Carrol Copeland, a resident of Sequoyah County and former photo editor at Southwest Times Record, will talk about photos he has taken during this 38 years at the newspaper at the 2 p.m. August 17 meeting of the Sequoyah County Historical Society.
Copeland began his newspaper career at the Sequoyah County Times in 1972, selling advertising.
Since it was a small community paper he also delivered the newspapers in his boss’s car, photographing the first dogwood blooms, and shooting Friday night football and everything in between.
In 1972 he started as a staff photographer at Southwest Times Record in Forth Smith, Ark. He was promoted to senior photographer and in 2012, retired as photo editor.
In the 38 years at the newspaper he recorded a lot of history through his photos. He photographed the smiles of everyday people to heartbreaking events of the area, including the I-40 bridge collapse, arson fire at the Old Sallisaw High School, traffic accidents, fires, crime scenes, Old Fort Rodeo and Arkansas Razorback Football games, as well as local sports, including high school football, baseball and track.
He has also photographed Presidents Gerald Ford, Bill Clinton, George H.W. Busch, George W. Bush, as well as senators, congressmen and other political figures.
Copeland has received numerous awards for his photography from both the Oklahoma and Arkansas Press Associations, and in 1995, he was named Photographer of the Year by the Oklahoma Press Association.
Everyone is invited to come out and witness history through the eyes of a photojournalist.
The Sequoyah County Historical Society is located at 200 East Creek in Sallisaw.
Carrol Copeland, former photo editor at Southwest Times Record, will talk about photos he took during this 38 years at the newspaper at the August 17 meeting of the Sequoyah County Historical Society.