Gordon MacQuarrie (July 3, 1900 – November 10, 1956) was an American writer and journalist. Born in

Superior, Wisconsin Superior (; ) is a city in Douglas County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. The population was 26,751 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located at the western end of Lake Superior in northwestern Wisconsin, the city l ...

, he is best known for his short stories involving hunting and fishing, and for his semi-fictional organization known as ''The Old Duck Hunters' Association, Inc.''(ODHA, Inc.) He died unexpectedly in

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

of a heart attack. The Old Duck Hunters stories were originally published in various outdoor related periodicals of the early 20th Century. They were posthumously gathered into book form in three anthologies entitled: ''Stories of the Old Duck Hunters & Other Drivel'', ''More Stories of the Old Duck Hunters'', and ''Last Stories of the Old Duck Hunters''. The first of these was originally published in 1967 by Stackpole Publishing, New York. Currently, all three volumes are available from Willow Creek Press,

Minocqua, Wisconsin Minocqua () is a town in northwestern Oneida County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 4,414 as of 2018. The census-designated place of Minocqua and the unincorporated community of Rantz are both located in the town. Minocqua is comm ...

, both in printed and audio (abridged) form. Three subsequent volumes have also been released by Willow Creek Press. Following his August, 1924 graduation from the

University of Wisconsin–Madison The University of Wisconsin–Madison (University of Wisconsin, Wisconsin, UW, UW–Madison, or simply Madison) is a public land-grant research university in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. It was founded in 1848 when Wisconsin achieved st ...

, with a bachelor's degree in Journalism, MacQuarrie joined the Superior Evening Telegram as a cub reporter. In 1925 he became City Editor of the Telegram and was promoted to Managing Editor in 1927. He held that position until April, 1936 when he accepted a position with the

Milwaukee Journal The ''Milwaukee Journal Sentinel'' is a daily morning broadsheet printed in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where it is the primary newspaper and also the largest newspaper in the state of Wisconsin, where it is widely read. It was purchased by the G ...

and moved to Milwaukee with wife, Helen Marjorie (Peck) MacQuarrie (1901-1952), and their only child, daughter Sally (1929-1994.) In September, 1954, MacQuarrie married fellow Journal reporter Ellen Gibson. MacQuarrie invented the Old Duck Hunters Association as a literary vehicle and used his real-life father-in-law, Allan Peck, as the model for the President of the association. The stories were often upbeat and humorous with MacQuarrie frequently serving as the butt of the joke. MacQuarrie is credited with becoming the first full-time, professional outdoor writer in America when he became the outdoor editor of the

on April 19, 1936. Also in 1936, MacQuarrie developed a relationship with influential conservationist,

Aldo Leopold Aldo Leopold (January 11, 1887 – April 21, 1948) was an American writer, Philosophy, philosopher, Natural history, naturalist, scientist, Ecology, ecologist, forester, Conservation biology, conservationist, and environmentalist. He was a profes ...

. Their friendship lasted until Leopold's death in 1948; however, MacQuarrie remained a staunch supporter of Leopold's

Land Ethic A land ethic is a philosophy or theoretical framework about how, ethically, humans should regard the land. The term was coined by Aldo Leopold (1887–1948) in his '' A Sand County Almanac'' (1949), a classic text of the environmental movement. ...

, and wrote frequently about Leopold's work until his own death in 1956. In June, 2003 a biography of MacQuarrie was released by the Wisconsin State Historical Society, entitled ''Gordon MacQuarrie: The Story of an Old Duck Hunter'', , written by Keith Crowley. Th
Gordon MacQuarrie Memorial Wetlands
are named for Gordon MacQuarrie
46.561162,-92.27640
.

Gordon MacQuarrie Award

After his death, the

established the Gordon MacQuarrie award to recognise Wisconsin outdoor writers who "best communicated an understanding of nature, professed an environmental ethic, and displayed journalistic integrity in keeping with the example set by Macquarrie himself.

Published books

*''Stories of the Old Duck Hunters & Other Drivel'', *''More Stories of the Old Duck Hunters'', *''Last Stories of the Old Duck Hunters'', *''MacQuarrie Miscellany'', *''Fly Fishing with MacQuarrie'' *''The Gordon MacQuarrie Sporting Treasury'',

References

External links

Gordon MacQuarrie Web Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Macquarrie, Gordon 1900 births 1956 deaths Writers from Wisconsin People from Superior, Wisconsin University of Wisconsin–Madison School of Journalism & Mass Communication alumni