In consideration of the #librariesofinstagram‘s themed #westernwednesdays, the Southern Folklife Collection pulled some of our favorite cowboy images from the John Edwards Memorial Foundation Records (20001), including this picture postcard featuring Big Slim the Lone Cowboy, aka Harry C. McCauliffe, call number PF20001_208. Likely born near Bluefield, WV around 1899, McCauliffe had a career as a cowboy and railroad man before appearing on the radio in Pittsburgh in 1929. He recorded for Decca as “Big Slim Aliff,” notably making the first recording of country standard “Footprints in the Snow.”
In 1937, McCauliffe joined WWVA and remained there for most of the remainder of his career. Along with the fine portrait of McCauliffe, the postcard is also an endorsement for Coco Wheats, a the first flavored-hot cereal introduced by Indiana company Little Crow Foods in 1930. So thanks to everybody for your continued support of Big Slim and Coco Wheats.
Stay tuned for more Western Wednesday posts throughout this month and be sure to follow UNC Library on Instagram to experience materials across our collections.
Tag: Big Slim
Big Slim loves you (we do too)
If you sing along, Big Slim the Lone Cowboy won’t be so lonely. The Southern Folklife Collection happily welcomes you to learn the “Secret’s“ of our heart. Another classic from the Southern Folklife Collection Song Folios, 1882-1893 (#30006), FL-247. See the remaining contents below. Special thanks to a new Southern Folklife Collection friend in Australia for leading us to this great collection of songs through a research request from almost 10,000 miles away.
