Editor Helen Tidwell proofs copy for another edition of The Traveler in 1943. Tidwell was one of several women who edited the paper during the war years.
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Gas Rationing
The war provided women with more chances for leadership in all divisions of the university when male students enlisted and were drafted for World War II. Helen Tidwell was elected editor for the 1942-43 school year and was key in adjusting The Traveler's operations to war-time needs. The university didn't have its own printing press, and the paper was printed in downtown Fayetteville. Gas rationing forced the staff to find alternative methods to the city taxi service for moving news copy to the printer:
With the new ruling that ... copy can't be sent to the print shop without some person going in the cab, the Traveler has resorted to the next best thing and is now sending copy down on press days on a bicycle. Don Baker, freshman at Peabody high, delivers the copy now during his study hall periods. The Traveler may soon be advertising for a broken down horse and buggy, who knows.
The Traveler also contributed materially in "a burst of patriotism" by donating six typewriters to the United States Office of Price Administration, an agency designed to prevent price-gouging by suppliers of materials to the armed forces. Members of Pi Kappa, the honorary journalism sorority, also launched a drive to cover the cost of sending copies of The Traveler to the approximately 160 former students known to be serving overseas.
The Arkansas Traveler. October 6, 1942.
Ibid. September 25, 1942.
Ibid. October 2, 1942.
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