The legacy left by Ivan Walton (1893-1968), who taught literature and folklore at The University of Michigan, is beyond measure. For more than thirty years he researched and collected the songs of Great Lake sailors and documented their way of life and that of their families. He was honored posthumously with a Michigan Heritage Award for his immeasurable contribution to our understanding of maritime folklore, especially that of the era of the schooner.
His field collections (audiotapes and transcripts, interviews, photos, correspondence, field notes and logs, papers of the Michigan Folklore Society) are preserved in the archives of the Bentley Historical Library, The University of Michigan. Partial copies are also available at the Library of Congress Archive of Folk Culture and the archives of Michigan State University Museum. The collection at the MSU Museum measures 16 linear feet, of which the audiotapes are central. Included in the collection are examples of folksongs, original reel-to-reel cassettes, documentary materials, transcripts, photographs and commentary, and note cards.
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