Oral history with Captain George A. Stevens

              Oral history with Captain George A. Stevens
F341.5 . M57 vol. 376
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Biography
Mr. George A. Stevens was born in 1910 on a farm in Forrest County, Mississippi. In 1921 he moved with his family to Hattiesburg, where his father worked for the Gulf and Ship Island Railroad. He attended Hattiesburg public schools but graduated from high school in Anthony, New Mexico, where he was visiting relatives who owned a cattle ranch.
Returning to Hattiesburg, Mr. Stevens attended The University of Southern Mississippi, completing a degree in education. He taught languages and coached sports at public schools in Petal, Eatonville, and Newton and then went to the University of Mississippi, where he taught and completed additional coursework. Mr. Stevens accepted a teaching position at the National University of Mexico where he remained until 1938, when he returned to Mississippi. He taught languages and coached sports at Hinds Junior College and was also the coordinator of the Civilian Pilot Training Program for area colleges.
With the outbreak of World War II, Mr. Stevens reported for active duty in the U. S. Navy and qualified as an intelligence officer. He served aboard the aircraft carrier Essex in the South Pacific. He returned to active duty during the Korean conflict and was a member of the Naval Reserve, eventually accumulating almost thirty years of service.
Following World War II, Mr. Stevens embarked on a career in public relations. He was associated with Mid- Continent Airlines, Braniff International Airways, and the State of Oklahoma in a public relations capacity, before accepting an offer from Mississippi Governor Paul B. Johnson Jr. to establish and operate an international marketing division of the Mississippi Marketing Council. This office was opened at the International Trade Mart in New Orleans in 1966. Mr. Stevens directed efforts to locate foreign markets for Mississippi's agricultural and industrial products until his retirement in 1976.
Mr. Stevens married the former Sidney Lee McLaurin of Vicksburg and they had one son, George Jr. Mr. Stevens died January 6, 1978.
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