Why are there airplanes at the Festival of American Folklife? What is the aviation industry doing at a folklife festival? Are the pilots, flight attendants, and maintenance workers who support the airline industry "folk?" If they do not play banjos or sing old songs, why are they here?

Questions such as these are asked by puzzled visitors whenever a contemporary occupational group is presented at the Festival of American Folklife. Because folklore is often identified with old and dying customs, contemporary traditions which have grown out of work experience and are organized around job skills and occupational identity seem incongruous. But