Document text
Introduction to REMIN$SENCES: MR. G. HALE
by A Fitzpatrick
In a drab, little, furnished room on East 42 St., Mr. H. waits for the
Honm Relief investigator. He has been unemployed now for many years. Once
in a while he gets a itall carpentry job. In the 1920's he was employed
intermittently as a newspaperman.
But the interviewer finds him sociable and co-operative. Mr. g does
not wish to discuss his troubles, past or present. Briefly, Mr. ffh suns up
his life. He is fifty7 one. Was married. Now divorced. A son died in 1926.
The ;lege of unemployment and the humiliation of living on Hone Relief,
have not entirely destroyed Mr. H's self-respect, and interest in living. Avi
koamowN4440 His appearance is exceptionally neat under the circumstances.
What does he do with his time? Time is a heavy load when you're unemployed.
Mr. 11. occupies himself in Parochial affairs' he is a religious Catholic. He is
interested too in short story writing and mechanics.
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Mr. H. relited several stories which he heard from his Grandfather, a native
of County Limerick,Ireland. This County Limerick story -teller arrived in the
United States in 1850 and he fought for the North during the Civil War.
Mr. H. says that the stories are true and that he has always had the
greatest respect for his grandfather's beliefs.
-What Did They See? no good to us, in my opinion. Iv
Tom Shea and the Widow: all right
The Little Cobblers: good
Forms to be Filled out for Each Interview
FORM A
Circumstances of Intervi2w
STATE New tork
NAME OF MORKER. A Fitzpatrick.
ADDRESS
DATE
SUBJECT
327 East 145th St Bronx. N.Y.C.
October 20th 1938.
FOLKLORE
NEW YORK
1. Date and time of interview Oc#ober 19th. 1938. 1.P.M.
2. Place of interview At Home. 322 East 42nd St. City.
3. Name and address of informant• George Hale. 322 East 42nd St. City.
4. Name and address of person, if any, who put you in
toucn with informant. H Leonard. Mgr. A P Store. 144th St Third Ave.
5. Name and address of person, if any, accompanying you None.
6. Description of room, house, surroundings, etc. Informtnt
room on the top floor, rear, in a rooming house at
It is neatly furnished with bed chair and dresser.
also in the room. A small rug on the floor. There
underneath and on the opposite side of the street
Church. In the same block, a few doors towards the
Hill building.
resides in a sm$1.11
the above address.
a Washing sink is
are clothing stores
is Holy Cross R.C.
West, is The McGraw
(Use as many additional sheets as necessary, for any of the forms, each
bearing the proper heading and the number to which the material refers.)
FORV
Personal HIs tory of Informanl
STATE. New York.
NAME OF YORKER* A Fitzpatrick
ADDRESS 327 East 145th St. Bronx. N.Y.C.
DATE
SUAJECT
October 20th 1938
1. Ancestry. Irish.
FOLKLORE
NE11.- YORK
2. Place and date of birth .Cayuga County. City of Auburn. N.Y.S.
3. Family' Family consisted of Wife, Son and Daughter. Informant is
now divorced.).
4. Places lived in, with dates Present address. 322 West 42nd St.City
Resided there, three weeks to date. Form wp address, 324 West 42nd 6t,
18 months. Prior to latter resided at 463 E 158th t,three years and for
five years previous to that at367 East 167th St. Bronx.
5. Educatfon, with dates
Public School and High School Graduate.
6. Occupations and accomplishments, with dates
Newspaperman, intermittantly,from 1920 to 1934, Free-lance work 1934
to date. Also carpentry off and on,(Not Union).
7. Special skills and interests
Short story writing, Interviewing, mechanics and books.
8. Community and religious activities
Religion, Catholic. Active in Parochial affairs
9. Description of informant
About five feet six inches in height. Weight is about148 lbs. Age 51
Exceptionally neat in appearance. Strikes one as above the average in in-
telligence. Is a deep thinker.
10. Other Points gained in interview
Very co-operative and sociable. Quick to grasp a situation. Zuite
conversational and although having experienced tragedy in a mismated
marriage, He is divorced since 1935), has evidently adjusted himself
to a situation beyond his control. Despite the foregoing he has a fine
.head of hair, grey lacking and, although 01 years old, has the appearnce
of a man much younger in years.
It may be added that Mr Hale is a recipient of Home Relief. He has
been without steady income for many years.
STATE hex/York
1.
NAME OF WOJThER
MURES
DA
,-SUBJECT
FORM)("
Tex
FOLKLORE
NEW YORK
A FitOrtrick
527 E /t 145th Mt. bx.
Octob r 10th. 4938
Gon nuationfof ancestry ena historical lx,ekground.
The Informant's Paternal Grandfather, a native of Co
Limerick. Ireland, arrived in the United States in
1850. He was a Union soldier in the Civil War.
The resultant folk -lore tales were garnered oy the
GrandsonT(the informant), -from his Grandfather who
was a great story teller. Mr Hale states that the
stories, two of which are herewith submitted,are
true and that he has always had the greatest respect
for his Grandfather's veracity and beliefs. Mr Habe
Sen' died in 1926.
Page 4
Folklore (Irish)
A .ritzpaYrick
SUbject. FeminesceflCeS, 4str Mr G
What it see.?
a
Ireland is too well noted for it's implicit belief in the
supernatural, that :--oes without saying.
There is hardly an Irishman or an Irishwoman tnat has not had
some kind of personal experience of their own,back in the old count-
ry. _II experience of something uncanny and inexplicable. My Grand-
father, I recall, once told Me of an incident that had no solution.
Here it is;- find the answer yourself.
Lis folks were well to do, owning a very large fait.' in Co Lime-
rick. Of course he had, as all farmers over there have, some cattle,
some sheep, dogs and chickens. he had six dogs, two of whom were very
ferocious. These two were so vicious that my Grandfather had rings
put in their noses by which they were kept tied to the house. At night
he released them and God pity the tramp or anyone that tried to get
into the property.
One night, about ten o'clock; (my Grandfather was still up at the
time the uogs suddenly started to snarl and growl at something they
seemed to see in the distance. They suddenly jumped off tne porch and
ran towards a hedge some 75 feet distant. Well, whatever it was, when
they reached the hedge they immediately stopped and turning tail, ram
back and into the house, a terrific fear in tneir eyes and the hair
ell bristling on their backs witn their tails between their legs.
They went under the beds and for two days they could not be bud-
ged.
some weeks later there was a repetition of the sere occurance, but
this time there was a development. The horses, th're were tido of tilem),
were loose in the grounds. ',lien they saw the dogs running as before,to-
wards the same spot in the hedge, they ran too, but when the dogs, (what-
ever they saw), set up a howl and turned to run back to the house; the
horses jumped the hedge,and it is a positive fact, they XTRE NEVER
SEEN „.GAIN. My Grandfayher requested the nei-hbors to keep an eye out
for them but they had vanished as if into the thin air. There never
was an explanation
TOIsi Th WijjovJ
1:,t Grandfather, when he choose, could speak as good English as
tne next one, but in his story -telling, he would lapse into the dia-
lect of the /Ould Sod', and one, unfamiliar with the vernacular, might
find it difficult to understand. We, as kids always looked forward
to the evening, especially in the Winter, when we'd gather around the
parlor stove watching the glowing coals through tEe isinglass door
?-ge five.
Irish Folklore.
Subject, Mr Hales story, (continued)
A Fitzpatrick.
At such times, when Grendad was sitting down, all he needed was
his old corn -cob pipe and an appreciative audience. Afet t)te story was
over we'd climb up the steep stairs to a cold bedroom, to dream of
fairies bringing a mueh-desired gist or possibly, as often happened,
to toss about in troubled sleep, trying to escape from the goblins
that Grandad's story had created for us.
We always knew when a story was coming when we'd see him with a sulphur
match held over his old pipe. He'd take di few tugs, settle back in the
old rocker and with one glance at us all, would say, 'And you, Delany
Hogan,(a neighbor's boy), Wan laugh, or teen a chuckle and I'll tell
ye no more,d'ye moind?'. This threat usually produced the desired effect
and when he was assured of a quiet and respectful audience he'd heave a
long sigkof contentment and begin the story.
Known as honest and as tome a men as iver the saints let
breathe, and ug therqiDinny Hogan, ask ye're Father, he knew him to
Tom Shea was é hard workin' men. He was about 40 years ould and lived
in a little shack that he built himself.
He had three pigs, 55 chickens, a cow and a horse, but most ev
thbe time he worked for neighboring farmers. He spent little or no time
in the Village, &avid his money and living a quiet life.
He had wan ambition. nd that VAS to save enough money to marry
i the Widow Callaghan, buy arger farm and raise children. He always
contributed to the Ghurch n d it's charities, attended the Messes, helped
his fellow man and in general was an upright God-fearing man.
__.---- -,Adjacent to Tom's place was a much larger farm with a much bigger houie.
Was •-It) vacant because it's tenants migrated to America. It's real
owner, an it,sentee English Landlord, was reputed to be a cruel, greedy
miser, determined to get the last cent from the poor tenants.
Well, to own this place was Tom's long cherished dream, If
he secured it he could ask the Widow Callaghan for her hand.
Now we're coming to it. Wan nighIc,after a particularly hard day in the
field, he retired earlYto bed and'' hardly gotten to sleep when a voice
whispered in his ear;'Tom, ---Tom; wake up and go to the cliff'.
At first he was too tired to be aroused but finally the voice became
louder and more insistent and after hearing the voice three times, Tom got
up, dressed and with the voice still ringing in his ears he left the
house. There was only wan place that he could go std van place that
could have been meant so Tom went there.
He eV:Cod on the brink of the cliff in the light of a full moon
wondering what tacKhext, when a voice coming from somewhere down below
Subject. Mr Hales Story. Continued).
Irish Folk Lore/
A Fitzpatrick
Pages ix.
hollered 'Help me. Help me'. Well, being well awinted
with the nature of the cliff, Tom knew of a spot, about 200 feet
down, where the voice seemed to be calling for help and the ledge
could only be reached by goin' down to the bottom and alining up
a long narrow pathway. So he started off,
It was a long tedious journey, goin all the way down and half
way up, but eventually he finally reached the spot and what did he find?
There was a white haired old man, lying prostrate on the rocky ledge,
blood oozing from numerous cuts amiditn a bad way.
He carried him Deck, a task that took him several hours, to his
sheck, hitched his gorse to the shay and went to the village to the
Doctor. The Doctor, after examining him found that he had a uroken log
in addition to his many wounds. He told TOM to take him uack to his shao
tnd, under no circumstances to move him promising that he would call
on him the next day and every day until he had recovered sufficiently
to return to his own home.
Tom took him home as ordered, and put him to oed and a few days
after he was recovered enough to takk, He identified himself as the
adsentee landlord of the place that Tom had so long coveted and desired.
It seems that he had arrived in the village to look over his property
had lost his way and unfortunately fell over the cliff.
After a numoer of weeks, convalesing at Tom's place he was a
new man again. He learned of Tom's desire to own the property mid in
a feeling of gratitude for the care that he had received at TOM'S hands
gave him the property, free and Clear, for his very own, or course
I need not say that Tom went for the Widow, hell uent for leather, and
in a short time Ia.*r a hasty courtship they got married raised a
nice family and as the sayin' goes, Lived happily ever after'.
But Tom to this day, knew that
where if it was'nt for the voice of
of his sleep that night and, knowint
set out to help him. Maybe the same
over the cliff. What do you think?,
he never would have gotten any
the little man that woke him out
of his desires and his ambitions,
little man made the landlord fall
,Vntzpatrick
Subject.
Continuation of Nis Hale's Folk Tales.
No 3.
Here is another tale that I remember hearing my Grandad-tell.
I cannot recall the place that he said that it happe)4. It was
somewhere out in the West of Ireland,if I remember riAghtly.
It appears that there was a family by the name of NbGitiness.
They owned a little farm of about 30 acres and not such a lot of
stock, just a few chickens, a horse, a few pigs and a cow.
The family consisted of the husband James, his Wife and five
children. They were anything but well to do, starving most of the
time. Things went from bad to worse and the husband, from worry-
ing fell sick and died.
The Widow decided to carry on for the sake of the children
and DID manage to get by,through being frugal and thrifty. But she
never could buy anything,like clothes shoes, Etc,that were necess-
ary to a large family like hers.
Of course she could patch up the children's clothes when it
was needed, which was almost all of the time,but their shoes were
what worried her most, and they were in bad shape, what with holes in
them and being lop -sided at the heel and some without any sole at all,
like night, after the children were all put to bed, she looked at
their shoes and the tears came into her eyes. What could she do
The Summertime was alright for the tots. They could run around barefooted
and no hikwould befall them, but here was Winter only a few weeks away
and she didtnt want them catching a heavy cold which might develop into
something more serious,that eventually,might mean opening the grave' and
putting them alonside her beloved Husband, James.
In desperation she sat down and tried to figure a way out. Then
suddenly a thought came to her. She had once heard that the little
men, the Leprechaunsofere cobblers by trade and if they knew of her
plight they surely would help her. Anyway she knelt down and with all
the faith and sincerity in her voice, she told them of her situation
and begged them to heti) her.
She was so sincere in her plea that something within her
assured her, samehow4that her prayer would be answered. With light
heart she started to sweep up the.kitchen floor, which,as most Irish-
men in the rural districts in Ireland know, was just the simple earth.
She *anted the plays to be clean when the little men arrived, as she
surely knew they would.
She went to the cupboard, and although there was'nt much there,
she fixed up a little meal for the fairies in ease they were hungry.
And then after putting two fresh candles on the table, she took the
five little pairs of dilapidated shoes and a worn pair of her awn and
placed them in front of the fire. This done she went, in a happy mood, to
bed/to await the results that the morning would bring.
Folklore. Irish. Page-algiat
Subject. Continuation of Mr Bales Folk Tales.
A Fitzpatrick.
(Continued).
During the night, she fancied she heard the strains of soft music
down below in the kitcheA. But thinking she was dreaming she went to
sleep again. Again she woke up with the music in her ears and unable
to sleep further,and with a bit of curiosity in her mind,. she got out
of bed and tip -toed to the head of the stairs. Then not able to rest-
rain her curiosity further,softly came down, step by step, noticing
that the music seemed to be getting louder.
The door to the kitchen was closed when shesreached it. she pus-
hed it open a crack and peeked in and lo and behold what did she see?.
The candles had all burned out but the room was full of a strange
light, where it came from she could'nt see, and right in the middle
of the floor, dancing around six brand NEW pairs of shoes, were forty,
or maybe,fifty little fairies having the time of their lives. On the
table were all the platesT-where she had piled the food, -empty. She
stood spellbound for quite a while, and, knowing that if she went into
the room she'd break the spell and perhaps, cause hard luck to fall
on her, she went softly back to her room. In the morning when she came
down, there were the new shoes, just as she saw them during the night
and the marks of little feet, in the earthen floor, all around them.
Needless to say, to the day of her death she will always uphold
the leprechauns and list them firbtAn-hertategory of friends.