One More Trip Into Our 1984 Time Capsule

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MEMORY LANE, FOR US, is more like a Texas highway with sections that are forever under construction. There are miles of uneven lanes and rough going. It climbs steep grades, before dropping into hair raising descents. Then there are long stretches of level, easy travel… okay, before this Frankenstein’s Metephor escapes the lab, we better get to the point: one last reflection on the 40th anniversary of Texas Fish & Game. 

When our first issue came out in May 1984, Ronald Reagan was still in his first term. Economists were celebrating inflation dropping below 5%, after years of rates in double digits (de ja vu, anyone?).

Personal computers were still a relative novelty, and were super expensive. Mobile phones were just in the experimental stage and no one could possibly envision how the two devices would one day merge to become the center of life for most of Earth’s residents.

GPS technology was locked behind military barricades. High tech boat electronics consisted of sonar/flasher fish finders and tiller operated trolling motors. Hundred-horsepower outboards were a big deal, and ATVs were basically motorized tricycles.

Go back forty years from 1984, and it’s the height of World War II. In the four decades that followed, not much changed besides Television, Rock & Roll, and NASA.

But from ‘84 forward forty years, we’ve witnessed incredible advancements in almost every category of daily living. Granted, there are still no flying cars or technologies like artificial gravity that those of us who grew up around Space City were led to expect, but plenty of other cool stuff has been invented… and a lot of primitive tech has evolved by the force of engineering into new forms of use and function. Much of this innovation has been to the benefit of the outdoors sports. 

GPS mustered out of the military, and was rapidly built into countless civilian devices—everything from cars (non-flying, of course) to wrist watches… and fish finders, which have  become high-definition chart plotters that might put the electronics on a 1984 aircraft carrier to shame. Likewise, today’s trolling motors are GPS piloted guidance systems capable of putting you on an exact square-yard of water, and keeping you on it.

In the field, you can now drive an ATV that would be hard to distinguish from a SWAT armored vehicle.  And while we’re still waiting for flying cars, flying drones are here, and can capture aerial video and photos on game scouting runs and even drop a bait in the surf. 

Meanwhile, here in the TF&G camp, the past forty years have been quite a ride for us. There have been ups and downs, for sure. Most of the Downs have come from outside sources and forces that we couldn’t control. A few have been self-inflicted.

Most of the Ups we’ve experienced have been thanks to the people who’ve shared the experience with us. We’ve tried to spotlight some of those relationships in previous columns—people associated with Fish & Game’s founding and history. But there have been many others, past and especially present, who’ve contributed to Fish & Game’s survival and longevity.

First among those who have kept TF&G alive and kicking is Chester Moore, our Editor-in-Chief. Chester has been a critical part of our team for three-quarters of our history. He joined our ranks in the mid-1990s as a contributor, quickly moving up to Saltwater Editor, then Executive Editor.

When Don Zaidle passed away suddenly in 2013, we were fortunate that Chester was here, making the choice of Don’s successor a no-brainer. Chester grabbed the reins and immediately established his own brand of authority over the tone and breadth of our content. Since we were just beginning to expand into our various digital incarnations, his presence was all the more critical. Without Chester at the helm, our E-newsletter and digital editions would not have been possible.

Chester is a gifted writer, a creative machine, and a dynamic speaker. His work plate is brimming with a wide range of ventures, from editorial duties here, to a weekly radio show and multiple podcasts. He and his wife Lisa have also devoted their personal lives to spiritual  missions they’ve founded—Higher Calling Wildlife, the Wild Wishes Program and Kingdom Zoo Wildlife Center—all to serve the needs of children suffering illness and other disadvantages. 

We have also been fortunate to have attracted some of the most talented writers in the business. Joe Doggett and Matt Williams have been with us from the beginning. Reavis Wortham joined us in the 1990s. Doug Pike, Lenny Rudow, and Lou Marullo have been on our masthead for more than twenty years. Dustin Ellermann and Larry Weishuhn are more recent additions, and have both helped boost our pro-quotient. Kelly Groce and Paul Fuzinski are our newest recruits and we’re already seeing great potential in their work.

We couldn’t leave this rumination on our past, present and future without mentioning  our support staff. Larry Dalton has served as our office manager for 10 years, and in that time has helped us ride out the roughest  challenges in the history of publishing. In the process, he has taken on responsibilities that entire departments (plural!) once handled. We’ve also had the accounting support of Rod Bouffard for more than 10 years, and the creative services of Melinda Buss for almost that long.

If we’ve learned anything in 40 years, it’s  that we are engaged in a team sport, and have been blessed with a roster of exceptional team members.

E-mail Roy at rneves@fishgame.com and Ardia at aneves@fishgame.com

 

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