My Friend Joe

or however that dang word is written! : ) Use this forum to discuss those things that are related to, directly, or indirectly, fly fishing, i.e., tackle, catalogs, single malt scotch, cigar preferences, pipes, camera gear, etc. This is sort of an off topic area but one related to bamboo and fly fishing.

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ttroutt
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Location: Woodstock, VT

My Friend Joe

#1

Post by ttroutt »

A few weeks ago, I lost my good friend and fishing buddy, Joe, also known by his friends as Joe M, Joe Mig, Joe Migliore. With the exception of a handful of members here who might have had business dealings with him years ago, I know that most of the members did not know Joe, but rightly so, most of you appreciated what he had contributed to our passionate pastime.

I first met Joe in the early 90’s, just after I had started my own business venture and Joe had started his a couple of years before. I had worked in the color separation and film preparation sector of offset printing and Joe had worked in the corporate publishing business, (as he referred to it) for all of our adult lives, 25 and 35 years respectively. I was living with my wife, Barbara and two children in Woodstock, VT and Joe and his wife, Helen were living in Bennington, VT. Thanks to a mutual business associate, I was off to Bennington to meet with the owner and publisher of American Angler and Fly Tyer Magazines, Joe Migliore. Joe was a big guy, six feet plus, dark haired with a full beard and smoked cigars, and as it turned out, we both shared many of the same ideals and passions, especially for our vocations, expert craftsmanship, fly fishing and most of all, fishing bamboo and dry flies.

He told me that he had been working in the publishing business, pardon me, the corporate publishing business for over 35 years and wanted a change so he decided to start his own company. He sought out a magazine that fit his lifestyle and came across a small publisher in New Hampshire, Dick Stewart. At that time Dick owned and published American Angler, but the circulation was very low and limited. He approached Dick at the right time and was able to purchase the magazine along with the trade name ownership to Fly Tyer and Salt Water Fly Fishing. The economy was on the upswing as was the fly fishing industry and Joe saw the opportunity to turn the magazine into something special and Abenaki Publishers was established. He went to work and secured advertisers, subscribers and outlets. He had a number of connections to those in fly fishing, either through his past connections or established them along the stream while he was fishing. He had an excellent support staff with whom I worked with over the next 12 years. His editors and copywriters were all at the top of their expertise, under the watchful eye of Joe, of course. The comments on the forum regarding the earlier days of American Angler reflected upon how well Joe’s efforts had paid off. When he purchased Angler it had a circulation of around 1500 copies a year. By the time Joe decided to sell it 12 years after he established the magazines, it was up around 60,000 issues a year and Fly Tyer and Saltwater Fly Fishing were doing extremely well also.

Over the next 10 years or so, under Joe’s guidance and watchful eye, American Angler, Fly Tyer and Salt Water Fly Fishing gained notoriety and during that time we fished all over the Rockies. If it wasn’t for Joe, I never would have experienced the magnificent southwest and the Rockies, the Park and all of the great trout waters that we encountered and fished. We had a routine, we always ended our day on the water with a good meal, glass of wine and a good cigar.

Sometime around 2000, Joe’s wife became ill, so he made the decision to sell and spend the rest of their time together. Joe had an arrangement with Rodale Press, who invested in Abenaki from the startup. Hence, at the bottom of the masthead was stated “A Wholly Owned Subsidiary of Rodale Press” and they agreed to purchase the magazine outright so Joe could be free to retire. Unfortunately, from my perspective, this was the beginning of the slow end to American Angler.

Joe and Helen then moved to Santa Fe and we still fished as much as we could over the next four or five years. Then as things happen, we lost contact for a while and I was surprised to learn they had moved from Santa Fe to North Carolina just outside Asheville. Joe told me that they had moved there to be closer to their grandchildren as their daughter lived within a three hour drive. This would be much easier for Helen to travel rather than the long flight from New Mexico. We kept in touch over the winter and then in the springtime Helen passed. Joe asked me to come down and spend some time with him and without hesitation I obliged. We hadn’t seen each other in almost five years and had a lot to catch up on. During that time, Joe had taken up woodworking, but not in the usual sense. Knowing Joe’s propensity for craftsmanship, he decided to go the no power tools route. Even no sanding to achieve the final finish. Everything would be done with hand tools, sawing the wood, drilling, jointing, and hand planing. I told him he should be making bamboo rods too, but he declined. So during my visit we fished a few times, spent time in his converted half garage, woodworking shop, discussed the finer nuances of iron honing, bamboo rod making and celebrated Helen’s life and our friendship.

Over the next year or so, I got down to fish with Joe a few more times and this past spring we made plans to become a couple of trout bums this fall. We were going to drive out to New Mexico, start there and travel and fish wherever and without any time constraints. But that too was not to happen. He had called me late one evening about 2 months ago. He never called past 4 o’clock in the afternoon and by the sound of his voice I knew something was upsetting him. He told me that he had fallen the week before and lost feeling on his right side and had to be taken to the hospital by his neighbor. He said they did the necessary tests and found an inoperable brain tumor and the prognosis was not good, six to 8 months.

I drove down and stayed and helped my friend and his daughter for the week. That was the last time I would see him. I spoke with him as often as I could over the next couple of weeks as it was getting more difficult for him to stay focused on the phone so the calls were very short. Then about three weeks ago, on a Saturday morning, Joe’s daughter, called me and told me Joe passed away that morning.

Joe and I didn’t grow up together, but we grew old together. And I’m sure that any of us could write enough pages about our close friends, enough to fill a book. I will write that book and keep it close. I’ll take it out and read it from time to time and reminisce about our time and adventures together and remember my friend, Joe.

Jim Otranto



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Last edited by ttroutt on 09/10/20 15:40, edited 1 time in total.

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gt05254
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Re: My Friend Joe

#2

Post by gt05254 »

I am sorry to hear that, Jim. I knew of, but did not know, Joe. I do hope you are well. I remember the fine work you did for AMFF's journal.
Gary

One&Duns
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Re: My Friend Joe

#3

Post by One&Duns »

That was a very touching tribute to your friend. In my book, you were both lucky to have each other as cherished friends. I’m sorry for your loss. It’s tough, I know…

PYochim
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Re: My Friend Joe

#4

Post by PYochim »

Jim, nicely written.

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toothybugs
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Re: My Friend Joe

#5

Post by toothybugs »

May we all be as fortunate to be as loved by our friends as Joe was by you.

Thank you for sharing his memory, and I am sorry for your loss.
- NJG
(It's Nate, but I generally only sign my initials.)

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Loogie
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Re: My Friend Joe

#6

Post by Loogie »

Jim a fitting tribute, friends are special, you are fortunate man to have such a friend. May we all be so lucky to have at least one friend like that!

Sorry for your loss.

rsagebrush
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Re: My Friend Joe

#7

Post by rsagebrush »

May he RIP and may you remember all the good times you had with your friend.

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j2t
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Re: My Friend Joe

#8

Post by j2t »

Sorry for your loss. May his memory be a blessing.

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Flykuni3
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Re: My Friend Joe

#9

Post by Flykuni3 »

A great, great tribute to your buddy. Rest to him, and peace to you, Jim.

headwaters
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Re: My Friend Joe

#10

Post by headwaters »

Wonderful tribute, Jim! I'm sorry for your loss.

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Brooks
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Re: My Friend Joe

#11

Post by Brooks »

Beautiful tribute—makes me realize that after all this hunkering down, I need to fish with my ‘brothers’, and often, life is short. And nothing is better than fishing with your best buds.
Jim, enjoy those memories.

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ttroutt
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Location: Woodstock, VT

Re: My Friend Joe

#12

Post by ttroutt »

Thank you all for your appreciated kind thoughts and sentiments.

Jim

RymanType
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Re: My Friend Joe

#13

Post by RymanType »

Great friends are certainly something to be appreciated and not taken for granted. The best ones are hard to come by and one of the best gifts in the world

I’m sorry for your loss Jim. You have some great memories to hold on to

Jheil
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Joined: 04/10/21 16:44

Re: My Friend Joe

#14

Post by Jheil »

Regarding the passing of Joe Migliore I am very sorry to hear of his passing. Joe and I met while I was the president of the American Mktg Assn and he was the publisher of Sales and Marketing Management magazine. I recall one time I wanted to pay Joe for doing a speaking engagement and the next thing I knew I was buying him some fly fishing gear at the Orvis store off Michigan Avenue in Chicago. Sadly I left the AMA and if I recall Joe wanted to buy a magazine about fly fishing. 25 years have passed but I sit hear thinking about Joe. I think this all rose to the surface as I was watching the Masters golf and the name Migliore came up.

For all who knew joe I offer my condolences. I miss him too
Jeff Heilbrunn

flyfishalso
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Re: My Friend Joe

#15

Post by flyfishalso »

Wonderful tribute to your friend! The smiles in the photo tell it all. Thank you for sharing

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