Margaret MacArthur: Folk Music Legend

College student Nora Rodes narrates this episode on folk legend Margaret MacArthur, whose love of music led her to preserve and document many old songs. She created a home in Marlboro Vermont, very close to Brattleboro, where she set down deep roots for her family and an extended folk family. Through Nora's storytelling and adroit use of multiple musical selections, we learn about Margaret's peripatetic journey growing up, her college years in Chicago where she met her husband, and the young couple's move to Marlboro to start a family. Margaret discovers local music and begins gathering songs and oral histories with the help of Edith Sturgis’ 1919 book 'Songs from the Hills of Vermont' and Helen Hartness Flanders’ 1937 book 'Country Songs of Vermont.' She forms important relations with the authors and other Brattleboro-area folk musicians and scholars Tony Barrand and John Roberts (who wrote the book 'On the Banks of Coldbrook') and James Atwood, among many others. Margaret collected stories, songs and made numerous field recordings as well as writing her own pieces. We learn about her instruments and marketing of the 'MacArthur Harp' during the American Folk Revival. Her relations with Smithsonian Folkways Records' Moses Asch and her first album with them in 1962 are also covered. The historically significant song "Marlboro Merchants" and its relation to the MacArthur Collection at the Vermont Folklife Center in Middlebury, Vermont are included. She recorded nine albums, appeared at folk programs and festivals with her children performing original songs as well as traditional ballads and other songs of the lives and ways of Vermonters of the past. As a visiting artist at elementary schools, she spread the joy of song-making with many children and helped keep stories alive. Margaret's many accolades are mentioned, including her June 2005 concert at the Library of Congress and songs performed there. The piece concludes with how Margaret's home was a welcoming hub for folk folks who often gathered there in her warm embrace.

Episode Notes
This episode was written, narrated and produced by Nora Rodes. Editing was by Dave Snyder, Daniel Murphy and Alec Pombriant. Mastering was by Guilford Sound. Musical selections were chosen by Rodes and are listed below. Photo credit is Megan Littlehales. A historic marker for Margaret is at the Marlboro Historical Society.
Haughton House – Make the Wildwood Ring CD (Front Hall Records, 1981) (0.59)
(Front Hall, NY label, founded 1973, published 21 CDs, including a # for Tony Barrand/John Roberts/Nowell Sing We Clear) Instrumental
Frog Went A Courtin’ – Odis Bird (Max Hunter Collection) (1.04 0r .30)The Max Hunter Folk Song Collection – Missouri State University
Magnolia Tree – Fred Atwood (MM Collection, VFC)
Barbara Allen – Make the Wildwood Ring, Margaret MacArthur, Megan Littlehales, Dan & Gary MacArthur
The Half Hitch – On the Banks of Coldbrook CD (Tony Barrand and Keith Murphy)
Braes of Yarrow – Ballads Thrice Twisted CD (©1999 MM) Margaret MacArthur
King John and the Bishop – Ballads Thrice Twisted, Margaret MacArthur
Little Red Hen – Winifred Landman, Margaret MacArthur Collection, Vermont Folklife Center
Single Again – May Nichols, Margaret MacArthur Collection, Vermont Folklife Center
The Tailor and the Mouse – Barbara Linden, Margaret MacArthur Collection, Vermont Folklife Center
Marlboro Merchants – Vermont Ballads and Broadsides CD (Whetstone Records) (©1989 Margaret MacArthur)
Stratton Mountain Tragedy – On the Mountains High CD (Living Folk Records, 1971) (appears another essentially self/close-connection “label”) (©2001 Margaret MacArthur)
Central Vermont Railway Tragedy –On the Mountains High CD Margaret and family
Mary Shaminski I love you – Make the Wildwood Ring, Margaret MacArthur
Farmers Alphabet – Vermont Heritage Songs (©1994, 2006 Margaret MacArthur) Margaret MacArthur
Maple Sweet – Vermont Heritage Songs, Margaret and Megan Littlehales, Dan MacArthur
Newbury’s Bendell Bridge – Vermont Heritage Songs, Margaret and school children
Hills of Dover – The Old Songs CD (Philo, 1975) (Philo bought out by Rounder 1982) Margaret MacArthur
Ranadine – On the Mountains High CD Margaret MacArthur and family
Peri Meri Dixi and Domini – On the Mountains High, Margaret MacArthur and family
PRIMARY LINKS
The Margaret MacArthur Collection at the Vermont Folklife Center, Middlebury, Vermont
https://vtfolklifearchive.org/collections/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=37&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=MacArthur%2C+Margaret%0D%0A
Margaret MacArthur’s Performance at the Library of Congress – June 6, 2005
Film recording of Margaret MacArthur performing ballads and songs from Vermont.
Part of the Homegrown 2005 Concert Series sponsored by the American Folklife Center.
https://www.loc.gov/item/2021687781/
Our theme music is by Ty Gibbons. Thanks to the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Vermont Arts Council and the hundreds of volunteers and community members who support this work.