Vail Pittman

Vail Pittman

C.J. Hadley, Holly Rudy-James and the late Vail Pittman were inducted into the Nevada Newspaper Hall of Fame last weekend in Ely in a luncheon held during the Nevada Press Association’s 95th annual convention.

Here’s a brief biography of Mr. Pittman.

Vail Pittman

Vail Pittman is the second Nevada governor to be inducted into the Nevada Newspaper Hall of Fame, but the first to be a newspaperman before he was elected to public office. 

Pittman was born in Vicksburg, Mississippi, sometime between 1880 and 1883, the youngest of four sons born to parents who died when he was an infant. He was raised by an aunt and uncle and spent his formative years in Louisiana. He attended the University of the South and Brown’s Business College, but returned home in 1903 to manage the family cotton plantation after his uncle’s death.

He left Louisiana in 1904 to follow his brother Key, who had moved to Tonopah. Key was later elected to represent Nevada in the U.S. Senate, a seat he held for seven years until he died in office in 1940.

Vail Pittman initially entered the coal business in Nevada, and subsequently engaged in a variety of occupations, including undersheriff of Nye County, sergeant-at-arms of the Nevada Senate, and partner in a mining company. Along the way, he met Ida Louise Brewington and they were married in Reno in 1919. He and his wife bought the Ely Daily Times the following year and launched what was to become a successful newspaper business. 

Pittman’s political career began in 1925 when he was elected to the Nevada State Senate, where he served until 1929. He was elected lieutenant governor in 1942 and was a candidate in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate in 1944, but was defeated by the incumbent, Pat McCarran. 

Pittman became Nevada’s 19th governor when Edward P. Carville resigned in 1945 to accept appointment to a vacant U.S. Senate seat. He was elected in 1946 to a term of his own and served until 1951. He ran for reelection in 1950 and 1954, but lost both times to Charles H. Russell, who had served as editor of The Ely Record for more than 15 years until he retired in 1946 when Pittman bought the rival newspaper and turned it into a weekly edition of the Times.

After leaving office Pittman and his wife returned to Ely and their newspapers before selling them both in 1951 to Donald W. Reynolds. 

Pittman died from lung cancer on January 29, 1964 in San Francisco, California. He is interred at Masonic Memorial Gardens in Reno.

 

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One comment

  1. So I went to vail Pittman elementary school in Las Vegas Nevada.. I have my kindergarten class picture. From 1969.
    And I’m considering into getting the land patent for my land.
    And guess who signed the last land patent in 1948? Vail Pittman..
    But if he was a democrat and owned a news paper..?? What are the chances that he didn’t act in good faith?
    And since we have airports and libraries and public schools named after the worst people ever?
    Just shows the minds of the people.., to let this stuff happen… Common sense my friend..
    And the only fact I need is knowing that it takes 80 federal reserve notes to buy one lawful silver dollar in 2023??.??
    Hum? And the birth certificate and driver license and the social security card has our names in all capital letters making us a slave to the Washington D.C. corporation… And we are all dead people according to the Washington D.C. corporations.
    And we don’t own our land or our cars. That is why we are a tenant on land deeds. And that is why we only get a certificate of title to our cars. DMV owns our cars.. I only have one word for this. FRAUD!! Ok 2 words. Wickedness!!
    And guess what happens to the wicked in the Bible.?? They are blotted out. Not even remembered.
    So I suppose having schools and airports and libraries named after these people.. Is all they will get.. because they sold their race out for the money!!

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