A Conversation with Your Precinct 2207 Neighbor . . . Darwin Payne

If you ran into longtime Precinct 2207 resident Darwin Payne at Mi Cocina, you might not know that the dignified but unassuming man at the next table had led such a colorful life.

(Darwin Payne with daughter Hannah and wife Phyllis. Hannah is studying music at SMU.)

But as a reporter for the Dallas Times Herald, Darwin was the first newsman to find Abraham Zapruder moments after he shot the now famous film of the assassination. The next night he was at the Dallas police station amidst the estimated 300 reporters from around the world who were covering the story. “It was a great time for a young reporter but a terrible tragedy for the nation,” he says. “JFK was the first Democrat I voted for. He was a visionary and had the ability to bring out the best in the youth of the country. You can’t help but wonder what might have been.”

At the Times Herald, Darwin became friends with Jim Lehrer, and not long after Darwin joined Jim’s “Newsroom” program on KERA – TV, where he appeared on camera along with A. C. Greene, Patsy Swank, Bill Porterfield, Martin Frost and Lee Cullum. Although local, “Newsroom” was not that much different from Lehrer’s present-day PBS “News Hour.”

Darwin taught journalism at SMU for thirty years before retiring in 1999 as professor emeritus. He holds a bachelor of journalism and a PhD in American Civilization from the University of Texas at Austin as well as a master of arts degree in history from Southern Methodist University.

As if that weren’t enough, in 1996, Darwin organized his own publishing concern - Three Forks Press (http://www.3forkspress.com), publishing books by Steve Blow, Marshall Terry, Michael Hazel and others. He also is the author of numerous books himself, including most recently Indomitable Sarah: The Life of Judge Sarah T. Hughes, which won the Liz Carpenter Award from the Texas State Historical Association and Big D : Triumphs and Troubles of an American Super City in the 20th Century. His next book to be published in 2009 will be Crusade for Justice: Louis A. Bedford and the Struggle for Equal Rights in Texas.

Darwin and Phyllis Payne along with daughter Hannah were delegates to the Senate District 16 County Convention. “I’ve never been more committed to the Democratic party than I am right now,” said the 3 Forks Press publisher and Lake Highlands resident. "These are exciting times."