Richard Critchfield Papers

Collection

Identifier: Mss 156-Tapes 255-330

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The Richard Critchfield Papers consist mainly of the papers pertaining to Mr. Critchfield’s book, Those Days: An American Album. There are also some other articles written by, and about him. The biographical material contains personal information on Mr. Critchfield, his career, and references. In addition, there are some items concerning other members of his family; his mother, Anne Critchfield, and his brothers James, and William Critchfield, as well as some family obituaries. The Articles Series contains articles written about Mr. Critchfield or mentioning him, and articles written by him for newspapers, magazines, and reports on his research. There are also folders concerning a lecture given by Mr. Critchfield at North Dakota State University in 1983 on Third World and North Dakota Villages, and information pertaining to a 1986 lecture and promotional tour for the book Those Days. The largest series in the Richard Critchfield Collection is Those Days: An American Album Series. The book chronicles the lives of the Critchfield family and focuses on the cultural changes occurring between the 1880s and 1940s that were beyond each family member’s control. The series is divided into six subseries: Preliminary work, First draft, Third draft, Fourth draft, Copyedited draft, and Galley proof. The original second draft was never included in the papers. The preliminary work consists of a project outline dated May 10, 1986 which lists the documents used and research done, as well as the basic storyline. The preliminary work also contains notes pertaining to each town in which the family lived and also two coroner reports by Mr. Critchfield’s father, James, who was Wells County Coroner at the time. Each draft of the book is broken down into three parts. The first draft is entitled, by Mr. Critchfield, “Work in Progress, A Family Documentary, 1880-1940”. The third draft is entitled Those Days, and the fourth draft assumes the book’s final title, Those Days: An American Album. The copyedited draft has extensive changes made by the editor at Doubleday, the publisher. The galley proof has a number of corrections and changes made by Mr. Critchfield. The series ends with reviews of Those Days, and a mock-up of the book which has a few corrections. The Oral History Series includes seventy-five cassette tapes of interviews done by Mr. Critchfield with people who knew his parents and family. Many of them are transcribed, although some only partially. The tapes are located in the Institute tape collection (numbers 255-330). Any transcripts or summaries are included in the collection and numbered under the “folder” column. The tapes have been organized alphabetically by interviewee. Also given in the finding aid, if known, is the interviewee’s home town and the date of the interview. The collection concludes with a taped interview with Richard Critchfield by Harry Ellis for the radio series, Focus.

Dates

1953-1986.

Creator

Critchfield, Richard. (Person)

Access

The collection is open under the rules and regulations of the Institute.

Copyrights

The Institute holds the copyrights.

Biography

Richard Patrick Critchfield was born on March 23, 1931 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the son of Ralph James and Anne Louise (Williams) Critchfield. The family lived at Fessenden, North Dakota at the time and until 1932 when they moved to Fargo, North Dakota. Richard Critchfield received his B.A. in Far Eastern studies in 1953 from the University of Washington, Seattle. In 1957 he received his M.S. from Columbia University, and did additional graduate work at universities in Austria and at Northwestern University. In his career as a journalist, Richard Critchfield has reported from all over the world, concentrating for a large part of his career on Third World countries and the effects of technological change on culture. He has written for The Christian Science Monitor, The Economist, The New York Times, Reader’s Digest, The Wall Street Journal, and the Washington Post. His books include Lore and Legend of Nepal; The Long Charade; Political Subversion in the Vietnam War; The Golden Bowl be Broken; Peasant Life in Four Cultures; Shahhat, an Egyptian; Villages; and Those Days: An American Album. In 1981, Mr. Critchfield received the prestigious MacArthur Foundation Prize Fellowship. He died December 10, 1994 and is buried at Hunter, N.D.

Extent

76 Audio Cassettes (76 cassette tapes.)

2.8 Linear Feet (2.8 lin. ft.)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

North Dakota native who enjoyed a successful career as a journalist and author covering the Third World. This collection is primarily drafts for his widely acclaimed book Those Days: An American Album that documents his own family history.