The Missouri Miner: Editors-in-Chief: Elmond L. Claridge

Research Project: 100 years of
The Missouri Miner 1915-2015

Est'd. 1915, Fred Grotts, Founder

Elmond L. Claridge
EIC 1938-1939

This exchange is pieced together from answers provided on questionnaire mailed in February of 2007.
Words in brackets have been added for continuity due to this piecing process. -RB

RB: From when to when were you Editor-in-Chief of the Missouri Miner? What other positions did you hold while working on the Missouri Miner staff?

EC: [From] September [of] 1938 [to] May [of] 1939.

1937-1938 Managing Editor
1936-1937 Columnist -- Science Discoveries
1935-1936 Reporter for Cultural Events in Parker Hall provided by MSM for students and faculty.

RB: What were the biggest challenges you faced as Editor-in-Chief of the Missouri Miner?

EC: [I] don't remember.

RB: What were your greatest accomplishments as Editor-in-Chief of the Missouri Miner? What issues were most important to you?

EC: [There were] salary differences between faculty at UM and MSM for equivalent positions. I published an editorial protesting the lower salaries at MSM.

RB: What "big" stories are most memorable to you and why?

EC: [I] don't remember.

RB: What effect did major national events (i.e. wars, assassinations, etc.) have on the Missouri Miner's reporting? How did you handle these events.

EC: Impending World War II.

RB: How significant a role do you feel you and the Missouri Miner played in campus life during your tenure as Editor-in-Chief?

EC: The Missouri Miner and the Rollamo were the only student publications at the time.

RB: How did your time as Editor-in-Chief of the Missouri Miner help prepare you for life after college? What lessons did you learn?

EC: I became an excellent writer and proof-reader. [My experiences at the newspaper] enabled me to produce well-edited text for reports in my later career with Shell (refinery questions, refining research, oil production research).

RB: What was your staff like at the Miner?

EC: Excellent.

RB: Who was the Missouri Miner's faculty advisor?

EC: [We had] none at that time.

RB: Where was the newspaper's office? What equipment did you use to produce the paper every week? If you published at the Rolla Daily News (the local city paper), what was your relationship with Ed/Steve Sowers? If not, where did you publish the paper?

EC: There was no office. We had staff meetings for my first three years, [and the paper] was printed on a half-page format at the Rolla Advertisor, in [my] fourth year [we printed in] full-page [format] at [the] Rolla Herald.

RB: How would you describe your management style?

EC: Cooperative.

RB: Describe your relationship with the administration at UMR.

EC: Very little, we were independent.

RB: Describe your relationship with Student Council at UMR.

EC: There was no Student Council at the time.

RB: Summarize your thoughts and feelings about your time as Editor-in-Chief of the Missouri Miner.

EC: I was proud of it.