Marian T. Place
Marian T. Place was an American author who wrote nonfiction, fiction and juvenile fiction books as well as essays relating to the American West. She wrote more than 40 books under her own name and several pseudonyms.
Personal life and education
Marian Whitinger Templeton was born in 1910 in Gary, Indiana to Clarence Ray and Lillian R. Templeton. In 1931, she earned a B.S. from the University of Minnesota, followed in 1935 with a B.A. from Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida. Templeton subsequently earned her Masters of Library Science at the University of Minnesota. Shortly after completing her education, Templeton met Howard Thirloway Place while working for the Glasgow Courier and married him in 1936 in Glasgow, Montana. They went on to have two children, David and Nancy. Place and her husband moved to Portland, Oregon in 1962 where she resided until her death in 2006.Professional life
Place published works under her own name and two pseudonyms, Dale White and R.D. Whitinger. When writing about hunting, fishing, the Forest Service, and other science and nature related topics, Place published under Dale White, while R.D. Whitinger was used only briefly when Place dabbled with writing Westerns. She was the recipient of several awards under one of her pseudonyms and her own name, including the Mark Twain Award. Place was a prolific writer, publishing over 40 children's books in addition to magazine articles for Montana: [The Magazine of Western History], and books under her pseudonyms.Published materials
The following list contains some of Place's writing, both magazine articles and books.Published under Marian T. Place
- "The Kid's Corral." Montana: The Magazine of Western History, Autumn 1956, 1957.
- "The Endless Debate Rages: Historical Fictionalizing Versus Fact." Montana: The Magazine of Western History, Spring 1955.The Boy Who Saw BigfootThe Witch Who Saved HalloweenOn the Track of BigfootNobody Meets BigfootBigfoot All Over the CountryCariboo Gold: The Story of the British Columbia Gold RushThe Resident WitchMount St. Helen's: A Sleeping Volcano AwakesThe First AstrowitchesMarcus and Narcissa Whitman: Oregon PioneersThe Copper Kings of MontanaWestward on the Oregon TrailGold Down UnderMountain ManComanches and Other Indians of TexasThe Frontiersman: The True Story of Billy DixonAmerican Cattle Trails East and WestThe Yukon
Published under R.D. WhitingerHigh Trail
- ''Bitterroot Basin''
Awards
Under the pseudonym Dale White, Place was awarded the Spur Award from the Western Writers of America two times. The first was for Steamboat Up the Missouri in 1958 and the second was for Hold Back the Hunter in 1959.Under her own name, Place received the Mark Twain Award for The Boy Who Saw Bigfoot in 1982. She also was awarded the Garden State's Children Book Award in 1977 for On the Track of Bigfoot. Place was nominated for the California Young Reader Medal for The Boy Who Saw Bigfoot in 1982–1983.