Peg Reiter and the Legacy of Jerry Schad
December 20th, 2011
Podcast: Download (Duration: 34:21 — 27.5MB)
San Diego's famous Spruce Street suspension bridge in Bankers Hill.
The author of Afoot and Afield In San Diego and well over a dozen other trail and guidebooks related to the outdoors of Southern California, we were very fortunate to enjoy Jerry Schad‘s company as a guest on Treehuggers International on two occasions: in July 2008, and again in July 2009. He was definitely a friend of the show.
Flowering Sea Dahlia at Torrey Pines.
Sadly, we lost Jerry to cancer on September 22nd, 2011. Treehuggers International presented a memorial show in the weeks after Jerry’s death, and one of the key people in his life mentioned during the memorial program was his wife, Peg Reiter.
Jerry’s last book, 50 Best Short Hikes San Diego, has just been released by Wilderness Press, Jerry’s long-time publisher. Jerry worked on the book over the course of the spring and summer of 2011, even as the effects of his illness grew more severe. By his side the entire time, helping and assisting in every way possible, was Peg.
Peg Reiter came to play an instrumental role in the completion of 50 Best Short Hikes San Diego, and after consulting with Susan Haynes, the Senior Editor at Wilderness Press, Treehuggers International producer and host Tommy Hough felt the best way to feature the book, and Jerry’s lasting legacy, was to welcome Peg onto the program to talk about her involvement with the book, and the precious time she was able to spend with her husband doing so.
Over the summer, Peg told Steve Schmidt from the San Diego Union-Tribune, “Even though Jerry took me to many beautiful places geographically, the most wonderful place he took me was to his heart. I shared more with Jerry Schad in our short time together than I have with some who have known me my entire life.”
The teams at Treehuggers International and KBZT FM 94/9 express our deepest condolences to Peg and the members of Jerry’s family.
Special thanks to Susan Haynes, Amber Kay Henderson and Rachel Freytag at Wilderness Press, Menasha Ridge Press, and Keen Communication.
All photos on this page were taken by Jerry Schad, and appear in 50 Best Short Hikes San Diego.
The Treehuggers International Jerry Schad Memorial program is now also on-line, featuring excerpts from Jerry’s July 13, 2008 and July 19, 2009 appearances on the show.
A placid bend in the San Diego River in Mission Gorge.
More about this post at:
- Skyphoto, Jerry Schad’s homepage and astronomical photographs
- Wilderness Press Bio
- Wilderness Press, 50 Best Short Hikes San Diego page
- San Diego Reader Staff Page
- Roam-A-Rama
- KPBS Videos Page
- Jerry Schad’s Final Book Published (San Diego Union-Tribune; 1/3/12)
- Jerry Schad’s Last Hiking Book for San Diego (KPBS; 11/2/11)
- Life On the Crest, Part 2 (San Diego Reader; 10/5/11)
- Life On the Crest, Part 1 (San Diego Reader; 9/28/11)
- RIP Jerry Schad (Modern Hiker; 9/23/11)
- Gerald Schad Obituary (San Diego Union-Tribune; 9/22/11)
- Hiking Writer Jerry Schad Dies (San Diego Union-Tribune; 9/22/11)
- Hiking Writer Dies At 61 (KPBS-FM; 9/22/11)
- Jerry Schad Dies At 61 (La Mesa Patch; 9/22/11)
- Local Author Jerry Schad Dies of Cancer At 61 (Ocean Beach Rag; 9/22/11)
- Author of Popular San Diego Hiking Trail Books Dies At 61 (KFMB-TV; 9/22/11)
- Local Hiking Writer Jerry Schad Passes Away (KGTV-TV; 9/22/11)
- San Diego Hiking Guru Jerry Schad Dies At 61 (KSWB-TV; 9/22/11)
- Journey’s End for Hiking Writer Jerry Schad (San Diego Union-Tribune; 8/10/11)
- Jerry Schad’s Afoot and Afield Legacy (Treehuggers International; 8/2/11)
- The Life of Jerry Schad (San Diego Union-Tribune; 8/1/11)
- End of the Trail (San Diego Reader; 7/6/11)
- A Bad Day In Hiking (San Diego Hiker; 7/6/11)
- Jerry Schad: Wish Him Well (100 Peaks; 6/6/11)
- Friends of Lake Murray (Mission Valley Courier; 6/3/11)
- Find Coast Redwoods In Balboa Park (San Diego Reader; 4/13/11)
- Los Angeles County Trails With Jerry Schad (Treehuggers International; 7/19/09)
- Afoot and Afield With Jerry Schad (Treehuggers International; 7/13/08)
- Afoot and Afield Author Talks About Hiking Areas After Wildfires (San Diego.com; 1/28/08)
Dawn on Cowles Mountain, with a marine layer below.
