Interviews With Late Former Governor Released

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Although former Arkansas governor Sid McMath died last fall, his words, mannerisms and views on a critical time in history remain visible for people to see, thanks to a collaborative effort to record and preserve the history of Arkansas.

The Arkansas Educational Television Network (AETN) filmed former governor David Pryor interviewing McMath as part of a project on Arkansas governors, sponsored by the Arkansas Center for Oral and Visual History (ACOVH). The unabridged tapes, which span six to seven hours, will now be available to the public through University of Arkansas Special Collections and on the Web. Pryor will pay tribute to the life of Sid McMath at 7 p.m. April 9 at the Historic Washington Co. Courthouse, 4 S. College Ave., Fayetteville.

"McMath symbolizes roads not taken in the Democratic Party," said Jeannie Whayne, chairman of the history department and director of the ACOVH. "He’s one of the best governors this state has had."

McMath became governor in 1948 and served two terms. During that time, when Strom Thurmond, then governor of South Carolina, and other Southern governors formed the "Dixiecrats" in opposition to President Harry Truman’s civil rights positions, McMath worked hard to keep Arkansas in the National Democratic Party. Truman and McMath remained friends until the former president’s death.

McMath also worked hard to help bring modern amenities to Arkansas. During his tenure as governor, more roads were paved than during any previous administration. Concerned about lack of access to health care, he helped establish the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, funded by a two-cent tax on each pack of cigarettes. And he helped bring electricity to poor, rural areas by supporting the founding of electric cooperatives in Arkansas.

"Not only was he colorful, but he lived at a colorful time," Pryor said. "He was inspiring, courageous, bold and aggressive at a time when Arkansas needed that."

However, in 1952, members of the Highway Audit Commission tried to associate McMath and his administration with scandal in the highway department. Although no one in his administration was found guilty of any wrongdoing, McMath was not elected to a third term as governor. He would never return to office.

One of the surprises Pryor encountered during the interview was McMath’s total lack of resentment, anger or second thoughts about the events of the past.

"His whole mental attitude was so positive," Pryor said. "Very few people in politics have a viewpoint like that."

The McMath interview was edited into a 60-minute program that aired on AETN, said Christie Brocchus, special projects producer at AETN. The full length tapes have been donated to the ACOVH for educational purposes.

"We hope by watching the tapes while reading the transcripts, students of history will get a better understanding of who these people really were," Brocchus said. AETN has produced a program on Pryor and is currently filming interviews with former governor Dale Bumpers. Future plans include recording the memories of former governor Jim Guy Tucker and former governor and past president Bill Clinton and possibly other influential politicians like John Paul Hammerschmidt.

Pryor would like to see these interviews extend to other influential Arkansas citizens.

"These are inspiring lives and inspiring people. We have got to treat these people and their experiences as treasures, and we often overlook them," Pryor said. "A great deal of our past is being sent to the grave without people knowing what has gone on."

The transcripts will be made available on the Web so that anyone with an Internet connection can access them.

"Oral history lends itself to being used by all types of people," Whayne said. High school students could use the interviews to do projects. People in their 80s could take a trip down memory lane. And scholars can hear history straight from its source.

"Sid McMath became in his last years much more formidable than ever before," Pryor said. "Now future generations can see and observe and hear what he had to say."