Mary Celestia Parler Explained

Mary Celestia Parler (1904 - September 15, 1981) was a folklorist and professor at the University of Arkansas.^{[1] [2] [3] [4]} She and her husband Vance Randolph recorded folk music in Northern Arkansas from the 1930s until the 1960s. They also established the Arkansas Folklore Society in 1950. It lasted until 1960.^[5] Folklorist Rachel Reynolds wrote a chapter about her in Arkansas Women: Their Lives and Times.^[6]

She made recordings with Max Hunter. She recorded Maxine Hite singing The Dogs and her gun in Prairie Grove, Washington County, Arkansas, in 1959.^[7]

During the 1950s, Robert Mottar accompanied Parler undertaking the Folklore Research Project (1949–1965).^[8] His photographs feature Mary Celestia Parler and others active in collecting folklore, as well as the subjects of Ozark folklore studies.^[9]

Notes and References

1. https://books.google.com/books?id=tXlaDwAAQBAJ&q=Parler&pg=PA301 Arkansas Women: Their Lives and Times
2. Web site: Encyclopedia of Arkansas. Encyclopedia of Arkansas.
3. Reynolds, Rachel. "Mary Celestia Parler (1904–1981): Folklorist and Teacher" in Arkansas Women: Their Lives and Times edited by Cherisse Jones-Branch and Gary T. Edwards, University of Georgia Press, Athens (2018)
4. “Mary Celestia Parker (1904-1981): Folklorist and Teacher” in Arkansas Women: Their Lives and Times
5. Web site: Pass it on: Arkansas's Statewide Folklife Program Plan : Prepared for the Department of Arkansas Heritage, Arkansas Historic Preservation Program. December 30, 1998. Arkansas Historic Preservation Program. Google Books.
6. Web site: Rachel Reynolds Guest Lectures on Arkansas History in Paragould | Black River Technical College. blackrivertech.org.
7. University of Arkansas Libraries; Ozark Folksong Collection; The Dogs and her Gun; http://digitalcollections.uark.edu/cdm/singleitem/collection/OzarkFolkSong/id/1155/rec/2 Retrieved 2017/03/28
8. Vimr, Kalli ’The Voices of Arkansas Past: Preserving a folklore tradition and dialogue that continues today’ Arkansas Magazine, Oct 1, 2015, p.22-25, Arkansas Alumni Association.
9. libinfo.uark.edu/SpecialCollections/findingaids/parler.html Mary C. Parler Photographs Collection (MC896), part of the Arkansas Folklore Collection at the University of Arkansas Libraries Special Collections.