Recently, Todd Lafferty loaned me a book about Earnest Hoberecht of Watonga. “Asia Earnie” was a foreign correspondent and executive with United Press International (UPI) for twenty years before returning to Watonga. Mr. Hoberecht has many tie-ins with the Ferguson Home Museum. I am so thankful that 93-year-old Patrick J. Killen, who worked for Earnie in Asia, has shared his research and personal experiences about Earnest. Graham Dudley, a past editor of the The Watonga Republican, wrote a book review in June 2022.
Earnie worked part time for The Watonga Republican
Earnie attended Watonga Schools and during that time wrote many essays which he later published. In high school, he worked part-time for The Watonga Republican, the newspaper the Fergusons began. Later he went to the University of Oklahoma to study journalism and was an outstanding graduate.
Foreign Correspondent in Asia and Executive at UPI
According to the summary of his induction into the Oklahoma Journalism Hall of Fame in 1972 “He gained his first fame covering World War II, including the Japanese surrender on the USS Missouri, and was the first U.S. correspondent to land in Japan in 1945. He promptly interviewed the Premier Tojo. He wrote several books translated into Japanese, including a multi-million circulation novel and Asia Is My Beat based on his personal experiences. After covering the Korean War (he had close ties to General Douglas MacArthur) he became UP general manager for Asia in 1951 and vice president in 1953. He retired from the UPI in 1966 to enter private business in Japan. Back in Watonga, he published four weekly newspapers in western Oklahoma.” Journalism Hall of Fame.
He was president of the Foreign Correspondent’s Club of Japan April 1957 to March 1958 Foreign Correspondence Club of Japan.
Books, Papers and Travels
Like T.B. Ferguson, Earnie published books (Ferguson wrote “The Jayhawkers:…”, and Elva wrote “They Carried the Torch:…”. Earnie owned four papers in western Oklahoma (Dr. Virginia Curtin would not sell The Watonga Republican). The Ferguson family owned papers in Watonga, Cherokee and Arnett. Earnie traveled the world (Mrs. Ferguson traveled extensively including Asia in the 1930s.)
Speaker at 10th Anniversary of the Museum
At the 10th anniversary of the Ferguson Home Museum on Oct. 3 of 1982, Earnie Hoberecht gave the laudation for Ellen Shaw for her thousands of hours of volunteer service. He shared the stage with former Senator Roy Boecher and Lt. Governor Spencer Bernard, who gave the keynote speech (The Watonga Republican, Aug. 10, 1982).
