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 J. 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
Adams, Gregory | Jerry McConnell | 11/8/2007 |
| |
Allbright, Charles | Jerry McConnell | 5/15/2005 |
| |
Allen, Jim | Jerry McConnell | 2/1/2007 |
| |
Allen, Amanda Miller | Carol Stogsdill | 8/12/2006 |
| |
Anderson, Phillip S. | Jerry McConnell | 2/27/2007 |
| |
Arnold, George | Tim Hackler | 4/20/2005 |
| |
Bailey, Jim | Jerry McConnell | 6/14/2005 |
| |
Baldridge [Speed], Julie | Mel White | 6/29/2005 |
| |
Berry, Allen | Jerry McConnell | 5/4/2006 |
| |
Berry, Arminta | Jerry McConnell | 6/3/2005 |
| |
Bradburn, Cary | Jerry McConnell | 11/8/2007 |
| |
Brandon, Phyllis | Jerry McConnell | 7/2/2005 |
| |
Burnham, Ron | Jerry McConnell | 9/4/2005 |
| |
Campbell, Fred | Mel White | 8/10/2005 |
| |
Casey, Ralph | Jerry McConnell | 7/29/2005 |
| |
Clay, Jerrilyn L. [Carter] | Mara Leveritt | 7/18/2005 |
| |
Cranford, Wayne | Phyllis Brandon | 6/4/2005 |
| |
Daniel, Sheila | Mel White | 10/14/2005 |
| |
Day, Barbara | Jerry McConnell | 2/23/2006 |
| |
Dean, W.J. "Jerry" | Jeanne Rollberg | 7/20/2005 |
| |
Dickinson, Sam D. | Jerry McConnell | 2/12/2007 |
| |
Donald, Leroy | Brenda Tirey | 2/2/2006 |
| |
Doty, Gerald | Jerry McConnell | 8/29/2006 |
| |
Dougan, Michael | Jerry McConnell | 3/7/2007 |
| |
Eddins, Bill | Gerald Jordan | 7/22/2005 |
| |
Fellone, Frank | Phyllis Brandon | 7/13/2005 |
| |
Fields, Arlin | Dan Farley | 7/14/2005 |
| |
Finch, Jackye | Phyllis Brandon | 6/25/2005 |
| |
Foreman, Gene | Jerry McConnell | 7/15/2006 |
| |
Funk, Betty | Jerry McConnell | 2/24/2006 |
| |
Gamble, Marguerite | Phyllis Brandon | 9/3/2005 |
| |
Garrett, Chester | Jerry McConnell | 7/30/2005 |
| |
George, Marcus | Jerry McConnell | 5/14/2005 |
| |
Graham, Larry | Jerry McConnell | 6/1/2006 |
| |
Greenburg, Paul | Jerry McConnell | 8/21/2007 |
| |
Greenwood, Ramon | Jerry McConnell | 1/29/2007 |
| |
Hackler, Tim | George Arnold | 5/12/2005 |
| |
Hall, Wally | Frank Fellone | 6/9/2005 |
| |
Hamilton, Lynn | Jerry McConnell | 5/4/2006 |
| |
Harrison, Eric | Celia Storey | 7/28/2005 |
| |
Hays, Steele | Amanda Miller Allen | 4/30/2005 |
| |
Hemingway, Charles | Jerry McConnell | 6/30/2006 |
| |
Herrington, Gene | Jerry McConnell | 2/16/2005 |
| |
Hoge, Alyson | Jerry McConnell | 11/18/2005 |
| |
Holmes, Martin | Gary Rice | 8/27/2005 |
| |
Holt, Bob | Sam Krebs | 8/21/2005 |
| |
Hood Jones, Beverly | Mara Leveritt | 7/20/2005 |
| |
Hussman, Walter Jr. | Roy Reed | 6/30/2004 |
| |
Husted, Bill | Steele Hays | 1/28/2006 |
| |
Jeffery, Estel | Jerry McConnell | 7/31/2006 |
| |
Jordan, Gerald | George Arnold | 5/5/2005 |
| |
Kaufman, Ken | Jerry McConnell | 3/25/2006 |
| |
Kelly, Charles | Jerry McConnell | 11/18/2005 |
| |
Kennedy, Mary Lowe | Gerald Jordan | 7/24/2005 |
| |
Kennedy, Jon | Bob McCord | 5/15/2006 |
| |
Kirby, Martin | Jerry McConnell | 5/31/2007 |
| |
Kirkendall, Mike | Jerry McConnell | 2/8/2007 |
| |
Koonce, Gerald | Garry Hoffmann | 8/22/2007 |
| |
Krebs, Sam | Bob Holt | 8/21/2005 |
| |
Lancaster, Bob | Mara Leveritt | 6/6/2005 |
| |
Leveritt, Mara | Mel White | 4/27/2005 |
| |
Lorenzen, Rod | Arlin Fields | 7/27/2005 |
| |
Masterson, Mike | Tim Hackler | 8/21/2005 |
| |
May, Al | Jerry McConnell | 4/16/2007 |
| |
McCord, Robert (Bob) | Jerry McConnell | 6/3/2005 |
| |
Miller, Nancy | Elisa Crouch | 6/19/2006 |
| |
Mobbs, John | Jerry McConnell | 6/22/2006 |
| |
Morris, Anthony | Jerry McConnell | 4/27/2007 |
| |
Morrow, Fred | Jerry McConnell | 6/12/2005 |
| |
Nelson, Rex | Jerry McConnell | 5/3/2007 |
| |
Patrick, Ralph | Amanda Miller Allen | 7/2/2005 |
| |
Peacock, Leslie Newell | Mel White | 6/6/2005 |
| |
Petrucelli, Fred | David McCullum | 3/14/2006 |
| |
Reddoch, Dave | Jerry McConnell | 7/31/2006 |
| |
Rhodes, Sonny | Mara Leveritt | 8/26/2005 |
| |
Rice, Gary | Denise Gamino | 8/14/2005 |
| |
Rixse, Charles | Jerry McConnell | 7/15/2005 |
| |
Robinson, Ron | Jerry McConnell | 9/22/2005 |
| |
Shuemake, Jim | Jerry McConnell | 7/16/2005 |
| |
Simmons, Bill | Jim Bailey | 7/31/2007 |
| |
Steinmetz, Tucker | Jerry McConnell | 5/4/2007 |
| |
Stogsdill, Carol | Amanda Miller Allen | 8/21/2006 |
| |
Storey, Cecelia | Alyson Hoge | 10/20/2005 |
| |
Straw, Lynda Zimmer | Brenda Tirey | 7/4/2005 |
| |
Sutton, Ozell | Jerry McConnell | 8/29/2006 |
| |
Tardy, Randy | Garry Hoffmann | 2/11/2006 |
| |
Taylor, Bill | Meredith Oakley | 4/26/2006 |
| |
Taylor, Mary Dee | Jackye Finch | 6/28/2005 |
| |
Terrell, Pamela | Jerry McConnell | 3/28/2007 |
| |
Terrell, David | Pamela Terrell | 3/24/2007 |
| |
Thompson, Teri | Jerry McConnell | 1/22/2007 |
| |
Tirey, Brenda | Mara Leveritt | 5/5/2005 |
| |
Tyson, Van | Bob McCord | 4/19/2006 |
| |
Ward, John | Jerry McConnell | 9/23/2005 |
