Document Type
Finding Aid
Publication Date
2015
Abstract
Noble Roberts was born in 1925 to Newman and Emma (McCallum) Roberts, at his grandmother’s (Hernando Roberts) home on the Graysonia Road. He grew up in the Clark County, Arkansas, and Desha County, Arkansas, areas. In 1942 he graduated from high school in Watson, Arkansas. During World War II, Roberts was a Signalman third class (1943-1946) in the United States Coast Guard. He was a crew member aboard the LST 793, which saw duty in the North China Sea and the Philippine Islands. In 1951 Roberts earned a baccalaureate in biology and chemistry from Ouachita Baptist College. While in Arkadelphia, he helped establish Third Baptist Church. Roberts was ordained as a deacon of the First Baptist Church of Watson on August 7, 1955; the church's pastor at the time was Frank Hickingbotham. Noble Roberts later earned a doctorate in biology and chemistry.
Roberts worked as a junior and senior high school teacher and administrator. His professional life also included higher education teaching and administration and public health administration. By 1955 Roberts owned and operated a farm supply business and grain elevator in Watson, Arkansas, along with two other men, E.L. Craig and C.B. Harrod. They promoted the growing of pink tomatoes among the farmers of the region, built a receiving and processing facility, graded and packaged produce farmers brought in, and shipped tomatoes on large tandem reefer trucks to central and eastern markets.
Noble Roberts and his wife Frances Maxson Roberts live in Shelbyville, Kentucky.
Noble Roberts describes his Clark County, Arkansas, ancestors in this oral history collection. The materials include audio cassette tapes and a photograph album.
Recommended Citation
Noble Roberts Papers. Riley-Hickingbotham Library Archives and Special Collections, Ouachita Baptist University, Arkadelphia, Arkansas.