Jimmy L. Mitchell

One of the founders of the Southern Texas Archaeological Association and a key figure in the study of this region's cultural heritage, Jimmy L. Mitchell, passed away suddenly at his home in Converse, Texas on December 19, 2000. It is impossible to chronicle all of his work on behalf of the STAA and archaeology-simply because he did so much for so many years. His death has left a great void not only for his family, to which he was greatly devoted, but also for the numerous friends and colleagues who worked with Jimmy in all of his many endeavors, in archaeology and in other pursuits.

Jimmy was born December 29, 1935 in Wichita Falls, Texas. He had a distinguished career in the United States Air Force, coming to San Antonio from Dayton, Ohio. In Dayton, he had been assigned to the Air Force Institute of Technology. At Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio he served initially as chief of the test review section in the Occupational Measurement Squadron, where all specialty-knowledge tests used by the Air Force were developed. In a letter to the author dated February 26, 1972, then-Major Mitchell lamented that "I am trying to improve my formal background in anthropology through off-duty course work (San Antonio doesn't have much; I may drive to UT next fall)." But even at that time, Jimmy had already been involved in Ohio and Texas Panhandle archaeology and had just published a paper on atlatls in the Ohio Archaeologist.

His undergraduate education, at Phillips University (Enid, Oklahoma) was in psychology (BA, 1957), and he became a psychologist who dealt with personnel tests and measurements (MA in Industrial Psychology, Ohio State University, 1966). In 1974, the Air Force selected him out of many applicants to attend Purdue University, where he received a Ph.D. in Industrial Psychology in 1976. Returning with his family to San Antonio, "Dr. Major Mitchell" continued his work in the Air Force, promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in 1972. He retired from the Air Force in 1984 after 27 years of service.

Thus, in the early 1970s, Jimmy was broadening his interest in archaeology as an "avocation" (letter to Hester, noted above) while fully involved in Air Force research, obtaining a Ph.D. and raising a family of five with his wife, Heidi. Yet, he somehow managed to create the time to help develop the ST AA, chairing its organizational meeting on December 2, 1973, editing its journal, La Tierra, for a decade (and publishing at least 40 papers on archaeology in South Texas, the Texas Panhandle and Ohio during this period), initiating the STAA's Special Publications series, taking boxes and boxes of the Association's publications to STAA and Texas Archeological Society (T AS) meetings year after year, taking part in public-outreach programs around South Texas, encouraging countless collectors to join the ST AA, and urging numerous budding authors to submit their manuscripts to La Tierra or other publication outlets.

He was always a tireless, vocal, enthusiastic, letter-writing advocate of the ST AA and of cultural resource protection throughout the state. These activities continued up to the time of his death. At a reception following his interment in Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery, I noted on his desk at the Institute for Job and Occupational Analysis (of which he was Director and Chairman of the Board) a big stack of recently ­reprinted copies of T. N. Campbell's The Payaya Indians of Southern Texas which had been the ST AA's first special publication in 1975. Jimmy had also developed the Web site for STAA, and it soon became a source of information, with many photographs of its members at work and at play.

Jimmy strongly felt that hard work in archaeology should be recognized by awards, and he instituted such a program in the ST AA. With the input of others, he selected recipients of the several awards, and presented these honors with great flair at each January meeting. Over the years, the number of awards expanded, with the goal of recognizing the efforts of members and others who contributed to South Texas archaeology. One such award, the Dee Ann Story Conservation A ward (named after the long-time UT -Austin professor, Texas Archeological Research Laboratory (T ARL) director, and historic preservationist) went each year to a firm, a local state agency, or a landowner who had provided protection of, and sometimes investigations of, cultural resources that they controlled. Another major honor, the Lifetime Achievement Award, goes to members who have made distinguished, long-time contributions to the ST AA. It was awarded to Jimmy, a surprise engineered by Paul Ward, in January 2000.

The Texas Archeological Society also had the benefit of Jimmy's active participation for many years, as a regional vice-president, Board member, and editor of the Bulletin of the Texas Archeological Society in the early 1990s. Additionally, he was a staunch and generous supporter of the Friends of Archaeology program at UT-San Antonio and later of the Friends of TARL at UT-Austin. Working with both of these university programs, he helped put together the Archaeology Fairs in San Antonio and Austin in 1999 and _2000.

Wherever you found ongoing archaeological activities in South Texas and adjacent areas, you found Jimmy. He either organized or assisted with (always in a major way) public-outreach events over the years in San Antonio, Uvalde, Fredericksburg, Jourdanton, Kerrville, and other cities. Jimmy helped set in motion the several "South Texas Palavers" of the 1980s, and with his new-fangled laptop computer, recorded the sessions and then saw that they were printed and distributed. These informal volumes remain a great source of information.

He worked on STAA field projects (such as the Dan Baker Site excavations) and helped out on professional projects. In 1972, he helped Dr. S. Alan Skinner follow up on TAS field school work in Kerr County. In 1973, he was in one of my first classes at UT -San Antonio and helped in testing the acequia area at the Alamo in October and November of that year. The record of his involvement and contributions in the field goes on and on. His "field work" also included the spreading of The Word to up-and-coming avocationals or to collectors whom he sought to educate and bring into the STAA.

Jimmy was a mentor to many who are now very active in STAA, a colleague to many others in that organization and in the T AS, and an outspoken advocate of whatever cause he was pursuing at the time. You didn't have to wonder where Jimmy stood on an issue, and you didn't have to worry about arguing with him--because you always would! Jimmy delighted in tweaking his friends, provoking lively discussion or irate outbursts, all part and parcel of his great sense of humor and his intellectual curiosity.

His archaeological contributions in South Texas focused on his interests in material culture (especially ground stone technology), chronology (especially in Late Prehistoric times), salvaging information from burial sites (such as the Rudy Haiduk site) ethnohistory, and the recording of collections. The latter sessions were often frantic, and usually at events that I had gotten him and C. K. Chandler into, and from which they had to rescue me.

Jimmy encouraged me to begin the "Notes on South Texas Archaeology" series in 1985, though he and subsequent editors, Evelyn Lewis and Shirley Van der Veer, may have doubted the wisdom of that decision since they have always had to "remind" me when each "Notes" manuscript was due in their hands. Of course, I never thought I would devote one of these articles to a memorial for Jimmy. To me he was timeless. I had known him since our correspondence began in 1972, worked with him in the STAA, at UTSA and UT-Austin, co-authored papers with him, engaged in numerous arguments and debates over topics of great importance or none at all, delighted with him in the growth of STAA and its reputation (Jimmy also organized and promoted the 10th, 15th, 20th, and 25th anniversary celebrations of the STAA). We will all miss his friendship, his dedication, and, maybe most of all, his raucous laughter.

My personal perspective is that, during his 27 years in the STAA, Jimmy was the glue that bound the organization together. Let us make sure that his legacy will be a Southern Texas Archaeological Association that continues to embody his enthusiasm, his vision and, most of all, his spirit.

Thomas R. Hester

A Tribute to Jimmy Mitchell "Avocational Archeologist"
by Frank (Gene) Griffin

Well, Jimmy, I would like to think you would not object to my use of the term avocational archeologist, but I believe the title fits. At the ST AA quarterly meeting in San Antonio in July, Tom Hester and "Smitty" Schmiedlin presented papers in your honor. In addition, Elton Prewitt spoke well of you. It did not surprise me that two professional archeologists traveled from Austin and one avocational archeologist traveled from Victoria to pay tribute. What did surprise me was my agreeing to write this article, as I had not attended any ST AA meetings in years. You had a small part in my decision to become active in ST AA again. This special volume is a tip of my trowel to you.

In 1981, Tom Hester made observations on avocational archeology in Texas. First, an avocational archeologist studies and trains in order to develop archeological skills that separate them from the relic-collector and pothunter. Second, given Texas' geographic size and considering the number of professional archeologists, they help preserve the state's rapidly depleting archeological record by filling gaps in poorly known areas of the archeological database. Third, avocational archeologists work with T AS and regional archeological societies, such as ST AA, to carry out a variety of activities at the local level. These include:

• Preserving local archeological sites,
• Distributing information about archeology that discourages the practice of relic-collecting and vandalism,
• Salvaging archeological resources threatened by destruction, especially when no professional expertise or assistance is available,
• Surveying sites to fill the gaps in regional knowledge using investigatory skills learned through field schools.

Finally, he emphasized that any professional research program could be done more efficiently, and more effectively through collaboration in a team effort between professional and avocational archeologists (Hester, 1981).

Jimmy Mitchell added an additional area where avocational archeologists could make a significant contribution--report writing for regional publications such as La Tierra, the TAS newsletter, and the annual TAS Bulletin. He suggested that most of us like to dig, analyze, speculate, and read but not write about our field experiences and specific knowledge of the sites in our specific county or region, and that avocational archeologists are capable of analyzing and reporting on their particular region as members of their regional or state archeological societies. In addition, archeology is perhaps the only science where someone can make a significant contribution without an academic background since experienced avocational archeologists could recognize and report on artifacts that are common or unusual to an area, develop ideas about how the prehistoric people in an area lived and worked, and share that information with others through documentation and site publication. Mitchell emphasized that by doing reports; avocational archeologists would fulfill one of the most important responsibilities of any archeologist-­sharing archeological information with others (Mitchell, 1983).

One's avocation is generally considered to be any interest pursued for enjoyment rather than to make a living. In 1973, Tom Hester was instrumental in the formation of the South Texas Archeological Society (ST AA) with others interested in the archeology of the region. Anne Fox worked for the Witte Museum, "Smitty" Schmiedlin was a supervisor at Union Carbide, Jimmy Mitchell was a major in the Air Force, and Gene Griffin was a high school and part ­time college instructor in United States History, Geography, Anthropology, American Indian Studies, and Archeology.

I wonder whether any of us realized the difficulty of the tasks facing our little band of nascent South Texas avocational archeologists. We would have to overcome the mindset of professionals undervaluing the contribution of local or regional "amateurs," to deal with the immense area of South Texas and the lack of archeological data, and to carry out the purpose of ST AA. This included bringing together persons who had an active interest in the archeology and prehistory of South Texas in an atmosphere conducive to the exchange of information and ideas, to promote scientific archeological investigation and documentation, to preserve archeological materials and records of the region, and to interpret and publish data thus acquired. [ST AA Constitution, Article II, LT 1(1): 7]

Considering the respect he earned from both professional an avocational archeologists, the volume, quality, variety, and content of his writings, and his assistance to others, this author suggests that Jimmy Mitchell not only carried out the goals of ST AA but also served in the best tradition of the avocational archeologist.

Sit back, read, and enjoy. I know I did.

References Cited

Hester, Thomas J.
1981 Some Observations on Avocational Archaeological. LT 8(2): 29-30.

Mitchell, Jimmy.
1983 Responsibilities of the Avocational Archeologist. BTAS 53:199-201.