Charles Edward Scharlau was born on April 27, 1927, in Chicago, Illinois, and grew up in Mountain Home, Baxter County, Arkansas. He served in the marines during World War II and utilized the GI Bill to earn his J.D. from the University of Arkansas in 1951.
Scharlau's legal career began at Arkansas Western Gas, now known as Southwestern Energy, where he eventually served as vice president. He then became president and CEO until retiring in 1998, after which he continued as a consultant to the company. Under his guidance, the corporation reorganized into separate holding, utility, and exploration/production companies. Scharlau has also worked as a legal adviser for the Conner & Winters law firm.
Scharlau was the chairman of the Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce and the president of the Arkansas Chamber of Commerce. He has served on the board of directors for the Razorback Foundation and the University of Arkansas System Board of Trustees and established the Charles E. and Clydene Scharlau Charitable Remainder Annuity Trust.
Scharlau passed away on June 18, 2021.
#1: Composite image of early photo of Charles Scharlau and still from Pryor Center video interview
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#2: Charles Scharlau's childhood home outside Mountain Home, Arkansas
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#3: Charles Scharlau
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#4: Charles Scharlau (far right) with parents, C. E. and Esther Powell Scharlau (to his right), and sister (far left) at childhood home in Mountain Home, Arkansas
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#5: Charles Scharlau (far right) at a picnic at Lake Norfork, near Mountain Home, Arkansas
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#6: Newspaper clipping announcing the election of Charles Scharlau's father, C. E. Scharlau, to the Arkansas Farm Bureau board of directors
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#7: Charles Scharlau's parents, C. E. and Esther Powell Scharlau
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#8: Charles Scharlau (right) with a friend in the US Marine Corps
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#9: Charles Scharlau (far right) with Phi Alpha Delta initiates at the University of Arkansas School of Law; photo from the Arkansas Traveler
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#10: Letter from newly named president Charles Scharlau and chairman L. L. Baxter in the Arkansas Western Gas 1968 annual report
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#11: Charles Scharlau, president of the Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce, receiving a plaque from David Mullins, University of Arkansas System president, and D. P. Raney, chairman of the UA Board of Trustees, in appreciation for a community campaign that raised $320,000 for the university (photo from Arkansas Western Gas 1968 annual report)
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#12: Charles Scharlau (front row, 3rd from left) with members of Governor David Pryor's Energy Commission
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#13: Article in the Arkansas Newsletter about Charles Scharlau's election as president of the Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce, December 1977
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#14: Charles Scharlau, Hillary Clinton, Bill Clinton, and Clydene Scharlau at the White House, December 17, 1994
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#15: Letter from President Clinton to Charles Scharlau on his retirement from Southwestern Energy Company
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#16: 1996 photo: All living Arkansas governors: (1st row) Sid McMath, Bill Clinton, Mike Huckabee; (2nd row) Dale Bumpers, Frank White, Jim Guy Tucker, David Pryor; (3rd row) Charles Scharlau (2nd from left) and members of the Southwestern Energy Company Board of Directors
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#17: Charles Scharlau (seated at left) with the Southwestern Energy Company board of directors
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#18: Charles Scharlau (seated, 2nd from left) with the Southwestern Energy Company board of directors, February 2004
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#19: Charles and Clydene Scharlau
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#20: Charles E. Scharlau, WWII US Marine Corps Honoree certificate
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#21: Behind-the-scenes photo from Pryor Center interview with Charles Scharlau at the Southwestern Energy Company building; Fayetteville, Arkansas, 2008
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#22: Behind-the-scenes photo from Pryor Center interview with Charles Scharlau at the Southwestern Energy Company building; Fayetteville, Arkansas, 2008
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#23: Behind-the-scenes photo from Pryor Center interview with Charles Scharlau at the Southwestern Energy Company building; Fayetteville, Arkansas, 2008
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#24: Behind-the-scenes photo from Pryor Center interview with Charles Scharlau at the Southwestern Energy Company building; Fayetteville, Arkansas, 2008
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#25: Behind-the-scenes photo from Pryor Center interview with Charles Scharlau at the Southwestern Energy Company building; Fayetteville, Arkansas, 2008
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#26: Still frame from Pryor Center video interview with Charles Scharlau at the Southwestern Energy Company building; Fayetteville, Arkansas, 2008
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#27: Still frame from Pryor Center video interview with Charles Scharlau at the Southwestern Energy Company building; Fayetteville, Arkansas, 2008
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#28: Still frame from Pryor Center video interview with Charles Scharlau at the Southwestern Energy Company building; Fayetteville, Arkansas, 2008
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
