Archival audio: Win Rockefeller, Morrilton, Arkansas, filed for governor because he believes in his state.
Kyle Kellams: We're continuing a series here on the Pryor Center profiles, are we not?
Randy Dixon: We are.
Kellams: You are with the David and Barbara Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History.
Dixon: Yes.
Kellams: I want to tell people about that because you all do some amazing work.
Dixon: Well, thank you.
Kellams: And you're going to continue some amazing work as we continue to wind our way through the governors of Arkansas who have existed during modern recording equipment.
Dixon: That's correct.
Kellams: And now we're up into the '50s and '60s.
Dixon: And this is actually the second part of a profile of our 37th governor, Winthrop Rockefeller. Last week, we looked at his wealthy family and his upbringing and what brought him to Arkansas. This week, we're going to look at his life in Arkansas and the impact. And it was huge. His impact on the state of Arkansas.
He came here to get away from, I guess, the restraints of being in one of the richest families in the world. He's worked for a living and from all accounts, loved it, really enjoyed it. But he wanted to get away from New York. He wanted to get away from that socialite life. I guess that comes with that sort of wealth and prestige. But he just didn't like it.
He came here to Arkansas, bought the top of a mountain, basically, in Petit Jean and started his Winrock Farms, raising cattle and started to get into state government. And he did that in an interesting way. Orval Faubus, staunch Democrat, was the governor, and he appointed, and wisely, Rockefeller to head up the AIDC, Arkansas Industrial Development Commission.
Kellams: Makes sense.
Dixon: And boy, he did well. So I want to play, it's part of a sort of a commercial documentary on Rockefeller's life. And this talks about him coming to the state and filling that AIDC role.
Archival audio: In the post-war years, a former governor of Arkansas would say of Win Rockefeller, "I wish he had been quintuplets, and they had all moved here." He went on to say, "We have plenty of people in this state with the means to do what Win has done. The difference is he does them." In previous years, Arkansas had lost population as its young people moved away to seek their fortunes elsewhere. Now a longtime trend was reversed. Governor Faubus said, "I was smart enough to secure a man who could get the job done."
Kellams: As you mentioned, Orval Faubus, yellow dog Democrat, big time, the epitome of what an Arkansas Democrat was mid-century. Win Rockefeller, a Republican, different kind of Republican, progressive.
Dixon: Very much so. And so it was a surprise to no one, really, that Rockefeller faced Faubus in a run for the governor in 1964. Here's Steve Barnes with a sort of political retrospective on that '64 race.
Steve Barnes: He had come to Arkansas a decade earlier, about the time KATV did. He spent the first years building his mountaintop showplace, the following years building Arkansas. In the early 1960s, he decided that the state Capitol was the best workshop of all.
Winthrop Rockefeller: My opponent feels that if you work for the state, that you should support him. My feeling is that I hope you'll support me. But remember, no matter what your political feelings are, if we're all together here working and you're doing your job well and I'm doing my job well, you vote as you see fit.
Dixon: I think the results were 57% of the vote went Faubus, 43% Rockefeller.
Kellams: Yes. Which is closer than gubernatorial elections had been in Arkansas, anyone would have expected.
Dixon: General elections.
Kellams: Exactly.
Dixon: And yeah, because back then, if you were a Democrat and you won the Democratic primary, it was a shoo-in. Nobody voted for Republicans. I think that rattled Faubus a little bit because he decided not to run for a seventh term in '66.
So this set up a match in the general election between Republican Winthrop Rockefeller against a Democrat, a segregationist and a former state Supreme Court justice, Jim Johnson. And that's exactly the name he went by, Justice Jim Johnson. Johnson really made some ugly personal attacks against Rockefeller. And I'm quoting, yes, Jim Johnson, but he called him, among other things, a jet-set cowboy and a big-city queer.
Kellams: This gives you everything you need to know about justice. I'll use that in quotes. Justice Jim Johnson.
Dixon: And it was in quotes and it should stay in quotes.
Kellams: Yes, yes.
Dixon: Here's a clip from the archives. This is Rockefeller talking to TV's Jim Pitcock about that 1966 race.
Jim Pitcock: Did Mr. Johnson's vicious attack on you last week come as a surprise, or did you expect this sort of campaigning?
Rockefeller: Well, I thought it defined, and I have now referred to him as the merchant of venom, as defined the kind of campaign, seemingly, that he's going to be running. I continue to abide by my belief that I'm running for Arkansas and not against any particular individual. But time will tell.
Kellams: The results of that race were very similar numbers to the Faubus race, but flipped.
Dixon: Yes. 54% Rockefeller, 46% Johnson. Here is Rockefeller the next morning.
Rockefeller: I will give the utmost of my capabilities in achieving our goals as a state and as a people. The forging of a better life for our children who are the future of Arkansas. We can no longer mix politics with these objectives. As governor, I will do everything in my power to guarantee excellence in every Arkansas program.
To the members of the General Assembly, I state that with every program that they present, that if it is good for the people of Arkansas, partisan politics will not be involved. I'm convinced that this is a true victory for the people, and I am thrilled that you have said to the rest of the nation, yes, we in Arkansas want a two-party system.
Kellams: And this is a big deal. Arkansas had not elected a Republican since Reconstruction.
Dixon: That's right. And, you know, at the time, and this is what's crazy. Only 11% of the Arkansas voters considered themselves Republicans. So it sort of seems like the state was tired of that. I think Faubus wore them out with that Democratic machine, and just the impression that it had just gotten out of control. And so, in Rockefeller, and here's his first day.
Archival audio: The 37th elected governor of Arkansas was a Republican, but he bore now the burden of representing all the people within the state's borders. How do you best set about the people's business? How can you learn what their true interests are? Can a governor from one party work effectively with a legislature controlled by the other party? How much power actually resides in this office? These were some of the things on his mind as he went through the first day of greetings and well wishes, and behind the formalities and small talk, the people, too, had their questions.
Dixon: One of the earliest reforms of his was a crackdown on illegal gambling, especially in Hot Springs in Garland County. Here's Jim Pitcock again with the governor talking about gambling.
Pitcock: Will you use the state police investigative agency to go over and look the situation over?
Rockefeller: Yes. I've always taken the attitude, and I certainly proved it by taking my oath of office, that I will enforce the law. The law does not permit open gambling, and neither, however, will I plan to divert the state police from its basic assignment to investigate every rumor that I hear about in terms of gambling.
Pitcock: Will this include Pulaski County?
Rockefeller: I think it should include Pulaski County because I was asked yesterday the question whether I might be interpreted as picking on Garland County. I have no intention of picking on any county. Garland County has been under the spotlight longer, but where there is flagrant violation, then I think steps ought to be taken if the local authorities don't take the steps first.
Dixon: Here's something I found in the KATV collection that I thought was important to share. Rockefeller was elected with a significant amount of African American voters, and he appointed Blacks to state boards and commissions and departments for the first time in modern Arkansas history. Rockefeller was the only Southern governor to host a public memorial service following the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King in 1968.
Rockefeller: The problems that confront us today are the problems that confronted us yesterday. Some of them will confront us tomorrow. But maybe this tragic incident in the loss of this great moderate leader, a man who believed in peaceful leadership, will awaken the eyes and the minds and the hearts and the souls of the people throughout our state and throughout the nation.
Dixon: So that was on the steps of the state Capitol. I thought that that said a lot about his administration and himself. You know, he improved conditions in the Arkansas penal system, which had been under fire for decades. He made improvements.
And here's one of the just interesting things he did. And it was in the format of an event staged for the inmates. Whenever Rockefeller would run for governor, he would start his campaign in Wynne, Arkansas, and it was on a train, and he would take the train out of Wynne. It was all very visual, it was great. But, I mean, this was a guy who campaigned on trains. He would fly in in helicopters, which was a huge deal at the time.
But he would also have his good friend Johnny Cash kick off the campaign for him. Cash had started doing these prison concerts, Folsom Prison, and Rockefeller approached him about playing in Arkansas. So in 1969, Johnny Cash came to Cummins Prison to play a show for the inmates, and Channel 7 took the opportunity to take the big production unit there and produce a one-hour special on the concert. Here's a little clip with Johnny and the governor.
Johnny Cash: You know, we didn't know too much about Cummins and Tucker until today when we came down and in the car, we talked to the men that were from the prison. Hear about a lot of the things that go on here. We didn't talk about a lot of other things that go on here, I guess. Sure we didn't, but I learned quite a bit about Cummins Farm, and I learned that there are some people trying to help you fellas. I hope they are. They say they are, and it looks like they really are. I know our governor is trying to help you.
Rockefeller: And I will say once again, thank you so much, not only for you all coming here today to be with us, but for the inspiring things that you said that won't have to be beeped out. And those are the exciting things, and those are the things that give all of us the desire to go on. But again, I thank Channel 7, KATV, for giving us this fine coverage. Thank you.
Kellams: All right. The things we're talking about, prison reform, can't be bribed. You know, expanding what state commissions look like to be more representative of the state. All great things. Fact is, he's still a Republican in a state that is still heavily Democratic.
Dixon: And having a legislature that is the majority Democratic is a nightmare for him. And here's a clip of him, you know, making an address to the joint session of the House and Senate in '67. And it sounds almost like he's giving a sort of a report card on what he and his administration have done thus far.
Rockefeller: The strength of this great truth. We have shut down illegal casino gambling. We have suppressed unscrupulous insurance and investment operators. We have removed the monumental hypocrisy of illegal mixed drinks. We have made a beginning on prison reform.
Kellams: Served two terms, which back then meant four years.
Dixon: Yeah.
Kellams: And as we have heard over these programs, that was sort of a given. That you get elected once you're going to get a second chance, because there were only two-year terms and you've only met with the legislature once, once, maybe twice. And so you usually get a second chance.
Dixon: But then in 1970 came an unknown lawyer from Charleston named Dale Bumpers. He was a Democrat who promised his own reforms and offered, you know, sort of a fresh face in this political landscape that had so many familiar faces over the years. Bumpers ran and won with 62% of the vote. So in January of 1971, Winthrop Rockefeller said goodbye to the legislature.
Rockefeller: Today marks the eighth time that I have come before you. Considering the nature of the occasion, perhaps never before has this invitation been more readily proffered. Today you have come here again to start a New Year's work. I to end four years today of hard work, and to say a short farewell. Never before has the economy of our state been stronger. Never before has the promise of outstanding growth been brighter.
Dixon: And even though it was just two terms, it was only four years in the big scheme of things. It made a huge difference. And I wanted to get a perspective from, well, our own Politico, Dr. John Davis.
John Davis: He builds a coalition of support among young people, progressives, African Americans and the relatively small number of Republicans in the state that see a viable statewide candidate for the first time in a very long time. So he comes into office very much with a reform-minded bent towards his policy initiatives. He brings in new perspectives. And that causes rifts among the General Assembly, which is overwhelmingly Democratic, many of whom were rather loyal to Orval Faubus and had been for a long time. So he's upset the apple cart. And he's also a Republican in a land of Democrats.
And so a lot of Winthrop Rockefeller's initiatives that require legislative support fall short, but he plants seeds that we see grow fruit in the '70s and 1980s in Arkansas. Without Winthrop Rockefeller, I don't think we would have had a Dale Bumpers that was as effective as he was, David Pryor that was as effective as he was, or Bill Clinton that was as effective as he was. We had to have a break between Orval Faubus, state politics and those big three, as Diane Blair referred to them as. And that person was Winthrop Rockefeller. So he's truly a transitional governor, but his impact is mitigated by the political circumstances of the time in which he serves.
Kellams: He has plenty to do. You know, he goes up on his mountain there in Conway County and is just living life.
Dixon: Mhm. Unfortunately, and sadly, that comes to an end fairly quickly. He was diagnosed with inoperable pancreatic cancer just the next year and flew off to obviously the best physicians that money could buy and had just a devastating round of chemotherapy and came back to Arkansas just the following month looking incredibly severe. He was gaunt, kind of hollow-eyed. It sort of shocked people when he appeared. And he made a, he didn't make the statement. He stood on the stairs of his boarding ramp to the Winrock jet and his son, Winthrop Paul, read a statement. The governor couldn't speak. And Win Paul spoke for him.
Winthrop Paul Rockefeller: Today, I'm glad to be issuing a fourth bulletin to you direct on good old Arkansas home soil. In my last memo, being still a little bit groggy, I neglected to point out that beyond the exploratory operation, no further surgery was indicated, and it was the unanimous conclusion of the medical surgical team that we would follow a program of chemotherapy, allowing time for the exploratory incision to heal and for my basic health to be pronounced sound. The therapy was introduced a week ago today.
Dixon: Word of his death came down just the next year. He died at age 60 in Palm Springs, California. But his body was immediately returned to Arkansas. Here's a reflection from Steve Barnes the day of his service. And you'll also hear part of the eulogy delivered by Win Rock's brother, Nelson, the former governor of New York
Kellams: And future vice president.
Dixon: That's correct.
Barnes: Three generations of Rockefellers were joined at Winrock Farms on a Sunday afternoon by thousands of people whose lives the Arkansas governor had in some way touched.
Nelson Rockefeller: Not long after Win adopted Arkansas, the people of Arkansas adopted Win. They broke every historical precedent to elect him governor. And because they did, working people in this state gained their first minimum wage law. His freedom of information law took state government out of the back rooms and brought it out into the light where people can see.
Dixon: So next week, that man from Charleston, right? Dale Bumpers. Looking back on the concert at Cummins Prison, Johnny Cash never recorded this, but he did write a song about Cummins Prison. And we have a little bit of it here that will be the musical show closer. How's that?
Kellams: That's great. Randy Dixon will be back to talk Dale Bumpers next week. He's with the Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History. Thank you.
Dixon: It's always great to be here. I'll see you next week.
Cash: And every prison I've played here in the last few months, I've written a song about. Well, all the way down here, I still hadn't had a song, but at lunch over at the superintendent's home a few minutes ago, I wrote down a few words of some of my meditations on the subject at hand. Let me get my idiot sheet out here. This is just for you guys here at Cummins. Let me see. It's called "When I Get Out of Cummins."
When I get out of Cummins, I'm going up to Little Rock. I'm gonna walk right up those steps and I ain't gonna even knock. And if the legislature's in session, there's some things I'm going to say. And I'm going to say, gentlemen. I'm going to say, gentlemen, there's some things that Tucker and Cummins said that need changing.
There was a man at Cummins for about a year, and sometimes I wished I'd said, damn you. He'd stepped to that wagon, that Doby wagon, instead of the mule that I was.
Ozarks at Large transcripts are created on a rush deadline and edited for length and clarity. Copy editors utilize AI tools to review work. KUAF does not publish content created by AI. Please reach out to kuafinfo@uark.edu to report an issue. The audio version is the authoritative record of KUAF programming.
