Frank W. Mayborn
Encyclopedia
Frank Willis Mayborn was
a 20th century Texas
newspaper
publisher and philanthropist
who played a crucial
role in the development
of Temple
and Bell County
, located north of the state capital of Austin
.
Mayborn published the Temple Daily Telegram
, the Killeen Daily Herald, the Sherman Democrat
, and the Taylor Press
in Temple, Killeen
, Sherman
, and Taylor
, respectively. He established KCEN-TV
, the National Broadcasting Company
outlet for both Temple and nearby Waco
, the seat of McLennan County
.
Mayborn was also a political confidant of Texas Democrats
, U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson
, Governor
John B. Connally, and U.S. Representatives W.R. Poage and Speaker
Sam Rayburn
, Secretary Oveta Culp Hobby
of the former United States Department of Health, Education and Welfare, and U.S. Secretary of Commerce Jesse H. Jones. He
cast a crucial vote on the Democratic State Central Committee to certify Johnson's nomination to the U.S. Senate in 1948. By the 1970s, with the defection of Connally to the Republican Party
(GOP), Mayborn began to support some GOP candidates.
The Texas Daily Newspaper Association offers the annual Frank Mayborn Award for Community Leadership to recognize a publisher or other newspaper executive who contributed during the past year to the improvement of society.
in Akron, Ohio
to Ward Carlton Mayborn and the former Nellie Childs Welton. Ward Mayborn, who was an executive of the E.W. Scripps newspaper chain, moved the family in 1910 to the Westminster
, a Denver
suburb
that is now the seventh largest city in Colorado
. In 1919, the Mayborns relocated to Dallas
, where young Frank graduated in 1922 from W.H. Adamson High School, then Oak Cliff High School in the Oak Cliff
neighborhood of Dallas.
He received a bachelor of arts
degree in 1926 from the University of Colorado at Boulder
. Mayborn worked as a correspondent for several publications while in high school (Dallas Dispatch
) and in college (Denver Post and United Press International
). Thereafter, he was an advertising
salesman for the Dallas News (since Dallas Morning News) and then served in management positions for the Northern Texas Traction Company in Fort Worth
.
. Ward Mayborn at first urged Frank to sell the Telegram for whatever he could command, considering the gloomy economic picture by 1930. Mayborn, however, was determined to make a success in Temple and continued as the business manager of the newspaper, a position that he held until 1945, when he was elevated to editor
and publisher. That same year, Mayborn purchased the Sherman Democrat in Grayson County
in north Texas.
In 1952, he became, first, part-owner and, then, sole owner-operator of the Killeen Herald (subsequently the Killeen Daily Herald). In 1959, he obtained the Taylor Press in Williamson County
east of Austin. He sold the Taylor Press (later Taylor Daily Press) in 1974 and the Sherman Democrat in 1977 but continued as editor and publisher of the Temple and Killeen newspapers until his death.
Mayborn was also a radio and television pioneer. In 1936, he started radio station KTEM in Temple. In 1945, he founded WMAK radio (now WNQM
, a Christian
station) in Nashville, Tennessee
. In 1953, he founded KCEN-TV, named "CEN" for "Central Texas".
civic booster, Mayborn worked tirelessly to promote Bell County. In 1939-1940, he chaired the military affairs committee of the Temple Chamber of Commerce
. First Camp Hood, then Fort Hood, the largest United States Army
base in the United States
, was established in Killeen and nearby Coryell County
. Mayborn and the committee obtained the Olin E. Teague
(named for a member of the United States House of Representatives
from Texas) Veterans Center in Temple and several other military installations and defense plants in the area.
At thirty-nine in 1942, Mayborn enlisted in the Army as a public relations officer. In 1944, he joined the staff of General Dwight D. Eisenhower
as assistant chief of the U.S. public relations office. He received a Bronze Star
and left military service as a major in 1945. He remained active in military matters, having served on the civilian advisory board for most of the commanders at Fort Hood. In 1968, he accompanied an old acquaintance, General Bruce Clarke, to South Vietnam
on a fact-finding tour. On his return, he reported to President Johnson on the reliability of the controversial M16 rifle
. In 1979, Mayborn was awarded the Creighton W. Abrams Medal
, named for the second U.S. commander in the Vietnam War
, for his contributions to the Army.
of 1948 for the seat vacated by the retiring W. Lee O'Daniel
.
The state committee was asked to declare the winner of the primary after supporters of former Governor Coke R. Stevenson
, a conservative Democrat, accused Johnson's campaign of fraudulent voting practices, particularly in Jim Wells County
, one of the south Texas "machine" counties controlled by the Duval County political patron
, George Parr. Eighty-seven primary votes were in dispute.
John Connally, then Johnson's campaign manager, summoned Mayborn from a business trip in Nashville, where Mayborn owned a radio station, to cast the deciding vote in what was to be the committee's 29-28 decision to declare Johnson the winner. U.S. Supreme Court Justice Hugo L. Black, a former U.S. senator from Alabama
, declared that the Democratic committee would have the sole power to select the nominee, a crushing blow to the Stevenson campaign. Stevenson, thereafter, embittered at the outcome of the senatorial nomination, headed the "Democrats for Nixon
" Committee in Texas in 1960, when Johnson was the Democratic vice-presidential nominee on the ticket headed by then Senator John F. Kennedy
of Massachusetts
.
Mayborn was also involved in the development of many Bell County institutions. He served on the advisory board of the acclaimed Scott & White Memorial Hospital
and played an important role in the location of Texas A&M University
Medical Center in Temple. A longtime advocate of a convention center for Temple, Mayborn donated over 15 acres (60,702.9 m²) of land for the Frank W. Mayborn Convention Center, which was completed in 1982. The facility includes the Mayborn Museum Complex.
As an advocate for education, Mayborn was active in the founding of the two-year Central Texas College
near Killeen, which services many military personnel from Fort Hood. He also started the annual Bell County spelling bee
. He endowed a chair at Texas Tech University
in Lubbock
. Mayborn served on journalism advisory boards at both the University of Texas and Texas A&M
. Posthumously, the journalism graduate program at the University of North Texas
was named the Frank W. Mayborn Graduate Institute of Journalism in 1999. With assistance from his business partner, Frank M. Burke Jr, the journalism department at the University of North Texas became the Frank W. and Sue Mayborn School of Journalism on September 1, 2009. Mayborn also established a journalism chair at Baptist
-affiliated Baylor University
of Waco. He was a trustee and a donor to George Peabody College
in Nashville.
Mayborn worked with Congressman Poage to obtain two Central Texas reservoirs, Belton Lake
and Stillhouse Hollow Lake
. He also worked to obtain the designation of the Killeen-Temple-Belton
-Fort Hood area as an standard metropolitan statistical area though the four units are not directly contiguous. He was president of the Texas Publishers Association in 1941 and of the Southern Newspaper Publishers Association in 1961.
Over the years, Mayborn received numerous awards, including an honorary doctorate from the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor
in Belton and the Distinguished Citizen Award of the Boy Scouts of America
, an organization that he tirelessly supported over the years. He was inducted into the Communications Hall of Fame at Texas Tech. He also supported numerous charitable projects through the Frank W. Mayborn Foundation.
Mayborn was married to (1) the former Ruth Whitesides (1906–1977) from 1929–1946 and (2) the former Wythel Killen (1912–2001) from 1947-1972. Both marriages ended in divorce. In 1981, Mayborn married the former Anyse Sue White (born ca. 1936), who, thirty-three years his junior, succeeded him as editor and publisher of the Temple and Killeen papers.
Mayborn was a Mason
and a Presbyterian. He died of heart attack in Temple.
Was
The was sceptre is a symbol that appeared often in relics, art and hieroglyphics associated with the ancient Egyptian religion...
a 20th century Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
newspaper
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
publisher and philanthropist
Philanthropist
A philanthropist is someone who engages in philanthropy; that is, someone who donates his or her time, money, and/or reputation to charitable causes...
who played a crucial
Crucial
Crucial may refer to:* Crucial Technology, a brand used by semiconductor manufacturer Micron Technology* The Crucial Conspiracy, an album by The Dingees* The Crucial Squeegie Lip, a recording by Ween...
role in the development
Regional development
Regional development is the provision of aid and other assistance to regions which are less economically developed. Regional development may be domestic or international in nature...
of Temple
Temple, Texas
Temple is a city in Bell County, Texas, United States. Located near the county seat of Belton, Temple lies in the region referred to as Central Texas. Located off Interstate 35, Temple is 65 miles north of Austin and 34 miles south of Waco. In the 2010 Census, Temple's population was 66,102, an...
and Bell County
Bell County, Texas
Bell County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. Bell County was founded in 1850. It is part of the Killeen–Temple–Fort Hood Metropolitan Statistical Area. In 2000, the county's population was 237,974; in 2010 the U.S. Census Bureau reported that its population had reached...
, located north of the state capital of Austin
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
.
Mayborn published the Temple Daily Telegram
Temple Daily Telegram
The Temple Daily Telegram is the daily newspaper of Temple, Texas, serving Central Texas since 1907. The Telegram is locally owned and operated by Frank Mayborn Enterprises, under editor and publisher Anyse Sue Mayborn, the widow of Frank Mayborn....
, the Killeen Daily Herald, the Sherman Democrat
The Herald Democrat
The Herald Democrat is a daily newspaper located in the twin cities of Sherman and Denison, Texas, United States, about 60 miles north of Dallas and 10 miles south of the Red River and Lake Texoma. It is owned and published by Stephens Media LLC...
, and the Taylor Press
Taylor Daily Press
The Taylor Daily Press is a newspaper in Taylor, Texas. It has recently introduced a free online edition. The Taylor Daily Press calls itself "Eastern Williamson County's only daily newspaper."...
in Temple, Killeen
Killeen, Texas
Killeen is a city in Bell County, Texas, The United States. The population was 86,911 at the 2000 census. As of 2009, Killeen had 119,510 people. In 2010 Killeen's population shot to 127,921...
, Sherman
Sherman, Texas
Sherman is a city in and the county seat of Grayson County, Texas, United States. The city's estimated population as of 2009 was 38,407. It is also one of two principal cities in the Sherman-Denison Metropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...
, and Taylor
Taylor, Texas
Taylor is a city in Williamson County, Texas, United States. The population was 13,575 at the 2000 census; it was 15,191 in the 2010 census estimate. Taylors largest employers include the Electric Reliability Council of Texas , Durcon Inc, and the T. Don Hutto Residential Center, an immigration...
, respectively. He established KCEN-TV
KCEN-TV
KCEN-TV, virtual channel 6, is the NBC affiliate for Waco, Killeen and Temple, Texas. Licensed to nearby Temple, it is owned by London Broadcasting. It was founded in 1953 by Frank W. Mayborn, publisher of the nearby Temple Daily Telegram newspaper...
, the National Broadcasting Company
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
outlet for both Temple and nearby Waco
Waco, Texas
Waco is a city in and the county seat of McLennan County, Texas. Situated along the Brazos River and on the I-35 corridor, halfway between Dallas and Austin, it is the economic, cultural, and academic center of the 'Heart of Texas' region....
, the seat of McLennan County
McLennan County, Texas
McLennan County is a county located on the Edwards Plateau in Central Texas. In 2000, its population was 213,517; in 2008 the U.S. Census Bureau estimated its population to be 230,213. Its seat is Waco. The county is named for Neil McLennan, an early settler....
.
Mayborn was also a political confidant of Texas Democrats
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
, U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon Baines Johnson , often referred to as LBJ, was the 36th President of the United States after his service as the 37th Vice President of the United States...
, Governor
Governor
A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...
John B. Connally, and U.S. Representatives W.R. Poage and Speaker
Speaker of the United States House of Representatives
The Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, or Speaker of the House, is the presiding officer of the United States House of Representatives...
Sam Rayburn
Sam Rayburn
Samuel Taliaferro Rayburn , often called "Mr. Sam," or "Mr. Democrat," was a Democratic lawmaker from Bonham, Texas, who served as the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives for seventeen years, the longest tenure in U.S. history.- Background :Rayburn was born in Roane County, Tennessee, and...
, Secretary Oveta Culp Hobby
Oveta Culp Hobby
Oveta Culp Hobby was the first secretary of the US Department of Health, Education and Welfare, first commanding officer of the Women's Army Corps, and chairman of the board of the Houston Post....
of the former United States Department of Health, Education and Welfare, and U.S. Secretary of Commerce Jesse H. Jones. He
He
He is a third-person, singular personal pronoun in Modern English, as well as being a personal pronoun in Middle English.-Animals:...
cast a crucial vote on the Democratic State Central Committee to certify Johnson's nomination to the U.S. Senate in 1948. By the 1970s, with the defection of Connally to the Republican Party
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
(GOP), Mayborn began to support some GOP candidates.
The Texas Daily Newspaper Association offers the annual Frank Mayborn Award for Community Leadership to recognize a publisher or other newspaper executive who contributed during the past year to the improvement of society.
Early years and education
Mayborn was bornBorn
Born may refer to:* Childbirth* Born , a limited series comic book featuring the Punisher* Born Feinkost GmbH, a German food company* Born , a lunar crater-Places:* Born, Netherlands, a town in the Netherlands...
in Akron, Ohio
Akron, Ohio
Akron , is the fifth largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Summit County. It is located in the Great Lakes region approximately south of Lake Erie along the Little Cuyahoga River. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 199,110. The Akron Metropolitan...
to Ward Carlton Mayborn and the former Nellie Childs Welton. Ward Mayborn, who was an executive of the E.W. Scripps newspaper chain, moved the family in 1910 to the Westminster
Westminster, Colorado
Westminster is a Home Rule Municipality in Adams and Jefferson counties in the U.S. state of Colorado. Westminster is a northwest suburb of Denver. The Westminster Municipal Center is located north-northwest of the Colorado State Capitol. The United States Census Bureau that the city population...
, a Denver
Denver, Colorado
The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...
suburb
Suburb
The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...
that is now the seventh largest city in Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
. In 1919, the Mayborns relocated to Dallas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
, where young Frank graduated in 1922 from W.H. Adamson High School, then Oak Cliff High School in the Oak Cliff
Oak Cliff
Oak Cliff is a community in Dallas, Texas, United States that was formerly a separate town located in Dallas County; Dallas annexed Oak Cliff in 1903...
neighborhood of Dallas.
He received a bachelor of arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
degree in 1926 from the University of Colorado at Boulder
University of Colorado at Boulder
The University of Colorado Boulder is a public research university located in Boulder, Colorado...
. Mayborn worked as a correspondent for several publications while in high school (Dallas Dispatch
Dallas Dispatch
The Dallas Dispatch was a daily evening newspaper published in Dallas, Texas from 1906 until it was combined with the evening Dallas Journal in 1938 to create The Dallas Dispatch-Journal, the name of which was shortened to The Dallas Journal in 1939 and which ceased publication in 1942.The...
) and in college (Denver Post and United Press International
United Press International
United Press International is a once-major international news agency, whose newswires, photo, news film and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines and radio and television stations for most of the twentieth century...
). Thereafter, he was an advertising
Advertising
Advertising is a form of communication used to persuade an audience to take some action with respect to products, ideas, or services. Most commonly, the desired result is to drive consumer behavior with respect to a commercial offering, although political and ideological advertising is also common...
salesman for the Dallas News (since Dallas Morning News) and then served in management positions for the Northern Texas Traction Company in Fort Worth
Fort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth is the 16th-largest city in the United States of America and the fifth-largest city in the state of Texas. Located in North Central Texas, just southeast of the Texas Panhandle, the city is a cultural gateway into the American West and covers nearly in Tarrant, Parker, Denton, and...
.
Texas media mogul
Along with his father and brothers, Mayborn purchased the Telegram Publishing Company in Temple just days after the advent of the Wall Street Crash of 1929Wall Street Crash of 1929
The Wall Street Crash of 1929 , also known as the Great Crash, and the Stock Market Crash of 1929, was the most devastating stock market crash in the history of the United States, taking into consideration the full extent and duration of its fallout...
. Ward Mayborn at first urged Frank to sell the Telegram for whatever he could command, considering the gloomy economic picture by 1930. Mayborn, however, was determined to make a success in Temple and continued as the business manager of the newspaper, a position that he held until 1945, when he was elevated to editor
Editing
Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, and film media used to convey information through the processes of correction, condensation, organization, and other modifications performed with an intention of producing a correct, consistent, accurate, and complete...
and publisher. That same year, Mayborn purchased the Sherman Democrat in Grayson County
Grayson County, Texas
As of the census of 2000, there were 110,595 people, 42,849 households, and 30,208 families residing in the county. The population density was 118 people per square mile . There were 48,315 housing units at an average density of 52 per square mile...
in north Texas.
In 1952, he became, first, part-owner and, then, sole owner-operator of the Killeen Herald (subsequently the Killeen Daily Herald). In 1959, he obtained the Taylor Press in Williamson County
Williamson County, Texas
Williamson County is a county located on both the Edwards Plateau to the west, consisting of rocky terrain and hills, and Blackland Prairies in the east consising of rich, fertile farming land, The two areas are roughly bisected by Interstate 35...
east of Austin. He sold the Taylor Press (later Taylor Daily Press) in 1974 and the Sherman Democrat in 1977 but continued as editor and publisher of the Temple and Killeen newspapers until his death.
Mayborn was also a radio and television pioneer. In 1936, he started radio station KTEM in Temple. In 1945, he founded WMAK radio (now WNQM
WNQM
WNQM, or Nashville Quality Ministries, is a Christian radio station located in Nashville, Tennessee and owned by F.W. Robbert Broadcasting.-History:...
, a Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
station) in Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
. In 1953, he founded KCEN-TV, named "CEN" for "Central Texas".
Military service
An activeActive
Active may refer to:Human Activity* An active lifestyle, a lifestyle characterized by frequent or various social, intellectual, and physical activities* An "active" in a fraternity or sororityComputers and electronics...
civic booster, Mayborn worked tirelessly to promote Bell County. In 1939-1940, he chaired the military affairs committee of the Temple Chamber of Commerce
Chamber of commerce
A chamber of commerce is a form of business network, e.g., a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to advocate on behalf of the business community...
. First Camp Hood, then Fort Hood, the largest United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
base in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, was established in Killeen and nearby Coryell County
Coryell County, Texas
Coryell County is a county located on the Edwards Plateau in the U.S. state of Texas. In 2000, its population was 74,978. The county seat is Gatesville. Coryell County forms part of the Killeen–Temple–Fort Hood Metropolitan Statistical Area...
. Mayborn and the committee obtained the Olin E. Teague
Olin E. Teague
Olin Earl "Tiger" Teague was a notable World War II veteran and Congressional representative for Texas's 6th congressional district for 32 years, from 1946 to 1978...
(named for a member of the United States House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
from Texas) Veterans Center in Temple and several other military installations and defense plants in the area.
At thirty-nine in 1942, Mayborn enlisted in the Army as a public relations officer. In 1944, he joined the staff of General Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower was the 34th President of the United States, from 1953 until 1961. He was a five-star general in the United States Army...
as assistant chief of the U.S. public relations office. He received a Bronze Star
Bronze Star Medal
The Bronze Star Medal is a United States Armed Forces individual military decoration that may be awarded for bravery, acts of merit, or meritorious service. As a medal it is awarded for merit, and with the "V" for valor device it is awarded for heroism. It is the fourth-highest combat award of the...
and left military service as a major in 1945. He remained active in military matters, having served on the civilian advisory board for most of the commanders at Fort Hood. In 1968, he accompanied an old acquaintance, General Bruce Clarke, to South Vietnam
South Vietnam
South Vietnam was a state which governed southern Vietnam until 1975. It received international recognition in 1950 as the "State of Vietnam" and later as the "Republic of Vietnam" . Its capital was Saigon...
on a fact-finding tour. On his return, he reported to President Johnson on the reliability of the controversial M16 rifle
M16 rifle
The M16 is the United States military designation for the AR-15 rifle adapted for both semi-automatic and full-automatic fire. Colt purchased the rights to the AR-15 from ArmaLite, and currently uses that designation only for semi-automatic versions of the rifle. The M16 fires the 5.56×45mm NATO...
. In 1979, Mayborn was awarded the Creighton W. Abrams Medal
Creighton Abrams
Creighton Williams Abrams Jr. was a general in the United States Army who commanded military operations in the Vietnam War from 1968–72 which saw U.S. troop strength in Vietnam fall from a peak of 543,000 to 49,000. He served as Chief of Staff of the United States Army from 1972 until shortly...
, named for the second U.S. commander in the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
, for his contributions to the Army.
Mayborn's role in disputed Senate runoff primary
In 1946, Mayborn was elected to the Texas Democratic State Central Committee. While on the committee, he played a crucial role in the disputed senatorial primary runoffTwo-round system
The two-round system is a voting system used to elect a single winner where the voter casts a single vote for their chosen candidate...
of 1948 for the seat vacated by the retiring W. Lee O'Daniel
W. Lee O'Daniel
Wilbert Lee "Pappy" O'Daniel, , was a conservative Democratic Party politician from Texas, who came to prominence by hosting a popular radio program. Known for his populist appeal, Pappy O'Daniel was the governor of Texas and later its junior U.S. Senator. He is also the only person ever to have...
.
The state committee was asked to declare the winner of the primary after supporters of former Governor Coke R. Stevenson
Coke R. Stevenson
Coke Robert Stevenson was the 35th Governor of Texas from 1941 to 1947. He was the only 20th century Texan politician to serve as Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives, as Lieutenant Governor, and then as governor...
, a conservative Democrat, accused Johnson's campaign of fraudulent voting practices, particularly in Jim Wells County
Jim Wells County, Texas
At the 2000 census, there were 39,326 people, 12,961 households and 10,096 families residing in the county. The population density was 46 per square mile . There were 14,819 housing units at an average density of 17 per square mile...
, one of the south Texas "machine" counties controlled by the Duval County political patron
Patrón
Patrón is a luxury brand of tequila produced in Mexico and sold in hand-blown, individually numbered bottles.Made entirely from Blue Agave "piñas" , Patrón comes in five varieties: Silver, Añejo, Reposado, Gran Patrón Platinum and Gran Patrón Burdeos. Patrón also sells a tequila-coffee blend known...
, George Parr. Eighty-seven primary votes were in dispute.
John Connally, then Johnson's campaign manager, summoned Mayborn from a business trip in Nashville, where Mayborn owned a radio station, to cast the deciding vote in what was to be the committee's 29-28 decision to declare Johnson the winner. U.S. Supreme Court Justice Hugo L. Black, a former U.S. senator from Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
, declared that the Democratic committee would have the sole power to select the nominee, a crushing blow to the Stevenson campaign. Stevenson, thereafter, embittered at the outcome of the senatorial nomination, headed the "Democrats for Nixon
Democrats for Nixon
Democrats for Nixon was a campaign to promote Democratic support for the then-incumbent Republican President Richard Nixon in the 1972 presidential election...
" Committee in Texas in 1960, when Johnson was the Democratic vice-presidential nominee on the ticket headed by then Senator John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
of Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
.
Mayborn "made a difference"
Odie B. Faulk and Laura E. Faulk titled their Mayborn biography Frank Mayborn: A Man Who Made a Difference.Mayborn was also involved in the development of many Bell County institutions. He served on the advisory board of the acclaimed Scott & White Memorial Hospital
Scott & White Memorial Hospital
Scott & White Memorial Hospital in Bell County, Texas, was founded in 1897, when Dr. Arthur C. Scott and Dr. Raleigh R. White, Jr., opened the Temple Sanitarium in Temple, Texas. Caring for the heart of Texas between Dallas and Austin, Scott & White, with more than 800 physicians and scientists, is...
and played an important role in the location of Texas A&M University
Texas A&M University
Texas A&M University is a coeducational public research university located in College Station, Texas . It is the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System. The sixth-largest university in the United States, A&M's enrollment for Fall 2011 was over 50,000 for the first time in school...
Medical Center in Temple. A longtime advocate of a convention center for Temple, Mayborn donated over 15 acres (60,702.9 m²) of land for the Frank W. Mayborn Convention Center, which was completed in 1982. The facility includes the Mayborn Museum Complex.
As an advocate for education, Mayborn was active in the founding of the two-year Central Texas College
Central Texas College
Central Texas College is a community college located in Killeen, Texas, which was founded in 1965.As defined by the Texas Legislature, the official service area of CTC comprises the following:...
near Killeen, which services many military personnel from Fort Hood. He also started the annual Bell County spelling bee
Spelling bee
A spelling bee is a competition where contestants, usually children, are asked to spell English words. The concept is thought to have originated in the United States....
. He endowed a chair at Texas Tech University
Texas Tech University
Texas Tech University, often referred to as Texas Tech or TTU, is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas, United States. Established on February 10, 1923, and originally known as Texas Technological College, it is the leading institution of the Texas Tech University System and has the...
in Lubbock
Lubbock, Texas
Lubbock is a city in and the county seat of Lubbock County, Texas, United States. The city is located in the northwestern part of the state, a region known historically as the Llano Estacado, and the home of Texas Tech University and Lubbock Christian University...
. Mayborn served on journalism advisory boards at both the University of Texas and Texas A&M
Texas A&M University
Texas A&M University is a coeducational public research university located in College Station, Texas . It is the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System. The sixth-largest university in the United States, A&M's enrollment for Fall 2011 was over 50,000 for the first time in school...
. Posthumously, the journalism graduate program at the University of North Texas
University of North Texas
The University of North Texas is a public institution of higher education and research in Denton. Founded in 1890, UNT is part of the University of North Texas System. As of the fall of 2010, the University of North Texas, Denton campus, had a certified enrollment of 36,067...
was named the Frank W. Mayborn Graduate Institute of Journalism in 1999. With assistance from his business partner, Frank M. Burke Jr, the journalism department at the University of North Texas became the Frank W. and Sue Mayborn School of Journalism on September 1, 2009. Mayborn also established a journalism chair at Baptist
Baptist
Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
-affiliated Baylor University
Baylor University
Baylor University is a private, Christian university located in Waco, Texas. Founded in 1845, Baylor is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.-History:...
of Waco. He was a trustee and a donor to George Peabody College
Peabody College
Peabody College of Education and Human Development was founded in 1875 when the University of Nashville, located in Nashville, Tennessee, split into two separate educational institutions...
in Nashville.
Mayborn worked with Congressman Poage to obtain two Central Texas reservoirs, Belton Lake
Belton Lake
Belton Lake is a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reservoir on the Leon River in the Brazos River basin, 5 miles northwest of Belton, Texas, USA. The lake extends into both Bell County and Coryell County. Belton Dam and the lake are both managed by the Fort Worth District of the U.S. Army Corps of...
and Stillhouse Hollow Lake
Stillhouse Hollow Lake
Stillhouse Hollow Lake is a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reservoir on the Lampasas River in the Brazos River basin, 5 miles southwest of Belton, Texas, USA. The unincorporated town of Stillhouse Hollow in Bell County is adjacent to the reservoir, as are portions of Salado, a small town south of...
. He also worked to obtain the designation of the Killeen-Temple-Belton
Belton, Texas
Belton is a city in Bell County, Texas, United States. The population was 14,623 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Bell County.Belton is part of the Killeen – Temple – Fort Hood metropolitan area.-Geography:...
-Fort Hood area as an standard metropolitan statistical area though the four units are not directly contiguous. He was president of the Texas Publishers Association in 1941 and of the Southern Newspaper Publishers Association in 1961.
Over the years, Mayborn received numerous awards, including an honorary doctorate from the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor
University of Mary Hardin-Baylor
The University of Mary Hardin–Baylor, generally referred to as UMHB, is a Christian co-educational liberal arts institution of higher learning located in Belton, Texas, United States. Founded by the Republic of Texas in 1845 as "Baylor Female College," it has grown to approximately 2,700 students...
in Belton and the Distinguished Citizen Award of the Boy Scouts of America
Boy Scouts of America
The Boy Scouts of America is one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with over 4.5 million youth members in its age-related divisions...
, an organization that he tirelessly supported over the years. He was inducted into the Communications Hall of Fame at Texas Tech. He also supported numerous charitable projects through the Frank W. Mayborn Foundation.
Mayborn was married to (1) the former Ruth Whitesides (1906–1977) from 1929–1946 and (2) the former Wythel Killen (1912–2001) from 1947-1972. Both marriages ended in divorce. In 1981, Mayborn married the former Anyse Sue White (born ca. 1936), who, thirty-three years his junior, succeeded him as editor and publisher of the Temple and Killeen papers.
Mayborn was a Mason
Masonic Lodge
This article is about the Masonic term for a membership group. For buildings named Masonic Lodge, see Masonic Lodge A Masonic Lodge, often termed a Private Lodge or Constituent Lodge, is the basic organisation of Freemasonry...
and a Presbyterian. He died of heart attack in Temple.
External links
- http://www.baylor.edu/mayborn/
- http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/MM/fmazz.html
- http://ssdi.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/ssdi.cgi
- http://www.jour.unt.edu/mayborn.htm
- http://themayborn.unt.edu/
- http://tdtnews.com/humanitarian_awards
- http://www.kdhnews.com/news/story.aspx?id=18284
- http://www.temple-telegram.com/story/2007/04/29/40364
- http://www.baylor.edu/pr/news.php?action=story&story=3726
- http://www.tdna.org/awards/mayborn.html
- http://www1.va.gov/directory/guide/facility.asp?ID=132
- http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/dallasmorningnews/obituary.aspx?n=frank-burke&pid=144349583