When Jimmy Bryant sorted through the newest collection donated to the University of Central Arkansas’ Archives, he came across an item that overwhelmed him. It was a telegram from Arkansas Gov. Orval E. Faubus to the White House following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy on Nov. 22, 1963.
“I was overcome by a flood of memories of the assassination,” said Bryant, the director of UCA Archives & Special Collections. “I never thought it would be a part of the collection.”
Della Tyson, a long time secretary to Arkansas Gov. Orval E. Faubus, recently donated her papers to the UCA Archives & Special Collection, which includes the Western Union telegram and Gov. Faubus’ statement regarding the death of President Kennedy. Other items in the collection are letters and correspondences to Gov. Faubus from other governors and well-known politicians such as President Lyndon B. Johnson, who sent several letters to Gov. Faubus on various topics including the Vietnam War.
There are letters from Texas Gov. John B. Connally, Alabama Gov. George Wallace, Michigan Gov. George Romney, U.S. Secretary of State Dean Rusk and Sargent Shriver among the items donated.
The collection also includes many hand-written notes and speeches by Faubus, more than 60 photos, and newspaper clippings.
The collection will be processed and ready for researchers by the middle this summer, Bryant said.
“I am very grateful to Ms. Tyson for preserving this material for so long, and especially grateful to her for donating it to the UCA Archives,” he added.
Tyson, who worked for Gov. Faubus from 1955 to 1967, said she had hoped there would be something in it newsworthy in the collection.
“I am glad that they have found a good home. I was delighted that someone was interested in them,” she said. “I have held on to these things for years. I think anything like that should be preserved for history. I wish I had more to give to the university.”
Gov. Faubus gained national attention in 1957 when he ordered the Arkansas National Guard to stop black students from attending Little Rock Central High School. President Dwight D. Eisenhower sent U.S. troops to Little Rock and put the National Guard under federal command in order to ensure the integration of the school.
Tyson’s donation came about through the efforts of a former Arkansas Supreme Court Justice, the late Justice Jim Johnson, Bryant said. Justice Johnson contacted Bryant in the spring of 2008 about Ms. Tyson’s collection.
“He said that since she was the secretary to Governor Faubus that her papers would be a treasure trove of historical papers,” Bryant said. “He was right.”
