Posts by David Torre
Missouri’s Audubon – Summary, Filmography & Acknowledgments
Charles W. Schwartz was born in St. Louis in June of 1914. His father was an amateur naturalist and “Carl”, as young Charles was then called, became interested in studying animals and all other kinds of wildlife at a very young age. He spent much of his free time at Forest Park Zoo, in St.…
Read MoreMissouri’s Audubon – Part Five
Throughout their prodigious 40+ year careers (and especially during the 1960s and 1970s) Charles and Libby Schwartz were kept very busy with a wide variety of projects. While much of their time was spent producing wildlife and conservation movies, they were also responsible for creating artwork and text for The Missouri Conservationist as well as…
Read MoreMissouri’s Audubon – Part Five, including Bonus Section
Throughout their prodigious 40+ year careers (and especially during the 1960s and 1970s) Charles and Libby Schwartz were kept very busy with a wide variety of projects. While much of their time was spent producing wildlife and conservation movies, they were also responsible for creating artwork and text for The Missouri Conservationist as well as…
Read MoreA Set of Stamps for the Ages – Extended Cut
A Set of Stamps for the Ages When Charles W. Schwartz was asked to design Missouri’s first trout stamps, it would prove to be a momentous and far-reaching (philatelically speaking) decision, affecting not just Missouri sportsmen. Friends and fans of Charles and his art, conservation-minded lovers of wildlife art around the country and, especially, a…
Read MoreMissouri’s Audubon – Part Four
In today’s post we shall focus our attention on Charles and Libby Schwartz’s lives and work in Missouri, during the 1960s and 1970s. I will provide a glimpse into their home settings and a rather unique lifestyle which, as was the case with Aldo Leopold and his iconic shack, influenced Charles’ artistic expression and was…
Read MoreMissouri’s Audubon – Part Three
In today’s post we shall focus on the decade of the 1950s, wherein Charles and Libby Schwartz would come into their own as a highly productive, influential and respected team within the closely interrelated fields of wildlife conservation and ecology. This period would be highlighted by their special ability as a couple to connect in…
Read MoreHappy New Year and the Introduction to Killer Twelve
First, we would like to wish everyone a Happy New Year and health, happiness and success in 2021. For most of us, this past year was unlike any other in our lifetime; with the emergence of COVID-19, the unprecedented wildfire season in the west and a rancorous political scene – it was challenging, to say…
Read MoreSaving the Nene Goose – Extended Cut
Saving the Nene Goose In this section, I will tell a story about a subject that is very near to my heart. Having lived in Hawaii, myself, three different times when I was young (before I met Kay and we decided to make California our permanent home), I had the great fortune of having several…
Read MoreAldo Leopold – Extended Cut
Aldo Leopold Prior to this formal introduction, some accounts suggest that Charles and Libby might have already met Aldo Leopold once or twice in passing. Either while Leopold was in Missouri doing field work, advising Syd Stephens and the Commission or visiting his son, Starker, who lived in a house on the same piece of…
Read MoreMissouri’s Audubon – Part Two
When we last left off, Irwin Bode had recently been appointed Director of the newly-created Missouri Conservation Commission. Bode was charged by Syd Stephens with hiring the best people he could find in order to make Syd’s dream – to manage the state’s natural and wildlife resources based on the teachings of Aldo Leopold and…
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