My initial response to having to choose a cultural area to study
for this class was “What? I don’t really identify with a culture”! My
father was Swedish, my mom a mixture of German, Dutch, and whatever. I
borrowed the book Swedish
Folktales and Legends by Lone
Thygesen-Blecher and George Blecher, but it wasn’t really inspiring me.
Then I remembered Liz suggesting that I could look into Minnesota
folklore. I really get a kick out of being from Minnesota, and love sharing
my personal stories about growing up in Baudette. Minnesota folklore
would be perfect, if there was something out there besides Paul Bunyan. I
did a Google Search on Minnesota folklore, and of course, came up with Paul
Bunyan. After talking it over in class, and imagining myself going on to
tell stories from my chosen culture, I realized that Paul Bunyan would be
perfect! It fits me, it really does – and I can imagine learning and
telling the stories to a wide variety of people, mixing them in with my
personal stories. Perfect!
I bought one very well researched book, from the University of
Minnesota Press. It is full of great history, and awesome Paul Bunyan
stories. There is debate whether Paul originated in Maine, Minnesota,
Michigan, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, California… and we have no definitive
answer. But we DO know that he was created in an oral tradition, told
about in logging camps, and that he was alive long before he came to the world
in newspapers, magazines or books. One of the earliest references I found
was for a story called “The Round River Drive” by James MacGillivray, published
in the The Detroit News on July 24, 1910.
I am so excited that Paul Bunyan has chosen me for this
project. My research has just begun and I already have so much to
tell.
Leave a Reply