Our Arklahoma Heritage: Tri,ble won 1960 Pulitzer Prize for investigative journalism exposing nepotism

When Vance Henry Trimble, a journalist who won a Pulitzer Prize for exposing congressional corruption, died on June 16, 2021 at his home in Wewoka, he was 107 years old. Trimble’s lenghty career in media career began in Boone County and spanned over 50 years in newspapers.

Born on July 6, 1913, in Harrison, Trimble was the son of Guy L. Trimble, a lawyer and ex-mayor, and Josie Crump Trimble, a writer. In 1919, a railroad strike led to mob unrest in Harrison, prompting Guy to resign as mayor. The family moved to Okemah, Oklahoma, in 1920.

Trimble graduated from Okemah High School in 1931. At 14, he started as a cub reporter at the Okemah Daily Leader, earning $1.50 a week. He didn’t attend college, learning journalism on the job.

Trimble married Elzene Miller in 1932 and the couple had one daughter.

He worked at several Oklahoma papers during the Depression--Seminole Morning News, Seminole Producer, Okmulgee Times, and Muskogee Phoenix--and fixed typewriters for extra money.

In 1939, he joined Scripps Howard as a copy editor at the Houston Press, becoming city editor within six months. During World War II, he edited a base newspaper in the Army Signal Corps at Camp Beale, California, then returned to Houston as managing editor in 1950.

In 1955, Trimble moved to the Scripps Howard National Bureau in Washington, D.C., as night editor. He investigated congressional payrolls, finding 20% of members had relatives on staff.

His 1960 exposé in the Washington Daily News led to public outcry and forced Senate Majority Leader Lyndon Johnson to release payroll records.

Trimble won the Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting, the Sigma Delta Chi Award, and the Raymond Clapper Award that year. He is one of only three Arkansas-born Pulitzer winners including John Gould Fletcher (poetry) and Paul Greenberg (editorial writing).

From 1963 to 1979, he edited the Kentucky Post and helped establish Northern Kentucky State College.

After retiring, he wrote books, including Sam Walton: The Inside Story of America's Richest Man". In his later years, Trimble adapted several works for digital formats, reflecting his continued engagement with publishing into his 90s and beyond.

He also wrote intriguing woks on the life of former Kentucky governor and Major League Baseball commissioner, a biography of Edward W. Scripps. and  a historical account of two Seminole tribal chiefs.

Some of his works, especially later self-published e-books, may only be available through platforms like Amazon Kindle.

Following the death of his wife, on July 5, 1999, after 67 years of marriage, Trimble moved from Kentucky back to Wewoka to be closer to her memory. He built the "Oakwood Singing Tower," an electronic monument near her grave at Oakwood Cemetery in Wewoka, as a tribute to her.

Trimble continued living independently in a modest home in Wewoka, surrounded by memorabilia from his career and paintings by Elzene. Even after losing his eyesight, he used computer software to keep writing.

He and Elzene had donated $25,000 and their personal library of over 5,000 books to the Wewoka Public Library for an expansion. When interviewed at age 100 in 2013, he attributed his longevity to "staying in love, eating light, not too much whisky, no cigarettes, and avoiding black cats and ladders."

Trimble outlived his only child, Carol Ann Nordheimer, who passed away in February 2021.

Trimble died on June 16, 2021, at his home in Wewoka, He was 107 years old, just 20 days shy of his 108th birthday.

Trimble was buried at Oakwood Cemetery in Wewoka, Seminole County, Oklahoma, alongside his wife.