Salute To A Communications Pioneer

Salute To A Communication Pioneer
Jerry Blinzley Influenced Most Area Outdoor Communicators

By Dave Freeman/OVO - Publisher

"Who do you think you are -- another Jerry Blinzley," the
question was jokingly asked at the county fair.
And my reply was, "I hope so."
I guess I first met Jerry in the mid- to late 70s when he and I were
both employed at Channel 33 TV in Youngstown Ohio. As one of the only
other employees that had ever been in the woods, Jerry and I tended to
hang together in meetings and at station functions.
I learned that Jerry had come to the Youngstown Ohio area from Lorain
Ohio, after getting out of the navy where he raised two daughters and
one son, who all still reside in the area.
Jerry told me that he had been employed by Packard Electric in Warren.
His writing career began in the early 1960s, when he wrote an outdoor
column for the Youngstown Vindicator and Warren Tribune. Then, with the
help of family and friends, he started publishing the now famous Outdoor
Journal Magazine.
Bob Stocker from Stockers in Warren, Ohio once told me that in the
beginning he, Jerry, and several other friends printed the Outdoor
Journal on a mimeograph machine and then stapled the pages together.
The magazine quickly grew and before long was being printed by a
company from Harrison County called Freeport Press, the same company
that now prints the Ohio Valley Outdoors Magazine.
The monthly publication grew in its heyday to more than 100 pages and
featured hunting and fishing maps from eastern Ohio and western
Pennsylvania.
It was about that time that Jerry expanded his outdoor communications
career and began a weekly television show also called the Outdoor
Journal, first on Channel 33 and then Channel 21. Both stations are in
Youngstown, Ohio. The program lasted more than 24 years and ended in
1992.
        During that period Jerry was also involved in lobbying for
several local hunting and fishing issues, including the Pymatuning
Causeway.
My association with the man, (the current chief of the division of
wildlife, Steve Gray, recently called Jerry "one of the pioneers in
outdoor communications in the state of Ohio") continued and included
Jerry publishing my first story in a magazine.
The story was about a Colorado black bear hunt that taught me several
lessons about length of stories, and keeping in mind who will read your
stories besides hunters and fishermen.
One of my favorite stories in regards to Jerry was that of a Smith and
Wesson model 59 9mm.
        Anyone who knew Jerry knew that he was always up for a good
trade deal.
I can't remember who owned the gun first, me or Jerry, but over a
period of several years, I owned the pistol and traded it to Jerry (only
to work another deal somewhere down the road getting it back to me. Once
again it went from Jerry and back to me.
All in all, I know I owned the gun at least three times and Jerry at
least two.
Did Jerry Blinsley and the Outdoor Journal have an effect on the
writing and publishing aspirations of Dave Freeman?    No doubt. But
there are few current or past outdoor communicators (if any in the area)
that won't admit to being influenced by either Jerry or his magazine.
In 1994 on Valentine's Day Jerry passed away and for those who knew
him we are sure that he is now reporting on conditions of the woodlands
and waterways in heaven.
I for one am proud of my association with Jerry and sorry that
he is not still around to read Ohio Valley Outdoors and to give me his
guidance and comments --and perhaps even write an ocassional story about
the Ohio and Pennsylvania outdoors.
Thanks Jerry! We miss you.