Newspaperwoman of the Ozarks

About

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.

Author

Susan Croce Kelly was a reporter at Lucile Morris Upton’s own Springfield News-Leader. She is the author of Route 66: The Highway and Its People and the managing editor of OzarksWatch at Missouri State University’s Ozarks Studies Institute. Find her online at susancrocekelly.com.

Reviews

“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 was an amazing woman who redefined herself time and again—teacher, journalist, and public official—at a time when many women were not part of the public sphere. This book is her story, and it is told well. It reflects the community she knew and thus explains the culture of the Ozarks.”
—Kimberly Voss, Missouri Historical Review, April 2024

Praise

“To call this work a significant contribution to the history of the Ozarks is an understatement. Susan Croce Kelly grasps the importance of Lucile Morris Upton in the development of the Ozarks, charting the events of Upton’s life with an understanding of the characters involved in their historical context. This is an important and enjoyable read.”
—Marideth Sisco, host, These Ozarks Hills

“Lucile Morris Upton’s work to document and preserve the Ozarks—through advocacy, books, and newspapering—far outlives her time on Earth. Yet behind these efforts is her own story: one of diligence, of adventure found in everyday moments, and of her role in the women’s movement before it carried that title. Newspaperwoman of the Ozarks artfully shares that story.”
—Kaitlyn McConnell, founder, Ozarks Alive

“Reporter, correspondent, teacher, public speaker, and city councilperson, Lucile Morris Upton led a lively and consequential life. Susan Croce Kelly’s entertaining and informative biography illuminates the nationwide currents of Upton’s time and their intersections with the Ozarks.”
—Lynn Morrow, editor of The Ozarks in Missouri History: Discoveries in an American Region

Series

The Ozarks Studies Series is edited by Brooks Blevins.

Media

“Longtime journalist Lucile Morris Upton memorialized in new book” – Ozarks Alive

“Newspaper Woman of the Ozarks” at Down Along the Piney