Plains Folk MP3 Page

Plains Folk^TM MP3 Page

Made available here are MP3 sound files recorded by Tom Isern. These are home recordings. No producer or engineer was involved. So don't expect studio quality sound, but the recordings are serviceable. There are three sets of recordings here.

Plains Folk^TM essays, each about 500 words, or 4 minutes
Traditional folksongs of the Great Plains
Original songs by Tom Isern

Original material or performance, as noted in the tables below, is copyright to Plains Folk^TM or to Tom Isern. Listeners are welcome. Broadcast or commercial use of the material here proffered is prohibited. Parties who download files for personal or educational use are asked to make a contribution to the collection development fund of the NDSU Institute for Regional Studies, thus benefiting the public and the students of North Dakota State University by bolstering the collections for historical research.

MP3 Files Available*
Set	Item	Description	Time	Copyright Plains Folk^TM (PF) or Tom Isern (TI)
Plains Folk^TM Essays	Plum Butter	Native plums on the plains, and the joys of plum butter	4:19	Text PF 2000 Recording TI 2003
	Calendars, Senses, and Sensitive Guys	Why it's worthwhile to make sauerkraut and think about our grandmothers	4:04	Text PF 2000 Recording TI 2003
	Good Art in Foster County	Reflections on the Foster County Centennial murals, Carrington ND	5:28	Text PF 2000 Recording TI 2003
	Class B	On the virtues of small-town high school basketball	3:45	Text PF 2000 Recording TI 2003
	Pinochle Night in Oriska	Making a difference at the Oriska Bar & Grill	4:02	Text PF 2001 Recording TI 2003
	Mammoth Savannah	A logical alternative to the Buffalo Commons	3:53	Text PF 2000 Recording TI 2003
	Turkey & Lefse	Tradition and metaphor at Waldheim Lutheran Church	5:27	Text PF 2002 Recording TI 2003
Traditional Folksongs of the Great Plains	Prisoner's Song	Sung everywhere on the plains--most singers learning it from Vernon Dalhart on the radio (as did my mother)	2:42	Recording TI 2003
Traditional Folksongs of the Great Plains	Red River Valley	The original, politically incorrect version (please remember the vocabulary comes from Manitoba in the 1860s)	3:24	Recording TI 2003
Original Songs by Tom Isern	Table & Tavern Song	A tribute to Hunter's Table & Tavern, Rhame ND	2:50	Words & music TI 1997 Recording TI 2003
Original Songs by Tom Isern	Hazel's Hands	Based on the ballad book of a hired girl, Hazel Bennett, in the 1920s	4:04	Words & music TI 1998 Recording TI 2003

*Additional files added as time permits. Check back!

Guidelines for Donations by Users
Who should donate?	Anyone who downloads files for personal or educational use, unless you're some sort of deadbeat.
How much?	Suggested minimum donation: $1 per file. More, if you really like them, or if you want to support the Institute.
How?	Make out the check to "NDSU Institute for Regional Studies." Mail it to John Bye, Institute for Regional Studies, NDSU Libraries, Fargo ND 58105-5599.
What happens to the money?	The Institute uses it to buy microfilm, publications, and other research materials that become part of the permanent collection, available for use by the public and by students. These are materials pertaining to life in North Dakota and on the northern plains.

Plains FolkTM MP3 Page

Plains Folk^TM MP3 Page