-----Original Message-----
From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On
Behalf Of Eugene Dillenburg
...
If the story is widely known, such as Washington chopping down the cherry
tree, it might be called an "urban legend" -- though that phrase is usually
reserved for stories of modern origin. ...

Otherwise, "folk history," ... implies something more widely told and
believed, rather than the invention of an individual.

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**** Who amongst you Curators has the ORIGINAL ax (axe) in your museum that
George Washington used to cut down this cherry tree? I have heard that the
handle has only been replaced three times and the head has only been
replaced once, but that it IS the ORIGINAL ax (axe). Of course, we have a
real problem here if several museums have the "original" ax (axe).

Now would that be an "urban legend" compounding variation of a "folk
history" tale?
;-)

Colin Macgregor Stevens
Curator
Burnaby Village Museum
City of Burnaby, British Columbia, CANADA

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