Countywide : County to Honor Retired Reporter

The Orange County Board of Supervisors will honor Gordon Grant, a retired reporter for the Times Orange County Edition, by dedicating a picnic area to him at Dana Point Harbor later this summer.

A bronze plaque describing Grant’s work will mark the trellised picnic area, said Ken Bruner, assistant to Supervisor Thomas F. Riley.

“His writing has been of considerable value and a lot of folks hold him in high regard,” Bruner said. “When someone makes a contribution like that, we like to pat them on the back.”

Grant, 76, covered wildlife and maritime issues in Orange County for the Times. He was born in Beloit, Wis., and grew up in Louisville, Ky. He began his newspaper career in 1935 at The Chicago Times (now the Sun-Times) and in 1944-45 was sent to Europe as a war correspondent for the Tampa (Fla.) Tribune.

He worked for the Times for 2 1/2 years, beginning in 1955, after which he returned to Florida, where he lived on a boat until returning to the Times in 1962. He worked in Orange County from the time the plant opened in 1968 until he retired in June, 1989.

“This is quite an honor really,” Grant said of the dedication. He lives in Dana Point with his wife, Gloria.

Part of his coverage of wildlife included reports on the destruction of wildlife habitat because of development and pollution.

“I covered development reluctantly. I hated to see the bulldozers go to work, and it’s obviously, from my point of view, getting out of hand, especially here in the South County, which used to be very lovely,” Grant said. “There are places now that you can’t even recognize.”

These days, with failing eyesight, Grant spends much of his time at the Braille Institute learning to type with all his fingers, instead of the three he typed with during his long newspaper career.

He plans to buy a computer and do some writing.

The dedication will take place sometime in August, he said.