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Ben East
Ben East (1935-1980) was a prominent Michigan outdoorsman and outdoor writer, author, photographer, lecturer and conservationist. He spent twenty-two years writing and editing for ...view moreBen East (1935-1980) was a prominent Michigan outdoorsman and outdoor writer, author, photographer, lecturer and conservationist. He spent twenty-two years writing and editing for Outdoor Life, a nationally distributed outdoors magazine. Additionally he wrote for a number of Michigan-based newspapers and publications.
East grew up hunting and fishing on his family’s farm outside of Holly, Michigan, but didn’t begin his career as an outdoor writer until his mid-20s, when he began selling short stories to magazines and local newspapers such as the Detroit News. The quality of his freelance work led to a permanent, full-time position establishing and editing the outdoor page of the Grand Rapids Press in 1926. He spent the next twenty years working for the newspaper and became a well-known and well-respected writer and lecturer.
He joined the editorial staff of Outdoor Life in 1946 as a writer, field editor, and senior field editor. He wrote and ghostwrote hundreds of stories for the publication, working closely with hunters and sportsmen across the country to capture their stories and publish them under their own names.
East was also an early and important conservationist. He was involved in a number of conservation organizations and won the Michigan United Conservation Clubs Conservation Award in 1971 as well the Michigan Environmental Award and formal recognition by the Michigan state legislature, both in 1973.
Ben East passed away in 1980.view less