A friend recently found a 16mm film reel at an estate sale. There was only a very small amount of film on the reel, and there were no labels or other identification.
Once the film was digitized, it was found to be a celebration of Horace V. Wells’ 35th anniversary at the Clinton Courier-News in 1968!
Wells founded the Clinton Courier in 1933. According to his entry in the Tennessee Newspaper Hall of Fame, Wells was a “a legend in Tennessee journalism, and he stood as a bulwark against injustice, tyranny and abuse of the less fortunate.” In 1941, Wells served as Tennessee Press Association president, and in 1976 he became the TPA Foundation’s inaugural president. In 1957, Wells received several awards for his editorial stance during the desegregation crisis. The award presented by the National Editorial Association was given “in recognition of his unsurpassed example in upholding the dignity of human rights and his fearless leadership in support of constitutional government.”
The footage is only 45 seconds long but it gives us a neat little snapshot of some of the newspapering people of the time. If you recognize anyone in the clip, please let us know.
Thanks to the Tennessee Archive of Moving Image and Sound for sharing this clip.
Horace Wells 1968 from TAMIS on Vimeo.