Friday, July 8, 2011

Sadness around the fishing hole

Garvey Winegar, former outdoor columnist for the Richmond Times-Dispatch, passed away this week.
He got his start in Waynesboro, after seeing the local paper lacked an outdoors writer.
He parlayed that into a career informing Virginia outdoorsmen.
He was a gifted writer, a good friend and a person who made tremendous connections with readers," said William H. "Bill" Millsaps Jr., retired executive editor of the Richmond Times-Dispatch who hired Mr. Winegar in 1986. "He didn't get fan mail, he got love letters. People responded to him in an amazing way."
He retired from full-time writing in the fall of 2003, letting readers know he'd miss being in the paper too.
It's bittersweet because I do not really want to go. I know beforehand that I will miss the Richmond Times-Dispatch terribly, and I'll certainly miss all the interesting things the newspaper has allowed me to do for 18 years.

(I got pretty good at conning the paper into sending me to the Outer Banks, Wyoming, Mexico and Lake Erie - while they picked up the tab. In retirement, I'll probably be lucky to finance a trip to Bottoms Bridge.)

1 comment:

Lynn R. Mitchell said...

I read the news of Mr. Winegar's passing with sadness this morning. Growing up in Richmond, I was a fan and loved what he contributed to the Times-Dispatch. His writings will keep him alive for years to come....