James Frank Dobie - (1888-1964)
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I. Biography
James Frank Dobie was born into a ranching family on September 26, 1888. Dobie grew up learning to appreciate the value of money knowing that each day he and his father would have to wake up early the next day to support them. Dobie, after his childhood ranching days, took an unexpected turn and relocated in a nearby town by the name of Alice. Eventually Dobie graduated from Georgetown University and went to Columbia for his master's degree. After his education, Dobie became a professor at University of Texas at Austin. During this time, local Austin newspapers and periodicals published his work. Dobie helped reestablish Texan pride in native folklore.
In his writings, Dobie exemplifies the triumph of the
human spirit and the individual freedom each of us possesses but may not express. Dobie's second book, Coronado's Children, won the National Literary Guild Award in 1931 even though Dobie, in
past years, had been dismissed as a mere folklorist and regional writer. Later, President Lyndon Johnson awarded Dobie America's highest civilian award, the Medal of Freedom, in recognition of his
outstanding, inspirational writings. Dobie's writings of ranch life, lost gold mines, cattle drives, and myths of the plains explore not only Texas ways and customs, but also the dignity of mankind.
II. Literary Works
Apache Gold and Yaqui Silver
The Ben Lilly Legend
Coronado's Children
Cow People
Guide to Life and Literature of the Southwest
I'll Tell You a Tale: An Anthology
Legends of Texas, Vol. I: Lost Mines & Buried Treasures
Legends of Texas, Vol. II: Pirates' Gold and Other Tales
The Longhorns
The Mustangs
Rattlesnakes
Tales of Old-Time Texas
A Vaquero Of The Brush Country
III. Works Cited
http://www.virtualtexan.com/history/fame/trail1.htmThis essay was submitted by a student of Sheryl Row, a teacher at Jesuit College Preparatory School of Dallas, Texas.