Political ‘Legend’ Jimmy Faulkner Dies in Bay Minette at 92
August 29th, 2008Editor’s Note: When I heard the other day that Jimmy Faulkner of Bay Minette had died, it brought back a lot of memories. And while we usually stay focused on the big national news on this independent news Website, there are times when we will reach back into the past and into local climes for interesting stories.
I must say that when I read all the glowing feature obituaries on Faulkner, no relation to the literary family from Mississippi that I know of, I just had to laugh out loud. Faulkner got the unchallenged praise in print he angled for his entire life in the Mobile Cash-Register and Gulf Coast Newspapers.
While we realize that it is an American journalism tradition to give people their due when they die — even political monsters such as George C. Wallace — we could not let this moment pass without at least a small tinge of criticism. After all, that’s what bloggers do.
Before we get to the obit, a couple of memories.
When I first met James H. “Jimmy” Faulkner in his office around the corner from The Baldwin Times newspaper office, which was across the street from the Baldwin County Courthouse on the small town circle, as a young cub reporter I thought he was a major head of state or something. That’s how he presented himself, with his secretary greeting you warmly in the outer office and making you wait for a little while before he would usher you in like he was the governor himself, even though he only served a couple of terms in the Alabama Senate.
But in South Alabama, as I found out over the next year in 1984-85, he was a political force who could call up George Wallace at any time and get pretty much whatever he wanted.
He was always gracious, but he exuded power.
The last time I saw Mr. Faulkner, he was fairly feeble and almost blind. It was 2002 and I was free-lancing for The New York Times, visiting Bay Minette to find out how the 2002 election had swung overnight from Don Siegelman to Bob Riley. Even though he had a reputation as being a life-long “Yellow Dog Democrat,” I got the distinct impression that Faulkner had supported Riley in that race. He tried to convince me that Baldwin County had never had an instance of election fraud in its entire history, but I was not thoroughly convinced then, or now.
In the one time I saw Faulkner really rattled and upset about something, he had been involved in a deal to sell a chemical plant he co-owned to the Uniroyal corporation, which was suing him after residents discovered that a nearby creek had been contaminated. He was pretty upset since because of the lawsuit, the bank had frozen his accounts and seized his assets. I don’t remember how the case came out, but I still have that front page hanging on my wall. It was my first lead story in newspaper as a professional reporter (not counting The Crimson White student newspaper at the University of Alabama).
So let’s just say that while Faulkner was a class act in his own way, he was not above wheeling and dealing as a business man in ways that might not have been as squeaky clean as the image he worked hard all his life to project.
The bottom line is he was a big fish in a little pond. But here’s his due…
GW
by Glynn Wilson and Dan Rutledge
James Herman “Jimmy” Faulkner, a long-time political power in Alabama politics, died August 22 after a long illness. He was 92.
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| Dan Rutledge |
| Faulkner’s face on the sign for the college named after him |
He leaves a legacy of service to Bay Minette and Baldwin County, where he moved in 1936, for numerous economic development achievements, the primary focus of his life. During his life, he was a world traveler, touring more than 100 countries, as the legend goes.
At the age of 20, shortly after his arrival in Bay Minette from Tuscaloosa, he purchased The Baldwin Times newspaper, launching a career which he expanded into becoming a radio executive, a mayor, a state senator and a founder and president of an insurance company. He also ran two unsuccessful campaigns for governor, but became a long-time associate of George Wallace. And he published a newspaper column called “Mumblings” for 72 years.
Born March 1, 1916, near Vernon in Lamar County, Alabama, Faulkner began his life enjoying the positive guidance of his father, farmer, and mother, a school teacher. He received his advanced education at Freed-Hardeman Junior College, Henderson, Tennessee in 1933-1934, and the School of Journalism at the University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri, in 1934-1936.
Upon arriving in Bay Minette, he began working to build his newly acquired newspaper and seeking ways to enhance the growth of his hometown and Baldwin County. Faulkner was elected mayor of Bay Minette, serving from 1941-1943. He was the youngest mayor in America at that time. He was a World War II veteran, joiining the U.S. Army Air Corps, attaining the rank of First Lieutenant while serving as a pilot and flight instructor from 1943-1946.
Upon returning from military duty, he was elected state senator, serving from 1950-1954. While serving in the state Senate, he was a primary figure in improving education in Alabama, attaining the best retirement benefits in the nation for teachers and education administrators.
His political activities, in addition to serving as a mayor, state senator, and two campaigns for governor, have included being a member of the State Democratic Executive Committee, 1948-1952, finance chairman of the Alabama Democratic Campaign, 1976, and secretary-treasurer of the Baldwin County Democratic Executive Committee, 1936-1978.
His newspapers were widely recognized for their excellence over the years, often receiving the top award of General Excellence in their circulation category from the Alabama Press Association. His radio stations also received numerous awards for excellence in broadcasting. He co-published two books, Five Dollars A Scalp, in 1976, and Massacre, in 1989.
Two biographies have been written about him, the first Faulkner - Jimmy That Is, by Sandra Baxley Taylor, published in 1984 by The Strode Publishers (a vanity press); and Faith and Works, by Elvin Stanton, published in 2002 by NewSouth Books. He has had two additional books published, compilations of his newspaper columns spanning 72 years. The first is Mumblings, published by J.C. Choate Publications in 2004, and the second Byways of Baldwin, published by NewSouth Books in 2007.
Faulkner became a member of the Board of Directors of Alabama Christian College, Montgomery, Alabama, serving as chairman of the board from 1963-1989. He was instrumental in bringing a solid financial foundation to the college and assuring the success of a law school there. In April, 1985, the college was named in his honor, Faulkner University, and now has additional campuses in Huntsville and Mobile. He also was instrumental in acquiring a two-year college for Baldwin County, later named Faulkner State Community College in his honor. The main campus is in Bay Minette with additional campuses in Fairhope and Gulf Shores.
His professional achievements are lengthy. To name the most important few, he was founder and president of Loyal American Life Insurance Company of Mobile in 1955; owner and publisher of three newspapers in Baldwin County from 1936-1974; president of Faulkner Radio, Inc., a chain of seven radio stations in Alabama and Georgia from 1958-1985; president of Faulkner Phillips Media, Inc., 1985-1997; director of the First National Bank, Fairhope, 1976-1978; vice chairman of the board, David Volkert and Associates, Inc., 1984-2008; and chairman of the board, Alpine Laboratories, a chemical plant in Bay Minette, 1975-1979.
His memberships include the Bay Minette Church of Christ, where he was a member for 72 years and served as Elder and Treasurer for 50 years; Rotary Club; American Legion; President’s Club, Freed-Hardeman College; Who’s Who in South and Southwest; Who’s Who in World Commerce; Who’s Who in America; and Newcomen Society.
Faulkner received more than 35 awards during his lifetime, including eight Honorary Doctor degrees. Faulkner’s civic organization memberships and activities have been extensive over the years.
His family received friends Tuesday, August 26, at Norris Funeral Home. A private funeral service was held Wednesday, August 27, at the Bay Minette Church of Christ with private graveside services following in Bay Minette Cemetery. A memorial service was held at 2 p.m. Wednesday at the L.D. Owen Performing Arts Center at Faulkner State Community College in Bay Minette. The family asks that contributions be made to the James Herman Faulkner Scholarship Fund at Faulkner State Community College, 1900 South Highway 31, Bay Minette, Alabama 36507 or Faulkner University, 5345 Atlanta Highway, Montgomery, Alabama 36193. Funeral arrangements were by Norris Funeral Home, Bay Minette.
He is survived by his wife, Karlene Faulkner; two sons, James H. Faulkner, Jr., and his wife Beverly Faulkner, and Dr. Henry Wade Faulkner and his wife, Ann Blackburn Faulkner; eight grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Henry L. Faulkner and Ebbie Johnson Faulkner; his first wife, Evelyn Irwin Faulkner, the daughter of the late Wade and Ella Irwin; and his brother, Dr. Thurston L. Faulkner, who served as Alabama Director of Vocational Education.
Other obits:
Gulf Coast Newspapers: So long, Jimmy!
Mobile Press-Register: Faulkner’s impact on area was enormous
December 21st, 2008 at 11:20 am
[...] Faulkner also died in August this year. We ran his obit here. [...]