Clintonian Carole Kelly continuously contributes creative communication

By Nash Nunnery

Young Carole’s early plan was to become Roy Rogers.

As an imaginative little girl living in Tupelo, Carole Kelly had one career ambition in her young life.

Nurse? Hairdresser? Brenda Starr, newspaperwoman extraordinaire of the comics? No, no, and no.

The pixie Carole dreamed of becoming Roy Rogers, the “King of the Cowboys” and megastar of one of early television’s most popular series, The Roy Rogers Show.

“Wanting to be Roy Rogers was my very first goal in life,” said Kelly, whose soft Southern lilt is smooth as fresh churned butter. “I found a Roy Rogers replica cowboy outfit in the Sears Christmas catalogue and asked my dad to buy it for me. He did, six guns and all.”

Kelly exited a recent interview briefly to locate an old black-and-white photo of her wearing the outfit.

“Roy Rogers was my hero,” she said, proudly.

A few years removed from a whirlwind career as a public relations specialist and newspaper editor, the vivacious Kelly maintains her writing chops as a staff writer with The Clinton Courier.

Courier Editor-in-Chief Stephanie Tracy said she can’t imagine the newspaper without Kelly’s consistent and lively news submissions.

“Just two weeks after we published the very first Clinton Courier at the end of 2010, I got an email from Carole, whom I had never met or even heard of. It was filled with club news and photos,” said Tracy. “Though I didn’t realize it at the time, that email was the beginning of a very special and rewarding friendship.”

“For almost fifteen years, Carole has also been a source of constant inspiration and an ever-shining bright light of support in our Courier family. Carole’s one of those people that you could sit and talk to for hours — and then come away somehow magically changed for the better.”

After graduating from Ole Miss with a journalism degree, Kelly served in a variety of communications positions, including public relations jobs for the Mid-South Fair and National Cotton Council in Memphis. She also had stints in the newspaper industry as a news editor with the Starkville Daily News and Tate County Democrat.

“While in Memphis, I was hired with Early Maxwell & Associates, a high-powered PR firm,” she said. “The jobs with the Mid-South Fair and the National Cotton Council were seasonal only, but I learned so much. One of the highlights with Maxwell was attending a press conference when the Beatles made their first appearance in Memphis. I took a photo of all four of them together.”

Kelly retrieved the photo to show a visitor.

“There they are – Paul, George, Ringo and John. I was so close you could see the make-up lines around their faces,” she said.

When Kelly and her late husband George moved to Clinton in 1976, she was hired as public relations director for the Jackson Metropolitan Library System (now Jackson/Hinds) before joining the Information & Quality Healthcare communications department.

Special to The Clinton Courier
Carole is joined by some playful monkeys during a photo from one of her many adventures.

“After Ole Miss, my working career started with the Lee County Library before we moved to Memphis,” she said. “I love libraries, but the opportunities to write were limited, unless we featured an exhibit or the like. I wanted to pursue PR and newspaper opportunities.”

Kelly’s interest in writing took off while she was a journalism student under Dr. Jerry Hoar at Ole Miss. Kelly signed up for a feature writing class (acclaimed author and Southern historian Curtis Wilkie was a classmate) during the fall of 1962, a pivotal period in Mississippi history.

James Meredith was attempting to become the university’s first African-American student. An on-campus protest riot resulted in three deaths and left a trail of destruction.

“There were rumors that the university was going to close, but that didn’t bother Dr. Hoar,” Kelly recalled. “He told us, ‘I don’t care what the university does, close or not, you will write the thirteen feature stories I’ve assigned this semester.’ The school never closed, I wrote the stories, and got a B in the class.”

In addition to producing feature stories for the Courier, Kelly maintains membership in several local clubs, including Happy Gardeners, Study Club, Le Bonte Women’s Club and An Hour to Kill book club. In her spare time, the Tupelo native enjoys playing dominoes and practicing her ASL sign language skills.

“I’m content staying home – I like to say I do nothing really well,” Kelly said, smiling. “But one doesn’t meet new people that way – and people are fascinating.”

Speaking of home, Clinton is the place for her.

Kelly, pictured after interviewing Jasper Lee, a Clinton-area native who has written multiple books about his family’s history in the area.

“There’s so much history here. I’m not a native, but reading about the town’s past brings it alive,” said Kelly. “People here enrich your life and make me feel a part of Clinton.”

Kelly’s approach to writing for newspapers isn’t complicated – get the subject talking, pick up on things that might intrigue the reader, and share them with a few strokes of the keyboard.

“Working [after retirement] helps you meet people, be it the newspaper or the library,” she said. “Writing for the Courier… my word, I enjoy it, and it keeps me involved.”

“Everybody has a story to tell.”

‘Ol Roy Rogers, the King of the Cowboys, and Carole Kelly’s hero, would most likely agree with that assertion.