Carol B. Spellman (1951-2017)

Carol Beth Spellman passed away on January 26, 2017. Carol graduated from the UO Folklore Program in 2002 with a focus on documentary video, ethnomusicology, and Irish folklore. Carol traveled to Ireland during 2000 and 2001 where she conducted fieldwork on the topic of Irish women’s contribution to traditional song and music. Her work culminated in a documentary video and paper entitled “For the Love of the Tune: Irish Women and Traditional Music” (https://vimeo.com/201286239). In 2004, an article based on her research was published in “Beascna” through the University of Cork Press, Cork, Ireland.

Carol then joined the Oregon Folklife Program at Oregon Historical Society and immersed herself in work with traditional artists, teaching video production in schools, and recording traditional arts throughout Oregon. Carol was larger than life with a vibrant personality and intense curiosity about people. Her passion extended beyond family and work, to ceramics, Irish and Zydeco dance and music, volunteering in schools, traveling, playing soccer, learning Spanish and French, and art of many and varied kinds. Her life changed again in 2009 when she acquired her beloved Kiger mustang, Tesoro. Carol developed a whole new horse community through trail rides and cowboy/ western dressage while enjoying a deep emotional connection with Tesoro.

The Folklore and Public Culture Program at U of O has established a fund in Carol’s name to assist graduate students to work in the field that she loved so much. Donations may be made to the Carol B. Spellman Public Folklore Fund, Attn: Beth Magee, Folklore Program, 1287 University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403.

Carol Spellman Fund

Polly Stewart (1943–2013)

Polly Stewart was an accomplished and influential folklorist with ties to the University of Oregon and to many other communities. A native of Salt Lake City, she earned her undergraduate degree at the University of Utah, and then moved on to the University of Oregon for her PhD, where she was the first graduate student of Barre Toelken; her dissertation was on “Style in the Anglo-American Legend.” She went on to teach at Salisbury University in Salisbury, Maryland for thirty years, with special expertise in oral history, urban legends, and comparative myth. She also worked with undergraduates there to form the first LGBT student group on campus. Her many scholarly publications include the edited volume Worldviews and the American West: The Life of the Place Itself (Utah State University Press, 2000, available as print and ebook in the UO library). On retirement Polly returned to Salt Lake City, where she joined the Salt Lake Choral Society and participated in many civic organizations. She continued her folklore career by spearheading the Urban Pioneers 1960s Folk Music Revival Concert, which won funding from the Utah Humanities Council. Polly also supported the activities of Utah Pride Center, the American Folklore Society, Salisbury University Nabb Research Center, Salisbury University Wildfowl Museum, University of Utah School of Humanities, University of Oregon Folklore Program, Southern Poverty Law Center, ACLU of Utah, Human Rights Campaign, and Unitarian Universalists. Her energy, dynamism, and commitment will be missed.