"Art is literacy of the heart." -Elliot Eisner

On September 30, 2014, a man by the name of Chuck Stead came to visit our class. Stead just newly defended his dissertation on the Environmental difficulties surrounding the Ramapo Saltbox. Dr. Chuck Stead was asked to speak in front of our class because he is a story teller and the next topic we were about to discuss was folklore. He engaged the class in a story of how Henry Ford single handedly ruined his land by dumping more than 42,000 gallons of paint into the soil, causing many of his people to die early due to cancer and many other health difficulties. Chuck himself was even diagnosed with cancer. 

Dr. Chuck Stead told his story in a very unique way. He used an animal hide with several totems (pictures) creating a trail to the saltbox. On the hide you will find a fox, salamander, turtle, the Ford symbol, Barrel with paint sludge, Movie Reel, wounded deer, the saltbox, and sweet grass. These totems made a great outline and an inspiration to me for a future presentation. I also learned a few things along the way, Stead insisted that Henry Ford was awarded with the Eagle Cross from Adolf Hitler, and that Hitler considered Ford to be the only true American because he too had a vendetta against those of Jewish culture. I will have to look more into that on a different date.

In the end, Ford's ancestors cleaned up almost all of the paint that has been lingering in the land surrounding the saltbox, and Stead has been able to plant his own medical garden, as well as teach classes on the property. He ended his presentation with this quote, it is from the dark that the light emerged.


Thank you Dr. Chuck Stead for joining us and Congratulations on obtaining your PhD!





With that being said, what is folklore? Did you know there are 7 different sub genres? 

Folklore is a style of stories or legends coming from family traditions usually with some kind of a moral. These legends and stories have timeless themes therefore, the stories are passed down from generation to generation. In a way, they help us cope with the world we live in today because they mirror human nature.

1.  Myths: The story of (Roman) Neptune, Poseidon (Greek)
2. Epics: The Odyssey (only a section)
3. Legends: Baltic Wizards
4. Tall Tales: Babe the Blue Ox
5. Fables: A Christmas Carol
6. Folktales: Thumbelina
7. Literary Fairytales: The Snow Queen