Biggest news in Traveler this month is made by Traveler itself. It has sold, after 34 years, and beginning with the October issue will be under new ownership. Details of the sale announcement are included below.
In features, gigging's history and traditions are featured. So is a tale of some slow fishing on the St. Francis River on a hot day. The coming of autumn was announced, however, by the fall of leaves. There's a story about the days when people in the Ozarks had no sugar and no money to buy any. So they made and used sorghum.There are two bowhunting stories, speculating on what we miss when we leave a deer stand to take a break, and how persistence in the hunt and after leads to a nice buck at hand.Duck season has been set, roughly the same as last year. However, goose seasons are simplified. It is time to get your bid in for a reservation at a state duck hunting area. There is also a drawing this year for special quail hunts on a couple areas.Writer Howard Helgenberg finds catfishing a good way to spend time while this falls deer hunt is being planned. And there's memoirs of a root and fur buyer.

A new youth conservation education center is being constructed near Winona. It will be for the kids who will probably be in charge of the Ozarks landscape in the future.

Non-resident? You'll pay higher fees to hunt and fish in Missouri next year. Other news includes seasons, coming events, recipes and the sunrise/moonrise calendar.

Fishing started slow for Sam Dickerson, but a breeze came up and the bass turned on. In just a few minutes, he'd caught seven keeper size bass, including this four pounder - not bad for a stream bass.

There's also a story on fishing the Eleven Point River with Conservation Department Director John Hoskins. Mostly it was trout fishing, but the best fish of the day was a smallmouth bass

Sale of Traveler takes place

By Bob Todd
Those who know me and have been around me for any length of time have heard me say I’d like to sell Traveler and work for it.
I’d like to get away from the business side of Traveler and let someone who is better at it take over that side of the publication.
Well, it has happened.
In early August, Pat and I reached agreement with Emery and Virginia Styron to sell Traveler, with me remaining as editor. That’s just about as good a thing as I can imagine.
I have to assume it is good news to you too. If you read Traveler, you enjoy our selection of coverage and perhaps some of my writing. That’s not going to change, But ‘ol Bob will no longer have to handle business details and Pat will no longer have to try to find new advertisers.
I’m 68 and it is time I retired. A lot of people said I retired 34 years ago when we started Traveler. I’ve not discouraged that view of what I do. Indeed I have done many things others hope to do only after they retire.
But there was the unseen work, too. Enjoyable in a different way, as most of us enjoy a job. But one tires of it as the years pass. It was time to retire from that side of Traveler.
The transition begins in September. This is the last issue for which Pat and I are fully responsible.
Emery currently lives in Mount Pleasant, Iowa where he is/was publisher of the local daily newspaper. He is a graduate of the University of Missouri School of Journalism with a career beginning in 1974. He has reported for, edited and managed community newspapers in Louisiana, Neosho, Granby and Harrisonville, Missouri before moving to Iowa 11 years ago.
Virginia is a school guidance counselor. They have two grown children, Amanda in Washington D.C. and Jackson, in St. Louis.
“After 11 years in Iowa, I am excited at the opportunity to shift out of daily journalism and get involved with a magazine about enjoying the outdoors in the most beautiful part of my home state,” writes Emery.
Emery grew up in Granby. His goal is to expand Traveler, but initially the only difference readers should see is another name in the masthead. As Traveler expands on the business side, he hopes to create room editorially for more human interest coverage as well as more about geology and interesting places to visit.
More Ozarks humor and folklore, more scenic photos and more use of color. More tips and tricks from readers about hunting, fishing, camping, hiking.
There will also be coverage of activities that are emerging among a younger group of outdoors users. Biking, trekking, geocaching, for example.
Traveler will remain a voice for defense of the Ozarks environment.

Two dozen years ago, September, 1982

It was announced there would be a pheasant season in four bootheel counties. The Korean subspecies of the ring-necked pheasant had been stocked experimentally and while numbers did not explode, the pheasants hung on. They’re still hunted on a limited level today.
Writer Charlie Slovensky confessed he was so green when he began bowhunting for deer that he asked a friend to mail him some deer droppings to see what they looked like. But the length of the bow season enabled him to learn about deer and the sport, and he bagged his first deer.
Emma Dunn had a story about how most of our major highways were once Indian trails - I-44 the Osage Trail, U.S. 60, the Virginia Warriors Path and so forth.
There was a story on Greer Spring. Back then you had to walk down a steep trail for about half mile to get to the spring. It was totally undeveloped, but had artifacts from a time in the past when a cable system drew power from the spring to run a mill on top of the ridge.
Rain broke a dry spell in fishing for editor Bob Todd when he and Roy Halbert made a rainy fishing trip to St. Francis River west of Fredericktown. By late in the day, they were soaked and the river was rising fast. But they had two good messes of largemouth bass in the canoe.
Five Natural Areas were added to the Missouri system, including the Devil’s Post Pile on the top of Hughes Mountain.
Biologists thought quail populations were bouncing back from some severe winters and expanded quail season back to Nov. 1-Jan. 15 with a bag limit of eight.
About 20 Christmas tree brush piles had been added to Lake Wappapello the previous winter and the report card on them for 1982 was good.
The Ozark Trail had 125 miles completed, most in the Mark Twain National Forest. Goal was and is a through trail from St. Louis to Arkansas.
A fellow caught a piranha in Big River. The non-native fish was probably released by someone with an aquarium. The fishermen sold the fish back to a pet store for a reported $50.
There was a story about night fishing for crappie on Clearwater Lake.
Duck season was set for Oct. 30-Dec. 13. Goose season ended Jan. 7.

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