
January 19, 2023
By Landry Brewer
Elk City native Jim Henderson sued a country music star, and that’s not even the best part of this storyteller’s story.
As a journalism hall-of-fame member, Pulitzer-Prize finalist, and author of a quartet of books, Henderson may be western Oklahoma’s most accomplished writer.
A FOOT IN THE DOOR
Henderson’s writing career began at the Elk City Daily News when he was just a kid.
Henderson developed a job-related allergy while working with an area seismograph crew, and his doctor told him to find another occupation.
The 1959 Elk City High School graduate already had an itch to be a writer. “I didn’t know what being a writer meant, but I thought it was glamorous, and writers seemed to have a lot of time off,” Henderson said.
So, when he knocked on doors in town to find a different job, one of those doors was at the Elk City Daily News.
Henderson wasn’t long out of high school, and Daily News owner Paul Wade remembered his name from being on the ECHS football team. Wade was looking for somebody to be an assistant sportswriter and help advertising manager Bill Ansley, so he hired the youngster.
Wade showed Henderson how to write like a journalist and gave him freedom to play with stories and learn his craft. “He was a wonderful boss,” Henderson said. “I would have taken a bullet for that guy.”
ALL THE RIGHT MOVES
Henderson stayed with the ECDN until 1966 when he took his notepad and pencil 28 miles east and began writing for the Clinton Daily News.
He loved working for the Elk City newspaper, but he needed to make a break to advance his career. “It was time to cut the umbilical cord,” Henderson said.
Leaving was difficult, but he thought that a short move down the road would make the next move easier. “And [Clinton Daily News owner] Charlie Engleman offered me $5 more a week than I was making, so I went to Clinton.”
He stayed there nine months when the opportunity for that next move presented itself, this one to the Tulsa World.
Henderson learned the elements of journalistic writing at Elk City and Clinton. Through reading stacks and stacks of magazines and newspapers that exposed him to different writing styles and incorporating them in Tulsa, he continued honing his craft and improving his prose.
Others took notice.
During a 10-year stint with the Tulsa World, Henderson was named Outstanding Oklahoma Newsman by Oklahoma State University’s School of Journalism.
THE IVY LEAGUE BECKONS
Because he was also recognized as outstanding outside of Oklahoma, Henderson spent the 1975-76 academic year at Harvard as a Nieman Fellow.
The cream of the journalistic crop from across the nation, Nieman Fellows spend two full semesters at Harvard taking classes, participating in special events and working with their elite journalistic peers.
The Elk City native enjoyed the Harvard experience, but he learned more about human nature than writing there. “I learned that reporters are competitive,” Henderson said.
EYES ON THE PRIZE
The Pulitzer Prize for journalism is that profession’s highest national honor. While writing for the Dallas Times Herald in the 1980s, Henderson was a four-time Pulitzer-Prize finalist.
This included being nominated in two separate categories in 1983—for writing about “New South” racism, and for chronicling atomic testing consequences.
He also ascended into the journalistic rare air when he and a Times Herald colleague were Pulitzer finalists for their investigative reporting on the Texas mass-murder hoax of convicted killer Henry Lee Lucas. This case is the subject of the Netflix documentary The Confession Killer.
HITTING THE BOOKS
In 1994, Henderson published his first book, Pride: The Charley Pride Story, about the country music star.
A former Tulsa World colleague who had begun writing biographies of country music singers in Nashville introduced Henderson to Pride’s agent. The journalist and singer had met years earlier in Dallas when Henderson wrote a column about Pride.
Pride and his lawyer talked with Henderson and hired him to write the singer’s biography. Though Henderson interviewed Pride for 22 hours for the book, the time that he interviewed Pride’s wife, Rozene, about the singer’s manic depression led to the chapter that garnered the most press attention.
Then, 20 years later, Henderson sued Pride.
Henderson’s contract stipulated that he receive 25 percent of all book-related earnings. Though Paramount Pictures bought movie rights from Pride, Henderson didn’t hear from the singer or his lawyer about what he was owed, so he took legal action.
Henderson sued Pride for $130,000, but the two wound up settling out of court. Having considered Pride a friend, Henderson regrets that litigation was required to settle the matter.
The year after the Charley Pride biography hit the bookshelves, Henderson published the book The People in the Attic.
Three years later, in 1998, he became the Houston Chronicle’s Dallas bureau chief.
Then, in 2000, Henderson released his third book, Damaged Goods.
The same year he was also inducted into the Oklahoma Journalism Hall of Fame.
Finally, in 2008, Henderson published his fourth book, Bob Bullock. Co-authored with fellow journalist Dave McNeeley, the book chronicles the colorful political career of the Lone Star State’s powerful former Lieutenant Governor and mentor of future U.S. President George W. Bush.
Now retired and living in Texas, the Pulitzer-Prize finalist, Oklahoma Journalism Hall of Fame member, Nieman Fellow and four-time book author’s writing career began when Paul Wade opened the door for a young, job-seeking Jim Henderson at the Elk City Daily News.
Copyright 2023 Paragon Communications. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission.

Deadline to Request Absentee Ballot for January 9th Election Approaches
December 8, 2023 Washita Co. Election Office Press Release Voters in WASHITA County who want absentee ballots mailed to them for the January 9TH 2024 COUNTY WIDE SPECIAL PROPOSITION ELECTION should apply now, County Election Board Secretary

SWOSU Honors Distinguished Faculty with 2023 Emeritus Awards
December 8, 2023 SWOSU Press Release The SWOSU Alumni Association Emeritus Award, established in 2015 by the Alumni Association Board of Directors, recently recognized former SWOSU faculty who have played a pivotal role in the lives of

SWOSU Accepting Bernhardt Academic Excellence Award Nominations
December 7, 2023 SWOSU Press Release SWOSU is currently accepting nominations for the 2024 Bernhardt Academic Excellence Award. The nomination deadline is on Jan. 16, 2024, with nomination credentials due on Feb. 13, 2024. A selection will

House Page Program Now Accepting Applications
December 7, 2023 Press Release The Oklahoma House of Representatives High School Page Program is now accepting applications for the Second Regular Session of the 59th Legislature, announced Program Director Rep. Brian Hill, R-Mustang.

Voter Registration Deadline Approaches
December 6, 2024 Washita Co. Election Board Press Release December 15th, 2023 is the last day to apply for voter registration in order to be eligible to vote in the January 9th Washita County, county-wide special proposition

Biology Students Earn Funding for Pancreatic Cancer Research
December 6, 2023 SWOSU Press Release Two biology students from the Department of Biological and Biomedical Sciences at Southwestern Oklahoma State University (SWOSU), Colter Esparza from Granite and Darren Powers from Burns Flat, have recently been awarded

Suspected Mail Thief Arrested in Beckham Co.
December 6, 2023 The Beckham County Sheriff’s Office has announced the arrest of a suspected mail thief and are asking that any potential victim to contact them.

Premium Aerospace Center Oklahoma’s “Hangar 234 Project” Will Bring Jobs to Area
December 5, 2023 By Landry Brewer Burns Flat’s aerospace company is working with a prominent metro-area contractor to expand its facility, which will provide short-term and long-term economic benefits for western Oklahoma.

The deadline to sign up for this year’s Mayor’s Toy Drive in Elk City is this Friday.
December 5, 2023 The deadline to sign up for this year’s Mayor’s Toy Drive in Elk City is this Friday.

Combating Porch Pirates and Mail Thieves
December 5, 2023 Sheriff Derek Manning said that his office has received reports this weekend of people stealing from mailboxes in rural Beckham County. Manning said there has also been at least one report of a suspicious

Elk City Crash: Driver Formally Charged With Illegal Reentry
December 4, 2023 The man accused of causing a collision that killed six people in Elk City was formally charged with illegal reentry after removal from the United States.

Victims of Fatal Crash Near Elk City Were Illegal Aliens
December 1, 2023 Manslaughter charges were officially filed this week in Beckham County District Court against the man who was arrested on November 21 after being involved in the multi-fatal accident west of Elk City.

Deadline to Request Absentee Ballot for January 9, 2024 Election Approaches
November 29, 2023 Beckham County Election Board Press Release Voters in Beckham County who want absentee ballots mailed to them for the January 9, 2023 Special Election should apply now, County Election Board Secretary Sherron Manning said

Elk City Man Pleads Guilty to Production and Possession of Child
November 29, 2023 Press Release – U.S. Attorney’s Office Western District of Oklahoma TIMOTHY STEVEN BLAYLOCK, JR., 37, of Elk City, pleaded guilty to producing child pornography and possession of child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Robert J.

SWOSU Names 2023 Drs. Bob and Nancy Maynard Scholar
November 28, 2023 SWOSU Foundation Press Release Jessica Jefferson of Clinton, Oklahoma has been named the 2023 Drs. Bob and Nancy Maynard Scholar at Southwestern Oklahoma State University (SWOSU) for the 2023-24 academic year.

UPDATE: Names Released of Victims of Fatal Accident Near Elk City
November 28, 2023 The Oklahoma Highway Patrol has released the names of the victims of the tragic accident that occurred last week near Elk City.

Candidate Filing Begins For Board of Education
November 28, 2023 Beckham County Election Board Press Release Candidate filing for the Board of Education begins Monday, December 4, 2023 for Beckham County school districts.

Candidate Filing Begins For Board of Education in Roger Mills Co.
November 23, 2023 Roger Mills County Election Office Press Release Candidate filing for the Board of Education begins Monday, December 4th, 2023, for 9 Roger Mills County school districts.

SWOSU History Professor’s Article About Elk City and Clinton Featured in State Journal
November 22, 2023 Press Release The state historical society is reminding readers of a time when two western Oklahoma cities prepared to house nuclear missiles.

Six Die in Two Vehicle Wreck Near Elk City
November 22, 2023 A tragic accident west of Elk City that claimed multiple lives Tuesday afternoon is still under investigation.

SWOSU Crowns Mackynsie McKedy as Miss SWOSU 2024
November 20, 2023 SWOSU Press Release Mackynsie McKedy from McLoud, majoring in Music Therapy at SWOSU, earned the title of Miss SWOSU 2024 at the recent Miss SWOSU Scholarship Pageant held on Saturday, Nov. 11.

Amazon Adding Solar Farm in Kiowa Co.
November 20, 2023 Amazon is adding to its renewable energy projects in Oklahoma with the construction of its first solar farm in the state.

One Vehicle Accident Near Clinton Hospitalizes One
November 20, 2023 A one vehicle accident on Interstate 40 in Custer County hospitalized a Minnesota woman over the weekend.

Educational Notables Christened an Elk City Elementary School 70 Years Ago
November 20, 2023 By Landry Brewer Though known by a different name then, Northeast Elementary’s opening seven decades ago drew some state dignitaries.

Deer Rifle Season Begins in Oklahoma
November 17, 2023 One of Oklahoma’s most popular hunting season begins tomorrow that will typically see the “orange army” out in force.