Document text
FORM C
Text of Interview (Unedited)
STATE
'',4ew 'York
1
NANT OF wOO‘ER William Wo90
ADDRESS7012;67th-Piace, Glendal,
DATE September 1938
--€44141"-firliiirE A NECDOTES
Informant: t„r.s. Mary Berner
44 Furman Avenue
Middle Village, L. I.
FOLKLORE
NEW YORK
First, I must tell you eoupla stories what happened in
Germany yet, before I came to this country out, when I was a young
woman. We lived near a little farm village, and I worked all day in
the fields, from morning to night. In the village there was an old
miners (miser) what lived all alone by himself in a big house. He was
so stingy he wouldn't let no one in to clean for him, and no one to
cook for him; and he didn't want no one to come near the place, and the
people all said he was counting his money all the time, over and over
again.
The miners (mdoer had a brother what was a very poor man with
a lot of children, and he had a little farm what was so poor he didn't
hardly could make a living. One year his crops was so poor his family
was going to starve, so he goin' to his brother and he say, "John, please,
help me out for my kids, pleaset Soon is the winter coming and not
enough food to eat. Please,John, you must help me outs" So John, he
thinks for a minute mad he says, "so, Karl," he says, "I don't can help
you nothing this year; but maybe," he says, "you kommen here next year
again, and I help you out."
So Karl didn't get nothing from the old miners but he
live just the same, and the neighbors help him so his wife and his
kids don't starve. And his wife get another baby and makes yet
bigfer family, and he very poor all next year. And when winter kommen
on again he says to his wife, he says, "I goin, to see mein brother
again, and he goin' to help us." And his wife says, "don't you go to
that old miners," she says, "He aint give you nothing." But Karl says,
"I coin' just the same; he promised he coin' to help me this year,"
he says.
Well, Karl goes to the house, and he find the door open
and he wont inside and called out: "Johni" and he couldn't hear John:
and he couldn't see him nowhere. And he called out again, yet, and
no answer. And Karl shout, an stamp foot on floor and make all kinds
noise and John didn't come. So he thinks maybe his brother is sick,
and he looks all o-er the house and he didn't could find him. And
then he goes down in the cellar but he can't find his brother. And
he sees a big, heavy iron door built in the wall, with funny looking
lock on the door; and he never see before in his life such a funny lock.
And he looks high up and he sees a very small place in the wall like a
peep -hole. And he climbs up on old box and looks through the hole,
and can see his brother sitting at a table -dead! And there is big
pile money on table, where his brother been counting his money.
So they sends a long way off to another village, and there
lives a locksmith; and comes the locksmith to make open the door. And
he says: "This is the lock I made," he says, "I made it about ten years
ago; and you can't open the door from the inside when it springs shut."
And he says the old miners wanted him to make the lock so if a
came, and found where he hid his money, he would lock the door
himself and couldn't core out. And the locksmith says the old
must forgot to put up catch on lock when he went the door in;
door locked sht fast and he can't get out and he dies there.
There was a nice farm close by us what was owned by a
robber
on
miners
and then
father and son, and they kept a working in there to work for them;
and his name was Heinrich,
He was a very big, strong fellow; and he
worked hard and he knows everything about a farm: horses and cows
and pigs and chickens and everything. So one time they all spreading
manure on the ground, and Heinrich says too warm the weather is, and
he coin' to do his work at night tirie. And the farmer says, "what's
the matter mit you? Are you crazy you want to go to work in the night?"
And the son of the farmer says to Heinrich: "Heinrich," he says, "the
ghosts will come by you in the night time; better you work by me in the
daylirht, no." And Heinrich says he aint scared of ghosts and even he
aint scared of the Devil yet; and he coin' to do more work in night time.
So the farmer says to go ahead, and the son of the farmer says to watch
out the ghosts dont get you.
So the next night when he other people goint to bed, about
eight o'clock when it's getting.. dark, Heinrich gets manure -wagon out,
and gets the horses the stable out; and he gets the fork and commence
to spread manure on the fields. And he makes good work, and it's nice
and cool, and the moon shining down; and he's glad the boss lets him
work In the night. And after when the moon goes in it gets more darker;
-5
out, same like before; and he spreads again the manure, maybe two
three loads. And just when the moon roes in his is close near the
corner of the field where is the woods. And them horses start shaking
again; and Heinrich jumps quick out of that wagon to talk to them
horses; and he has in his hand that manure -fork. And quick he looks
the trees between; and comes out now the ghost, same like last nicht,
waving mit the arms. So first he makes the sign of the cross and
then runs fast by that ghost and he hits him so hard he could on the
head with heavy, Iroh manure -fork; and that ghost falls down and don't
make no noise.
Kow„ them horses so scared is, they start to run away with
wagon, and Heinrich hots running after them; but they don't stop no
more till they come by the house. And Heinrich is holler out for
horses to stop, and make so much racket his boss and the wife comes
quick out to see what loose is. And Heinrich says "kommen qnick,"
he says, "1 catched em n ghost." And they all run fast by the corner
where those trees is, and they see white ghost on ground, mit horns
stick:11c from his head out. And then they look very close, and the
wife of the farmer picks up those horns in the hand. And she picks
up a bed sheet; and down on the cround is he son of the farmer;
and Lhe son of the fermer Is deadl
This part of Lo island was nearly all farms when I came
from Germany; and I was a young,woman and I worked on a farm here;
and after, I went to work by a hotel, it was on Metropolitan Avenue
in Middle UillaLe near the Lutheran Cemetery, and Old Man Wanamacher
our hens quit sitting on some eggs she was hatching; and she won't
sit on them eggs no more. And I says, "them eggs is very rotten,"
I says, "and I'm goint to save them eggs for when comes that hiE
fellow."
Well, about a week after that, I can hear the horses
driving In, and the people just had a funeral; and the big guy comes
in by the bar mit the other drivers, and buys beer. And I run quick
out and pick up all fresh eggs by the barn, and I puts down the rotten
ones. After while that big, fellow, he says, "I think I go look at
my horses," and he goes out and makes the door shut. And he is holding
his top.hat by the hand, upside down. So I goes quick in the kitchen,
and I look the window out; and I can see him go in by the barn. And
pretty soon cones out again and holding top hat under the arm, upside
down. And I'm watching him go fast to his coach and takes eggs from
the hat, and puts them eggs nice under the seat. And after when he
comes in by the bar he says, "them horses is all right; guess I takes
another beer yet, and then maybe the family is done satin' and we go
hone."
So after when he goes away I tell the Old Man Wananacher
and the missus and the bartender, And next time that big guy's come
with a funeral, the boss says to him, he says: "John, we got some
plenty nice fresh eggs to.day; maybe you like to buy some yet." And
that fellow says "no", he says, "my folks don't eat much eggs in my house."
And 1.1r. Wananacher says, "all right, oldenOtimer," he says.
FORM D
EY tra Ccheilunt
STATE New York
NAME OF 1,41RKEP William Wood
MMHTSF 7012 -67th Place, Glendale, L. I.
PATE Septenber 6, 1938
SUBJECT TIE INFORMANT --MRS. MARY BERNER
44 Furman Avenue,
Middle Village, L. I.
FOLKLORE
NEW YORK
The intervier from which this material was Lathered was
made possible through the courtesy of a friend, Mr. Anthony F. Driscoll,
of Midrac Village. I deem it advisable to keep the informant,
Mrs. Mary Berner, incognito; lest her family, highly intelligent people,
might regard as caricaturization my portrayal of her vernacular.
For this reason I have assigned the pseudonym: Mrs. Mary Schmidt
a very common Cerman name.
While the narratives are not recorded verbatim indeed,
this would be physically impossible without a stenorTs_pher I have
endeavored to preserve as much of her quaint phraseology as my
longhand notes ancl the general circumstances of the interview permitted.