Notes

Notes Charles Leland “Doc” Sonnichsen 1901-1991 C.L. Sonnichsen, author of 27 books and 3 edited anthologies of western humor (and a collection of his own work, Final Harvest, due out on his 90th birthday in September from Texas Western Press), died at his home in Tucson June 29,1991. For many educators and western history buffs, he was the dean of southwestern history and literature. For many thousands in the Western Litera­ ture Association, Western Writers of America, and countless other scholarly organizations, he was simply “Doc,”a term of respect and endearment. In a book written for family and friends, called “One for the Road,”he tells about coming to the great Southwest in 1931, new Harvard PhD diploma in hand. He was to teach—but only for the summer—at a little jerkwater mining school, Texas College of Mines, that hadjust become a four-year institution. It was in the Depression;jobs were hard to find. He didn’t see much of the country as he rode the train to El Paso; he was expected to teach the English novel upon arrival, and had to read some of those novels first. So while he absorbed PamelaandJosephAndrews, the desert rolled by his window. When he looked out, he wrote, “Iwas somewhat appalled. ... It all seemed terribly bleak after the green hills and valleys I was used to. I thought about the time I had visited Mount Vernon with the Harvard Glee Club and had decided, looking at the Potomac River and the lovely countryside along its banks, that I wanted to spend my life in such surroundings.” Fortunately he stayed on, fell in love with the desert country and its people, and developed a new specialty: southwestern American literature, a field which absorbed him for over sixty years. Working in a small college, Doc taughtjust about every course the English Department offered, but he found time to collect from the grassroots the stories of many Southwesterners, starting with Billy King, denizen of Tombstone, Arizona. He went on toJudge Roy Bean, the LawWest of the Pecos, accounts of feuds and old mining days, and on and on. A friend recently said of Doc “He’d do to ride the river with,”just about the highest praise a cowboy could give another man: he was one who could be depended on, through thick and thin. Doc would do to ride the river with. He was a stimulating teacher and a great friend. When I came to El Paso to teach, hoping to learn from Doc, he warned me against becoming the sort of researcher who moves bones from one grave­ 238 WesternAmerican Literature yard to another, rather than doing something new. Dale Walker called him a “Grassroots Historian,” one who stayed out of the boneyard and went to the people—the living sources of history and culture. That bleak Southwest he came to live in will forever be enriched bywhat he brought to it. He captured the spirit of the land with his pen, and our hearts with his sparkle. So long, Doc. It’s been good to know you. JOHN O. WEST The University ofTexas atElPaso * * :fc CONFERENCE ANNOUNCEMENT ORIGINS AND VISIONS: AMERICAN VOICES AT THE QUINCENTENNIAL The California American Studies Association will focus on the Columbus quincentennial this year. Discussions of “origins” and “visions” of America in the broadest senses are welcome, and of particular interest are explorations of the Native American perspective. Other possible approaches include canonical or pedagogical concerns, images in popular culture, ideology, and history. The conference will be from April 30th through May 3rd at the California State University at Fullerton. The deadline for submissions isJanuary 31, 1992. For more information please write to: John Whalen-Bridge Department of English University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA 90089-0354 * * * AMERICAN TRANSCENDENTAL QUARTERLY SPECIAL ISSUE ON WALT WHITMAN The September 1992 issue of American Transcendental Quarterly, published by the English department of the University of Rhode Island, will be devoted to Walt Whitman. Articles on any aspect of Whitman’s works, life, and ideas are welcome. Manuscripts and inquiries should be addressed to: Editor, ATQ Department of English University of Rhode Island Kingston, RI...