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Forms to be Filled out for Each Interview
FORMA
Circumstarces of Interviow
STATE litt.44, Lie -74
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NAME OF WORKER
ADDRESS
DATE
SUBJECT 1* 34:r "7-44 Tara. el role 'A
(113
1. Date and time of interview
2. Place of interview
3. Name and addreso of informant
FOLKLORE
NEW YORK
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40.
30 fq 3f
or.vt
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litt14-e-t4-174 as-e:"441c.
4. Name and address of person. if any, wno put you in
touch with informant.
(A11-1 jtvride-;4-a. ra"
5. Name and address of person, if any, accompanying you
6. Description of room, house, surroundings, etc.
:46-t't °Le -4
era&
(Use as nnitlf; tional sheets 45 necessary, for any of the fermi' each
bearing the #00por heading and. the suMbor to-ohloh the astoriol rotors.)
FORA'
Personal. H1(.1tory of Informant
STATE
NAME OF WORaR
ADDRESS
DATE
SUBJECT
1. Ancestry
2. Place and date of birth
3. Family
4. Places lived in, with dates
5. Education, with dates
b. Occupations and accomplishments, with dates
cL,trir,,,t-6po r-64
7. Special skills and interests
S. Community and religious activities
9. Description of informant
FOLKLORE
NEW YORK
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rvdt=6 41'
I.
10. Other Points gained in interview
Informant ,Fred Roys,
113 7th Ave.,N.Y.City
SubjeccA Babtism That Didn't Take':
tL
1DWayne Aalden
Oct.30,1931.)
"Crusader" on
Several of us were standing in front of the/fourteenth Street gulumax
our
Irma aa kasx2amaadar and a rather desultory conversation finally turned
to "gettin religion".It was then that big kred opened up.Said he:
Them religious revivals they used to have,you dont see mush of that
sort of goingeon nowadays;but in them days they was great doin's. When
I was a kid we used to look forward to 'em like we did the circus.Some-
times they was as good as a circus.It was a case of come to Jesus every-
body.You had to come in or they'd hound the hell out of you if you didn't.
The woods was full of Billy Sundays,and if you could stand out 'against
their persuadin' you,you was a good one.You had to have what they callcft4,,,
stamina.Generally when some of those old hens got a hold of a guy,he was
a goner,'cause the women therwent into the revival business with both
feet.When they took out after you,there wasn't much use a runnin'.
But there was one old codger they had a devil of a time a snarin! He
wouldn't fall for their bait at all.They tried every which way to get himu.
.mi•••••1
but old Rufeeufus Gray his name wasgas one guy they couldn't bring into
the fold.He had read Bob Ingersoll,I guessland-didn't seem to give a damn
if his soul was saved or not.Pie in the sky couldn't move him.The chase
went on for years,revival after revival,and still old Rufe couldn't be
swayed from the paths of wickedness he preferred to travel.His soul was
getting blacker and blacker with accumulatin' sins,but still the old cuss
hung back.The stubborn old geeser seemed sure as hell-bound-for-hell,and
the bettintwas odds against his ever being corraled.
Wellpit finally happened that .a revival came on andehether the Bible
pounder was more convincin'or whether the sistern put on greater pressure
in theft persuadinlwhatever it was,old Rufemmaybe he thought it was better
to get it over with,but anyhow the old guy shows signs of weakening.He
give up arguin' and told 'em 0714y/that he was ready to submit at last.
Page 2 (Wayne Walden,
Cvt.30,1938.)
A babtism that didn't take.
Welloof course,landin' a hardshell old sinner,the likes of him,caused
a lot of rejoicin' among the sistern and the brethren.It was a great tri-
umph,something to holler about.All that was lacking now was the babtism.
And for old Rufus it'd need more'n a little sprinkling.It'd need a whole
damned puddle of water for him. to be made pure and radiant:
111(/, The babtisings was most of the time done in a lake,about a mile and a
half from town.The preachertand whoever would be his helpers,would lead
the converts out to where the water was about arm -pit deep and then dip
em under.That's whatLthey done to old Rufe too they leads him out to
where the water was up to his whiskers and then topples him under.But he
wasn't countin' on being ducked.So he comes up sputtering,and pawingpand
madder'n hell.Soon as he untangles himself from their hanging on to him,
he starts out swimmin' to beat the devil himself ,and when he gets out in
about the middle of the lake he turns his head and hollers out-JYeah,you
would,would you?you'd try to drarun somebody would yourru gawd-damned
fools.'
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