Finding aid for the Harry Lee Ridenour Songs of Rural Ohio Collection

Biography of Biography of Harry Lee Ridenour

Harry Lee Ridenour was born on March 8, 1884 in Linnville, Ohio to a mother of Irish descent and father of German descent. While he was still an infant, his family moved to Glenford, Ohio, where he spent most of his childhood. His father was an itinerant music teacher in country schools around the area. Ridenour’s father instilled in him an early interest in music that he pursued throughout his life, beginning with his studies at Ohio University starting in 1908. During his time at OU, Ridenour cultivated his interests in literature and music in the many clubs and organizations with which he was involved. As a musician he was a trombonist and bass voice. He completed his Bachelor of Arts in Music in 1912. Eventually, he returned to OU to complete a degree in education in 1916. From 1912-1913, Ridenour attended Harvard for a master’s degree in medieval English drama, studying with George Lyman Kittredge, a scholar of Shakespeare and an American folklorist. Lyman was the first to foster Ridenour’s scholarly interest in folk ballads, or orally transmitted songs that tell a poetic narrative, which merged Ridenour’s interests in both music and English literature. Of special interest to Ridenour was the work of Lyman’s former mentor Francis James Child, who compiled an extensive collection of English and Scottish ballads now known as the Child Ballads. In 1912, during his time at Harvard, Ridenour married Louise Claspill Rinehart, a violin student at the New England Conservatory. Louise encouraged Ridenour’s interest in folk songs and would later be an important collaborator during his collecting ventures. After graduating from Harvard, Ridenour taught for two years at the University of Wisconsin (1914-16), followed by two years at Pennsylvania State University (1916-18). From 1918-1919 he worked as secretary in charge of the Camp Upton YMCA on Long Island as service for World War I. He continued his education sporadically throughout his life, doing additional studies at the University of Wisconsin, Ohio State University, the University of Chicago, and Western Reserve University, but never completed a PhD. In 1919 he moved to Berea, Ohio to accept the position of head of the English department at Baldwin-Wallace College. He remained in Berea for the rest of his life, although he travelled often. At BW he taught freshman English and courses on contemporary writers, world literature, journalistic English, Shakespeare, Anglo-Saxon literature and Chaucer, and later, a class on folk ballads. He was notorious for his sense of humor and his tendency to break out into song in the middle of a lecture. He promoted his multi-faceted interests in the various programs and organizations that he led, including the BW Glee Club, BW Writers’ Club, Berea Methodist Church Choir (director), and numerous radio programs on his academic interests. It was during his time at BW that he began actively collecting Ohio folk songs; he began doctoral studies at Western Reserve University with Professor James Holly Hanford, who encouraged Ridenour to collect these songs and formulate a thesis. Ridenour began by asking church congregants, relatives, colleagues, and students if they or anyone they knew could contribute any folk songs. Eventually, he also solicited contributions via radio broadcasts and appeals for help posted in public spaces. He would receive leads via letters or word of mouth to people who may be able to contribute, which he would follow to areas across the state accompanied by Louise. Together, they transcribed the lyrics, and whenever possible, the melodies from these contributors’ songs to the best of their ability. In the 1930’s, Ridenour began giving “ballad talks,” in which he sang and lectured on his collection of folk songs before organizations such as churches, public schools, colleges and universities, libraries, poetry societies, folklore societies, women’s clubs, Kiwanis clubs, alumni associations, parent teacher associations, and golden age clubs. Early on, Louise accompanied him on violin. These ballad talks eventually took him as far as Washington D.C., South Dakota, North Dakota, Michigan, Virginia, South Carolina, Wisconsin, and Illinois. In 1936 one of such talks was broadcasted nationwide over NBC radio. Louise died in May 1939. Ridenour continued collecting songs and working on his thesis after her death, but at a slower pace. However, the songs that he collected after 1939 did not make it into the published volumes of his Songs of Rural Ohio. In 1949 Ridenour retired as head of the English Department at BW to work on organizing his collection for publication. In 1952 he officially retired as a professor at BW, but he was subsequently called back as professor emeritus to teach classes almost every year until his death. During his “retirement,” he kept himself busy teaching classes and giving ballad talks, with as many as 60 talks in a year. Ridenour died on October 21, 1966 having never published his collection. At the request of his son Robert, Ridenour’s collection was transferred to W. Alwyn Ashburn, Ridenour’s friend and English Department colleague, for compilation and publication. The Harry Lee Ridenour Songs of Rural Ohio collection was completed in 1971 and published at Baldwin-Wallace College in 1976. After its publication, all the original documents associated with the collection were transferred to the Mayer Rare Book Room in Ritter Library at BW, where they remain today. Some of Ridenour’s distinctions include the Association’s Certificate of Merit in the field of musical research in 1943 from OU, the Nineteen Fifty-Eight Merit Award from BW, a citation from the Ohio Valley Folk Research Project, and an honorary lifetime membership of the Cleveland Poetry Society. His leadership roles included vice president and president of the Cleveland Folklore Society, President of the Ohio Folklore Society, Chairman of Research in Traditional Music in the Ohio Federation of Music Clubs, and Central Eastern Regional Folk Music Archivist of the National Federation of Music Clubs. In 1954 the Harry Lee Ridenour Collection of Folklore and Antiquities was established at Baldwin-Wallace in his honor.

Scope and Content

The collection consists of materials relating to Harry Lee Ridenour's life work of collecting Ohio folk songs, which he compiled in the 24 published volumes of Songs of Rural Ohio. Materials include the 24 published and bound volumes, publishing manuscripts, Ridenour's personal library of folk song related books, and 12 Bankers' Boxes of documents accumulated by Ridenour in seeking Ohio folk songs. The materials in the boxes include transcribed folk songs (both published and unpublished); correspondence with folk song contributors, other folklorists, publishers, and other correspondents related to his work; bibliographical and other miscellaneous notes; newspaper clippings; manuscripts of ballad talks given by Ridenour; programs from folk song festivals attended by Ridenour; tape reels of Ridenour's ballad lectures and other miscellaneous speeches; and notebooks containing Ridenour's original field notes and folk songs he transcribed during his searches.

Statement of Arrangement

Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.

Subjects:

Preferred Citation

APA: Item Description. Harry Lee Ridenour Folk Song Collection, The Paul and Josephine Mayer Rare Books Room (Series Number, Box Number), Baldwin Wallace University, Berea, OH. Chicago: Item Description, Date on Item, Series Number, Box Number, Harry Lee Ridenour Folk Song Collection, The Paul and Josephine Mayer Rare Books Room, Baldwin Wallace University. MLA: Item Description. Date on Item. Harry Lee Ridenour Folk Song Collection. The Paul and Josephine Mayer Rare Books Room, Baldwin Wallace University, Berea, OH.

Detailed Description of The Collection