Grits Gresham
Encyclopedia
Claude Hamilton "Grits" Gresham, Jr. (June 21, 1922 – February 18, 2008) was an internationally-known American
sportsman, author
, photographer and television
personality who hosted ABC
's The American Sportsman
series from 1966-1979. Gresham, who resided on the historic Cane River Lake
in Natchitoches
, the oldest city in Louisiana
, traveled throughout the globe, particularly South America
and Africa
, to engage in hunting
, fishing
and shooting
with various American celebrities
. He was a champion of the environment and conservation
, the subject of his graduate school
thesis
.
, to Claude Gresham, Sr. and the former Belle Hill. He inherited his nickname from his father, a semi-professional baseball
player known as "Grit". Gresham grew up in rural South Carolina. As a small boy, he was so interested in hunting that he slept with his air rifle beside his bed. He took his first shot of the day out of his bedroom window "Two things were going to happen every day when I was growing up. The sun was going to rise, and I was going to shoot something," Gresham said in a 1996 interview. Before Gresham began his long career in outdoor journalism
, he signed a baseball contract with the Chicago Cubs
organization but never played.
He attended Blue Ridge School for Boys, a private male boarding school
named for the Blue Ridge Mountains
and located in Hendersonville, North Carolina
. This school closed its doors in 1968. He also studied at the University of North Carolina
at Chapel Hill
, Vanderbilt University
in Nashville
, and Yale University
in New Haven, Connecticut
, but he procured his bachelor of science
and master of science
degrees, with specialty in forestry
and wildlife management
, from Louisiana State University
in Baton Rouge
, where he was thereafter an inductee into the LSU Hall of Distinction.
During World War II
, Gresham served in the United States Army Air Corps
, the precursor to the United States Air Force
. He considered his military service as important as his success in journalism.
In Nashville, on February 8, 1944, Gresham married Mary Eleanor R. Gresham (July 4, 1925 - March 5, 2001), formerly of California
. The couple had three children: radio
talk show
host Thomas Hamilton "Tom" Gresham and his wife, Patricia T. Gresham (both born 1951), of Natchitoches; Gary Kent Gresham (born 1953) of Natchitoches, and Barbara Gresham Hammerman (born 1947) and her husband, Raymond Levine, in Gig Harbor
in Pierce County
in western Washington state.
and thereafter edited the Louisiana Conservationist magazine. He was the former outdoors editor of The Shreveport Times too.
Gresham succeeded former Governor
Joe Foss
of South Dakota
as the host of The American Sportsman. He was thereafter joined by Curt Gowdy
as cohost. Gresham further hosted Shooting Sports America, sponsored by Chevy Trucks
on the ESPN
network. For twenty-six years, he was the shooting editor
of Sports Afield
magazine. He was also published in Sports Illustrated
and Gentleman's Quarterly. He was well-known too for Miller Lite Beer commercials.
Entertainers such as Bing Crosby
, Burt Reynolds
, Jonathan Winters
, Phil Harris
, Rip Torn
and Andy Griffith
joined Gresham on hunting and fishing trips as did Olympic
decathlon
gold medal
ist Bruce Jenner
, Pro Football Hall of Fame defender Buck Buchanan
, and Bert Jones
, the 1976 National Football League
's "Most Valuable Player".
, reported that Reagan, as a fledgling radio
announcer, had once used a Colt pistol to save a nurse in Des Moines, Iowa
from a mugging
on a street. After Gresham's story broke, the nurse came forward and confirmed the tale, although she explained that she had no knowledge that the young man who had saved her so many years before had turned out to have become the popular actor and President of the United States.
, the Secretary of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries and a former Republican
member of the Louisiana State Senate
, was among Greshan's longtime admirers. Gresham spent a lot of time with Barham's late father, Erle McKoin "Ninety" Barham (1916–1976) of Morehouse Parish, who was also an environmentalist. Barham recalled a "picture of my dad in one of his books -- The Complete Wildfowler. As a child, I got to meet him and be around him. He was just so easy to be around. Grits was nothing like the television celebrities of today. People were drawn to him. He made them feel at ease ... he made me feel at ease, and I was just a child. ... There will never be another like him," Barham told the Alexandria Daily Town Talk
.
Bert Jones, a native of Ruston
, the seat of Lincoln Parish, who played for LSU and the former Baltimore Colts
, knew Gresham as a youngster. Jones was hunting quail
in Texas
when he learned of Gresham's death: "I guess it is only fitting that I'm hunting when I find out my close, close friend has died. I wish he were here with me right now. I will miss him." Jones, a former appointee to the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission, appeared with Gresham in two episodes of The American Sportsman, and Gresham appeared three times with Jones on Jones' Suzuki's Great Outdoors on ESPN. Jones remains a close friend of Gresham's son, Tom, host of the nationally broadcast Tom Gresham's Gun Talk and the former editor of Southern Outdoors and Rifle magazines.
Gresham's The Complete Book of Bass Fishing is, according to Ray Scott, "the best book ever written on bass fishing." Gresham wrote a column for Scott's Bassmaster magazine pro bono
. Scott no relation to former Natchitoches Mayor
W. Ray Scott
(1923–2008), said that Gresham "helped to dispel the cheating in tournaments; spread the word on conservation and ethics
, and teach people how to fish. . . . I use to tease him about that old floppy hat he wore, but . . . he will be missed by us all."
-- pneumonia
and infection. He had spent most of his last year in a nursing home
in Natchitoches. In addition to his children, he was survived by three grandchildren and three sisters, Rosa Schemmel of Wichita, Kansas
, and Edith Kelley and Ruth Bedingfield of Ware Shoals
in northwestern South Carolina
. Services were held on February 22, 2008 in the chapel of Blanchard-St. Denis Funeral Home
in Natchitoches, with the Roman Catholic minister Louis E. Sklar, III, officiating. Among Gresham's pallbearers was State Representative
Rick Nowlin
of Natchitoches. Burial was in Memory Lawn Cemetery on Louisiana Highway 6
near Natchitoches.
Gresham received an honorary doctorate of humane letters from Northwestern State University
in Natchitoches. On February 9, 2006, he received the only Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Shooting Sports Foundation, which established, with the Professional Outdoor Media Association, an ongoing "Grits Gresham Shooting Sports Communicator" award. The recipient of the award receives a bronze
replica of Gresham's trademark white straw hat. He was among the most known spokesmen for the National Shooting Sports Federation.
Gary Garth, the outdoor editor of The Courier-Journal
in Louisville, Kentucky
, relates that he became "addicted" to duck
hunting as a child, based on the encouragement of Grits Gresham columns. "Through my work I've had the opportunity to meet, hunt, and fish with a few of the giants in my business. But I never met Grits. It's just as well. Some pedestal
s should remain untouched," Garth said in his tribute to the legendary outdoorsman.
Joe Macaluso, outdoor editor of the Baton Rouge Morning Advocate recalled a fishing trip with Gresham on Toledo Bend Reservoir
at the Texas-Louisiana boundary. Macaluso described Gresham as "the most famous of all Louisiana outdoors writers and media members... He was like a loaf of good French bread, crusty-hard on the outside and tender on the inside. When I told him that, he laughed [and said] 'Don’t tell anyone else'...
The Gresham Collection is located at the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Foundation in Natchitoches.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
sportsman, author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
, photographer and television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
personality who hosted ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
's The American Sportsman
The American Sportsman
The American Sportsman was a television series from 1965 to 1986 on ABC which presented filmed highlights of hunting and/or fishing trips involving the program's hosts and celebrities. It was typically presented on Sunday afternoons, frequently following coverage of live sporting events...
series from 1966-1979. Gresham, who resided on the historic Cane River Lake
Cane River
Cane River is a lake and river formed from a portion of the Red River that is located in Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana. In the 19th and 20th centuries, it has been best known as the site of a historic Creole de couleur culture that has centers upon the National Historic Landmark Melrose...
in Natchitoches
Natchitoches, Louisiana
Natchitoches is a city in and the parish seat of Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana, United States. Established in 1714 by Louis Juchereau de St. Denis as part of French Louisiana, the community was named after the Natchitoches Indian tribe. The City of Natchitoches was first incorporated on February...
, the oldest city in Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
, traveled throughout the globe, particularly South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
and Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, to engage in hunting
Hunting
Hunting is the practice of pursuing any living thing, usually wildlife, for food, recreation, or trade. In present-day use, the term refers to lawful hunting, as distinguished from poaching, which is the killing, trapping or capture of the hunted species contrary to applicable law...
, fishing
Fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....
and shooting
Shooting
Shooting is the act or process of firing rifles, shotguns or other projectile weapons such as bows or crossbows. Even the firing of artillery, rockets and missiles can be called shooting. A person who specializes in shooting is a marksman...
with various American celebrities
Celebrity
A celebrity, also referred to as a celeb in popular culture, is a person who has a prominent profile and commands a great degree of public fascination and influence in day-to-day media...
. He was a champion of the environment and conservation
Conservation ethic
Conservation is an ethic of resource use, allocation, and protection. Its primary focus is upon maintaining the health of the natural world: its, fisheries, habitats, and biological diversity. Secondary focus is on materials conservation and energy conservation, which are seen as important to...
, the subject of his graduate school
Graduate school
A graduate school is a school that awards advanced academic degrees with the general requirement that students must have earned a previous undergraduate degree...
thesis
Thesis
A dissertation or thesis is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings...
.
Early years, education, military
Gresham was born in Spartanburg County, South CarolinaSouth Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
, to Claude Gresham, Sr. and the former Belle Hill. He inherited his nickname from his father, a semi-professional baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
player known as "Grit". Gresham grew up in rural South Carolina. As a small boy, he was so interested in hunting that he slept with his air rifle beside his bed. He took his first shot of the day out of his bedroom window "Two things were going to happen every day when I was growing up. The sun was going to rise, and I was going to shoot something," Gresham said in a 1996 interview. Before Gresham began his long career in outdoor journalism
Journalism
Journalism is the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience in a timely fashion. Though there are many variations of journalism, the ideal is to inform the intended audience. Along with covering organizations and institutions such as government and...
, he signed a baseball contract with the Chicago Cubs
Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs are a professional baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League. They are one of two Major League clubs based in Chicago . The Cubs are also one of the two remaining charter members of the National...
organization but never played.
He attended Blue Ridge School for Boys, a private male boarding school
Boarding school
A boarding school is a school where some or all pupils study and live during the school year with their fellow students and possibly teachers and/or administrators. The word 'boarding' is used in the sense of "bed and board," i.e., lodging and meals...
named for the Blue Ridge Mountains
Blue Ridge Mountains
The Blue Ridge Mountains are a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Mountains range. This province consists of northern and southern physiographic regions, which divide near the Roanoke River gap. The mountain range is located in the eastern United States, starting at its southern-most...
and located in Hendersonville, North Carolina
Hendersonville, North Carolina
Hendersonville is a city in Henderson County, North Carolina, USA, southeast of Asheville. In 1900, 1,917 persons lived in Hendersonville; in 1910, 2,818; and in 1940, 5,381 people lived here. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 12,223, up fivefold in one century. It is the county...
. This school closed its doors in 1968. He also studied at the University of North Carolina
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States...
at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Chapel Hill is a town in Orange County, North Carolina, United States and the home of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and UNC Health Care...
, Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University is a private research university located in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, the university is named for shipping and rail magnate "Commodore" Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided Vanderbilt its initial $1 million endowment despite having never been to the...
in Nashville
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
, and Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
in New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven is the second-largest city in Connecticut and the sixth-largest in New England. According to the 2010 Census, New Haven's population increased by 5.0% between 2000 and 2010, a rate higher than that of the State of Connecticut, and higher than that of the state's five largest cities, and...
, but he procured his bachelor of science
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...
and master of science
Master of Science
A Master of Science is a postgraduate academic master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is typically studied for in the sciences including the social sciences.-Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay:...
degrees, with specialty in forestry
Forestry
Forestry is the interdisciplinary profession embracing the science, art, and craft of creating, managing, using, and conserving forests and associated resources in a sustainable manner to meet desired goals, needs, and values for human benefit. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands...
and wildlife management
Wildlife management
Wildlife management attempts to balance the needs of wildlife with the needs of people using the best available science. Wildlife management can include game keeping, wildlife conservation and pest control...
, from Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, most often referred to as Louisiana State University, or LSU, is a public coeducational university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The University was founded in 1853 in what is now known as Pineville, Louisiana, under the name...
in Baton Rouge
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Baton Rouge is the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is located in East Baton Rouge Parish and is the second-largest city in the state.Baton Rouge is a major industrial, petrochemical, medical, and research center of the American South...
, where he was thereafter an inductee into the LSU Hall of Distinction.
During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Gresham served in the United States Army Air Corps
United States Army Air Corps
The United States Army Air Corps was a forerunner of the United States Air Force. Renamed from the Air Service on 2 July 1926, it was part of the United States Army and the predecessor of the United States Army Air Forces , established in 1941...
, the precursor to the United States Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
. He considered his military service as important as his success in journalism.
In Nashville, on February 8, 1944, Gresham married Mary Eleanor R. Gresham (July 4, 1925 - March 5, 2001), formerly of California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. The couple had three children: radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
talk show
Talk show
A talk show or chat show is a television program or radio program where one person discuss various topics put forth by a talk show host....
host Thomas Hamilton "Tom" Gresham and his wife, Patricia T. Gresham (both born 1951), of Natchitoches; Gary Kent Gresham (born 1953) of Natchitoches, and Barbara Gresham Hammerman (born 1947) and her husband, Raymond Levine, in Gig Harbor
Gig Harbor, Washington
Gig Harbor is the name of both a bay on Puget Sound and a city on its shore in Pierce County, Washington, United States. The population was 7,126 at the 2010 census....
in Pierce County
Pierce County, Washington
right|thumb|[[Tacoma, Washington|Tacoma]] - Seat of Pierce CountyPierce County is the second most populous county in the U.S. state of Washington. Formed out of Thurston County on December 22, 1852, by the legislature of Oregon Territory...
in western Washington state.
Outdoors journalist and commentator
Gresham worked for the United States Fish and Wildlife ServiceUnited States Fish and Wildlife Service
The United States Fish and Wildlife Service is a federal government agency within the United States Department of the Interior dedicated to the management of fish, wildlife, and natural habitats...
and thereafter edited the Louisiana Conservationist magazine. He was the former outdoors editor of The Shreveport Times too.
Gresham succeeded former Governor
Governor of South Dakota
The Governor of South Dakota is the head of the executive branch of the government of South Dakota. They are elected to a four year term on even years when there is no Presidential election. The current governor is Dennis Daugaard, a Republican elected in 2010....
Joe Foss
Joe Foss
Joseph Jacob "Joe" Foss was the leading fighter ace of the United States Marine Corps during World War II and a 1943 recipient of the Medal of Honor, recognizing his role in the air combat during the Guadalcanal Campaign...
of South Dakota
South Dakota
South Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. Once a part of Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889. The state has an area of and an estimated population of just over...
as the host of The American Sportsman. He was thereafter joined by Curt Gowdy
Curt Gowdy
Curtis Edward "Curt" Gowdy was an American sportscaster, well known as the longtime "voice" of the Boston Red Sox and for his coverage of many nationally-televised sporting events, primarily for NBC Sports in the 1960s and 1970s.-Early years:The son of a manager for the Union Pacific railroad,...
as cohost. Gresham further hosted Shooting Sports America, sponsored by Chevy Trucks
Chevrolet
Chevrolet , also known as Chevy , is a brand of vehicle produced by General Motors Company . Founded by Louis Chevrolet and ousted GM founder William C. Durant on November 3, 1911, General Motors acquired Chevrolet in 1918...
on the ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
network. For twenty-six years, he was the shooting editor
Editing
Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, and film media used to convey information through the processes of correction, condensation, organization, and other modifications performed with an intention of producing a correct, consistent, accurate, and complete...
of Sports Afield
Sports Afield
Sports Afield was founded in 1887 as a hunting and fishing magazine by Claude King and is the oldest continuous outdoor publication in North America. The first issue, in January 1888, was eight pages long and printed on newspaper stock, published in Denver, Colorado...
magazine. He was also published in Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...
and Gentleman's Quarterly. He was well-known too for Miller Lite Beer commercials.
Entertainers such as Bing Crosby
Bing Crosby
Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby was an American singer and actor. Crosby's trademark bass-baritone voice made him one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century, with over half a billion records in circulation....
, Burt Reynolds
Burt Reynolds
Burton Leon "Burt" Reynolds, Jr. is an American actor. Some of his memorable roles include Bo 'Bandit' Darville in Smokey and the Bandit, Lewis Medlock in Deliverance, Bobby "Gator" McCluskey in White Lightning and sequel Gator, Paul Crewe and Coach Nate Scarborough in The Longest Yard and its...
, Jonathan Winters
Jonathan Winters
-Early life:Winters was born in Bellbrook, Ohio, the son of Alice Kilgore , a radio personality, and Jonathan Harshman Winters II, an investment broker. He is a descendant of Valentine Winters, founder of the Winters National Bank in Dayton, Ohio...
, Phil Harris
Phil Harris
Harris and Faye married in 1941; it was a second marriage for both and lasted 54 years, until Harris's death. Harris engaged in a fistfight at the Trocadero nightclub in 1938 with RKO studio mogul Bob Stevens; the cause was reported to be over Faye after Stevens and Faye had ended a romantic...
, Rip Torn
Rip Torn
Elmore Rual "Rip" Torn, Jr. , is an American actor of stage, screen and television.Torn received an Academy Award nomination as Best Supporting Actor for his role in the 1983 film Cross Creek. His work includes the role of Artie, the producer, on The Larry Sanders Show, for which he was nominated...
and Andy Griffith
Andy Griffith
Andy Samuel Griffith is an American actor, director, producer, Grammy Award-winning Southern-gospel singer, and writer. He gained prominence in the starring role in director Elia Kazan's epic film A Face in the Crowd before he became better known for his television roles, playing the lead...
joined Gresham on hunting and fishing trips as did Olympic
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
decathlon
Decathlon
The decathlon is a combined event in athletics consisting of ten track and field events. The word decathlon is of Greek origin . Events are held over two consecutive days and the winners are determined by the combined performance in all. Performance is judged on a points system in each event, not...
gold medal
Gold medal
A gold medal is typically the medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture...
ist Bruce Jenner
Bruce Jenner
William Bruce Jenner is a former U.S. track and field athlete, motivational speaker, socialite and television personality. He won the gold medal for decathlon in the Montreal 1976 Summer Olympics....
, Pro Football Hall of Fame defender Buck Buchanan
Buck Buchanan
Junious "Buck" Buchanan was an American collegiate and professional Football defensive tackle. He played for the Kansas City Chiefs in the American Football League and in the National Football League ....
, and Bert Jones
Bert Jones
Bertram Hays "Bert" Jones is a former LSU and NFL quarterback who played for the then Baltimore Colts and, briefly, the Los Angeles Rams. At Ruston High School, he was given the nickname, "The Ruston Rifle"...
, the 1976 National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
's "Most Valuable Player".
The interview with Reagan
It was Gresham who, in an interview with U.S. President Ronald ReaganRonald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
, reported that Reagan, as a fledgling radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
announcer, had once used a Colt pistol to save a nurse in Des Moines, Iowa
Des Moines, Iowa
Des Moines is the capital and the most populous city in the US state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small portion of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines which was shortened to "Des Moines" in 1857...
from a mugging
Robbery
Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take something of value by force or threat of force or by putting the victim in fear. At common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the person of that property, by means of force or fear....
on a street. After Gresham's story broke, the nurse came forward and confirmed the tale, although she explained that she had no knowledge that the young man who had saved her so many years before had turned out to have become the popular actor and President of the United States.
Robert Barham and Bert Jones recall Gresham
Robert J. BarhamRobert J. Barham
Robert Jocelyn Barham is a large-scale farmer from Morehouse Parish who has been appointed by Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal as the secretary of the state's Department of Wildlife and Fisheries...
, the Secretary of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries and a former Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
member of the Louisiana State Senate
Louisiana State Legislature
The Louisiana State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is bicameral body, comprising the lower house, the Louisiana House of Representatives with 105 representatives, and the upper house, the Louisiana Senate with 39 senators...
, was among Greshan's longtime admirers. Gresham spent a lot of time with Barham's late father, Erle McKoin "Ninety" Barham (1916–1976) of Morehouse Parish, who was also an environmentalist. Barham recalled a "picture of my dad in one of his books -- The Complete Wildfowler. As a child, I got to meet him and be around him. He was just so easy to be around. Grits was nothing like the television celebrities of today. People were drawn to him. He made them feel at ease ... he made me feel at ease, and I was just a child. ... There will never be another like him," Barham told the Alexandria Daily Town Talk
The Town Talk (Alexandria)
The Town Talk, started as The Daily Town Talk in 1883 and later named the Alexandria Daily Town Talk, is the major newspaper of Central Louisiana. It is published by Gannett in Alexandria, the seat of Rapides Parish and the economic center of Central Louisiana.The daily newspaper has a circulation...
.
Bert Jones, a native of Ruston
Ruston, Louisiana
Ruston is a city in and the parish seat of Lincoln Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 20,546 at the 2000 census. Ruston is near the eastern border of the Ark-La-Tex and is the home of Louisiana Tech University. Its economy caters to its college population...
, the seat of Lincoln Parish, who played for LSU and the former Baltimore Colts
History of the Indianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts are a professional football team based in Indianapolis, Indiana. They play in the AFC South division of the National Football League. They have won 3 NFL championships and 2 Super Bowls....
, knew Gresham as a youngster. Jones was hunting quail
Quail
Quail is a collective name for several genera of mid-sized birds generally considered in the order Galliformes. Old World quail are found in the family Phasianidae, while New World quail are found in the family Odontophoridae...
in Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
when he learned of Gresham's death: "I guess it is only fitting that I'm hunting when I find out my close, close friend has died. I wish he were here with me right now. I will miss him." Jones, a former appointee to the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission, appeared with Gresham in two episodes of The American Sportsman, and Gresham appeared three times with Jones on Jones' Suzuki's Great Outdoors on ESPN. Jones remains a close friend of Gresham's son, Tom, host of the nationally broadcast Tom Gresham's Gun Talk and the former editor of Southern Outdoors and Rifle magazines.
Fishing and the wetlands
Gresham was among the first to sound the alarm about the loss of wetlands in Louisiana. He worked with Ray Scott, the founder of the Bass Anglers Sportsman Society, to halt the cheating that had previously haunted tournament bass fishing. Gresham's Kiss the Land Goodbye was one of the early works about vanishing wetlands.Gresham's The Complete Book of Bass Fishing is, according to Ray Scott, "the best book ever written on bass fishing." Gresham wrote a column for Scott's Bassmaster magazine pro bono
Pro bono
Pro bono publico is a Latin phrase generally used to describe professional work undertaken voluntarily and without payment or at a reduced fee as a public service. It is common in the legal profession and is increasingly seen in marketing, technology, and strategy consulting firms...
. Scott no relation to former Natchitoches Mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
W. Ray Scott
W. Ray Scott
Walter Ray Scott, Sr., usually known as W. Ray Scott was from 1960 to 1976 the Democratic mayor of Natchitoches, the oldest city in Louisiana...
(1923–2008), said that Gresham "helped to dispel the cheating in tournaments; spread the word on conservation and ethics
Ethics
Ethics, also known as moral philosophy, is a branch of philosophy that addresses questions about morality—that is, concepts such as good and evil, right and wrong, virtue and vice, justice and crime, etc.Major branches of ethics include:...
, and teach people how to fish. . . . I use to tease him about that old floppy hat he wore, but . . . he will be missed by us all."
Death and legacy
Gresham died at his home on Cane River Lake in Natchitoches, a small city in north central Louisiana, of complications from Alzheimer's diseaseAlzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease also known in medical literature as Alzheimer disease is the most common form of dementia. There is no cure for the disease, which worsens as it progresses, and eventually leads to death...
-- pneumonia
Pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
and infection. He had spent most of his last year in a nursing home
Nursing home
A nursing home, convalescent home, skilled nursing unit , care home, rest home, or old people's home provides a type of care of residents: it is a place of residence for people who require constant nursing care and have significant deficiencies with activities of daily living...
in Natchitoches. In addition to his children, he was survived by three grandchildren and three sisters, Rosa Schemmel of Wichita, Kansas
Wichita, Kansas
Wichita is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas.As of the 2010 census, the city population was 382,368. Located in south-central Kansas on the Arkansas River, Wichita is the county seat of Sedgwick County and the principal city of the Wichita metropolitan area...
, and Edith Kelley and Ruth Bedingfield of Ware Shoals
Ware Shoals, South Carolina
Ware Shoals is a town in Abbeville, Greenwood, and Laurens counties in the U.S. state of South Carolina, along the Saluda River. The population was 2,363 at the 2000 census....
in northwestern South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
. Services were held on February 22, 2008 in the chapel of Blanchard-St. Denis Funeral Home
Funeral home
A funeral home, funeral parlor or mortuary, is a business that provides burial and funeral services for the deceased and their families. These services may include aprepared wake and funeral, and the provision of a chapel for the funeral....
in Natchitoches, with the Roman Catholic minister Louis E. Sklar, III, officiating. Among Gresham's pallbearers was State Representative
Louisiana State Legislature
The Louisiana State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is bicameral body, comprising the lower house, the Louisiana House of Representatives with 105 representatives, and the upper house, the Louisiana Senate with 39 senators...
Rick Nowlin
Rick Nowlin
Rickey L. "Rick" Nowlin is a Natchitoches engineer and businessman who is a Republican member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from District 23 ....
of Natchitoches. Burial was in Memory Lawn Cemetery on Louisiana Highway 6
Louisiana Highway 6
Louisiana Highway 6 is a state highway in Louisiana. It spans and serves Sabine Parish and Natchitoches Parish.-Route description:...
near Natchitoches.
Gresham received an honorary doctorate of humane letters from Northwestern State University
Northwestern State University
Northwestern State University, known as NSU, is a four-year public university primarily situated in Natchitoches, Louisiana, with a nursing campus in Shreveport and general campuses in Leesville/Fort Polk and Alexandria. It is a part of the University of Louisiana System.NSU was founded in 1884 as...
in Natchitoches. On February 9, 2006, he received the only Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Shooting Sports Foundation, which established, with the Professional Outdoor Media Association, an ongoing "Grits Gresham Shooting Sports Communicator" award. The recipient of the award receives a bronze
Bronze
Bronze is a metal alloy consisting primarily of copper, usually with tin as the main additive. It is hard and brittle, and it was particularly significant in antiquity, so much so that the Bronze Age was named after the metal...
replica of Gresham's trademark white straw hat. He was among the most known spokesmen for the National Shooting Sports Federation.
Gary Garth, the outdoor editor of The Courier-Journal
The Courier-Journal
The Courier-Journal, locally called "The C-J", is the main newspaper for the city of Louisville, Kentucky, USA. According to the 1999 Editor & Publisher International Yearbook, the paper is the 48th largest daily paper in the United States and the single largest in Kentucky.- Origins :The...
in Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
, relates that he became "addicted" to duck
Duck
Duck is the common name for a large number of species in the Anatidae family of birds, which also includes swans and geese. The ducks are divided among several subfamilies in the Anatidae family; they do not represent a monophyletic group but a form taxon, since swans and geese are not considered...
hunting as a child, based on the encouragement of Grits Gresham columns. "Through my work I've had the opportunity to meet, hunt, and fish with a few of the giants in my business. But I never met Grits. It's just as well. Some pedestal
Pedestal
Pedestal is a term generally applied to the support of a statue or a vase....
s should remain untouched," Garth said in his tribute to the legendary outdoorsman.
Joe Macaluso, outdoor editor of the Baton Rouge Morning Advocate recalled a fishing trip with Gresham on Toledo Bend Reservoir
Toledo Bend Reservoir
Toledo Bend Reservoir is a reservoir on the Sabine River between Texas and Louisiana. The lake has an area of 185,000 acres , the largest man-made body of water in Texas, the largest in the South, and the fifth largest in the United States. The dam is capable of generating 92 megawatts of...
at the Texas-Louisiana boundary. Macaluso described Gresham as "the most famous of all Louisiana outdoors writers and media members... He was like a loaf of good French bread, crusty-hard on the outside and tender on the inside. When I told him that, he laughed [and said] 'Don’t tell anyone else'...
The Gresham Collection is located at the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Foundation in Natchitoches.
List of Gresham's books
- The Complete Book of Bass Fishing
- Fishes and Fishing In Louisiana
- Fishing and Boating in Louisiana
- The Sportsman and his Family Outdoors
- The Complete Wildfowler
- Grits on Guns
- Grits Gresham on Duck Hunting (video)
- Grits Gresham on Goose Hunting (video)