Katie FrancisFollow

Date Collected

Fall 11-23-2017

Place item was collected

Logan, Utah

Informant

Myself

Point of Discovery/Informant Bio

My full name is Katherine Fay Francis, although I usually just go by ‘Katie.’ I am twenty-three years old and am in my fourth and final year in the BFA Acting program at Utah State University where I am also completing a minor in English. I was born in Logan, Utah and have lived here my entire life apart from 18 months from August 2013 to January 2015 during which I served an LDS mission in the Dominican Republic. I am still an active member of the LDS church. My immediate and most of my extended family are also active Mormons. My mother and father are both middle-school level music educators and have been happily married for 28 years. I have one older brother, Michael, who is married to Sherese Nielsen, one younger brother, Daniel, and one younger sister, Claire. My favorite hobbies are playing the piano and violin, and watching documentaries and movies about hauntings.

Context

This is a custom my mother has instilled in me since before I can remember. However, I am reminded of this special custom now because today is Thanksgiving and we have been eating lots of delicious pies. This experience happened today on Thanksgiving evening. We had eaten our Thanksgiving feast earlier in the day and had spent the rest of the afternoon playing games as a family. We ended the day by coming back to the kitchen to bring out pies and watch a movie. The following exchange happened between me and my mother, Melody Whitelock Francis (49) at our kitchen table as our five other family members - my mom’s husband (my father) Will Francis (51), my older brother Michael (26), his wife Sherese (26), my little brother Daniel (18), and my little sister Claire (13) - were all present at the table eating pie and watching a movie together on the screen we have set up in my mom and dad’s kitchen.

Text

Please See Text Attached as PDF.

Texture

I record this experience with great feelings of tenderness and affection for my sweet mom. I love this tradition in our family and am surprised that more people don’t do it. I can remember often asking my mom in the past why she believes in this pie wish, and she always kindly brushes off my question by saying that she just doesn’t know and that she has done this for as long as she can remember. The environment of the situation at the time of this particular experience was very bright, raucous, and cheerful, and yet when my mother told me to take her wish, she did so in a very quiet, unassuming manner with twinkling, smiling eyes.

Course

ENGL 2210: Introduction to Folklore

Instructor

Dr. Lynn S. McNeill

Semester and year

Fall 2017

Theme

G1: Holidays

EAD Number

1.12.2.9

Download

Share

COinS