Book details life of late outdoorsman Latham

Roger Latham was destined to be an outdoorsman. He turned himself into a legend.

Not that he ever would have admitted as much.

Latham, for those who never knew him — and he's been gone 31 years, so an entire generation doesn't — was as humble as he was great, according to his friends.

He grew up in Western Pennsylvania in the 1920s and 30s "on the edge of poverty." With his dad Ernest "Red" Latham, he hunted and fished for food as well as fun.

He loved to trap, too. When getting up early each morning before school to check his trap line began to irritate his brother, though — they shared a bed — he started sleeping with a string tied to his toe. He hung it out his window, and when friend and future brother-in-law Dom Carbon would come by, he'd give it a yank to wake Roger without disturbing Vince.

That passion would serve him well later.

Latham became one of the Pennsylvania Game Commission's first game protectors, then served as the agency's deer biologist. It was in that latter role in the 1950s that he began championing the idea of using doe harvests to reduce the size of the deer herd until it was in balance with its habitat.

That didn't make him popular then — he was in fact fired for being a half century ahead of his time — but it opened another door.

Latham became outdoor editor of the Pittsburgh Press for more than two decades. He proved as talented with a pen as he was in the woods, earning national accolades for sharing tales of his adventures locally and around the world while arguing against topics such as the stocking of farm-raised turkeys.

His life was, in short, a series of adventures, great and small.

Now, for the first time, his story has been captured in the pages of a book.

Ann Jenkins, a former Pittsburgher and friend of Latham's now living in Delaware, Ohio, wrote a book about him titled "A Tribute to Roger Latham." It's been a goal of hers since Latham died in an accident while photographing wildlife in Switzerland in 1979.

"When I think of Roger, I think of his sense of humor, I think of a gentle man, I think of his selflessness — his caring about people and wanting to help them, as everyone was important to him. I think of his vast knowledge and love of the natural world and God's creation, and how grateful I am that I knew him, learned much from him and was inspired by him," she said by way of explanation.

The book is full of anecdotes about Latham told by friends and relatives. Many focus on his work to introduce the outdoors to people locally. There are some of his columns, too, as well as samples of the tips and recipes he used to offer, and plenty of photos.

One thing that stands out are Latham's columns about deer. The similarities between the "deer wars" then and now are striking.

"It's struck me again and again since I started being professionally involved in the deer issue back in 2001 how little progress has been made since 1950, when my dad wrote that special edition of Game News," agreed his son, Roger Latham, a conservation biologist himself.

"But in spite of the glacial rate of progress, I keep interpreting various things I hear from my Game Commission biologist friends as grounds for at least a little optimism. Certainly DMAP, more antlerless permits, and allowing additional tools in special management areas such as baiting are steps in the right direction."

His father would certainly agree, but he can tell you that — and more — himself, through Jenkins' book.

Buy the book

Copies of "A Tribute to Roger Latham" are $20, plus $4.95 for shipping, and can be ordered at Lathamtribute.com . You can also send a check to Ann Jenkins-Latham Tribute, 6870 South Section Line Road, Delaware, Ohio 43015. Net proceeds benefit the Roger M. Latham Memorial Fund at Penn State University.

Article by Bob Frye,
Everybody Adventures, http://www.everybodyadventures.com

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