Norbert and Joan Riedl came to the United States in 1956, and after spending six years on the staff at the Educational Testing Service in Princeton he was hired as a professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Tennessee. One of the primary attractions of this position was the opportunity to study first-hand the folk culture of Southern Appalachia.

Dr. Riedl had an intense interest in the folk culture of Southern Appalachia, even though he was not born in the United States. Possibly because of his European background, he seemed to have a greater insight into why and how this important part of our heritage should be preserved than most native-born Americans. His courses in Southern Appalachian Folk Culture were among the most popular in the Anthropology Department. He published several papers on his folk culture studies in the Journal of American Folklore and the Tennessee Folklore Society Bulletin. Dr. Riedl was establishing a strong graduate program in folk culture studies at the University of Tennessee when his untimely death occurred on March 25, 1975.

Scope and Content: The Norbert F. Riedl Collection includes research files on such topics as architecture, clothing and costume, cockfighting, food and cooking, games and recreation, legends, medicines and remedies, music, quilting, snake handling, and customs pertaining to marriage, divorce, death and burial. There is also material about the mysterious Melungeons of Hancock and Hawkins Counties and there is a group of tape recordings which relate to many of the file topics.

See also: MS-1075, MS-1168, MS-1257, MS-1336

Box 1

General:

Folder 1: Newspaper articles--Agriculture in Appalachia.
Student projects:


Folder 2:	"Chewing Tobacco" (original).
Folder 3:	"Chewing Tobacco" (copy).
Folder 4:	"Tobacco-Raising in East Tennessee."
Folder 5:	"A Way and Means to Establish Relationships with Farmers on the Grassroot Level for Projects that Protect Their Real Interest."

General:


Folder 1:	Newspaper articles--Appalachian Architecture.
Folder 2:	Photographs--Log Structures at the National Campground of the Christian Church.
Folder 3:	Photographs--Traditional Architecture in Southern Appalachia.

Student projects:


Folder 4:	"Folk Architecture: The Cantilevered Barns of Eastern Tennessee."
Folder 5:	"Folk Architecture on the North Fork of the Holston River--Log Structures."
Folder 6:	The I House in Union County, Tenn."
Folder 7:	"Log Structures in the Tellico Reservoir, Eastern Tennessee."
Folder 8:	"Log Structures of Knoxville."
Folder 9:	"Southern Appalachian Culture in the Little Tennessee Valley: A Study of Traditional Furniture."
Folder 10:	"Southern Mountain Houses: A Study in American Folk Culture" (Thesis).
Folder 11:	Traditional Architecture in Southern Appalachia [untitled paper].

Student projects:


Folder 1:	"Children's Clothing in Southern Appalachia (N. E. Tenn. and N. E. Ala. ) 1890-1920."
Folder 2:	"Traditional Children's Clothing; Around 1900-1930 in East Tennessee, Especially Chattanooga and Knoxville."

Student projects:


Folder 1:	"Cockfighting."
Folder 2:	"Grit and Steel: A Study of Deviance Reflected in Attitudes of Cockfighters Devotees of a Stigmatized Sport."
Folder 3:	"The Raising and Conditioning of Game Roosters."

General:

Folder 1: Bibliographical material--Appalachian Region as a Cultural Unit.
Folder 2: Potential Folk Culture Informants (Listed by county).
Student projects:


Folder 3:	"Boy Scouting in Knoxville."
Folder 4:	"The Folklore of Railroads."
Folder 5:	"Guide to Folk Culture Material in the Library and Herbarium-Archives of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park."
Folder 6:	"The Hensley Settlement: An Ethnography."
Folder 7:	"The Impact of Appalachian Culture on Aspiration."
Folder 8:	"The Increased Importance of Folk Culture Studies in Anthropology."
Folder 9:	"Personality Dynamics of the Mountain People of Southern Appalachia -- with Special Emphasis on the Little Tennessee Valley."
Folder 10:	"Rugby: The Realization of a Dream."
Folder 11:	"Scratching the Coal Creek Valley for Coal and Lore" (original).
Folder 12:	"Scratching the Coal Creek Valley for Coal and Lore" (copy).
Folder 13:	"Southwest Point: The Early Days."

Box 2

General:

Folder 1: Newspaper articles--Traditional Apiculture in Appalachia.
Student projects:

Folder 2: "A Feather in His Hat."
Folder 3: "House Customs in the Southern Appalachians."
Folder 4: "Husking Bee."
Folder 5: "Log Rollings."
Folder 6: "Mountaineer Make-Do."
Folder 7: ". . . Prophesy Sex. . . "

Student projects:

Folder 1: Burial Customs, Naming Customs, and Superstitions [untitled paper].
Folder 2: "Burial Customs of Black People."
Folder 3: "Burial Customs of Fentress County, Tennessee."
Folder 4: "The Care of the East Tennessee Dead."
Folder 5: "Death and Burial Customs in the Southern Appalachians."
Folder 6: "Funerals and Traffic."
Folder 7: "Grave Huts: A Preliminary Report on Their Occurrence in the Southeastern States."
Folder 8: "The Southern Appalachian Way of Dying."

Student projects:

Folder 1: "Divorce in Knox County: 1972 and 1952."
Folder 2: "Traditional Courtship and Marriage Customs of the Appalachian South."

General:

Folder 1: Newspaper articles--Economics and Law in Appalachia.
Student projects:


Folder 2:	"Bibliography--Social Effects of Coal Mining in Southern Appalachia."
Folder 3:	"A Demographic Look at the Little Tennessee Valley Including Blount, Loudon, and Monroe Counties."
Folder 4:	"The Economic Background of the Southern Appalachian Region."
Folder 5:	"The Feud as a Cultural Expression: Post Civil War Appalachia as Compared to its Counterpart in Sixteenth Century Scotland."
Folder 6:	"Fitting Southern Appalachia Into a Framework for Analyzing Society: A Background Study."
Folder 7:	"Lawyers in Appalachia: A Look at the Profession and the People It Serves."
Folder 8:	Southern Appalachian Folk Law: A Problematic Survey."
Folder 9:	"Southern Political Evolution."
Folder 10:	"Historical Geography of the Southern Iron Industry..." (dissertation proposal).

Student projects:

Folder 1: "A Report on Tombstone orientation and Decoration in the Madisonville, Tenn. Quadrangle."

General:

Folder 1: Newspaper articles--Festivals in Appalachia.
Student projects:


Folder 2:	"The Calendar Festivals of Appalachia with Reference to Their origin and Consistency with the Rest of the World."
Folder 3:	"The Custom of Decoration Day."

Student projects:

Folder 1: "Fishing Folkculture in the Knoxville Area."

General:

Folder 1: Cherokee Cooklore (Recipe Book).
Student projects:


Folder 2:	"Folk Cookery, " by Don Yoder: A Summary.
Folder 3:	"Food and Foodstuffs in Appalachia: A Bibliography."
Folder 4:	"Food and the Southeastern United States."
Folder 5:	"The Foods of Southern Appalachia."
Folder 6:	"Grandma Lawson's Food Preservation Techniques: A Representative Account of Southern Appalachian Folkways with Cherokee Indian Influence."
Folder 7:	"Ham Curing Appalachian Style."
Folder 8:	"Teas in Southern Appalachia: An Annotated Bibliography."
Folder 9:	"Why Black-Eyed Peas? New Year's Day Eating in Southern Appalachia."

Box 3

General:

Folder 1: Newspaper articles--Games and Recreation in Appalachia.
Student projects:

Folder 2: "Children's Toys, Plays, and Games of the Southern Appalachian Area."
Folder 3: "Folk Toys or What's a GEE-HAW WHIMMY DIDDLE, Anyhow? (includes toy).
Folder 4: "The Games People Play--And Have Played--In Southern Appalachia."
Folder 5: "Mumble-the-Peg."
Folder 6: "Rhymes of Childhood."
Folder 7: "Rhymes, Stories and Games."

General:

Folder 1: Newspaper articles--Southern Appalachian Geography.
Student projects:


Folder 2:	"Bibliography of Cultural Geography."
Folder 3:	"Cultural Factors in the Hamlet Settlements of Northeast Tennessee."
Folder 4:	"Ethnic Backgrounds of Tennesseans."
Folder 5:	"Hamlet Population Change in Upper East Tennessee, 1932-1972."
Folder 6:	"Island Wilderness Biological Survey Island F. Norris Reservoir: Human Influence on the Area" (copy 1).
Folder 7:	"Island Wilderness Biological Survey Island F. Norris Reservoir: Human Influence on the Area" (copy 2).
Folder 8:	"The Natural and Cultural History of the Flowering Dogwood."
Folder 9:	"A Preliminary Statement Concerning the Little Tennessee Valley From a Geographic Viewpoint."
Folder 10:	"Recent Trends in American Rural Settlement Geography."
Folder 11:	"The Rural Settlement Patterns of the Little Tennessee River Area: A Study in Cultural Geography."
Folder 12:	"Unakas."
Folder 13:	"Unincorporated Hamlets: A Study of Settlement Viability in the Southern Ridge and Valley."

General:

Folder 1: Newspaper articles--Appalachian History.
Folder 2: Pamphlet--A Brief Story of Scott County.
Student projects:

Folder 3: "Experiences of a Railroad Builder in the Mountains of Tennessee and Kentucky."
Folder 4: "History of the Little Tennessee Valley in Monroe, Blount, and Loudon Counties, Tennessee."
Folder 5: "Recollections of My Grandmother: Nancy Ferris Cain."

Student projects:


Folder 1:	"Jokelore and Local Legends of the Appalachian Region: A Bibliographical Survey of the Folklore of Appalachia."
Folder 2:	Legend About Hunters [untitled].
Folder 3:	"The Legend of Swift's Silver Mine."
Folder 4:	"The Story of the Tennessee Bell Witch."
Folder 5:	"The Tooth Fairy: An Informal Report."

General:

Folder 1: Newspaper articles--American Heritage Material Culture in Appalachia.
Folder 2: Newspaper articles--Traditional Arts and Handicrafts of Appalachia.
Folder 3: Newspaper articles--Traditional Pottery and Earthenware Utensils in Southern Appalachia.
Student projects:


Folder 4:	"Bibliography: Material Culture of the Upper South."
Folder 5:	"The Cataloguing of 'Dairy Molds, Presses and Hoops' at John Rice Erwin's Appalachian Village."
Folder 6:	"Folklore, Folk Music, Folk Arts and Craft Sources in Washington, D. C."
Folder 7:	"How the Tennessee Pioneers Won the Wilderness."
Folder 8:	"The Study of Folk Art Study: Reflections on Images."
Folder 9:	"Tennessee--Handicraft Capital of the Nation."
Folder 10:	"Tennessee Exhibits in the Index of American Design" (pictures with descriptions).
Folder 11:	"Traditional Horseshoeing in East Tennessee--The Present as Influenced By the Past."
Folder 12:	"The Well Wrought Pot: Folk Art, and Folklore as Art."

Box 4

General:

Folder 1: Magazine articles--Traditional Medicines and Remedies Peculiar to Southern Appalachia.
Folder 2: Newspaper articles--Traditional Medicines and Home Remedies of Appalachia.
Student projects:

Folder 3: "Body Embellishment--Folk Cosmetics of Southern Appalachia."
Folder 4: "Eastern United States Folk Medicine and Home Remedies."
Folder 5: "Ethnobotany" (a group of papers concerning herbs and their medicinal values).
Folder 6: "Folk Medicine."
Folder 7: "Folk Veterinary Medicine in Upper East Tennessee."
Folder 8: "Ginseng Culture: History, Medicinal Uses, and Conversations with some 'sangers of East Tennessee."
Folder 9: "Herbal Medicines: Remedies Used By the People of Southern Appalachia."
Folder 10: "Home Remedies."
Folder 11: "Home Remedies of Tennessee."
Folder 12: "Medicinal Plants of the Southern.Highlands."
Folder 13: "A Report on Some Southern Appalachian Dental Practices."
Folder 14: "Southern Appalachian Cures for Their Ailments."
Folder 15: "Traditional Medical Practices in Rural East Tennessee."
Folder 16: Traditional Medicines and Remedies Used in Southern Appalachia.
Folder 17: Traditional Veterinary Practices and Medicine in Southern Appalachia [untitled paper].

General:

Folder 1: Bibliography: Melungeons.
Folder 2: Bibliography from: Melungeons: The Vanishing Colony of Newman's Ridge.
Student projects:

Folder 3: "Melungeons: Are They a Mystery?"
Folder 4: "The Melungeons: A Study of the Existing Literature."

General:

Folder 1: Newspaper articles--Traditional Music and Musical Instruments in Appalachia.
Student projects:

Folder 2: "Annotated Bibliography concerning the Mountain Dulcimer" (includes tape).
Folder 3: "The Banjo in Southern Appalachia."
Folder 4: "A Brief Study and Repertoire of Folk Tunes in Hamilton County, Tennessee."
Folder 5: "The Contribution the Negro Spirituals Made to the American Folk Song."
Folder 6: "Folk Songs of Southern Appalachia."
Folder 7: "The Plucked Dulcimer."
Folder 8: "Rediscovering Folk Music."
Folder 9: "A Study of White Spirituals, Singings, and Shaped Note Songbooks."
Folder 10: "Traditional Aspects of Ballads."
Folder 11: "Traditional Musical Instruments of South Appalachia."

Student projects:

Folder 1: "A Micro-Study of Place-Names in North Knox County, Tennessee."
Folder 2: "Place Name Geography of the Southern Cumberland Plateau" (Thesis Proposal).
Folder 3: "Place Names in Monroe County."
Folder 4: "Place Names of American Indian origin in the Southeastern United States.

Box 5

Student projects:


Folder 1:	"Figurative Expressions and Proverbial Lore in the Speech Patterns of Two East Tennessee Counties."
Folder 2:	"Figurative Expressions and Proverbial Lore in the Speech Patterns of Two East Tennessee Counties"--Raw Data.
Folder 3:	"Proverbial Comparisons From an East Tennessee County.

Student projects:

Folder 1: "Annotated Bibliography on the Subject of Quilting."
Folder 2: "The Craft of the Southern Appalachian Coverlet."
Folder 3: "East Tennessee Quilts: Are They Distinctive?"
Folder 4: "The Quilt and the Quilter in Southern Appalachia."
Folder 5: "Quilts and Quiltmaking in Southern Appalachia."

General:

Folder 1: Newspaper articles--Witchcraft in Appalachia
Student projects:


Folder 2:	"Anabaptists in Tennessee."
Folder 3:	"The Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Greene County."
Folder 4:	"Marsha Millsap's Case" and "The only Witchcraft Case in Tennessee" from History of Fentress County, Tennessee by A.R. Hogue, 1920.
Folder 5:	"Religion and Religious Customs of the Southern Appalachian Region."
Folder 6:	"Religious Customs in Appalachia: A Case Study."
Folder 7:	"Religious Practices in the Southern Appalachian Area" (a bibliography).
Folder 8:	Shiloh and Emmanuel Presbyterian Churches in Knoxville.
Folder 9:	"Southern Appalachia: Religion and the Churches."
Folder 10:	"A View of Four Knoxville Churches."
Folder 11:	"Witchcraft and Divination in Macon County."

General:

Folder 1: Bibliography--Snake Handling and Charismatic Pentecostalism."
Folder 2: Newspaper articles--Snake-Handling Incidents.
Student projects:


Folder 3:	"Snake Handling: A Study of Roles" (includes pictures).
Folder 4:	"Snake Handling in Southern Appalachia."
Folder 5:	"Tennessee Snake Handlers."
Folder 6:	"They Shall Take Up Serpents. . . The History, Doctrine and Religious Phenomenology of Snake-Handling Sects in Southern Appalachia."

Student projects:


Folder 1:	"Adjectival and Adverbial Comparisons Found in Scott County, Tenn."
Folder 2:	"Adjectival and Adverbial Comparisons Found in Scott County, Tenn. "-- Raw Data.
Folder 3:	"A Preliminary Survey of East Tennessee Expletives."
Folder 4:	Proposal for a Linguistic Atlas of Tennessee Regional English.
Folder 5:	Proposal for a Survey of Regional English in East Tennessee.
Folder 6:	"The Rural/Urban Dichotomy: A Study of Rural and Urban Language Patterns in East Tennessee."

General:

Folder 1: Newspaper articles--Superstitions in Appalachia.
Student projects:


Folder 2:	"Animalistic Attributes."
Folder 3:	"Customs of Scottish origin in Southern Appalachia: Superstitions and Calendar Customs.
Folder 4:	"Dream Interpretation in Southern Appalachia."
Folder 5:	"Elements of Anthropomorphism in the Animal Superstitions of the Southern Appalachians."
Folder 6:	"Folk Beliefs of the Southern Negro."
Folder 7:	"Southern Appalachian Superstitions and Folklore about Pregnancy, Childbirth, and Death (And Some General Superstitions)."
Folder 8:	"Supernatural Phenomena--oral Traditions and Traditional Beliefs."
Folder 9:	"Superstitions and Beliefs Concerning Babies in Southern Appalachia."
Folder 10:	"Superstitions and Folk Beliefs."
Folder 11:	"Superstitions of Southern Appalachia."

General:

Folder 1: Miscellaneous Folklore/Culture Surveys--Data.
Folder 2: Newspaper articles--General Folklore Surveys in Appalachia.
Folder 3: Survey of Foods in Tennessee (especially butter, cheese, and black- eyed peas)--Raw Data.
Folder 4: "A Survey of Tennessee Folk Culture"--Questionnaire.
Folder 5: "A Survey of Tennessee Folk Culture"--Raw Data.
Folder 6: "A Survey of Tennessee Folk Culture"--Responses--Anderson-Cumberland Counties.
Folder 7: "A Survey of Tennessee Folk Culture"--Responses--Davidson-Humphrey Counties.
Folder 8: "A Survey of Tennessee Folk Culture"--Responses--Jackson-Morgan Counties.
Folder 9: "A Survey of Tennessee Folk Culture"--Responses--Obion-Trousdale Counties.
Folder 10: "A Survey of Tennessee Folk Culture"--Responses--Unicoi-Williamson Counties.
Student projects:

Folder 11: "A Case for an American Folklore Atlas."
Folder 12: "A Survey of Southern Appalachian Folklore."
Folder 13: "A Survey of the Folklore of the Southern Appalachian Region."

Box 6

Student projects:

Folder 1: "The Glassy Mountain."
Folder 2: "Myths About the Poor.
Folder 3: "Stories of Pickens County, Georgia."

Student projects:

Folder 1: "Planting by the Signs."
Folder 2: "Weather Lore of the Southern Appalachians."

General:

Folder 1: Photographs and Letters--Alice B. Luttrell Family.
Student projects:

Folder 2: "Life Crises of Appalachian Women."
Folder 3: "A Psychologist Looks at Southern Appalachian Child Rearing Practices."

Box 7: Correspondence-Notes-Tapes

July 1973-October 1973

Class notes.
Class transcripts.
Folk Culture Archives #l.
Folk Culture Archives #2.
Folk Culture Archives #3.

General:

"The Ancient Voices of Papua and New Guinea."
"Authentic Australian Aboriginals."
Interviews:

Bryan, Charles Faulkner -- His Life and Works.
Fink, Paul -- Reel 1.
Fink, Paul -- Reel 2.
Sealand.

General:

"The Banjo in Southern Appalachia" [supplement to paper; see Box 4/Music/Folder 3] Music.
Interviews:

Hulan -- original (3 3/4).
Hulan -- original (7 1/2).
Hulan -- edited.
Peters.
5 unlabeled tapes.

Interviews:

Dirth.
6 unlabeled tapes.

General:

Camp meeting part 1.
Class tape.
Interviews:

Hulan -- Music Lay Tape part 1.
Pominer, T. D.
Thornburg -- Lay Tape part 2.
1 unlabeled tape.