# Time for Herb Boldt to say goodbye



## Hamilton Reef (Jan 20, 2000)

Time for Herb Boldt to say goodbye

By HERB BOLDT For The Associated Press

(Editor's note: Herb Boldt's final column didn't come through the regular AP feed because of a technical issue earlier in the week)

(AP) - The dictionary definition of the word "bittersweet" describes the feeling I have _ pleasure mixed with overtones of sadness.

This is my final column.

It ends what I consider to be the greatest job in journalism _ a mix of writing and the great outdoors. I was getting paid to fish and hunt the great outdoor state of Michigan.

The day in 1987 that I had lunch with some Associated Press people at the Detroit Press Club will be remembered forever. They offered me a chance to write hunting and fishing columns about places across the state.

Obviously I accepted, and I began 18 years of a different life.

Imagine getting paid for the doing the things closest to your heart outside of a family of three boys and five girls, all of whom fished with Dad on the backwaters of dams on the Au Sable River.

There are so many people to thank for their friendship, companionship and advice about fishing and hunting their special areas, so I won't name them. They know who they are.

That said, I'll mention a dear friend _ Bud Morris of Livonia _ who was my companion on umpteen trips to the northern parts of the state. Far from a master angler, or hunter, Bud was a gentle companion. All hunters and fishermen have at least one pal, and you can get an idea of Bud by recalling them.

There are a lot of great outdoorsmen and women across the state, and my aim was to introduce them to places to which they have never been, and hopefully enjoy the scenery, fish and game when they visited the area after reading my scratchings.

Writing about the outdoors was a far cry from the police beat I covered for The Detroit News for 18 years or developing the Metro section of the paper and changing the sports department from an afternoon format into getting the sports results to Traverse City before daylight.

I told the staff that my mother in Traverse City was a Detroit Tigers fan and watched or listened to night games. She usually fell asleep before the game ended, and I wanted the final score in the paper she picked up on her porch the next morning. I was her hero most days, but she let me know whenever the game ran exceptionally late, and we didn't deliver the final score.

I want to thank Dave Richey. I hired Dave to be the outdoor writer at the News. I thank him for all the time he took, on the job and off, to show me good places to fish and hunt, and more importantly, how to fish this lake or that. He introduced me to a ton of people with whom he had become friends all across the state. They have become my friends too.

I also want to thank his wife, Kay Richey, who baby-sat me while I was putting together my first book, "Fast Eddie and the Gang," a collection of outdoor fishing and hunting humor columns written over the years.

Writing and newspapering is an art _ an art I enjoyed to the fullest. When I began writing columns for the AP, I asked what space they wanted me to fill. The answer was a column that would fit a page from top to bottom comfortably.

That first column fit from top to bottom perfectly. In all those years since 1987, every column has fit that space. I guess it is the editor in me to make it as easy on the layout staff.

I hope readers across the state have enjoyed and maybe learned something about hunting and fishing from the hundreds of columns I have written.

Who knows, if my life's calendar isn't too short, there might be another book. It's in the works and dates back to my reporting days.

I also want to thank the AP staff and the care they took with my work and the newspapers who printed it.


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## Hamilton Reef (Jan 20, 2000)

I want to express my sincere thanks to Herb Bolt for his contributions to outdoor writing and the scores of articles that have given us hours of reading enjoyment. We need to encourage more talented writers with outdoor skills to carry on the outdoor writing careers. Just as important we need to convince our local newspapers to continue to carry the hunt/fish sections that have been slowly disappearing.


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## Thunderhead (Feb 2, 2002)

He'll be missed most definatly. I really enjoyed his writings.
Best of Luck Herb, and Thanks.


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## Rondevous (Mar 14, 2005)

I've always enjoyed Herb's writings.

He had a way in which to let the reader know, the people were
just as important as the quarry.

His writings were fun to read and made me feel like I wished I'd been there.

Enjoy life Herb!


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