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S P O R T I N G C L A S S I C S 8 4 Williams wrote for academic and sporting journals. Similarly, his books covered turkey hunting and management. clear he would lose the ability to communicate, Lovett put his nose to the grindstone and churned out literally dozens of features and columns. Famed Western artist Charles Russell once stated that in his paintings of the rapidly vanishing Old West, he wanted to "get it all down before it's all gone." Williams took a quite similar approach, although in his case he wanted to "get it all down" before losing the mental capacity to do so. His gritty determination to share as much of his knowledge as possible provides some measure of a truly remarkable man. Despite Lovett's debilitating health problems, his loyal readers continued to enjoy his material right up to his death, and there is no question whatsoever that his many books, perhaps his single greatest gift to posterity, will continue to be read by generations to come. W hile pondering Lovett's passing and the legacy of his literary career, it occurred to me that along with mention of his books, it would be fitting to touch on his Renaissance- like qualities. With that in mind, what follows is a series of brief snapshots of him taken from the times we shared hunting camps, correspondence, e-mails, telephone conversations, and various other occasions through the years. To venture afield with Williams was to enjoy an ongoing, in-depth natural history education. You could ask him about a dainty flower or a giant tree and be assured of an informed response. For example, on a live oak he might point out resurrection fern, offer a learned dissertation on Spanish moss (including some of the uses humans had historically made of it), or talk about the a straightforward answer backed by intimate first-hand knowledge or else he simply said "I don't know." In other words, Lovett was not a man given to equivocation or beating around the bush. He was forthright, almost brutally honest, and willing if necessary to step on toes, whether they belonged to academic types, field biologists, know-it-all hunters, or pantywaist poltroons. He stated what he thought and took no prisoners when doing so. Everything he said or wrote came from an immense reservoir of knowledge, and I think it fair to say that no other wildlife biologist from any era— and that includes two who have subspecies of wild turkeys named after them—C. Hart Merriam and John Gould—has ever known or contributed more to the world of the grand bird. He was a regular contributor to both professional publications for wildlife biologists and popular magazines such as Turkey & Turkey Hunting and the National Wild Turkey Federation's Turkey Call (now Turkey Country). Whatever the forum, his writings were consistently insightful, interesting, and informative. Typical of the man and his stellar work ethic, when it became