The pieces in this collection are taken from a special body of Gregory Clark's work identified as The Packsack, a feature that appeared daily in many Canadian newspapers for fourteen years. The Packsack had a legion of dedicated readers and was terminated only when a period of illness forced the author to give it up.
Greg described the Packsacks as obiter dicta, things noted in passing. But however transient an existence he may have assigned to the pieces when he wrote them, a large audience is now discovering them to be in all respects as fresh in the 1970's as they were when they rolled off the presses for their first million readers.
The first collection of Packsacks, Outdoors With Gregory Clark, was published in 1971.
Greg's journalism career spans three generations and started in 1911 when he began writing for The Toronto Star -- and after he returned from World War I with the rank of major and the Military Cross -- he rejoined the paper. He has been an associate editor on the staff of Weekend Magazine since 1951 and on the eve of his 82nd birthday Greg's frequent articles continue to appear there.
It is small wonder that among his many accolades Greg Clark earned the first honorary life membership in the Canadian Newspaper Hall of Fame, the Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour and an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from the University of Western Ontario.