Tom Wisner papers
odd: label: Shared Stewardship of Collections
content: The Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage acknowledges and respects the right of artists, performers, Folklife Festival participants, community-based scholars, and knowledge-keepers to collaboratively steward representations of themselves and their intangible cultural heritage in media produced, curated, and distributed by the Center. Making this collection accessible to the public is an ongoing process grounded in the Center's commitment to connecting living people and cultures to the materials this collection represents. To view the Center's full shared stewardship policy, which defines our protocols for addressing collections-related inquiries and concerns, please visit https://doi.org/10.25573/data.21771155.
name: label: Creator
content: Wisner, Tom, 1930-2010
label: Names
content: Wisner, Tom, 1930-2010
place: label: Place
content: Chesapeake Bay Region (Md. and Va.) -- Environmental conditions
label: Place
content: Chesapeake Bay Region (Md. and Va.) -- Social life and customs
label: Place
content: Chesapeake Bay Region (Md. and Va.) -- history
topic: label: Topic
content: Environmental education -- United States
label: Topic
content: Folk music -- United States
label: Topic
content: Environmentalists -- United States
label: Topic
content: Folk musicians
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: Gift from the Estate of Tom Wisner, 2010.

The Smithsonian Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections acquired the "Tom Wisner Collection" in 2010 as a donation from Tom Wisner upon his death in 2010. The donation included materials produced by Tom Wisner, both professionally and solely documentary recordings as well as materials of interest to him that were found in his possession. The Archives is a collection of papers, audio and visual recordings that includes items relating to Wisner's songs, non-fiction, fiction, miscellaneous projects, correspondence and business, projects related to Chestory and the Chesapeake Watershed, live performances, interviews with associate performing artists, Wisner's art exhibition, documentation of the natural animal and botanical life of the Chesapeake Watershed and radio broadcasts.
creator: label: Creator
content: Wisner, Tom, 1930-2010
setName: label: See more items in
content: Tom Wisner papers
abstract: label: Summary
content: This collection, which dates from 1968-2008, documents the professional activities of environmental activist and folk singer Tom Wisner. The collection includes original writings, correspondence, audio recordings, video recordings, interviews, and material relating to the production of Wisner's music and his musical performances.
label: Summary
content: A Collection of papers and recordings: original writings, correspondence, music production, projects and performances related to environmental advocacy and education of the Chesapeake Watershed; audio and visual recordings of Tom Wisner's professional music production, performances by Wisner and friends, interviews and documentation of the life and culture of the Chesapeake Watershed from 1968-2008.
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: Tom Wisner (1930-2010) was an environmentalist, folk singer and educator popularly known as the "Bard of the Chesapeake" from his life-long work in documenting and preserving the culture and botanical life of the Chesapeake Bay watershed. An Air Force veteran, Wisner earned his bachelor's degree in biology from Hartwick College in New York with the help of the G.I. Bill. After working as a naturalist in Sequoia National Park in California, Wisner taught high school science in southern Maryland during the mid-1960s before taking a job as an educator at the University of Maryland's Chesapeake Biological Laboratory in Solomons. It was here that Wisner began to integrate art and music into his educational programs. He would go on to record several albums, all of which focused on his love for and knowledge of the Chesapeake Bay. Wisner also recorded the oral history of southern Maryland, including interviews with fishermen and traditional music of the region. In 2000, he helped found the Center for the Chesapeake Story, or Chestory, in Solomons, which is dedicated to preserving the history of the region and the bay through the arts. Wisner was recognized with numerous awards for his work on behalf of the Chesapeake region, including the World Folk Music Association's John Denver Award in 2002, the Outstanding Marine Educator of the Year Award in 1989, and the Parent's Choice Award in 1984 for his album We've Got to Come Full Circle. In 1986, National Geographic aired a television special entitled Chesapeake Born, which featured Wisner's music. Tom Wisner died of cancer on April 2, 2010.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 887 Videocassettes (MiniDV)
label: Extent
content: 51 Sound tape reels (5 inch.)
label: Extent
content: 2 Sound tape reels (7 inch.)
label: Extent
content: 114 Videocassettes (VHS)
label: Extent
content: 1 Video recording (1 large video reel)
label: Extent
content: Parts of several boxes of paper records
label: Extent
content: 67 Electronic discs (CD)
label: Extent
content: 624 Sound cassettes
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1968-2008
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections
identifier: label: Identifier
content: CFCH.WISN
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Videocassettes (minidv)
label: Type
content: Sound tape reels
label: Type
content: Videocassettes (vhs)
label: Type
content: Video recordings
label: Type
content: Electronic discs (cd)
label: Type
content: Sound cassettes
label: Type
content: Videotapes
label: Type
content: Audiotapes
label: Type
content: Compact discs
label: Type
content: Personal papers
label: Type
content: Correspondence
label: Type
content: Audiocassettes
label: Type
content: Notes
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: Organized in six series: (1) Documents; (2) Cassette tape recordings; (3) Visual recordings; (4) Audio recordings on compact disc; (5) Radio broadcasts on compact disc; (6) Audio recordings on reels.
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: Prepared by Sarah Sokolow,  May 2010
bibliography: label: Related Publications
content: Wisner, Tom and Whitaker, Teresa and Raskin, Jim. (1974) Walk on the Water: Experience of Brackish Rivers with Children. Solomons, MD. University of Maryland, Natural Resources Institute, Chesapeake Biological Laboratory (Chesapeake Biological Laboratory Educational Series, 103)
label: Related listening
content: The following is a list of commericial recordings by Tom Wisner and associates in chronological order.

Wisner, Tom; Wisner, Mark. Chesapeake Born Folkways Records FW 32410, 1978

Guthrie, Woody; Laing, David; Laing, Robin; Seeger, Pete; Whitaker, Teresa; Wisner, Tom. Equilibrium:Songs of Nature and Humanity Folkways Records FW37305, 1980

Wisner, Tom; Whitaker, Teresa. We've Got To Come Full Circle: Chesapeake Songs and Story for Young Hearts Folkways Records FW 07455, 1984	

Cronin, John; Petteway, Al; Schwartz, Frank; Whitaker, Teresa; Wisner, Tom. Made of Water:Songs of Chesapeake Riverlands Lion and Fox Recordings with Chestory C-001, 2001

Wisner, Tom; Wood, Diane and children Tom Wisner's Sunshine over Chesapeake, Grandparents Day at Calverton Chestory (self made record) 2003

Wisner, Tom and friends. Follow on the Water Lion and Fox Recordings with Chestory, 2010
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Videotapes
label: Genre/Form
content: Audiotapes
label: Genre/Form
content: Compact discs
label: Genre/Form
content: Personal papers
label: Genre/Form
content: Correspondence
label: Genre/Form
content: Audiocassettes
label: Genre/Form
content: Notes
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The collection is divided into 6 series by format type and use of format: Documents, Cassette tape Recordings, Visual Recordings, Audio Recordings on CD, Radio Broadcasts on CD, Audio Recordings on Reels. Within these series are various documents and recording formats both audio and visual that include materials related to Tom Wisner's professional music production, Wisner's personal commercial music collection, documentation of the culture and natural life endemic  to the Chesapeake Watershed, recordings of Chesapeake Watermen, environmental programs and performances, Tom Wisner's artwork exhibition, recordings of artists he performed with as well as Tom Wisner's radio broadcasts on WRYR 97.5 F.M. These materials are in the form of both typescript and handwritten papers, casette tapes, VHS, compact discs, Mini DVC cams, 3 to 7 inch reels. 

For specific information about the materials in each series, please refer to the series description.
separatedmaterial: label: Separated Materials
content: Items given to the Calvert Marine Museum:

133 Daniels Family (Capn Art Daniels and his wife Del and his father Art D. Sr) 3/13/1972 (cassette tape)

507 Watts Story and Dram Tree-O with sinking Morpy, roll 4-5  4/8/1983 (cassette tape)

520 J.R. Morphy-Dramtreeo 6/20/1984 (cassette tape)

589 Singing at Lore Oyster House 9/24/1984 preparation tapes and out takes Group, (cassete tape)

021 interviews for the documentary, The Restoration of the Little Jennie nd (vhs)

054 Soft Shell Crab Industry: Handy with background by the Wiz 1986 (vhs)

085 Skipjack Docking story, Dredgin, Left Side of Nowhere,Sus Down, nd (vhs)

095 Outdoors Maryland #1602, Includes: "Majestic Adaptation", "Secret Live of the Gunpowder", "Chesapeake Bard" 2/10/2004  (vhs)

111 H371 Gene Logan-oysters, Paul Simons, Watt with two good stories at Morans, spring 1987 (vhs)

27 "Bay Folk Series, Part Two of Pepper Langley 1980" Chestory Archival Recordings 1972 (CD)