The informant’s uncle Blake Emerson , likes to pass down stories about his life. He was the 11th of 12 children, raised in a very large ranch in Nebraska. As the 11th of 12 children he was not paid as much attention. He was good with snakes. When he was about 10 one of his chores was to go to the rocky part of the ranch to collect stones for building fences and the like. When he went out he found rattlesnakes. He would find baby rattlesnakes and collect them in a 5 gallon water bottle. He went into town with the bottle and met with combine workers. Combines are machines that are used to harvest wheat. Skilled workers would migrate around the country to follow wheat harvest. The informant’s Uncle would make a bet with the workers; if they could put their hand on the outside of the battle and keep their without flinching he would give them $5. If they failed they had to give him 50¢. If got a lot of money of this bet. He even got featured in the paper; the photograph from the paper is posted on the fridge.
The informants enjoys hearing stories from her uncle because it strengths their family bonds.
Family folklore is interesting because it shows people within the same family have different experiences. Its a good way to solidify family bonds between different generations.