About the Project
Arkansas Democrat employees pose in the mid-1970s. The man on the far right is publisher Walter Hussman, Jr.
(Photograph courtesy of Jerry McConnell.)
The Arkansas Democrat oral history project was launched in the Spring of 2005 to capture the history of its operations in the late twentieth century and, particularly, to focus on the famous newspaper war with the Arkansas Gazette. When the Gazette's assets were sold to Democrat publisher Walter Hussman, Jr., in 1991, he renamed the newspaper the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
Jerry McConnell, who has had a distinguished career in the newspaper industry, serves as the project director. He took his first newspaper job with the Arkansas Democrat in 1951 before moving to the Gazette in 1955. He returned to the Democrat in 1971 as managing editor and remained there until 1978 when he moved to Oklahoma where he worked for both the Daily Oklahoman and the Oklahoma City Times. He retired from the Oklahoman in 1991. He now lives in Greenwood. The project received generous funding from the Hussman Foundation.
Interviews
Oral history transcripts require Adobe Reader. This can be downloaded free of charge.
| Interviewee | Interviewer | Date | |
|---|---|---|---|
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Adams, Gregory | McConnell, Jerry | 11/8/2007 |
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Allbright, Charles | McConnell, Jerry | 5/15/2005 |
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Allen, Amanda Miller | Stogsdill, Carol | 8/12/2006 |
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Allen, Jim | McConnell, Jerry | 2/1/2007 |
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Anderson, Phillip S. | McConnell, Jerry | 2/27/2007 |
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Arnold, George | Hackler, Tim | 4/20/2005 |
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Bailey, Jim | McConnell, Jerry | 6/14/2005 |
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Baldridge [Speed], Julie | White, Mel | 6/29/2005 |
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Berry, Allen | McConnell, Jerry | 5/4/2006 |
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Berry, Arminta | McConnell, Jerry | 6/3/2005 |
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Bradburn, Cary | McConnell, Jerry | 11/8/2007 |
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Brandon, Phyllis | McConnell, Jerry | 7/2/2005 |
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Burnham, Ron | McConnell, Jerry | 9/4/2005 |
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Campbell, Fred | White, Mel | 8/10/2005 |
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Casey, Ralph | McConnell, Jerry | 7/29/2005 |
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Clay, Jerrilyn L. [Carter] | Leveritt, Mara | 7/18/2005 |
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Cranford, Wayne | Brandon, Phyllis | 6/4/2005 |
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Daniel, Sheila | White, Mel | 10/14/2005 |
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Day, Barbara | McConnell, Jerry | 2/23/2006 |
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Dean, W.J. "Jerry" | Rollberg, Jeanne | 7/20/2005 |
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Dickinson, Sam D. | McConnell, Jerry | 2/12/2007 |
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Donald, Leroy | Tirey, Brenda | 2/2/2006 |
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Doty, Gerald | McConnell, Jerry | 8/29/2006 |
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Dougan, Michael | McConnell, Jerry | 3/7/2007 |
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Eddins, Bill | Jordan, Gerald | 7/22/2005 |
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Fellone, Frank | Brandon, Phyllis | 7/13/2005 |
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Fields, Arlin | Farley, Dan | 7/14/2005 |
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Finch, Jackye | Brandon, Phyllis | 6/25/2005 |
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Foreman, Gene | McConnell, Jerry | 7/15/2006 |
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Funk, Betty | McConnell, Jerry | 2/24/2006 |
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Gamble, Marguerite | Brandon, Phyllis | 9/3/2005 |
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Garrett, Chester | McConnell, Jerry | 7/30/2005 |
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George, Marcus | McConnell, Jerry | 5/14/2005 |
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Graham, Larry | McConnell, Jerry | 6/1/2006 |
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Greenberg, Paul | McConnell, Jerry | 8/21/2007 |
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Greene, Omar | Hoffmann, Garry | 7/28/2007 |
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Greenwood, Ramon | McConnell, Jerry | 1/29/2007 |
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Hackler, Tim | Arnold, George | 5/12/2005 |
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Hall, Wally | Fellone, Frank | 6/9/2005 |
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Hamilton, Lynn | McConnell, Jerry | 5/4/2006 |
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Harrison, Eric | Storey, Celia | 7/28/2005 |
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Hays, Steele | Allen, Amanda Miller | 4/30/2005 |
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Hemingway, Charles | McConnell, Jerry | 6/30/2006 |
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Herrington, Gene | McConnell, Jerry | 2/16/2005 |
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Hoge, Alyson | McConnell, Jerry | 11/18/2005 |
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Holmes, Martin | Rice, Gary | 8/27/2005 |
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Holt, Bob | Krebs, Sam | 8/21/2005 |
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Hood Jones, Beverly | Leveritt, Mara | 7/20/2005 |
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Hussman, Walter Jr. | Reed, Roy | 6/30/2004 |
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Husted, Bill | Hays, Steele | 1/28/2006 |
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Jeffrey, Estel | McConnell, Jerry | 7/31/2006 |
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Jordan, Gerald | Arnold, George | 5/5/2005 |
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Kaufman, Ken | McConnell, Jerry | 3/25/2006 |
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Kelly, Charles | McConnell, Jerry | 11/18/2005 |
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Kennedy, Jon | McCord, Bob | 5/15/2006 |
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Kennedy, Mary Lowe | Jordan, Gerald | 7/24/2005 |
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Kirby, Martin | McConnell, Jerry | 5/31/2007 |
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Kirkendall, Mike | McConnell, Jerry | 2/8/2007 |
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Koonce, Gerald | Hoffmann, Garry | 8/22/2007 |
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Krebs, Sam | Holt, Bob | 8/21/2005 |
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Lancaster, Bob | Leveritt, Mara | 6/6/2005 |
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Leveritt, Mara | White, Mel | 4/27/2005 |
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Lorenzen, Rod | Fields, Arlin | 7/27/2005 |
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Masterson, Mike | Hackler, Tim | 8/21/2005 |
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May, Al | McConnell, Jerry | 4/16/2007 |
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McCord, Robert (Bob) | McConnell, Jerry | 6/3/2005 |
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Miller, Nancy | Crouch, Elisa | 6/19/2006 |
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Mobbs, John | McConnell, Jerry | 6/22/2006 |
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Morris, Anthony | McConnell, Jerry | 4/27/2007 |
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Morrow, Fred | McConnell, Jerry | 6/12/2005 |
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Nelson, Rex | McConnell, Jerry | 5/3/2007 |
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Patrick, Ralph | Allen, Amanda Miller | 7/2/2005 |
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Peacock, Leslie Newell | White, Mel | 6/6/2005 |
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Petrucelli, Fred | McCullum, David | 3/14/2006 |
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Rea, Larry | Bailey, Clay | 6/28/2007 |
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Reddoch, Dave | McConnell, Jerry | 7/31/2006 |
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Rhodes, Sonny | Leveritt, Mara | 8/26/2005 |
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Rice, Gary | Gamino, Denise | 8/14/2005 |
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Rixse, Charles | McConnell, Jerry | 7/15/2005 |
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Robinson, Ron | McConnell, Jerry | 9/22/2005 |
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Shuemake, Jim | McConnell, Jerry | 7/16/2005 |
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Simmons, Bill | Bailey, Jim | 7/31/2007 |
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Steinmetz, Tucker | McConnell, Jerry | 5/4/2007 |
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Stogsdill, Carol | Allen, Amanda Miller | 8/21/2006 |
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Storey, Cecelia | Hoge, Alyson | 10/20/2005 |
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Straw, Lynda Zimmer | Tirey, Brenda | 7/4/2005 |
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Sutton, Ozell | McConnell, Jerry | 8/29/2006 |
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Tardy, Randy | Hoffmann, Garry | 2/11/2006 |
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Taylor, Bill | Oakley, Meredith | 4/26/2006 |
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Taylor, Mary Dee | Finch, Jackye | 6/28/2005 |
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Terrell, David | Terrell, Pamela | 3/24/2007 |
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Terrell, Pamela | McConnell, Jerry | 3/28/2007 |
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Thompson, Teri | McConnell, Jerry | 1/22/2007 |
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Tirey, Brenda | Leveritt, Mara | 5/5/2005 |
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Tyson, Van | McCord, Bob | 4/19/2006 |
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Ward, John | McConnell, Jerry | 9/23/2005 |
