Ida Brewington Pittman Collection, MS 85-77. Special Collections, UNLV Libraries, University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
Donated by Ann Brewington, 1985.
Marie Imus, May 3, 1995.
This collection is open for research.
For permission to reproduce or publish from this collection, please contact the Director of Special Collections.
Ida Louis Brewington was born May 10, 1893 in Macon, Missouri. She was the youngest of three daughters born to Dr. George F. and Rose Brewington. Brewington studied art and music at State Teachers College in Kirksville, Missouri with the ambition of becoming a concert pianist. Although she placed second in a regional music competition in Iowa, Brewington chose to become a music teacher in Centralia, Missouri rather than continue competing.
In 1915, Brewington applied for a high school teaching position in Tonopah, Nevada. She traveled West by train. In Tonopah, Brewington met her future husband, Vail Montgomery Pittman, at a dance. As a teacher, Brewington organized the first orchestra and chorus in the Tonopah schools. In her spare time, Brewington learned how to shoot and won Tonopah schools. In her spare time, Brewington learned how to shoot and won Tonopah's First Turkey Shoot for Women.
Brewington married Vail Pittman on May 20, 1919 in Reno. The couple moved to Ely, Nevada on April 1, 1920 and established the
Vail Pittman played an active role in Nevada politics. He served in the Senate of the Nevada Legislature from 1925-1929. In 1942, he was elected Lieutenant Governor. Pittman became Governor in 1945; an office he held until 1950.
The couple sold their newspaper holdings in 1951. In 1952, the Pittmans moved to Las Vegas where they resided until Vail Pittman died from cancer in 1964. Ida Pittman traveled extensively after her husband's death, joining the Travelers Century Club, an organization open only to those who have visited one hundred countries and island groups. During her travels, Pittman toured Ethiopia, the Fiji Islands, and the South Pole.
Ida Pittman died October 11, 1984 at the age of 91 in Chula Vista, California, and was buried next to her husband at Mountain View Cemetery in Reno, Nevada. She was survived by her eldest sister, Ann Brewington.
The Ida Brewington Pittman Collection contains many news clippings about her husband, Vail. These clippings include obituaries, the dedication of the Vail Pittman Elementary School, a clipping on second graders at this school sending boxes to soldiers in Vietnam, articles on oil wells and the BLM in Nevada. Most of the clippings are undated; some are dated between 1967-1977.
The collection also contains many letters of condolences over Vail Pittman's death and one miscellaneous letter. Original speeches from the school's dedication are also part of the collection. Other items in the collection include copies of resolutions, an inaugural invitation, some financial notes, travel papers, address list and notes about some phone calls. Most of the terms in this collection pertain to her husband's life rather than her own.
Ninety-nine loose photos and three photo albums were removed from this collection and placed in UNLV photograph collection 0289. Governor Vail Pittman's embossed leather portfolio is stored outside the boxed collection.