The next Tuesdays in the Newsroom at the Vineyard Gazette office will highlight the outdoor columnists who fill the last page of the paper each week with tales of the Island’s flora and fauna.
The next Tuesdays in the Newsroom at the Vineyard Gazette office will feature the outdoor columnists who fill the last page of the paper each week with tales of the Island’s flora and fauna.
Lynne Irons, Suzan Bellincampi, Rob Culbert and Lanny McDowell will come in from the cold on Tuesday, Jan. 14 to give the inside scoop on how they create their columns, each one a longstanding tradition at the Gazette. The event is from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.
The bird column began in 1953 as an Avian Visitors report. The page eventually expanded to include an All Outdoors column in 1968, and a Vineyard Gardner column in 1975.
Ms. Bellincampi has been writing the All Outdoors feature since 2003 (taking over from Allan Keith and E. Vernon Laux who wrote it from the 1990s to 2003); Ms. Irons the Vineyard Gardener since 2007 (taking over from Jean S. Wexler who wrote it from 1987 to 2006); and Mr. Culbert the Bird Column since 2020 (taking over from Susan Whiting who wrote it from 1975 to 2020). Mr. Culbert has been a contributing columnist to the page since 1983. Accompanying the Bird Columns since 2005 are photographs by Lanny McDowell.
The event will feature a question and answer session with the columnists, as well as light snacks.
There is no charge but an RSVP is requested. Register in advance at [email protected].
Comments
The Avian Visitors started in
Susan Whiting ChilmarkThe Avian Visitors started in 1953 by Betty Hough, Henry Beetle Hough's wife. I am not on Island at present but when Betty retired I think the Avian Visitors was written by Mabel Gillespie. This can be checked in the archives. I am not sure who started All Outdoors, it might have been Mabel. I inherited the All Outdoor column in 1975. I am not on Island at present so my memory may be off. I I think that around 1993 the All Outdoor column on my suggestion was split into All Outdoors and the Bird News. I wrote both columns until 2020. I regularly had guest authors write either All Outdoors or the Bird News including Allan Keith, Judith Neeld, Eleanor Waldron, Robert Culbert, and Vern Laux to name a few. I asked Lanny McDowell to add photos to the Bird News columns in 2005.
I am sorry that I will not be on Island to attend Tuesday in the Newsroom as I so enjoy Lynne Irons, Suzan Bellincampi, and Robert Culbert's columns and Lanny McDowell's photos are the best. It should be a grand get together.
Oh, how I wish this event
Linda Jones HinghamOh, how I wish this event could be broadcast online, for those of us who are off-island! I am a huge fan of each of the dedicated and talented featured speakers!
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