groceries, a poultry plant, an ice company, lumber company, a hotel, and a publishing house, among others. During these years, Roberta was involved in her family and civic and social clubs and in 1911 gave birth to their last two children, twin girls, Roberta and Helen. The family thrived, their business grew, they contributed to the development of their community and then in a sudden illness lasting just 56 hours, Jay died on July 23, 1923. Career Jay died intestate and his various business partners took action to protect their own interests. Competitors, sensing she was vulnerable, and even partners began filing legal claims and demanding prompt payments. Fulbright was appointed to fill Jay's unexpired term as a director at Arkansas National Bank, becoming the first woman bank director in Fayetteville. Fulbright, however, traded her bank shares for a controlling interest in the Washington Hotel. The hotel was the largest establishment of its kind in north-west Arkansas. It was also landlord to the bank and within six months, Fulbright was able to evict the bank. The lawsuits against her husband's former estate also included those by Josephine Waugh, her brother Tom's widow, who filed suit to protect her interest in the Coca-Cola Bottling franchise and ice business. The business was placed on the auction block and Fulbright was able to secure the highest bid. Within a relatively short period of time, Fulbright was able to consolidate some assets, liquidate others and stabilize the business holdings of the Fulbright Investment Company, dashing the ideas that she would not be able to run the businesses. In the midst of her business difficulties, Fulbright took a course in 1925 in English composition and then focused on her newspaper business, Fayetteville Daily Democrat, to consolidate her influence. By 1926, she secured full interest in the newspaper. In 1933, Fulbright began writing a column in the Democrat called "As I See It". The column was an editorial covering an eclectic mix of topics from women's equality to war to gardening to politics, tourism, philosophy, and many others. It is estimated that in her twenty-year career, she wrote around 2 million words. In the mid-1930s Fulbright decided to take on political corruption, calling for an audit of the county's books and writing about a stolen car ring involving local officials. She was concerned about the judiciary that sheltered the bootlegging, corruption, fraud and graft, but also