111789

Page 339

203 o f t h e c o a l tow ns i n W ale s, farm h o u s e s o f Denmark, o r t h e c i t y slum s o f Birmingham. Each b r o u g h t t o h i s new home a u n iq u e b ack g ro u n d w i t h t h e demands, p r e f e r e n c e s , h a b i t s , e t c . , w hich i n e v i t a b l y fou nd a l i m i t e d b u t c h a r a c t e r i s t i c e x p r e s s i o n i n i t s s i z e , form , a r e a and fu rn ish in g s. A c t u a l l y , t h e r e i s n o t h i n g i n t h e way o f f o l k house form t o s u p p o r t t h e n o t i o n o f a s t r o n g n i n e t e e n t h - c e n t u r y E u ro p ean i n f l u e n c e — o r o f a hodgepodge o f w id e ly d i v e r s e h o u s e -fo rm e le m e n ts t r a c e a b l e d i r e c t l y t o w id e ly s c a t t e r e d p a r t s o f t h e w o r ld . A few n i n e t e e n t h - c e n t u r y E u ro p ea n m o t i f s were b u i l t on some l a r g e u rb a n m ansio ns a t an e a r l y t i m e , e s p e c i a l l y i n S a l t Lake C i t y ( C a r t e r , 1941, 40), b u t t h e s e a r e most c e r ­ t a i n l y not fo lk houses. To r e p e a t , t h e r o u g h ly e q u a l f r e q u e n c i e s i n a l l p a r t s o f t h e Mormon c u l t u r e r e g i o n o f a l l f o l k h ouse t y p e s i d e n t i ­ f i e d h e r e d e m o n s tr a te a w i l l i n g n e s s and a b i l i t y on t h e p a r t o f t h e Mormons t o a s s i m i l a t e i n t o a n a c c e p t e d mold, r e g a r d ­ le s s of t h e i r d iv e rse c u ltu r a l o r ig in s . fo ste re d th is c u ltu r a l a s s im ila tio n . S everal f a c to rs One i s t h e s o - c a l l e d r e d u c t i o n p r o c e s s which o c c u r r e d d u r i n g t h e i n i t i a l p h a s e s o f F a r West s e t t l e m e n t — a tim e when a l l p i o n e e r s , r e g a r d l e s s o f t h e i r o r i g i n s , had t o r e d u c e t h e i r h o u s in g t o a minimum below t h a t t o which t h e y had b e e n a c c u s to m e d . These p i o n e e r s ( e s p e c i a l l y t h o s e from E urop e) had n e v e r s e e n a l o g o r adobe c a b i n o r c o t t a g e an d t h e y l e a r n e d from e x p e r i e n c e d Am erican Mormons how t o b u i l d c a b i n s . The t e c h n i q u e s o f b u i l d i n g a " s t a n d a r d " c a b i n or c o t t a g e became r a p i d l y d i f f u s e d th r o u g h o u t th e c u ltu re a re a . L ik e w is e , t h e p e rm a n en t house t y p e s became Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.