Edwin Houston, interviewed by Edward D. “Sandy” Ives and William “Bill” Warner

Series

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

From the Record Group:

Material collected by Maine Folklife Center (MFC) and Northeast Archives of Folklore and Oral History (NAFOH) founder Edward D. “Sandy” Ives or about him (for the latter, also see NA1636, NA2290, NA2301, NA2312, NA2390, NA2539).

This record group includes Ives’s other interviews, folklore collections, and miscellaneous accessions include several that focus on moose poacher George Magoon (George Magood and the Down East Game War: History, Folklore, and the Law. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1988), and Wilbur Day (Wilbur Day (1864-1924), Hunter Guide, and Poacher: An Autobiography. Northeast Folklore 26 (1986). Others are recordings of various performances; interviews on woodswork; Veazie history; and songmakers; and material reflecting Ives’s research interests and his student’s projects. These accessions are numbered consistently with the rest of the MFC’s collections.

Dates

Creation: 1971 - 1999

Creator

From the Record Group: Ives, Edward D. (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

For digitized items free from access restrictions, we are working to upload this material (pdfs, mp3s, jpgs) for public access, but it is an ongoing project. If you don’t find what you are looking for here, contact Special Collections (um.library.spc@maine.edu).

Extent

From the Record Group: 70 items

Language of Materials

From the Record Group: English

Additional Description

Abstract

NA1637 Edwin Houston, interviewed by Edward D. “Sandy” Ives and William “Bill” Warner, August 12 and 17, and September 24, 1982, at Houston’s home in Brewer, Maine. Houston, one of the last and best of the rod makers for F. E. Thomas Co. of Bangor, Maine, talks about his life and his rod making skills; his early years in Holden, ME; his father; his genealogy; mother’s arrival from Sweden; Swedish community in Holden; Swede Hill; bees; his first fishing rod; his first job peeling logs; how he started making rods with Thomas Rod Company; the business practices of a competing company called Thomas & Thomas; various bamboo types; man versus machine made; F. E. Thomas and other early rod makers; the types of machines used; and provides a floor layout and detailed explanation of how each department functioned at Thomas Rod Co. Recording is in English. Text: 36 pp. catalog. Recording: mfc_na1637_c1784_01&02, mfc_na1637_t1743_0&02 [T 1784, T 1743]. 2-3/4 hours.