Z 1847.000 Pittman (Paul Howard) Collection

Paul Howard Pittman was born in Tylertown, Mississippi, on March 13, 1931. He was the son of Patrick Howard Pittman of Richmond, Kentucky, and Hattie Dean Pittman of Darbon, Mississippi. Pittman attended the public schools of Tylertown from 1935 to 1948. He was a member of the Boy Scouts of America and the 4-H Club. While in high school, Pittman worked as the sports editor of the Tylertown Times. Pittman attended Copiah-Lincoln Junior College, Wesson, Mississippi, in 1948. He entered the University of Mississippi, Oxford, in 1949, receiving a bachelor’s degree in journalism in 1952. While attending the university, Pittman served as editor of the Mississippian, a student newspaper, and he was a member of the Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps, Kappa Sigma, and Lambda Sigma.

After graduation, Pittman served in the United States Navy as an aircraft-carrier pilot during and after the Korean War. He served or trained on the aircraft carrier, USS Capricornus, and at naval air stations in Pensacola, Florida; Corpus Christi, Texas; and Norfolk, Virginia.

Pittman married Elizabeth Ann MacDonald of Memphis, Tennessee, on April 17, 1955. The couple had three children: Elise, Howard Dean, and Shane Pittman. After leaving active duty in the navy, Pittman purchased the Tylertown Times in 1957. He was editor and publisher of this newspaper for twenty-six years. Pittman also wrote a syndicated weekly political column entitled “Mississippi Outlook” that appeared in over forty-five newspapers.

The political involvement of Pittman included serving as president of the Young Democrats of Mississippi in 1958. As president, Pittman led the Young Democrats to support John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson in the 1960 presidential campaign. Pittman's journalistic and political activities were interrupted in 1961, when his naval reserve unit was activated during the Cuban Missile Crisis. He next worked as public-relations director during J. P. Coleman’s unsuccessful campaign for a second term as governor in 1963. He was also involved in William F. Winter’s unsuccessful campaign for governor in 1967. Pittman ran for Mississippi’s fourth congressional district seat in United States House of Representatives in 1972, but he was defeated. He also attended several Democratic and Republican national political conventions.

As editor and publisher of the Tylertown Times during the civil rights era, Pittman advocated racial integration and improving public schools in Mississippi. Pittman wrote a monthly newsletter on current political affairs in the state. He also gave election-night commentaries for WLBT, the NBC television affiliate in Jackson, Mississippi.

The professional activities of Pittman included serving as chairman of the governmental affairs committee of the Mississippi Press Association; serving on the board of directors of the Mississippi Economic Council; and serving as an adjunct communications instructor at the University of Southern Mississippi. Pittman was chosen by the Mississippi Jaycees as one of three outstanding young Mississippians of 1959. He was also president of Tylertown Broadcasting Company and general manager of WTYL AM-FM radio station. Pittman was a long-time member of the Chamber of Commerce, serving as its president for several years.

Pittman received the Silver Em Award, the highest honor bestowed on a University of Mississippi journalism graduate, and the Medalist Award presented by the communications department of the University of Southern Mississippi to Mississippians who distinguish themselves in the field of journalism.

Pittman died of an apparent heart attack on September 2, 1983. He was interred in the Tylertown Cemetery.

Scope and Content:

The majority of this collection spans the 1950s to 1980s, and it contains a variety of materials, including compositions, correspondence, military records, newsclippings, oral-history transcripts, photographs, political campaign ephemera and memorabilia, printed material, public-relations material, scrapbooks, slides, sound recordings, speeches, subject files, and miscellany. It documents Paul Howard Pittman's career as a naval aviator, journalist, editor, publisher, and politician. The collection provides broad coverage of Mississippi politics during the gubernatorial campaigns of 1963, 1967, and 1975. It documents Pittman's involvement as a journalist, public-relations director, and staff member in these campaigns.

There are letters from J. P. Coleman to Pittman, who served as public-relations director during Coleman's 1963 unsuccessful gubernatorial campaign. There are also letters that reveal Pittman’s involvement in the Young Democrats of Mississippi, an organization whose ranks were becoming increasingly divided during the civil rights movement. Pittman's efforts as a lobbyist are reflected in the Mississippi Press Association materials. He actively sought open-records legislation when he served as chairman of the governmental affairs committee of the Mississippi Press Association in 1982.

Military records reflect Pittman’s service as an officer in the United States Navy in the 1950s and in the naval reserve in the 1960s.

A transcript of an oral-history interview of Pittman by Millsaps College professor John Quincy Adams in 1965 is included. The transcript details Pittman’s involvement in the unsuccessful gubernatorial campaign of J. P. Coleman in 1963, and it also contains biographical information on Pittman.

Numerous photographs document Pittman's political activities and affiliations. There are also official United States Navy photographs of aircraft carriers and naval personnel at work. Other photographs depict family and friends in casual settings. Audio-visual materials include an audiocassette of an interview of Governor Cliff Finch in 1976 and a 45 r.p.m. sound recording entitled "J. P.'s the Man." There are also eleven 35 mm. color slides that Pittman took while he attended the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Illinois.

Pittman compiled a scrapbook documenting his naval service aboard an aircraft carrier; a scrapbook on the unsuccessful 1963 Mississippi gubernatorial campaign of Republican candidate Rubel Phillips; and a scrapbook of articles concerning Pittman's 1972 campaign for Mississippi's fourth congressional district seat in the United States House of Representatives.

Speeches include one made by William F. Winter to the Mississippi Women's Cabinet in 1958. There is also a campaign speech made by J. P. Coleman during the 1963 Mississippi gubernatorial campaign.

Subject files that Pittman kept as a journalist contain notes on Mississippi politics, politicians, and other subjects. There are also newsclippings on Mississippi politicians and their activities.

Series Identification:

1. Correspondence. 1954-1955; 1957; 1960-1962; 1971; 1974; 1976-1978; 1981-1983; n.d. 0.17 cubic ft.

   This series contains the correspondence of Paul Howard Pittman from 1954 to 1983, including copies of outgoing letters from Pittman. Principal correspondents include J. P. Coleman, Edward Currie, James O. Eastland, Jon Hinson, Lyndon B. Johnson, Bill Minor, Joe T. Patterson, and John C. Stennis. There are personal letters to Pittman from friends he had made during his naval service. Included are letters to Pittman concerning his acquisition of the Tylertown Times that also relate advice on the newspaper business. There are also letters to Pittman concerning the internal problems that the Young Democrats of Mississippi were experiencing during the 1960 presidential campaign of John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson.

   Box 1

2. Oral-History Transcript (Paul Howard Pittman). 1965; 1971. 0.10 cubic ft.

This series contains a transcript of an oral history of Paul Howard Pittman. He was interviewed by John Quincy Adams, director of the oral-history program of the political science department of Millsaps College, Jackson, Mississippi, in 1965. Accompanying the transcript is a 1971 letter of transmittal. Pittman describes in detail his role as public-relations director during J. P. Coleman's unsuccessful campaign for governor in 1963 and his views of the upcoming 1967 gubernatorial campaign.

Box 1
3. Photographs. 1952; 1955; 1962; 1967; 1974; 1977; n.d. 0.17 cubic ft.

This series contains photographs of Paul Howard Pittman with family and friends, United States Navy personnel, and Mississippi politicians. There are images of United States Navy personnel aboard aircraft carriers upon which Pittman served during his naval service. Negatives are available for some of the United States Navy images. The identified photographs include those of J. P. Coleman, Wayne Dowdy, Ed Ellington, Charles Evers, Cliff Finch, Britt Singletary, John C. Stennis, and Liles Williams.

Box 2
4. Oral-History Interview (Governor Cliff Finch). 1976. 0.10 cubic ft. (1 audiocassette).

This series contains a thirty-minute audiocassette of an oral-history interview of Mississippi governor Cliff Finch. He was interviewed by Paul Howard Pittman on December 17, 1976. In the interview, Governor Finch recounts the accomplishments and disappointments of the first year of his administration. An edited transcript of the interview may be found in series 7.

Box 3
5. Composition. n.d. 0.10 cubic ft.

This series contains an edited typescript of the first chapter of a fictional work entitled "The Last Truth." It was written in the third person and obviously chronicles portions of Paul Howard Pittman's life. Pittman wrote it under the pseudonym, Victor Reese. The time frame for the story is 1974.

Box 3
6. Speeches. 1958; 1963; n.d. 0.10 cubic ft.

This series contains a copy of a speech delivered by William F. Winter to the Mississippi Women's Cabinet on October 14, 1958. Winter contrasts the Democratic and Republican parties in the speech. There is a printed copy of a May 16, 1963, television address of J. P. Coleman regarding his campaign for governor. A speech made by Owen Cooper on behalf of J. P. Coleman is also included.

Box 3
7. Subject Files. 1941; 1960; 1962-1963; 1967-1969; 1971; 1973-1978; 1981; 1983; n.d. 0.67 cubic ft.

This series consists of subject files containing newsclippings, newsletters, and notes that Paul Howard Pittman used as a newspaper editor and political journalist. There is a copy of a speech that was delivered by former governor J. P. Coleman to the Mississippi House of Representatives in 1962. Included is an edited transcript of an oral-history interview of Governor Cliff Finch by Pittman (see series 4). There is a news release from Pittman concerning the political climate in Mississippi during the 1976 presidential campaign, which he sent to ABC News in New York City. Included are computer printouts of Mississippi election results (by county) for the 1976 presidential election. There is also a large file on Pascagoula, Mississippi, native William M. (Fishbait) Miller, who served as doorkeeper of the United States House of Representatives. The file also contains two photographs of Miller.

Boxes 3-5
8. Military Records. 1949; 1952-1957; 1960-1963; n.d. 0.33 cubic ft.

This series includes records documenting Paul Howard Pittman’s service in the United States Navy. Included are the commission Pittman received upon completing the Naval Officer Training Corps program at the University of Mississippi in 1949; records of his naval service from 1952 to 1957; and correspondence and other records of his naval reserve service during the Cuban Missile Crisis of the early 1960s.

Box 6
9. Slides. 1968. 0.10 cubic ft.

This series contains eleven color slides of photographs taken by Paul Howard Pittman while he was attending the 1968 National Democratic Convention in Chicago, Illinois. Accompanying the slides is a letter of transmittal from Pittman to the news director of WLBT, a television station in Jackson, Mississippi.

Box 7
10. Sound Recording. n.d. 0.10 cubic ft.

This series contains a 45 r.p.m. sound recording of the campaign song of Mississippi gubernatorial candidate J. P. Coleman. The song is entitled "J. P.'s The Man," and it was arranged and produced by Jimmy Gilreath.

Box 7
11. Mississippi Press Association Files. 1980; 1982-1983; n.d. 0.33 cubic ft.

This series contains correspondence and printed material regarding Paul Howard Pittman's involvement in the Mississippi Press Association. The materials reflect Pittman's service as chairman of the association’s governmental affairs committee from 1982 to 1983, a time during which he actively lobbied for open-records legislation in Mississippi.

Box 7
12. Scrapbooks. 1961-1962; 1968; 1972; n.d. 0.50 cubic ft.

This series consists of four scrapbooks: the first pertaining to Paul Howard Pittman's naval reserve service during the Cuban Missile Crisis of the early 1960s; the second regarding the unsuccessful gubernatorial campaign of Republican candidate Rubel Phillips in 1963; the third concerning Pittman’s campaign for Mississippi's fourth congressional district seat in the United States House of Representatives in 1972; and the fourth reflecting his opponents’ congressional campaigns in 1972. Due to the fragile condition of the original scrapbooks, photocopies have been made available for reference.

Box 8 (restricted originals)
Box 9 (reference photocopies)
13. Printed Material. 1960; 1962-1964; 1976; 1978; 1981; n.d. 0.17 cubic ft.

This series contains various publications, including The Mississippi Barber's News (January 1960); Campaigning on TV (1963); and The Changing Middle South. There are also several political campaign publications such as The Johnson Journal; The Coleman Fact Sheet No. 1; Liles Williams, Congress; Paul Pittman, Congress; The Sullivan Salute; and The Statesman. There is also a program from the inauguration of Mississippi governor Cliff Finch on January 20, 1976.

Box 10
14. Newsclippings. 1956; 1978-1979; 1982; n.d. 0.15 cubic ft.

This series contains newsclippings of Paul Howard Pittman concerning national and state politics and politicians. Due to the fragile condition of the original newsclippings, photocopies have been made available for reference.

Box 10
15. Miscellany. 1906; 1936; 1946-1947; 1957; 1960-1967; 1969; 1972-1983; n.d. 1.00 cubic ft.

This series contains miscellaneous items, including a systems map of Mississippi Power and Light Company for 1963; a commission appointing Paul Howard Pittman to the staff of Governor Cliff Finch in 1976; an invitation for Pittman to attend the inaugural ball of President-elect Jimmy Carter in 1977; a copy of a musical arrangement entitled "Fortenberry-Pigot-Davis-Magee," with lyrics by Toxey T. Fortenberry, that is dated October 21, 1978; and a September 8, 1983, issue of the Tylertown Times, Tylertown, Mississippi, that pays special tribute to Pittman, its late editor and publisher. One folder contains business cards of various friends and associates of Pittman. The constitution and bylaws of the Young Democrats of Mississippi are included.

Boxes 11-12
16. Political Campaign Ephemera and Memorabilia. 1968; 1976-1977; n.d. 1.00 cubic ft.

This series contains advertisements, bumper stickers, and posters from the campaigns of national political figures, including those of Jimmy Carter, Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, and George Wallace. There are similar items from the Mississippi political campaigns of Bill Allain, Charles Evers, Evelyn Gandy, Jon Hinson, and William Winter.

Boxes 12-13