Warm Winters and White Rabbits: Folklore m of Welsh and English Coal Miners BY MARIANNE FRASER Trip of coal from mine to tipple at Sunnyside, Utah, ca. 1915. Two of the men are Jim Westfield and Bill Memmot. Courtesy of Jack Thorpe.
documented folk beliefs as crucial components of culture. For the early Utah Welsh and English coal camp immigrants, the oral transmission of beliefs assisted both in the continuation of customs from one country to another and in the explanation of unpredictable, dangerous occurences in a new nation. Even though the immigrants were assimilated into the larger cultural unit of the coal camp, they maintained, to varying degrees, distinctive folk beliefs. T h e folk beliefs of any g r o u p reflect a particular history and style of life. Accordingly, it is not surprising that some Welsh and English beliefs contain characteristics of both agricultural traditions and industrial lore. Far from being unique, many of these beliefs
O I N C E ANCIENT TIMES AUTHORS HAVE
Ms. Fraser is a writer in Salt Lake City.
