AuthorVail, Thomas, 1926-
TitleThomas Vail papers, 1949-1998 [microform].
Description2.75 linear ft./.70 linear m. (4 containers, 1 oversize folder)
General NoteThis collection is of value to researchers studying the newspaper publishing industry, especially a regional daily and Sunday publication with strong local control regarding editorial policy, and the effects of editorial policy on the community it serves.
Summary NoteSubject: The bulk of the collection consists of almost 200 speeches and introductory material that Vail presented over a span of almost thirty years. His "Publisher's Column" regularly published for more than a quarter century, reflects Vail's views on local, national, and international affairs, both political and humanitarian. Notable correspondents include Hubert H. Humphrey, Robert Kennedy, John F. Kennedy, Edward M. Kennedy, Spiro Agnew, George Herbert Walker Bush, James Earl Carter, Gerald Ford, Lyndon Johnson, Henry Kissinger, Richard F. Celeste, James A. Rhodes, and Cyrus S. Eaton. All photographs have been removed to PG. 517 Thomas Vail Photographs. Audio-visual materials have been removed to the audio-visual collection.
Reproduct. NoteMicrofilm. Cleveland, Ohio : Western Reserve Historical Society, 2004. 7 microfilm reels : positive and negative ; 35 mm.
Historical NoteThomas Vail, son of attorney Herman L. Vail and Delia B. White, both members of prominent Cleveland families, was born in Cleveland, Ohio, June 23, 1926. Vail was educated at University School in Cleveland and Deerfield Academy in Massachusetts and graduated from Princeton University in 1948. He joined his family business, the Forest City Publishing Company, and later transferred to its morning paper, the Cleveland Plain Dealer. In 1963, Vail assumed duties as publisher and editor of the Plain Dealer. For over twenty five years, Vail oversaw the transition of the Plain Dealer from the city's runner up publication to the largest daily and Sunday newspaper in Ohio. Vail retired from the paper in 1992. Vail was also active in other interests such as the Cleveland Foundation, the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, and was the co-founder of Cleveland Tomorrow, an organization formed in 1982 to promote economic growth. He was also president of the Cleveland Convention and active in the Visitor's Bureau and the Greater Cleveland Growth Association. On a national level, he served on the boards of the Associated Press and the Newspaper Advertising Bureau.
Cum. Index NoteFinding aids: Register available in the library.
SubjectsAmerican newspapers -- Ohio -- Cleveland.
Cleveland (Ohio) -- Economic conditions.
Cleveland (Ohio) -- History -- 20th century.
Cleveland (Ohio) -- Newspapers -- 20th century.
Cleveland (Ohio) -- Officials and employees.
Cleveland (Ohio) -- Politics and government.
Cleveland (Ohio) -- Social conditions.
Cleveland Clinic Foundation.
Cleveland Convention and Visitors' Bureau.
Cleveland Foundation.
Cleveland plain dealer
Cleveland Tomorrow (Organization).
Greater Cleveland Growth Association.
Plain Dealer (Firm).
Call Number/Copies 
 WRHS Research Library: Microfilm (Cab. 53:1 ; MS. 4852, Series I-V)
mq242856: Positive microfilm, microform room [status: NON-CIRCULATING]
 WRHS Research Library: Microfilm (Vault ; MS. 4852, Series VI)
mq242855: Rare book room, local class, restricted access: Restricted, see Curator [status: NON-CIRCULATING]
[Record 137939]