
Oral History
Format:
audio/mpeg
Language:
English
Coverage:
McCracken County
Rights:
Permission must be obtained from The Kentucky Oral History Commission, part of the Kentucky Historical Society, prior to reuse of these recordings.
Duration:
61 minutes
Bit Rate/Frequency:
64kbps