Arthur B. (A.B.) Thompson was born October 15, 1933, in Turkey Scratch, Lee County, Arkansas.
Thompson attended the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville and was a member of the Sigma Nu fraternity. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science in agriculture and a minor in economics in 1955.
Thompson returned to Turkey Scratch after his graduation from college and continued to farm and work in the family store. He eventually took over the store, and in the mid-1970s he built a new building to house the store next to the original one. Thompson sat on the Woodruff Rural Electric Cooperative Board of Governors for thirty-eight years.
#1: Still frame from Pryor Center video interview with A.B. Thompson at the A.B. Thompson store; Turkey Scratch, Arkansas, 2022
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#2: A.B. Thompson with his paternal grandparents
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#3: A.B. Thompson's maternal grandfather, Lovette Hiram Holtzclaw
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#4: A.B. Thompson's maternal grandmother, Jessie Hollums Holtzclaw
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#5: A.B. Thompson's son, Arthur Thompson III
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#6: A.B. Thompson's daughter, Jessie Elizabeth Thompson
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#7: A.B. Thompson's wife, Betty; son, Arthur; and daughter, Jessie Elizabeth
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#8: A.B. Thompson's uncle, Aubrey Holtzclaw, 1981
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#9: Levon Helm in front of the original A.B. Thompson Store, Turkey Scratch, Arkansas
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#10: Original A.B. Thompson Store (left) and new store, 2022
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#11: A.B. Thompson in front of his store, Turkey Scratch, Arkansas, 2022
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#12: Original A.B. Thompson Store, Turkey Scratch, Arkansas, 2022
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#13: A.B. Thompson in front of the original A.B. Thompson store, Turkey Scratch, Arkansas, 2022
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#14: Interior of A.B. Thompson store, Turkey Scratch, Arkansas, 2022
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#15: A.B. Thompson's wife, Peggy, sitting behind the desk in the A.B. Thompson store, Turkey Scratch, Arkansas, 2022
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#16: A.B. Thompson (far right) with other members of the Woodruff Electric Cooperative Corporation Board, Marvell, Arkansas, 2007
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#17: Behind-the-scenes photo from Pyror Center interview with A.B. Thompson at the A.B. Thompson store; Turkey Scratch, Arkansas, 2022
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#18: Behind-the-scenes photo from Pryor Center interview with A.B. Thompson at the A.B. Thompson store; Turkey Scratch, Arkansas, 2022
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#19: Still frame from Pryor Center video interview with A.B. Thompson at the A.B. Thompson store; Turkey Scratch, Arkansas, 2022
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#20: Still frame from Pryor Center video interview with A.B. Thompson at the A.B. Thompson store; Turkey Scratch, Arkansas, 2022
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
