In the land of beer, cheese, and muskies—where the polka is danced and winter is unending and where Lutherans and Catholics predominate—everybody is ethnic, the politics are clean, and the humor is plentiful. This collection includes jokes, humorous anecdotes, and tall tales from ethnic groups (Woodland Indians, French, Cornish, Germans, Irish, Scandinavians, Finns, and Poles) and working folk (loggers, miners, farmers, townsfolk, hunters, and fishers). Dig into the rich cultural context supplied by the notes and photographs, or just laugh at the hundreds of jokes gathered at small-town cafes, farm tables, job sites, and church suppers. This second edition includes an afterword and indexes of motifs and tale types.
| Acknowledgments | ix | |
| Introduction | xi | |
| Yah, Hey! | 3 | |
| The Indians | 19 | |
| The French | 37 | |
| The Cornish | 43 | |
| The Germans | 49 | |
| The Irish | 57 | |
| The Scandinavians | 63 | |
| The Finns | 83 | |
| The Poles | 101 | |
| Other Ethnics | 107 | |
| The Loggers | 111 | |
| The Miners | 133 | |
| The Farmers | 145 | |
| The Townsfolk | 161 | |
| Hunters and Fishers | 183 | |
| Some of the Joke Tellers | 195 | |
| Collection Notes | 203 | |
| Bibliography | 233 | |
| Index of Tellers | 239 | |
| Index of Places Where Material Was Collected | 241 | |
| Index of Motifs | 243 | |
| Index of Tale Types | 246 | |
| Afterword | 247 |
Overview
In the land of beer, cheese, and muskies—where the polka is danced and winter is unending and where Lutherans and Catholics predominate—everybody is ethnic, the politics are clean, and the humor is plentiful. This collection includes jokes, humorous anecdotes, and tall tales from ethnic groups (Woodland Indians, French, Cornish, Germans, Irish, Scandinavians, Finns, and Poles) and working folk (loggers, miners, farmers, townsfolk, hunters, and fishers). Dig into the rich cultural context supplied by the notes and...