Blaine Stubblefield

Blaine Stubblefield
Born(1896-01-26)January 26, 1896
Enterprise, Oregon, US
DiedDecember 18, 1960(1960-12-18) (aged 64)
Boise, Idaho, US
Resting placeWeiser, Idaho, US
Alma materUniversity of Idaho
Occupation(s)Writer and editor
Known forOriginated National Oldtime Fiddlers' Contest and Hells Canyon passenger boating

Blaine Stubblefield (January 26, 1896 – December 18, 1960) was the founder of the National Oldtime Fiddlers' Contest held annually in Weiser, Idaho, an archiver of American folk songs, the originator of regular passenger boat tours down the Hells Canyon of the Snake River, a writer,[1] and a magazine editor.

Blaine was born in Enterprise, Oregon.[2] and was the eldest of ten children born to Mickle[3][4][5] and Edith Stubblefield.[6][7][8]

Blaine's father Mickle was the eldest of seven children born to William Kirkham Stubblefield[9] and his fifth wife Josephine Loomis Stubblefield.[10] Mickle's wife, the former Edith Belle Davis, had come to Wallowa County, Oregon with her family from Iowa.

Mickle Stubblefield was a passionate historian who shared his family history with his children and expanded his use of the written word through an avid letter-writing campaign to explain the true burial site of Chief Joseph.

Blaine attended and graduated from the University of Idaho, and obtained an advanced degree in Journalism from the University of Washington.

In the later part of his life, Blaine lived in Weiser; documents on folk music often refer to him as "Blaine Stubblefield of Weiser, Idaho".

  1. ^ Dave Phillips (1954-05-16). "Hells Canyon -- Snake River picks crooked path through some of the wildest country in America". St. Petersburg Times. St. Petersburg, Florida. p. 17. Retrieved 2010-06-11.
  2. ^ Cohen, Norm; Cohen, David (2000). Long Steel Rail: The Railroad in American Folksong. University of Illinois. pp. 564–565. ISBN 9780252068812. Retrieved 2010-06-11.Notice the footnote on page 565, regarding information provided by Blaine's widow Helen Stubblefield Elliott.
  3. ^ The Pacific Reporter. West Publishing Company. 1899.
  4. ^ "Mickle" is usually pronounced as it looks. However, Blaine Stubblefield's brother Seth William ("Bill") Stubblefield provides a phonetic spelling of Mickle's name as "Mickyel".
  5. ^ Obituary of Mickle Stubblefield: Mickle Stubblefield was born May 16, 1874, near Little Rock, Arkansas, and died of a stroke on November 8, 1942 (age 68) in Oakland, California. Mickle's obituary was printed in a newspaper, probably the Enterprise Chieftain (Enterprise, Oregon).
  6. ^ Lathrop, Joan Bernice Crow (2008). The Ben Davis Family of Wallowa County. Wallowa, OR: The Lathrop Family. pp. 19–22. This book states that Edith Stubblefield was born November 29, 1873, and died May 16, 1927. She was born in Des Moines, Iowa and died in Richmond, California.
  7. ^ According to a letter written by Cecile Stubblefield Pearson (one of Blaine's sisters) to Helen Stubblefield (Blaine's wife), Blaine was born in the homestead home of Edith's mother, Elizabeth Davis. This was the landmark squared log, shake roof house built by Benjamin Davis, Edith's father. Cecile's letter was dated March 19, but with no year specified.
  8. ^ According to Cecile Stubblefield Pearson's letter to Helen Stubblefield, the first page of Mickle's Bible states that Mickle and Edith were married on December 4, 1894, on Alder Slope (the area southwest of Enterprise, Oregon) by the Rev. W.P. Sams, Quaker minister. After their marriage, Edith was the organist and Mickle the Sunday School Superintendent of the church. At another time, the family attended the Presbyterian Church in Enterprise located on E. Logan Street and NE 1st Street according to Josephine Stubblefield Gibson (one of Blaine's sisters).
  9. ^ "Obituary of William Kirkham Stubblefield". 1909-03-24. Retrieved 2010-06-11., published in "the Enterprise, Oregon newspaper". The obituary states that William Kirkham Stubblefield was born on October 30, 1825, in Granger County, Tennessee, and died March 22, 1909, of heart disease at the home of his son Ira in Dallas, Oregon.
  10. ^ Dennis Brennen Stubblefield. "William K. Stubblefield Family". Retrieved 2015-07-09. and Mickle's obituary state that Josephine Loomis Stubblefield died in 1888 in Enterprise, Oregon.