Why PCAL?

Lily Hayden: Um, whenever you were at WKU, what did PCAL mean to you?

Brandon Harrod: Um, can you remind me what that is real quick? just like.

LH: Potter College of Arts and Letters. It's pretty much like all the classes that are in FAC.

BH: Yeah, yeah that's what I was going to say. It all- it, it's all tied together in FAC for me because, whenever we would have breaks and we would have times, we were always wandering that building. I know FAC inside and out, so we would always kind of like wander and see what the Folk Studies people were doing. We would see, you know, I think there was- I don't, I bet it's tied together a lot more than it was back then, but to me, I don't recall other than the like. I think the big integrator was like having those- are the galleries still on the second floor? [LH: Yes.]  Like there's the- there's the corridor gallery and then the big- I love, I loved that those would be open and people are just walking in and out all day long. That to me was the big integrator between like, Folk Studies and like everything within the Potter College. But the art- the Art Department was always the fourth floor for me, I think it's probably still that way. [laugh]

LH: Yeah.

Sally Powell: Do you think your time at Western prepared you or shaped you for your career now? Or....

Mark Brown: Oh definitely.

SP: Do you just want to talk more about that? You do?

Brown: Yeah, yeah it definitely did. And that's one of the reasons that the folk studies master's program was such a gem among other graduate programs. You know, because there's a lot of great ones now, but Western was really well known because it, because they emphasized that.  Like how folk studies can apply to so many different fields. You know, you can study folklore for its own sake, but also it connects with so many other things. There was a great museum studies sort of history there, like Michael Ann Williams taught a museums course that really informed my later work with the Kentucky Historical Society, working with their collections and doing exhibits and things like that. And they did, they also emphasized experiential work among students, so we had a graduate assistantship program, and I got to help. My graduate assistantship job was assisting the Kentucky Museum's education director, and those two years that I was there, it was Laura Harper Lee, and she was also a Folk Studies graduate from years before, and we hit it off really well. And, I got to, you know, design educational experiences for groups of schools that came in and give tours. We led tours of the Felts House on campus there and things like that. So it was... I designed a web page for a group, and this was like late ‘90s web page so it was, like early, early tech for that. But it was, it was a lot of fun, and I learned a lot there. And I think that I, I would have, I could have learned, you know, on the job when I started working for the Kentucky Folklife Program but that background really gave me a lot of experience that I built on and that and that my supervisors and bosses, you know, at the state level, appreciated that I had that experience before, so.

Sarah Schmitt: The other best, great thing that I learned from folk studies and almost every class I was in, if you had something you were interested in or a project came along, and they even encouraged this with whatever profession you went into, you know, don't say no. Don't automatically say because folk studies is such a very holistic field. You know, there's so many different things that sort of, you know, there's a way of studying it but in terms of what you can study, it's wide open. So they're like, don't say, no, you know, if you have an opportunity to work on a documentary film, do that. If you want, if you have an opportunity to work in archives, do that. Almost anything you do to get additional experience is going to serve you well. And I think that's one thing I've taken is like, if something comes along, I don't automatically say, “no, that's not in my wheelhouse.” I go, “Hmm, well maybe.” And you know, knowing a lot of folks, having a good network of people that are working in different situations adjacent to folk studies, I think is another thing that it taught me. So, just being very versatile, you know, being kind of a jack of all trades has, I think, has served me really well.

Allyah Slagle: What would you say made you pick Western instead of like somewhere in Missouri?

Larry Morrisey: Well, so I was coming to Western for the graduate program in folk studies, which is, I know, no longer active. But it was an active program back then. And I was interested in going to a folklore or folk studies graduate program. I had done my undergraduate in St. Louis. So I actually had kind of a mentor in St. Louis who was a folklorist who had gone through the Indiana program, the folklore program at Indiana University. And so he guided me to, [he said] “These are the schools that you should check out.” And so I went and visited Indiana University, [where] my mentor was pushing me towards, the University of North Carolina and Western Kentucky. So I visited all three and Western just really fit the best for me. 

The program had a strong emphasis on what they call public folklore, which is, meaning, doing folklore work in a public or governmental agency. Like working at a museum, working at a state arts council like I do, or a humanities council. So they had a historic preservation track, they had what they called, kind of more of a PhD-type track, where you were getting ready to go do a PhD because they didn’t offer a PhD there. And then the public track. And the public track really was exactly what I was looking for, in terms of providing that practical instruction in these areas like historic preservation, festival production and radio production. All these things that I later got involved with. So it made the most sense and they accepted me and they gave me a graduate assistantship. So that was also very helpful.

Allyah Slagle: What do you remember from grad school?

Paul McCoy: Mmmm, mostly the people. And the projects. The- it’s funny I was talking to a friend of mine the other day and I am ashamed to admit this but I remember very little of the reading that I did in graduate school as you know there is a lot of reading [Allyah Slagle: There is]  in graduate school I remember very little of it I remember some of it to a degree but mostly I remember the projects. I was very project focused um, I did I did the National Registered Nomination for Bill Monroe's home place that was a big project that I spent a lot of time doing. A fellow student who was in my class uh Stuart [Burrill], he and I did uh curated an exhibit at the Kentucky Museum called Carving Sound that was all about luth years from South Central Kentucky.And some of those artifacts I think are still in the museum, and the interpretation from it went to the Kentucky Folklife Program and they used it with one of their exhibits- It's still out there.  Some of it’s still online some of the images that Stuart took because he was a brilliant photographer. Uh, some of the oral histories that we did with those luthiers and many of them are gone now. You know, it's funny your- this is an oral history class that you're taking? [Allyah nods in approval of the question asked] I've done oral histories for a long time, and, I’ve funded a lot of oral history projects through a grant program that I've worked on for years and years, and we rarely ever fund an oral history project if it's because these voices are going to go- like “we’re losing these people.” Because it has to be connected to a theme or a project like “what’s the purpose that you're collecting oral histories?” But it's not lost on me and it shouldn't be lost on anyone that, um, part of the reason you're collecting these regardless of why is because those voices aren't permanent. They will leave eventually. And I think about that a lot uh especially lately when some of the people that I've interviewed over years are- we are losing them and I'm grateful that we had those we’ve got those interviews we’ve got that moment of their lives captured on tape somewhere. a And that- that I think that's s a wonderful thing so. Even if you never become a folklorist, if you just know how to do this, it's gonna- its gonna be good for your life and - the lives of those around you.

Ryder Rominger:Well, how did you get all the way from Colorado to Western?

Josh Chrysler:Yeah, that's a good, good question. Um I- So, I went, I did my undergrad in Colorado at Colorado State in Fort Collins, and studied English and philosophy, but I didn't really know what I was doing, like, I didn't know what my career plans or goals were, or anything like that. And... one of the summers during college, I spent teaching English as a second language in Hungary. And when I was over there, I got really interested in Hungarian folklore, Hungarian traditional culture, Hungarian crafts and these types of things. But I really wanted to, like, learn more about that. And so when I got home just doing some, like, basic Google searching and stuff, and that's when I figured out that folklore was like a field, something you could actually study, something you could have a career in. And as I started like reading more and researching about that, I got really interested and excited by that idea. And that's when I I discovered that Western actually had one of the major folklore programs in the country, and one of the things that sort of was particularly interesting about it to me was that they had this emphasis on public folklore, whereas some of the other programs had emphasis on like, you know, academic folklore and PhD programs and Western had this emphasis on public folklore, like sharing this culture out with the general public that I was really interested in. And, yeah, pretty much went from there. Figured out I was interested in it, and decided to apply. And yeah, ended up at Western.

Avery Grant: So, what do, what would you say you love most about WKU and, also what do you hope like for growth within the future, like in PCAL, and like WKU as a whole?

Kathryn Reetzke: Yeah. Well, I've always loved the campus. I think it’s a beautiful space to go to school, um and I think they’ve done a nice job of maintaining a lot of the outdoor spaces where students can go. I would just hope that, you know, we continue to maintain kind of unity across campus, that every department is valued and that, that all colleges and fields of study are important for students and that we continue to have a welcoming space for students coming from all different places and backgrounds. So, I mean my hope for the future is that we kind of keep doing what we’ve always done, which is to welcome students to our campus, and to help them feel as safe and as comfortable as they can while they’re away from home for the first time. And so, I think there are a lot of different clubs and organizations and groups within our campus. There certainly were when I was a student and I would like to see those maintained and spaces provided for students to be able to learn. Um, that’s really, you know, what university [AG: Mmhmm.]  is for. And so for PCAL I’d, I’d love to see us continue the Cultural Enhancement Series. I think those are really helpful to, for students to see, and hear from professionals outside of our community or to highlight professors within our community, to hear about specific research or performances or, or interests that both our internal faculty have and also outside guests. So, I, I would love to see the Cultural Enhancement Series [AG: Mmhmm] continue, and maybe expand. Um, cause I think it’s good for students to be exposed to, to different, different things.

Kathryn Reetzke: Well, I mean PCAL has been my home for [Avery Grant: slight laugh] a long time. Um, I just, like I said before, I think the humanities are, are key and, you know for Potter College of Arts and Letters, I, I don’t think we wanna see the arts and writing go away. With modern technology a lot of people might feel like we should be phased out, um, in favor of automation, but I think that if we discard creativity and analytical thinking then we’re gonna lose a lot more than just good writing and good performances. Um, cause I think we’re called the humanities because we’re human, and so if we want to maintain our humanity, I think we have to maintain writing for ourselves, thinking for ourselves, performing, artistic expression, research, where do we find truth. I think if we’re, if we discard the humanities then we’re discarding a lot of our humanness.

Sarah Milligan: We don’t seek education because the university can make a profit on it. We don’t seek education because we have to fit in one of three boxes. Right? Like if I didn’t have the opportunity to go into the Folk Studies program, my life really would be different. And maybe someone thinks, “well that’s not a big deal, we don’t really need you to do oral history or whatever at this point.” But- under- having these spaces that help us break down and understand each other. And understand why it’s important that vaccine resistance that is happening in like- Ethiopia impacts what’s happening in the US, and how having cultural mediation is a huge remedy for that. Folklorists do that. You know, being able to go out and enact US legislation that requires oral history interviews to be done about the US civil rights movements and their- like the- the freedom- the fight for cultural freedom or you know like racial freedom. Talking to those people while they are alive so they can say how this is actually how everything happened, right like this is how it actually impacted people, is huge. Like that- Folklorists do that. Right? Have done that. Talking with our military veterans to be able to understand how conflict and war impacts people on a local and family level. Is important to understand and not forget, especially at this moment in time. And Folklorists do that.

In response to the question: “…is there anything that we didn't touch on, that, you know- you have listed on your resume somewhere, that you feel like people just don't know about, or that you wish people understood?”

Teresa Hollingsworth: I think one of the fascinating things is South Arts is an organization that's 50 years old. They've had three folklorists, and they all went to WK- four folklorists, and they all went to WKU. [Elizabeth Allen : Wow. ] So... there you go. You know, I think that's a testament to the grounding in- in public sector folklore that WKU has provided. And I would be remiss if I didn't talk a little bit about, you know, a project that I conceived of and had the opportunity to write some grants, and it was an opportunity for a project called "In These Mountains," and it's about that traditional arts of central Appalachia, and worked on that for five years, [Teresa contemplating] is that right? Five years? Six? No, yeah, six years. And now Taylor [Taylor Burden, also a WKU Folk Studies MA alumni] is, you know, continuing, now it's her good work and that project, you know, continues as a nine year project. And that was very meaningful to me.

Mr. Gates is describing how he was first introduced to the WKU Folk Studies graduate program.

Bob Gates: And if you get a humanities grant from a state, you need to have a humanities scholar be part of that project. They should come and advise you. So I had two professors from Western Kentucky that they advised me to get, because they knew what I was doing was interviewing people and I was getting- I was really basically getting folklore, uh, not mainly newspaper articles or anything. It was mainly people’s traditions and culture that I was recording. And so they came up and the last one to come up was Lynwood Montell. I’m blanking on the other guy. He was a he was a teacher there at Western, uh, but Lynwood came up and he stayed overnight with me and his wife did, I think, yeah they both came up and I remember driving them around, Cincinnati showing them all these neighborhoods and he was very excited because he he had done stuff with architecture in his books and so he was very excited to see this, and from what I knew about it. Cincinnati is made up of a lot of, about a hundred and fifty neighborhoods that got annexed, so every neighborhood had its own unique thing. Anyway, he stayed over at my house that night and he told me ghost stories and talked about that and I had never had a folk- I’d never met a folklorist before. He came up to do an oral history workshop with some of the people that I was working with, so it was neat to have a scholar who really did everything in oral history. He’s the one that kind of, his Saga of Coe Ridge was the most important dissertation on using oral history to document a community when they didn’t have any written communities written, and it was a Black community between- So, we got along well and the next morning we were talking or maybe that night he said, “Bob, you ought to get a degree in folk studies.”

In response to the question: “Did KAS being at WKU, was that a big part of why you came here? Was it because of the connections you had at WKU or was location a big part of it as well?”

Deborah Parrish: That opportunity was not here for a long time and uh, I think that is something that WKU has definitely been blessed with with WKU being here.

Lainee Nalley: Would y- Would you say that KAS is a really beneficial part to the Anthropology department?

Deborah Parrish: Absolutely. I mean, like I said… Dr. Applegate was always really good of- and I- I remember even my first Kentucky Heritage Council Archaeological conference we went to, that she was even recognized for trying to get people some experience in the actual real job market that was out there. And, um, I got that, but that wasn’t open to as many students, that was very select. And, um, Dr. Jean-Luc Houle was great about doing his field schools in Mongolia and taking students. But again, you know, it’s a pricey field school uh, to do and it’s a lot of travel and uh, not everybody’s going to be able to do that. And I think that having Kentucky Archaeological Survey here at Western has made it much easier for a broad spectrum of anthropology students to get a taste of the actual job market in archaeology.

In response to the question: Is there anything else that we haven’t talked about that you would like to share?

Crystal Bohlander: No one has said anything about Jonesville yet, and frankly, I think it would be remiss to put anything into the archives that doesn’t document the importance of Jonesville to our community, to our campus, and to our integrity. We have an opportunity, and I think that we are really starting to take that seriously, in bringing the community together and being adult, responsible people. I think it is good for our students. I think it is powerful to see how we can come full circle, how we can personally, as well as a community, make mistakes and grow together and make something good out of something that was a mistake. And the only way that we can do that is to really be honest about it. I am incredibly proud of the job that the community scholars have done in collecting the history of Jonesville, in putting together and sharing the community outreach, all of those educational panels, the time they have taken with my students to help them understand, uh, what that time in our history- I am really proud of that. I am really proud of us for working on that and I think that is the kind of model we want to follow in the future. So, I hope that we see more of that adult responsibility from our institutions. We have a chance to be role models, and I think that taking accountability is a great, great way to be a role model.