Printed Material, 1952, undated

The Wick Fowler papers span 1944-1991 (bulk dates: 1944-1945, 1965-1978) and document Fowler’s journalism work as well as the Chili Appreciation Society International and Fowler’s 2-Alarm Chili product. The collection is arranged in 7 series: Biographical Information, Writings, Chili, Correspondence, Audio Recordings, General Newspapers, and Printed Material.

The largest series, Chili, documents the chili cook-off in Terlingua, the Chili Appreciation Society International, and Wick Fowler’s 2-Alarm Chili product, and contains articles and clippings, a scrapbook, promotional materials, photographic materials, and artifacts. Note that the while the scrapbook largely contains Chili-related clippings, awards, posters, advertisements, and a draft by Fowler, it also contains articles by Fowler on World War II, the Vietnam War, crime, and boating.

The second series, Writings, documents Fowler’s career as a journalist. Subseries are World War II, Vietnam War, Humor, John Connally Assassination Attempt, Crime and Safety, and Boating. Each subseries contains clippings and columns by Fowler, including his “Vietnam Diary,” a special insert for the Dallas Morning News on February 27, 1966. Other items of note include articles on journalist Ernie Pyle, clippings documenting Fowler’s trip to Vietnam with Texas businessman H. Ross Perot, photographs of daily life in Vietnam and published photographs by Fowler. Also of note are two folders of notecards containing jokes, one-liners, and subject matter for speaking engagements.

The Correspondence series is also divided into periods, which are World War II, Vietnam, Chili, and family condolences. An exception to this is the Letters to Fowler, found in Writings-World War II, which includes hand-written and typed notes from various colleagues.

Many materials have been placed in oversized boxes. Researchers should note the box number on the container list as they are not always consecutive.