I interviewed five horticultural workers in the Greater Rochester, New York area to understand this all too familiar work through a new lens. I conducted five individual interviews at each interviewee’s place of work, which allowed me to take photographs at each garden center and get a feel for what the work environment is like. My hope was to gain a better understanding of occupational folklore…Additionally, I wanted to learn about each person’s individual connection to the field of horticulture and what motivated them to continue working in the field…
Western New York
A Gram of Conversaton
In honor of New York Folklore’s 80th anniversary celebration, I would like to share with you an incredible personal story, which touches upon founder Harold W. Thompson, folksinger Peter Yarrow, my mother Mary Moore Walker, and her grandson, William Walker, who is a current member of the New York Folklore Board. My mother and her grandson had only seven precious months together before her death from cancer at age 64. However, as you will read in the story, the power of folklore and family traditions can make connections through the generations even beyond death.
Resilience & Nostalgia:
Foodways are one of the most resilient forms of intergenerational cultural expression in diaspora communities, playing a central role in expressing group identity in historic ethnic communities across the United States—including Niagara Falls, New York. This resiliency is magnified in Rust Belt cities like Niagara Falls, which has been grappling with significant decline and population loss, following its industrial boom in the early-mid-20th century: a population loss that includes many members of its vibrant Armenian community.
Stories That Cook:
GLOW Traditions is excited to announce the upcoming release of Stories That Cook: Art, Memories, and Recipes, a bilingual English–Spanish cookbook centered on the foodways of our western New York agricultural communities… GLOW Traditions conducted fieldwork to collect recipes, stories, and other background from our artist instructors, farmers and families, farmworkers, and arts and service organizations involved with migrant communities.
Reimagining Irish Lace in Western New York
“(Re-)Making Irish Lace” attempted to understand how a particular art form has been interpreted by different groups of people, locally and abroad, for nearly 200 years, comparing past and recent practice…how the unfurling story of Irish lace is playing out in the daily lives of Buffalonians.
Good Spirits
Hog-Rassle: Impromptu Behavior at Old-Time Square Dances
Dance historian and ethnomusicologist, James Kimball, examines the term, “Hog Rassle,” as it refers to an unruly and energetic square dance.
A Telling Image: Bridging Folk and Fine Art Visitor Repertoires in Exhibit Design through Contemporary Murals in Folk Arts Contexts
A museum curator and folklorist, Edward Y Millar explores exhibit design and interpretation in this essay.
Telescope Houses in Buffalo
A photo essay about Buffalo’s Telescope Houses that were built as worker cottages by German and Polish immigrants, or the companies that employed them.
Explore Buffalo!
A photo essay set in Buffalo, New York
ALN8BAL8MO: A Native Voice
The author provides a portrait of John N.B. Hewitt, who helped to preserve Tuscarora language and oral traditions.
Crossing Cultures
The author reflects on his cross-cultural Scottish and Sicilian family in text and paintings.
Artist Spotlight: Nada Odeh
Nada Odeh is a Syrian artist, activist, humanitarian, and a modern-day poet. She was born and raised in Damascus and lived in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates before coming to the U.S. in 2013 due to the conflict and revolution in her country. Nada received ...