Kim Harper has reviewed Newspaperwoman of the Ozarks in the most recent issue of the Arkansas Historical Quarterly.
“Kelly’s biography of Lucile Morris Upton chronicles the life of an Ozarks journalist, recounts the tension between Ozarks romanticists and progressives over the region’s identity in the early twentieth century, and demonstrates what American society stands to lose as the newspaper industry grapples with seismic changes today. Once home to a vibrant competitive local press, Springfield and the Ozarks have witnessed the demise of many community papers. Kelly notes between 2004 and 2020, over two thousand newspapers shut down in the U.S., leaving a painful void in the historical record. As Newspaperwoman of the Ozarks shows, the crucial work of Lucile Morris Upton and her successors is needed now more than ever if future generations are to better understand our present.”
—Kimberly Harper, Arkansas Historical Quarterly, Spring/Summer 2023 (Published April 2025)
Lucile Morris Upton landed her first newspaper job out West in the early 1920s, then returned home to spend half a century reporting on the Ozarks world she knew best. Having come of age just as women gained the right to vote, she took advantage of opportunities that presented themselves in a changing world. During her years as a journalist, Upton rubbed shoulders with presidents, flew with aviation pioneer Wiley Post, covered the worst single killing of US police officers in the twentieth century, wrote an acclaimed book on the vigilante group known as the Bald Knobbers, charted the growth of tourism in the Ozarks, and spearheaded a movement to preserve iconic sites of regional history. Following retirement from her newspaper job, she put her experience to good use as a member of the Springfield City Council and community activist.
Told largely through Upton’s own words, this insightful biography captures the excitement of being on the front lines of newsgathering in the days when the whole world depended on newspapers to find out what was happening.