by Michele Malinchak
It was Christmas at the Mayhew house in Midland, Texas and beneath the tree was a gift that would shape a young boy’s life. It was the late 1940s and Arthur Mayhew was in the fifth grade. Little did he or his parents know the impact the gift would have—a newspaper making kit, complete with moveable rubber type and ink. The kit sparked a desire and set the stage for Art’s future as a journalist.
Now 75 and retired, the devoted newspaperman and former publisher of the Bucks County Courier Times reflected on his 43-year career.
Art was born in Amarillo, Texas and grew up in Midland, which he described as a dry, flat oil patch. As a fifth grader, he became involved with his school newspaper and later graduated from Midland High School in 1956. He then attended Texas Technological College (now Texas Tech University) where in 1960 he earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism. Shortly afterwards, Art went to work for his hometown newspaper, The Midland Reporter-Telegram.
His next job was at the Pampa Daily News, also in Texas. The paper had a circulation of 8,000 and a staff of three: the editor, women’s page editor and Art. He wore many hats working as the photographer, reporter and sports writer. The only thing he couldn’t do was work in the darkroom, which he never mastered. In 1961, he was earning a dollar an hour, taking home a whopping $32 at the end of a week. But he was able to survive, saying, “You have to remember a pack of cigarettes was only twenty-five cents then.”
At the same time, Art’s former professor at Texas Tech moved to Pennsylvania. He took a job as editor at the Delaware County Daily Times in Chester and convinced Art to join him. Art recalled him saying, “You Texans are so provincial—you’ll be back home in a year. But you’ll be better for the experience and so will Texas.”
But Art did not go back to Texas and ended up spending 14 years at the Delaware County Daily Times and the rest of his life in Pennsylvania.
The contrast between the dry, sparse Texas landscape and the lush greenery of Bucks County made a lasting impression on Art. “I came to Bucks County in April when all the trees and shrubs were flowering. It’s one of the most beautiful counties—it almost brings tears to your eyes. When you drive up River Road, you couldn’t show me a place in New England that’s prettier.”
At the Delaware County Daily Times, Art was a general assignment reporter and was privileged to meet many famous people. Chester was at the center of the civil rights struggle in the early 1960s, and in the summer of 1964, the Greater Chester Movement (GCM) was formed by then Pennsylvania Governor William Scranton. Its aim was to address Chester’s underlying economic problems that often led to violent unrest. During this time, Art met celebrities such as Bob Hope and U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower who visited Chester to draw public support for the GCM.
On another occasion, Art met astronaut James Lovell of Apollo 13 fame. Chester was once home to the Sun Shipyard, which was ready to launch a new container ship named the S.S. American Astronaut. Lovell was asked to christen the ship and Art was there to record the event.
Before leaving the Delaware County Daily Times in 1975, Art worked his way up to becoming executive editor, making him one of the youngest editors in Pennsylvania at the time. He then joined the American Press Institute (API), a newspaper-training center in Reston, Virginia. For the next three years his job was to plan and run seminars for the continuing education and training of newspapermen and women in the U.S. and Canada.
“The job was almost like a sabbatical,” Art said. “Here I was rubbing shoulders with so many talented people. I was exposed to a collection of people—cynical, funny, intelligent and inquisitive.”
To finish reading this article go to page 42 of the Summer 2012 issue of Bucks County Magazine.