Among the published curiosities of our fair city of Vincennes is to be found a celebration of a favorite activity of the old French settlers here. Folk Songs of Old Vincennes (1946) contains lyrics (both English and French) and music scores to songs that were important to the French. The author credits for this book, which can be found in Vincennes libraries, feature Anna C. O'Flynn and Joseph Medard Carriere (who collected the French texts), Frederic Burget and Libushka Bartusek (who created English versions), Joseph Medard Carriere (who wrote the Introduction and Notes), and Cecelia Ray Berry (who collected and harmonized the melodies). The songs collected in this work are significant when one considers the distance they traveled and their folk importance to the individuals who sang and appreciated them, as Burget's preface notes:
It is certain that folk songs have the faculty, which monuments have not, of entering to the firesides of famlies, of following the missionary in his journeys, of accompanying the pioneer in the forest, and of recalling events that took place thousands of miles away and perhaps hundreds of years ago.
In his Introduction, Carriere explains how the collection came about:
Inasmuch as the oral traditions of Vincennes had never been studied before, it was a happy inspiration that prompted Cecelia Ray Berry and Anna C. O'Flynn to collect the folk-songs of old Vincennes. During her many years as principal of the old "Frenchtown" grade school, Miss O'Flynn visited the homes of many children of French extraction. She took a keen interest in the French songs which she heard sung so frequently, and began collecting the texts. Later she called in Mrs. Berry to take down the melodies. They had little difficulty in persuading the elders to sing the songs over and over again. Among those whom they had the good fortune of hearing was the earnest and gifted folk-singer, Josephine Theriac-Caney. I had the pleasure of spending several afternoons and an evening with Mrs. Caney during the summer of 1934. Although seventh-six years of age at that time, she was still sprightly and vivacious. A descendant of one of the oldest families of Vincennes, she was fond of dwelling on the lore of her native town. She spoke the local variety of French with the greatest fluency, an unusual accomplishment for a person who seldom had the opportunity to use the language any longer. As I listened to her lively and witty conversation, her accent, pronunciation and vocabulary took me back to the Canadian villages of the Montreal and the Quebec regions. She graciously agreed to sing for me. The repertory which she had acquired in her 'teens was both extensive and varied. It included love and work songs, carols, lullabies, play-party songs, complaintes, pastourelles, religious ditties and humorous verse. All of these types are represented in the Folk Songs of Old Vincennes.