1982-1986

Vickers presents folklore program to RotaryClub

home." Vickers is married to the former Carol Farish of Winston County; they have three children. He is a recognized authority on Southern, and in particular Mississippi, folklore. A recent issue of the Folklore Register was dedicated to Vickers who in 1966 was instrumental in reviving the publication of the Mississippi Folklore Society along with Dr. George Boswell of the University of Mississippi. Vickers writes a weekly column for two Mississippi newspapers. He also is a contributor to Southern Living. The Rotary Club program was arranged by ECJC Board of Trustees President Bubba Hud– speth. ECJC President Eddie Smith was a guest.

BYANNWOOD StaffWriter

when school buses had four wooden benches which ran the length of the buses. And when the buses started off everyone slid toward the back of the bus. "Folklore is a water mill. It's a guitar, but the minute you add drums and electricity it ceases to be folklore. " Folklore is games like Red Rover and playing with Tom Walkers and hoops. It's riding in a tire. And going to 'spend the day' with relatives. "Folklore is language -:- the common, everyday language people speak and not how they write. "Consumption is folklore; TB is not. It's 'chunk it 'chere' and not 'throw me the ball.' "Telephoning fish is folklore. A bluetick hound is folklore. Humor that grows out of a situation is folklore, but a standup comic is not," said Vickers. Vickers admitted he was not a native of Mississippi, but said he had lived here for 30 years. "And yet I had someone ask me recently if I intended to make Decatur my

Ovid Vickers, head of the English Department at East Central Junior College, had Louisville Rotary Club members chuckling throughout his entire speech on folklore last week. Vickers explained to the group what folklore is - and isn't. "Folklore is Pruett Calvert's routine about Aunt Blabby. That's folklore because everyone knows an "Aunt Blabby" or, more likely, has one in the family. "Folklore is Mrs. Matthew Wood's account of a 'squirrel run.' A squirrel run is similar to a lemming run. And they went out in the yard and killed enough squirrels with a stick to have squirrel for supper. "Folklore is Yarbrough's rooming house tying the room key to a syrup bucket lid so it can't be lost. ''Folklore is a May Day celebration. It's the tradition of buying class rings, now. At one time it was autograph books for girls where school mates wrote poems. "Folklore is ~pie remembering

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