Author Archives: Malani Fenner-Smith

Haunted School

Age: 22

Context: My friend told me about how, in Spain, kids would make up rumors about the school being haunted.

Text:

“People would say that my, like, the school when I lived in Spain, people said that the school was haunted. Um, because it was a really old building, but I don’t know if I believed all that. But this one girl was like really like specific about it and she was like, oh yeah, I saw ghosts going down the stairs one time, but she was just drinking a glass of water menacingly. And I was like, bro, that’s not even scary.

There was like legends about the school, I think. Someone said that it was a peanut factory, and another person said that people who have peanut allergies don’t go to our school, because of the peanut factory.

The other one was, we were like, we were like 8 or 9. But some other people said it was like a hotel for royal people, like royal people that stay at the building. It had like a courtyard. I think it had like tiles and stuff.”

Analysis:

I’m humored by this story because of its drastic variations of the same setting. As we discussed, it’s wild how legends become so imaginative and varied. These children grew up believing these stories, and it sounds like some of them even went out of their way to justify their beliefs by tracking the buildings’ history. Following the theory of diffusion, it’s clear that this has possibly evolved and slightly changed through word of mouth, with each class entering and exiting the school. I’d be curious to hear the current legends of the school today to see if any of them sound similar to what my friend shared.

Pine Straw Necklaces

Age: 22

Context: My friend told me how her aunt taught her how to make necklaces out of pine straws.

Text:

“My aunt taught me how to make necklaces out of the pine straws from a pine tree. And then you just kind of loop it and then you make a loop kind of chain neecklace. It’s really cool.”

Analysis:

This was a very sweet interaction between family practices intertwined with nature. Although I’m not sure where her aunt learned to make the necklaces herself, I do find it interesting that she must have learned to make one as a child. Although this was a practice purely for aesthetic and fun, it’s sweet how sometimes even small things/gestures stick with us as children. Something as simple as tree straws being twisted into temporary jewelry stayed with my friend for years, showing its impact.

Grandma’s Knitting Hobby

Context: While my friend and I were having coffee, I asked her about something that had been passed down from her family. She mentioned that although she wasn’t taught directly taught from her grandmother, she did pick up the hobby on her own.

Text:

“All of my hobbies and interests have come from family members that I never met–that died before I met them. Like, when I was younger, probably six or seven or so. I got really into sewing. I adored it, and my mom cannot sew for her life ever. But she pulled out her mom’s old, like sewing kid.

And that’s what I used growing up, too. It was really funny. So I used all of her little, all of her patterns, all of her notebooks.”

Analysis:

Although this is not a quilt, it reminded me of Witzling’s claim that creations hold pieces of ourselves. My friend and her grandmother didn’t create anything together, but she was still able to find a hobby that was attached to her. The generational gap between them didn’t separate their taste and skill in art, which I can’t help but wonder is a genetic tie if they had never met. As an alternative, I wonder whether seeing her grandmother’s art and knitting patterns might have sparked her interest as a kid, before it became something more as she grew up.

The Caroling Party

Age: 22

Context: My friend told me about a sweet tradition her and mother started that eventually evolved into an event shared in the community around the holidays.

Text:

“My mom and I throw it every year. And, um, we bring together, like, neighbors, friends, and we started off like, it was only maybe 30 people. And now it’s upwards of, like, 75 people that come every year. Everyone looks so forward to it. And we go up and down the street, and we collect, like, the neighbors, we sing to them, and then they join us for the next house.

And then we all come back and have drinks and desserts, and we sing songs and play music. I think it’s just really nice. It’s like my mom’s colleagues and her old piano teacher. And all of my childhood friends. And then they bring, like, their favorite people. I think that like, it’s just nice. These people from all walks of lilfe, in all areas of our lives, just come together for this one massive, this party, and everyone contributes to dessert. We always have 2 full tables now that we set up for the dessert.”

Analysis:

Caroling has been around for decades and has evolved over generations in various forms. Instead of going door-to-door and leaving, they collect people over time. Most of these songs tell stories of Jesus and other significant aspects of Christmas; however, I find it interesting that even if these people don’t align religiously with Christian beliefs, the songs and collaborative singing make it a staple for them to participate.

These songs do not carry the same political intensity as Depression-era labor movement songs or the ones we discussed, carrying warnings or stories of those lost. However, as folk music sometimes does, it brings people together to sing in unison. This celebration also ties into our in-class discussion of foods and how recipes are passed down or shared within families. In this case, food is part of a specific celebration, and it’s fun to learn how it’s grown over time with each new group of people who have joined them.

Knock On Wood

Age: 22

Context: While at a coffee shop, my friend shared a practice she’s followed since she was a kid to avoid bad luck when making a statement about something good.

Text:

“You know, even growing up, even if no is around, I’ll still knock on wood. Yeah. And like, yeah, if I think of something, and I really don’t want it to happen, or if I’m scared that I put something out into the universer that I don’t want out there, or that I might jinx something, then I’ll knock on llike a wooden table.

Even if there’s no wood around, I’ll knock on something. Like in my car. You know, I’ll be like, ‘traffic is going really nice right now,’ and then I’ll knock on the car.”

Analysis:

Similar to what we’ve discussed regarding important preventive measures to ward off evil, this is a method I even learned as a kid. What’s even more memorable about this method is the instant flash of fear that crosses a lot of our faces when we realize we might’ve jinxed a situation. This also aligns with Kapchan’s description of performance and how we act out, physically, the notion of protecting our fate. Even if there’s no wood around, something has to be knocked on.