Albert L. Alford was born in Lewiston, Idaho, January 7, 1907, the son of Eugene L. and Alice C. Alford. He graduated from Lewiston High School in 1924 and attended the University of Idaho for two years where he worked on the student paper, the Argonaut. He transferred to Washington & Lee University in 1926 and studied there until the death of his uncle, Albert H. Alford, in 1928. He returned to Lewiston to assume his uncle's post as managing editor of the Lewiston Tribune. He became editor and publisher of the paper following the death of his father in 1946. His father and uncle had founded the newspaper as a weekly in 1892.
On January 10, 1931 he married Catherine Hahn who died in 1964. They had two sons. In 1966 he married Mary E. Wagner.
Albert Alford died on July 20, 1968, following a stroke.
The papers of Albert Alford span the years 1913 to 1972, with the bulk of the material covering the years 1954 to 1965.
The papers include newspaper articles about Alford, personal and professional correspondence, office memoranda, several articles written by Alford, address lists, a file of articles on waterways, correspondence of Lewiston Lawyer Eugene Cox, and some photographs.
The papers of Albert Alford were in labeled folders or envelopes; all original headings were retained. The newspaper articles (laminated) include an achievement award received by Alford, his obituary, and an article about his sons who succeeded him on the paper. The personal correspondence, which includes two White House invitations and letters from his sister, as well as the distribution of his father's estate, is sorted by correspondent. Also in this folder are a souvenir $5 and $10 bill issued by the Lewiston National Bank of which E.L. Alford was president. Alford wrote three series of articles, two about the U.S. Pacific fleet and one about a trip to the Orient, which are in the Writings folder. The address lists are from Christmas card lists and condolences received. The AP (Associated Press) and IAPA folder contains correspondence and assessments, all of which are in chronological order. The folder labeled Notes from ALA and BJ contains a collection of memos between Tribune's publisher Alford and editor William F. Johnston, many of which are undated and are in no particular order. Eugene Cox was a Lewiston lawyer who wrote articles on politics; the articles and correspondence in this folder are in chronological order. The photographs include prints and negatives of Albert Alford, Catherine Alford, and some unidentified pictures.
The papers of Albert L. Alford were donated to the University of Idaho Library by Bert C. Cross on July 25, 1984.
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