Edwin Way Teale
Encyclopedia
Edwin Way Teale was an American
naturalist, photographer
, and Pulitzer Prize
-winning writer. Teale's works serve as primary source material documenting environmental conditions across North America from 1930 - 1980. He is perhaps best known for his series The American Seasons, four books documenting over 75000 miles (120,700.5 km) of automobile travel across North America following the changing seasons.
to Oliver Cromwell and Clara Louise (Way) Teale, his interest in the natural world was fostered by childhood summers spent at his grandparents' "Lone Oak" farm in Indiana
's dune country—experiences recalled in his book Dune Boy (1943). At the age of nine he declared himself a naturalist and at twelve changed his name to Edwin Way Teale.
He received a B.A. from Earlham College
in English literature in 1922, then took a job at Friends University
in Wichita
, Kansas
. Teale taught at Friends from 1922–1924 and served as men's and women's debate coach, yearbook adviser, and chairman of the campus Peace Contest. In 1923 he married Nellie Imogene Donovan, also on the Friends faculty, whom he had met while at Earlham College. In Wichita, Teale lived first at 421 South Vine Avenue in 1923, then moved to 621 South Vine Avenue with his wife Nellie in 1924.
On February 28, 1924, in Wichita, Professor Teale was robbed of six dollars by the “Midnight Bandit” as he later recounted in his book Journey Into Summer.
In 1924, Edwin and Nellie Teale moved to New York so Edwin could pursue his education at Columbia University
. Teale chose Columbia in part
degree from Columbia University
.
In New York
, Teale spent 13 years in his first full-time writing job with Popular Science
as a staff writer working a wide variety of assignments.
In 1937, Teale's first photographic nature study, Grassroots Jungle was published from among 200 of Teale's insect photographs, many of which were taken on a 4 acres (1.6 ha) plot of land near his home on Park Avenue in Baldwin, Long Island
This was followed in 1941 by The Golden Throng, a combination of text and photographs on bees.
At the age of 42, Teale quit his full-time job at Popular Science to become a freelance photographer and nature writer.
In 1942 he wrote Byways to Adventure: A Guide to Nature Hobbies as well as Near Horizons,which received the 1943 John Burroughs Medal
for distinguished natural history writing.
In March 1945 Edwin's son David was killed in action in Germany. The Teales began a series of trips across the country, in part to deal with their grief. That same year, Lost Woods was published and received positive reviews.
On February 14, 1947, Teale and his wife Nellie set off in their black Buick
for a 17000 miles (27,358.8 km) roadtrip. They headed first to the Florida Everglades
, then zigzagged northward following the advance of spring. Teale wrote about the adventure in North with the Spring. The book was followed by three others on the North American seasons: Journey Into Summer, Autumn Across America, and Wandering Through Winter
, which won the Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction
in 1966.
Teale served as president of the New York Entomological Society 1944-1949 and the Brooklyn Entomological Society from 1949-1953.
Teale worked as a co-writer for a segment titled "Vernal Equinox" on the March 20, 1955 episode of Omnibus, a TV-Radio Workshop of the Ford Foundation produced by Robert Saudek
and hosted by Alistair Cooke
on the CBS Television Network.
He became president of the Thoreau Society in 1958, the same year that Autumn Across America was presented to the White House Library. He received an Indiana Author's Day award in 1960 and the Doctor of Humane Letters (LHD) honorary degree from Indiana University in 1970. Earlham College
honored Teale with an Honorary Doctor of Letters degree.
In 1959, the couple purchased a 130 acres (52.6 ha) farm in Hampton, Connecticut
, which Teale chronicled in A Naturalist Buys an Old Farm (1974). The property, which they named "Trail Wood," was further described in A Walk through the Year (1978). Situated next to the Natchaug State Forest
, Trail Wood is now managed as a nature preserve by the Connecticut Audubon Society.
In 1975, Teale received the Ecology Award from the Massachusetts Horticultural Society
and the Conservation Medal from the New England Wildflower Society.
on the book A Conscious Stillness: Two Naturalists on Thoreau's Rivers, Teale died. Teale's portion of the book was nearly complete at the time of his death, and he was included as co-author when the book was published in 1982.
Teale's body was buried at North Cemetery, Hampton, Connecticut
.
Nellie Teal died in July, 1993 at the age of 92.
Archives & Special Collections at the Thomas J. Dodd Research Center in Storrs, Connecticut and include:
Teale's last will and testament of September, 1980, bequested to The Concord Free Public Library, Concord
, Massachusetts
, his...
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
naturalist, photographer
Photography
Photography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film...
, and Pulitzer Prize
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
-winning writer. Teale's works serve as primary source material documenting environmental conditions across North America from 1930 - 1980. He is perhaps best known for his series The American Seasons, four books documenting over 75000 miles (120,700.5 km) of automobile travel across North America following the changing seasons.
Early years and education
Born Edwin Alfred Teale in Joliet, IllinoisJoliet, Illinois
Joliet is a city in Will and Kendall Counties in the U.S. state of Illinois, located southwest of Chicago. It is the county seat of Will County. As of the 2010 census, the city was the fourth-most populated in Illinois, with a population of 147,433. It continues to be Illinois' fastest growing...
to Oliver Cromwell and Clara Louise (Way) Teale, his interest in the natural world was fostered by childhood summers spent at his grandparents' "Lone Oak" farm in Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
's dune country—experiences recalled in his book Dune Boy (1943). At the age of nine he declared himself a naturalist and at twelve changed his name to Edwin Way Teale.
He received a B.A. from Earlham College
Earlham College
Earlham College is a liberal arts college in Richmond, Indiana. It was founded in 1847 by Quakers and has approximately 1,200 students.The president is John David Dawson...
in English literature in 1922, then took a job at Friends University
Friends University
Friends University is a private non-denominational Christian university in Wichita, Kansas.Friends University was founded in 1898. The main building was originally built in 1886 for Garfield University, but was donated in 1898 to the Religious Society of Friends by James Davis, a St. Louis...
in Wichita
Wichita, Kansas
Wichita is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas.As of the 2010 census, the city population was 382,368. Located in south-central Kansas on the Arkansas River, Wichita is the county seat of Sedgwick County and the principal city of the Wichita metropolitan area...
, Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
. Teale taught at Friends from 1922–1924 and served as men's and women's debate coach, yearbook adviser, and chairman of the campus Peace Contest. In 1923 he married Nellie Imogene Donovan, also on the Friends faculty, whom he had met while at Earlham College. In Wichita, Teale lived first at 421 South Vine Avenue in 1923, then moved to 621 South Vine Avenue with his wife Nellie in 1924.
On February 28, 1924, in Wichita, Professor Teale was robbed of six dollars by the “Midnight Bandit” as he later recounted in his book Journey Into Summer.
In 1924, Edwin and Nellie Teale moved to New York so Edwin could pursue his education at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
. Teale chose Columbia in part
In 1926 he received his Master of Arts
...because it was in New York and it wouldn't take two months to get a manuscript back from a magazine.
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
degree from Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
.
Literary career
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, Teale spent 13 years in his first full-time writing job with Popular Science
Popular Science
Popular Science is an American monthly magazine founded in 1872 carrying articles for the general reader on science and technology subjects. Popular Science has won over 58 awards, including the ASME awards for its journalistic excellence in both 2003 and 2004...
as a staff writer working a wide variety of assignments.
In 1937, Teale's first photographic nature study, Grassroots Jungle was published from among 200 of Teale's insect photographs, many of which were taken on a 4 acres (1.6 ha) plot of land near his home on Park Avenue in Baldwin, Long Island
Long Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
This was followed in 1941 by The Golden Throng, a combination of text and photographs on bees.
At the age of 42, Teale quit his full-time job at Popular Science to become a freelance photographer and nature writer.
In 1942 he wrote Byways to Adventure: A Guide to Nature Hobbies as well as Near Horizons,which received the 1943 John Burroughs Medal
John Burroughs Medal
The John Burroughs Medal, named for nature writer John Burroughs , is awarded each year in April by the John Burroughs Association to the author of a book that the association has judged to be distinguished in the field of natural history....
for distinguished natural history writing.
In March 1945 Edwin's son David was killed in action in Germany. The Teales began a series of trips across the country, in part to deal with their grief. That same year, Lost Woods was published and received positive reviews.
On February 14, 1947, Teale and his wife Nellie set off in their black Buick
Buick
Buick is a premium brand of General Motors . Buick models are sold in the United States, Canada, Mexico, China, Taiwan, and Israel, with China being its largest market. Buick holds the distinction as the oldest active American make...
for a 17000 miles (27,358.8 km) roadtrip. They headed first to the Florida Everglades
Everglades
The Everglades are subtropical wetlands in the southern portion of the U.S. state of Florida, comprising the southern half of a large watershed. The system begins near Orlando with the Kissimmee River, which discharges into the vast but shallow Lake Okeechobee...
, then zigzagged northward following the advance of spring. Teale wrote about the adventure in North with the Spring. The book was followed by three others on the North American seasons: Journey Into Summer, Autumn Across America, and Wandering Through Winter
Wandering Through Winter
Wandering Through Winter: A Naturalist's Record of a 20,000-Mile Journey Through the North American Winter is a non-fiction book written by Edwin Way Teale, published in 1965 by Dodd, Mead and Company, and winner of the 1966 Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction...
, which won the Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction
Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction
The Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction has been awarded since 1962 for a distinguished book of non-fiction by an American author that is not eligible for consideration in another category.-1960s:...
in 1966.
Teale served as president of the New York Entomological Society 1944-1949 and the Brooklyn Entomological Society from 1949-1953.
Teale worked as a co-writer for a segment titled "Vernal Equinox" on the March 20, 1955 episode of Omnibus, a TV-Radio Workshop of the Ford Foundation produced by Robert Saudek
Robert Saudek
Robert Saudek was a Czech-born graphologist and writer of novels, stories, poems and plays. He had considerable influence on the content and standing of graphology worldwide...
and hosted by Alistair Cooke
Alistair Cooke
Alfred Alistair Cooke KBE was a British/American journalist, television personality and broadcaster. Outside his journalistic output, which included Letter from America and Alistair Cooke's America, he was well known in the United States as the host of PBS Masterpiece Theater from 1971 to 1992...
on the CBS Television Network.
He became president of the Thoreau Society in 1958, the same year that Autumn Across America was presented to the White House Library. He received an Indiana Author's Day award in 1960 and the Doctor of Humane Letters (LHD) honorary degree from Indiana University in 1970. Earlham College
Earlham College
Earlham College is a liberal arts college in Richmond, Indiana. It was founded in 1847 by Quakers and has approximately 1,200 students.The president is John David Dawson...
honored Teale with an Honorary Doctor of Letters degree.
In 1959, the couple purchased a 130 acres (52.6 ha) farm in Hampton, Connecticut
Hampton, Connecticut
Hampton is a town in Windham County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 1,758 at the 2000 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , of which, of it is land and of it is water....
, which Teale chronicled in A Naturalist Buys an Old Farm (1974). The property, which they named "Trail Wood," was further described in A Walk through the Year (1978). Situated next to the Natchaug State Forest
Natchaug State Forest
Natchaug State Forest, in Ashford, Connecticut, Chaplin, Connecticut and Eastford, Connecticut is a Connecticut State Forest. It's are part of a larger network of forest lands making up some in all...
, Trail Wood is now managed as a nature preserve by the Connecticut Audubon Society.
In 1975, Teale received the Ecology Award from the Massachusetts Horticultural Society
Massachusetts Horticultural Society
The Massachusetts Horticultural Society, sometimes abbreviated to MassHort, is an American horticultural society based in Massachusetts. It describes itself as the oldest, formally-organized horticultural institution in the United States...
and the Conservation Medal from the New England Wildflower Society.
Death
In 1980 while working with author Ann ZwingerAnn Zwinger
Ann Haymond Zwinger is author of many highly-regarded natural histories noted for comprehensive detail and lyrical prose.-History:Ann Haymond Zwinger was born 1925 March 12 in Muncie, Indiana, the daughter of William and Ann Haymond....
on the book A Conscious Stillness: Two Naturalists on Thoreau's Rivers, Teale died. Teale's portion of the book was nearly complete at the time of his death, and he was included as co-author when the book was published in 1982.
Teale's body was buried at North Cemetery, Hampton, Connecticut
Hampton, Connecticut
Hampton is a town in Windham County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 1,758 at the 2000 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , of which, of it is land and of it is water....
.
Nellie Teal died in July, 1993 at the age of 92.
Archives
Teale's papers consume 238 feet (72.5 m) in the University of ConnecticutUniversity of Connecticut
The admission rate to the University of Connecticut is about 50% and has been steadily decreasing, with about 28,000 prospective students applying for admission to the freshman class in recent years. Approximately 40,000 prospective students tour the main campus in Storrs annually...
Archives & Special Collections at the Thomas J. Dodd Research Center in Storrs, Connecticut and include:
...field notes and drafts for each of his books, early childhood writings, professional writings for magazines, newspapers and book reviews, correspondence- both personal and professional, personal and family documents, scrapbooks, and memorabilia, as well as his photographs (prints, negatives, and transparencies) and his personal library. There is also one box of original John BurroughsJohn BurroughsJohn Burroughs was an American naturalist and essayist important in the evolution of the U.S. conservation movement. According to biographers at the American Memory project at the Library of Congress,...
material Teale collected over the years.
Teale's last will and testament of September, 1980, bequested to The Concord Free Public Library, Concord
Concord, Massachusetts
Concord is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the town population was 17,668. Although a small town, Concord is noted for its leading roles in American history and literature.-History:...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, his...
...collection of Henry Thoreau books, letters, correspondence, momentos [sic] and any other material dealing with Henry Thoreau, all ... material dealing with Ralph Waldo Emerson and all other material ... dealing with or relating to Concord, Massachusetts. The collection consumes 16.9 feet (5.2 m) including 12 containers, plus 108 printed books and pamphlets.