Search -
North of Palo Duro: Turnstile Speaks Again!
North of Palo Duro Turnstile Speaks Again Author:Thomas Thompson When Thomas Thompson was editor of the Amarillo Globe-Times and writing his "Turnstile" column, he sometimes wrote "Memoirs" that turned out to be among the most popular features in the paper. — North of Palo Duro is an extension of the memoirs, with original items rewritten and much new material added to present a picture of ... more »a man's life and times, mostly in Amarillo, that city north of the Palo Duro, but with excursions to other places and insights into a wide variety of subjects and people.
Readers familiar with the times will find their memories pleasantly or poignantly jogged.
All readers will learn here what it was like for an urchin growing up in Amarillo in the 1920s, how an NMMI cadet discovered a talent for writing, how he pursued a literary career (against the wishes of a strong-minded mother), and how he eventually joined the staff of the GlobeNews, took time out for Navy duty in World War II, and returned to Amarillo and success in the newspaper business.
Beginning reporters are told they will meet interesting people in the newspaper business.
What they are not told is that many - perhaps most - of these people will be fellow reporters and editors.
Thompson writes with understanding about some interesting people who contributed to journalism in Amarillo and the area.
He writes about big stories, the kind that win Pulitzer Prizes, and about some of the day-to-day routine that never gets quite so "daily" as to be dull.
But the book is not just about the newspaper business.
It deals with university life - the author's experience as a graduate student at Louisiana State University in the 1930s and as distinguished professor of journalism at Wichita State University in the 1970s.
Other topics include business leaders and some of the businesses at the heart of the Panhandle economy. And the author offers some amusing glimpses of famous people in unguarded moments.