1955 – Lindley and Governor

1955 – Lindley and Governor

1950s

As the newly elected governor of Arkansas Girls State, Newport’s Lindley Williams is escorted into her inauguration by Arkansas Governor Orval E. Faubus in 1955. Outfitted in her prom dress, Williams was following the tradition of her day, which clearly did not...
1953 – February Follies

1953 – February Follies

1950s

For many years, the Newport Service League put on an annual follies to raise money for its many charitable projects. This was always a popular enterprise, both for the many citizens who loved the opportunity to strut their stuff onstage under the direction of a...
1953 – Newport’s Business Leaders

1953 – Newport’s Business Leaders

1950s

Gov. Francis Cherry ( front row, fourth from right ) visited Newport in 1953 to meet with the town’s business leaders. Chamber of commerce executive director Maude Hinkle escorted him around and undoubtedly apprised him of the many industrial development...
1953 – Tim and Smiley Burnett

1953 – Tim and Smiley Burnett

1950s

Nine-year-old Tim Watson won the Smiley Burnett Look-Alike Contest in 1953. Burnett was a film star who played in the cowboy movies many children loved to watch on Saturday afternoons. Young Tim came home from the movie with his prize, a mean little Shetland pony,...
1952 – President Truman speaks in Newport

1952 – President Truman speaks in Newport

1950s

President Harry Truman (speaking) made a stop in Newport in 1952 to campaign for his old friend Sid McMath, who had held Arkansas in the Democratic Party in 1948 when the Dixiecrats bolted and almost cost Truman his election. Sitting on the platform with Truman are,...
1951 – African American High School

1951 – African American High School

1950s

W.F. Branch High School, the Newport school for African American children, was imposing. In the wake of the 1954 Brown decision by the US Supreme Court, the Newport School Board constructed additional modern school buildings in an attempt to stave off school...