Haley, J Evetts
J. Evetts Haley discusses his career as an author and historian and relates stories concerning early West Texas settlers.
General Interview Information
Interviewee Name: J. Evetts Haley
Additional Parties Recorded:
Date: September 12, 1980; October 21, 1981
Location: Lubbock, Texas
Interviewer: David Murrah, Lubbock History Teachers
Length: 1 hour, 45 minutes (total)
Abstract
Tape 1, Side 1: Stenographer,
Recorder used after first soundscriber developed,
Some voices recorded poorly,
Attempted to record interviews with people,
Lost a lot of information due to methods of recording,
Not keep up with conversations,
Taking notes,
Herbie Chesley,
Worked as a stenographer for Haley,
First experience with interviewing,
As a boy in Midland Texas,
Midland Reporter,
Panhandle Plains Historical Society,
Concerned with local history,
Joined when went to school at West Texas State
University,
Professors interested in recording local history
Graduated (1925),
Employed as field secretary for historical society,
Began collecting, but museum not established,
H. G. Bedford (frontiersman),
Early settler wrote book of Indian experience,
Copy of book for Museum,
Cattle drive,
Anecdote of picking up sandstone metates,
Worked for Historical Society,
Given title "collector in research",
Went to school for M. A. at University of Texas (1925),
Hired at University of Texas (1929),
Collecting manuscript materials,
Interviewed Charles Goodnight (1926-1929),
Difficult to approach,
Techniques to help in interviewing,
Colonel Goodnight (again),
Patterns of interviewing,
Andy Adams,
Don’t get too formalized,
W. H. Walcott Midland Texas (1925),
Pursue your subject.
Tape 1, Side 2: At University of Texas,
Met photographer Erwin Smith,
Large collection of photographs,
No funds to catalogue,
Haley moved to Arizona,
Arranged display for University of Texas’ participation in Texas
Centennial Celebration (1936),
Displays of Smith’s pictures,
Book written based upon pictures,
Involved in Federal Writers’ Project,
Helped institute project to do history of Texas,
Worked to catalogue,
Resources available,
Indexing resources,
Government wanted to take over and expand,
Incident involving XIT book,
Interviews most proud of,
Various people interviewed.
Tape 2, Side 1: Texas Plains,
Physical characteristics,
People,
Cornmeal mush,
The Calvin family,
Finding water,
Clabber,
Clarence Scharbauer,
Built hotel (Midland, Texas),
First National Bank of Midland,
History books,
Price increase,
Book collecting,
Quaker farmers.
Tape 2, Side 2: Dugout houses,
Mr. McWhorter,
Early settler (1880s),
Washpan,
Blue norther.
Range Dates: 1880s-1981
Bulk Dates: 1920-1981
Access Information
Original Recording Format:
Recording Format Notes:
Transcript:
Thank you for your interest in this oral history interview. Our oral history collection is available to patrons in the Southwest Collection's Reading Room, located on the campus of Texas Tech University. For reading room hours, visit our website. Please contact Reference Staff at least one week prior to your visit to ensure the oral history you are interested in will be available. Due to copyright issues, duplications of our oral histories can only be made for family members. If an oral history transcript has been made available online, the link will be provided on this page. More information on accessing our oral histories is located here. Preferred citation style can be found here.
