A. C. Greene Papers:

A Guide

Biographical Note

Alvin Carl Greene was born in 1923 in Abilene, Texas, the son of Alvin Carl and Marie Cole Greene. According to family tradition, when born, Greene was taken for dead and tossed onto a pile of newspapers in the make-shift delivery room. The rest is, of course, history. Committing Greene to a specific occupation is difficult at best. He has served as a Marine, a Navy corpsman, a newspaper columnist, newspaper editor, writer, bookstore owner, professor, musician, and poet.

Greene spent his childhood in Abilene. During his formative years he came under the influence of his maternal grandmother, Maude Cole, who was not only the librarian at the Carnegie Public Library in Abilene, but also a published author. Greene, in fact, called the library his "babysitter." After serving in the navy during World War II, where Greene ran a Chinese brothel for the U.S. Marines in Tsing-tao, Shantung Province, he worked as Entertainment Editor and sports writer for the Abilene Reporter-News. In 1950 he married Hardin-Simmons graduate, Betty Dozier, a writer for the Living section of the Reporter-News. Three years later Greene left the Reporter-News and bought a bookstore in Abilene. By 1960 he and his growing family moved to Dallas where he became book editor and, eventually, editor of the editorial page for the Dallas Times Herald. As editor of Dallas' "liberal" newspaper, Greene received correspondence from a diverse group of individuals, including members of the John Birch Society and even Lee Harvey Oswald.

In 1968 Greene left the newspaper business, enrolled in the American Civilization Program at UT-Austin, and began writing. Winning the prestigious Dobie-Paisano Fellowship from the University of Texas in 1968, Greene completed and published his first book, A Personal Country. Since then, more than 27 other books have followed, including Living Texas, The Last Captive, The Santa Claus Bank Robbery, Dallas: The Deciding Years, A Christmas Tree, Views in Texas, A Place Called Dallas, The 50 Best Books on Texas, The Highland Park Woman, Dallas USA, A Town Called Cedar Springs, Texas Sketches, Taking Heart, Joy to the World, 50+ Best Books on Texas, 900 Miles on the Butterfield Trail, and The Five States of Texas. Often called the "Dean of Texas Letters," Greene, who never finished his Ph.D., is a fellow of both the Texas State Historical Association and the Texas Institute of Letters and is one of the most respected authorities on Texas in the nation.

Although Greene left the full-time newspaper business, he began writing his column, "Texas Sketches," for the Dallas Morning News in 1983. In addition, he has written and hosted programs such as "Historic Moments" on KAAM/KAFM in Dallas and served as essayist/book reviewer for PBS's MacNeil/Lehrer Newshour.

To many in Texas, however, Greene is more than author or media personality. Since the 1960s he has been called the authority on Dallas. By his own admission, he "learned Dallas first, right after World War II, by driving a Coca Cola truck." His books on Dallas, Dallas: The Deciding Years, A Place Called Dallas, and Dallas USA, are regarded by some as the definitive works dealing with the history and culture of the city. His personal collection, in fact, includes a document with the signature of Dallas founder John Neely Bryan, as well as other early documents from the city's past.

One of the constants in all of Greene's work is the personal element. Whether writing about his youth in Abilene, his experiences in the Far East during World War II, his reflections on the Kennedy assassination, or his own life and death encounters, there is always a personal perspective. For example, in 1988 Greene was the first successful heart transplant patient at St. Paul's Medical Center in Dallas. His 1989 book, Taking Heart, is not only the story of a transplant patient, it is also the story of Greene's new life. He writes, "It is almost a rebirth. The life you lived before seems to be someone else's life. And you seem to have lost a great deal of interest in him and it."

The year after his heart transplant, Greene's wife of 39 years, Betty, died of cancer. According to a family friend, Greene "was terribly lonesome …. He was going around the house still talking to her." Greene's four children, Geoffrey, Elliot, Mark, and Meridith, had already left home. In 1990 he married Judy Dalton Hyland, who had been a friend of the family. Greene writes, "I had seen her with this one guy several times, getting in and out of his Cadillac. And so when I found out she was no longer getting in and out of his Cadillac, I thought, "Hey, this is my opportunity."

Shortly thereafter Greene retired as professor and Co-Director of the Center for Texas Studies at the University of North Texas. In 1992, Greene and his wife, Judy, left Dallas and moved to Salado, Texas, where he continued to write. Greene died on April 5, 2002.

Sources:

• AR409: A.C. Greene Papers, Box 1, Folder 7, articles about Greene, 1970-1989.
• AR409: A.C. Greene Papers, Box 1, Folder 8, articles about Greene, 1990s.
• AR409: A.C. Greene Papers, Box 43, Folder 21, "Library Babysitter,"
• A.C. Greene, Taking Heart (New York: Simon Schuster, 1990).

Scope and Contents

The collection, in 80 legal-size document boxes, 4 index-card boxes, and 8 oversize boxes, is composed of personal and research material collected by A.C. Greene as journalist and Texas author/historian. Included are correspondence, newspaper clippings, original documents, maps, photographs, oral history interviews, newsletters, brochures, articles, notes, manuscripts, journals, and artifacts dating from the late 19th century through the mid-1990s.

The collection is organized into fourteen series. The first series, Introduction, serves as an introduction into the life and work of A.C. Greene. It contains papers written about Greene, various clippings by and about him, obituaries written by him, and Greene oral history transcripts.

The second series, Personal, contains information about Greene's personal life; family, friends, education, finances, military service, and health. Also included here is all of Greene's personal correspondence (see Series VII for professional correspondence). In addition, there is extensive information about Greene's parents and youth in depression-era Abilene. Researchers using this series should also see both Greene and Maude Cole's scrapbooks in Series XIV. The final part of the series contains a subseries of early books owned by Greene as well as an appointment book.

The Maude E. Cole series is the third. It contains personal scrapbooks (see also Series XIV) with clippings and manuscripts of Cole's writing and poetry. Also included is her personal correspondence with her daughter, Marie (A.C. Greene's mother) as well as the diaries and notes of her friend and colleague, Silvia Wittmer, a Texas writer in the 1920s and 1930s. This series provides a glimpse of the frontier literary scene in Texas during the 1920s and 1930s. Researchers using this series should also see Maude Cole's scrapbook in Series XIV.

The fourth series is Newspaper. The information in this series will be most useful to those who want to investigate Greene as journalist. Contained here are clippings from Greene's writing at the Abilene Reporter-News, the Dallas Times Herald, as well as clippings from articles written for the Dallas Morning News. Also included are articles written by Betty Dozier Greene, editor of the Women's Department of the Reporter-News.

Researchers interested in the political climate of Dallas in the 1960s will want to pay close attention to the correspondence files in this series. Most are written to Greene during his tenure as Editor of the Editorial Page. Those wanting information on Dallas' response to the Kennedy assassination will be disappointed, however. Greene retains most of these correspondence files in his personal possession. Finally, there is information in the series regarding Greene's acquisition of Times-Mirror stock and a lawsuit that challenged his ownership of that stock.

Greene's book manuscripts make up the fifth series in the collection. Greene is, by his own admission, the only Texas writer who was born, raised, educated, and writes in Texas who has been accepted on a national scale. This series, which contains manuscripts for all of his books through the mid-1990s, is extensive. For each manuscript there are usually notes, various drafts, corrected proofs, correspondence with both publishers and the general public, and reviews. The manuscripts include An Affair, Bosom of Fire, It's Been Fun, A Personal Country, A Place Called West Texas, Living Texas, I am a Stranger, The Goy Boy, The Last Captive, The Santa Claus Bank Robbery, The Deadly Season (screenplay for Santa Claus), A Christmas Tree, Growing Up in Texas, Dallas: The Deciding Years, Confession, Pep Purifoy's Confessions, Views in Texas, Talley, A Place Called Dallas, Elephants in Your Mailbox, The 50 Best Books on Texas, The 50+ Best Books on Texas, Highland Park Woman, Dallas USA, I Can't Forget, A Town Called Cedar Springs, Texas Sketches, Taking Heart, 900 Miles on the Butterfield Trail, Joy to the World, Kinfolks, They Are Ruining Ibiza, Christmas Memories.

The sixth series, Other Publications, includes the various essays and articles written by Greene between 1945 and 1998. Many of the essays later became part of his books. The series is arranged alphabetically by topic and includes autobiographical articles such as "Library Babysitter," general essays as well as historical articles dealing primarily with Texas.

Correspondence makes up the seventh series in the collection. It is divided into three subseries: general, organizations, and people. Of particular interest is the correspondence with Robert Hill, one of the Santa Claus Bank Robbers; Angus Cameron of Knopf, which published Greene's first book; as well as influential teachers, notable figures, and Texas writers. While this series is rather comprehensive regarding the correspondence received by Greene, it is lacking much of the communication he sent. At the beginning of the series, however, are carbon copies of some of the correspondence sent by Greene from the 1960s through the early 1990s.

The eighth series of the collection is the Vertical Files. Arranged into six subseries--Handbook of Texas A-Z, Texas ABC, General vertical files, Dallas Information, Cassette Recordings, and Video (VHS)--most of this material retains Greene's arrangement and categorization. The Handbook of Texas information was collected by Greene in the early 1980s as he worked on an Oxford Companion to Texas (see Series XI). Texas ABC is a collection of notes dealing with Texas. The General files should be referenced when dealing with any part of the collection. This comprehensive grouping covers topics such as Abilene, the American Nazi Party, Paisano, South Fork Ranch, as well as the vast amount of railroad information collected by Greene. The subseries dealing with Dallas is composed mostly of clippings gathered by Greene as he worked on his book, Dallas USA (see also the index cards in Series XIII). Of interest here is the information dealing with the Kennedy assassination and improving Dallas' image in the aftermath of that event. The final part of this series contains Greene's cassette and video tapes. While many of the cassettes are interviews conducted by Greene, "Making a Living by the Written Word" is a talk given by Greene in 1989. The video tapes contain not only some of his television appearances, but also taped tributes to Greene on his 70th birthday in 1993.

Series nine, Texas Institute of Letters, contains correspondence, meeting programs and minutes, clippings, and newsletters of the TIL. Greene had a close association with the group in the late 1960s and 1970s, serving in leadership positions, and was ultimately named a fellow. See series XIV for TIL photographs.

The tenth series is Television/Radio. Throughout the 1960s-1980s, Greene had various radio and television presentations, even hosting his own shows. Greene was one of the original members of "Newsroom" and made several appearances on the "MacNeil/Lehrer Newshour" in the 1980s. This series contains scripts and copy material used for many of those shows. One of the more interesting parts of this collection is Greene's commentary from his show on KAAM from 1979-1981. See Series VIII Cassette and Video for a small sampling of his work in this field, and Series XIV for related photographs.

Projects is the eleventh series in the collection. It includes various projects undertaken by Greene, such as the Crow Sites in which he provided historical background for the various Trammell Crow properties in downtown Dallas, and the Perot Group project, which gives the historical background for the present-day site of Alliance Airport. This series also contains the manuscripts for some of Greene's talks and speeches as well as the files relating to his teaching experience at Southern Methodist University and the University of North Texas.

The Other Manuscript series is made up of various manuscripts acquired but not authored by Greene. Many of the manuscripts deal with either Dallas or general Texas history and literature. Of importance for Dallas history are both the Frank Cuellar, Sr. interview and Barrot Sanders' "La Reunion" manuscript.

Series thirteen, Index Cards, are four boxes that contain two sets of alphabetically-arranged cards that contain notes on the railroad, Dallas, and general Texas history. These cards were accumulated by Greene during research on his books on Dallas.

Oversize is the final series in the collection. Housed in nine oversized boxes and one folder in box 148B, most of the collection's photographs are here. There are also two scrapbooks; one belonging to Maude Cole (see Series III) and another belonging to Greene. There is also a variety of maps and drawings in this series. For example, there is an 1883 map of Abilene and an 1897 General Land Office Map of Denton County. These were acquired by Greene in the course of various research projects. Many of the awards received by both Greene and his wife, Betty, are here as well as posters advertising Greene's books. Also housed here are the Greene artifacts, such as the Coca-Cola employee badge worn by Greene in the 1940s and printing plates for the banners of Greene's columns in the Abilene Reporter-News. Finally, the series includes various historical editions of papers such as The Dallas Morning News, Fort Worth Press, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, and the Abilene Reporter-News. Diaries, 1959-1989, are restricted until June 1, 2022.

Many of the newspaper clippings were photocopied onto acid-free paper. Some, however, such as those within albums, were not recopied. Also, the historical editions of newspapers in Series XIV are quite fragile and should be used only when not available in another format. The collection has been ordered by the processing archivist. Only the information in Series VIII remains in the same order as received.

The A.C. Greene Papers are diverse. The material within can be used to investigate several topics including, but not limited to, the Texas literary scene in the early 20th century, family life during the depression in Abilene, the importance of newspapers and print media during the period 1950-1970, the social climate in Dallas during the 1960s, and the making of a Texas historian and writer.

Restrictions

Access

Permission to publish, copy, reprint, digitize, orally record for transmission over public or private airways, or use in any and all other current or future developed methods or procedures, must be obtained in writing from the Special Collections Division of The University of Texas at Arlington Libraries. All rights are reserved and retained regardless of current or future development or laws that may apply to fair use standards.

Literary Rights Statement

Permission to publish, reproduce, distribute, or use by any and all other current or future developed methods or procedures must be obtained in writing from Special Collections, The University of Texas at Arlington Library. All rights are reserved and retained regardless of current or future development or laws that may apply to fair use standards.

Related Material

Separated Material

Administrative Information

Citation

A. C. Greene Papers, AR409, Box Number, Folder Number, Special Collections, The University of Texas at Arlington Library.

Acquisition

Gift and purchase, 1977, 1993, 1998, and 2002.

Accessioned as number 93-49.

All of the materials included in the A.C. Greene Papers were in his possession until they were officially donated/sold to The University of Texas at Arlington.

In 1977 and 1978 Greene donated some of his papers which consisted of letters, newspaper clippings, typescripts, proof sheets, and scripts from the period 1961, 1963-1977. The donation of this material was acknowledged by James Martin, Director of Special Collections, on October 19, 1977, and July 21, 1978. This material, originally housed in GA 49-55, has been incorporated into AR409.

The bulk of the collection came in 1993 and 1998. It consisted of material from approximately 1900 to 1998 and was donated/sold to The University of Texas at Arlington in 1993 and 1998. The A.C. Greene Papers were transferred to The University of Texas at Arlington Libraries Special Collections Division on September 29, and November 11, 1993. The donation/purchase of the materials was negotiated by Gerald Saxon, Director, Special Collections; Marcelle Hull accessioned the collection. The collection was acknowledged by Dr. Gerald Saxon, on November 22, 1993; March 23, 1998; and March 17, 1999.

Dairies, 1959-1989, part of the original donation/purchase, were received after A.C. Greens's death on April 5, 2002, by Gerald Saxon from Mrs. Greene, May 7, 2002. Greene requested that they be given to Special Collections and restricted until June 1, 2022.

Processing Information

This finding aid was made possible by a grant from the A. H. Belo Corporation Foundation of Dallas, Texas.

 Note to the Researcher 

Most of the material in the collection is in very good condition. There are, however, some items that need special care. The scrapbooks in OS333 contain valuable information regarding Maude Cole's publishing and A.C. Greene's military service but are very fragile. Also, the newspapers in OS340 and 341 are quite brittle. Microfilm/fiche should be used when available.

A.C. Greene's advice regarding the use of archival records: "Don't depend solely on the indexes. Remember, the indexer and the archivist did not set up the reference files with you solely in mind." (AR409-74-9)

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