The Missouri Miner: Editors-in-Chief: Kenneth J. Vaughan

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

Est'd. 1915, Fred Grotts, Founder

Kenneth J. Vaughan
EIC 1942

This was the response to a questionnaire mailed in April of 2007. -RB

RB: From when to when were you Editor-in-Chief of the Missouri Miner? Who preceded and followed you in that position? Share your memories of these individuals.

KV: I am 87 now, so my memory of those days in blurred. As I remember, I followed Zanzie & took over as Editor in the Fall of '41. I had to go to summer school as a SR. ROTC, so continued thru summer of '42 &, not being able to work in summer, ran out of money, resigned from Miner & enlisted as private in Sept. '42. I was 1st to be Editor as a Junior.

RB: What other positions did you hold on the Missouri Miner staff? How were elections held? How did you become involved with the newspaper?

KV: As a Freshman, I was encouraged by the friend, Carl Cotterill, CH. Eng. '40 to be a reporter. [I] liked it, & being willing to work, went on up.

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

KV: Get the work done! Keep out of trouble! We were banned by [the] U.S.P.O. for a year for our rowdy jokes!!

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

KV: I do not recall any great accomplishments except being Editor as [a] Junior & doing [a] good job.

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

KV: I guess I would have to go through the issues to say.

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?

KV: We did not attempt to be a current affairs publication.

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

KV: I think the Miner & its staff did a good job of reporting life on the campus. We had an enrollment of less than 1,000 you know.

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?

KV: I came to Rolla as a Dakota farmboy. I enlisted as a PVT up through ranks to Company Commander in So. Pacific — 2 BR Stars, 2 Purple Hearts, & General's Commendation. I learned to write — to express myself.

RB: What was your staff like at the Miner? What memories do you have of specific staff members at the newspaper?

KV: All good people--hard-working--I would have to go through issues. Are they available to read?

RB: Who was the Missouri Miner's faculty advisor? What kind of faculty support/advice/instruction did you receive from professors at the university?

KV: I don't remember any problems from faculty.

RB: Where was the Missouri Miner's office? What equipment did you use to produce the newspaper 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?

KV: Our office was at rear of Rolla New Era. We were published by New Era presses. Our relationship w/ Sowers was good.

RB: Describe your relationship with the administration at MSM/UMR.

KV: Very good.

RB: Describe your relationship with Student Council at MSM/UMR.

KV: Very good.

RB: Did any group (Fraternity, Administration, Student Council, etc.) have what you felt to be undue influence over decisions affecting the newspaper? If so, which groups had this influence and what decisions did they affect?

KV: No.

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

KV: I am proud of people having confidence in me to have given me [the] opportunity to be of service & to grow with responsibility. One of [the] big change[s] that took place before I was Editor was [the] take-over by [the] university [of the Missouri School of Mines]. [The] School of Mines had always been a separate school until [the] Board of Regents made it a part of [the] University. We feared we would lose identity & our proud heritage. We were proud of carrying 20 hours of classes (3 hr. labs counded as 1 hour) while at Columbia students only carried 16 hrs/week. We raised a lot of hell about it in the Miner which had no effect of change. I would have liked the name change[d] back to "Missouri School of Mines," but "Missouri Science & Technology" will do.