Vance Trimble facts for kids

Vance Henry Trimble was an American journalist who lived from 1913 to 2021. He won a special award called the Pulitzer Prize for his amazing reporting. He showed how some people in the United States Congress were unfairly hiring family members or misusing money. Trimble worked in newspapers for more than 50 years. He was even put into the Oklahoma Journalism Hall of Fame! After he retired, he wrote many books.

Early Life and School

Vance Trimble was born in Harrison, Arkansas, on July 6, 1913. His dad was a lawyer, and his mom, Josie Crump Trimble, was a poet and writer. Vance's father was the mayor of Harrison. In 1919, a big railroad strike caused trouble in the town. Vance's father stood up against the mob, which meant his family had to leave town.

In 1920, the family moved to Okemah, Oklahoma, to start fresh. They lived there until 1929, then moved to Wewoka. Vance finished high school in Wewoka in 1931. In high school, he was the editor of the school newspaper. He also worked as a full-time reporter for the Wewoka Times Democratic. He covered court news, sports, and city events.

When he was 18, Vance married Elzene Miller on January 9, 1932. They met in high school while working on the newspaper. Elzene worked at a flower shop. Vance lost his job just a week after they got married. This led them to travel across the country to find work.

Vance Trimble's Career

Starting Out in Journalism

During the Great Depression, Vance Trimble worked wherever he could find writing jobs. He often had two or three newspaper jobs at once, but they didn't last long. Eventually, he and Elzene traveled to find him a steady newspaper job. Along the way, Vance fixed typewriters and cash registers to earn money.

After about a year and a half, Vance found jobs in Muskogee, Tulsa, and Okmulgee. He worked for newspapers like the Seminole Morning News and the Muskogee Phoenix. He was also a financial editor for the Tulsa Tribune. He even edited a newspaper called the Maud Enterprise. After losing a job for joining a newspaper union, he worked for papers in Texas.

Working for Scripps Howard

In 1939, Vance joined a big newspaper company called Scripps Howard. He started as an editor for the Houston Press. Within six months, he became the city editor, which meant he was in charge of local news.

During World War II, Vance joined the Army Signal Corps. He worked as the editor of the army base newspaper at Camp Beale in California for two years. After the war, he and his family moved back to Houston. In 1950, he became the managing editor of the Houston Press. This meant he was in charge of all the news operations.

Exposing Government Secrets

In 1955, Vance moved to Washington, D.C., to work for Scripps Howard's national office. His new job felt a bit boring, so he started looking for his own stories to investigate. He found an old book about "nepotism" in the United States Congress. Nepotism is when people in power give jobs to family members, even if they aren't the best choice.

Vance looked into the government's payroll records. He discovered that about 20% of Congress members had family members on their payroll! When his stories were published in the Washington Daily News, he had a new story almost every day for six months. Because of his work, Lyndon B. Johnson, who was a powerful leader in the Senate at the time, decided to make the Senate's payroll records public. This helped make things more fair and open.

Awards and Later Career

For his important work, Vance Trimble won the 1960 Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting. This is one of the highest awards a journalist can get. He also won two other major awards for his reporting in Washington.

Vance stayed in Washington until 1963. Then, he became the editor of The Kentucky Post. He made the newspaper much better during his time there. He worked at The Kentucky Post until 1979.

Retirement and Legacy

After his wife, Elzene, passed away, Vance built a special monument for her called the Oakwood Singing Tower in Wewoka. Even though he had retired in Kentucky, he moved back to Wewoka to be closer to where she was buried. When asked the secret to a long life, Vance said, "stay in love."

After leaving the newspaper business, Vance published many books. He even worked to make them available as e-books. Vance and Elzene also gave $25,000 to the Wewoka Public Library. This money helped the library expand and hold about 5,000 books from their own personal collection.

Personal Life

Vance Trimble married Elzene Miller in 1932. They had one child, Carol Ann Nordheimer, who passed away in February 2021. Vance and Elzene were married for 67 years until her death in 1999.

Vance Trimble passed away on June 16, 2021, at his home in Wewoka, Oklahoma. He was 107 years old.

Published Books

Besides being a famous journalist, Vance Trimble wrote many books. Some of them include:

• 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