Harvey C. Couch

Harvey Crowley Couch, Sr. (21 August 1877 – 30 July 1941), was an Arkansas entrepreneur who rose from modest beginnings to control a regional utility and railroad empire. He is regarded as the father of Arkansas Power and Light Company and other electric utilities now part of Entergy; he helped mold the Louisiana and Arkansas Railway and the Kansas City Southern Railway into a major transportation system. His work with local and federal government leaders during World War I and the Great Depression gained him national recognition and earned him positions in state and federal agencies. He also established Arkansas' first commercial broadcast radio station.

Early life and family Couch was born in Calhoun, a tiny community in Columbia County in southern Arkansas. The eldest of six children, he assisted his parents and younger siblings with the endless work associated with a small cotton farm. His father was also a Methodist minister. When Couch was seventeen, his father's health deteriorated, and the family moved to nearby Magnolia, the county seat of Columbia County. During this time, he was instructed by a future governor of Texas and president of Baylor University, Pat Neff, at Southwestern Academy in Magnolia, also known as Magnolia Academy. He left school early to help with the family finances and assist his mother, the former Marie Heard, with his younger siblings. His first paying job was to start the boiler every morning at Lum Barnett's cotton gin, for which he received 50 cents daily.

After working in several clerical positions at local small businesses, Couch saw a newspaper advertisement seeking mail clerks; the pay was $75 per month, significantly higher than his then salary of $20. His brother, Peter Couch, worked with him on various business ventures and held executive positions in several of his companies. Prior to working for Couch, lifelong friend and business attorney Hamilton Moses was a law partner of future U.S. senator Joe T. Robinson. The Democrat Couch was the father-in-law of Pratt C. Remmel, the only elected Republican to have served as mayor of Little Rock in the 20th century. Remmel's wife (and Couch's daughter), Catherine Couch Remmel (1918-2006), is honored by the naming of Lake Catherine near Hot Springs.

His sons were Johnson Olin Couch (1905-1958), Kirke A. Couch, Harvey Couch, Jr. (1908-1963), an officer of the Union National Bank in the capital city of Little Rock, and William Thomas Couch. Revenue generated by construction of Remmel Dam was in excess of $25,000 per year.

As the electric utility industry continued to prosper and expand, Couch began to devote some attention to his earlier interest, locomotives and the railway. A group of investors, led by Couch, gained control of the Louisiana and Arkansas Railway and the Louisiana Navigation & Railway Company for a total of $27 million. Overcoming the problematic coal shortages that plagued the state, Couch was able to provide coal for Arkansans and create a profit. He contributed all the money, $27,749.06, to the Arkansas Council of Defense, more than half its income. The defense council assisted the United States Employment Service in Arkansas, with the money Couch generated, to help ensure that soldiers from Arkansas would have a job when they returned home. Harvey Couch was selected as one of seven directors on the RFC's board. Couch's mission was to finance public works projects and decrease the number of unemployed Americans, which in 1932 was 13 million. Immediately, AP&L started promoting WOK, and acquired more broadcasting equipment. There were no commercials on the station; it was fully supported by the utility company. In coming months, the station had many firsts in Arkansas: first broadcast sermon, first broadcast sports event, first broadcast music concert, first remote church broadcast.

Couch extolled WOK (and radio in general) for "bringing all parts of the country in close touch". He promoted WOK all over Arkansas, including in many hotels (which were installing radios in lobbies), the Arkansas State Fair and even in prisons. Listeners enjoyed the lack of commercials, but WOK became a financial drain on the utility company and required much employee time. In June 1923, broadcasting ceased, with the expectation it would resume in the fall. The station's license was renewed in September 1923 for another three months, but WOK remained silent. Couch later donated the radio equipment to the former Henderson-Brown College in Arkadelphia.

Honors and titles Couch was nominated for governmental positions by Presidents Woodrow Wilson, Herbert Hoover, and Franklin D. Roosevelt. He received an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Laws from Baylor University and was a 33rd degree Mason. Couch donated the Harvey C. Couch School (also listed on the National Register) to his native Calhoun in 1928. He has also been awarded honorary degrees from: Hendrix College, Baylor University, Peabody College, Subiaco College, and Future Farmers of America The Sam M. Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas inducted Couch into the Arkansas Business Hall of Fame in 2008.

Magnolia Business Park in Magnolia, Arkansas, was formally renamed "Harvey Couch Business Park" during a ceremony at the entrance to the park on 19 November 2012. Four of Couch's grandchildren attended the ceremony. The entrance road was renamed Harvey Couch Boulevard, and a brick pedestal with a plaque and a likeness of Couch was placed at the park's entrance on U.S. Route 82. The plaque cites his importance as an entrepreneur, industry executive and public servant.

Final chapter In February 1940, Couch developed a severe case of influenza, but insisted on attending the Democratic National Convention that summer in Chicago even though he had not recovered. After the convention, he traveled to Baltimore, Maryland, and Washington, D.C., where he suffered a heart attack. There are five red cedar log-houses on the estate: the Big House, Calhoun, Little Pine Bluff, Remmelwood, and the Traincar. Today, the island estate acts as a retreat for descendants and visitors.