Oral history with G. O. Parker Jr.; 2003

Oral history.; Transcript of interview conducted with G. O. Parker. Gary Otha Parker Jr. was born in Harperville, Mississippi, in Scott County in 1920. His father was a Southern Baptist minister; his mother a teacher. He went to Union School in Newton County up to the ninth grade. At the age of fourteen, Parkers family moved to Magee, Mississippi. He graduated from Magee High School, enrolled at Copiah-Lincoln Junior College, and then completed a year at the University of Southern Mississippi. Parker worked in the newspaper business in Collins after college. He volunteered to serve in the Marine Corps in August 1942 and was stationed overseas. Parker married in 1947 soon after returning. His wife, Etta Mae Kees Major, had married during the war and had a daughter, but her husband, a pilot, died in a plane crash in New Guinea. Gary and Etta Mae had three children, in addition to the daughter from her previous marriage. He returned to the newspaper industry after returning to the States, working at Simpson County News in Mendenhall, leasing the paper in 1946. Parker bought the Magee Courier in May 1948, which he owned until selling it in 1970. He then worked for five years at the employment service in Mendenhall. Parker also served as the president of a funeral business for eighteen years. Shortly after buying the Courier in 1948, Parker was elected mayor of Magee, a position he held for ten and a half years.

Oral history.; Interview conducted with G. O. Parker. Gary Otha Parker Jr. was born in Harperville, Mississippi, in Scott County in 1920. His father was a Southern Baptist minister; his mother a teacher. He went to Union School in Newton County up to the ninth grade. At the age of fourteen, Parkers family moved to Magee, Mississippi. He graduated from Magee High School, enrolled at Copiah-Lincoln Junior College, and then completed a year at the University of Southern Mississippi. Parker worked in the newspaper business in Collins after college. He volunteered to serve in the Marine Corps in August 1942 and was stationed overseas. Parker married in 1947 soon after returning. His wife, Etta Mae Kees Major, had married during the war and had a daughter, but her husband, a pilot, died in a plane crash in New Guinea. Gary and Etta Mae had three children, in addition to the daughter from her previous marriage. He returned to the newspaper industry after returning to the States, working at Simpson County News in Mendenhall, leasing the paper in 1946. Parker bought the Magee Courier in May 1948, which he owned until selling it in 1970. He then worked for five years at the employment service in Mendenhall. Parker also served as the president of a funeral business for eighteen years. Shortly after buying the Courier in 1948, Parker was elected mayor of Magee, a position he held for ten and a half years.

Oral history.; Interview conducted with G. O. Parker. Gary Otha Parker Jr. was born in Harperville, Mississippi, in Scott County in 1920. His father was a Southern Baptist minister; his mother a teacher. He went to Union School in Newton County up to the ninth grade. At the age of fourteen, Parkers family moved to Magee, Mississippi. He graduated from Magee High School, enrolled at Copiah-Lincoln Junior College, and then completed a year at the University of Southern Mississippi. Parker worked in the newspaper business in Collins after college. He volunteered to serve in the Marine Corps in August 1942 and was stationed overseas. Parker married in 1947 soon after returning. His wife, Etta Mae Kees Major, had married during the war and had a daughter, but her husband, a pilot, died in a plane crash in New Guinea. Gary and Etta Mae had three children, in addition to the daughter from her previous marriage. He returned to the newspaper industry after returning to the States, working at Simpson County News in Mendenhall, leasing the paper in 1946. Parker bought the Magee Courier in May 1948, which he owned until selling it in 1970. He then worked for five years at the employment service in Mendenhall. Parker also served as the president of a funeral business for eighteen years. Shortly after buying the Courier in 1948, Parker was elected mayor of Magee, a position he held for ten and a half years.