The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 92, July 1988 - April, 1989 Page: 130

Southwestern Historical Quarterly

us a funny story before he resumed reading poetry. Mrs. Dobie substi-
tuted for him during his absence until he could return to finish the year.
During my last two years at UT I visited Mr. Dobie occasionally and
heard about his progress on A Vaquero of the Brush Country. So when I
graduated in 1929 and moved to Philadelphia to work, I watched the
papers for its publication. I could not find a copy in local bookstores, so
I wrote to him and he sent me an inscribed copy in the imitation rattle-
snake-hide cover for $3.75. In later years I bought everything that he
wrote as it was published.
In 1931 I lost my job and returned to Texas to work in the oil fields as
a petroleum engineer. Soon afterward, I joined the Texas Folklore So-
ciety and through Mr. Dobie was able to get back copies of all TFS pub-
lications. From then on, my interest grew into a lifelong thirst for all
Texana, especially Texas history and folklore, including a longtime
membership in the TSHA.
Up until a few years before Mr. Dobie's death, I visited with him in
Austin numerous times, often to get him to inscribe his latest work.
Early in the 1930s in his "B" Hall office, he told me about his course
"Life and Literature of the Southwest," which I regretted was started
after I graduated. He gave me a mimeographed list of recommended
books, which he replaced in 1943 with a paperback book.
Much has been written about J. Frank Dobie the maverick, the lib-
eral opponent of the establishment. To me he was always kind, gener-
ous with his time, and almost like a godfather. I relish my memory of
knowing him.
Memories of an Influential Meeting on Waller Creek
MERI JAYE*
"Bienvenido, Welcome-welcome to my home," was the greeting I
received on my first meeting with the maestro J. Frank Dobie. I had tele-
phoned him from Mexico City the previous week, introducing myself,
reminding him of my father's and his mutual interest in the cowboy art-
ist Charlie Russell, and explaining my father's last wishes were that I go
to Texas to meet him and compare notes on the collections they both
had acquired through the years of the great western artist's paintings,
letters, and bronzes. He agreed, during that telephone conversation,
that I could fly up to Austin the following week. And so here I was,

*Meri Jaye is a bookbinder and collector in San Francisco, California.

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