Bio of Ellis Ogden

In 1955, I moved away from Helena to Little Rock. In 1956 I graduated from Little Rock Central H.S. where I was in the band (played tuba in a 150 member marching band.) About 15 days after graduation, I went into the Army where I spent a combination of 8 years active and reserve. I was discharged in 1964 as a Sergeant First Class. My speciality at the time of discharge was radio communications chief of an artillery battalion.

I attempted to go to Arkansas Tech, but played around more than I studied. However, I had always promised my father that I would graduate from college. In 1963 my father had a severe stroke. In 1967 I enrolled in Arkansas A&M (Monticello) and completed a 132 hour B.S. degree in two years. During my first semester, my father died. During college, I met my wife (Anna Elizabeth) and shortly after my graduation in 1969, we were married on May 13th. I went to work as a social service worker for the Division of Mental Health Services. While employed there I applied for and was granted a stipend to attend the University of Missouri (Columbia) School of Social Work. In 1971 I received a MSSW (Master's Degree of Science in Social Work) and resumed my employment with the Division of Mental Health. In 1973 I was appointed as the Director of a "Hospital Improvement Project", a federally funded program, that involved the remotivation and rehabilitation of chronic psychiatric patients. Following the expiration of the grant funds, I was appointed as the Social Work Supervisor for Forensic Services at the Little Rock State Hospital. This was my introduction to the field of corrections. By 1979 I was hired by the Division of Youth Services to administer its Intensive Treatment Unit. For the next 20 years I remained with Youth Services where I served as the accreditation manager, and also coordinated security, internal investigations, and policy. My last appointment was as the Executive Director of the Central Arkansas Serious Offender Program, a maximum security treatment program for juveniles with high-level offenses. In 1996, the program was awarded the International Program of the Year" by a cognitive restructuring authority, as well as recognized by the U.S. Dept. of Justice as being the juvenile program in the United States with the lowest rate of violence.

In November, 1996, I was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, an incurable cancer. The cancer left me with a broken back. I was given 5 years or less to live. During my hospitalization, I experience the phenomena of dying and seeing a extremely bright light. I guess that the good Lord wasn't through with me. Later I learned where He was to lead me. After two bone marrow transplants, steriods, chemo, and thalidomide, I went into remission. In 2003 my oncologist pronounced me cured. I have to return once a year for a bone marrow aspiration and blood work to ensure my body is cancer-free. I received all of my treatment at the UAMS' Arkansas Cancer Research Center in Little Rock. Great place, great physicians, great staff. Alan Sugg, keep the money flowing to UAMS. It is the crown jewel of Arkansas.

In 1999 I retired after 32 years. The cancer treatment took its toll on me for awhile, but in time I have become more active than alot of people younger than me. Some of the things I do are payback to the Lord. While hospitalized with cancer, I once told my minister that if I ever got out of this "cancer mess", I was going to do his hospital visits for him. Well, that is what I do. I coordinate a team of persons of the Bryant First United Methodist Church who make the visits of church members and their relatives who are in the hospitals in central Arkansas. My wife and I also sing in the chancel choir of our church and play handbells. I never have given up my love for music. (During the 1970s and 80s, I was a bass drummer in a bagpipe band. Hoot, Mon!

My wife, Anna Elizabeth, retired in 2003 as a unit coordinator of a critical care unit of the Arkansas Health Center. We spend our retirement time in yardwork, camping, fishing, traveling, and whatever suits our fancy.

I do have some fond memories of Helena. These are:

1. Riding the Delta Eagle (my grandfather was the engineer).
2. Eating the hot tamales that my parents bought on Columbia Street.
3. Hitting a home run on the ball field near Porter Street and knocking
the rear window out of Mrs. Porter's sun room. However, I didn't enjoy having to forfeit my 25-cent a week allowance to pay for replacement of the window.
4. Playing on the Papoose football, basketball, and track teams.
5. Playing in the Band, particularly the Pep Band.
6. Keeping the Band Director, Charlie Stradford, awake all night at the bottom of the stairs of the Majestic Hotel in Hot Springs. You see, Mr. Stradford didn't want the male Band members to affiliate with the females in the Band. Especially while we were staying at a hotel during State Band meet in Hot Springs.
7. Painting slogans on the West-Honor bus that had been chartered for the Band's trip to Hot Springs. A bunch of us had to go down to the bus company to wash the bus. After we got through washing the bus, I remember Hunter Douglas asking the bus operator if he wanted us to wax the bus too. At that point, we learned some new curse words.
8. The fake radio song contests that Fred Crum, John Sallis, Ed Wilson, and I made up. We contacted various people on the phone, played a record for them, and asked them to identify the song. Whatever they said was OK with us. I won't go into the prizes awarded to the winners. There is always the possibility of litigation. Besides, there is no statute of limitations on what we did!!!
8. Working at the Daisy Queen across from John Sallis' house.
9. The great shootout and chase scene at Walnut Corner.
10. Budgy Corder was so thin that he could be pushed through one of the openings of the french door type of entrance to the gym so that we could play basketball.
11. The Tom Thumb wedding in the 2nd grade at Jefferson School. I played the part of the grandfather and one of my props was a cane. As you may recall, there were two peformances of the same wedding. During the first performance I played it straight in terms of the grandfather. During the intermission my brother persuaded me to twirl my cane as I came down the aisle. Well, my brother thought that was funny; however, my parents didn't and I got a whipping for that stunt. If you take a look at the "wedding picture", I am on the right end of the 2nd row. I am not exactly smiling since I got my whipping right before the picture was taken.
12. Jefferson School.
13. Miss Hutchenson in the 5th grade. She was so very understanding the day I was in class and received word that my grandfather died.
14. Jessie Mae McElduff. What a great teacher.
15. Bertha Curlin. Wow, if kids had her for a teacher now, there would not be any disciplinary problems in school.
16. Riding across the Mississippi River on a ferry, either the "A.C.
Jaynes" or the "Belle of Chester".
17. Sitting on the front porch of my grandmother's house on Arkansas Street and listening to Harold Jenkins practice.
18. Mr. Wahl. He was a very decent and fair gentleman.
19. Getting a $1.00 worth of gas at the Spur Station on Columbia Street. Nowdays, you couldn't even get out of the station with that amount of gas.
20. Going to the Pastime Theater for 12 cents admission and seeing a double-header, a serial, 3-Stooges, and a cartoon. What a bargain. And still have change left to buy a cold drink, popcorn, and a candy bar. If you had 2 cents left, you could buy 2 packs of Chum-Gum.
21. While in Junior High, being in class on the top floor and assigned a seat by the windows. Wow, I used to see: a) the steam engines (Missouri-Pacific, Helena & Southwestern, Helena & Northwestern, and the Illinois Central) switching cars along their respective tracks; b) the car ferry; c) the "Pelican"; and, d) assorted barges plying their way up/down the Mississippi. Of course, all of this historical observation didn't do too much for my classwork.
22. Having to practice in that old gym on the bottom floor of the Junior High building. That's the same gym my father and mother played on during their high school days in the 1920's.
23. Working at the Helena Rice Drier during the summer between the 6th and 7th grades. I worked a 12-hour night shift unloading wheat and rice from trucks. Boy, was that a long, hot summer!
24. Writing sports for the Helena World.
25. The Seaporters' baseball team.
26. Going to school with all of you. That is one of my most treasured memories.

What's your memories???

Ellis Ogden