GateHouse Media cuts ties with Cope

GateHouse Media officially announced the "resignation" of co-president and co-chief operating officer Randy Cope today in documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
According to the filing, Cope told the company Dec. 19 that he planned to resign effective Jan. 2:

In connection with his resignation, and in lieu of any payments or benefits to which he would be entitled under his employment agreement and management stockholder agreement with the Company, the Company will (a) accelerate the vesting of all of Mr. Cope’s outstanding restricted share grants to the effective date of his resignation, (b) continue to pay Mr. Cope his base salary for a period of two months following the effective date of his resignation, and (c) continue to provide Mr. Cope, for a period of up to 12 months following the effective date of his resignation, coverage under the Company’s medical plan at the same levels as such benefits have been provided to Mr. Cope and, in connection therewith, Mr. Cope will continue to make contributions at the employee-required levels.

Cope's departure will apparently end more than half a century of involvement of the Bush/Cope family in the Neosho Daily News, one of the newspapers owned by GateHouse Media. The family sold the Daily to American Publishing, the United States subsidiary of Hollinger International. Cope and his father, former Neosho Daily News Publisher Ken Cope, remained with the company and, in fact, climbed quickly to the upper levels of company management.
The smaller newspapers in the company broke away (with the help of payments to Conrad Black and David Radler) in 1998 to become Liberty Group Publishing. The name was changed to GateHouse Media two years ago.

Cope appeared to be on the fast track to success with the company, especially after the departure of former Liberty Group Publishing CEO Ken Serota, but his star began to diminish after the arrival of former Community Newspaper Holdings, Inc (owner of the Joplin Globe) CEO Michael Reed and the hiring of several Reed confederates at positions with more power than that held by Cope.

Cope's position as of today's announcement is "co-president and co-chief operating officer responsible for our Southern Midwest Region," according to the GateHouse Media website. Cope had been executive vice president from April 2002 to June 2005.

From 1995 to 1998, Cope was publisher of the Northwest Arkansas Times in Fayetteville. Prior to that, he had been publisher of the Neosho Daily News, a position he resumed when he joined Liberty Group Publishing in 1998 and held until he ceded that responsibility to Rick Rogers in June 2005, when a news release from Liberty indicated Cope and Scott Champion were the new heads of the company replacing Serota. As noted in the June 7, 2005, Turner Report:

Neosho's Randy Cope is officially the top man at Liberty Group Publishing. At least he will be one of two who will share that position.
The announcement was made today, along with the announcement that the purchase of Liberty by Fortress Investment Group LLC has been finalized. The move had previously been publicized in the Daily, with the announcement that Rick Rogers had been promoted to the publisher position, and in Editor & Publisher, a newspaper industry trade publication.

When Fortress Investment Group purchased Liberty, it pushed for the hiring of Reed, after which Cope's power and influence in the company diminished.

It will be interesting to see what the removal of Cope will do to the area newspapers which have been affected so much by his decisions of the past few years. Chip Watson,the manager for the newspapers in this region, who has been with Cope from the American Publishing days through the years at the Northwest Arkansas Times and then back to Liberty and GateHouse, has been under fire in recent months and no longer has his chief protector.

The news could also spell trouble for Carthage Press Managing Editor Buzz Ball, whose close ties with the Cope/Bush family extend to the days when his father, Bill Ball, was the Daily's sports editor. Ball has done little to endear himself to Press readers during the months he has been at the helm.

Neosho Daily addresses Cope's departure

The resignation of Randy Cope from his position as co-president and co-chief operating officer of GateHouse Media was finally addressed in today's Neosho Daily News. Cope, of course, was a longtime publisher of the Daily and his family, on the Cope and Bush sides, had been involved with the Daily for the past 55 years.
The Daily waited until the effective date of his resignation, which was today. The information became public one week ago when GateHouse Media filed the news of Cope's resignation with the Securities and Exchange Commission:

“Randy’s service to this newspaper was vital to its success,” (Daily Publisher Rick) Rogers said. “Even though the Cope and Bush families will no longer be directly involved in the newspaper, they will always have a place in our family. This newspaper would not be where it is today without the leadership provided by Howard Bush, Ken and Anne Cope, and Randy Cope. It is now our goal, as the current staff of the Neosho Daily News, to continue the tradition of publishing a strong daily newspaper with important local news content, with a value to our advertisers, and as a source of information to our readers.”

Randy Cope no longer with American Consolidated Media

Former Neosho Daily News Publisher Randy Cope is out as head man at American Consolidated Media, according to a message sent to company employees by the company's vice president in charge of human resources.

Cope had risen to the top of GateHouse Media and its predecessor Liberty Group Publishing before he and others who had built Liberty were pushed out by current GateHouse CEO Michael Reed. After that, Cope was hired for the top spot at ACM, whose newspapers in several states include the Miami News-Record and Grove Sun.

The text of the letter about Cope's departure is printed below"

As companies continue to transform, change is a natural part of the process. These changes continue to evolve companies into the future, even if a bit painful. It is in this spirit, that we announce Randy Cope, CEO is no longer with ACM.

With a change of this magnitude we acknowledge some might become concerned. We will have a smooth transition as the Board has named Scott Wright, COO to lead the company in the interim. As a team, we will continue to work towards building the revenues of our company in each region, today and into the future. Our focus has not changed.  Our vision remains the same - to be the leading media organization in every community we serve.

ACM is stable, we have a solid vision for the future and, as a work family, we have a responsibility to remain focused and keep moving forward.  In alignment with our culture of C.A.R.E., we are committed to keeping the communication flowing to ensure you are informed in a timely manner. 

Thank you in advance for staying the course and doing your very best to help ACM succeed.

Navolia Bryant

Vice President - Human Resources
American Consolidated Media
7301 N. State Hwy. 161, Suite 270
Irving, Texas 75039

Remembering Ken Cope

For those who love the newspaper business, there is no sound that brings more joy than the press printing hundreds of copies in a few minutes.

The press was the vehicle through which the work of reporters, editors and advertising sales people landed on our doorsteps each day, detailing the day-to-day lives of our community and those who lived in it.

That was the way it was when Ken Cope entered the newspaper business more than six decades ago.

The press that Ken Cope helped operate as he began a long career in newspapers was not the state-of-the-art press that shoots out thousands of papers in minutes. Cope's career began in the days of the linotype, a much slower process involving the use of hot metal . At the time, the Neosho Daily, which was owned by Cope's father-in-law, Howard Bush, also ran a job printing shop, where Cope worked.



Cope, who had attended one year at Joplin Junior College, continued his education at the University of Texas and though he received his degree in editorial journalism when he returned to the family business, it was not on the editorial side. There were no jobs available in that department.

So Ken Cope resumed his journalism career as an advertising salesman.

Over the next three decades, Cope and his wife Anne eventually bought out Anne's brothers, Channing and Richard Bush, and became the sole owners of the Daily. Cope also spent time serving his community as mayor.

When Kenneth and Anne Cope sold the Neosho Daily News to American Publishing, they did so with the firm belief that they were selling to a company that had the same love for community journalism that they had held their entire adult lives.

And that was the way it was for many years. Through the tenures of numerous editors, beginning with Anne Cope herself, Bill Ball, Rob Viehman, Buzz Ball and John Ford, the Daily continued to offer coverage of Neosho, Newton County and McDonald County.

Its pages featured the words of Harlan Stark, Mary Alice Campbell, Dean Keeling and others who helped keep the community informed six days a week, every week, year after year. During much of that time, Ken and Anne Cope's son Randy served as publisher.

"The purpose of the local newspaper is to cover local news," Mr. Cope said in a 1997 interview. Putting in canned items sent out by ownership would defeat that purpose, he added. "They'd be cutting their own throats."

In her editor's column Anne Cope often wrote about "The Runner" her nickname for her husband because of his love of running, a love that was so fervent that he qualified for and ran in the Boston Marathon.

It was only a few weeks ago that it was announced that the Neosho Daily News, the newspaper the Cope and Bush families operated successfully for decades, would only be published once a week and the printing press, the press that was the pride and joy of the newspaper's operation, was being silenced forever, as printing would be transferred to a plant in Columbia, a decision that was made by GateHouse Media, the type of owners that Ken Cope never envisioned would ever own the newspaper that had been a labor of love for his family.

The newspaper that Ken and Anne Cope ran no longer exists, its marathon run stilled by greedy ownership that seems intent on ending its marathon run with a whimper.

Sadly, Ken Cope's climb from the linotype to the upper rungs of journalism, including induction into the Missouri Press Hall of Fame in 2004, has also come to an end with his death Saturday at age 83.

It is truly the end of an era when not only the printing presses, but the giants who kept them operating, are no longer running.

***

Visitation for former Neosho Daily News Publisher Kenneth Cope, who died Saturday at age 83, will be held 6 to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Clark Funeral Home in Neosho.

Funeral services are scheduled for 1 p.m. Wednesday at Rocketdyne Church of God, 1111 Rocketdyne Road, Neosho.

A complete obituary will be printed later on Inside Joplin Obituaries

Randy Cope named CEO of American Consolidated Media

Former GateHouse Media executive and Neosho Daily News Publisher Randy Cope has been named CEO and co-president of American Consolidated Media:

"Randy has approximately 20 years of operational and managerial experience in the U.S. community newspaper sector," Macquarie CEO Mark Downey said in announcing the appointment at the company's annual meeting in Sydney.

"Randy's appointment is another step in the process that began 18 months ago, when Macquarie and ACM sought to grow ACM into a more substantial business," Downey said. "Significantly, since then ACM has grown to the fifth-largest small-market community newspaper group in the U.S."

Dallas-based ACM was founded ten years ago by Jeremy Halbreich, who resigned as CEO this summer, a year after the chain was acquired by Macquarie. ACM publishes 104 dailies and non-dailies in 10 states.

Previous Turner Report posts about Randy Cope can be found at this link.

Former Neosho woman's book set for April publication

It is still more than four months before Pam Cope's book, Jantsen's Gift: A True Story of Grief, Rescue, and Grace, will be published, but the book is already climbing the Amazon.com charts, thanks to advance orders.

The book details how Mrs. Cope started a shelter for homeless children in Saigon, following the unexpected death of her son, Jantsen, in 1999. Since that time, she and her husband, former Neosho Daily News Publisher Randy Cope, have continued to add to "Touch a Life."

The following description of the book is provided on Amazon.com:

Nine years ago, Pam Cope owned a cozy hair salon in the tiny town of Neosho, Missouri, and her life revolved around her son's baseball games, her daughter's dance lessons, and family trips to places like Disney World. She had never been out of the country, nor had she any desire to travel far from home.

Then, on June 16th, 1999, her life changed forever with the death of her 15-year-old son from an undiagnosed heart ailment.

Needing to get as far away as possible from everything that reminded her of her loss, she accepted a friend's invitation to travel to Vietnam, and, from the moment she stepped off the plane, everything she had been feeling since her son's death began to shift. By the time she returned home, she had a new mission: to use her pain to change the world, one small step at a time, one child at a time. Today, she is the mother of two children adopted from Vietnam. More than that, she and her husband have created a foundation called "Touch A Life," dedicated to helping desperate children in countries as far-flung as Vietnam, Cambodia and Ghana.

Pam Cope's story is on one level a moving, personal account of loss and recovery, but on a deeper level, it offers inspiration to anyone who has ever suffered great personal tragedy or those of us who dream about making a difference in the world.

The book is co-authored by Aimee Molloy, who has also written a book with Senator John Kerry and Kerry's wife, Teresa Heinz Kerry.

The book may be pre-ordered by clicking on the link in the upper right hand corner of this page.

Cope new top man at Liberty

Neosho's Randy Cope is officially the top man at Liberty Group Publishing. At least he will be one of two who will share that position.
The announcement was made today, along with the announcement that the purchase of Liberty by Fortress Investment Group LLC has been finalized. The move had previously been publicized in the Daily, with the announcement that Rick Rogers had been promoted to the publisher position, and in Editor & Publisher, a newspaper industry trade publication.
Cope, the former publisher of The Neosho Daily News, will serve as co-president and co-chief operating officer of Liberty with Scott Champion. Cope and Champion have served as regional managers for Liberty.
Former Liberty CEO Ken Serota has stepped down, but will continue to serve the company as as an advisor.
The changes put Cope and Champion in charge of a company that has more daily newspapers, 66 at last count, than all but two companies, Gannett, owner of the Springfield News-Leader, which has 101 and Community Newspaper Holdings, owners of the Joplin Globe, which has 89.
Liberty also owns The Carthage Press, the Big Nickel, the Neosho Post, the Greenfield Vedette, and The Miller Press in this area.

Cope removed from GateHouse Media site

It's no big news that Randy Cope's name was removed from the management page of the GateHouse Media website, since his "resignation" officially took place Wednesday, but one question still remains.
Cope's position with GateHouse was co-president and co-chief operating officer, a position he shared with Scott Champion. So since Cope is no longer around, why is Champion still referred to as co-president and co-chief operating officer?

Signed copies of Newton County Memories available as holiday gifts

Signed copies of my book Newton County Memories are available as Christmas gifts for those of you who have friends with Newton County connections or who are close to someone who is featured ine book.

The book, which was published earlier this year, features my recollections of people, places and events that made growing up and living in Newton County a wonderful time for me.

Those wishing to order a signed copy can do so by sending $22 to cover the cost, sales tax and postage to Randy Turner, 2306 E. 8th, Apt. A, Joplin MO 64801, or use the PayPal button below.

Signed copies are also on sale locally at Granby Auto Supply and Hardware, Pat's Books in Carthage,  and Changing Hands Book Shoppe and Always Buying Books in Joplin.

Newton County Memories includes the following chapters and names:

Chapters

Introduction
2. Cold-Blooded Assassin (Remembering Dean Keeling)
14. Becky’s Mom (Remembering Helen Hildebrand)
18. Good Intentions Don’t Cut It (Remembering Willi Pierson)
21. The Meeting Place (Remembering the Neosho Square)
25. The Hangout (Remembering Gertrude Brown and the Brown Derby)
28. A Commitment to Young People (Remembering Terry Shepherd)
33. A Bases Loaded Intentional Walk (Remembering Gary Shepherd)
39. Special Delivery (Remembering Gary Nagle)
42. Return to Granby (Remembering the Newton County News)
50. No Love for the Captain and Tennille (Remembering James Payne)
53. The Long and Difficult Road (Remembering the Newtonia Tornado)
56. One-Year Anniversary (Remembering the Newtonia Tornado)
59. One of a Kind (Remembering Duane Beaver)
62. The Trailer Classroom (Remembering T. J. Bowman)

66. Those Who Can (Remembering the Teachers)
70. World Champions (Remembering the 1967 St. Louis Cardinals)
73. (The Words That Keep Her Alive (Remembering Barbara McNeely)
76. Letter to the Editor (Remembering Mr. Patrick)
79. No Stealing in Heaven (Remembering Rev. Freddie Franks)
82. Death of a Newspaper (Remembering the Neosho Daily News)
86. Art for the Ages (Remembering Newtonia History)
89. The Joy of Reading (Remembering the Bookmobile)
93. The Man in Charge (Remembering Rue Porter)
96. The Last Cup of Coffee (Remembering Wilma Bragg)
99. Taking the Blame (Remembering Mickey Owen)
102. The Last Performance (Remembering Bill Pierson)
105. Solid, Steady and Reliable (Remembering Tom Channel)
108. Instead of Just A Wishin’ (Remembering the Sportsman’s Friend)
111. The Place to Be (Remembering Rita Wheeler and Reta’s)
114. The Baseball Fields of Neosho (Remembering Ralph Houk)
116. The Last Time I Wore Makeup (Remembering Patty Renfro)
119. A Slap in the Face (Remembering Susan Warren and Little Moon of Alban)
122. A Few Ill-Chosen Words (Remembering Ranae Powell)
125. The Voice of the Cardinals (Remembering KMOX)
131. A Name From the Past (Remembering Bob Shore)
134. Making the Past Come to Life (Remembering Dixie Haase)
136. The Face of the Newspaper (Remembering Harlan Stark and Bill Ball)
139. The House on the Hill (Remembering Max Carter)
142. The Final Deadline (Remembering Eulah Hawkins)
145. It Started at East Newton (Remembering Ron Lankford)
148. Conversation and Politics (Remembering Mike Camerer)
151. Stolen Bases (Remembering an Oldtimers Game )
157. A Child Discovers Reality (Remembering Ranger Ed and the Fun Club and Children’s Shows of Yesteryear)

Names and Places



Jack Anderson
Slim Andrews
Anything Goes
Louis Armstrong
Ted Arnall
Aroma Express

Karla Babb
Pete Babb
Bill Ball
Buzz Ball
Lou Ann Ball
Baseball Digest
Duane Beaver
Don Bogle
Maggie Bowman
T. J. Bowman
Ken Boyer
Roy Bragg
Sharon Bragg
Vicki Bragg
Wilma Bragg
Lou Brock
Teddy Brock
Ernie Broglio
Brown Derby
Gertrude Brown
Vernie Browning
Jack Buck
Burnett Grocery
Bill Burress
Howard Bush
Richard Bush

Harry Caray
Max Carter
Orlando Cepeda
Norma Champion
Tom Channel
Charles O. Chester
Preston Chester
Civil War Cemetery
Bob Clark
Roberto Clemente
Sue Cole
Combat
Ronna Cook
Ed Cooper
Anne Cope
Ken Cope
Randy Cope
Geoff Cornish
Corral
Crowder College
Nettie Cummins

Dairy Dip
Bill Dalbom
Diamond
Diamond Middle School
Dog N Suds

East Newton High School
Lester Ray Edgar
Harold Ensley

Fairview
Fife and Drum
Kiley Finkbiner
Woody Fitzmaurice
Curt Flood
John Ford
Rev. Freddie Franks
The Fugitive
Donna Fullerton
Reta Fullerton

Bob Gibson
Charles Goade
Andy Griffith
Carroll Gum

Dixie Haase
Scott Harris
Eulah Hawkins
Gerry Henson
Whitey Herzog
Todd Higdon
Becky Hildebrand
Bob Hildebrand
Helen Hildebrand
Laurie Hildebrand
Anita Hilton
Danny Hilton
Craig Hopper
Jim Hunter
Ralph Houk
Kaylea Hutson

J. C. Penney
Julian Javier
Jackie Jensen
Billy Johnson
Burney Johnson
Hattie Mae Johnson
Lee Ann Johnson
Stan Johnson
Teddy Johnson
Don Johnston
Joplin Globe
Joplin News-Herald
Danny Judd
David Judd
Gary Judd
Larry Judd
Mark Judd
Tim Judd

Bill Keith
Ken’s Pizza
KMOX
Paul Knight
Debbie Kruse
KUHI

Ray Lankford
Ron Lankford
Tony LaRussa
Helen Lee
Lettermen
Brad Letts
Charlie Letts
Steve Letts
Tim Letts
Little Moon of Alban
Jim Lobbey
Lumberjacks

Joyce Mann
Mickey Mantle
Roger Maris
Janice Matthews
Willie Mays
Tim McCarver
Patrick McFarland
McGinty’s
Gray McKinney
Barbara McNeely
Midway School
Ron Mitchell
The Mouse That Roared
Stan Musial

Gary Nagle
Roger Neer
Rick Nelson
Neosho
Neosho Boulevard
Neosho Daily News
Neosho Newsstand
Neosho Nurseries
Neosho Square
Newton County News
Newtonia
Newtonia Community Building
Nichols Grocery

Old Mining Town Days
Gene Oliver
Roy Orbison
Mickey Owen
Alan Oxendine
Gary Oxendine

Helen Patrick
Hodgen Patrick
James Payne
Drew Pearson
Sherry Pettey
Bill Pierson
Willi Pierson
Rue Porter
Burl Powell
Keith Powell
Ranae Powell
Elvis Presley

Ranger Ed
Steve Ray
Irene Relf
Patty Renfro
Reta’s
Ritchey House
Johnny Rivers
Mae Robbins
Rita Roller
Jean Rowe

Chief Saddler
Ray Sadecki
St. Louis Cardinals
Karen Sapp
John Scott
Wana Senter
Mike Shannon
Gary Shepherd
Rob Shepherd
Terry Shepherd
Red Schoendienst
Bob Shore
Skinny and Rusty
Dick Smith Memorial Park
Bob Snyder
Rhonda Speak
Sporting News
Stark City
Harlan Stark
Chad Stebbins
Casey Stengel
Sterling's
Carolyn Strait
Emery Styron
John Styron
Pat Styron
Vern Styron
Amber Swartz
Randy Switzer

Danny Tanner
Richard Taylor
Vickie Thomas
Tigers
Joe Torre
Herb Troxel
Robyn Trowbridge
Bill Turner
JoAnn Turner
Kelly Turner
Vicki Turner

Rob Viehman

Susan Warren
Scott Watson
Bill Webster
Minnie Weems
Larry Wheeler
Rita Wheeler
Scott White
Steve White
Williams
Ed Wilson
Woodpeckers
David Wormington
Dee Wormington

Zoey

Book signing scheduled at Neosho Public Library, more information provided on Newton County Memories

I will be with three other area authors 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, June 30, at the Neosho Public Library.

Authors Lee Ann Sontheimer Murphy, Thomas S Mulvaugh and Cindy Leonard-Middaugh and I will have copies of our books available.

This is the first signing where my new book Newton County Memories will be available.

I will also have copies of my Joplin Tornado books, books on education and my novels for sale, as well as Turner Report t-shirts.

Newton County Memories is now available at always Buying Books in Joplin and Pat's Books in Carthage and can be purchased online at Amazon at the links provided below. You can also order a signed copy by sending $17 (including postage) to Randy Turner, 2306 E. 8th, Joplin, MO 64801.

Information about Newton County Memories, including a chapter-by-chapter breakdown and an almost complete list of the names of people and places that are included in the book is featured below:

GateHouse CEO received $1.5 million signing bonus to leave CNHI

When Michael Reed jumped from Community Newspaper Holdings, Inc. (CNHI), owner of the Joplin Globe to become CEO at GateHouse Media, he received an extremely sweet deal, according to a proxy statement filed today with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
GateHouse paid Reed a $1.5 million signing bonus, $16,500 for relocation and awarded him a three-year contract, according to the proxy statement, which was issued prior to the company's May 17 annual stockholders meeting in Pittsford, N. Y.

During 2006, Reed received compensation worth $6,457,868, the proxy statement indicated, including the $1.5 million bonus, the relocation money, his annual salary of $441,308, a performance-based bonus of $200,000, and stock valued at $4,299,000.
The proxy statement also detailed the earnings and fringe benefits of chief operating officers Randy Cope of Neosho and Scott Champion.
Cope, the former publisher of the Neosho Daily News, and Champion each received compensation worth $543,300, including $200,000 salaries, $200,000 performance-based bonuses, and stock valued at $143,300.

Under terms of their contracts, GateHouse's three top officers will land on their feet if they are ever fired or if the company is ever sold. The proxy statement indicated Champion would receive $464,000, Champion $928,000, and Cope $556,800.

GateHouse Media, which recently has been on a newspaper-buying frenzy, owns The Carthage Press, Neosho Daily News, Big Nickel, and the Neosho Post in this area.

Neosho couple featured in New York Times article

GateHouse Media official and former Neosho Daily News Publisher Randy Cope and his wife Pam are featured in today's New York Times.
For the past few years, the Copes have worked to raise money to help children in need throughout the world through their organization, Touch of Life Ministries:

By their reckoning, the group has spent about $150,000, mainly in Cambodia and Vietnam, on such tasks as financing shelters for children who are abused, handicapped, living on the street or orphaned by AIDS.

Mrs. Cope explained how the organization works:

Mrs. Cope, 44, and her husband, who is still a publishing company executive, run the organization together. They make a monthly contribution from their income. He keeps track of the accounts. She makes the rounds of churches and service clubs and chooses the projects.Initially, she found fund-raising stressful. "I would speak to 400 or 500 people, and nobody would give me any money," she said. Then, she said, she decided she could only try to be a voice for children in crisis, not control the reaction. Now she views the balance sheet with equanimity. "Money comes from places I never expect, and places I expect to get money from I don't," she said. "Part of my message is, you don’t have to have tons of money, but you have to have a willing heart."

Newton County Memories to be available at Newtonia Fall Festival

I will be at the Newtonia Fall Festival between 12:30 p.m. and 3 p.m. tomorrow (Saturday, September 29) with signed copies of Newton County Memories.

The 43rd annual festival will begin 9 a.m. at the Newtonia Community Building.

A full slate of activities is scheduled for the day, including performances by area musicians, arts and crafts, games and activities, the king and queen contest and the parade, which is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. and will include semis and antique tractors.

The event was originally held to raise funds to build the community center. A ham and bean lunch will start at 11 a.m. and will continue until the food is gone.


The festival is scheduled to conclude at 3 p.m. with the announcement of the final raffle winners.

In addition to copies of Newton County Memories, I will have my books on the Joplin Tornado, including 5:41: Stories from the Joplin Tornado and Silver Lining in a Funnel Cloud, my education books, Let Teachers Teach and Classroom Confidential, and other titles available, as well as Turner Report t-shirts.

Newton County Memories includes the following chapters and names:

Chapters

Introduction
2. Cold-Blooded Assassin (Remembering Dean Keeling)
14. Becky’s Mom (Remembering Helen Hildebrand)
18. Good Intentions Don’t Cut It (Remembering Willi Pierson)
21. The Meeting Place (Remembering the Neosho Square)
25. The Hangout (Remembering Gertrude Brown and the Brown Derby)
28. A Commitment to Young People (Remembering Terry Shepherd)
33. A Bases Loaded Intentional Walk (Remembering Gary Shepherd)
39. Special Delivery (Remembering Gary Nagle)
42. Return to Granby (Remembering the Newton County News)
50. No Love for the Captain and Tennille (Remembering James Payne)
53. The Long and Difficult Road (Remembering the Newtonia Tornado)
56. One-Year Anniversary (Remembering the Newtonia Tornado)
59. One of a Kind (Remembering Duane Beaver)
62. The Trailer Classroom (Remembering T. J. Bowman)
66. Those Who Can (Remembering the Teachers)
70. World Champions (Remembering the 1967 St. Louis Cardinals)
73. (The Words That Keep Her Alive (Remembering Barbara McNeely)
76. Letter to the Editor (Remembering Mr. Patrick)
79. No Stealing in Heaven (Remembering Rev. Freddie Franks)
82. Death of a Newspaper (Remembering the Neosho Daily News)
86. Art for the Ages (Remembering Newtonia History)
89. The Joy of Reading (Remembering the Bookmobile)
93. The Man in Charge (Remembering Rue Porter)
96. The Last Cup of Coffee (Remembering Wilma Bragg)
99. Taking the Blame (Remembering Mickey Owen)
102. The Last Performance (Remembering Bill Pierson)
105. Solid, Steady and Reliable (Remembering Tom Channel)
108. Instead of Just A Wishin’ (Remembering the Sportsman’s Friend)
111. The Place to Be (Remembering Rita Wheeler and Reta’s)
114. The Baseball Fields of Neosho (Remembering Ralph Houk)
116. The Last Time I Wore Makeup (Remembering Patty Renfro)
119. A Slap in the Face (Remembering Susan Warren and Little Moon of Alban)
122. A Few Ill-Chosen Words (Remembering Ranae Powell)
125. The Voice of the Cardinals (Remembering KMOX)
131. A Name From the Past (Remembering Bob Shore)
134. Making the Past Come to Life (Remembering Dixie Haase)
136. The Face of the Newspaper (Remembering Harlan Stark and Bill Ball)
139. The House on the Hill (Remembering Max Carter)
142. The Final Deadline (Remembering Eulah Hawkins)
145. It Started at East Newton (Remembering Ron Lankford)
148. Conversation and Politics (Remembering Mike Camerer)
151. Stolen Bases (Remembering an Oldtimers Game )
157. A Child Discovers Reality (Remembering Ranger Ed and the Fun Club and Children’s Shows of Yesteryear)

Names and Places

Jack Anderson
Slim Andrews
Anything Goes
Louis Armstrong
Ted Arnall
Aroma Express

Karla Babb
Pete Babb
Bill Ball
Buzz Ball
Lou Ann Ball
Baseball Digest
Duane Beaver
Don Bogle
Maggie Bowman
T. J. Bowman
Ken Boyer
Roy Bragg
Sharon Bragg
Vicki Bragg
Wilma Bragg
Lou Brock
Teddy Brock
Ernie Broglio
Brown Derby
Gertrude Brown
Vernie Browning
Jack Buck
Burnett Grocery
Bill Burress
Howard Bush
Richard Bush

Harry Caray
Max Carter
Orlando Cepeda
Norma Champion
Tom Channel
Charles O. Chester
Preston Chester
Civil War Cemetery
Bob Clark
Roberto Clemente
Sue Cole
Combat
Ronna Cook
Ed Cooper
Anne Cope
Ken Cope
Randy Cope
Geoff Cornish
Corral
Crowder College
Nettie Cummins

Dairy Dip
Bill Dalbom
Diamond
Diamond Middle School
Dog N Suds

East Newton High School
Lester Ray Edgar
Harold Ensley

Fairview
Fife and Drum
Kiley Finkbiner
Woody Fitzmaurice
Curt Flood
John Ford
Rev. Freddie Franks
The Fugitive
Donna Fullerton
Reta Fullerton

Bob Gibson
Charles Goade
Andy Griffith
Carroll Gum

Dixie Haase
Scott Harris
Eulah Hawkins
Gerry Henson
Whitey Herzog
Todd Higdon
Becky Hildebrand
Bob Hildebrand
Helen Hildebrand
Laurie Hildebrand
Anita Hilton
Danny Hilton
Craig Hopper
Jim Hunter
Ralph Houk
Kaylea Hutson

J. C. Penney
Julian Javier
Jackie Jensen
Billy Johnson
Burney Johnson
Hattie Mae Johnson
Lee Ann Johnson
Stan Johnson
Teddy Johnson
Don Johnston
Joplin Globe
Joplin News-Herald
Danny Judd
David Judd
Gary Judd
Larry Judd
Mark Judd
Tim Judd

Bill Keith
Ken’s Pizza
KMOX
Paul Knight
Debbie Kruse
KUHI

Ray Lankford
Ron Lankford
Tony LaRussa
Helen Lee
Lettermen
Brad Letts
Charlie Letts
Steve Letts
Tim Letts
Little Moon of Alban
Jim Lobbey
Lumberjacks

Joyce Mann
Mickey Mantle
Roger Maris
Janice Matthews
Willie Mays
Tim McCarver
Patrick McFarland
McGinty’s
Gray McKinney
Barbara McNeely
Midway School
Ron Mitchell
The Mouse That Roared
Stan Musial

Gary Nagle
Roger Neer
Rick Nelson
Neosho
Neosho Boulevard
Neosho Daily News
Neosho Newsstand
Neosho Nurseries
Neosho Square
Newton County News
Newtonia
Newtonia Community Building
Nichols Grocery

Old Mining Town Days
Gene Oliver
Roy Orbison
Mickey Owen
Alan Oxendine
Gary Oxendine

Helen Patrick
Hodgen Patrick
James Payne
Drew Pearson
Sherry Pettey
Bill Pierson
Willi Pierson
Rue Porter
Burl Powell
Keith Powell
Ranae Powell
Elvis Presley

Ranger Ed
Steve Ray
Irene Relf
Patty Renfro
Reta’s
Ritchey House
Johnny Rivers
Mae Robbins
Rita Roller
Jean Rowe

Chief Saddler
Ray Sadecki
St. Louis Cardinals
Karen Sapp
John Scott
Wana Senter
Mike Shannon
Gary Shepherd
Rob Shepherd
Terry Shepherd
Red Schoendienst
Bob Shore
Skinny and Rusty
Dick Smith Memorial Park
Bob Snyder
Rhonda Speak
Sporting News
Stark City
Harlan Stark
Chad Stebbins
Casey Stengel
Sterling's
Carolyn Strait
Emery Styron
John Styron
Pat Styron
Vern Styron
Amber Swartz
Randy Switzer

Danny Tanner
Richard Taylor
Vickie Thomas
Tigers
Joe Torre
Herb Troxel
Robyn Trowbridge
Bill Turner
JoAnn Turner
Kelly Turner
Vicki Turner

Rob Viehman

Susan Warren
Scott Watson
Bill Webster
Minnie Weems
Larry Wheeler
Rita Wheeler
Scott White
Steve White
Williams
Ed Wilson
Woodpeckers
David Wormington
Dee Wormington

Zoey

Newton County Memories is also available locally at Granby Auto Supply and Hardware, Always Buying Books and Changing Hands Book Shoppe in Joplin and Pat's Books in Carthage. It can be purchased online through Amazon in paperback and e-book formats at the links below.

GateHouse Media continues removing all vestige of Liberty Group Publishing

First, it was Randy Cope, then it was Scott Champion, now it is Gene Hall, whose ties with GateHouse Media have been severed.

A filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission today shows Hall, who has been an executive vice president, resigned Thursday:

Hall has forfeited his $50,000 bonus, according to the filing.

Cope's departure was addressed in the Dec. 26, 2007, Turner Report.

Champion's departure (he remained with GateHouse in a lesser role) was covered in the Jan. 13 2009 Turner Report.

Owner of Joplin Daily, Carthage Press, Neosho paper to go public

GateHouse Media, owner of the Joplin Daily, Carthage Press, Neosho Daily News, Big Nickel, and more than 300 other publications, is going public according to documents filed Friday with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
An initial public offering of $200 million worth of shares of common stock is planned, according to the filing. GateHouse, formerly Liberty Group Publishing, owns 75 daily newspapers with paid circulation of 405,000, 231 weekly newspapers with 620,000 in paid circulation and 430,000 in free circulation, and 117 shoppers with a circulation of 1.5 million, as well as 230 "locally-flavored websites." The company has products in 285 markets in 17 states, the filing said.
The filing includes a listing of the company's strengths, which include maintaining dominance in local communities. "We seek to maintain our position as a leading provider of local content in the markets we serve and to leverage this position to strengthen our relationships with both readers and advertisers, thereby increasing penetration rates and market share. A critical aspect of this approach is to continue to provide local content that is not readily obtainable elsewhere in order to position our products as a 'must read' within their markets."
The company considers its "content driven internet strategy" to be one of its strengths, according to the filing. "We are well positioned to increase our online penetration and generate additional online revenues due to both our ability to deliver unique local content and our relationships with readers and advertisers. We believe our local brands and unique local content make our sites 'must visit' destinations for our local audience. This presents an opportunity to increase our audience penetration rates and advertising market share in each of the communities we serve."
The filing also includes a number of risk factors, such as the possibility of declining circulation, competition, the company's high level of debt, and the possibility of key company officials, including CEO Michael Reed and co-president and co-chief operating officer Randy Cope, formerly publisher of the Neosho Daily News, leaving. The company is dependent on their leadership, according to the filing.
GateHouse officials' salaries
GateHouse CEO Michael Reed, formerly CEO of Community Newspaper Holdings, owner of the Joplin Globe, makes a $500,000 a year base salary, according to the filing. Cope and his co-president and chief operating officer Scott Champion each receive $200,000 a year. All three are eligible for $200,000 annual bonuses based on production. The executives also receive shares of common stock, "vacation, sick time, participation in the company retirement plan (if any) and medical, dental and insurance programs, all in accordance with the terms of such plans and programs in effect from time to time."
Former Liberty CEO Ken Serota made a tidy profit off his departure from the company, receiving a $1 million payout, a $500,000 million bonus, and his debt on a $597,610 loan was forgiven. He also will receive $500,000 to act as a consultant for one year.

More about that annoying crawl

If memory serves correctly, it was in early 1997 that a meeting took place in Carthage Press Publisher Jim Farley's office that reminded me of what today's journalism is really all about.
I can't remember exactly who was in the room, but it seems to me that in addition to Farley and me, that Ken and Randy Cope of the Neosho Daily News and our new owner at the time American Publishing were also there. If I took notes over the conversation (and I am sure I did), they have long since vanished, either left in the cardboard boxes I abandoned in the Press basement in May 1999, or tossed away when I moved from Carthage to Joplin in August 2004.
The topic was the plan to add page one advertising to The Press. It seems to me that it was Ken Cope who asked me if I had any objections to page one advertising. Never being one to play the political game, I quickly answered that I had many objections. Page one advertising to me was an indication that our news product was for sale. Though history shows that the newspapers of the 1800s and early 1900s had front pages that were filled with advertising, that almost totally vanished as the 20th century wore on. Only the worst newspapers put ads on their showcase news page.
I was too stupid to realize (or maybe I did and just had to say it anyway) that the decision had already been made. Words to the effect of "We have decided to try it anyway," ended my portion of the meeting, I was summarily dismissed and before too long, page one of The Carthage Press was a new home for advertising.
It wasn't just The Press, newspapers all over the United States have returned to page one advertising, some of them even trumpeting the idea they were doing it to return to the good old days.
Some newspapers even did the unthinkable (to me, at least, and put political ads on page one, which certainly either lends the notion that a newspaper is either supporting the candidate or for sale to the highest bidder.
But what rankled the most was the idea some newspapers tried to sell that these page-one ads were actually a part of some great journalistic tradition.
Those memories came rushing back as I watched a portion of the 6 p.m. news on KODE tonight. I wanted to get another look at the infamous crawl the station has added and after watching it I have completely changed my mind about it.
Hopefully, regular readers didn't collapse from shock after reading that last sentence. I still hate the crawl, but it was naive of me to think that it had anything to do with KODE trying to differentiate its news product from its competitors. It's the bottom line, plain and simple.
The news crawl, and along with it the news, is just another means to make a buck. I did not notice when I wrote my last post about the crawl that it was paid for by an advertiser. I was trying to determine the quality of the news items that were crawling across the bottom of my screen.
This isn't the first time advertising has crept into local news programs. Nearly every health spot on all of the stations has a hospital advertising it. KODE already runs the fake Aaron Sachs interviews (You'll never see Sachs and his interviewer in the picture at the same time and amazingly interviewers at the Springfield station that carries the Sachs segment ask the exact questions, word for word, that KODE asks and get the same answers, word for word.), and who can forget the Dish Network ads KODE and KSNF disguised as news during the initial stages of the Cable One-Nexstar battle?
Newspapers, radio, television, everyone does it. You can almost justify it by considering how much revenue they have lost to the Internet and other media outlets over the last few years. The sad thing, though, is that even if they were making money hand over fist, they would still jump at the chance to add a few more bucks to their take.
In 1997, I was hopelessly naive to think that anything I might say would change American Publishing's plan to add page one ads to The Carthage Press. My old fashioned romantic ideas about the role of newspapers in society probably contributed to my departure from the business two years later, but I wouldn't take back that stand or any others I made to try to uphold the concept of journalism as a public service.
Once you sell your integrity, you can never get it back.

National magazine notes Cope promotion

The magazine of the newspaper industry, Editor & Publisher, featured a story this week on the reorganization of Liberty Group Publishing.
The reorganization, which has been mentioned earlier in The Turner Report, placed former Neosho Daily News Publisher Randy Cope as co-president co-chief operating officer of the company.
The promotion went into effect the same day that Liberty officially was owned by Fortress Investment.

The death of the Neosho Daily News

All of the time I was growing up a weekday ritual was going to Gum Mercantile in the heart of downtown Newtonia every afternoon after school to await the arrival of the Neosho Daily News.

It was a ritual that was passed down from generation to generation. The older men sat around the wood stove in the back of the store, discussing politics and the weather, while the kids whose parents were at work would wait in front of the store and read through the comic books.

For years, it was a brown, four-door vehicle that appeared to have made it through both world wars that brought the paper sometime between 4 and 4:30, except on Wednesdays when it had grocery advertising inserts and arrived about a half hour to 45 minutes late.

The bundle of papers was handed to Vernie Browning, the postmaster, who put them in the boxes. I opened Box 45, removed the Daily, bought a Dr. Pepper and sat on the front sidewalk of the store reading it from cover to cover.

Though I was interested in the page one stories, my favorite parts of the paper were the sports pages, which had the last night baseball stories that you couldn't get in the morning Joplin Globe, the comics, especially Peanuts, and the Washington Merry Go Round column by investigative reporters Drew Pearson and Jack Anderson.

Great times, still as vivid in my mind as if they happened yesterday.

Gum Mercantile is just a memory, the building the only evidence of the social hub of generations past. Charles Schultz, the cartoonist who drew Peanuts, is no longer with us and the Washington Merry Go Round came to a halt long ago, the corruption continuing but with no Pearson or Anderson to bring it to light.

Next month, the Neosho Daily News, a fixture for generations in the yards and mailboxes of Newton County, will breathe its last.

The name will still exist but the definition of daily will be twisted like a pretzel so Gatehouse Media doesn't have to foot the bill to change its stationery.

If you believe Gatehouse Media's regional publisher Jamey Honeycutt, the company's decision to cut the Daily from five editions a week to two beginning next month is going to be greatest thing for Neosho since Dog N Suds opened.

"We had to determine what we do better than anyone and that was cover local news," Honeycutt said in a top-of-page-one story in Sunday's Neosho Daily News. He made it sound as if two newspapers were going to magically enable the Daily (it will still be called the Daily because it will be updated online) to increase its news output. That can't happen unless Gatehouse is willing to invest money in its product and that is something the company does not intend to do.

That's not the picture Honeycutt paints, however.

"When your print edition comes on Tuesday and the weekend, it will be a thick edition, focused exclusively on local news, sports, and advertising."

Later in that same paragraph, Honeycutt said he hopes this will make the Neosho Daily News appointment reading.

Certainly that will be true if your appointment is at a dentist's office and your only choices are the new thicker Neosho Daily News and a year-old copy of Ladies Home Journal.

The article continues, "No other news agency in the area focuses on Neosho and Newton County like the Daily News and the Daily News takes it's (sic) responsibility seriously."

No, it doesn't.

No one in the corporate offices of Gatehouse Media cares one bit about the people of Neosho or Newton County, any more than they care about the people of Carthage whose venerated newspaper is being cut to once-a-week publication, or the people of Miami, whose newspaper is also being cut to two editions per week.

Today's Daily is not the Daily that Anne and Ken Cope published and edited. It is not the Daily of Howard Bush, Harlan Stark, Bill Ball, or my old friend and baseball teammate Dean Keeling.

While good people still work at the Daily, Gatehouse Media, which continues to buy newspapers and then shred them until they are nearly non-existent, has no concept of community service, no idea of what newspapers are supposed to be.

Gatehouse banks on the idea that the community has a loyalty to its hometown newspaper, demanding that loyalty without ever showing any loyalty of its own.

Thankfully, former Daily Publisher Randy Cope is still alive, or he would be rolling in his grave.

My new book Newton County Memories available in paperback, e-book formats

For the past several months, I have been working on my latest book, Newton County Memories.

I have researched my past writings, in the Turner Report, my books, and in newspapers, looked through boxes of materials and then selected some previously published stories, many of them coming from the early days of this blog when it was lucky to reach a couple of hundred readers a day.

After I had selected the previously published pieces for the book, I wrote four new stories and added what I refer to in the book as "extra" stories that tie in with the previously written ones.

The work paid off this morning with the official publication of the paperback version of Newton County Memories and as of a few minutes ago, it is also available in an e-book format.the pers

I announced the publication of the book this morning on my Facebook page and the Inside Joplin Facebook page and listed the chapters in the book. Those are listed again in this post. Since this morning, I have had a couple of people ask me who some of the people and memories that are included in the book.

I am also printing a nearly complete list in this post of people whose names are featured in the book.

My thought behind the book is to remember the people, places and events that have enriched my life. Much of the book features stories about people who are no longer with us but who thankfully crossed my path.

Chapters

Introduction
2. Cold-Blooded Assassin (Remembering Dean Keeling)
14. Becky’s Mom (Remembering Helen Hildebrand)
18. Good Intentions Don’t Cut It (Remembering Willi Pierson)
21. The Meeting Place (Remembering the Neosho Square)
25. The Hangout (Remembering Gertrude Brown and the Brown Derby)
28. A Commitment to Young People (Remembering Terry Shepherd)
33. A Bases Loaded Intentional Walk (Remembering Gary Shepherd)
39. Special Delivery (Remembering Gary Nagle)
42. Return to Granby (Remembering the Newton County News)
50. No Love for the Captain and Tennille (Remembering James Payne)
53. The Long and Difficult Road (Remembering the Newtonia Tornado)
56. One-Year Anniversary (Remembering the Newtonia Tornado)
59. One of a Kind (Remembering Duane Beaver)
62. The Trailer Classroom (Remembering T. J. Bowman)
66. Those Who Can (Remembering the Teachers)
70. World Champions (Remembering the 1967 St. Louis Cardinals)
73. (The Words That Keep Her Alive (Remembering Barbara McNeely)
76. Letter to the Editor (Remembering Mr. Patrick)
79. No Stealing in Heaven (Remembering Rev. Freddie Franks)
82. Death of a Newspaper (Remembering the Neosho Daily News)
86. Art for the Ages (Remembering Newtonia History)
89. The Joy of Reading (Remembering the Bookmobile)
93. The Man in Charge (Remembering Rue Porter)
96. The Last Cup of Coffee (Remembering Wilma Bragg)
99. Taking the Blame (Remembering Mickey Owen)
102. The Last Performance (Remembering Bill Pierson)
105. Solid, Steady and Reliable (Remembering Tom Channel)
108. Instead of Just A Wishin’ (Remembering the Sportsman’s Friend)
111. The Place to Be (Remembering Rita Wheeler and Reta’s)
114. The Baseball Fields of Neosho (Remembering Ralph Houk)
116. The Last Time I Wore Makeup (Remembering Patty Renfro)
119. A Slap in the Face (Remembering Susan Warren and Little Moon of Alban)
122. A Few Ill-Chosen Words (Remembering Ranae Powell)
125. The Voice of the Cardinals (Remembering KMOX)
131. A Name From the Past (Remembering Bob Shore)
134. Making the Past Come to Life (Remembering Dixie Haase)
136. The Face of the Newspaper (Remembering Harlan Stark and Bill Ball)
139. The House on the Hill (Remembering Max Carter)
142. The Final Deadline (Remembering Eulah Hawkins)
145. It Started at East Newton (Remembering Ron Lankford)
148. Conversation and Politics (Remembering Mike Camerer)
151. Stolen Bases (Remembering an Oldtimers Game )
157. A Child Discovers Reality (Remembering Ranger Ed and the Fun Club and Children’s Shows of Yesteryear)

Names and Places

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Jack Anderson

Slim Andrews

Anything Goes

Louis Armstrong

Ted Arnall

Aroma Express

Karla Babb

Pete Babb

Bill Ball

Buzz Ball

Lou Ann Ball

Baseball Digest

Duane Beaver

Don Bogle

Maggie Bowman

T. J. Bowman

Ken Boyer

Roy Bragg

Sharon Bragg

Vicki Bragg

Wilma Bragg

Lou Brock

Teddy Brock

Ernie Broglio

Brown Derby

Gertrude Brown

Vernie Browning

Jack Buck

Burnett Grocery

Bill Burress

Howard Bush

Richard Bush

Harry Caray

Max Carter

Orlando Cepeda

Norma Champion

Tom Channel

Charles O. Chester

Preston Chester

Civil War Cemetery

Bob Clark

Roberto Clemente

Sue Cole

Combat

Ronna Cook

Ed Cooper

Anne Cope

Ken Cope

Randy Cope

Geoff Cornish

Corral

Crowder College

Nettie Cummins

Dairy Dip

Bill Dalbom

Diamond

Diamond Middle School

Dog N Suds

East Newton High School

Lester Ray Edgar

Harold Ensley

Fairview

Fife and Drum

Kiley Finkbiner

Woody Fitzmaurice

Curt Flood

John Ford

Rev. Freddie Franks

The Fugitive

Donna Fullerton

Reta Fullerton

Bob Gibson

Charles Goade

Andy Griffith

Carroll Gum

Dixie Haase

Scott Harris

Eulah Hawkins

Gerry Henson

Whitey Herzog

Todd Higdon

Becky Hildebrand

Bob Hildebrand

Helen Hildebrand

Laurie Hildebrand

Anita Hilton

Danny Hilton

Craig Hopper

Jim Hunter

Ralph Houk

Kaylea Hutson

J. C. Penney

Julian Javier

Jackie Jensen

Billy Johnson

Burney Johnson

Hattie Mae Johnson

Lee Ann Johnson

Stan Johnson

Teddy Johnson

Don Johnston

Joplin Globe

Joplin News-Herald

Danny Judd

David Judd

Gary Judd

Larry Judd

Mark Judd

Tim Judd

Bill Keith

Ken’s Pizza

KMOX

Paul Knight

Debbie Kruse

KUHI

Ray Lankford

Ron Lankford

Tony LaRussa

Helen Lee

Lettermen

Brad Letts

Charlie Letts

Steve Letts

Tim Letts

Little Moon of Alban

Jim Lobbey

Lumberjacks

Joyce Mann

Mickey Mantle

Roger Maris

Janice Matthews

Willie Mays

Tim McCarver

Patrick McFarland

McGinty’s

Gray McKinney

Barbara McNeely

Midway School

Ron Mitchell

The Mouse That Roared

Stan Musial

Gary Nagle

Roger Neer

Rick Nelson

Neosho

Neosho Boulevard

Neosho Daily News

Neosho Newsstand

Neosho Nurseries

Neosho Square

Newton County News

Newtonia

Newtonia Community Building

Nichols Grocery

Old Mining Town Days

Gene Oliver

Roy Orbison

Mickey Owen

Alan Oxendine

Gary Oxendine

Helen Patrick

Hodgen Patrick

James Payne

Drew Pearson

Sherry Pettey

Bill Pierson

Willi Pierson

Rue Porter

Burl Powell

Keith Powell

Ranae Powell

Elvis Presley

Ranger Ed

Steve Ray

Irene Relf

Patty Renfro

Reta’s

Ritchey House

Johnny Rivers

Mae Robbins

Rita Roller

Jean Rowe

Chief Saddler

Ray Sadecki

St. Louis Cardinals

Karen Sapp

John Scott

Wana Senter

Mike Shannon

Gary Shepherd

Rob Shepherd

Terry Shepherd

Red Schoendienst

Bob Shore

Skinny and Rusty

Dick Smith Memorial Park

Bob Snyder

Rhonda Speak

Sporting News

Stark City

Harlan Stark

Chad Stebbins

Casey Stengel
Sterling's

Carolyn Strait

Emery Styron

John Styron

Pat Styron

Vern Styron

Amber Swartz

Randy Switzer

Danny Tanner

Richard Taylor

Vickie Thomas

Tigers

Joe Torre

Herb Troxel

Robyn Trowbridge

Bill Turner

JoAnn Turner

Kelly Turner

Vicki Turner

Rob Viehman

Susan Warren

Scott Watson

Bill Webster

Minnie Weems

Larry Wheeler

Rita Wheeler

Scott White

Steve White

Williams

Ed Wilson

Woodpeckers

David Wormington

Dee Wormington

Zoey

***
Newton County Memories can be ordered in paperback or e-book at the links below: