Fell, Charles, A.
Memoirs, 1889-1969
Biography:
Charles A.
Fell was born in Helena, Alabama, in 1889. He began his career in journalism as
a
reporter, first with the Birmingham Age-Herald (1907-1909) and later with
the Montgomery Advertiser
(1910-1911). In 1912, he began working for the Birmingham News, and
except for brief jobs at two other
newspapers during World War I, he spent the rest of his career at the News.
Fell became
the managing editor on the News in 1922 and remained in that position for
the next thirty
years. In 1955 he was appointed editor-in-chief, a position he held until his
retirement in 1958. He died in
Birmingham in 1969.
Scope and Content:
The
memoirs consist of five scrapbooks and one typescript of a book. The scrapbooks
contain
correspondence, reminiscences, newspaper clippings, photographs, and a variety
of printed material, the bulk
of which cover Fell's career as a reporter and editor with the Birmingham
News.
Among the
subjects covered in the scrapbooks are several incidents prominent in the
history of
Birmingham, including the Banner Mine explosion, the Shiloh Baptist Church
tragedy, a visit to the city by
temperance advocate Carrie Nation, the implementation of a program for the mass
treatment of venereal
disease, and the activities of the Ku Klux Klan in the city during the early
decades of the twentieth century.
Also included is genealogical material concerning the Fell family.
The
typescript is of Invasion from the North: the Civil War Centennial Feature
from the
Southern Point of View by Birmingham writer Clint Bonner.
This
collection has been copied onto microfilm. Each of the five scrapbooks has an
index.
Guide to Collection:
File level
guide available in the Archives Department.
Subject Areas:
Banner
Mine (Birmingham, Ala.) -- Accidents.
Birmingham
(Ala.) -- History.
Birmingham
News.
Bonner,
Clint.
Coal mine
accidents -- Alabama -- Birmingham.
Convict labor
-- Alabama -- Birmingham.
Fell,
Charles, A. (1889-1969)
Ku Klux Klan
(1915- ) -- Alabama -- History.
Ku Klux Klan
(1915- ) -- Handbooks, manuals, etc.
Prohibition
-- Alabama -- Birmingham.
Sexually
transmitted diseases -- Alabama.
Shiloh
Baptist Church (Birmingham, Ala.) -- Accidents.
Collection Number: 978
Size: 1 reel microfilm
Restrictions: Standard preservation and copyright restrictions.
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