Sumter outdoors columnist Dan Geddings: Things change

I remember seeing an article in The Sumter Item about the entire staff of a small newspaper in Clarendon County all quitting at the same time. The publisher of the paper vowed to continue. It was quite a shock that everyone left, but I was elated! I thought it might be my chance.

Outdoor writing was something that I thought I could do. I knew there had been an outdoor writer at that small paper, and maybe I could get his spot. I sent an article to the new editor and crossed my fingers. He called me the next day and asked me to come by.

I stopped by the next day on my way to a turkey hunt in the Lowcountry. It was probably appropriate that I was dressed in camouflage for that interview. He liked my article and offered me a job on the spot writing an outdoor column. That paper did continue, and it gave me my start as a writer. I knew that sooner or later some reader would tell me how stupid I was, but it never happened.

I wrote hunting and fishing stories for that small paper for several years but longed for a bigger venue. I noticed that the paper in Orangeburg had an outdoor writer, but his column was only published occasionally. So, I sent an article to that editor. He sent me an email offering me a spot in his paper every other week. I was delighted! I had joined a hunting club in the Lowcountry on the Edisto River, and my articles focused on that area.

The other outdoor writer stepped up his efforts and started sending in articles every other week, and sometimes he would send an article when it was "my turn." I think it was just a bad case of jealousy.

Now I was doing articles for the Clarendon paper and the Orangeburg paper. But again, I really wanted something bigger. Sumter already had an outdoor writer, so I made inquiries at The State paper and a few others but had no luck. Then one day I saw that the outdoor writer for the Sumter paper was retiring. I sent an article and got an invitation from the editor to write an outdoor column.

I stopped with the Clarendon paper and cut back with the Orangeburg paper. Sumter felt like home, and I poured my heart and soul into the work. I visited the office, met the editor and the staff and turned my attention back to our local landscapes.

I'm not a reporter and never filled my articles with facts and figures. I've tried to tell a story that people would like, and not just hunters and fishermen, but everybody. My stories tell how I do things and what my experiences are like. Many of you have had similar experiences, so you can relate. Many of you have never set a foot in the wilds, yet the outdoors are there for all. It gives us the air that we breathe and the resources that sustain our world.

Writing has given me so much pleasure over the years. I cannot account for all the good things people have said to me, and I am humbled that I could have made an impact on so many people. I thank you all. The one constant in our lives is that things change. This is my final story here. I've written more than 700 articles for three different newspapers. My goal now is to pull some of those articles together in a book.

The turkey season is coming up shortly, but I'll keep those stories to myself. I've joined a new hunt club in the upper part of the state. It is something that I've always wanted to do. Maybe I'll find a paper in that part of the state that can make room for an old outdoor writer. Adieu!

Reach Dan Geddings at cdgeddings@gmail.com.