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INVENTORY OF THE THORNE B. GRAY COLLECTION, 1887-1989, (BULK 1966-1982)
D-310
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Title: The Thorne B. Gray Collection,
Date (inclusive): 1887-1989
Date (bulk): (bulk 1966-1982)
Collection number: D-310
Collector:
Gray, Thorne B.
Extent:
16 linear feet
Repository:
University of California, Davis. General Library. Dept. of Special Collections.
100 North West Quad
Davis, California, 95616-5292
Abstract: Thorne B. Gray (1937-1993) worked as a journalist for the
Modesto Bee from 1966 to 1982, where he covered city and county government with an emphasis on Central Valley water issues, land use,
and natural conservation. He reported on the campaigns to preserve the Stanislaus and Tuolumne Rivers in the 1970s and the
construction and filling of the New Melones Dam.
Physical location: Researchers should contact Special Collections to request collections, as many are stored offsite.
Language:
English.
Collection is open for research under regular Reading Room rules and copyright restrictions.
Copyright is protected by the copyright law, chapter 17 of the U.S. Code. All requests for permission to publish or quote
from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Head of Special Collections. Permission for publication is given on behalf
of Special Collections, General Library, University of California, Davis as the owner of the physical items and is not intended
to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the researcher.
[Identification of item], Thorne B. Gray Collection, D-310, Department of Special Collections, University of California,
Davis, California.
In 1990, Thorne B. Gray donated this collection to the Library.
Lola Aguilar processed this collection and created its finding aid. Melissa Tyler encoded the finding aid.
Thorne B. Gray (1937-1993), journalist, was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan and grew up in Los Angeles, California. After graduating
from Cornell University in 1960, he joined the U.S. Army serving with the U.N. Command in Korea, where he was a reporter for
the
Pacific Stars and Stripes. After leaving the Army in 1963, he attended Northwestern University in Illinois and received a master's degree in journalism
in 1965.
Gray returned to California where he worked for the
San Diego Evening Tribune and the
Alhambra Post-Advocate before joining the
Modesto Bee in Fresno in 1966. During his seventeen years at the
Bee, Gray covered city and county government with an emphasis on California water issues, land use, and natural resources conservation.
He reported extensively on the campaigns to preserve the Stanislaus and Tuolumne Rivers in the 1970s and the construction
and filling of the New Melones Dam.
Gray wrote
Quest for Deep Gold (1973),
On this Land (1983), and
The Stanislaus Indian Wars (1993), and co-authored
California Political Almanac, The Tuolumne River, a 1970 Sierra Club report, as well as contributing to the
Knights Ferry Handbook. He also served as editor of the Stanislaus County Historical Society quarterly journal, the
Stanislaus Stepping Stones, for seven years. Gray was on the board of Central California Educational Television (KVIE-Channel 6) for three years and
taught journalism at Stanislaus State University.
In 1982 Gray left the
Modesto Bee and joined the
Sacramento Bee's Capitol Bureau in 1983, reporting on the state budget. In October 1983, he took early retirement as a senior writer.
Sources:
Kane, William D. "Thorne Gray Dies at 55, Veteran Newsman, River Enthusiast, Region Historian,"
Modesto Bee, 21 April 1993, sec. B, p. 3.
Scope and Content of Collection
The Thorne B. Gray Collection is arranged in seven subject series organized by his original approach: 1. Auburn-Folsom South
Unit, 2. Central Valley Project, 3. South Delta, 4. New Melones Dam, 5. Modesto and Turlock Irrigation District, 6. New Don
Pedro Dam, and 7. Hetch Hetchy Dam. The collection consists of an investigative reporter's reference files and publications
on Central Valley water issues. Items span the years 1887 to 1989, but the bulk of the collection dates from 1966 to 1982.
The collection includes city, county, state, and federal agency reports, correspondence, and press releases, as well as local
and state newspaper clippings and magazine articles. Gray filed his notes and clippings from the
Modesto Bee under the subject covered. The collection does not contain information relating to Gray's books.
Other materials related to the Thorne B. Gray Collection may be found in the following collections at Special Collections:
D-348: Hagan, Robert M. Papers
D-229: Prokopovich, Nikolai P. Collection
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the Library's online access catalog:
Gray, Thorne B.--Archives
Central Valley Project (Calif.). Auburn-Folsom South Unit
Hetch Hetchy Reservoir (Calif.)
Journalists--California--Archives
Don Pedro Reservoir (Calif.)
Modesto Irrigation District (Calif.)
New Melones Lake (Calif.)
Friends of the River Foundation
Friends of New Melones
Dams--California
Wild and scenic rivers--California
Stanislaus River (Calif.)
Tuolumne River (Calif.)
Turlock Irrigation District (Calif.)
Water resources development--California