Working on accessibility...

We have just about completed all of the transcriptions for the audio and video clips on the website. This has been a goal since day one. Including transcriptions of all media clips will allow hearing impaired visitors access to the material. We anticipate having all audio and video transcribed within the month! Check back soon!

Talking with the Turners....

After much too long a delay, we've been able to get some of the "Talking with the Turners" documentation up online. Over the next few weeks, we hope to post many of the audio interviews, but we have a substantial number of photographs and text up and ready. Thanks to Randy Mack for his thorough work back in 1981 - many of these potters have passed on and this material stands to offer a glimpse into their particular tradition. More to come!

Unfortunate news...

By Times & Democrat STAFF
Orangeburg
Monday, March 26, 2007

Reginald Jarvis, the second of five brothers who blended their voices to form a renowned a capella quintet, died Sunday, Bythewood Funeral Home announced Monday.

Jarvis, 71, of Orangeburg, was joined by brothers Ulysses, Donald, Anthony and Rogers in performing as the Jarvis Brothers. They have been regulars at Orangeburg events for years, recently writing and performing a song in honor of The Times and Democrat's 125th anniversary.

But the group's fame extends far beyond Orangeburg. They have performed their spirituals in Washington at the Smithsonian and in New York at the Apollo Theater, also before Bishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa. They represented the state of South Carolina in the Millennium Stage series at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington. And they have received South Carolina's highest honor for the arts, the Verner Award.

For most of his career as an English and/or choral music teacher, Reginald Jarvis also performed with his siblings. The baritone performed for one year with the Emmanuel Middleton Chorus in Manhattan, N.Y., and for three years with the Hall Johnson Choir, which provided music for the motion picture "Green Pastures." He lent his talents to the Savannah (Ga.) Symphonic Chorale for several years when he resided there. In his last performance with the group, he played the role of the Page, in "Amahl and the Night Visitors."

After Claflin University, Jarvis did studies in vocal music at Northeastern University in Boston, Mass.; Savannah State College and Armstrong State College in Savannah, Ga., and Georgia Southern University in Statesboro, Ga.

The Jarvis Brothers received the Jean Laney Harris Folk Heritage Award in 1989.

2007 Jean Laney Harris Folk Heritage Awards

Congratulations to Alda Smith and Louise Miller Cohen, South Carolina's 2007 Jean Laney Harris Folk Heritage Award recipients! Find all sorts of info of them under the Jean Laney Harris Folk Heritage Award Program link on the Digital Traditions website.

More to come!

Website visits increase...

Since launching in mid-September, the Digital Traditions website has seen well over 20,000 site visits! We are very encouraged by the positive reaction for folks throughout the region. We continue to work on website improvements and have most recently added a new resource entitled the "Folklife Writer's Forum." The project allows folks to have their writing and other relevant research published electronically on Digital Traditions. We want to especially encourage students to utilize this resource. More to come!

Digital Traditions

The Digital Tradition site keeps on growing! To this point, we've added several hundred audio and video clips and several hundred images. The next project to be incorporated will be "Talking with the Turners," a body of fieldwork initiated by retired USC professor Randy Mack back in 1981 that documents southern traditional pottery. Content will include images and a wealth of audio material.

Digital Traditions bumper stickers are now available! Send an email to digitaltraditions@gwm.sc.edu with your contact info and we'll drop a freebie in the mail to you!

Welcome to Digital Traditions!

Home to a wealth of folk traditions, South Carolina is culturally and geographically diverse. From the Appalachian Mountains to the Sea Islands and from rural crossroads to urban centers, the state boasts rich sources of traditional culture and folklore.

Rooted in family and community activities, folklife involves expressive forms of many kinds that are communicated verbally and by observation or imitation. Folk artists can learn through apprenticeships, but most often are taught informally by family members or close friends. This sharing of information can occur in many different group settings - familial, occupational, religious, social, and educational. Folklife is dynamic by nature, a part of a community's history that continues to develop every day, with every generation.

The Digital Traditions website was developed to provide access to the Folklife Resource Center at McKissick Museum. For thirty years, deeply-rooted traditions like quilting, pottery, basketry, communal foodways, and folk music have been documented through audio, video, and photography. Visit the website at www.digitaltraditions.net and return to this blog for running commentary, observations, and insight into South Carolina traditional culture.