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TALF,S TALL
Forms to be Filled out for Each Interview
FORM A
Circumstances of Interview
STATE NEV YORK
NAME OF WORKER NAYNE WALDEN
ADDRESS 51 Bank Street, New York
DATE October 11, 1938
SUBJECT "HE-MAN FROM THE NEST"
1. Date and time of interview
2. Place of interview
Evening of October 9, 1938
198 Richmond Terrace, Staten Island
3. Name and address of informant
Mrs. R. Ivanoff,
Stony Point, N.Y.
4. Name and address of person, if any, who put you in
touch with informant.
None
5. Name and address of person, if any, accompanying you
FOLKLORE
6. Description of room, house, surrow.dings, etc.
Dr. and Mrs. Ivanoff own their home in Pearl River, N.Y., but as his
practice is in Stony Point, they rent a large house there; house is not
numbered.
(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.)
MON
Personal Histo:y of Informant
STATE NEW YORK
NAME OF YORKER WAYNE WALDEN
ADDRESS 51 BANK STREET, New York
DATE October 11, 193B
SUBJECT "HE MAN FROM THE WEST"
1. Ancestry
Itmlian-American
2. Place and date of birth
Philadelphia
3. Family
4. Places lived in, with dates
Philadelphia, Nyack, Pearl River, Stony Point
5. Education, with dates
Trained Nurse
6. Occupations and accomplishments, with dates
TALES TALL
FOLKLORE
NEW YORK
7. Special skills and interests
8. Community and religious activities
9. Description of informant Age uncertain; woman probably between 45-50
years. Active as nurse with her Doctor -husband.
10. Other Points gained in interview
Mrs. Ivanoff and the Doctor promised to furnish further material relative
to current notions or superstitions among their patients as to cures, etc.
FORM C
Text of Interview (Unedited)
STATE NEW YORK
NAME OF WORKER WAYNE WALDEN
ADDRESS 51 Bank Street, New York
DATE October 11, 1938
SUBJECT "EE -MAN FROM TEE WEST"
TALES TALL
FOLKLORE
NEW YORK
My informant, a registered trained nurse with many years of private and hospital
experience in Philadelphia and in New York State, is now married to Doctor Stephan
Ivanoff, whose residence and practice is in Stony Point, N.Y. Yrs. Ivanoff,
formerly Miss Fusco, is of Italian parentage, and lived during the early part of
her life in the Italian district of Philadelphia, the city in which she was born.
I have known hrs. Ivanoff for nearly fifteen years, and during this time have often
heard her tell of amusing incidents recalled from her life among poor Italians and
others of heterogeneous populace of South Philadelphia.
Recently I inquired of the lady, who was on a visit to this city, if she could
supply me with any reminiscences, or other material, which would be appropriate
for our 'folk studies'. "Oh, I could tell a lot," she replied, "but I don't know
how you could put it in acceptable manner. Some of it isn't very "proper", and
some of it would be well sort of on the queer side, pathologic stuff, scarcely
fit to print. If a nurse has a sense of humor, she often sees things that strike
her as being funny but a sense of humor among nurses, or doctors, is no more common
than among many other professions. I'll try and think up some of the stuff that
may suit you and have it ready when I again run into town."
"hat about the superstitions," I persisted, "that you find among people relative
to sure -cures, etc." "I'll give you a list of such things soon," she said; "I
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think I can get you some good stories that are current even now around Stony Point
and vicinity."
Pending the outcome of this promise I sought from Yrs. Ivanoff Some reminiscences
of amusing happenings of which I had previously heard her relate. "This," she
said, "hasn't anything to do with hospitals, but since you mentioned something about
tall tales, I'll give you this as I heard it told years ago by my brother-in-law."
HE-MAN FROM TEE 1EST
"He had come from the West and was therefore regarded by an eight year old boy
in the family as a hero, a he-man who had fought many battles with wild Indians
and desperadoes. One day, when the kid kept urging him to tell about some of
the great fights that he'd been in out 'iest, this is what he told:
Well, I dunno I aint never been the kind that went 'round looking for scraps, but
I've been in a few. One that comes to mind, hardly seems worth the tellin', but it
happened so quick and was finished so soon, that I almost forgot about it until you
reminded me of it. It was out in Denver, when one day I walked into a saloon to get
a drink. I noticed that there was a long line-up at the bar, but didn't notice
till I bellied up that it was a bunch of old-time heavyweights. There was Jim
Jeffries and Jack Johnson and Jim Corbett and Bob Fitzsimmons and John L. Sullivan
and a lot of others includin' a bunch of lighter weights, all tuff guys too. Well,
that was alright. I wasn't mad at nobody, so I just stood there friendly like, waitin,
for my beer, while the barkeep was tendin' to these other guys. Finally, when he did
get around to me and starts to hand me my schooner, one of these here blokes Sullivan
or Jeffries I forget just which of 'em it was reaches out to grab it away from
me. I was kinda hot-tempered in those days, so with that I lets loose and pops him
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one. bell he, of course, falls back and knocks against the guy next to him,
and that one falls over spilling the
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next to him. Anyhow they all went
tunhling down like a bunch of stood -up dominoes. By that time I had finished
the beer and I walked out of the place. There was a mule hitched just outside
the door and he happened to be one of them kicking kind. He figured, I guess,
that he miht as well take a kick at me as anybody so, sure enough, he started in.
But me being still kind of sore about what happened inside the saloon, I.caught
that mule's foot, when he kicked out at me, and bit the darned thing plumb off."
hut that was a bit too tall a one for the kid. It probably should have been
toned down a bit, because even he half -suspected it was a lie.