Vance Henry Trimble (July 6, 1913 – June 16, 2021) was an American journalist. He won a Pulitzer Prize for national reporting in recognition of his exposé of nepotism and payroll abuse in the
U.S. Congress
The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washin ...
. Trimble worked in the newspaper business for over fifty years. He was inducted into the Oklahoma Journalism Hall of Fame in 1974. He published numerous books after his retirement.
Early life
Trimble was born in
Harrison, Arkansas
Harrison is a city and the county seat of Boone County, Arkansas, United States. It is named after General Marcus LaRue Harrison, a surveyor who laid out the city along Crooked Creek at Stifler Springs. According to 2019 Census Bureau estima ...
, on July 6, 1913.
His father was a lawyer and his mother was the poet and writer Josie Crump Trimble. Trimble's father was the mayor of Harrison, and in 1919 a railroad strike on the
Missouri and North Arkansas Railroad
The Missouri and North Arkansas was a railroad in Missouri and Arkansas from 1906 to 1946.
History
The railroad began as the Eureka Springs Railway in 1883 as a line from the St. Louis–San Francisco Railway in Seligman, MO, reaching the re ...
led to mob rule in the town. His father took the side against the mob rule and was essentially forced out of town. The family traveled to
Okemah, Oklahoma
Okemah ( or ) is the largest city in and the county seat of Okfuskee County, Oklahoma, United States. It is the birthplace of folk music legend Woody Guthrie. Thlopthlocco Tribal Town, a federally recognized Muscogee Indian tribe, is headquartered ...
, in 1920 to start a new life. Trimble and his family lived in Okemah until 1929 when they moved to
Wewoka. Trimble graduated from Wewoka High School in 1931. In high school, Trimble was the editor of the school newspaper as well as a full-time reporter for the ''Wewoka Times Democratic'' as a courthouse reporter, sports editor, and city editor.
At age eighteen, Trimble married Elzene Miller on January 9, 1932. The two met in high school when they both worked on the school newspaper. Elzene worked at a florist shop and Trimble lost his job a week after they wed, which led to their cross country travels in order to find employment.
Career
During the
American Great Depression
In the United States, the Great Depression began with the Wall Street Crash of October 1929 and then spread worldwide. The nadir came in 1931–1933, and recovery came in 1940. The stock market crash marked the beginning of a decade of high une ...
, Trimble worked wherever he could write. He maintained two to three newspaper jobs around the Seminole and Maud area, but only for a limited amount of time. Eventually, Trimble and his wife took to the road to find him a newspaper job. Along the way Trimble would repair typewriters,
adding machines, and cash registers for money.
After a year and a half, Trimble got jobs in Muskogee, Tulsa, and Okmulgee. The dailies he worked for include the ''Seminole Morning News'', the ''
Seminole Producer'', the ''Okmulgee Times'' and the ''
Muskogee Phoenix
The ''Muskogee Phoenix'' is a daily newspaper
A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background.
Newspapers can cover a wide variety ...
''. Trimble also worked as financial editor of the ''Tulsa Tribune'', and as editor of the ''Maud Enterprise''. After being fired for joining the
Newspaper Guild
The NewsGuild-CWA is a trade union, labor union founded by newspaper journalists in 1933. In addition to improving wages and working conditions, its constitution says its purpose is to fight for honesty in journalism and the news industry's busin ...
, Trimble went to work for the ''Beaumont Enterprise'' and the ''Port Arthur News'' in Texas.
In 1939, Trimble joined
Scripps Howard
The E. W. Scripps Company is an American broadcasting company founded in 1878 as a chain of daily newspapers by Edward Willis "E. W." Scripps and his sister, Ellen Browning Scripps. It was also formerly a media conglomerate. The company is he ...
as a copy editor for the ''
Houston Press
The ''Houston Press'' is an online newspaper published in Houston, Texas, United States. It is headquartered in the Midtown area. It was also a weekly print newspaper until November 2017.
The publication is supported entirely by advertising ...
''. Within six months, he was promoted to
city editor
A city editor is a title used by a particular section editor of a newspaper. They are responsible for the daily changes of a particular issue of a newspaper that will be released in the coming day. Mostly they stay at the publication at night and t ...
. During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, he was assigned to the
Army Signal Corps
The United States Army Signal Corps (USASC) is a branch of the United States Army that creates and manages communications and information systems for the command and control of combined arms forces. It was established in 1860, the brainchild of Ma ...
and served as editor of
Camp Beale base's newspaper near
Marysville, California
Marysville is a city and the county seat of Yuba County, California, located in the Gold Country region of Northern California. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 12,072, reflecting a decrease of 196 from the 12,268 counted ...
, for two years. Thereafter, he and his family returned to
Houston
Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...
, "where he had a new home built on a small lot."
[ He was appointed ]managing editor
A managing editor (ME) is a senior member of a publication's management team. Typically, the managing editor reports directly to the editor-in-chief and oversees all aspects of the publication.
United States
In the United States, a managing edit ...
of the ''Press'' in 1950.
In 1955, Trimble was transferred to the Scripps Howard National Bureau in Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
as night editor. He found this role to be duller than his previous job in Houston and decided to look for stories to investigate outside of his normal requirements. He came across a book by Raymond Clapper
Raymond Clapper (1892–1944) was a commentator and news analyst for both radio and newspapersDeLong, Thomas A. (1996). ''Radio Stars: An Illustrated Biographical Dictionary of 953 Performers, 1920 through 1960''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . P. 55 ...
about nepotism in the United States Congress
The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...
that had been published thirty years prior. After looking into current payrolls, he found that around twenty percent of Congress had family members on their payroll. Following its publication in the ''Washington Daily News
The ''Washington Daily News'' is an American, English language daily newspaper headquartered in and serving Washington, North Carolina and Beaufort County, North Carolina. It was established in 1909. The paper also uses Facebook for sharing new ...
'', Trimble had a daily story for six months. As a result, then-Senate Majority Leader
The positions of majority leader and minority leader are held by two United States senators and members of the party leadership of the United States Senate. They serve as the chief spokespersons for their respective political parties holding t ...
Lyndon Johnson decided to open up the payroll records of the U.S. Senate
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and pow ...
to bring them up to date.[
As a result of his work, Trimble was awarded the ]1960 Pulitzer Prize The following are the Pulitzer Prizes for 1960.
Journalism awards
*Public Service:
** The ''Los Angeles Times'', for its thorough, sustained and well-conceived attack on narcotics traffic and the enterprising reporting of Gene Sherman, which led ...
for National Reporting
This Pulitzer Prize has been awarded since 1942 for a distinguished example of reporting on national affairs in the United States. In its first six years (1942–1947), it was called the Pulitzer Prize for Telegraphic Reporting – National.
L ...
, the Sigma Delta Chi Distinguished Correspondence Record for Washington coverage, and the Raymond Clapper Award – referred to as the "triple crown". Trimble remained in Washington until 1963, when he was appointed editor of '' The Kentucky Post'', a regional edition of ''The Cincinnati Post'' based in Covington, Kentucky
Covington is a home rule-class city in Kenton County, Kentucky, United States, located at the confluence of the Ohio and Licking Rivers. Cincinnati, Ohio, lies to its immediate north across the Ohio and Newport, to its east across the Licking ...
. He drastically improved the paper during his time as editor. Two of his greatest mentors in the newspaper business were Walker Stone and Paul Miller. Trimble served at ''The Kentucky Post'' until 1979.
Retirement
Trimble constructed a monument to his wife after her death, dubbed the Oakwood Singing Tower, where she was buried in Wewoka. Though he had retired in Kentucky, Trimble moved back to Wewoka to be closer to his wife even in death. When asked the secret to a long life, Trimble responded, "stay in love." He published several books after leaving the newspaper business and even worked to have them available as e-books
An ebook (short for electronic book), also known as an e-book or eBook, is a book publication made available in digital form, consisting of text, images, or both, readable on the flat-panel display of computers or other electronic devices. Alt ...
. Trimble and his wife donated $25,000 to the Wewoka Public Library for an expansion to hold approximately 5,000 books being donated from the couple's personal library.
Personal life
Trimble married Elzene Miller in 1932. Together, they had one child, Carol Ann Nordheimer, who predeceased him in February 2021. They remained married for 67 years until her death on July 5, 1999.[
Trimble died on June 16, 2021, at his home in Wewoka, Oklahoma. He was 107; the cause of death was not disclosed.]
Published works
Along with being an award-winning journalist, Trimble published numerous books, including:
*''The Astonishing Mr. Scripps: The Turbulent Life of America's Penny Press Lord''
*''Heroes, Plain Folks, and Skunks: The Life and Times of Happy Chandler''
*''Sam Walton: The Inside Story of America's Richest Man''
*''The Uncertain Miracle: The History of Hyperbaric Medicine''
*''Ronald Reagan, the Man from Main Street, USA''
*''The Scripps Howard Handbook'', 3rd rev. ed.
*''Faith in My Star: A Selection of His Own Words That Showcases the Vision and Vitality of E. W. Scripps''
*''Overnight Success: Federal Express and Frederick Smith, Its Renegade Creator''
*''Alice & J.F.B.: The Hundred-Year Saga of Two Seminole Chiefs''
*''Bing Crosby: Love & Mystery''
*''An Empire Undone: The Wild Rise and Hard Fall of Chris Whittle''
*''Choctaw Kisses, Bullets and Blood''
*''Poetry With My Love'' (ed.)[
*''Will Rogers and His Daredevil Movie''
]
References
External links
100 Year Life Oral History Project -- Oklahoma State University Library
Vance H. Trimble Manuscript Collection -- Ohio University Library
{{DEFAULTSORT:Trimble, Vance
1913 births
2021 deaths
American newspaper reporters and correspondents
Pulitzer Prize winners
20th-century American non-fiction writers
People from Harrison, Arkansas
Military personnel from Arkansas
Writers from Arkansas
Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting winners
American centenarians
American biographers
United States Army personnel of World War II
Men centenarians