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Accession Number: 62
Ben Heiman Folklore Collection, 1891-1988
Bulk Dates, 1972-1988
5.2 linear feet
Online Catalog
Record (BANC)
Overview
History
Series Description
Series I - Articles and Journals
Series II - Audio-Visual
Series III - Books and Manuscripts
Series IV - Folktales
Series V - Indexes
Series VI - Personal Works
Access and Use
Access: No restrictions other than Federal Copyright
laws on published materials.
Provenance: Ben Heiman’s wife donated his papers
to Loyal Jones, who then donated them to Berea College Special
Collections & Archives.
Preferred Citation: Ben Heiman Folklore Collection, Berea College
Special Collections & Archives, Berea, Ky.
Related Archives
Overview
The Heiman collection includes journals, articles, books and indexes
devoted to folklore, tapes (audio and video) of storytellers and
folklorists, a few manuscripts, clippings, a plan for teaching story-telling,
correspondence, and many folktales. Folktale categories range from
broad topics, such as fairytales, folktales, and ghost stories, to
very specific topics, like log cabins or services for the dead. Many
of the materials in this collection
are copied from other sources.
History
Ben Heiman (1914-1988) told mostly Appalachian stories to thousands of children
in Alabama through the library and school systems, and fostered story-telling
by children. A Lieutenant Colonel in the US Airforce, Ben Heiman concluded
his career at the Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama. He and his wife
Bobbie had one daughter, Lori. After retiring in 1972, Heiman worked fulltime
for volunteer organizations, specializing as a story-teller with the Huntsville
libraries and the city and county school systems. Eventually a dial-in system
was set up so that children could hear taped stories by "Mr. Ben" as
well as hear him in person. He encouraged the children in his audiences to
become storytellers themselves. Many of the stories he collected and told are
Appalachian, but he also collected Afro-American and international stories
and traced parallel types.
Series Description
13 Manuscript Boxes
| Series
I |
Articles and Journals |
Boxes 1-3 |
Materials in this series consist of published articles and journals. The
articles cover a variety of topics, including fairy tales, storytelling, teaching,
and crafts. The journal section has sporadic copies of the Journal of
American Folklore from 1891-1972 and the North Carolina Folklore Journal (1977-1988),
among other titles.
This series consists of audio and videotape of folklorists and storytellers.
People interviewed in this series include Richard Chase, Maude Long, and Hattie
Presnell, Connie Reagan and Ray Hicks. There are numerous Jack Tales on these
tapes.
This series contains books and manuscripts concerning folklore and folktales.
The manuscripts are Cheryl Oxford's Jack Tales as Told by Traditional North
Carolina Storytellers and John Ramsay's Dog Tales. Leonard Roberts' I Bought
Me a Dog and Folktales of the Southern Mountains are original publications.
This series has photocopies of books by James Aswell, Elizabeth Cook, John
Greenway, Maria Leach, Eric Sloane and Stith Thomson, among others.
This series consists of copied folktales. The folktales are arranged by subject,
such as the type of story or the country or region of origin. There are folktales
from Africa, Ireland, Spain, Finland, and numerous other countries. Black folktales,
ghost stories, scary stories, Jacktales, and unusual deaths are a few of the
types of stories in this series.
This series contains reference material for further research into folktales.
In this series are bibliographies, notes, tables of contents, and indexes Mr.
Heiman found in his reading. Many of the bibliographies, etc. were copied from
books that were the sources for the folktales in the collection.
This series consists of the personal papers of Ben Heiman. Correspondence is
limited; however there are letters concerning Tarheel Tales Theatre and the
folktale "Which is Witch." Included in this series are clippings about his
performances and notes on an index Mr. Heiman was compiling. A copy of Mr.
Heiman's original work, Folktales: A Window to the World is also
in this series. The largest section of the series consists of folktales told
by Mr. Heiman. There are typewritten copies of his own versions and copied
versions of the stories, arranged alphabetically by title. Obituaries have
been added.
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