Smith, Elmer Lewis

Elmer L. Smith was born in 1920 in Newark, NJ. After earning a B.S. at Florida Southern College, an M.A. at Western Reserve University, and a Ph.D. at Syracuse University, he taught government, economics, and sociology in several PA colleges and universities. In 1958 Smith came to James Madison University (then Madison College) as Director of the Social Sciences Division. Until his death, in 1981, he conducted research and interviews to document the folk culture of the Shenandoah Valley, and published a wide variety of books and papers. Most of his papers and publications are available at the Blue Ridge Institute of Ferrum College in Ferrum, VA.

Elmer L. Smith was born in 1920 in Newark, NJ. He earned a B.S. from Florida Southern College in 1946, an M.A. from Western Reserve University in 1948, and a Ph.D. from Syracuse University in 1956. From 1948-1958 he served as chairman of the Department of Sociology at Albright College in Reading, Pennsylvania and in 1958, he became James Madison University's Director of the Social Sciences Division. Smith was one of the founders of the Shenandoah Valley Folklore Society. He conducted research and interviews to document the folk culture of the Shenandoah Valley until his death in 1981. Smith also published a wide variety of books and papers, many of which are available at the Blue Ridge Institute in Ferrum, Virgina.